The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates

by Wes Moore
Hennepin County Library audiobook 5 discs
read by the author
genre: non-fiction, memoir, social commentary

"Two kids with the same name were born blocks apart in the same decaying city within a year of each other. One grew up to be a Rhodes Scholar, decorated combat veteran, White House Fellow, and business leader. The other is serving a life sentence in prison."

I had read a review of this book a few years ago, then saw it on the shelf at the library. What a fascinating story of similarities and differences. The tag line of "The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine, The tragedy is that my story could have been his." Moore says that he doesn't really know why their lives turned out so differently. He talks about choices and the mentors he had. I think one key difference is that the author had a loving, attentive father who happened to die when the author was quite young. The other Wes Moore had no father at all.

I love this quote from the book: "Boredom in teenage boys is a powerful motivation to create chaos." How true! There were other parts in the epilogue I would like to note, but time is short and I need to get going.

Oh! I like what he had to say about privilege and chances and the role of luck. Even though I know I've had a lot of privileges (due to my skin color, neighborhood, parents, etc.), I can't really know what it's like to feel that I could never succeed. As a teacher, I get frustrated with kids who seem (to me) to squander their opportunities. I forget sometimes that I was raised in such a way that success was expected. This book is a worthwhile read.

I also liked how the author identified poverty as he knew it growing up in Baltimore and the Bronx versus the poverty he saw in South Africa when he studied abroad.

Breakpoint and Beyond

by George Land and Beth Jarman
Hennepin County Library hardcover 225
published in 1992
genre: non-fiction, change, trends

I wish I had kept track of who recommended this book! It's definitely geared to business, but at 20+ years old, a lot of what they write about is history. I kept renewing it and not reading it, so I'm just going to return it to the library. It would help me a lot to know which context I wanted it for when I requested it.

From the introduction: "The science of natural change and growth shows that at critical points in the development of anything the rules shift." This makes me think of the joke about PRMS - Perpetually Reinventing Middle School. That's certainly how it feels!

Again, written in the early 90s, it has a dated feel to it. I loved this quote from William Glasser, though. "So quickly that few have recognized what is happening, a society that lasted for ten thousand years has begun to dissolve. In its place a new society has been growing up, one in which the mores, habits, and goals of a hundred centuries are being profoundly altered. Some might take longer than others to recognize this colossal reorientation; many will undoubtedly spend the rest of their lives resisting the new direction of humanity. But it is real."

I have no desire to read this book in its entirety. It's about change and the inevitability of it. It compares change in nature to change in society and organizations. It defines breakpoints and patterns of change. Enough said.

Don't Give Up, Don't Give In

by Louis Zamperini and David Rensin
Hennepin County Library hardcover 232 pages
genre: non-fiction, inspirational

I wish I'd had time to read the whole thing! This is actually worth purchasing. Some of it I was already aware of because of having read Unbroken. But I like the way he shares life lessons and stories from throughout his life. Wonderful book! I'd also like to read The Devil at My Heels. What an amazing man!

The Story Keeper

by Lisa Wingate
Hennepin County Library hardcover 413 pages
genre: Christian realistic fiction

Jennia Gibbs is a New York editor who is new to Vida House Publishing. When a manuscript from the forbidden "slush pile" shows up on her desk, she is drawn into the story of Sarra and Rand. She is also drawn back to her home region and the tangles of family connections (especially poor family wanting money from her). I really enjoyed this book and our discussion last night.

page 47 - talking about her grandma - "I hadn't thought about that in years, hadn't allowed Momaw Leena and her meanness into my life - not even long enough to consider how incredibly wrong it was to heap misery on kids who were already struggling to survive." This made me think about some of my students who have tough situations and lack supportive adults.

page 70 - from the manuscript, when Rand stands up to Jep - "He sensed the balance slowly turning. he could feel, for the first time in his life, the power of good against evil." I like that! (both the power and his realization)

page 162 - When Jen goes to the stables - "I was struck again by the fact that, for all appearances, this was a beautiful life. A perfect life. It's so easy to make assumptions, passing by other people's homes at a distance. To be so certain that the goings-on inside mirror the exteriors - that glittering facades and squeaky-clean windows equate to perfect families, yet the reality is that containers often tell nothing of the contents."

page 239 - "I wonder if it's ever possible to fully cast off twisted family bonds and move through the world without them slowly digging into the skin . . . " (Katie noted this one, too!)

page 294 - I love the librarian reference!

page 295 - When she comes to terms with the messed-up religion of her childhood (all punishment and rules without the grace and love) - "Just a building, created by men, filled with bits of God's Word town from context and recombined like the pieces of a ransom note."

page 333 - Title! From the manuscript - "You ken the stories, and when I'm shed a this place, then it'll be you who's the story keeper."

page 366 - my favorite line from the book - "Even when we are lost, God has not lost us."

This was slow to start (in my opinion), but Katie asked me if it was worth reading past a certain point (Sarra and her life at the start of the manuscript) so I read on. Yes, it's worth it!

Darling Jim

by Christian Moerk
Hennepin County Library audiobook, 9 discs
read by Stephen Hoye and Justine Eyre
genre: murder mystery, eerie . . .

This book was very, very creepy in that it drew me in and kept me wondering although I didn't really enjoy it. I was compelled to continue the story to find out what really happened - much as the characters in the story are drawn to Jim's storytelling. From the back flap:

"When two sisters and their aunt are found dead in their suburban Dublin home, it seems that the secret behind their untimely demise will never be known. But then Niall, a young mailman, finds a mysterious diary in the post office's dead-letter bin. From beyond the grave, Fiona Walsh shares the most tragic love story he's ever heard - and her tale has only just begun."

Okay, I'm not sure "tragic love story" fits . . . but the author definitely weaves a multi-layered tale that draws the reader in. I had to know what happened to the sisters and to Niall. I wondered how their aunt captured them. I wanted Mary Catherine to be shut down . . . This isn't a very nice story, but it is fascinating.

The readers were both incredibly excellent and brought several characters to life very effectively.