You Celebrated President’s Day with a Viewing of “Hamilton”
You Celebrated President’s Day with a Viewing of “Hamilton”
Want a short read or love the flute solo in “My Heart Will Go On”
Hi book lovers,
I hope you had a fabulous Galentine’s Day, Valentine’s Day, President’s Day weekend. Surprising no one, I spent my long weekend reading and writing. I also squeezed in a virtual author event. These sorts of chats have been a real bright spot of the pandemic. I love being able to listen to authors worldwide chat about their books while snuggled in my bed wearing my pajamas.
If you too enjoy virtual book programming, here are two events related to previous recommendations (since it’s February and love is in the air, they’re both romances):
Libby, the digital lending app your library probably uses, is hosting an online discussion of Kate Clayborn’s Love Lettering— one of my favorite books of 2020. You can participate and listen to an interview with Kate here. (Thanks to the eagle-eyed readers who shared this program with me!)
If you read and enjoyed Fumbled by Alexa Martin, you’ll want to watch my friend Destinee interview her on Instagram Live tonight at 6:30 PM EST. They’re both smart and funny, and it should be a great conversation.
Later this week, I’m interviewing Jessica S. Henry, a lawyer and criminal justice expert, about her book, Smoke But No Fire: Convicting the Innocent of Crimes that Never Happened, for next week’s Q&A. Her book covers everything from the Salem witch trials to the satanic panic, as well as recent examples of innocent people being convicted of crimes that never occurred. If you have a question for Jessica, please send it my way.
As always, if you’re looking for a recommendation, send another book, tv show, podcast, movie, event, etc. my way, and I’ll try to find you your next read.
And now, what to read if …
You Celebrated President’s Day with a Viewing of “Hamilton”
You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington by Alexis Coe
Coe’s biography of our first president brings the man behind the myths alive in an amusing, easy-to-read way. As the title implies, the book doesn’t carry the same somber, serious tones as many Washington biographies; instead, it entertains while it educates.
While Washington buffs will probably know most of the information Coe presents in this slim volume, I was delighted to learn that Washington is the father of the American mule and that he named a dog Cornwallis, after the British general he defeated at Yorktown. The book offers a holistic picture of Washington — neither hagiographic nor overly critical. Coe depicts Washington’s triumphs, and there are far too many to count, and criticizes his treatment of Native Americans and turn towards partisanship. She applies special attention to the first president’s personal and political views on slavery.
Of particular interest is Coe’s assessment of Washington’s relationship with his mother, Mary. Coe is the first female historian to write a biography of Washington in a century. While her male contemporaries have claimed the mother-son relationship was cold, Coe concludes it was typical of the time, if not stronger than most.
If you read and enjoy You Never Forget Your First, you may want to subscribe to Coe’s newsletter. Her recent missive about a runaway colonial turtle was one of the best things I read last week.
You Want a Short Book for a Short Month
Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson
Since I recommended a long book for the short month last week, it seemed only fair to recommend a short book this week.
Given all the ground it covers, I can’t believe Red at the Bone is less than 200 pages. Woodson tells the story of two Black families, one wealthy and one poor, whose lives intersect when their children become parents in their teens. Told from alternating perspectives with a shifting timeline, we see how baby Melody’s birth affects her parents and grandparents.
It’s a beautiful book, at times reading more like poetry than prose, exploring timely questions about class, race, history and sexuality, without ever feeling like a Very Special Episode.
Looming over the characters is the knowledge that Melody’s grandmother’s family escaped from the South following the 1921 Tulsa race massacre, making it an apt read for Black History Month. Woodson’s exacting words movingly show how violence nearly 100 years earlier still affects families today.
You Still Know All the Words to My Heart Will Go On
Sounds Like Titanic by Jessica Chiccehitto Hindman
This is one of the weirdest books I have read in years. At multiple points, I had to put it down and stop and think, “Is this real?” And the answer is yes, it is very real, or as real as a memoir can be.
In Sounds Like Titanic, Jessica Chiccehitto Hindman describes her time “playing” violin in a fake orchestra directed by a nutty unnamed composer. At the beginning of each performance, a member of the orchestra would stealthily hit play on a CD of the composer’s music, and the musicians would spend the concert pretending to play their instruments. Adding to the absurdity, the orchestra’s repertoire sounded nearly identical to “Titanic’s” soundtrack. I’ve listened to the composer’s music and the “Titanic” soundtrack back to back and don’t know how the composer didn’t get sued. They’re remarkably similar.)
Reading it, at times, I laughed out loud at the absurdity of the situation, while at other moments, I ached for Jessica as she struggled to find a way out of her career as a fake violinist.
Chiccehitto Hindman’s memoir combines a coming-of-age-story with reflections on post-9/11 America and the nature of truth. It shouldn’t work, and yet it does, beautifully. It’s a book I find myself thinking about regularly and begging people to read, so I have someone to discuss it with. So, if you do read it, please let me know?
That’s all for today. I’ll be back next week with more recommendations and my Q&A with Jessica.
What to Read If is a free weekly book recommendation newsletter. Need a rec? Want to gush about a book? Reply to this email, leave a comment or find me on Twitter @elizabethheld.
If you’re reading this on Substack or were forwarded this email, and you’d like to subscribe, click the button below.