Burnt Toast Makes You Sing Good: A Memoir of Food and Love from an American Midwest Family by Kathleen Flinn

Burnt Toast Makes You Sing Good: A Memoir of Food and Love from an American Midwest Family by Kathleen Flinn

Pages: 288

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Kathleen Flinn started to write a memoir of her childhood and realized she needed to go back to her grandparents to get a true picture of her family. She interweaves the family history with favorite family recipes. Everything from farm jam to the pizza her parents sold in San Francisco. 

She realizes that her love of food and cooking comes from multiple generations of her family and she is thankful for all that they have taught her. Most of her life her family lived in the Midwest and her stories of farm life are a mixture of stories my mom and dad told me and my own experiences growing up. 

For me this memoir was like a familiar friend, sharing their life story, ups and downs, burnt toast and all. 

Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment is Killing America's Heartland

Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment is Killing America's Heartland

by Jonathan M. Metzel

Pages: 341

Rating 5 out of 5 stars

The author, Jonathan Metzel, a physician reveals how extreme right-wing backlash policies have deadly consequences for the white middle and lower class voters they promise to help. In the Donald Trump era many middle-class white Americans are drawn to him and other politicians promising to make America great for the middle and working class again, but in reality the policies they are putting in place only assist the wealthy and are damaging to all middle and lower class citizens. He examines these policies in relationship to mortality rates and illness rates. 

Having been born in Kansas, grown-up in Missouri and now living and working in Tennessee, he chose these three familiar states to interview everyday citizens. He examines how racial resentment has fueled pro-gun laws in Missouri, resistance to the Affordable Care Act in Tennessee and lead to cuts in school funding and social services in Kansas. 

I had no idea that citizens of other states and researchers have started referring to Missouri as the "Shoot Me State" instead of the "Show Me State" or that Missouri is the state currently being researched the most for gun violence, suicide by guns and overall death by guns. I was also surprised to learn that the suicide by gun rate for white males in Missouri is higher than any other state and for any other group. So, much to learn from this book!!

The Center of Everything

 

The Center of Everything by Laura Moriarty

Pages: 252

4 out of 5 stars

Set in small town, Kerrville, Kansas, this novel is told by Evelyn Bucknow. Evelyn is a young girl, when we met her, her mom, Grandma and the neighbors in their ran-down apartment building. You share Evelyn's life and thoughts as she grows up - up to the point where she is ready to leave home for college. The people of Kerrville are in the center of the United States, but to Evelyn it might as well be the middle of nowhere. Evelyn's voice is authentic as a young girl and later teen, growing up in rural America in the 1980s during the Reagan years. 

Bleachers

 Bleachers
by John Grisham
Pages: 229
Rating: 4 out of 5

This is a story about a football in a small town, about how one man can affect a whole county for the better and for the worse and how in the end all that really matters isn't how you played the game, but who you are and can you forgive?

A quick read, with a deeper story than I expected from a "small town football tale." One of Grisham's strengths as a writer is challenging the reader to think about the issues in the lives of his characters and how these issues are something similar affects them. A worthwhile read even if you are not a sports fan or from a small town, though I think those from more rural areas will be able to relate more to the characters.