I’ve tried to continue swim/bike/run training even though all my races have been cancelled. I also did the Tighter Together challenge, which was awesome! One thing that helps with runs is audiobooks. I recently made it through a few and one actual book.
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid {Audiobook}
I first saw Such a Fun Age on the Reece’s book club list. Then it started popping up all over my Instagram feed. When I started the audiobook I had no idea that it was about race and privilege. I listened to this timely story with another set of eyes. Even though I’ve read/listened/watched novels about race, like The Hate You Give and Just Mercy, I listened to this one in another light due to recent events. Other books on my list: Me and White Supremacy, and White Fragility, and these two young adult novels: The Poet X, and Clap When You Land.
Untamed by Glennon Doyle {Audiobook}
Another book on Reece’s book club, I added Untamed to my auto book requests without reading the description. I listened to the audiobook, which I’m grateful for. Doyle reads it herself and does an excellent job! Her writing style is very much like Racheal Hollis’, which I generally enjoy. What I didn’t enjoy was the few chapters about love at first sight. The idea of it just makes me roll my eyes. The other parts I didn’t enjoy was when she describes making love to her wife. I don’t need to read (or in this case, listen) to lovemaking of any kind.
That said, I really enjoyed some of the other chapters. For instance, the part about how we’ve been programmed to relate feelings to a certain gender. How competitive, strong, and angry are thought of as masculine feelings verses how caring, sensitive, and understanding are thought of as feminine feelings. When in fact, they are are all human feelings.
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
Pachinko was on my 2019 and 2020 book list and I’m happy to finally get to it! It’s a healthy 500 pages, but feels like a 300 page novel. It follows the four generations of a poor Korean family living in Japan. The story telling was excellent and the last 100 pages flew by. I can’t say that I loved the ending, but I can still recommend the book.
The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes {Audiobook}
Most recently I finished The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes. Another one from my 2020 book list and Reese’s book club. The narrator, Julia Whelan, did an amazing job impersonating the characters. Near the end I was so invested and was so curious to hear the verdict that I listened to it while doing a puzzle on a Saturday night. (How old am I?) Overall, great book!
