2013 Reading, Books 19-21

19) What's the Matter with White People? Why We Long for a Golden Age that Never Was, by Joan Walsh.

Basically, a history of American politics from the Kennedy years to the present, from a Democratic perspective, filtered through the author's urban Irish-American family and their experiences. I was surprised to see how much resonance there was with my own family, which is more Scots-Irish and rural Southern than anything else. And that's all I'll say on this one, lest I get more political than I like on my writer blog...

20) Book Which Shall Not Be Named #4. My final Rita contest entry for the year, and another strong one. I'll be rooting for it and #3 to show up in the finals.


21) France (Eyewitness Travel)

Because I really am that much of a planner, I'm already reading travel guides to prepare for my Summer 2015 trip. While I'm overwhelmed by how much there is to see in France--the only way to really make it work would be to move there for several years--I finished the book with a rough idea of where I'm going to go in the few weeks I have to devote to France, and what wonderful places will have to wait for some future visit. (Must arrange to be Healthy Old Lady in 25-30 years, so I can spend my retirement years puttering around Europe!)

While I didn't read this entire book in the sense of finishing every single page (no point in reading, say, long lists of hotel rooms for a trip that's still two years away, or spending much time on the sights of parts of France I know I can't fit in my itinerary), I'm counting it anyway.