Book Reviews: Malcolm Gladwell, Mothers and Daughters + Mysterious Bookstores

Like I said in my last book review, I’m on a reading binge, and I’m loving it! It slowed down for a while during a busy season at work and moving, but I’m back at it and already have my next 3 books lined up. This batch was a great batch of books, all very different, but all very good.

The Tipping Point – I feel like I totally missed the boat on this one because everyone else read it years ago, but I am now officially the biggest Malcolm Gladwell fan. His writing is simply superb, weaving in hard facts with anecdotes so perfectly that you believe everything he says without batting an eye. And the topic is F-A-S-C-I-N-A-T-I-N-G. It’s one of those books that seems like a boring book you’d read for a class, but then you secretly fall in love with it.
Grade: A+

Glitter and Glue – I’d read reviews of this one in magazines, then mom borrowed it from the library so I picked it up and could hardly put it down. It’s just a great, true-blue story of the relationships of mothers and daughters and how they change over time. It would be a great vacation read – easy, light-hearted and makes you shed a tear or two.
Grade: A

Uncommon Marriage – We read this autobiographical book with our community group about facing obstacles in marriage and how to deal with them. Of course being the non-sports fan I am I had no clue who the Dungys were and thus didn’t know how the story would turn out. As I read, I was so encouraged by their life story, their public display of faith and their continued spousal support. Also, I learned a little bit more about football.
Grade: A-

Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore – This book recommendation came from an avid reader who had nothing but good things to say about it, so I knew it would be good. I picked it up in the airport on my way home from San Francisco and read half of it on the flight. (Come to find out it’s set in SF, which made it feel even more perfect) This book starts out so unassuming and normal about a boy in a bookstore, then slowly turns into a story with just enough magical whimsy to make you feel like a kid again believing in secret codes, immortality and clandestine underground meetings in NYC.
Grade: A-

xo xo