The Last 3

What are the last three books you've read?

 

I've heard that question posed to celebrities and others in magazine articles and I try to think of how I would answer. Most of the time, I can't remember. Either they weren't that great or I've spread them out too far and I can't remember. Since I can actually remember this time, I thought I should take the time to answer.

 

I read three books over my week-long Christmas vacation. Before you get impressed by that, I should be honest about what I was doing. We spent our Christmas vacation traveling, so I had two six-hour car rides and flights to and from San Diego to do nothing but read (I tried to sleep on one flight, but every time I nodded off, my eight-year old would tap me and say, "Mom! You fell asleep!") So, while it's fresh in my mind, I thought I'd go over the last three.

 

1. They Can't Kill Us All by Wesley Lowery

 

This was, far and away, the heaviest of the three. It's a look at race and police violence by an amazing Washington Post reporter who has been covering pretty much non-stop since Ferguson. I had the amazing chance to learn from him during a reporting workshop last summer and, as he was speaking in Chicago, I grabbed my phone and pre-ordered his book. It was a quick read because the subject matter was so compelling. It was fascinating to read about the stories behind what we read in Lowery's news articles. It was also refreshing to hear him write of the mistakes he's made covering this complicated issue. It's not exactly uplifting, but it is fascinating and important and, if you're all interested in the topic, I'd recommend a read. I also recommend you follow him on Twitter.

 

2. Thanks for the Money by Joel McHale

 

 

Yeah, book number two took a dramatic turn in the other direction. I'm a Joel McHale fangirl from way back. I was a devotee of The Soup and the early days of Community. I also happen to think he's really handsome and has great hair. A co-worker lent me this book and I was really excited to read more about his life and what makes him tick. There was some of that - mostly at the beginning. Tales from his childhood and college life in Seattle were funny and I've watched enough of his stuff to hear the book in his voice. The latter half of the book turned into a mock self-help book about how to build your life and make it more like his. Is it funny? Of course. Do I recommend it? Meh. He uses a ton of footnotes in the book to tell the story and, while it's clearly a comedic device, it makes for really disjointed reading. It was a quick read, but that may be because I skimmed the last quarter.

 

3. Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick

 

This was the cherry on top of my vacation binge reading dessert. I LOVE Anna Kendrick (so do you, unless you're some kind of awful person.) In addition to her movies, I love her on interview shows and on Twitter. She's unabashedly hilarious (she's also insanely hot, which is not fair. MY MOM SAID YOU DON'T GET TO BE BOTH!) While I consider myself a fan, I didn't know much about her; I actually thought she was Canadian. I read this book on one flight home from San Diego and was actually sad when it was done. It's a great look back at her life, beginning in community theater. It also shows how little she has changed as a person, despite this pretty quick rise to hot girl-super celeb status. She tells great stories of doing the press junket for Up in the Air, while going home to the crash pad apartment she'd had for years. This is such a great vacation/beach read. If you like her even at all (WHICH YOU SHOULD, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU??), pick it up.

 

So, that's my "Last 3" list. I think it shows the range of my reading interest. I typically wouldn't read three non-fiction books in a row, but it just kind of worked out that way. Then, I dove right into my first book of this 2017 experiment: A Man Called Ove. I have about 20 pages left, I'm in LOVE and can't wait to share the review.