No.430: My Latest Reads // July 2020

#51. THE HOUSE WE GREW UP IN by Lisa Jewell || ★★☆☆☆
I did not have nearly the same reading experience that most people did with this book!  The main premise about a mother who is a hoarder was interesting, but all the rest of the dysfunctional family members…oof.  Too much and almost bordered on ridiculous.  I don’t know…I seem to be in the minority here.

#52. TRIALS OF THE EARTH: THE TRUE STORY OF A PIONEER WOMAN by Mary Mann Hamilton || ★★★☆☆
You know how much I love a good pioneer story!  This was a first-hand account from the late 19th century and located down in the Mississippi Delta, which was a new location for me.  (I usually read about pioneers headed west.)  Mary sure had a full life of hard work and hardship, but her grit and positive outlook were inspiring.  (This is also my 1992 pick for the 20th Century Reading Challenge.)

#53. HOUSEKEEPING by Marilynne Robinson || ★★☆☆☆
I can only describe this book as one you would read in a college literature class.  The one where you break down each dense sentence and formulate hypotheses about what the author meant when she said this or what the overarching theme was for that.  The writing was good, but the story felt weak.  Maybe I’m just not the literary type?  (This was also my 1980 pick for the 20th Century Reading Challenge.)

#54. THE YEAR OF READING DANGEROUSLY by Andy Miller || ★☆☆☆☆
This was not the book that it was marketed to be and is possibly the only book that I’ve ever given one star.  With rambling side stories and crass language at times, the idea was good but definitely not the execution.  One positive note: it did inspire me to start picking up “harder” classics again.

#55. 33 DAYS TO MORNING GLORY: A DO-IT-YOURSELF RETREAT IN PREPARATION FOR MARIAN CONSECRATION by Michael E. Gaitley, MIC || ★★★★☆
I have previously done this Marian consecration, but with times like these, I felt it would a good time to do it again.

#56. 10 WONDERS OF THE ROSARY by Fr. Donald H. Calloway, MIC || ★★★★☆
A quick read about one of my favorite devotions.  There were a few stories I already knew, but many more that I didn’t.

#57. HANNAH COULTER by Wendell Berry || ★★★★★

As I went about my work then as a young woman, and still now when I am old, Grandmam has been often close to me in my thoughts.  And again I come to the difficulty of finding words.  It is hard to say what it means to be at work and thinking of a person you loved and love still who did that same work before you and who taught you to do it.  It is a comfort ever and always, like hearing the rhyme come when you are singing a song. (p.107)

The chance you had is the life you’ve got.  You can make complaints about what people, including you, make of their lives after they have got them, and about what people make of other people’s lives, even about your children being gone, but you mustn’t wish for another life.  You mustn’t want to be somebody else.  What you must do is this: “Rejoice evermore.  Pray without ceasing.  In every thing give thanks.”  I am not all the way capable of so much, but those are the right instructions. (p.113)

My first Berry novel and it certainly won’t be my last.  I loved it.

#58. SECONDHAND: TRAVELS IN THE NEW GLOBAL GARAGE SALE by Adam Minter || ★★★☆☆

In 2015, Americans tossed out 24.1 billion pounds of furniture and furnishings, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  Along with all those old sofas went 32 billion pounds of textiles—including clothes, bedsheets, towels, and wiping rags—and 45.3 billion pounds of what the Environmental Protection Agency calls “miscellaneous durables.” This catch-all comprises products that aren’t generally destroyed in the course of use, including everything from rakes to forks and spoons, jigsaw puzzles to jigsaws, rotary telephones to smartphones. It’s a flood that’s yet to crest. (16%)

Is it China’s fault that quality is in decline? No. Initially, at least, China’s apparel industry simply manufactured to the standards set by foreign companies seeking cheaper factories. And those foreign companies were only doing what good companies always do: responding to customers. Walmart and Ralph Lauren, alike, bet that price—more than quality—moves product. As it turned out, they were correct, and nobody in Germany complained when Walmart dropped the price of its in-house George jeans from $26.67 to $7.85 in the space of a few years. Walmart’s competitors—desperate to keep up on the price points that matter to consumers—made the same compromises. These days, critics of fast fashion complain that Walmart has lowered everyone’s quality standards. That’s probably true; but the flip side is that it’s also lowered every consumer’s expectations of what a new wardrobe, a new toaster, and a new set of furniture should cost. In a world where new consumers are minted daily, low-price expectations matter more. (36%)

An interesting deep dive into where our stuff ends up when we’re done with it.  While it was a little too easy to read a few pages and then set aside for days (aka not a page turner), I did come away with a lot of things to ponder as well as a renewed interest in reuse and repair.  Solid three stars.

#59. FORGIVENESS MAKES YOU FREE by Fr. Ubald Rugirangoga || ★★★★☆

Forgiveness always goes hand in hand with mercy.  When you show mercy to the one who has wronged you, it opens the door for true forgiveness to flow between you.  This does not mean forgetting what has happened.  The pain of what you have suffered may rise up again and again, and you must be willing to bear it, even as you acknowledge the wrong that was done.  The perpetrator, too, must show mercy and compassion for true reconciliation to take place.  Otherwise they remain separated and closed both to each other and to God. (p.34)

Another book recommended by a trusted priest and a timely read coming off of Our Lady of Kibeho last month.  It would be beneficial for all of us to listen to Fr. Ubald’s advice, especially in today’s tense times.  Three and a half stars, rounded up.

MY READING IN NUMBERS FOR 2020