Holiday gift picks from our team
Today marks our annual holiday gift recommendation episode, and this year we’ve added a fresh new twist: I’ve invited members
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Today marks our annual holiday gift recommendation episode, and this year we’ve added a fresh new twist: I’ve invited members
The titular hotel is a real place: it’s Seattle’s Panama Hotel. In the story, an old man looks back to his 1940s childhood and remembers with fondness his friendship—and maybe something more—with his young Japanese friend Keiko. They lose touch when Keiko and her family are evacuated during the Japanese internment. (I learned so little about this in my U.S. history classes that when I first read the book I kept googling Ford’s historical references to see if they really happened. They did.)
From the publisher: “Readers of Alice Walker’s <em>The Color Purple</em> will find in these stories further evidence of her power to depict black women-women who vary greatly in background but are bound together by their vulnerability to life: Roselily, on her wedding day, surrounded by her four children, prays that a loveless marriage will bring her respectability; a young writer, exploited by both her lover and her husband, wreaks an ironic vengeance; a jealous wife, looking for her husband’s mistress, finds a competitor she cannot fight; an old woman, thrown out of a white church, meets God on a highway. Some from the South, some from the North, some rich and some poor, the characters that inhabit In Love & Trouble all seek a measure of self-fulfillment, even as they struggle with difficult circumstances and limiting social conventions.”
Isabel “Belly” Conklin lives for summers at the beach with her family—and her mother’s best friend and her two sons: Jeremiah and Conrad. They’ve always been her summer companions, extra brothers to annoy her from June through August. But this summer, everything changes as Belly experiences a love triangle plot reminiscent of Sabrina. Jenny Han writes such delightful YA romances novels: humorous and charming, totally swoon worthy. This is the first in a trilogy you can easily finish in one week at the beach.
From the publisher: “Darcy Barrett has undertaken a global survey of men. She’s travelled the world, and can categorically say that no one measures up to Tom Valeska, whose only flaw is that Darcy’s twin brother Jamie saw him first and claimed him forever as his best friend. Despite Darcy’s best efforts, Tom’s off limits and loyal to her brother, 99%. That’s the problem with finding her dream man at age eight and peaking in her photography career at age twenty—ever since, she’s had to learn to settle for good enough. When Darcy and Jamie inherit a tumble-down cottage from their grandmother, they’re left with strict instructions to bring it back to its former glory and sell the property. Suddenly Darcy’s considering sticking around to make sure her twin doesn’t ruin the cottage’s inherent magic with his penchant for grey and chrome. She’s definitely not staying because of her new business partner’s tight t-shirts, or that perfect face that’s inspiring her to pick up her camera again. This time around, she’s switching things up. She’s going to make Tom Valeska 99 percent hers.”
From the publisher: “Twenty years ago, author Brendon Burchard became obsessed with answering three questions: Why do some individuals and teams succeed more quickly than others and sustain that success over the long term? Of those who pull it off, why are some miserable and others consistently happy on their journey? What motivates people to reach for higher levels of success in the first place, and what practices help them improve the most? After extensive original research and a decade as the world’s leading high performance coach, Burchard found the answers. It turns out that just six deliberate habits give you the edge. Each of the six habits is illustrated by powerful vignettes, cutting-edge science, thought-provoking exercises, and real-world daily practices you can implement right now. If you’ve ever wanted a science-backed, heart-centered plan to living a better quality of life, it’s in your hands. A link to a free professional assessment is included in the book.”
From the publisher: “Slipping between Nazi-occupied Poland and the frenetic pace of modern life, Kelly Rimmer creates an emotional and finely wrought narrative that weaves together two women’s stories into a tapestry of perseverance, loyalty, love, and honor. An unshakable reminder of the devastation when truth is silenced…and how it can take a lifetime to find our voice before we learn to trust it.”
The Daily Show star does a masterful job of alternating the deathly serious with the laugh-out-loud funny, sometimes even combining the two, in this collection of coming-of-age essays about his South African childhood. His mischievous childhood and unconventional youth provide wonderful fodder for not-quite-polite (thus the “scandalous” part of this juicy memoir) but always entertaining stories. I highly recommend the audiobook, read by the author.
Joining me on What Should I Read Next today is the multi-talented Julia Whelan! Julia is the author of My
What are you up to this weekend? Last night we grilled for the first time this year, so it’s really
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