The Bright Side by Sumit Paul-Choudhury

It has been a week for news, right? Feels as though we would all welcome the more positive perspective that is explored in a couple of new non-fiction texts.

THE BRIGHT SIDE by Sumit Paul-Choudhury is subtitled “How Optimists Change the World, and How You Can Be One.” Paul-Choudhury is a former Editor-in-Chief of New Scientist, with training as an astrophysicist and work experience as a financial journalist. The Guardian described this book as “An engaging, if slightly disjointed romp through the science and psychology of optimism.” As I read, I found myself thinking of Ted Lasso and his BELIEVE sign. Paul-Choudhury breaks the book into three sections, plus a somewhat theoretical Epilogue, a Bibliography, and an Index. He begins with talking about his wife’s untimely death and emphasizes that “Optimism, far from leading us to passively await our fates, can help us to actively explore our limitations -- and transcend them.” Indeed, there is a definite bias towards action; The Wall Street Journal review features this quote: “If we want the world to be better tomorrow than it is today,” Mr. Paul-Choudhury writes, “we first have to expect that it will be. Then we have to imagine the ways in which it could be. And then we have to ensure that it will be.”

Readers might try pairing this book with Hope for Cynics; by Jamil Zaki who argues that hopeful skepticism is a valuable and precise way of understanding others and that it can rebalance our view of human nature, thereby helping us build the world we truly want. An interview with the author, a professor of psychology at Stanford University and the director of the Stanford Social Neuroscience Lab, is available here on PBS NewsHour:

Mrs Hudson and the Capricorn Incident

MRS HUDSON AND THE CAPRICORN INCIDENT by Martin Davies is Book 7 in the series; Others include Mrs Hudson and the Malabar Rose and Mrs Hudson and the Christmas Canary. Davies follows a similar pattern with Mrs. Hudson and the housemaid, Flotsam, integral to solving a case while righting other wrongs along the way. In this case, there is to be a royal wedding, but both bride and groom have gone missing, and an international crisis is brewing. Simultaneously, the amusing socialite Miss Peters is upset about people who are being swindled and she, too, contributes to a solution by leveraging her many connections. Flotsam’s quiet bravery and Mrs. Hudson’s clever, careful thinking are very much on display. As Flotsam says, “It seemed utterly impossible that Mrs Hudson should know so much … when everyone else knew so little, but of course Mrs Hudson did have a habit of knowing things that no one else knew, so although I was bewildered, I wasn't perhaps as astonished as you might expect.” Enjoy this light, entertaining mystery.

The Happy Writer by Marissa Meyer

THE HAPPY WRITER by Marissa Meyer is one of the better books that I have found about writing. I say that because it offers a myriad of practical suggestions and, as Meyer says, is written to connect the readers with their intrinsic love of writing as they “build a foundation of happiness, a love of words, a passion for telling stories, and appreciation of our own bizarre and beautiful imaginations.” Meyer divides her thoughts into six sections that deal with cultivating creativity, setting goals, crafting and revising a first draft, pursuing publication, overcoming common challenges, and finding big payoffs through little joys. For example, she mentions developing a story playlist and listening to different types of music. A very established and best-selling writer herself, Meyer has been providing similar pointers on her Happy Writer podcast and this text certainly offers suggestions on many, many ways to “Get More Ideas, Write More Words, and Find More Joy from First Draft to Publication and Beyond.” I received a preview copy of the text and an audiobook file read by the author. For me, Meyer’s voice was a bit strident, and I found it difficult to focus and retain so many ideas when listening. Personally, I would prefer a print version where I could scribble and highlight – and I would because her ideas are useful and motivating. Meyer even includes a list of sources and further reading like Joyful by Lee, plus writing classics like Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott or Stephen King’s On Writing.  Meyer has added a great pep talk for aspiring and established writers!

Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao

WATER MOON by Samantha Sotto Yambao has an absolutely beautiful cover and contains a story full of wonder that will touch your heart. Imagine if you could leave your deepest regret at a pawnshop. Hana and her father manage such a magical place and she is almost ready to follow fate and take over the Tokyo shop until one day when a young physicist, Keishin, enters. The two of them begin an amazing adventure as they try to locate Hana’s father who has disappeared in his own attempt to find her mother (long thought to be dead). Confusing? Yes, but so are bending the rules of logic, such as riding a rumor or jumping through puddles to move from place to place. Both Hana and Kei are in danger and learn to make sacrifices as they gradually acknowledge their mutual attraction. WATER MOON received starred reviews from both Booklist (“charming, fresh, and difficult to put down”) and Library Journal (“readers … will fall hard for the mix of magical realism, fantasy mystery, and star-crossed romance”) and was a LibraryReads selection for January 2025.  

Work in Progress by Kat Mackenzie

WORK IN PROGRESS by Kat Mackenzie is a very light, romance novel which features glimpses of a tour around the United Kingdom, complete with a reading list (see below) associated with each of the stops. That alone would be great fun, but readers observe the bickering turned attraction between a recently jilted young American woman named Alice Cooper (who loves lists) and the tour bus driver and organizer, Scotsman Robbie Brodie. Their adventures in castle ruins and local pubs are often funny and somewhat absurd, but that just adds to the escapist appeal of this debut travelogue rom-com. WORK IN PROGRESS received a starred review from Booklist (“Readers will enjoy the abundant gentle humor, intergenerational friendships, and armchair travel—as well as the slow burn of a tasteful romance.”) Suggested for fans of Katherine Center and Beth O’Leary.

Reading List: Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson; The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown; The Waverly Novels by Sir Walter Scott; Dracula by Bram Stoker; Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte; A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare; The Liar by Stephen Fry; The Adventures of the Second Stain by Arthur Conan Doyle; Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome; Persuasion by Jane Austen; Sixpence House: Lost in a Town of Books by Paul Collins; Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas; Selected Poems by Robert Burns; Whisky Galore by Compton Mackenzie; To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf; Outlander by Diana Gabaldon; 44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith; With numerous references to Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding; And a couple of bonus titles: Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus by John Gray and Water for Elephants by Sarah Gruen. 

The Heart of Winter by Jonathan Evison

THE HEART OF WINTER by Jonathan Evison (Lawn Boy and This is Your Life, Harriet Chance)is an absolutely gorgeous novel about roughly seventy years of marriage between Abe (an insurance salesman) and Ruth (wishes to be a poet) Winter. Using flashbacks from the present day, Evison writes movingly about their relationship, including meeting as undergraduates at University of Washington, moving to Bainbridge Island, raising four children, and facing a serious health crisis. Throughout, he eloquently illustrates life changes such as when he comments on having adult children: “The audacity. The presumption. The indignity. It seemed a cruel arrangement that one's children, the very nurslings who once drooled on your shirt collar and threw up on your lapel, who wet the bed and … depended upon you for every little comfort, nay, for their very survival, one day grew into sanctimonious, domineering, irredeemable despots, hell bent on infantilizing you as though it were the natural order.” THE HEART OF WINTER squarely addresses mortality (“Tomorrow: the day we all took for granted as we plotted and planned our futures.”) and marriage (“… a marriage requires maintaining, and amending, for it is more than a binding commitment, it is a process, one that demands participation, a willingness to absorb, to accept, to reassess”). This novel, based in part on Evison’s mother’s response to health challenges, would be an excellent selection for book groups, especially as it portrays societal expectations and the roles of men and women in the second half of the twentieth century. THE HEART OF WINTER received a starred review from Booklist (“One of our very best writers, Evison expertly details the hopes and dreams, sacrifices and tragedies of family life.”). Highly recommended.

The Disengaged Teen by Anderson and Winthrop

THE DISENGAGED TEEN is a newly released work by Jenny Anderson, an award-winning journalist who reports on the science of learning, and Rebecca Winthrop, the director of the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. Their book is directed to both parents and educators and is subtitled “Helping Kids Learn Better, Feel Better, and Live Better.” We all know that especially since COVID students have had a more difficult time re-acclimating to a school setting and staying motivated and engaged. The authors also observed this situation in their own families and conducted extensive research – both qualitative and quantitative - prior to writing this text. Part I describes the four patterns of behavior they found: Passenger (tending to coast along); Achiever (focusing on grades and other external rewards, perfectionist); Resister (refusing to do participate); and Explorer (following interests and building necessary skills). Anderson and Winthrop caution against applying these labels to individual students, arguing instead that the behaviors are fluid. Part II of the book is an “engagement toolkit” with stories, exercises, and ideas so that adults can help to spark student learning and to make the distance between school and life be seen as less of a “chasm.” The authors point out that “resilient learners are not strong; they are flexible.” Anderson and Winthrop recently contributed a guest essay to The New York Times where they note: “Many recent graduates aren’t able to set targets, take initiative, figure things out and deal with setbacks — because in school and at home they were too rarely afforded any agency.” I also attended a recent one hour Family Action Network session where Charles Duhigg (Supercommunicators) posed some excellent questions while interviewing these authors about THE DISENGAGED TEEN. Due to the emotions involved, this may be a difficult book for parents to digest, but it is likely to be thought-provoking and worthwhile. 

The Note by Alafair Burke

THE NOTE by Alafair Burke is a dark, suspenseful mystery which merited a LibraryReads selection for January 2025. Three friends, May, Kelsey, and Lauren are at the center of the story. Each has been previously involved in a scandal. Half-Chinese, half-white lawyer May became known as “Asian DA Karen” after a viral video. Kelsey (white, wealthy, and spoiled) is infamous as a murder suspect due to the shooting death of her husband. And Lauren, a gifted Black musician, has struggled for professional recognition after her long-standing affair with a married donor was made public. Suddenly there is another disappearance during their Hamptons vacation reunion, and they are increasingly under suspicion by the local police. Their friendship comes under strain while Burke supplies numerous twists that keep the pace hopping and readers guessing about more than one murder.   

Simply Jamie and Cold Kitchen

SIMPLY JAMIE by Jamie Oliver is the latest cookbook for this renowned chef and here he offers suggestions for “Fast & Simple Food.” Oliver divides the recipes between five sections: Midweek Meals, Weekend Wins, One Pan Dinners, Pantry Love and Delicious Desserts. The recipes, like Spiced Cashew Chicken or one of the 8 Cool Ways with Salmon, are comprised of relatively few ingredients and are accompanied by a time estimate to prepare (generally a half hour or less). I am intrigued by Baked Bolognese Crepes, as he says, two big hitters with families. The pictures are colorful and appealing and both air fryer directions and nutrition information are available. SIMPLY JAMIE is a great addition to his many other popular cookbooks.

COLD KITCHEN by Caroline Eden (Samarkand) is subtitled “A Year of Culinary Travels” and contains only a dozen recipes. Instead, Eden describes her travels and reflections on various cuisines as from her Edinburgh kitchen she attempts to recreate favorite dishes like soup from Poland or dessert from Latvia. I found the text to be rather dense and was hoping for a narrative more similar to Ruth Reichl’s Garlic and Sapphires, for example. However, Kirkus gave COLD KITCHEN a starred review and The Wall Street Journal also offers a more thorough and positive review.

Sleep Drink Breathe by Michael Breus

SLEEP DRINK BREATHE by Michael Breus is subtitled “Simple Daily Habits for Profound Long-Term Health” and focuses on the basics. Breus is a double-boarded clinical psychologist and clinical sleep specialist who stresses that “doing something adequately, or at the bare minimum, is not the same as doing it well and getting more out of your effort.” He begins with a discussion of what he calls the first domino and his primary area of expertise, sleep. In that and subsequent sections he provides simple facts, offers assessment tools (e.g., sleep diary), reviews troubleshooting options (e.g., maintain a consistent sleep schedule), and provides scientifically based best practices. Breus frequently summarizes helpful Takeaways and then outlines a three-week Sleep-Drink-Breathe Plan. That plan involves five “check-ins” with accompanying activities throughout the day and commitment might be higher if readers encourage a friend to join them.  Although some chapters of SLEEP DRINK BREATHE are stronger than others, the tone throughout is conversational and generally uplifting. As readers review this text, they may also be interested in a recent New York Times article (quoting Breus and other experts) about relatively easy health tips.

Resurrection Walk by Michael Connelly

RESURRECTION WALK (Nov. 2023) by Michael Connelly is a Lincoln Lawyer story featuring Mickey Haller and his half-brother, Harry Bosch, a retired LAPD cop. They have recently combined forces to establish an Innocence Project of sorts, identifying and helping to free wrongly accused individuals. Here, they take the case of Lucinda Sanz, a young mother and former wife of a sheriff’s deputy she was found guilty of murdering. Was it all a frame-up? Bosch, Haller, and his team ultimately believe so and repeatedly run into roadblocks as they try to convince a judge to allow new technological evidence on behalf of their client. RESURRECTION WALK received starred reviews from Booklist (“The Lincoln Lawyer TV series should propel readers to this latest Connelly novel.”) and Kirkus (“Connelly never lets you forget, from his title onward, the life-or-death issues behind every move in the game.”). At one point, Haller reflects, “but nothing could ever beat the resurrection walk--when the manacles come off and the last metal doors slide open like the gates of heaven, and a man or woman declared innocent walks into the waiting arms of family, resurrected in life and the law. There is no better feeling in the world than being with that family and knowing you were the one who made it so.”

The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny

THE GREY WOLF by Louise Penny is number 19 in the Inspector Gamache mystery series set in Three Pines, Quebec. The title comes from a tale about a Cree elder who referred to two wolves who war inside each of us. One is strong and compassionate, wise and courageous, the forgiving Grey Wolf; the other, the Black Wolf, is vengeful, unforgiving, cruel, cunning and brutal. And once again, Gamache faces evil – this time related to a threat to the infrastructure and an environmental challenge: “How lucky he'd been. To be of a generation that believed it would last forever. The forests and clean rivers, the fresh air. His was the last generation, as it turned out.” Jean Guy and Isabelle are stalwart aides as they seek to prevent terrorism and to root out treachery and corruption, travelling to homeless shelters, remote monasteries, and the Vatican itself. In her Acknowledgements, Penny provides an eloquent summary: “The Gamache books are proudly crime novels, … but at their core they are about community. Acceptance. Belonging. Courage. The books are about the triumph of love and the power of friendship about trying to do better. Progress, not perfection.” THE GREY WOLF received starred reviews from Booklist, Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly (“one of the series’ best”). I was sorry to learn that Book People had run out of copies when I visited, but it appears they have restocked and they conveniently list ALL of the titles in this excellent series. Note: number 20, The Black Wolf, is scheduled for 2025!

Rental House by Weike Wang

RENTAL HOUSE by Weike Wang (Chemistry and Joan is Okay) is another introspective and reflective look at the experiences of a young woman, Keru who generally felt, “these were her duties. To assimilate, work nonstop, make money, and provide.” She and her husband, Nate who is an academic, offer separate times at their Cape Cod rental house to their parents and that proves an instructive contrast between their families and even their worldviews; for example: “Expats left wealthy nations to humble themselves at the altar of the world, immigrants escaped poorer nations to be the work force of the rich. For Nate, the word immigrant sat closer to migrant or refugee, and though an expat did move overseas for work opportunities, much like immigrants, the term also seemed to imply vacation and adventure…” The couple clearly struggles to meet the expectations of their own parents and to form connections with their in-laws in the first part of the book. In the second, they are more established in their own careers and patterns, but something is still lacking as evidenced by the uncomfortable relationship with neighbors at a second vacation home in the Catskills. “They were co-dependent, she and Nate. Without her, he lost grounding, but without him, she could be relentless and too focused.” Despite the affection they show for their dog, Mantou, neither is prepared to have children, another aspect that feeds feelings of inadequacy.  Like Wang’s other novels, book groups would have much to discuss, including gender roles, white privilege, misogyny, and xenophobia. RENTAL HOUSE received starred reviews from Library Journal and Publishers Weekly as well as praise from book reviewers at The New York Times (perceptively noting, “Even as you flee a family, you carry it along with you, in memories of how and who you learned to be in the past.”) and The Washington Post (“As in any good novel, the answers are few, but the questions multiply.”).