DMPL Book Chat discussion

See which books staff read for this challenge below. If you've completed this challenge, let us know which book you read and what you thought about it! Also, don't forget to register for the 2023 Reading Challenge at dmpl.org/readingchallenge.

I read the book I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy. It was an amazingly well written book about her life.

This may seem like a weird choice for someone I admire, but I read The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton. This man was wrongfully convicted of murder in 1985 and was on Death Row for 30 years before he was exonerated. During that time, he became a pillar of hope and healing for Death Row inmates and is now an anti-death penalty activist. I admire him for his ability to remain positive and hopeful for 30 years, over half of his life, while trying to help those around him feel comfort and peace in a very harsh reality. That takes a lot of grace and strength.

I read the new memoir by Matthew Perry (Friends) but I wouldn't say I admire him. It was very interesting, quite a challenging life!
I'll have to keep my eyes open for a memoir to fit this category.

I read "This Boy We Made" by Taylor Harris. My one statement description: Faith, science, and family intersect as young mom searches for answers to son's sudden illness.

You can read more of my thoughts on my Goodreads page but here's a little bit about the overall theme: Christopher, "Tophs," is twenty-two months old when the first signs of illness appear, and Harris and her husband begin their search for answers to questions that only grow in number. Over time, the lack of answers for Tophs' learning delays and episodes of listlessness and low blood sugar takes the family to a geneticist who again finds no definitive answer about Tophs, but does discover that Harris, herself, has a gene mutation associated with breast and ovarian cancer. Her diagnosis, along with the fact that she has faced generalized anxiety disorder since her teen years, drives much of the inner workings of this memoir.

The book is hard to put down. Harris' prose is thoughtful, warm, and inviting.

I read, Good for a Girl: a woman running in a kans world by Lauren Fleshman. really great read, inspiring and great work about change and what more is needed.

I read Will by Will Smith. I really enjoyed it and related to him and his upbringing in many ways. What we think we know about celebrities…

I read "Miracle in the Andes" by Nando Parrado. I knew the premise (the plane crash in the Andes that stranded an Uruguayan high school Rugby team), so I was expecting a compelling story, but I was blown away by the writing. It was beautiful and very poetic at times, focusing a lot on Nando's personal thoughts, recollections, epiphanies. I think I finished the whole thing in a 24-hour period, couldn't put it down.