Book: Never Enough

 Book: Never Enough

Author: Jennifer Wallace

Pages: 320

This is my 96th read for the year

The author takes a deep dive in the book into the pressures kids face these days related to getting ahead.  Some starting as early as elementary school - they feel like they are in a race to pack their schedules with top classes, tons of extra cirricular activites and multiple sports just in hopes of securing a spot in a top college.  What has happened is an increase of anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and even self harm.  Parents are not helping.  Social media is not helping.  Kids are hearing from every angle that no matter what they do - it will never be enough.

I am glad I found this book.  I actually attended a talk the author gave in relation to college admissions, and then read her book.  I have two juniors in high school and we are in the thick of a college search.  And this book gave me a chance to take a step back.  Parents tend to get wrapped up in the college search right along with their kids and see the pressures that kids are under.  Kids have so much pressure today and feel they don't matter unless they do "xyz" - whatever that may be.  They feel like their accomplishments are what define them.  

One of my favorite quotes from the book is this: "“our kids are absorbing the idea that their worth is contingent on their performance—their GPA, the number of social media followers they have, their college brands—not for who they are deep at their core. They feel they only matter to the adults in their lives, their peers, the larger community, if they are successful.”

Parents need to stop putting kids on their shoulders to get them above everyone else.  I want my kids to know that where they go to college WILL NOT MATTER.  I want kids who decide not to go to college, or go into a trade, or go on to work that they are worth every bit as much as that kid who went to Harvard.  College, and life, are what you make it.  

My kids will find their people.  They will find their way.  And yours will too.  Check this book out to gain some perspective.

Stars: 4.5

Book: The College Conversation

 Book: The College Conversation

Author: Eric Furda and Jacques Steinberg

Pages: 288

This is my 95th read for the year

This is a guide for parents from starting the college search with your kids through dropping them off for their first day of college.  It even goes through what happens when that decision doesn't work out and the kid wants to transfer.  It is a guide to help parents navigate when to step in and when to back off.  It lays out how to make the college list - what parents and kids should be looking for, as well as things to look for when you can take a college tour.  There is a section on financial aid and how to make smart choices before a kid gets excited about a college to make sure it is affordable for a family.

This was a great book.  It was recommended to me by a friend (her college classmate was one of the authors) and I am glad I read it.  I definitely see me going back and referring to some of their worksheets as we get deeper into the college process this year.

Stars: 4

Book: Country of the Blind

 Book: Country of the Blind

Author: Andrew Leland

Pages: 368

This is my 94th read for the year

This non-fiction book is based on the author's experience going blind from Retinitis Pigmentosa.  As he deals with his continuing deminishing vision, he talks about how it is for him, and his family.  As he weaves his personal story throughout the book he interviews others who are blind due to various reasons - some from birth, and some from childhood or adulthood.  Through these encounters he discovers different views of blindness and how blind people view their own worlds and how others view them.  

This was a pretty good book.  It gets into the weeds a bit and a bit more dry than I was hoping for, but overall a good read.  He does a good job seeking out different people who are vision impaired and recounting their stories and how they view their worlds and their blindness.  He meets many very successful blind people but also touches on how many blind people still struggle with support and employment.  

With my own daughter having basically a childhood version of Retinitis Pigmentosa (she has Lebers Congenital Amaurosis) and we watch her vision deminish, these books always hit home for me.  I was glad to see so many happy, successful, fullfilled people who are blind.

Stars: 4

Book: The Bookbinder

 Book: The Bookbinder

Author: Pip Williams

Pages: 448

This is my 94th read for the year

This story is about Peggy and Maude - two twin sisters who work as bookbinders in 1914.  It is war time, and in between bookbinding, Peggy starts to volunteer at a local hospital for wounded soldiers.  Peggy aspires to be a student at Oxford and have access to all the books and use her intellect for more than just folding pgaes for other people.  With support from friends she met at the local hospital, she decides to apply to the college.  However - she has recently fallen in love with a wounded Belgium soldier and worried that their relationship will hold them back.

This was an okay book.  I liked the story of Peggy and her sister Maude (who is disabled).  I liked learning about the bookbinding that happened during the war, and the opportunities at Oxford for women at that time period.  However - the part where Peggy decides to study and apply for the college were way too drawn out.  And the ending was not at all satisfactory.

Stars: 3

Book: Bag of Bones

 Book: Bag of Bones

Author: Stephen King

Pages: 544

This is my 92nd read for the year

This is the story of Mike Noonan.  A best selling author whose wife just died.  He develops writer's block after her death, and decides to escape to their cabin called Sara Laughs to try and begin again.  While he is there, strange things start to happen.  HE also meets a woman named Mattie and her little girl, Kyra, and gets involved in trying to help them escape Mattie's father in law who wants to take custody of Kyra.  As he falls in love with both of them, things take a tragic turn, and Mike is left to try and figure out how to stop the ghostly visions he keeps having.

This was a pretty good book.  It is well written and the story flowed a long nicely.  It, of course, is quite long and the ending was okay.  I appreciated the Epilogue, but would have liked to have seen it a bit more into the future than it was.

Stars: 4

Book: Duma Key

 Book: Duma Key

Author: Stephen King

Pages: 640

This is my 91st read for the year

This is the story of Edgar Freemantle.  He loses his right arm in a terrible construction accident, and it takes him months to recover.  As he recovers, his mind starts playing tricks on him and he attacks his wife.  His wife - unable to take how unstable Edgar has become - divorces him and Edgar decides he needs to get away to recover so he moves to Duma Key.  He rents a house owned by a woman named Elizabeth Eastlake and befriends some of the locals.  As he heals, he begins to paint, and local artist discover that he is really good.  His pictures, though, start to become a portal to ghost of Elizabeth's past, and as bad things start to happen around Edgar, he and his friends have to figure out how to stop it.

This was an okay book.  It took me a long time to finish because it is a very slow burn, and started to become a bit of a slog.  I am a fan of King, but sometimes I wish he would stop with the verbal diahrrea and get to the point.  This book could have been half the size and still wrapped up the point nicely.  I really liked Edgar's friend, Wireman, and Edgar wasn't a bad character either.  It just wasn't much of a "thriller" and lacked the depth I was hoping for in a King novel.

Stars: 3

Book: Who Gets In and Why: A Year Inside College Admissions

 Book: Who Gets In And Why - A Year Inside College Admissions

Author: Jeff Selingo

Pages: 320

This is my 90th read for the year

This is the author's story of following several students and several colleges admission process throughout one year.  Jeffrey Selingo visits a selective private university, an elite liberal arts college, and a flagship public college to get some insight on how admissions officers are choosing students to attend their institutions.  He also follows several students who have big dreams that change over the course of the year as they apply to schools.  He delves into how getting in is more than good grades and SAT scores - especially in a world now that schools are becoming test optional.  He shows that colleges do have an agenda - and meeting that agenda, and often their bottom line - is more important than the student.

This was a great book.  I have two high school juniors who are starting to make a college list.  The author follows these students in 2019, but he has updated the book with information as it relates to post-pandemic admissions and even the 2023 students who were enrolling.  He talks deeply about how getting into college has changes with a large uptick in students applying and school going test optional and how prooving that you are a well rounded but serious student is the name of the game.  It went from giving me great information also to giving me the cold hard reality that getting into college - especially the ones that kids dream about - is a shot in the dark. The author shares many stories of sitting in the admissions offices and listening to how students are picked (or not).  I also enjoyed following along with the students whose dreams of very elite colleges got a hard dose of reality come spring when their acceptance letters came.

For me it gave me some good ideas to help my kids narrow their search and ultimately help them find a place where they will be happy.  College is what you make it is the theme of this book and a good message.

Stars: 4.5