A Few Books I Enjoyed in 2013...
The year of 2013 was somewhat disappointing to me as a
reader. I did not love or even like many of the books that I read - despite
Kindle Samples and Goodreads Recommendations, I found very few books that I
would rate as above average. The few I enjoyed are listed in brief below:
How to Be An American Housewife
My favorite book club pick of 2013 was How to Be An American
Housewife by Margaret Dilloway. The story seems almost as if it is an authentic
memoir as it recaps the life of a young Japanese woman in WWII who chose to marry
an American GI in order to give herself a better life. Shoko has her secrets as
she leaves her family and home to move to America with her new husband. Her one
insight into the ways of American Culture are attained only in a little book
called How to Be An American Housewife. The story is told through both mother
(past and present) and also through her estranged Japanese American daughter.
Other books outside of book club that I enjoyed include:
Code Name Verity
This is also a WWII book which follows the lives of two
young British female spies in Germany – this would be a great read for book
club. Don’t let the YA genre mislead you, this is a captivating book.
From the Kitchen of Half Truth
I wish I had chosen this book for my book club pick; I
enjoyed this special and quirky novel. Meg is OCD, the complete opposite of her
eccentric mother who loves cooking and fairy tales. Meg loved her childhood
until she realized that all of her mother’s stories were make-believe.
The Gravity of Birds
Another book I wish I had discovered prior to book club. Famous ArtistThomas Bayber suddenly reveals in old age that he
has a few other paintings, paintings which may be priceless if they exist. Long
ago Bayber summered in a cottage near the Kessler family. Bayber painted the
young Kessler girls and dramatically impacted their young lives and the past and present drama unfolds from there.
Oh Really wish I had chosen this for book club…
Laura Lamont’s Life in Pictures
Who isn’t fascinated by Old Hollywood Glamour? At a young
age, Laura Lamont leaves the Midwest for a hopeful movie career in Hollywood.
Of course it doesn’t all go as planned and yet her California life is interesting
as she works in the Hollywood Golden Age. I didn’t choose this book initially because reviewers
were disappointed that this wasn’t a memoir. It does read as one, and in my imagination it could be any great Dame from the black and white AMC Golden Age, alas it is fiction.
