The Books I'm Reading Now
I'm reading a brand-new (to be published tomorrow!) memoir, Admissions: A Memoir of Surviving Boarding School by Kendra James; the love-story-in-reverse Out of Love, the debut novel by Hazel Hayes; and I'm listening to the glorious author herself read her book Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics.
What are you reading and enjoying these days, bookworms?
01 Admissions: A Memoir of Surviving Boarding School by Kendra James
Kendra James was the first African-American legacy to graduate from The Taft School, an elite prep school in Connecticut.
When she begins a job as an admissions officer specializing in diversity recruitment for independent prep schools, she finds herself debating whether or not she should advise families to pursue the same precarious path she herself followed through what she felt was a cutthroat, inequitable system.
In Admissions, James offers a memoir that is partly a social critique, partly a recounting of absurdities she experienced, and partly simply her unique story of living away from home and feeling like The Only One.
02 Out of Love by Hazel Hayes
Out of Love is a love story told in reverse.
The beginning of Hazel Hayes's Out of Love lays bare the end of a couple's relationship, then each chapter tracks farther backward through time. In this way, Hayes unravels the couple's path from final heartbreak through their ups and downs and ultimately to the start of what was once thrilling and beautiful beginning and the first sparks of love.
If you enjoy reading books that play with time, you might also like the books on the Greedy Reading Lists Six Fascinating Second-Chance, Do-Over, Reliving-Life Stories and Six Riveting Time-Travel Escapes.
03 Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics by Dolly Parton
What's better than listening to Dolly talk about her inspirations, her artistic journey, her joys and her silliness, those who have influenced her, and her motivations--along with short musical snippets?
Nothing.
This is a fast-paced book, as Dolly talks about various thoughts as related to 175 of her songs, while country music author Robert K. Oermann intersperses short intros to add structure and background.
I mentioned Dolly Parton, Songteller in the Greedy Reading List of book ideas Shhh! More Book Gift Ideas for the Holidays.