Think Again by Adam Grant

THINK AGAIN by Adam Grant (Originals and Give and Take) is all about “The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know” which is an impactful concept explored by a thoughtful, talented writer. Grant divides this text into three sections: opening our own minds (adopting a kind of mental flexibility); encouraging others to think again; and creating communities of lifelong learners.  Grant advocates for adopting a scientific frame of mind where “you’re expected to doubt what you know, be curious about what you don’t know, and update your views based on new data.” I especially like thinking about applying Grant’s ideas to the research skills we build with our students.  He explores concepts like confirmation bias and desirability bias while also noting, “when we try to convince people to think again, our first instinct is usually to start talking.  Yet the most effective way to help others open their minds is often to listen.” What would that look like in these polarized times, especially as we try to increase interest and acceptance of getting vaccinated against COVID-19? In some ways, it’s as if Grant anticipated this question, with an entire chapter profiling Vaccine Whisperers. Brene Brown described THINK AGAIN as “the right book for right now … choosing courage over comfort” while Bill and Melinda Gates called it “a must-read for anyone who wants to create a culture of learning and exploration.”  Including a summary list of Actions for Impact, extensive notes, and a helpful index, THINK AGAIN received a starred review from Library Journal. 

The Problem of Alzheimer's by Jason Karlawish

THE PROBLEM OF ALZHEIMER'S by Jason Karlawish received starred reviews from Kirkus (“an outstanding primer”) and Library Journal (“a must-read”). I have ordered a copy for our library since this is a high interest topic for many of our students.  They are watching parents face tough choices with respect to care for grandparents as well as dealing with their own feelings of missing the grandparent they once knew and fear about the disease in general. Karlawish, University of Pennsylvania professor and co-director of Penn Memory Center, has subtitled his book “How Science, Culture, and Politics Turned a Rare Disease into a Crisis and What We Can Do About It.”  He divides the book into sections titled Alzheimer’s Unbound; The Birth of Alzheimer’s Disease; Living Well in the House of Alzheimer’s, and A Humanitarian Problem. He reviews key points in the history of the disease (including founding of Alzheimer’s Association in 1979 and scientific papers labeling it the “disease of the century” in 1981 and a 2009 report titled A National Alzheimer’s Strategic Plan), tracing “the story of how once upon a time, Alzheimer’s was a rare disease, and then it became common, and then it turned into a crisis.” As with climate change, scientists have been warning us about the physical, emotional, and economic impact of dementia as members of our society age, leading to questions of policy and government involvement. Karlawish describes scientific advances, opportunities in social, environmental, and psychological interventions for patients and caregivers, as he “explains why and what we have to do.” This call to action is an extremely valuable resource written in an accessible manner, complete with notes, a glossary, selected bibliography, and helpful index.

The Postscript Murders by Elly Griffiths

THE POSTSCRIPT MURDERS by Elly Griffiths is everything a diverting murder mystery should be: clever play on words, likeable characters, humorous incidents, and plenty of twists and turns in a puzzling story. Award-winning author Griffiths has crafted a stand-alone mystery - although I would be happy to see a reprise of the amateur detectives Benedict (a former monk), Natalka (a caregiver), and Edwin (retired from the BBC) in the future. Together with Detective Sargeant Harbinder Kaur, they investigate the sudden death of an old age pensioner, Peggy Smith, who also advertised as a “murder consultant.” Often acknowledged by mystery writers for her help, Peggy dies shortly after spotting some suspicious men outside her own apartment complex. Motivated by friendship for Peggy and learning to trust each other, Benedict, Natalka, and Edwin travel to a literary festival in Aberdeen, Scotland where yet another death occurs and romance blossoms. Booklist gave THE POSTSCRIPT MURDERS a starred review. Enjoy!

The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan

THE KITCHEN FRONT is another terrific historical fiction novel by Jennifer Ryan (The Spies of Shilling Lane; The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir).  The story is set in rural England and focuses on four women, two of whom are sisters, all of whom are trying to change their lives.  A BBC-sponsored cooking contest in the midst of WWII rationing offers an opportunity for newly widowed Audrey who wants to be able to provide a more stable life for her three boys; for Gwendoline who craves approval especially from her rich, but abusive husband; for pregnant Zelda who seeks recognition as a professional chef; and for kitchen maid Nell who is just starting her adult life. Yes, there is sadness and jealousy, but also resourcefulness, perseverance, and true friendship. Overall, reading this book (a February2021 LibraryReads selection) will give you a warm feeling – it’s about overcoming hardship and learning to rely on each other, complete with recipes. Booklist calls THE KITCHEN FRONT “as soothing as a warm cup of Earl Grey” and “perfect for fans of The Great British Baking Show.” I totally agree – Enjoy!!

The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee

THE SUM OF US by Heather McGhee should definitely be on your “must-read” list.  McGhee, chairperson of the board of Color of Change which is the nation's largest online racial justice organization, writes about “What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together.” I was caught up in her introduction which describes her many years of research and analytical work for Demos (a think tank focusing on issues of inequality), plus her gradual realization that racism is holding ALL of us back, “allowing a false sense of group competition to become a self-defeating trap.” She cites research wherein “the authors [professors at NYU and Yale with ties to Northwestern] concluded that ‘making the changing national racial demographics salient led white Americans (regardless of political affiliation) to endorse conservative policy positions more strongly’.” Stop and think about it – we see it every day in terms of issues like school funding, wage inequality, health care biases and just this week in terms of infrastructure with the zero-sum stories and misinformation associated with the Texas power grid failures. 

McGhee’s book is one to read and re-read slowly. She appeared virtually at a Family Action Network event with Senator Elizabeth Warren; check out their discussion here:

THE SUM OF US received starred reviews from both Booklist and Publishers Weekly; plus, it was featured in a New York Times Op-Ed piece: “The Book That Should Change How Progressives Talk About Race.” In her book, McGhee says, “I fell in love with the idea that information in the right hands, was power.” Do add THE SUM OF US to your reading soon – I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Love in English by Marie E. Andreu

LOVE IN ENGLISH by Maria E. Andreu is a young adult novel which I am very happy to recommend for a number of reasons: plot, character development, and extremely clever use of language. The story centers around high school student Ana, a recent immigrant to the States who is trying to fit in. An English Language Learner, Ana is torn between her attraction to popular musician and fellow math student Harrison and to Neo, another recent immigrant who becomes a true friend. Ana speaks Spanish; Neo comes from Greece so they use halting English and translating apps to understand each other, eventually bonding over American films like The Breakfast Club. Andreu effectively conveys the confusion and frustration which Ana and her peers face by inserting #### amidst the dialogue when a teacher or other student speaks. The characters are appealing, especially Ana who is a skilled poet:

… Everything is a riddle.
Content: the stuff that fills my ESL notebook. The things I write.
Content: how I want to feel here.
Close: what my father wants me to do. Close the door on everything that came before. Close: how I want to feel. To someone.
I want a piece of peace A week without feeling weak A scene I’ve seen before.
I want to be whole, complete, unabridged, intact.

LOVE IN ENGLISH received a well-deserved starred review from School Library Journal. It’s an amazingly empathetic (Andreu herself is an immigrant) glimpse at fitting into a new culture: “putting down a life to pick up another one is hard, a swirl of regret and excitement and what-could-have-beens and what-will-bes” while also reminding readers that “the stories we tell ourselves make us who we are.” 

The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles

THE PARIS LIBRARY by Janet Skeslien Charles is a February2021 LibraryReads selection as well as being a “most anticipated book” for Library Journal and Goodreads. I truly enjoyed learning about the library (where Skeslien Charles has actually worked) and its functioning during WWII. The story alternates between Paris during the war where Parisian Odile is a young girl with her first job in the reading room and in Montana in the 1980’s where Odile, now widowed and a bit of a recluse, is neighbor to Lily who recently lost her mother. Readers will appreciate both the European setting with its sense of menacing German occupation and the more modern intergenerational story where Odile and Lily gradually set loneliness aside, develop trust, and support each other. A coming of age tale involving friendship, betrayal, and books.

The Upswing by Robert Putnam with Shaylyn Romney Garrett

THE UPSWING by Robert D. Putnam and Shaylyn Romney Garrett is subtitled “How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again.” These authors use graphs (simplified on the cover) to look at patterns in America of political polarization, economic inequality, social isolation, and cultural self-centeredness over the past 100+ years. They discuss an “I/WE/I” paradigm, illustrating the power of people coming together and hypothesize as to whether or not the country is at a “pivot moment.” I always feel like Putnam can look at a situation which I have been struggling to understand and succinctly and memorably explain it. He and Romney Garrett have succeeded again in this text which discusses factors like a moral lens, the possibility of youth driven change and role of association as both an end and a means. THE UPSWING received a starred review from Kirkus and the authors participated in a recent Family Action Network event that was moderated by our own Spiro Bolos. Several students attended virtually and all had positive reaction; here is a recording, if you would like to see it also:

Putnam and Romney Garrett  also recently co-authored a New York Times Op-Ed piece which is worth a look: “Why Did Racial Progress Stall in America?”

The Daughters of Yalta by Katz

THE DAUGHTERS OF YALTA by Catherine Grace Katz is based on actual events surrounding the WWII conference at Yalta.  Katz cleverly weaves historical happenings around the actions and background of three young women: Sarah Churchill, Anna Roosevelt, and Kathleen Lanier Harriman Mortimer. Each, of course, has a very famous father and the text also explores those relationships as well as social mores and expectations of the time.  It is a fascinating glimpse “behind the scenes” at a significant international conference between leaders at the end of WWII as well as the personal lives of those involved. THE DAUGHTERS OF YALTA received starred reviews from Kirkus and Publishers’ Weekly.  You, too, can “meet” the author virtually on Thursday, Feb. 18 at a program sponsored by The Wilmette Public Library and The Bookstall. There are more details available here.

Chatter by Ethan Kross

CHATTER by Ethan Kross deals with “The Voice in Our Head, Why It Matters, and How to Harness It.” Kross, a professor at the University of Michigan and director of the Emotion & Self Control Laboratory, explores verbal development and emotional development, describing how “as toddlers, speaking to ourselves out loud helps us learn to control ourselves.” He defines chatter as “consist[ing] of the cyclical negative thoughts and emotions that turn our singular capacity for introspection into a curse” and notes that “we spend one-third to one-half of our waking life not living in the present.” Building on an understanding of what the inner voice really is and the extent to which it can harm our bodies, he turns to the most helpful part of the book: a summary of tools and “techniques [which] involve shifting the way we think to control the conversations we have.” Kross divides these into three sections: “tools that you can implement on your own (e.g., reframe your experience as a challenge), tools that leverage your relationships with other people (both providing and receiving chatter support), and tools that involve your environment (e.g., create order, spend more time in green spaces).” Clearly of particular interest to our Psych students, CHATTER received starred reviews from both Kirkus and Publishers Weekly.