October is National Book Month!

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I have always loved to read!

When I was in elementary school, my mom piled my siblings and me into our old, green station wagon and took us to La Grange Library to get our first library cards. I remember standing in front of the librarian’s desk as she typed out our cards on her big, black Royal typewriter. About the size of a business card, my library card was handed to me inside its own small, manilla envelope. 

First, I marveled that each member of my family got their own card! 

And then I delighted in acquiring something that had just my name on it. As a twin, I was used to sharing stuff with my sister. Having my own library card set me apart from my family members and served to re-emphasize my individuality. 

Besides identity and belonging, the library card filled me with a pride of ownership and sense of responsibility. I kept it safe in the nightstand next to my bed in the room I shared with my twin. Every so often, I would pull that little square card out of its manilla envelope and trace the raised letters of my name with the tip of my finger. 

For me, the library card meant power. 

It unlocked ideas and worlds that extended far beyond the four network channels on the black and white TV in our family room. And when I was old enough to ride my bike and cross busy streets, I became a weekly regular at La Grange Library on Cossitt Ave. (Back then, I mostly checked out Nancy Drew mysteries, but I also enjoyed the librarians’ recommendations.) 

Those early years at my local library fostered a lifelong love of books and learning.

Last week, when I was in Chicago’s western suburbs to speak to the Chicklits Book Club about my memoir Twice a Daughter, I found myself with some extra time. So, I stopped in at the Hinsdale Library to check out what it looked like in a post-pandemic world. 

First, I perused the shelves loaded with reserved books for over a dozen local book clubs. Then I wandered over to the computer console to look up my book in the online catalog. It thrilled me to see that all four paperbacks and the audiobook in their collection were already loaned out. There was even a wait list! 

As I left the Hinsdale library, I couldn’t help but think of my younger self, the slight girl with freckles and pigtails whose favorite privilege was a library card. I smiled. From avid reader to published author, libraries are still a magnet to me.

In honor of National Book Month, below find some of my favorite books and anticipated reads. 

In November… Follow Me Here:

November 2: (Rescheduled event) Mr. Brown’s Benet Alumni Book Club, 5PM CDT, moderated by fellow alum Susan Conner (’77).

November 7: Union Church Women’s Group: Women of a Certain Age, 11:15 AM, Rowell Hall. Contact Melissa Mann.

November 8: Guest speaker at Benet Academy, Lisle, IL: Mrs. Alcorn’s Creative Writing Class, and the creative writers at MUSE Literary Magazine.

November 9: 

The Assistance League of Chicagoland West

25th Anniversary Hybrid Books & Brunch!
Tuesday, November 9, 2021
Live at The Abbington in Glen Ellyn 
Doors Open 10am
Or virtually from the comfort of your own home.
Live Stream Begins 12:30pm
Either way you decide to attend, you will be treated to lively conversations as moderator Andrea Thome talks with local authors
RJ Hoffmann, James Kennedy and Julie McGue. And you will be supporting our neighbors in need throughout western Cook and DuPage counties.

November 11: Erika’s Book Club, Seattle, WA, 6PM

Finally, I’m still glowing! The book honeymoon continues… 

Twice a Daughter was released on May 11^th, six months ago. Since then, it has garnered three book awards– a Gold, Silver, and Honorable Mention– and 280+ positive reviews on Amazon, where it continues to be a best seller in the Family & Personal Growth, Adoption, and Sibling Relationships categories. 

Thanks to all my readers for your steady support, heart-warming feedback, and invaluable reviews. 

Xoxo Julie

Books I anticipate reading:

All In, by Billie Jean King
Atlas of the Heart, by Brene Brown
Matrix, by Lauren Groff 
Apples Never Fall, by Liane Moriarty
Bewilderment, by Richard Powers
Oh William! by Pulitzer Prize winner Elizabeth Strout. 
The Lincoln Highway, by Amor Towles
The Body Keeps the Score, by Bessel van der Kolk

Recommended Memoir: 

Augusten Burroughs, Running With Scissors
Mary Karr, The Liar’s Club
Susanna Kayson, Girl, Interrupted
Anne Lamott, Bird By Bird
Kiese Laymon, Heavy
Frank McCourt, Angela’s Ashes
Linda Joy Myers, Don’t Call Me Mother
J.R. Moehringer, The Tender Bar
Dani Shapiro, Inheritance
Cheryl Strayed, Wild
Natasha Tretheway, Memorial Drive: a memoir
Jeannette Walls, The Glass Castle
Tara Westover, Educated
Tobias Wolff, This Boy’s Life

Favorite Fiction:

Daniel James Brown, The Boys in the Boat
Stieg Larsson, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series
Emily St. John Mandel, Stations Eleven
JoJo Moyes, Me Before You
Ann Patchett, The Dutch House
Jodi Picoult, My Sister’s Keeper, and Nineteen Minutes
Taylor Jenkins Reid: Daisy Jones and The Six, The Seven Wives of Evelyn Hugo
Elizabeth Strout, Olive Kitteridge, and Olive, Again
Amor Towles, A Gentleman in Moscow 
Lisa Wingate, Before We Were Yours, Before & After, The Book of Lost Friends
Marcus Zusak, The Book Thief

Lesser known really good reads:

Kim Fairley, Shooting Out the Lights
Barbara Linn Probst, The Sound Between the Notes
Dr. Judith Rabinor, The Girl in the Red Boots
Suzanne Simonetti, The Sound of Wings
Dori Jones Yang, When the Red Gates Opened

Adoption-related & Self-help Books

Brene Brown, Daring Greatly, Rising Strong
Brodzinsky et al, Being Adopted: The Lifelong Search for Self
Nicole Chung, All You Can Ever Know
Ann Fessler, The Girls Who Went Away
Betty Jean Lifton, Lost & Found
Jean Straus, Birthright
Nancy Verrier, The Primal Wound

Happy Reading!!!

Books make great gifts! Remember to order early this year due to a paper shortage and shipping bottlenecks. And please consider Bookshop.org, an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. 

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