The Big White Farmhouse

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#31. THE BAKER’S DAUGHTER by Sarah McCoy
★★☆☆☆
Another book from the beginning of my Goodreads TBR list.  This was a dual-perspective novel set in two time periods: 1940s Nazi Germany and current day El Paso, Texas.  The modern day protagonist is a journalist for a local magazine who interviews the owner of a German bakery for a story.  The two women strike up a friendship of sorts and we learn more of the baker’s past during World War II.  I was invested in the historical fiction parts, but did not find the modern day compelling at all (which is like half of the book).  I also couldn’t really figure out what the connection the author was trying to make with the two time periods.  Ultimately, just an okay read for me.

#32.  AN EVERLASTING MEAL: COOKING WITH ECONOMY AND GRACE by Tamar Adler
★★★★☆
This is one of those books that you can pick up and set down easily, grabbing a bit of inspiration each time you read it.  I typically have a hard time when people wax poetic about things, but I really enjoyed this book about making delicious food with simple ingredients.  As someone who prefers a recipe with exact measurements, I really have had to stretch my culinary muscles to follow her instructions…and that’s a good thing!  My biggest takeaway is that good food doesn’t need to be complicated or expensive to be satisfying.

#33. THE DOLOROUS PASSION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST by Anne Catherine Emmerich
★★★★☆
This was my book for Lent this year.  Beautiful and descriptive and heart-wrenching and hopeful all wrapped into one book.  I really enjoyed it and hope to read it again.

#34. SAWBONES by Melissa Lenhardt
★★☆☆☆
Another one where I closed the book and said, “What in the world did I just read?”  I heard about this one from someone on Youtube and she raved about it, but I had quite the opposite reading experience.  The story is about a female doctor who is wrongfully accused of murder and has to disappear into wild Texas territory.  It sounded right up my alley, and it was, except for the fact that the beginning was a bit too “I am woman, hear me roar!” for my taste.  One example that had me rolling my eyes:

I watched Harriet walk away with pity, which I suspect she would have loathed.  She was a woman with no place, save by her brother’s side.  Unmarried and without a profession, she most likely relied on the charity of her brother or surviving parents.  Reliance meant subordination.  She could not be her own person and would naturally resent a woman like me who could. (p.177)

She’s talking about a young woman who lost her fiancé in war.  I mean…condescending much?  The rest of the book redeemed her pretentious character a bit, but had so many gratuitous descriptions of Indian massacres and sexual assaults and I was just done.  Definitely won’t be continuing on to Book #2.

#35. THE COLOR OF BEE LARKHAM’S MURDER by Sarah J. Harris
★★★☆☆
I don’t think I’ve ever read anything like this book before.  The main character is a 13-year-old boy with autism and synethesia (experiencing sounds as colors) as well as an inability to recognize faces.  He is convinced that he killed his neighbor and the book explores the events leading up to that day.  I found the concept interesting, but there were some icky situations that were uncomfortable for me (think Mary Kay Letourneau) and the constant use of colors to label other characters was confusing.  Not sure it’s one that I would widely recommend, but definitely a unique read.

#36. A CATHOLIC GUIDE TO SPENDING LESS AND LIVING MORE: ADVICE FROM A DEBT-FREE FAMILY OF 16 by Sam and Rob Fatzinger
★★★★☆
This is the personal finance book I wish I had read shortly after getting married!  The Fatzingers are further along on the parenting/financial journey than us, but we have learned many of the same lessons they describe.  There’s nothing particularly new or ground-breaking, but financial freedom isn’t all that complicated in the first place.  I loved the reminder to be good stewards with the money we have, whether that be a lot or a little.  I also particularly liked the section about saving and early retirement, two ideas that are definitely on our radar these days!  3.5 stars, rounded up.  (A Catholic Guide to Spending Less and Living More was just published on April 23, 2021.  Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.)

#37. THE DOG STARS by Peter Heller
★★★☆☆
This was a post-apocalyptic novel about a pilot who survived a terrible super flu that killed everyone he loved except his dog, Jasper.  The first half of the book focused on his grief and his day-to-day survival and while the writing was a bit rough (stilted sentence fragments with weird punctuation placement and no quotation marks), I did enjoy the story.  The second half fell short for me and felt a little cheesy.  

#38. I’LL NEVER TELL by Catherine McKenzie
★★★☆☆
The premise of this mystery was intriguing: a group of siblings are forced to figure out “whodunit” on an unsolved murder case from twenty years ago.  They all gather at the family’s summer camp to read their father’s will and then learn that the murder will have to be solved before anyone can collect the money.  It had a bit of a closed room feel because one of the siblings committed the crime, but who?  A super fast read, but tons of sexual “secrets” and too many unlikeable characters.  Wavering between 2.5 and 3 stars for this one.