What I Read | March 2022

 I was kind of all over the place this month. The weather sucked - in like a lion, out like a lamb, what a joke. So anyway, I found myself going to the bookstore most weekends because I needed to get out of my house, but I also needed to be going somewhere indoors. So lots of opportunities for new books and I guess I took it. 

I might be a little sour as snow tumbles prettily outside my window. This is the time of year when I can't even appreciate it you know? I just prefer dead, gray grass because it means spring is actually on its way. 

Anyway! 

Love and Ruin // Paula McClain

Fiction - 3 out of 5

So I may have come in with my expectations too high. Paula McClain wrote The Paris Wife, which is easily in my top 5 favorite books. That particular novel covers Ernest Hemingway's first marriage with Hadley Richardson and their years, obviously, in Paris. It was lovely. It was like drinking good wine and eating a warm baguette. I couldn't put it down and I've felt the same reading it a couple times. So when I found Love and Ruin at the thrift store in Interlochen, I scooped it up. This one is about his third marriage with Martha Gellhorn, all over the world but mostly in Cuba. I expected the same experience - lovely writing that felt like daquiries and fresh caught fish. Alas, I powered through it, waiting for it to grab me, but it just...didn't. 

I keep thinking I was just very distracted. It took me more than two weeks to read and I just found my brain drifting off while I read it. I'm keeping it on my shelf for now. I think it deserves a second chance some day, you know? 

Mom Truths // Cat and Nat

Non-Fiction 2 out of 5

I mean, it's fine but I'm not really recommending it to anyone. Until I picked this book up, I'd never heard of Cat and Nat but apparently they have a bit of a social media presence and gained their fame making videos about mom truths. And to be fair, their mom truths are totally mom truths -- babies are the enemy. There's so much poop and puke. Wine is a tool. So is screen time. All these things are true and some of the sentences were laugh out loud funny, but mostly I found their tone to be obnoxious. 

First in Line: Presidents, Vice Presidents and the Pursuit of Power // Kate Brower Anderson

Non-Fiction - 5 out of 5

Buckle up, because I've got some thoughts. This is my second book by this author and I will read every book she churns out. It's right up my alley in terms of subject matter - I generally find the people behind politics to be fascinating - and she writes non-fiction that reads like a novel. 

This particular book focuses on our vice presidents since Nixon served as Eisenhower's VP in the 50's, and then of course the relationship between president and VP. I was surprised to learn that up until very recently, vice presidents were selected primarily to balance the ticket and get the president elected, rather than to create a partnership in leading the country. Once the election was over, they were basically shut out. Okay, fine, but it gets kind of sticky when the VP is called to do the job they're actually hired for - aka become president in case of emergency. For instance, when FDR suddenly died in 1945, Truman assumed the presidency of course, but had no knowledge that the US was developing the atomic bomb. He'd never even been briefed on the project. The Vice President of the United States! Bananas. 

Anyway, that lack of partnership continued business as usual well into the 80's until the Carter/Mondale administration. Can you believe? 

I particularly enjoyed the chapter about Clinton and Gore, primarily because that's the earliest administration I can remember, but also feel like I learned more about Obama and surprisingly, Mike Pence. I fundamentally disagree with Mike Pence on a lot of issues and frankly think some of his policies are diabolical, but I also think he has a tough job. I'm just trying to imagine attempting to go to work every morning and be a professional when your boss is totally unhinged. 

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PS - I just grabbed The House of Gucci, which I've had on my TBR list for a year or so and I'm V excited to start reading it. Please be good please be good please be good!

 PPS // Some of these links are affiliate links. You guys are smart, you know what this means. If you click the link, I might earn a couple pennies  (literally pennies) at no cost to you.