“Not Buying It- My Year Without Shopping” by Judith Levine
Considering the current state of the economy this was a very timely book to read. Levine and her partner set out on a year of buying only the necessities. The question of course becomes what is a necessity. Q-tips? Wine? A particular brand of socks? Bread, yes. Packaged cookies, no. Many issues arise as she records month by month their experience of being outside our consumer centered society. How do they have a social life without meeting friends for dinner or a movie or even a cup of coffee? They often meet for picnics. Does it count if a friend offers to pay their way? They learn to get creative in gift giving. They explore free entertainment. It’s an intriguing look into our spending habits and what happens when we break away from those habits. It’s made me pause over my purchases, giving rise to the old question of needs versus wants as well as the impact a particular purchase has on the planet. A thought-provoking read that I highly recommend.
“Prescription for a Superior Existence” a novel by Josh Emmons
This intriguing novel explores the lengths of self-improvement we go to in the never- ending quest for a better quality of life. Jack Smith is trapped in a vicious cycle of work, alcohol, pain killers and pornography when he is fired from his job and falls in love with the daughter of PASE’s founder. PASE is an up and coming new religion in California that claims to teach the Prescription for a Superior Existence. As Jack becomes more deeply involved his initial assumptions are tested and re-tested. At the spiritual training center Jack is surprised to find a sense of community but nothing and nobody is what they appear to be. Are he and the group headed for group transcendence or something more sinister? Read it to find out.
“More Than It Hurts You” a novel by Darin Strauss
I couldn’t read these 400 pages fast enough over Thanksgiving. It tells a disturbing story of a woman’s love for her husband and son and the desperate measures she will go to in order to create her ideal family life. The story revolves around Josh and Dori Goldin and their baby Zack who is rushed to the hospital by his mother. There they meet Dr. Darlene Stokes who becomes suspicious that Dori may be a case of Munchausen by proxy, a rare diagnosis where a mother intentionally harms her baby. The pace of the novel is just right. The omniscient narrator gives us the perfect distance and allows us to see the lives of many characters including Dr. Stokes’ early life with her mother as well as the father who abandoned them. The heart of the story centers on Josh as he watches his life crumble all around him. He is determined to fight for his family and has a staunch faith in his wife that is slowly eroded over the course of this heartbreaking, riveting novel.
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