When Breath Becomes Air; Stars Over Sunset Boulevard

Oh man. If you want to weep, and I mean like clutching your stomach because it hurts so bad weep, read this one. Paul Kalanithi was a brilliant young man training to be a neurosurgeon, almost done with his grueling residency, when he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer (he passed away in 2015). He was able to return to work long enough to graduate and save a few more lives before the cancer treatments weakened him too much and he had to stop. Paul loved literature and wanted to spend his last years of his life writing, so he took the little time he had left to write this book, to teach all of us the importance of living.
We need more people like Paul in this world.

I needed something lighter after "When Breath Becomes Air", so I read Susan Meissner's "Stars Over Sunset Boulevard". My boss recommended it to me after she heard Meissner speak, and since this book ties into "Gone With the Wind" she knew I would like it, and I did.
Set primarily in Hollywood in 1939, Violet is a young secretary from Alabama who is recruited by David Selznick to come work for him while he shoots "Gone With the Wind". Violet meets an aspiring actress named Audrey, and the two become friends and roommates. Through Audrey, Violet meets and falls in love with Bert, who works in the costume department. It was a sweet book and it was fun to imagine what really went on behind the scenes of the film.