Inheritance

Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love by Dani Shapiro
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

At the age of 54, Dani Shapiro, a well known writer, found out that her father was not really her father. Through one of those ancestry kits that you see advertised on TV, her whole world was turned upside down. Both her parents had died, so there was no one to ask about what really happened. Her quest to find both her biological father is fascinating. Her details about fertility treatments in the 1960s felt especially personal, as I felt once again that I would not have been able to have my own child had I been born in an earlier decade. Shapiro's discussion about heritage and how our lives are shaped are relevant in all our lives.

This book is probably closer to a 3.5 for me, but it gets rounded up for how much I kept explaining the details of it to random people.

Happy reading--

(Book 24 - 2019)

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban...Again, Again

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If we're honest, I through out Remus as a potential baby name when I was pregnant with Hudson. I wasn't really serious. I was pretty attached to Hudson from the very beginning, but I love his character. I love the structure of this story and the ability Rowling has to turn everything you think you know about a person or story detail upside down without making it confusing. She really is a master writer. So, so good.

Happy reading!

(Book 23 - 2019)

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets...Again, Again

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The set up of so many Rowling's side characters is well done in this story. If you still need encouragement to get on the Harry Potter bandwagon, I'm your girl. Happy reading--

(Book 22 - 2019)

In Pieces

In Pieces by Sally Field
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

To start, I have to say how much I admire Sally Field's work. She manages so often to convey quiet strength and unapologetic tenacity in her acting. I have loved so many of the films she has made, so I assumed I would be just as captivated by her autobiography. I feel like it's important to say that this book was simply not for me. It's not that it isn't interestingly told, but it is just so much darker than I anticipated. From details about years of sexual abuse, bad relationships, and dissatisfaction with much of her work, it was too mired in confusion and sadness with very little resolution. I do not mind candor and think it brave of Field to share so much of her personal experience, but I came away from the book wishing I had put it down when my instinct told me to do so at the very beginning. Perhaps I wanted too much of the trivial. Field does not detail any of her experiences with Steel Magnolias, Mrs. Doubtfire, Forrest Gump, etc - maybe more of the familiar mixed in with her struggles would have helped me like it better. Or perhaps I'm just not in a place for more sad stories. Either way, definitely not my favorite and why I fell headlong by into the Harry Potter series, where the good always wins the day.

Happy reading and good luck finding all the pieces-

(Book 21 - 2019)


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