Katie's Books

 I read this book in Greencastle when I took extremely long lunch breaks to read this and the entire Harry Potter series from the comfort of our apartment, in the red chair, drenched in a pool of sunlight and reprieve from the consequences of the very poor choice I made to accept that job. The Goldfinch allows for such an escape; it's sweeping and all-encompassing. It makes dramatic moves and takes huge jumps in both geography and time. Big things happen in very believable ways. I wanted good things to happen to these characters, and I was always eager to know what would happen next, as it felt like it could literally be anything. There is a moment when I can't believe the reader is supposed to be surprised at something, but it doesn't take away from the glamour and earned grandiosity the book, it's characters, and it's many settings otherwise portray, always without pretension and glibness. The Goldfinch is dramatic, sensitive, and nostalgic. It's specific in s...

 I read this book on a plane; it moves fast. I was lucky to read it in one sitting because I don't like living with suspense; there's a gotcha moment that makes you question everything, which is, of course, the point. It's a book about memory, youth, regrets, childhood, and whether or not you can really trust anyone, even yourself, when it comes to your own actions. 

 I read this book during the early days of the pandemic when I thought I might want to be a therapist, so I tried reading books by and about therapists. While that proved a fun endeavor, I fairly quickly realized I did not want to be a therapist, and that reading memoirs was not the way to assess a career move. But like a therapist, I do like getting to know people's complicated lives. Lori Gottlieb is a therapist, she sees a therapist, and she writes about both her and her clients' complicated lives with skill and precision.  While there were a few times I questioned if a therapist could really do what she did (eat lunch bought by her client, for example) I had to let that go. This is a book about connections and the importance of relationships in all spheres of life. The labels of "therapist" and "client," "helper" and "helped," become less significant.  I was left thinking about the reciprocal benefit and opportunities for self-reflect...

 The Glass Castle is a memoir that could do a lot of things but instead chooses just one and does it well. The author details her family of origin and the many places they lived, adventures they had, and challenges they faced while she was growing up. She does not sugar coat the illnesses, addictions, poor choices, and bad luck that shaped her young life. But she writes about her family with such tenderness and love that I sometimes had to remind myself that what she is describing is also child abuse, neglect, malnutrition, severe and persistent mental illness, etc.  This book is about resilience, forgiveness, and family. It reminds me that everyone deserves to have happy memories of their family.  Even in the face of a lot that may seem best forgotten, Walls was loved and chooses to remember and document that gift above all else. 

 I read this book long after watching Brooklyn the movie when it was released, and after reading The Testament of Mary, also by Colm Toibin, during Holy Week many years ago. The movie primed me to enjoy a story about an independent young woman and The Testament of Mary suggested Colm Toibin could be trusted with female characters. Both things are still true after reading Brooklyn. For a period of time in 2022-2023, I made a point to only read female authors because I wanted to enjoy female characters and this was one of the few exceptions to that parameter.  Eilis balances her own ambitions for her life with the expectations her mother has for her, and while the implications of that tension are sometimes painful, they are also universal. I most loved the end scene-- there's a photo in the bottom of a suitcase and I was left thinking about the many different paths one life can take and the power that comes from choosing your future for yourself. 

 Josh got me this book for Christmas 2023 when he gifted me several dog-centered books. He wanted to find books that were well-written and centered on dogs, without being overly sentimental. The Friend is not overly sentimental, and it is well-written, but it is not really centered on dogs. It's much more about writing and suicide than it is about dogs, even though Apollo, the dog in the book, is one of the few characters with a name.  It still has thoughtful meditations on a dog's emotional life, how dogs manage the inevitable changes and stress that come their way because they depend on humans for security and sustenance, and the narrator in the book loves Apollo and is dedicated to him in ways I respect and understand. I said aloud several times that the author is doing tricky things with the writing, and maybe she did do tricky things. The Friend features a dog, but the dog is less a character or theme in and of himself than a conduit to illustrate other ideas- mostly idea...

 I will buy and read any book Michelle Wildgen writes. I had the good fortune to have her as an instructor when I took Madison Writer's Studio classes during my first chapter in Madison and admire her as an excellent writer, a careful teacher, and a kind person.   Like her other books, Wine People is full of delicious food. I wonder if Michelle was watching "Succession" while writing this book because there is a fair bit of personality-driven story regarding which employee is going to take over the business after the founder/owner retires. I most loved the friendship between the two main characters and that, as in her other books, Madison is a setting and a character.