1. Educated by Tara Westover. This is a true story of Westover’s upbringing as a Morman in a mountain village in Idaho. She stepped into her first classroom at age 17 after growing up isolated and working on her father’s junk yard.

It was excellent. It was engaging and interesting, and I didn’t want it to end. I wanted to learn more and hear more of Tara’s stories. I read a few more stories about her online, including this article where she had this to say about education:

“Education is discovery—it’s your mind growing, taking responsibility, letting go, and holding tight. It’s all of those things. It’s having enough knowledge and empathy for yourself and for other people to make decisions so that you can do well with the things you need to do. It’s that ability to have many different perspectives and different points of view.” (Oprah mag)

2. The Tiger’s Wife by Téa Obreht. Have I already mentioned this one? I can no longer remember. It was long but engaging. It was fantastical and interesting. I didn’t love it as much as everyone else seemed to have loved it, but I liked it, and it’s worth reading.

3. Inland by Téa Obreht. After The Tiger’s Wife, I added Inland to my audiobook queue. I really tried to get into it, but I couldn’t. I actually forced myself to finish it. I feel bad not finishing books. I just couldn’t get attached to the story or the characters.

4. The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah. It was excellent. It was hard to press stop on this one as I wanted to keep listening to learn how the story unfolded. This is a story about a family’s life in Alaska and the challenging and traumatic interactions between family members

5. Sula by Toni Morrison. I finished Sula this week and enjoyed it. This was the first Toni Morrison novel I have read/listened to, and I’m glad I did. It’s a story of friendship – and betrayal. The story had a nice pace and character development. I have a few other Morrison books in my queue, and I look forward to reading them.

Have a great weekend, everyone!