The Big White Farmhouse

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#47. BACK ON MURDER by J. Mark Bertrand
★★★☆☆
Another book from my early TBR archives on Goodreads.  This is actually a police procedural from a Christian publisher and I wasn’t sure what to expect (would it be cheesy?), but I ended up enjoying it much more than I thought!  While the book was still gritty – it is about murder and corruption, after all! – I did appreciate that it told the story without gratuitous sex, swearing or intense descriptions of violence.  I’d rate this somewhere in the middle of three and three and a half stars.

#48. THE PILOT’S DAUGHTER by Audrey J. Cole
★★★☆☆
Well, this book certainly makes the idea of flying terrifying now, ha!  I flew through this suspense novel about a hijacked flight and the passengers that must survive the ordeal.  Not the best book I’ve ever read, but definitely entertaining.  My biggest complaint was that I found the romantic undertone to be a little odd, given the circumstances, but maybe that’s just me.  (Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.  The Pilot’s Daughter was published June 22, 2021!)

#49. THE PRIVILEGE OF BEING A WOMAN by Alice von Hildebrand
★★★☆☆
I mentioned back in January that I’ve been feeling a nudge toward the more feminine, which has been quite the journey for a tomboy like me!  Somewhere along the way, this little book about the value of womanhood was recommended and I slowly worked my way through it this month.  Lots to ponder and chew on – I think I’ll have to read it again soon.

#50. THE GIRL YOU LEFT BEHIND by Jojo Moyes
★★☆☆☆
This one was a dual timeline novel (1916 France during WWI and then modern day) about an important piece of artwork that connects the two main characters together.  The beginning started strong and I was really interested, but it fizzled significantly by the midpoint of the book.  It definitely follows the typical chick flick tropes – as I read, I could picture the movie in my head!  Just an okay read for me.

#51. THE GREAT PRETENDER: THE UNDERCOVER MISSION THAT CHANGED OUR UNDERSTANDING OF MADNESS by Susannah Cahalan
★★★☆☆
Brain on Fire was one of my favorite books in 2018, so I couldn’t wait to read Cahalan’s latest book about mental health and psychiatry.  From the cover: “In 1973, a charismatic doctor convinced eight healthy people to commit themselves to mental hospitals.  They had to prove their sanity to be set free.  Their undercover mission would change our understanding of madness forever.”  This one wasn’t nearly as good as her memoir and seemed to lose focus with multiple side stories.  Still interesting and I learned a lot.

#52. WHEN WE WERE THE KENNEDYS: A MEMOIR FROM MEXICO, MAINE by Monica Wood
★★★☆☆

Anne pulls out her chair and gathers me into her lap, which is too small for me now…”We have two choices,” she says, holding me fast.  “We can ask why-why-why, over and over.  Why-why-why?”  She pauses, letting that useless plea sink in.  “Or,” she says, “we can just do.”
I well up.  “I don’t want to just do.”
She waits; this is how I always know she’s listening.  Then: “Monnie,” she whispers.  “Just doing doesn’t hurt as much as why-why-why.” (p.150-151)

This is a quiet story of grief, seen through the eyes of a young girl living in Mexico, Maine in 1963.  It’s sad, but not depressing.  My family is from a town not that far from Mexico and I loved reading about some of the same things from my parents’ childhood.  I need to pass this one on to my mom to read next.

#53. THE HOUSE AT THE END OF HOPE STREET by Menna Van Praag
★★☆☆☆
I purchased this one entirely because of the beautiful cover!  The dust jacket describes the book as “a whimsical novel of hope and feminine wisdom that will enchant readers from first page to last.”  Sounds charming!  Sadly, I didn’t love it.  It’s probably much better suited from someone who enjoys magical realism and can see past melodramatic characters and silly, cliched plot lines.

#54. SUCH A QUIET PLACE by Megan Miranda
★★★☆☆
This book is a new type of “closed room” murder mystery for me, taking place in a quiet neighborhood.  The storyline was a slow burn and I didn’t find any of the plot twists incredibly shocking.  I’ve heard that this isn’t her strongest work, so I’ll have to try one from her backlist soon.  (Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.  Such a Quiet Place will be published on July 13, 2021!)

#55. THE ART OF LOADING BRUSH by Wendell Berry
★★★★☆

Andy knew well, and he has remembered again and again, the household of his Catlett grandparents, who shared pretty fully in the imperfections of their time and place, who no doubt lived in poverty by modern standards as they struggled to hold on to their farm, and did hold on to it, though almost losing it, and never quite “got ahead.”  They lived from their garden, their flock of chickens, their milk cows, their meat hogs.  His grandmother made her own soap.  And so they survived, and at least ate well, through the predations and depressions of an economy that gutted upon the primary producers of its wealth, as dominant economies have always done.  They spent little, wasted nothing, and saved everything that could be saved.  Andy remembers, after his grandmother’s death, finding her collections of bits of string, ribbon, and dress trimmings all wound neatly on pieces of cardboard and put away, those and other things too nice, too costly, too potentially useful to be thrown out or burned… He found her collection of pretty greeting cards that she could not part with because they had so gladdened her heart.  And he wonders how in the time only of his own life his nation can have progressed from that old effort and hardship and saving to the normality of spending, consuming, and throwing away. (p.212-213)

This book is a collection of Berry’s writings, including long essays and a few fictional stories at the end.  I read this really slowly because they were so dense and thought-provoking.  His essay entitled “Leaving the Future Behind: A Letter to a Scientific Friend” was especially timely.  So good.