Here’s what I brought to Good Day Alabama on WBRC Fox 6 this month–two works of pure escapism and one self-help book.
by Jennifer Egan
The bestselling, award-winning book by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author has been on my list for a while, and it’s an utterly engaging look at New York in the 1930s and 40s. As a child, Anna Kerrigan accompanied her father on his business rounds, never quite understanding what he did in his world of gangsters and union men. When she was 12, she went with him to meet the mysterious Dexter Styles at his home on Manhattan Beach. The memory of the sea, the sand and the odd chemistry between the two men stayed with her long after her father disappeared. Years pass and Anna is working at the Brooklyn Naval Yard where women are allowed to hold jobs while the men are at war. She becomes the first female diver, one of the most dangerous and exclusive jobs, repairing ships to aid the war effort. Then, one evening, at a nightclub with her friends, she meets Styles again and finally begins to understand why her father disappeared. But what she doesn’t yet understand is how he left, which turns out to be a bigger mystery.
By Ragnar Jonasson and Katrin Jakobsdottir
This atmospheric thriller, with its authentic attention to culture and setting and Icelandic mindset, came out last fall and has already sold more than four million copies. I’m listening to a great audio version ahead of a trip back to Iceland. The big mystery: What happened to Lara? The girl was 15 years old when she decided to spend the summer of 1956 working as a maid for a wealthy couple on the small island of Videy, just off the coast of Reykjavik. But in early August, she disappeared without a trace. Thirty years later, this northernmost capitol city is celebrating its 200th anniversary and journalist Valur Robertsson begins his own investigation into what happened to Lara. But he soon learns that someone out there knows the truth and will do anything to keep it buried.
How to Hug a Porcupine: Easy Ways to Love Difficult People in Your Life
By June Eding and Dr. Debbie Ellis
We all have troublesome people in our lives—coworkers, acquaintances, even family members. They cause problems, they are disruptive and argumentative, they incite conflict. But most didn’t ask to be this way, and there are respectful and productive ways to deal with them. This concise, little book offers 101 tips for dealing with “prickly” people in our lives. Learn how to easily end an argument, how to spot the porcupine in others and how to spot it in ourselves. Read it if you would like to live life with more empathy and patience—and less stress.
I link to Amazon to show you exactly what book I’m talking about, but I love to shop locally at Church Street Coffee and Books, The Alabama Booksmith, Little Professor, and Thank You Books in Crestwood. And I visit my local library often in person and online!
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