Recently Read Books: The Ones I Loved, In Order

1. My Reading Life by Pat Conroy

I loved, loved this book. Conroy is an amazing writer, and this memoir is unique because his entire life was marinated, steeped, soaked in great books. I listened to this book as I was driving across three states, and I was constantly wishing I could take out a pen and write down the books he talked about and the authors he loved. His personal anecdotes are truly moving and memorable, particularly the stories about his two greatest mentors—his mother and his high-school English teacher---and yet these stories come wrapped up in the books that shaped his consciousness and turned him into a writer. This book is beautiful, beautiful---but I’d recommend listening Conroy read it himself on CD to get the full effect of its magic.

2. The Mom Factor by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend

These guys are great counselors.  Highly recommended for lending perspective and practical advice on relating to your mother as an adult.

3. All the Shah’s Men:  An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror by Stephen Kinzer

This was one of the most fascinating historical accounts I’d ever read; talk about learning something new! I was clueless regarding America’s involvement in Iran over 25 years before the hostage crisis of 1979. This book was so eye-opening, showing how oil, British intransigence, Iranian nationalism, Cold-War politics and a few strong opinions created a U.S.-backed coup that overthrew Iran’s leader Mossadegh, and installed Mohammad Reza Shah. The coup and its aftermath helped to plant the seeds of anger which came to full fury in 1979. This book provides details and background that help when trying to understand even a sliver of the complicated backstory that precedes foreign policy crises.

4. The Maytrees by Annie Dillard

This story of a couple and their inner musings on the nature of love is winsome, unique, and baffling. I love Dillard’s writing style.  I loved parts of this story, hated parts of this story, and am still baffled by other parts of this story. I would love to read this book in a discussion club!

5. The Water is Wide: A Memoir by Pat Conroy

This is the warm story of Conroy’s rewarding, enlightening, and infuriating year as a fumbling, brand-new teacher on an isolated island off the coast of South Carolina. With little else but a desire to make a difference, Conroy encountered a whole new world as his students were completely isolated from the outside, and his education superiors still harbored racist attitudes and agendas. This is a beautiful little account of one teacher’s attempt to connect his students to real life and treat them as persons of value.