The Memory Library by Kate Storey

THE MEMORY LIBRARY by Kate Storey is meant to be a feel good book about a mother, Sally, and daughter, Ella. Sally lives in Greenwich, London and her estranged daughter has lived for over 20 years in Australia. Ella, modeling on her father, is very work-focused and relies on husband Charlie to care for their house and 8-year-old daughter, Willow. When Sally has a fall and needs care, Ella reluctantly heads back to England where over the course of six weeks she learns to more fully appreciate her mother and the values of the people (neighbors, local shopkeepers, library patrons) who care for Sally. I listened to the audiobook which is narrated by Jilly Bond and Imogen Wilde.  I found their voices to be quite soothing and able to vividly evoke Sally’s neighborhood environment as well as the emotions in the conversations with Ella. THE MEMORY LIBRARY seems to have garnered very positive reader response so I think there is a wide audience, especially amongst bibliophiles, but I found it dragged a bit and Ella was not at all a sympathetic character. She was extremely self-centered: “…she didn't like talking. If she was queen of the world, all personal problems would be resolved by leaving them alone and getting on with things. All talking did was allow other people to tell you what they thought you were doing wrong.” Although Ella clearly matured over the course of the story, it was difficult at times to think that she would have changed so dramatically in the relatively short time that she cared for Sally. As a former teacher, Sally modeled life lessons like “check your privilege and remember that who you are is more important than what you have.” It was fun to reflect on the many books referenced throughout the story (e.g., The Alchemist, Persuasion, We All Want Impossible Things, The Life of Pi) and gratifying to see that Ella ultimately realizes that “It was only when she discovered the books and the way Sally had continued her tradition [of gifting one with an inscription to Ella each year] that she'd fully appreciated how loved she was. Through rebuilding the library Ella had learned so much about her mother but also about herself.” 

I Heard There Was a Secret Chord by Daniel J. Levitin

I HEARD THERE WAS A SECRET CHORD by Daniel J. Levitin (This is Your Brain on Music) is listed as Notable Non-Fiction in the August LibraryReads selections. It is a very well-written and accessible book which explores the idea of “Music as Medicine.” Levitin, a neuroscientist, musician, and best-selling author, splits the text into sixteen chapters dealing with topics like music memory, attention, mental health, pain, and trauma. He offers, for example, an entire chapter which discusses Parkinson’s disease, describing it as primarily a movement disorder, and points out how sometimes the tempo of music can be a help. Another chapter is titled Music in Everyday Life where Levitin explores concepts like the benefits of having music playing at home on a regular basis versus the potential distraction effect of having music playing in a workplace. There, he notes, “the optimal use of music is to step back from your work, close your eyes, and listen to music before going back to work.” What is another fun application of music he suggests? As an icebreaker before a meeting or class – I have used this technique, and it definitely works. There is much to learn about music therapy, memory stimulation (watch the smiles music evokes at an assisted living facility), or recent laboratory research. Levitin shares it all and includes an Appendix about Types of Music Therapy, plus a Glossary, and a Notes/reference section which together comprise about twenty percent of the text. I HEARD THERE WAS A SECRET CHORD received a starred review from Kirkus (“Levitin’s story is a fascinating piece of work, written with authority, empathy, and occasional humor.”). A few related texts are reviewed here. For a sample of Levitin’s writing, please see his recent opinion piece in The Washington Post, titled “A playlist for peace talks.”

Why We Remember by Charan Ranganath

I requested a preview copy of WHY WE REMEMBER by Charan Ranganath after reading his guest essay which explains the difference between little “f” forgetting (fairly common retrieval failure) and capital “F” Forgetting (lost or completely gone memories) in The New York Times. Ranganath has spent decades studying memory mechanisms and is currently a Professor at the Center for Neuroscience and Department of Psychology and director of the Dynamic Memory Lab at the University of California at Davis. His new book is subtitled “Unlocking Memory's Power to Hold on to What Matters” and he writes in detail about how the brain works and the various experiments in his research. The content is fascinating (e.g., how false memories are built), but complex at times. Ranganath emphasizes that “your remembering self is constantly - and profoundly - shaping your future by influencing just about every decision you make.” He includes extensive notes (roughly fifteen percent of the text) and bibliographic references (another twenty percent) in support of his arguments. This text also made me think about a much older book from Joshua Foer called Moonwalking with Einstein which first introduced me to the method of loci or creating a “memory palace.” Although sometimes academic in tone, WHY WE REMEMBER received a starred review from Publishers Weekly (“Approachable and enlightening, this is worth seeking out.”).