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#15. FORCE OF NATURE by Jane Harper
My Rating: ★★★★☆

Later, the four remaining women could fully agree on only two things. One: No one saw the bushland swallow up Alice Russell. And two: Alice had a mean streak so sharp it could cut you. (the very first line! p.1)

He thought of the hundreds of little things that had added up to go so wrong. Maybe hundreds of little things could add up to go right. (93%)

Another book from the library holds list!  Force of Nature is the second book in the Aaron Falk series and I couldn’t put it down.  An engaging story with an ending I didn’t predict.  I really liked this one!

#16. THE POWER AND THE GLORY by Graham Greene
My Rating: ★★★☆☆

It is one of the strange discoveries a man can make that life, however you lead it, contains moments of exhilaration; there are always comparisons which can be made with worse times: even in danger and misery the pendulum swings. (p.59)

He felt only an immense disappointment because he had to go to God empty-handed, with nothing done at all.  It seemed to him, at that moment, that it would have been quite easy to have been a saint.  It would only have needed a little self-restraint and a little courage.  He felt like someone who has missed happiness by seconds at an appointed place.  He knew now that at the end there was only one thing that counted – to be a saint. (p.210)

We’ve had a copy of The Power and the Glory on our bookshelves for years – I think it may have been Mark’s from high school! – so I decided to give it a shot.  The story is about a “whisky priest” who is on the run during a purging of Catholicism in Mexico.  I have such complicated feelings about this book…I know I’ll be thinking about it for awhile.  3.5 stars.

#17. AND EVERY MORNING THE WAY GETS LONGER AND LONGER by Fredrik Backman
My Rating: ★★★★☆

“It’s an awful thing to miss someone who’s still here.” 

“What can we do to help Grandpa?”  The dad’s tears dry on the boy’s sweatshirt.
“We can walk down the road with him. We can keep him company.” 

And Every Morning The Way Home Gets Longer and Longer is a novella and at less than 100 pages, easy to read in a single sitting.  It was a touching story about a grandfather with Alzheimer’s, his grandson, and the way memories connect us together.  My grandmother had dementia, so this hit close to home.  Simultaneously heartbreaking and beautiful.

#18. YOUR LABRADOR RETRIEVER PUPPY, MONTH BY MONTH by Terry Albert, Deb Eldredge, & Don and Barb Ironside
My Rating: ★★★★★

This book has been a lifesaver for me as we prepare to bring home our new puppy in April!  I’m feeling much more prepared (and a little scared, hah!) about caring for and training this new member of our family.

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(P.S. I highly recommend Book Outlet!  Use my link for $10 off your first order of $25 or more)

#08. THE TRUE CONFESSIONS OF CHARLOTTE DOYLE by Avi

My Rating: ★★★★☆

Not every thirteen-year-old girl is accused of murder, brought to trial, and found guilty.  But I was just such a girl, and my story is worth relating even if it did happen years ago. (the first sentence! p.1)

I decided to change things up a little by reading a children’s (maybe more accurately, a tween/YA) book.  The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle is a page turner about a mystery at sea and was so much better than I was expecting!  I enjoyed it so much that even my big boys are possibly interested in picking it up.  (Female protagonists are not their thing, so that’s HUGE.)

#09. AT HOME IN THE WORLD: REFLECTIONS ON BELONGING WHILE WANDERING THE GLOBE by Tsh Oxenreider
My Rating: ★★★☆☆

I know this: I am weary of playing games, of the games I am asked to play in order to succeed as a writer.  These travels for a year are admittedly part escapism, a desperate plea for a sabbatical from expectations, pressure, noise.  I want to get lost in myself, I want to stop thinking so much of myself, and I want to see in the flesh how many people there are in the world and how many don’t know me or, really, care about me.  I want to remember my smallness.  I want to be a prophet in the wilderness, shouting from jungles and deserts and foreign cities that we are all small, and to remember what a tiny place we each take up in the world.  Small might be insignificant, but it does not mean unimportant. (p.56)

I enjoyed this book, but it also solidified something I already knew about myself: I’m a homebody through and through!  I definitely don’t experience the same wanderlust – some of her experiences gave me anxiety just reading about them, hah!  I do have a short list for travel someday, but for now, I’ll just drink up the experiences of others.  (Also available at Book Outlet here.)

#10. TEARS OF THE GIRAFFE by Alexander McCall Smith
My Rating: ★★★☆☆

The Americans were very clever; they sent rockets into space and invented machines which could think more quickly than any human being alive, but all this cleverness could also make them blind. They did not understand other people. They thought that everyone looked at things in the same way as Americans did, but they were wrong. Science was only part of the truth. There were also many other things that made the world what it was, and the Americans often failed to notice these things, although they were there all the time, under their noses. (48%)

Tears of the Giraffe is the second book in the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series.  I read the first book last year and enjoyed it, so after reading about Africa in At Home in the World, I thought I’d revisit Botswana’s premier lady detective, Precious Ramotswe.  Nothing ground-breaking, but a good story with charming characters.  Solid three stars.

#11. THE SNOW CHILD by Eowyn Ivey
My Rating: ★★★★☆

“Dear, sweet Mabel,” she said.  “We never know what is going to happen, do we?  Life is always throwing us this way and that.  That’s where the adventure is.  Not knowing where you’ll end up or how you’ll fare.  It’s all a mystery, and when we say any different, we’re just lying to ourselves.  Tell me, when have you felt most alive?” (p.258)

First of all, can we talk about this cover?!  So beautiful.  The Snow Child captured my attention from the first few pages and I was hooked.  The overall tone of the book is a little sad and melancholy, so it may not be a good fit for everyone, but I really enjoyed it. (Also available at Book Outlet here.)

#12. THE TWO-FAMILY HOUSE by Lynda Cohen Loigman
My Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Living together in the two-family house had always had its benefits.  When Rose first moved in, she had been grateful every day for Helen’s companionship.  Helen taught her how to cook, how to sew curtains, how to bleed the radiator when it started getting noisy.  She told Rose where to buy fish and which grocer had the best produce.  The two of them had been inseparable back then, more like sisters than some real sisters Rose knew.  When the children came along, the cousins had each other for playmates.  There was always an adult around if any child was sick or wanted help with schoolwork.  And if either Rose or Helen needed something for a recipe, chances were that one of them had the ingredient the other was missing. (p.83)

According to Goodreads, I am definitely in the minority here, but I just couldn’t get behind The Two-Family House.  The writing is fine but the story itself was very predictable.  I figured out the “plot twist” about 30 pages into the story and couldn’t figure out if I was just clever or if it was intentional.  (Turns out everyone figured it out early.)  There were only a few characters that I liked and many more who were just rotten.  I don’t know…it could have been a great premise, but I thought it fell flat.  (Also available at Book Outlet here.)

#13. TEAM DOG: HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DOG – THE NAVY SEAL WAY by Mike Ritland
My Rating: ★★★★☆

Last year, Mark listened to a podcast with Mike Ritland and was really impressed.  With our new puppy arriving in a few months, February was the perfect time to read his book and check out his advice.  Straight forward and easy to understand – I liked it and learned a lot.

#14. THE GREAT ALONE by Kristin Hannah
My Rating: ★★★☆☆

“How long have you lived here?” Mama asked. “Ten of the best years of my life,” Large Marge answered. “Life in the bush is hard work, but you can’t beat the taste of salmon you caught in the morning, drizzled with butter you churned from your own fresh cream. Up here, there’s no one to tell you what to do or how to do it. We each survive our own way. If you’re tough enough, it’s heaven on earth.” (9%)

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#01. FIND THE GOOD: UNEXPECTED LIFE LESSONS FROM A SMALL-TOWN OBITUARY WRITER by Heather Lende

My Rating: ★★★★☆

I will begin…by taking advantage of a day that is topsy-turvy without my consent.  If the snow keeps me home from an important meeting, I’ll take a walk in it.  Shovel my neighbor’s stoop.  Then build a snowman at the end of the driveway.  When was the last time I did that?  When my plane is delayed for two hours, I’ll call Dad.  Listen to the entire saga of his knee replacement surgery and recovery.  Ask him how he’s adjusting to living alone after forty-nine years of marriage.  I’ll finally have the time to listen.  And I’ll cry a lot after a friend dies.  Attend the funeral.  Bring my best bean salad to the potluck.  Wallow in grief.  When I’ve had all the sorrow I can bear, I’ll take a hike down by the river to wring myself out.  Then I’ll be ready to invite a new friend over for coffee and begin again. (p.28)

But something happens over the weeks, months, and years of regular workouts.  Pretty soon it’s not about the tummy roll or the wobbly thighs or even how many crunches we can now complete in a minute.  That’s all beside the point.  It’s about doing the best with what we’ve got and appreciating our scarred-up, well-used, stretch-marked, marvelously individual bodies just as they are…even as we strive to improve what they can do, one lunge and squat at a time. (p.69-70)

I got this little book for Epiphany and zipped through it in two days.  A perfect start to the year with my one little word.

#02. THRUSH GREEN by Miss Read
My Rating: ★★★☆☆

A beam of sunlight fell suddenly upon Mrs. Bailey’s hand, the first real warmth for months, she thought delightedly, and her spirits rose at this token of the summer to come. (p.68) 

Books centered around village life are just so cozy and comforting, don’t you think?  I enjoyed the simplicity and innocence of Thrush Green – it was a sweet mix of romance and humor and a teeny bit of mystery.

#03. THE NIGHTINGALE by Kristin Hannah
My Rating: ★★★★★

“It’s hard to forget,” she said quietly.  “And I’ll never forgive.”
“But love has to be stronger than hate, or there is no future for us.”
Sophie sighed.  “I suppose,” she said, sounding too adult for a girl of her age.
Vianne placed a hand on top of her daughter’s.  “We will remind each other, oui?  On the dark days.  We will be strong for each other.” (p.526)

World War II books affect me deeply and The Nightingale was no exception.  Such a powerful story of courage and love despite harrowing circumstances.  I kept asking myself the question, “What would I do in this situation?”  I know that I’ll be thinking about this one for awhile.

#04. NO WAY HOME: A MEMOIR  OF LIFE ON THE RUN by Tyler Wetherall
My Rating: ★★★☆☆

#06. THE LONG LONELINESS by Dorothy Day
My Rating: ★★★☆☆

They were kind to me.  I saw them wrestling with moral problems, with the principles by which they lived, and this made them noble in my eyes.  I saw them pray, and the public prayer in the church and Blanche’s kneeling down by the table on which was spread out her hats and trimmings did something to me which I could not forget.  As with the sight of Mrs. Barrett kneeling beside her bed, this posture, this gesture, convinced me that worship, adoration, thanksgiving, supplication – these were the noblest acts of which men were capable in this life. (quote about her Catholic friends, p.107)

It is not only for others that I must have these retreats.  It is because I too am hungry and thirsty for the bread of the strong.  I too must nourish myself to do the work I have undertaken; I too must drink at these good springs so that I may not be an empty cistern and unable to help others. (p.263)

I finally finished up the last quarter of Dorothy Day’s autobiography, The Long Loneliness…it only took me a year!  I found this book thought-provoking and interesting in some places and painfully boring in others, which explains why I kept putting it down.  Still, there were enough insightful tidbits to make it worth the read.

#07. CITY OF THIEVES by David Benioff
My Rating: ★★★☆☆

I have never been much of a patriot.  My father would not have allowed such a thing while he lived, and his death insures that his wish was carried out.  Piter commanded far more affection and loyalty from me than the nation as a whole.  But that night, running across the unplowed fields of winter wheat, with the Fascist invaders behind us and the dark Russian woods before us, I felt a surge of pure love for my country. (p.233)

Where do I begin with City of Thieves?  It’s haunting and horrific, but interlaced with humor too.  I don’t think I’ve ever read a WWII book from the Russian perspective before, so I learned a lot about Leningrad (St. Petersburg) during the German offensive.  I’d hesitate to blindly recommend it due to the profanity and crude “men’s locker room”-type comments throughout, but it’s a powerful story if you can look past all of that.

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EDGE OF EXTINCTION #1: THE ARK PLAN by Laura Martin
My Rating: ★★★★☆

We read The Ark Plan for our homeschool read aloud.  It was described to me as “Jurassic World meets Planet of the Apes” and I think that’s pretty accurate!  The first few chapters are slower, but quickly pick up.  And the end is a cliff hanger!  We have to order the second book soon.

INTO THE WILD by Jon Krakauer
My Rating: ★★★☆☆

An extended stay in the wilderness inevitably directs one’s attention outward as much as inward, and it is impossible to live off the land without developing both a subtle understanding of, and a strong emotional bond with, that land and all it holds. (84%)

You know the saying, It takes all kinds to make the world go round?  That’s the phrase that kept coming to mind as I read Into the Wild.  Chris McCandless lived his life uniquely and while I would not necessarily make the same decisions, this book was able to somewhat explain his why. (As much as a third party can.)

CRIME SIGNALS: HOW TO SPOT A CRIMINAL BEFORE YOU BECOME A VICTIM by David Givens, Ph.D.
My Rating: ★★★☆☆

The most commonly experienced danger signs, however, are intangible feelings and suppositions that something is wrong. (2%)

Crime Signals is a good primer if you’re new to criminology.  I was already familiar with much of the information, but the tips on child predators were particularly helpful.  This book was written about 10 years ago and I’d be interested to see what has changed in criminology since then.

NIGHT OF MIRACLES by Elizabeth Berg
My Rating: ★★★☆☆

When Lucille was a girl, a carnival came to town one summer and they had a ride called the Whirligig. You sat in some wooden contraption that jerked you here, there, and everywhere. One minute you’d be going forward, the next backward or sideways or tilted over so far you thought you might fall out. It was never still and you had no idea what might come next. That’s life. You’re born, and you get a ride on the Whirligig. (72%)

This book is the sequel to The Story of Arthur Truluv with a few of the same characters and a few new ones.  Definitely not as good as the first book, but a charming easy read.

TEN ARGUMENTS FOR DELETING YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS RIGHT NOW by Jaron Lanier
My Rating: ★★★☆☆

…What if listening to an inner voice or heeding a passion for ethics or beauty were to lead to more important work in the long term, even if it measured as less successful in the moment?  What if deeply reaching a small number of people matters more than reaching everybody with nothing? (p.68)

I’m on a bit of a tech criticism kick lately, but don’t buy me a tin hat yet!  One of my goals for 2018 was to learn to think for myself again: stop scrolling, pull out the books and wrestle with new concepts.  I wanted to make my own conclusions without being swayed by what everyone else thought.  Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now reinforces those ideas.  Not a perfect book – it rambles on a bit and I didn’t fully agree on a few things – but lots to still think about.  Solid three and a half stars.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL by Charles Dickens
My Rating: ★★★★☆

It is a fair, even-handed, noble adjustment of things, that while there is infection in disease and sorry, there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good-humour. (p.71)

I’ve seen the cartoon versions of this story numerous times growing up, but have never read the original text!  At just over 100 pages, it’s not an intimidating classic and the descriptions are much more vivid than the movies can portray.  A great fable to read in December.

THE MIRACLE OF FATHER KAPAUN: PRIEST, SOLDIER AND KOREAN WAR HERO by Roy Wenzl and Travis Heying
My Rating: ★★★★☆

The suffering of that first winter was overwhelming.  Many soldiers were in their teens and early twenties, not mature enough to deal with that level of misery.  Kapaun never yelled at the prisoners when in their weakness they let each other down; he led by example. (p.47)

I assigned this book to my sixth grader for school, but quickly realized that it was one I needed to read too!  Fr. Emil Kapaun was such an inspirational man and a great example for my boys.

WHAT ALICE FORGOT by Liane Moriarty
My Rating: ★★★★☆

She had always thought that exquisitely happy time at the beginning of her relationship with Nick was the ultimate, the feeling they’d always be trying to replicate, to get back, but now she realized that was wrong.  That was like comparing sparkling mineral water to French champagne.  Early love is exciting and exhilarating.  It’s light and bubbly.  Anyone can love like that.  But love after three children, after a separation and a near-divorce, after you’ve hurt each other and forgiven each other, bored each other and surprised each other, after you’ve seen the worst and the best – well, that sort of love is ineffable.  It deserves its own word. (p.457)  

I’m probably one of the last people on Earth to read What Alice Forgot!  It found it easy to read, interesting and surprisingly thought-provoking.  I flew through it in days.

UNTIL I SAY GOOD-BYE: MY YEAR OF LIVING WITH JOY by Susan Spencer-Wendel
My Rating: ★★★☆☆

The big questions rose before me: Where do I want to go? How do I want to live? What is the central message of my life? (10%)


That is the secret I learn more of every day. Not to want things I cannot have or cannot do. Remove the want, and you remove the pain. (80%)

I chose Until I Say Good-Bye randomly from the library because the title sounded promising.  This memoir is about a mother diagnosed with ALS and the year she spent traveling and living with intention.  It was equal parts inspiring and just painfully raw and sad.

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BORN A CRIME: STORIES FROM A SOUTH AFRICAN CHILDHOOD by Trevor Noah
My Rating: ★★★☆☆

My mom would always say, “My job is to feed your body, feed your spirit, and feed your mind.” That’s exactly what she did, and the way she found money for food and books was to spend absolutely nothing on anything else. (20%)

We tell people to follow their dreams, but you can only dream of what you can imagine, and, depending on where you come from, your imagination can be quite limited. (27%)

The first thing I learned about having money was that it gives you choices. People don’t want to be rich. They want to be able to choose. The richer you are, the more choices you have. That is the freedom of money. (62%)

This memoir was a mix of humor and deep thoughts.  I love seeing life through someone else’s eyes and this one didn’t disappoint.  The last chapter about his mother and the domestic abuse she suffered was so powerful.  Solid three stars.

BEING MORTAL: MEDICINE AND WHAT MATTERS IN THE END by Atul Gawande

My Rating: ★★★★★

Death, of course, is not a failure. Death is normal. Death may be the enemy, but it is also the natural order of things. (3%)

This is the consequence of a society that faces the final phase of the human life cycle by trying not to think about it. We end up with institutions that address any number of societal goals—from freeing up hospital beds to taking burdens off families’ hands to coping with poverty among the elderly—but never the goal that matters to the people who reside in them: how to make life worth living when we’re weak and frail and can’t fend for ourselves anymore. (25%)

As our time winds down, we all seek comfort in simple pleasures—companionship, everyday routines, the taste of good food, the warmth of sunlight on our faces. We become less interested in the rewards of achieving and accumulating, and more interested in the rewards of simply being. (42%)

Technological society has forgotten what scholars call the “dying role” and its importance to people as life approaches its end. People want to share memories, pass on wisdoms and keepsakes, settle relationships, establish their legacies, make peace with God, and ensure that those who are left behind will be okay. They want to end their stories on their own terms. This role is, observers argue, among life’s most important, for both the dying and those left behind. (84%)

It’s been a while since a book has deeply impacted me like this one.  Such an important topic!  As I read, I started thinking about plans for myself someday as well as conversations I’d like to start with family members.  I also now know the questions to ask when we have to make difficult decisions on treatment options.  Highly recommend.

THE STORY OF BEAUTIFUL GIRL by Rachel Simon
My Rating: ★★★★☆

There were two kinds of hope: the kind you couldn’t do anything about and the kind you could. And even if the kind you could do something about wasn’t what you’d originally wanted, it was still worth doing. A rainy day is better than no day. A small happiness can make a big sadness less sad. (86%)

I read this book right after Being Mortal and kept making comparisons between the two.  This fictional account about individuals with disabilities had many of the same themes: dignity, respect and as much independence as possible.  It was heartbreaking and sad, but finished on a positive note.  It also inspired me to learn some American Sign Language.

SOMETIMES I LIE by Alice Feeney
My Rating: ★★☆☆☆

THE STORIED LIFE OF A.J. FIKRY by Gabrielle Zevin
My Rating: ★★★☆☆

They had only ever discussed books but what, in this life, is more personal than books? (7%)

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry is a sweet story for anyone who loves books.  A quick read with some quirky characters, it wasn’t what I expected but I liked it anyway.  Three and a half stars.

GLOW KIDS: HOW SCREEN ADDICTION IS HIJACKING OUR KIDS – AND HOW TO BREAK THE TRANCE by Nicholas Kardaras, Ph.D.
My Rating: ★★★★☆

Yet as screens glaze children the world over, parents either ignore the problem or just throw up their hands and sigh, “It’s just the way kids are today.”  But kids haven’t always been this way; it’s only been six years since the invention of the iPad – and in that blink of time, an entire generation of kids has been psychologically impacted and neurologically rewired. (pg.5)


Have you ever read a book that you needed right at that moment?  With Christmas on the horizon and gift decisions to be made, Glow Kids was that book for me.  Kardaras presents scientific study after scientific study and it really rocked me.  My gut feeling was proven in a little over 300 pages!  Needless to say, my Christmas shopping list is a little different after this book.  I’ll definitely be thinking about this one for months (years?) to come.

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BIRD BY BIRD: SOME INSTRUCTIONS ON WRITING AND LIFE by Anne Lamott 
My Rating: ★★★☆☆

There is ecstasy in paying attention.  You can get into a kind of Wordsworthian openness to the world, where you see in everything the essence of holiness, a sign that God is implicit in all of creation. (p.100) 

Anne Lamott is a bit of a quirky writer, but I liked this book from her about writing.  While I’m not a fiction writer nor do I have any aspirations to someday be published, there were still plenty of inspiring moments.  I also have a handful of new tips to share with my kids as they mature in their writing too.

THE QUEEN OF HEARTS by Kimmery Martin
My Rating: ★★★☆☆

“The other thing that I loathed was the complete inability of most people to think critically. They accepted as gospel all kinds of things without ever objectively examining for themselves why they so fervently believed them.”

My dear friend Shelly sent me her copy of this book in the mail and I couldn’t wait to get started!  She described it as Grey’s Anatomy in book form and I found that to be a pretty accurate description.  I liked the first half of the book better than the second half, but it was well paced and I flew right through it.  Solid three stars.


THE STORY OF ARTHUR TRULUV by Elizabeth Berg
My Rating: ★★★★☆

He stops his rocking to look over at her. “But what we need are readers. Right? Where would writers be without readers? Who are they going to write for? And actors, what are they without an audience? Actors, painters, dancers, comedians, even just ordinary people doing ordinary things, what are they without an audience of some sort? “See, that’s what I do. I am the audience. I am the witness. I am the great appreciator, that’s what I do and that’s all I want to do. I worked for a lot of years. I did a lot of things for a lot of years. Now, well, here I am in the rocking chair, and I don’t mind it, Lucille. I don’t feel useless. I feel lucky.” (53%)

The Story of Arthur Truluv is a sweet book about a new widower who befriends a hurting teenage girl.  It’s sort-of reminded me of A Man Called Ove, but with a much less curmudgeon-y main character.  I flew through it in days.  This book also made me miss my grandmothers so much.

CALLING ME HOME by Julie Kibler
My Rating: ★★★★☆

The heart is a demanding tenant; it frequently makes a strong argument against common sense.

Calling Me Home is the author’s response to learning a piece of not-well-known family history: her grandmother once fell in love with a black man in a time when a relationship was both forbidden and dangerous.  It’s was one of those books that was just so incredibly sad and heart-breaking, but in the best way.  I cried at the end and I rarely do that.

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NEED TO KNOW by Karen Cleveland 
My Rating: ★★★★★

“How long have you been working for the Russians?” I say. The words are raw, unprocessed. But they’re out now, so I watch his face closely, because his expression matters far more to me than his words. Will there be honest confusion? Indignation? Shame? There’s nothing. Absolutely no emotion crosses his face. It doesn’t change. And that sends a bolt of fear through me. He looks at me evenly. Waits a beat too long to answer, but just barely. “Twenty-two years.” (11%)

I stayed up way too late devouring this book!  You know how much I love a spy thriller and this one did not disappoint.  Such a page turner.  And the end?!  I can’t talk much about it without giving too much away, but it was SO good.  Definitely one of my favorites for 2018.  

TURTLES ALL THE WAY DOWN  by John Green 
My Rating: ★★★☆☆

Anybody can look at you. It’s quite rare to find someone who sees the same world you see. (4%)

Full disclosure: I don’t really enjoy YA – I have zero desire to return to my teenage years!  Even so, I have people in my life who suffer from OCD and anxiety and since Turtles All the Way Down comes highly recommended, I decided to give it a try.  And it was good!  Hearing of the main character’s internal battle was exhausting and even gave me a bit of anxiety, but I also found it to be really helpful.  By knowing more, I hope I can be a better friend/relative to those that suffer in this way.

SMALL GREAT THINGS by Jodi Picoult 
My Rating: ★★★★☆

On the day before classes were supposed to start, Mama took me out to dinner. “You’re destined to do small great things,” she told me. “Just like Dr. King said.” She was referring to one of her favorite quotes: If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way. (35%)

The science of creating another human is remarkable, and no matter how many times I’ve learned about cells and mitosis and neural tubes and all the rest that goes into forming a baby, I can’t help but think there’s a dash of miracle involved, too. (40%)

What can I say about this book?  It was an honest look at racism in America.  Hard to read at times, but also so good.  The parts related to birth and motherhood choked me up on more than one occasion.  It definitely gave me a lot to think about.

THE KITCHEN HOUSE by Kathleen Grissom
My Rating: ★★★☆☆

“Abinia,” she said, “this I know.  What the color is, who the daddy be, who the mama is don’t mean nothin’.  We a family, carin’ for each other.  Family make us strong in times of trouble.  We all stick together, help each other out.  That the real meanin’ of family.  When you grow up, you take that family feelin’ with you.” (p.160)

The Kitchen House dealt with slavery in the eighteenth century.  I enjoyed it, even if the bad things happening one after the other seemed a little like a soap opera.  I wasn’t particularly attached to the main character, but I sure did love Mama Mae.  Solid three stars.

THE EXPATS by Chris Pavone
My Rating: ★★☆☆☆

The best hiding spots are not the most hidden; they’re merely the least searched. 

I read and enjoyed one of Chris Pavone’s books years ago, so I was excited when The Expats came off the hold list at the library.  A story about a former CIA agent turned stay-at-home mom and the secrets that find her?  Sign me up!  After reading, though, I was a little disappointed.  It read more like a travelogue than a spy thriller, the story line was sometimes hard to follow and I wasn’t invested in any of the characters.  I was happy to close the book and move on.  Just okay for me.  I liked Pavone’s The Travelers way better.

THE BEAR AND THE NIGHTINGALE by Katherine Arden
My Rating: ★★★☆☆

“Nothing changes, Vasya. Things are, or they are not. Magic is forgetting that something ever was other than as you willed it.” (81%)

Another one from the library!  The Bear and the Nightingale is a young adult fantasy, which is a genre I rarely read, but I’m all about expanding my horizons and wanted to give it a shot.  The story is set in fairy tale-like Medieval Russia and is filled with Russian folklore.  There’s demons and spirits and even a vampire, so if that’s your jam, you’ll love this book.  Personally, I have a hard time with that stuff!  (The demons totally creep me out, which I know is ironic given my love for true crime novels.)  A solid three stars.

THE INNOCENT MAN: MURDER AND INJUSTICE IN A SMALL TOWN by John Grisham
My Rating: ★★★☆☆

“God help us, if ever in this great country we turn our heads while people who have not had fair trials are executed…” -Judge Frank Howell Seay

The Innocent Man is a true crime story about a man sent to death row for a crime he did not commit.  It was an interesting book, but long and sometimes tedious.  After finishing, I read some reviews on Goodreads and it seems Grisham may have embellished some of the facts to make the prosecution look worse. Totally a “he said/he said” moment, but it does give the book a little less credibility.

TEARS OF GOD: PERSEVERING IN THE FACE OF GREAT SORROW OR CATASTROPHE by Fr. Benedict J. Groeschel, CFR
My Rating: ★★★☆☆

It’s important to pray quietly and let the sufferings of Jesus sink deeply into your soul, and to match some aspect of the Passion with your own sufferings and sorrows.  Whether your suffering be great or small, whether the catastrophe is something that will pass or a horror that has permanent effects, every one of us can sit down and say with Jesus, “I am so grateful that you are here with me.” (p.59-60)

We who believe in Divine Providence, in life after death, in salvation and resurrection; we, of all people, when faced with catastrophe, must go on with courage, faith, and hope.  We must make things different.  We must not remain fixed in the grief of the past, but move on to doing good and making things better in the future.  The wound of sorrow will always be there.  We don’t want it to go away.  We want the wound to heal and scar.  We can work while the scar exists.” (p.70)

With all the horrible things talked about in the Church right now, I felt like it was an appropriate time to pull this book off the shelf.  While it doesn’t necessarily address the issue at hand, Fr. Benedict had many wise things to say about suffering that were helpful.

STATION ELEVEN by Emily St. John Mandel
My Rating: ★★★☆☆

She was thinking about the way she’d always taken for granted that the world had certain people in it, either central to her days or unseen and infrequently thought of. How without any one of these people the world is a subtly but unmistakably altered place, the dial turned just one or two degrees. (66%)

Post-apocalyptic science fiction isn’t my go-to genre, but after hearing so much buzz for this book over the years, I decided to give it a shot.  And…it was good!  In hindsight, though, after seeing how many people love it, I don’t think I really got it.  One positive: I had fresh eyes filled with gratitude for the modern conveniences we take for granted.

HILLBILLY ELEGY: A MEMOIR OF A FAMILY AND CULTURE IN CRISIS by J.D. Vance
My Rating: ★★★★☆
 
Not all of the white working class struggles. I knew even as a child that there were two separate sets of mores and social pressures. My grandparents embodied one type: old-fashioned, quietly faithful, self-reliant, hardworking. My mother and, increasingly, the entire neighborhood embodied another: consumerist, isolated, angry, distrustful. (58%)


It was in the Marine Corps where I first ordered grown men to do a job and watched them listen; where I learned that leadership depended far more on earning the respect of your subordinates than on bossing them around; where I discovered how to earn that respect; and where I saw that men and women of different social classes and races could work as a team and bond like family. It was the Marine Corps that first gave me an opportunity to truly fail, made me take that opportunity, and then, when I did fail, gave me another chance anyway. (68%)

Another one off the hold list at the library!  There was a lot of talk about Hillbilly Elegy the last few years and you know how much I enjoy a good memoir.  His reflections on his childhood trauma in Appalachia and how that affected relationships as an adult was really interesting.  Overall, I thought the book was insightful and gave me a lot to think about. 

This post contains affiliate links.  Linking up with Kristin’s Book by Book!

EDUCATED: A MEMOIR by Tara Westover
My Rating: ★★★★☆

Not knowing for certain, but refusing to give way to those who claim certainty, was a privilege I had never allowed myself. My life was narrated for me by others. Their voices were forceful, emphatic, absolute. It had never occurred to me that my voice might be as strong as theirs. (61%)

Educated is a fascinating memoir about a girl who was kept out of school by her survivalist family and yet eventually goes on to earn a PhD from Cambridge University.  It was a hard story to read, for all kinds of different reasons. Even so, I really enjoyed how she examined different perspectives and the limitations of our memories.  Her voice, as she found herself and her own story, was powerful.

KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON: THE OSAGE MURDERS AND THE BIRTH OF THE FBI by David Grann

My Rating: ★★★☆☆

Animals in zoos and prisoners sleep many hours a day. Like them I have become a devotee, a voluptuary of sleep, a connoisseur of its intense, uncharted pleasures. Sleep slips the chains of this life, snaps the intimate fetters of my skin, sets me free to travel the wild landscapes of the ungoverned mind. Each night I enter by the same door, yet find behind it something new. I plunge my hands into the lucky dip of dreams; sometimes I find sweets, and sometimes scorpions, but always, for a few hours, deliverance. (8%)

The noblest truth is “There is suffering.” The whole of history having been filled with such exotic and multifarious forms of it, “Why me?” is the question of an idiot. The sensible person says simply, “Why not?”(98%)

Girl in the Dark is the story of a healthy young woman who developed an extreme light sensitivity that required her to live in complete darkness.  Can you imagine feeling like a blowtorch was burning your face, just by looking at a computer screen?  It’s so hard to judge a memoir because I think everyone’s story is important, but this one was just a bit too lyrical and descriptive for my taste.  Even so, it might be a good choice for anyone suffering from a chronic illness. 

GONE GIRL by Gillian Flynn

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Linking up with Kristin’s Book by Book!

ROLL OF THUNDER, HEAR MY CRY by Mildred D. Taylor
My Rating: ★★★★☆

Mama’s grip did not lessen.  “It is something, Cassie.  White is something just like black is something.  Everybody born on this earth is something and nobody, no matter what color, is better than anybody else.” (p.127)

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry was assigned reading for my fifth grader’s history curriculum.  While I thought I had read it as a kid, as he was narrating to me, I quickly realized that I remembered close to nothing!  This book was heart-breaking for me in the way that some of the same issues still manifest today.  And then to have to talk about it with my kid?  Important, but so sad.

THE TWELVE LIVES OF SAMUEL HAWLEY by Hannah Tinti
My Rating: ★★★☆☆

Love isn’t about keeping promises. It’s about knowing someone better than anyone else. I’m the only one who knows him. I’m the only one who ever will.

This book was a library pick (library, I just can’t quit you!!) that I knew nothing about and primarily chose for the cover.  It is the story of a single father with a mysterious background, his 12 bullet wounds (each with their own story), and a dangerous past coming back to haunt him.  It had an overall melancholy tone, but I liked it.

MAKE YOUR BED: LITTLE THINGS THAT CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE…AND MAYBE THE WORLD by Admiral William H. McRaven (Ret.)
My Rating: ★★★★☆

Remember…start each day with a task completed.  Find someone to help you through life.  Respect everyone.  Know that life is not fair and that you will fail often.  But if you take some risks, step up when times are toughest, face down the bullies, lift up the downtrodden, and never, ever give up – if you do these things, then you can change your life for the better…and maybe the world! (p.104)

My dad gave me this little book for Christmas and it got lost in my overwhelming stack of nightstand books.  So glad I found it this month!  A quick read with solid advice.  My oldest read it after me and enjoyed it too.

THE NO.1 LADIES’ DETECTIVE AGENCY by Alexander McCall Smith
My Rating: ★★★☆☆

I am not ashamed to be called an African patriot, said Mma Ramotswe. I love all the people whom God made, but I especially know how to love the people who live in this place. They are my people, my brothers and sisters. It is my duty to help them to solve the mysteries in their lives. That is what I am called to do.

We read The Great Cake Mystery, one of Smith’s books for children, for school and enjoyed it so much that I had to pick up the first book in this series for adults.  I liked it!  Such a neat way to learn about Botswana too.

THE ART DETECTIVE: FAKES, FRAUDS, AND FINDS AND THE SEARCH FOR LOST TREASURES by Philip Mould
My Rating: ★★★☆☆

If I am honest, what first got me interested in art (and I had first done it with silver teaspoons and shoe buckles as a child) was the thrill of seizing on things others might have missed or undervalued.  As a result I got to love the paintings I later moved on to.  I and my colleagues may occupy a world of the ultimate luxury goods, of cosmopolitan refinement and intellectual acumen, but beneath the varnished surface the competitive animal lurks. (p.216)

I picked up The Art Detective at the thrift store for $1.  Some stories were more interesting than others and it’s definitely a book for a specific niche, but I learned a lot about art dealing and how paintings are restored.

THE LAST GIRL: MY STORY OF CAPTIVITY, AND MY FIGHT AGAINST THE ISLAMIC STATE by Nadia Murad
My Rating: ★★★★☆

I still think that being forced to leave your home out of fear is one of the worst injustices a human being can face. Everything you love is stolen, and you risk your life to live in a place that means nothing to you and where, because you come from a country now known for war and terrorism, you are not really wanted. (19%)

I don’t even know where to begin with this one.  I read it in two days and was so heartbroken by her story.  I know this book will stay with me for awhile.  A powerful read.

I’LL BE GONE IN THE DARK: ONE WOMAN’S OBSESSIVE SEARCH FOR THE GOLDEN STATE KILLER by Michelle McNamara

I love ports. I love the smell of tar and sea air, and the scream of the gulls. Maybe it’s years of taking the ferry to France for summer holidays, but a harbor gives me a feeling of freedom in a way that an airport never does. Airports say work and security checks and delays. Ports say… I don’t know. Something completely different. Escape, maybe.

I found The Woman in Cabin 10 at the thrift store and couldn’t put it down!  There are twists and turns throughout and I couldn’t quite figure it all out – a sign of a good book!

IN THIS HOUSE OF BREDE by Rumer Godden
My Rating: ★★★★☆

‘We don’t put much faith in ecstasies here,’ Dame Ursula had told them.  ‘The nun you see rapt away in church isn’t likely to be the holiest.  The holiest one is probably the one you would never notice because she is simply doing her duty.’ (p.41)

In This House of Brede is a beautiful look at monastic life.  I found the book to be a great reminder that priests and nuns, while living a holy vocation, are still human, with likes and dislikes and annoying character traits just like the rest of us!  I was also really struck by God’s hand in Philippa’s life, from beginning to end.  We can’t always see the “why” of situations in our lives, but God is faithful.


FLAT BROKE WITH TWO GOATS: A MEMOIR by Jennifer McGaha 
My Rating: ★★★★☆

Until that moment, self-sufficiency had been a strange and abstract concept, something my forebears had had to do, but nothing I would have chosen. Now, the enormity of what I had been missing all along struck me—this, the simplest of joys, the pleasure of nurturing living things that would then give back to me in return. (46%)

When I was in my twenties and even my thirties, fifty had been unimaginable—a lifetime away. I had so much to do before then. I had kids to raise, a career to tend to, so much to do and see and accomplish. But now, here I was on the cusp of fifty, and the only thing I really knew was how very much I did not know, how much I would never know. (82%)

My life before revolved around doing what I thought I should do or what I believed other people thought I should do, and I was so busy doing those things, I never really understood what I wanted. I didn’t stop consider other possibilities or to listen to those parts of me that longed for a simpler life, for some deeper connection to the people I loved. So I think I have made some progress toward figuring out how to do that, how to create a life that is meaningful with the people I love. (98%)

I stumbled upon this while it was on the front page of my library app.  While I didn’t necessarily agree with the way they handled their money (and the initial lack of responsibility regarding losing everything), I loved the goat antics!  I learned so much about raising goats and kept reading parts aloud to Mark. The lessons she learned because of the catastrophe were so good too.

BRAIN ON FIRE: MY MONTH OF MADNESS by Susannah Cahalan
My Rating: ★★★★★

The healthy brain is a symphony of 100 billion neurons, the actions of each individual brain cell harmonizing into a whole that enables thoughts, movements, memories, or even just a sneeze. But it takes only one dissonant instrument to mar the cohesion of a symphony. When neurons begin to play nonstop, out of tune, and all at once because of disease, trauma, tumor, lack of sleep, or even alcohol withdrawal, the cacophonous result can be a seizure. (18%)

Dr. Najjar, for one, is taking the link between autoimmune diseases and mental illnesses one step further: through his cutting-edge research, he posits that some forms of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and depression are actually caused by inflammatory conditions in the brain. (80%)

I wouldn’t take that terrible experience back for anything in the world. Too much light has come out of my darkness. (90%)

Brain on Fire is an incredible medical memoir about a twenty-something journalist who within the course of a month, went from being totally healthy to strapped to a hospital gurney with doctors debating whether to admit her to a psychiatric ward.  I found it so fascinating and couldn’t put it down!  I learned so much about the intricacies of the brain and the fine line between psychological issues and neurological ones.



LITTLE BROKEN THINGS by Nicole Baart
My Rating:  ★★★☆☆

Jack’s death taught Liz that sometimes the surface is not an accurate indicator of what lies beneath. Sometimes these things just happen. There’s no way to know. No way to predict. (6%)

Little Broken Things was another one that I stumbled upon at the library.  The story is about a mysterious request from one estranged sister to another to keep a little girl safe and hidden.  It was suspenseful, although I did figure it out quite early into the story.  A little slow-moving, but good.

THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN by Katherine Applegate
My Rating: ★★★☆☆ (more like 3.5 stars)

I can just make out Bob’s little head sticking out of Julia’s backpack. “You are the One and Only Ivan,” he calls.  I nod, then turn toward my family, my life, my home.  “Mighty Silverback,” I whisper. (p.300)

We read this one as our school read aloud for April.  This was a moving story about an adult gorilla living inside a glass cage in a mall and his mission to find freedom for his friend.  I found the book absolutely heart-breaking and said on more than one occasion, “This is just the saddest thing ever!”  I can’t believe it was inspired by real-life events too.

LOST BOY: THE TRUE STORY OF CAPTAIN HOOK by Christina Henry
My Rating: ★★★☆☆

We were still children, for all that we thought we weren’t. We were in that in-between place, the twilight between childish things and grown-up things. Childhood still held out a friendly hand to us, if we wanted to go back to it, while the unexplored country was ahead, beckoning us to come there and see what new pleasures were to be found. (73%)

A pick outside of my usual genres, Lost Boy explores the Peter Pan story through Captain Hook’s eyes.  The premise is a really interesting twist and I don’t think I’ll ever look at Peter Pan the same way again.  A good book, but super dark, violent and bloody.

FOUR SEASONS IN ROME: ON TWINS, INSOMNIA, AND THE BIGGEST FUNERAL IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD by Anthony Doerr
My Rating: ★★★★☆