Friday, December 21, 2018

My favorite reads of 2018

I'm a little early this year, but there were so many books I loved reading this year that I wanted to go ahead and share.  I normally share my 10 favorite books of the year, but this year I have to expand that number.  Most years I read around 100 books, but this year I've read 126, so I figure I can have a few extra favorites!

My favorite book I read this year:


I've read all of Robert Dugoni's Tracy Crosswhite thriller series, starting with My Sister's Grave, and have always enjoyed them.  Tracy Crosswhite is a Seattle police officer whose sister was murdered while they were teenagers.  While that entire series is worth reading, nothing about them prepared me for Sam Hell.  This book reminded me of A Prayer for Owen Meany, one of my all-time favorites.  Sam is born with ocular albinism, which makes his eyes appear red.  The book follows his life from childhood to his work as a doctor.  I loved the characters and was sad to leave them at the end of the book.  

The most important book I read this year:


Adverse Childhood Experiences (or ACEs) impact health for a lifetime.  More than 20 years after the initial study correlating trauma with long-term negative health consequences, research is finally emerging on how to counteract these impacts as an adult.  Dr. Burke Harris has an amazing TED talk on ACEs if you are interested!  


The other non-fiction book that really touched my heart this year:


Dr. Bartolo lives and works on the Italian island of Lampedusa, which is the first stop for thousands of refugees fleeing Africa and the Middle East.  This is his heartbreaking story of the journey of these refugees to find safety.  Tears of Salt was an appropriate name for this book as I found myself crying for the tragedy of hate in our world.


I love young adult fiction, and six of my favorites this year came from that genre.


Similar to The Hate U Give, which was on my favorite list last year, Dear Martin deals with racial injustice and police relations.  A very powerful and timely read.


Pam Munoz Ryan has written some of my favorite books (particularly her young adult book Echo).  Riding Freedom is based on the life of orphan Charlotte "Charley" Parkhurst who hid her gender and became the first woman to ride for the Pony Express and the first woman to vote in a presidential election in California.  


Ghost is the first of four books following four members of an elite middle school track team.  Castle Cranshaw (known as Ghost) has struggled with domestic violence between his parents and trouble at school.  Will his natural talent as a sprinter give him the motivation and path to a different life?  While I have enjoyed all four books (Ghost, Patina, Sunny, Lu), this one is my favorite in the series.  


Lily brought this book home from the school library - wow.  It is a truly beautiful book, told mostly through the amazing illustrations of Brian Selznick (who also wrote The Invention of Hugo Cabret, which became the movie Hugo).  A truly wonderful story!


I'm always up for a good story about foster care or adoption.  Far from the Tree follows three biological siblings who were raised in three different homes.  After giving up her own baby for adoption, teenager Grace begins the search for her biological mother.  Along the way, she discovers she has two biological siblings, Maya and Joaquin.  Grace and Maya were adopted a birth, while Joaquin has spent his life in foster care.  Together they will discover the true meaning of family.  


In 1947, a free India becomes two countries - India and Pakistan.  Tensions between Muslims and Hindus are high, and many Hindus in what becomes Pakistan feel they must flee their homes for their safety.  This story follows one family as they leave behind all they know becoming refugees in the new India.  Beautifully written as well as informative.

The rest of my favorites, in no particular order:


I love historical fiction, and Fiona Davis never disappoints.  Set at the famous Dakota apartment building in New York City, the story alternates between Sara Smythe, manager of the Dakota in 1884, and Bailey Camden, living in the Dakota in 1985.  


I love Kate Morton's books, which are also historical fiction.  The Clockmaker's Daughter follows multiple characters across more than 150 years as a London archivist attempts to solve a murder from the 1860s.


I loved this book!  So everyone knows I'm obsessed with Hamilton the musical.  Eliza Hamilton is my favorite charcter in the musical, but little is known about her life, as she was always in the shadows of her husband, Alexander.  This well-researched novel of historical fiction gave me the chance to know Eliza better and my respect for her just continues to grow.



Classic Stephen King with storytelling at its best.  The Mr. Mercedes trilogy is toward the top of my favorite King books (surpassed by The Green Mile and The Stand), and this book brings back some of my favorite characters from the trilogy.


Movie star Evelyn Hugo, now an octogenarian, decides to tell her life story to a young reporter.  Each section focuses on her life with one of her seven husbands.  Just a fun read!



Jaya, a journalist in New York City of Indian descent, travels to India following a third miscarriage.  Here she meets Ravi, her grandmother's former servant and confidant, who helps Jaya understand her mother and the history of her family. 


Wishing you happy reading in 2019!

Thursday, June 7, 2018

Eliza Schuyler Hamilton

Okay, so I'm sure most of you know I have an obsession with Hamilton; An American Musical that began two years ago.  Lin-Manuel Miranda not only created "the best piece of art in any form" as Michelle Obama said, but he sparked an interest in our country's revolutionary history.  As a lover of American history, I felt well versed on the Civil War and times after and on the writing of the Declaration of Independence, but my knowledge of the Revolutionary War through the 1850s was pretty sparse.  Did I know who Alexander Hamilton was?  I could have told you he was on the $10, he was our first treasury secretary, and he was killed in a duel with Vice President Aaron Burr (which I only knew from the Got Milk? commercial).  The musical inspired me to read Ron Chernow's biography of Hamilton, but also his Washington biography (which I found more interesting and would highly recommend).

The first time I listened to the Hamilton soundtrack in April 2016, the character of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton grabbed me, and she hasn't let go.  Here's a woman who gave birth to EIGHT children and basically adopted a ninth yet she had no rights.  She helped fight the revolution in many ways, but she couldn't vote.  She lived 50 years after Hamilton died in the duel of 1804 and during that time, she fought against slavery and used her influence to help raise funds for the Society for the Relief of Poor Widows with Small Children as well as helping to found the first private orphanage in New York City.  That orphanage still exist today and functions as a group home for foster youth as well as providing services to families and children.  However, she saw her most important role as maintaining the memory of Alexander's role in the founding of our county.  As the final song in the musical says, "Will they tell your story?"  And I would say as a country, we did not tell Hamilton's story.

I have always loved historical fiction, and My Dear Hamilton did not disappoint.  I was afraid I would find it in opposition to the character of Eliza I had created in my mind from the musical, but if anything, the book made me respect her even more.  As it said in the book, we all talk about the Founding Fathers, but what about the Founding Mothers?  I'm thankful that someone is finally telling Eliza's story.