Today marks the beginning of my fifth week of self isolation due to the pandemic. During that time I have been to the grocery store three times, picked up dog food at the vet, made one Sonic run, gotten take out sushi twice, and picked up Easter dinner. I have gazed at my granddaughter from afar and watched her grown via FaceTime and social media. My husband is still going to work during the week as he works at an essential business, but his commute home is much quicker. We are cooking new recipes and baking chocolate chip banana bread. Our pup has gotten very spoiled and loves having us home so much. I am slowly conducting Spring Cleaning and finding many treasures throughout the house.

My favorite means of occupying myself in good times and bad is to read. Growing up in my mother’s libraries, I learned to love books of various types. I enjoy a cozy mystery, a good memoir, a spiritual examination of Scripture, romance, modern literary fiction, and historical fiction. I am not a big fan of magical realism, thrillers, or fantasy. I read hardbacks, paperbacks, and e-books. In the last few years, I have embraced the audio book through Audible and the Libby app.

While examining the books I read in March, I decided to go back to the first of 2020 and analyze all of the books I have read so far this year. In my own unique categories I noticed that they fell into five areas: Audible books, Cozy Mysteries, Spiritual and Personal Growth, Memoir, and Literary Fiction. This may be a little confusing since some of the Audible books are a mixture of the other genres, but I want to discuss them in one post for to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of audio books. Also, Spiritual and Personal Growth books often have elements of memoir built into their message.

I have broken out the Memoir works that do not have a spiritual component to them into their own category. There are four memoir types that fit this description.

Garlic and Saphires by Ruth Reichl – Reichl describes her experience as the food critic for the New York Times. Her tales of creating various characters with unique costumes, hair styles, and mannerisms transport the reader diverse restaurants in the mid 1990’s in New York City. Listening to this memoir on the Libby app brought the food and ambience of New York City to life.

Hill Women by Cassie Chambers – Hill Women is the latest in the trend of memoirs relating a childhood in remote areas such as Educated by Tara Westover. Chambers focuses her writing around the strong women of the Appalachia Mountains that shaped her life. She focuses on the poverty that dominates the region. She was able to escape the common fate of her classmates and family members due in part to her mother’s education as well as her own hard work and pursuit of higher education. My experience working with the Appalachia Service Project while serving as Youth Minister at my church made this book of special interest. I obtained an Advanced Reader Copy of this book and read it on my Kindle.

The Durrels of Corfu by Michael Haag – Not technically a memoir, this tale of the Durrel family fills in the gaps of Gerald Durrel’s memoir My Family and Other Animals. Durrel’s family spent several years on the island of Corfu between 1935 and 1939. However, Haag begins with family’s time in India before Gerald’s birth and follows them throughout Gerald’s life. Although I read this books on Kindle, I think a physical copy would have been more enjoyable due to the many family photos Haag was able to obtain and share.

Mayor Kane by Glenn Jacobs – Scrolling through NetGalley last Fall, I saw the autobiography of Kane from World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. I received an Advanced Reader copy electronically thinking my husband might want to read it due to his love of the sport. He has not gotten around to reading it yet, but I am glad I had it available. Jacobs’s experience as a professional wrestler is told as the American Dream experience. He was able to utilize hard work to rise in the ranks to become a Superstar as the character Kane. Jacobs ultimately took that knowledge and celebrity and ran for Mayor of Knox County, Tennessee as a libertarian. Jacobs shared his political beliefs in the book in an concise manner.

My next post will highlight the Audible Books that I have enjoyed so far this year. I hope you are staying safe, washing your hands, finding new recipes and show to bing.