2022 Books in Review (Part 1)

 

It’s back everyone’s feature that they forgot I did last year.

What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell

Synopsis: This is a collection of Gladwell’s essays from the New Yorker. The topics range from the inventor of the birth control bill, the king of selling rotisserie ovens, to a dog whisperer.

My Thoughts: I admit that I don’t remember a lot from this book and that probably means I should just do these reviews after I finish the books next year. Long-form journalism is something not enough people read. The issues we face with disinformation would be less if more readers were tuned into what well-researched, well-sourced stories look like.

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

Synopsis: In 1941, a black, eleven-year-old in Lorain, Ohio, Pecola Breedlove, prays for her eyes to turn blue so that she will be as loved as the other blue-eyed girls in the country. Instead, her life changes in painful ways.

My Thoughts: Morrison’s work is about the black experience in the 20^th century, and how that experience was built upon the centuries before that. I have also read Beloved by Morrison, but that was way back in high school and from what I remember from that and what you see here (her first published novel) is that she also is a master of the language and pushes the boundaries of style.  

I’ve also read by Toni Morrison: Beloved.

The Unseen by Heather Graham

Synopsis: This is a murder mystery tangled with a ghost story set around the Alamo. The hero is U.S. Marshal, Kelsey O’Brien, whose detective skills are conveniently enhanced by her ability to communicate with ghosts.

My Thoughts: I have a bad habit of picking up books at garage sales and not noticing that its like the fourth book in a series. This was the case here, although it didn’t really matter as it’s just a series where there’s a different case each book.

The Ride of Her Life: The True Story of a Woman, Her Horse, and Their Last-Chance Journey Across American by Elizabeth Letts

Synopsis: This is the interesting story of a woman in the 1950s traveling from Minot, Maine to Los Angeles, California on horseback. Set against the backdrop of a changing country and world, her ride illustrates the power of an individual will and the bond one can form with animal companions.

My Thoughts: I generally avoid anything titled the “True” story just because it almost always means what you’re going to read is probably not the truth. In this case, I think the story is fairly told, and it demonstrated the changing world of the 1950s, how methods of travel changed American society for better and worse, and the value of animals in our world.

The Best American Short Stories (2001)

Synopsis: I like reading at least one short story collection a year. I picked this one because it was edited by one of my favorite authors, Barbara Kingsolver.

My Thoughts: As I continue to write short stories, I always like seeing how writers approach the genre in different ways.