Books worth harvesting all October long

 

Starting with nonfiction this month. First is a book all parents should read. “I Left My Homework in the Hamptons” by Blythe Grossberg, a PhD who supplemented her teaching income with private tutoring in NYC to the uber, ultra-wealthy. Excellent observations for all parents — money just magnifies mistakes parents may make. 

 

“Sidelined” by sportscaster Julie DiCaro relates the obstacles she faced being a woman in sports journalism and in particular the vicious trolling on social media. Reading about the struggle to get women access to players in the locker room, I was baffled by why any athlete needs or would want to be interviewed when they are trying to take a shower? 

 

Fiction

 

“Harlem Shuffle” by Colson Whitehead is an atmospheric dive into 1960s Harlem and a superbly written cast of characters. Carney is the protagonist and though he has a legit business, he also functions as a fence. Read it now before they start casting the inevitable Netflix series.

 

“Embassy Wife” by Katie Crouch takes us to Namibia and the ex-pat community there. The author is from Charleston and did live in Africa so she has the cred for this sharp-eyed and sharper witted story. A great read!

 

“Gordo” by Jaime Cortez is a collection of short stories centered on a migrant farm worker community in SoCal in the ’70s. Intimate, funny, enlightening. Highly recommend this book.

 

“Afterparties” by Anthony Veasna So is another short story collection highlighting the children of Cambodian refugees in California. The author, who went to Stanford, died shortly before this book was published to great acclaim. 

 

“Edge Case” by YZ Chin is the story of a young Chinese couple working in tech in NYC. When the husband disappears, the wife sets out to find him as well as discern what went wrong in the marriage. Immigration, the toxicity of tech culture, mothers and marriage are all under scrutiny here.

 

“Ramadan Ramsey” by Louis Edwards follows the title character as he searches for the father he never knew. His quest takes him from New Orleans to Turkey to Syria with the aid of sympathetic people along the way. I found the scenes with his New Orleans family to be superior.

 

“Tin Camp Road” by Ellen Airgood is set in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the small, close-knit community there. This is a warm-hearted story of a single mom with her young daughter staying true to their values and priorities through both physical and financial adversity.

 

“The Last Chance Library” by Freya Sampson is close to being treacly for me, but is a pleasant read when you have had enough deep-thinking literature and want a bit of relief. Set in small town England, it has humor, personal growth and a happy ending!

 

Visit Beckysbookclub.com for archives of these and all past reviews.