This entry will be especially long because I didn't post last week due to twins, traveling, and the torment of Covid (not me, Dear Husband).
There are many, many ways to learn about the Enneagram and many, many opinions about its effectiveness, legitimacy, and provenance. I found The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile to be reasonable and balanced. Can you sort people into categories and understand them? Maybe? I think people are complex, and I doubt if I can fully understand myself, even less someone else. But I find it helpful to consider that other minds don't work like mine. For example, I prefer a stable, planned life, and Dear Husband desires adventure and spontaneity. This has occasionally, sometimes, okay frequently caused friction between us. Seeing us as different numbers (I'm a six, and I think he's an eight, or maybe a one) makes space in my head for life beyond I'm right, and he's wrong or, inconceivably, visa versa. It's a good thing for me and our marriage-building moments, also-known-as intense discussions, AKA big fights, for me to have an idea of different motivations and perspectives.
Book Lovers by Emily Henry is a fun read, especially if you are familiar with romance tropes. popular-romance-fiction-tropes-to-keep-your-readers-hooked This book exploits them turning them upside down, making for a plot with unpredictable, exciting twists and turns. Henry's skillful writing had me rooting for these enemies to get together because I wasn't sure if they would. If you consider yourself a book person, you will especially enjoy all the book recommendations and allusions. It's a treat.
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus is the story of a female scientist in the late fifties and early sixties. It depicts the worlds of science and academia where women are not welcome, and are actively abused: financially, sexually, and intellectually. Yet, it is a clever, humorous book and is already on the movie track. brie-larson-apple-lessons-in-chemistry-1234888875
Though I was entertained Lessons in Chemistry, I found Garmus' depiction of the evilness of men and religion heavy-handed. Any belief in God made the character unintelligent and prejudiced. Although she tried to bring balance by having characters on both sides of the divide--a minister who doesn't believe in God and an understanding male OBGYN--it didn't give her point nuance or complexity and weakened her message.
Last Night in Montreal reminds me of reading Julius Caesar in 8th grade English. Mrs. Cohen opened my eyes to the inner workings of great writing--structure, characterization, comparison and more--and I was amazed. Last Night in Montreal is a master class of great writing. It is tense and compelling. I'm not one to throw around five stars on GoodReads, but I gave five stars to this book, not because I enjoyed the story in the same way as I did Lord of the Rings or A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, but because it was valuable to my development as a reader and it deserved it.
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