Little Fires Everywhere. Finished 11-8-17, rating 4.75.5, fiction, 338 pages, pub. 2017

In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is planned — from the layout of the winding roads, to the colors of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules.

Enter Mia Warren — an enigmatic artist and single mother — who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenaged daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the mother-daughter pair. But Mia carries with her a mysterious past and a disregard for the status quo that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community.

When old family friends of the Richardsons attempt to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a custody battle erupts that dramatically divides the town–and puts Mia and Elena on opposing sides. Suspicious of Mia and her motives, Elena is determined to uncover the secrets in Mia’s past. But her obsession will come at unexpected and devastating costs.  from Goodreads

We read this for my book group last night and we all liked it.  It also led to great discussion.  There are limitless things to talk about and over the course of appetizers, pizza, dessert and wine we touched on a lot of them. The author was in town (Shaker Heights where the story takes place) and a few of the members were able to go and hear her speak and they came away impressed with how intelligent she was.

Shaker Heights is a real place and I love it.  If not for Jason being put off by the high taxes I think I could get him to live there 🙂  Ng chose to show the Shaker that she grew up in and I think it’s fair, even though it has changed over the years it does still remain a progressive hotspot with old mansions lining picturesque streets.  The Richardson family embodies this perfectly.

Ng is genius at getting into the minds of so many different characters and giving them unique voices.  I understood and felt for every one of the characters in the book (save one who I just did not get – Izzy) and even when I didn’t like them I understood them.

The story centers around not only the fight over a baby left at a fire station by a distraught mother but also the mysterious Mia.  So many layers to this story and they were all connected by mothers.  What makes a good mother? At the end of this book I just wanted to hug Gage and tell him I was doing the best I could. One of the ladies in book club commented that it forced her to do a self-check on her own parenting skills.

I loved this book because it is overflowing with gray area. There are a few areas that I felt were black or white, but the rest was left for you to decide.  I admit that this one started slow for me (the only one in my group to feel this way), but by the hundred page mark I was hooked!  I loved Mia the most even though she was probably the one with the most issues.

Do yourself a favor and check it out.  Especially if you’re in a book club.

Finished 11-5-17, rating 4.25/5, 244 pages, pub. 2017

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In this urgent and insightful book, public radio journalist Celeste Headlee shows us how to bridge what divides us–by having real conversations

BASED ON THE TED TALK WITH OVER 10 MILLION VIEWS

Today most of us communicate from behind electronic screens, and studies show that Americans feel less connected and more divided than ever before. The blame for some of this disconnect can be attributed to our political landscape, but the erosion of our conversational skills as a society lies with us as individuals.

And the only way forward, says Headlee, is to start talking to each other. In We Need to Talk, she outlines the strategies that have made her a better conversationalist—and offers simple tools that can improve anyone’s communication.

Whether you’re struggling to communicate with your kid’s teacher at school, an employee at work, or the people you love the most—Headlee offers smart strategies that can help us all have conversations that matter.

I’d never heard of radio host Celeste Headlee, but I agreed to read whatever Trish sent me and she chose this little gem of a book.  It’s based on a Ted Talk, but my speakers aren’t working so I couldn’t listen, but I’d give it a try if you can since the book stems from that talk.

Headlee had me at her dedication, “For Grant: I wanted to be a better person so I could be a better mom.”  I think this speaks to so many parents out there.

This book is so timely in our current politicized environment and she touches on having discussions with people who differ on politics as well as having productive discussions with your boss or employees.

Did you know humans now have the attention span of a goldfish?  Technology over the last few years has made up skim and look for sound bites instead of taking the time to read or really listen.  I love to blog, but to post and read other blogs it takes more time that I sometimes have.  Throwing an update on Facebook takes less than a minute. This affects our conversations too.  How many times have you found your mind wandering when someone is talking?  Or just waiting for a break so that you could add your own story or comment?  Most of us are guilty.

This book was easy to read and had great information, even for people who think they don’t need help.  I like that she added lots of studies to back up her recommendations.  I found so many things to work on in my own conversations.

Here are a few tips for you.  Put away your phone!  Even having your phone on the table inhibits conversation.  Be present (meditation can help with this).  Be respectful and end on a good note.  It’s not about you.  Keep it short and don’t repeat (especially the negative stuff).  Ask open-ended questions and don’t unload your daily accomplishments on an unsuspecting acquaintance.

I really liked this one and can’t wait to try out some of the tips.

I want to thank TLC Book Tours for sending me a copy of the book so I could give you all my honest opinion.