August Reads 2022

The Collected Poems of Bertolt Brecht translated and edited by Tom Kuhn and David Constantine is a very long book of poetry. I finally finished reading The Collected Poems of Bertolt Brecht. It took me a full eight months to read this book having started it on January 1, 2022 and finished on August 31, 2022. Brecht's poems made me smile, squirm, and wince. Brecht's range of topics combined with his examinations of emotions makes for an intense, thought provoking, emotion provoking read. While some of the poems are definitely poems of the time in which they were written, they provide a glimpse into life during those times and often feel more apropos to today's world than one would think at first read. While I am very glad to be finished with this book, I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys poetry and/or those interested in World War II.

The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of An American Wine Dynasty by Julia Flynn Siler is an intriguing look inside the Mondavi family though Siler seems to have a bit of a bias toward Robert Mondavi over his brother, Peter. I really wished she had given a little more insight into Peter's family's side of the story. It started out incredibly interesting until an adjective here, an adverb there, and an opinion here and there, gave away the author's biases. She seems to excuse behavior from Robert Mondavi that she criticized from other people including Peter. This is in many ways a sad story of family dysfunction and company corruption.  I think a stronger contrast and exploration of what was happening with the Peter Mondavi family while The Robert Mondavi Winery was growing would have made the story far more interesting. To show how Peter's family was able to overcome the obstacles left them after Robert's lawsuit damaged them so much financially would have been a fascinating story especially when contrasted to the way Robert's family's success seemed to be their own undoing. Overall, The House of Mondavi was interesting and engaging if at times a bit frustrating to read.

Just Mercy:  A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson is a gripping examination of the United States judicial system and its failures. Stevenson makes a compelling call for reforming the system through the stories of several people receiving unjust treatment while focusing on the blatantly unjust case of Walter McMillan. Stevenson particularly shines a light on the problems people of color and poor people face when dealing with the judicial system. Just Mercy, with all its focus on what's wrong with the system, gave me hope that we can figure out how to mete out justice tempered with mercy. Just Mercy is well written and well worth the read. In fact, I would go so far as to say it's an important read that I would highly recommend.

Ongoing:

Oregon's Main Street: U.S. Highway 99 "The Stories" by Jo-Brew hasn't been the kind of read I expected. I started this book and expected to finish it very quickly; however, I soon realized I could only read it in small doses. I am close to finishing this book and should finish it in the next few days, so I'll have more thoughts on it next month. Basically it's the history of U.S. Highway 99 in Oregon told through the eyes of people who lived there at various times. Some stories are more gripping than others. Some are more insightful than others. Some are more inviting than others. I haven't fully formed my opinion of this book as a whole yet...

The Come as You Are Workbook: A Practical Guide to the Science of Sex by Emily Nagaski, Ph.D. - I'm still working through this book. So far, the exercises I've done have been easy enough and interesting.

52 Lists for Calm by Moorea Seal - I started this journal, but it will take all year to complete. It's a list journal with prompts that one fills out weekly rather than daily. Some prompts are better than others. I'm not enjoying this as much as I expected at this point.

52 Lists for Bravery by Moorea Seal - This is another list journal I started at the beginning of the year. Like the one for Calm, it is a weekly list journal with prompts. This one also has some prompts that are better than others. Maybe I've outgrown these journals because I'm not enjoying this one as much as I have ones in previous years. Or maybe I shouldn't have chosen to do two at the same time... Hhmmm!

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