Reading in the Garden

  The Absolutely  Irresistible  Diary of a Part-Time Indian  I fell in love with this book from page one! A poor, hungry, sickly, bullied fourteen-year-old Spokane Indian boy with a stutter and a lisp tries to muddle through his first year at an all-white high school.  Junior chooses to navigate two different worlds when he leaves his dreary life on the Indian reservation to attend school in the privileged white town of Reardan. Despite, or maybe because of all the tragedy in his life, Junior faces each day with an astute, sharp-as-a-blade wit and a soaring spirit.     His alluring narration is heartbreaking, funny, sad, and uplifting. It covers a rainbow of emotions.  I’m so glad I finally read this celebrated, charming young adult novel that won a National Book Award!    Here are some lines from the book that really grabbed me:   “He couldn’t beat me up with his old man fists, but he could hurt me with his old man words.”  Sherman Alexie,  The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Ind

Jenna Bush Hager’s 2020 Book Club Jan – Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano Feb – The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Dar é March – Writers & Lovers by Lily King April – Valentine by Elizabeth Wetmore May – All Adults Here by Emma Straub June – A Burning by Megha Majumdar July – Friends and Strangers by J. Courtney Sullivan Aug – The Comeback by Ella Berman Sept – Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi Oct – Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam Nov – White Ivy by Susie Yang Dec – The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison Reese Witherspoon’s 2020 Book Club Jan – Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid Feb – The Scent Keeper by Erica Baumeister March – The Jetsetters by Amana Eyre Ward April – Untamed by Glennon Doyle (Non-Fiction) May – The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi    June/July – The Guest List by Lucy Foley June/July – I’m Still Here by Austin Channing Brown (Non-Fiction) Aug – Everything Inside  by Edwidge Danticat Aug YA – You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson Sept – The Last Story of MinaLee by Na

An Unlikely but Lovely Female Friendship  I love this story of two women with opposite personalities who go on an adventure where they not only learn more about each other, but also about themselves.  It’s 1950 England when Miss Benson finally snaps and decides to follow her dream of finding the illusive golden soft-winged flower beetle in New Caledonia.  When she puts in an ad for an assistant, she never pictured Enid Pretty, a very talkative, vivacious woman with a pink suit and impractical sandals with pom-poms. Against the odds, they end up forming an unbreakable, concrete-strong bond.   A heartwarming female friendship book at its best! If you like this book by Rachel Joyce, be sure to check out The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. Other Female Friendship Books - Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons by Lorna Landvik - Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah - The Floribama Ladies’ Auxiliary and Sewing Circle by Lois Battle - Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café by Fannie Flag - The