NEW FEATURE: What We're Reading Right Now
The GotD team shares their TBR stacks!
We're always on the hunt for fascinating stories! If you are, too, take a look at our reading lists and see if any of these subjects inspires you. And don't forget to leave us a comment - what are you into right now? Let us know!
At the moment I am meandering through a few different books: Nicholas Pileggi’s 1995 Mafia narrative, “Casino,” Kate Bennett's 2019 exploration of America's most enigmatic First Lady, “Free, Melania,” Alex Michaelides’ 2019 psychological thriller, “The Silent Patient," and Alicia Blando, MD’s 2023 memoir of her unconventional quest for insight into the body and mind, “Open for Interpretation: A Doctor's Journey into Astrology.”
I just finished Pileggi's explosive 1985 as-told-to narrative, “Wise Guy,” which was immortalized as the 1990 film “Goodfellas;" this book, "Casino,” was made into the 1995 movie of the same name. and I'm astonished to have enjoyed it so much. I expect I'll end up pretty far down this rabbit hole, pursuing everything Pileggi has written. I was never especially interested in organized crime, but Pileggi's subjects led fascinating lives, and he has a real gift for recounting them in stylish, edge-of-your-seat fashion.
“Free, Melania" takes the misplaced leftie rallying cry and turns it on its ear: Melania Trump doesn't need to be freed. Her situation in life is one of her own choosing; indeed, Bennett's book explains that Donald Trump's 2015 decision to enter the Presidential race was made at Melania's urging. Whatever her full range of motivations, it's clearly a mistake to understand Mrs. Trump as anything less than her husband's peer.
I also noted with a snicker that this book, published in 2019, was by 2022 commanding a used, hardcover price of $2. Interesting!
“The Silent Patient" is part of the quasi-literary psychological-thriller revolution than has flooded the women's fiction market in the years since Gillian Flynn's “Gone Girl” broke out in 2012. Characterized by simmering, steadily-building tension and narrators that turn out to be unreliable, these novels can be criticized as somewhat formulaic. Then again, the formula has been a successful one - it's no wonder this rich vein continues to be mined. Right out of the gate, Michaelides subverts the stereotype by offering a male protagonist, which seems promising. We'll find out!
“Open for Interpretation: A Doctor's Journey into Astrology” paints a fresh and surprising portrait of curiosity. The author is a fully-licensed and qualified doctor who began to wonder whether that was really the best fit for her. It's difficult to imagine many of our doctors second guessing themselves in this way, and it engenders empathy. As Dr. Blando becomes more and more aware of astrology as a tool for problem-solving, she decides that coming to understand the field thoroughly is at least as important as all of her medical courses. Since astrology is generally called a pseudoscience, it's interesting to see it considered in this light. I'll be eager to see where this journey takes her!
Have you read any of these? Got a recommendation? What are you reading right now? Let us know!
I've read The Silent Patient (twice, in fact). A very interesting book, it engendered lively discussion in one of my book clubs. Have you read his other book, The Maidens? Another interesting novel but with a different twist in the story. I recommend it. I'd also like to read the Oppenheimer book but it's @1200 pages!!! The movie was excellent!