Mrs Blackwell’s February Reading Log

‘The Siren’s Call’ by Chris Hayes

Chris Hayes is the host of a popular evening news show in the US on MSNBC and in this book he shares what he’s learned about gaining and keeping attention.

His book is fast paced and really packed with ideas, but a central idea is that much like the industrial revolution taught us that our hours are a thing we can trade for dollars, our attention is likely the next frontier of resource we will trade for money.

There is discussion of all forms of modern media and how how politicians and businesses use it to capture our attention. I think this could make a good choice for a business bookclub to reflect on. For fans of Johann Hari’s Stolen Focus or Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation.

‘Dream Count’ by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

This is the story of three Nigerian women, and one domestic servant from Ghana, all living in the United States. The Nigerian women are extremely successful and wealthy (by any standard) and this is the story of their interconnected personal lives and their complicated romantic relationships. It has us question what we really know about the complexity of our friend’s lives.

The writing is incredible, I had whiplash at moments re-reading sentences because I wondered if I’d really just read what I thought I read.

The women’s individual stories really drew me in and each had a major crescendo, but I thought they lost a bit of momentum as the stories went on, so I did find my mind drifting a little bit near the end of each characters section.

But overall I really liked the four characters, the writing is superb and it’s an interesting perspective from the point of view of modern Nigerian women.

In store early March.

‘Limberlost’ by Robbie Arnott

Adam and I went to Tasmania for our wedding anniversary and my first stop was the Hobart Bookshop for a local recommendation. They put Limberlost in my hands and I could not have been paired with a more perfect book!

Set in northern Tasmania during WWII, Ned’s older brothers are away at war and he remains on the family orchard with this father and sister. He dreams of owning a boat and saves for one by selling rabbit pelts.

There’s also story lines of Ned’s adult life, a carnivorous marsupial that brings him and his future wife together, and the difficulties of war and farm life. It appears to have won a lot of awards in Australia and I can absolutely see why, a great book.

‘Three Days in June’ by Anne Tyler

I had not read any books by Anne Tyler prior to this, but a customer came into the shop and said to me her favourite authors are Elizabeth Strout and Anne Tyler - that was all the convincing I needed!

The story follows Max and Gail, a divorced couple who have reunited for their daughter’s wedding. Over three days in June (as the title suggests) we learn that everything was not as it seemed in the unravelling of their marriage.

I read this in the time it took to fly from Wellington to Melbourne so it’s a quick and easy read. Reccomended for fans of Ann Patchett’s Tom Lake.

‘My Travels in Japan’ by Audry Nicklin

The writer is a comic book artist who documented a family trip to Japan in both image and text. I was interested in this both as a guide to Japan and potential inspiration for my own journalling. I enjoyed the way she mixed stamps she’s actually collected at monuments with her reflections and little cartoons of family conversations and interactions.

‘No Words For This’ by Ali Mau

I’ll start and end this month with books by TV news anchors. For anyone not familiar with Ali, she is a well-known broadcaster and journalist here in New Zealand, though it came as news to me that she was actually born in Australia.

I’ll admit I gave this one a try to get the tea on her divorce from Simon Dallow (another popular New Zealand broadcaster). While that is covered in this book, it’s actually a very personal story, tackling some worst-nightmare situations involving sexual assault and incest.

This book is available in April.