Wives of the Kings of England: From Hanover to Windsor by Mark Hichens

Just from the title I knew this book was something I was going to like. I was a little more intrigued when I picked up the book on the library shelf: it's less than 200 pages.
Don't get me wrong, I love history, but admittedly, history writing can be rather ... dull. The Queen Mother led a fascinating life, but when I read William Shawcross's official biography (weighing in at more than 1000 pages), it took me more than a month to read. Enjoyable, definitely, but long.
Wives of the Kings of England suited me not only because its length, but because it provided brief snapshots of the nine women, so there was no way for me to be overwhelmed or bogged down by a great number of details. Though entire books could be (and have been) written about each individual woman, this glimpse provides a continuity from the woman dealing with her own parents, her husband, her husband's parents, and then herself as a parent.
I did not know very much about most of these women. I had read The Trial of Queen Caroline by Jane Robins, and The Queen Mother: The Official Biography by William Shawcross, but the rest of the wives (with the exception of the Duchess of Windsor) I was fairly clueless on. The long suffering Charlotte, married to George III, lead an interesting life. Queen Alexandra and Queen Mary I found the most interesting, however, but that may be because that's the time period I find most fascinating. Can you imagine having Queen Victoria as a mother-in-law? I certainly cannot. And that Queen Mary is so very different from Queen Alexandra, in fact George V and Edward VII were quite dissimilar. A fascinating, enjoyable read, well worth the time and energy to peruse the slim volume. Recommended for anglophiles like myself who are enthralled by the history of the royal family.

Listening is an Act of Love edited by Dave Isay

My library decided to do a community reading program this year, and Listening is an Act of Love is the book chosen. Ever since I finished graduate school, I resist when I have to read something, so I'd been putting off reading the book for longer than I really should have.
That was totally a mistake.
The stories presented in Listening is an Act of Love are moving, descriptive, funny, endearing, and so very vivid. These aren't stories that authors have invented but actual interviews with average people, like you and me.
There's a man who worked as a school janitor for 15 years before going back to school to become a teacher (and teach at the school where he was a janitor!), a fantastic and beautifully described story of how steel is made, grandchildren interviewing grandparents, the story of a bus driver in New York, interviews with inmates in a state prison, stories of Hurricane Katrina and September 11th; each story was incredible. I haven't teared up so much in one book probably since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (but that was all out crying).
The StoryCorps Project is amazing in and of itself--its goal is to record these stories people have and to share them with another person, to always have a record of that story, to not fade away. Thinking that your life isn't story-worthy? Life is made up of moments, and that is what the StoryCorps records--moments in people's lives. The stories in Listening is an Act of Love are all moments in people's lives: a few hours, a day, a week. That's what life is made of: moments. The book has definitely encouraged me to ask more questions of my family, and just to hear moments in their lives.
Listening is an Act of Love is a quick read and really is, as the subtitle states: A Celebration of American Life from the StoryCorps Project. And we're very fortunate to be able to read these stories.