Susannah’s Spring, Summer Reading List…2024

I’ll start with our eminent United States Capitol, beginning with a favorite book of mine I’ve read many times.

The American Spirit: Who We Are And What We Stand For…David McCullough (2017) 

 He so eloquently reminds us of the Capitol’s sanctity, our very own Notre Dame standing majestically in our nations’s capital. Too many Americans think of it as just another building. After reading his A Building Like No Other, you’ll see that it’s farthest from the truth. Fifteen essays in 171 pages of sheer patriotism from start to finish. If every American read this book, the perception of what occurred on January 6, 2021, would undoubtedly be quite different.

The Last Campaign: Robert F. Kennedy and 82 Days That Inspired America…Thurston Clarke (2008) Another book I’ve read more than once I list to make a point. His son, Robert Kennedy Jr. who’s running as an Independent in the 2024 Presidential Election inspired it. Honored with his Father’s noble name, he can’t hold a candle to what Robert Francis Kennedy stood for and because of it, was struck down. Bobby, who loved children having eleven of his own, would be appalled at his second eldest being so fiercely anti-vaccine. And yes, I’m a Bobby fan.

 Founding Partisans: Hamilton, Madison, Jefferson, Adams and the Brawling Birth of American Politics… H.W. Brands (2023) I will say though a most illuminating read, is a little dense. To echo David McCullough…it has many notes, but not enough music. He often quotes these men whose collective brilliance needs to be patiently digested like a heavy meal. You can’t help wondering after fighting for freedom and our sacred Constitution, what they’d say about what’s happening presently in the country they helped sire. I just saw Hamilton with a gun and not aimed at Burr this time.

 As an aside, I added a picture of Henry William because he’s just so darned cute.

 John Hancock: Merchant King and American Patriot…Harlow Giles Unger (2000) Another Founding Father who’d be royally pissed off, and not because he was rich either. Raised by an uncle not having kids of his own, gave him the best of everything along with a wholehearted responsibility to help those less fortunate. When Hancock signed the Declaration of Independence in what we’d now call large print, he was displaying his love of a country that he and his comrades were still fighting for. The million dollar question? How can we allow those sullying it without putting up more of a fight ourselves?

 A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France and the Birth of America…Stacy Schiff (2006)     There’s so much about Benjamin Franklin that should be commonly known like at 70 being the oldest signer of The Declaration of Independence. That he sired the first lending Library in his beloved city of Philadelphia, along with its first synagogue allowing Jews to worship without having to hide. He was someone not afraid to stand up, again wishing he were here to say…

 NO, THAT’S NOT HOW DEMOCRACY WORKS MY FELLOW AMERICANS. THINK AGAIN!

 Stacy Schiff with prose so poignant, is one of the finest historians I’ve ever had the privilege of reading.

 I’ll veer off my self-righteousness for a second with two novels I throughly enjoyed both by a young writer who has stolen my heart.

 The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry (2014), and Young Jane Young (2017)…Gabrielle Zevin. The first is about a cranky man owning a bookstore whose life and disposition dramatically change when a baby girl is left on his doorstep.

  It may sound schmaltzy but is anything but. Zevin weaves words like nobody’s business so vivid you’ll think you’re naked in A.J.’s Love and Romance aisle.

Segueing into book two, Jane Young makes Monica Lewinsky look Amish, when as a young unpaid member of a charming politician’s reelection team gets seduced as if Bill Clinton was hired as a paid consultant.

 Cheesy? Oh yes, but we’re talking high-end Brie here, not Velveeta.

 Staying on topic…

  The Good Rat: A True Story…Jimmy Breslin (2008) As he sat in the courtroom daily gathering detail he became famous for, you shudder as the very first member of the Mob singing like a canary, rats out a slew of his peers that would have had Tony Soprano clutching his heart along with his gun. All I can say is, I couldn’t put it down missing Breslin more than ever. The picture of him I have framed on my wall.

Lady in the Lake…Raymond Chandler (1944) When I need a lavish distraction, Ray’s my man. After the body of a beautiful girl shows up, his Private Eye Philip Marlowe’s inner bloodhound comes out to solve the case.

 Once you get into Phil’s 1940’s snappy jargon that causes goose bumps, you’ll too be off to the races. I warn you though, men will suddenly find themselves sportin’ a fedora while we women haul out those seamed stockings we only wear when someone real special’s comin’ over. I’ll admit, Ray’s an acquired taste, like caviar, but once sampled, you can’t get enough.

  “The girl slept on, motionless, in that curled up looseness achieved by some women and all cats.”

   See what I mean?

The Alchemist…Paulo Coelho (1988) We accompany Santiago, a young shepherd boy, traveling to Egypt in search of a treasure he dreams about learning life’s lessons along the way. Translated from Portuguese, it’s 208 pages fly by, Coelho’s poetic prose touching one’s heart. You’ll see why it’s sold 150 million copies worldwide.

Robin…Dave Itzkoff (2018) A great biography of someone we all dearly miss. It covers everything from his struggles with addiction to his notorious acts of kindness. It’s a great read but with a warning label…

 Caution: May Cause Unstoppable Tears.

“I think the saddest people always try their hardest to make people happy. Because they know what it feels like to feel absolutely worthless and they don’t want anyone else to feel like that.” -Robin Williams 

 True West: Sam Shepherd’s Life, Work and Times…Robert Greenfield (2023) A short but definitive biography about an old-fashioned kinda guy, a prolific playwright, penning 58 plays before stoically dying at 73 in 2017 of ALS. His love affair with the actress Jessica Lange spanning thirty years, along with those words that poured out of him lace each page…a book beautifully written, one all writers along with hopeless romantics should read.

 Sam was quite the man. 

A 1000 Words: A Writer’s Guide To Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round…Jami Attenberg (2024) There’s nothing like a fresh writing book to rev one’s engine. I read it in three sittings as the author along with fifty other respected writers share what they feel and know. Like in any book of its ilk, you prune and keep what resonates. One sentence that did for me was Attenberg recommending when one needs inspiration to read, walk, breathe and think. Yes, I wrote that down thinking it would make a great tattoo one day.

 Look For Me There…Luke Russert (2023) A poignant memoir that begins when he’s 22 with the sudden death of his well-loved Father, Tim Russert we too came to love on his longtime show, Meet The Press. Tim’s only son recaps everything from the moment he hears to how he handled his grief traveling all over the world searching for answers. I always admire candor since you’re naked on the page, and Luke bravely holds nothing back giving the rest of us inspiration to do the same.

 Master of Ceremonies: A Memoir…Joel Grey (2016) This was short, fun and shocking since after he goes home (why, one doesn’t know) to tell his loyal wife of many years he’s bisexual, who can’t handle it and leaves, decides he’s now one-hundred percent gay. Considering Cabaret is what he’s best known for, it’s surely life imitating art. I came away admiring him to finally find the courage to be who he is without regret nor apology.

Cocktails with George and Martha: Movies, Marriage, and the Making of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf…Philip Gefter (2024) If you like good gossip written well about Broadway, Hollywood and stars like Liz and Dick, this book’s for you. I read its 290 explosive pages in three days. The playwright Edward Albee who wrote the original play, looms large changing the rules of acceptable theater forever, while the director, Mike Nichols broke all film barriers in mainstream movie making. A 4 star read, and then some since the opulence of the Burtons gives entitlement a whole new face.

 If This Isn’t Nice What Is: The Graduation Speeches and Other Words to Love By…Kurt Vonnegut (2020 Third Edition) I’m a huge Kurt fan so this hearty collection was a treat. If you’ve ever been lucky enough to read his books, you know he wasn’t a nine-to-fiver. I did wonder during many of his college commencement speeches, what the parents of the students thought of his eccentric, no holds barred views. I couldn’t help loving him though for not giving a damn.

 And so it goes. 

Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning…Liz Chaney (2024) I’ll end the way I started with a compelling recap of what occurred at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021 by someone who was there. To say it was chilling wouldn’t do it justice along with the heroism of a woman who knew, by standing up for what was right, would cost her dearly. I respect Elizabeth Chaney profoundly for placing her avid patriotism way above party.

 If only every American followed her lead.

 Happy reading everyone…

 and always remember it’s a privilege.

   Susannah