Three Books I'm Reading Now, 3/3/25 Edition

The Books I'm Reading Now

I'm reading The Anxious Generation, nonfiction by Jonathan Haidt that explores technology and an explosion of mental illness in young people; I'm reading an upcoming novel about secrets, past love, and dangerous revelations in a small village, Broken Country; and I'm reading Layne Fargo's novel about young ice dancing champions who dramatically split--until a documentary tell-all comes back to tell their story, The Favorites.

What are you reading, bookworms?

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01 The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt

The subtitle of Jonathan Haidt's nonfiction title The Anxious Generation is How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, and in this book, Haidt explores the explosion of smartphones and social media and links it to the mental health epidemic in young people.

I recently heard the author speak at the Tennessee Symposium for Online Health and Safety. I was able to do so (online) courtesy of The Goldfinch Foundation, which was formed in honor and in memory of Owen Willers, and which shines a light on the importance of mental wellness and invites young people to lead efforts toward change.

I'm reading The Anxious Generation with a group of parents and youth leaders at church.

Jonathan Haidt is also the author of The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion.

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02 Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall

Beth and her kind husband Frank live in a small village, and they are able to stay married only because secrets from the past stay buried.

But when a local farmer shoots a dog going after his sheep, the gunshot sets into motion events that will change everything.

The dog belonged to Gabriel Wolfe, Beth's childhood love, and his return to town brings back long-ago jealousies, love, choices, and their weighty consequences.

I received a prepublication edition of Broken Country courtesy of Simon & Schuster and NetGalley.

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03 The Favorites by Layne Fargo

Young Katarina Shaw has always felt that she was meant to become an Olympic champion. Heath Rocha is stuck in the foster care system, and when he and Kat meet, they make a connection that translates into a powerful partnership on the ice.

The two become childhood sweethearts and, ultimately, advance to the Olympics as ice dancers. But a dramatic event stops their journey to the gold medal--and breaks them up for good.

Ten years later, a documentary exploring those events draws Kat and Heath back into each others' orbits--and reveals secrets they never could have imagined.

I received an audio version of this book courtesy of Penguin Random House Audio and Libro.fm. The list of narrators is extensive; the many points of view may explain some comparisons of this book to Daisy Jones and the Six (a book I included in the Greedy Reading List Six Rockin' Stories about Bands and Music).