Knowing (The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman)

Chaos thrives in a world of masks, but knowing one's identity brings power to break through that chaos. The Masked City, book number two in The Invisible Library series has the backbone of an excellent story; however, I struggled to get through the opening chapters -- chapters which fill in much for someone who has not read book number one or has not read it in a long time. I had rushed from book one to reading book two, and my mind was twiddling its synapses impatient to get into the new part of the story.

Sadly one of my favorite characters was not exactly missing in book two but had very little interaction in the book. That knocked my rating down for this book. I did not, however, stop me from bookmarking some favorite pages or stop me from wanting to read the next book in the series.

I continue to enjoy running into allusions to other literary works and authors. I've bookmarked an historical reference (also found in a famous play) as well as a reference to Murasaki, an author whose works I hope to get around to reading. Also, Cogman continues to grow Irene in her sense of identity, but I was disappointed in one particular rescue made in the book. With these disappointments, I want to give the book a middling rating -- a 3. Then, Cogman writes in a discussion between Lady Guantes and Irene. Irene is questioning Lady G on the benefits of Venice (this alternate Venice) for humans. Lady G claims the humans are happy. Irene claims, "The moment one of your kind interacts with them, the humans lose their volition, their freedom. Their life. In your world, the humans are just background characters."

To which Lady G replies, "But such happy background characters..." There's more and all worthy of discussion, and, if you've read my reviews before, you know how much I love discussion worthy books. UP goes the rating to 4 stars.

For now, I'll skip over the family ties and spiritual formation ties...oh, wait. I did think of something that would be intriguing: where would the various characters fit in the Enneagram? 

Reading 3.0 (The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman)

I could stick with rating this book with a range of 4-5, but 'The Invisible Library' was clearly a 5 star book for me.

This book was displayed with librarian favorites at my local library. It's listed as a science fiction book (not my normal reading genre although it is often one of my favorite genres in television series or movies). I was intriguingly lost rather than hopelessly lost at the beginning. Some readers don't like that feeling of being dropped into the middle of something and being overwhelmed (if you are one of them, this is not the book for you). If it had dealt with a subject unfamiliar to me, then maybe I would feel the same way, too; however, this was about books and libraries and dragons and alternate worlds, oh my! The author knows Tolkien and Sherlock and coding and gaming and books.

The protagonist Irene is a strong female character, and I'm fascinated with THE language of the THE Library. Maybe I was "glamoured" (have to read the book to know the expression), and maybe if I was more familiar with science fiction, I would not have been so enamored with the book, but I was, so much so, I rushed out and picked up the second book in the series. Book one can stand alone. I haven't finished the second book so I can't tell yet whether I will have wished I had read just the one. Since first writing this, I have finished the second book, and that review will follow this one.

💕💕💕 Family-wise, I keep coming back to the beauty of libraries. You don't have to be rich to use the library unless you are prone to overdue or lost books; however, our library system has recently stopped overdue fines! I feel a little guilty (wondering how am I going to support the library now), but I am hoping that getting rid of library fines goes well for the system! This novel also points out the power of language and that is a narrative from which every family can benefit.

---No matter what I read, I am one body in the physical world, one mind and heart in the story, and one spirit and soul indwelt by God (well, all of me is indwelt by Christ as in Christ, I live and move and have my being) -- hopefully you understand that I am saying that I sense God moments. And, there is a moment in this book when Irene understands how to beat back the enemy by claiming her identity. I won't say more than that in the interest of not spoiling the story for other readers.

Ageproofing (Age-Proof by Chatzky, Roizen, and Spiker)

Were these types of books out there when I was younger and I just ignored them? Maybe. Then, again, when I was younger, families thought they were feeding their children healthy food if they could afford the new boxed cereals, commercially canned fruits and vegetables (loaded with sugar and salt), and a commercial loaf of bread that could be molded into a marshmallow (with same type of texture).

A bit of a different picture this post. I actually don't know what connection I was making between these three! I may have been showing a family member how I can read three books at the same time. I started AgeProof (the book on the bottom of the picture) on January 1 and finished it on February 9. The book is meant to be worked through not raced through. The subtitle is "Living Longer Without Running Out of Money or Breaking a Hip." Jean Chatzky provides the financial information, Michael F. Roizen, MD provides the health information, and Ted Spiker writes it in a way so that the reader is not bored to death. The format is easy to work with and humorous as Spiker "spikes" (I had to) the information with quips from the two experts. The chapters alternate between finance and health (with connections to each other interwoven).

I have not read any of these authors other works so it was not a rehash for me. I did know much of the information, but it was nice to see it in writing with the background research written in common vocabulary and not medical or financial jargon.

Reviews are all over the place with this book -- the first that I've seen that happen on a site like Goodreads. The fluctuations in ratings seem to come from whether the reader gained much from the book or little, and that makes sense. If you already know the information, then the book will be boring or shallow. If the reader doesn't want to hear that Americans need to eat healthier, then that reader is going to think the doctor is pompous. Was it totally new to me? No, but did I find useful information or encouragement? Yes. Do I think the book is worth working through, if only as a checkup if you already know everything? Yes. Do I already believe in healthy eating and living healthy financially as well? Yes. My rating range: 3-5.

💕💕💕 In our family, we tend to make wise eating choices and we ended up eventually making wise financial choices, but, oh how we wish we had made those wise financial choices from the moment we married! I like how this book encourages everyone that it is never too late and even has sections for the different stages of life. My children are getting this book as a gift (and now I will find out which ones read my blog...ha).

--- It may seem strange to think that I am including my spiritual formation section in a review of a finance and health book; however, these authors have wise words about forming habits and making changes by small steps. Also, when one is wanting to change, change happens best when one replaces an unhealthy or unwise habit with a better choice rather than simply to stop the bad habit. For example, if a person wants to stop buying sugar laden lattes everyday (hard on the finances and the gut), then replace it with a smaller plain latte (less money and less sugar but still caffeine) and a small piece of extra dark chocolate.

With Christ-following spiritual formation, the replacement for gossip or lack of kindness or (fill in the blank) is knowing Christ. Not knowing about Jesus, but knowing Jesus daily. In order to do so, one way to make time for knowing Jesus and stopping the gossip or the unkindness might be to practice small steps of silence  or maybe it will be to start small steps of journaling or maybe singing grateful songs. I'll revisit these thoughts in later blogs. 

Surviving (The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah)

When it comes to getting a beautiful book cover (and end sheets with beautiful gold embossing), it helps to be a well-known bestselling author like Kristin Hannah.

I would give the book a rating range of 4-5 stars even without the beautiful cover. Five stars because Hannah's writing continues to be excellent (and she knows how to keep her verb tense consistent -- lack of which drives me crazy as you know if you read my last review of another author's book), and the story itself is mesmerizing even more so, for me, when I found out that Hannah has lived in Alaska (and I found the link to her life embedded within the story). Four stars because I don't know that I will read the book again, and I have no bookmarks in the book. Bookmarks show me that I found a thought that I want to come back to again and again, usually something philosophical or theological or thought-provoking.

My response to other reviews of this book:
The main antagonist deals with some issues that will annoy, frustrate, irritate, or anger some military families. Some of those reviews have a point. Hannah's explanations might have been a bit too pat and convenient. For one of my family members, characters putting up with abuse frustrates him and makes him stop reading. Yes, here is your forewarning: there is abuse in this story.

Some felt the ending was abrupt and again, conveniently romantic. After the tension of surviving in the country itself and surviving the situations in the book, a more uplifting ending was fine with me. Resolutions generally are short.

I can tell you right away, no thinking about it, I would not survive living in Alaska. I admire those who do. I enjoyed the story; I appreciated the characters. I was as frustrated with some of them as my family member would have been (but I kept reading). Also, I felt Hannah kept the story based in reality.

💕💕💕 Family -- the good, bad, and ugly are included in this book. From my own personal experience, I am not good at teaching survival skills (see above -- I would not survive). My preparation for sending children off to college was to make sure that they had tasted baked goods such as Twinkies and Ding Dongs (food we normally did not eat). In situations where teaching children to survive is needed, I am not the one.

--- Ask me about surviving spiritually, and I want to talk about not just surviving but growing and thriving. The "great alone" lower case, not the story of the book, can be beneficial when it is silence, solitude, and time between one and one's Creator. But, it can also be gut-wrenching when it is alone and lonely.

The narrative of 'The Great Alone' is set in a vast lonely place; however, community shines throughout the story. As my own family was discussing so many sorrows hitting at once, the common saying, "God never gives you more than you can handle" tends to come to mind. Actually,  the Bible verses people base the above saying on doesn't refer to tragic suffering. Sometimes we do get more than we can handle...alone. We need help, from God, from others.

Reading 2.0 (I'd Rather Be Reading by Anne Bogel)

My reading of this book I'd Rather Be Reading by Anne Bogel came about because of happy coincidental timing of two reading challenges ("a book about reading" on the 2019 Reshelving Alexandria Reading Challenge), (2019 Modern Mrs. Darcy Reading Challenge which led me to her blog), and the book itself offered at half price from two different vendors.

At first glance, I felt the special offer price was the only price I would ever pay for a book this small; however, that was before I actually read the book. It would make a great gift book which was another reason I thought it should be under $10 until I looked at the prices of the gift books on my shelves, and I realized $10 and more is not an unusual price for a gift book.

So, pricing aside, I went from a range of 3 stars (I like this book) to 4 stars (I really like this book).  I'm glad I bought it, and my "Want to Read" list of books grew especially since I discovered via Goodreads' book compatibility analysis that I have a 90% book compatibility with Anne Bogel, so I am likely to enjoy the books she mentions in this book.

The opening chapters were fine. I felt like I could read those same chapters on her blog, but, as I continued reading, her chapters (really, each stand alone pieces in themselves rather than connected chapters -- "charming essays" one reviewer called them) held some deeper thoughts (a quality I like). Interestingly, a reader who gave the book a rating of 3.5 liked the opening chapters and not the last chapters. Differences in enjoyment for various chapters is probably fairly common in a book of essays. My guess is that any voracious reader would enjoy this book as a gift (and at 156 pages, it is little in size, not in number of pages).

💕💕💕 It's definitely a great book for parents who are short of times to read (because the chapters are short and complete within themselves) and who want to raise children who read.

----Those interested in spiritual transformation, I loved the sighting of the influence of Dallas Willard on pages 27-28. 

Siblings 2.0 ('The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag' by Alan Bradley AND 'The Immortalists' by Chloe Benjamin)

I am writing about these two books in one post because of two common factors: I started out disliking both of them, and siblings are involved in both. Other than that, the differences between the two books will leave some of my friends open-mouthed and amazed that I paired up the two. I'm not sure I came to truly like either of them, but I did move both to a range of interest beyond one star, "I hate the book" rating.

I started reading the second book of Alan Bradley's Flavia de Luce series, 'The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag' on the third day of January (hence the holiday mug in the picture), and didn't finish it until the end of January, dragging my eyeballs all along the way. I wasn't overflowing with love for the first book in the series; however, it grew on me enough to consider reading books 2-4 in order to fulfill "three books by the same author" on the 2019 Modern Mrs Darcy Reading Challenge.

However, protagonist Flavia's love of poison and the treatment of the three sisters toward each other annoyed me from the beginning of the book. Also, unlike the first book, I didn't like the mystery to be solved. Still I kept on for reasons I don't even know. Possibly it is because I didn't realize until I wrote up above "three books by the same author" that the challenge wasn't to read "three books in a series by the same author". Since I could not think of another series, I keep plodding along. Then, I reached the point where a character I do like entered the story: Inspector Hewitt. Unfortunately, he is not in this particular story often. I also like the author's writing skills, excellent vocabulary, and wonderful allusions to other literary works. Sometimes Bradley even has a witty or thought-provoking quote such as this: "...I have learned that under certain circumstances, a fib is not only permissible, but can even be an act of perfect grace" (268).

Then, Bradley, does something at the end that makes me say to myself: "Drat, he did it again! He offers a controversial statement by the pre-teen narrator that causes me to want to discuss this book and this thought!" I shall give a portion of that statement, only a portion so as not to spoil any plots (which I never see coming because mysteries are not my "go-to" genre): "We were puppets, all of us, set in action upon the stage by God -- or Fate -- or Chemistry, call it what you will..." (354).

Bradley's protagonist also highlights a difference between his book and 'The Immortalists'. Flavia remarks upon the undertaker's use of the phrase "final journey" and several pages prior means to ask Dogger (another favorite character) what it meant when Emma Bovary "gave herself up to him" (281). My star range for this book: 2-3 stars and the possibility that I might (emphasis on "might") try the next book in the series.

My star range for Chloe Benjamin's 'The Immortalists' is 2-4 stars -- a whole lot of two stars, a handful of 3 stars and barely squeaking in there, 4 stars for this book that includes much to discuss. No mild "final journey" or "gave herself up to him" phrases in this book. It's graphic and detailed even in a sixteen-year-old's careless, dangerous (the author's words) sex. I knew from the first page description of a thirteen-year-old's body that I was going to dislike this book. Why did I keep on reading? Because my grown daughter and I were reading the book at the same time (and she gave me  the book). So, I read on even though, after the detailed section stopped, the lack of consistent verb tense drove me almost crazy!

Here's my issue with this book: I felt as if the publisher knew this was going to be a popular book (read "a book that would sell a lot of copies") and so the editors did not send it back for 13, 16, 20 revisions (the number of revisions I've heard other authors mention). They wanted to get this book to market.

I don't know what book people are talking about when they say this is a "joyous" book; it is a sad book, a painful book, a grieving book, and I only bumped my rating up into the 3-4 star range because sad books are also often discussion worthy books.

The "big idea" issue I see in this book revolves around knowing one's future. Research shows us that when we're young, our older selves don't connect in our minds as a part of who we are, yet, knowing the future may not be the best for our present selves either.

The other connected issue involves the lengths we go to extend our lives. I won't say more as it could be a plot spoiler. And, an issue that returns again and again: lack of communication. Lack of communication between the siblings in this book hurts.

The pain is in reading through this time period of the AIDS epidemic (so many lives lost), of a time when a female magician was a novelty like a "pink volcano" in Vegas (when men had more value than women), a time when waivers were needed to send young men into war, and bringing us up to current times: what kind of research do we do to extend our lives (and what if what we learn actually takes the joy out of living?)

Quotes worth discussing:

"She understands, too, the loneliness of parenting, which is the loneliness of memory -- to know that she connects a future unknowable to her parents with a past unknowable to her child" (134).

"In time was their culture. In time, not in space, was their home" (139).

"That was the problem with God: he didn't hold up to a critical analysis" (179).

"As a species, God might be the greatest gift we've ever given ourselves. The gift of sanity" (180).

"But perhaps God was nothing like the dreadful, lurid fascination that brought him to the fortune teller...For Saul, God had meant order and tradition, culture and history. Daniel still believed in choice, but perhaps that did not foreclose belief in God..." (181).

I'll stop here. In the first half of the book, I have no highlighting bookmarks; in the second half, I have bookmarks every five pages or so.

Truthing (Golden State by Ben H. Winters)

I started to use "Lying 2.0" as part of my post title because I thought "truthing" was not a word; however, possibly it is a rare word used in the Late Middle English period. Some would say that "truthing" is rarely used now as well. But, I digress. Or, do I? The story of Golden State by Ben H. Winters revolves around telling the truth and any digression from the truth (telling a lie) is a punishable crime. The picture below pairs water with the book as the setting is California, the golden state, and, until recently, a state in drought.
 

This dystopian novel (a favorite genre of mine as my daughter, who read it with me, accurately claims) feels like a modern day twist on Fahrenheit 451. Just as Fahrenheit 451 foresaw big screen televisions, reality shows, and bluetooth earbuds ("seashells" I think Bradbury called them), I have to wonder if Winters is foreseeing a time where our desire to know the truth based on webcams and instant replay, etc., actually imprisons us in some false notion of truth.

Discussion groups will have no problem finding points to discuss especially centered around "What is truth?" I have to confess while reading this book I went to coffee with a dear friend and we forgot to take a picture. What an amazing thought that two people would go to coffee and not take a picture! This little sentence crossed my mind: "Did we truly meet up for coffee if we did not record the occasion in a photo?" The whole thought is laughable, and yet...

I'm tending to give books a ratings "range" these days, and the range for this one is 3-4 stars. Four stars because I do like dystopian novels, and this one does have a story, even a mystery to solve. (I didn't see the answer coming, but then I never do.) Three stars because the story flounders at the end; however, I think Winters has a sequel planned (otherwise, the ending stinks, and I am left wondering what happens to some particular characters I grew fond of).

💕💕💕 Not really a family friendly book, but great ideas in here for adults to discuss with the younger generation.

Spiritual formation -- I'm wondering if a practice that might lend itself to discovery would be to go for a certain period of time without taking any "selfies". To remember something by way of art or conversation. Or, to compare pictures taken, art drawn, memories and discuss how each member of a family sees and perceives an event or even "coffee time."

I Resolved Not to Make Resolutions

I have not made New Year's Resolutions for many years; however, this year on a whim and because my daughter did it first and showed me her list, I made a 20 Before 2020 List.

This is mine, not hers. We have a few in common if you adjust them slightly. She wants to read 26 books; for a second year in a row, I am attempting 52 books read in 52 weeks. She's going to take a new class and go to an art exhibit; I'm going to try and take an art class. I stole #4 from her: "12 Purges -- 1/month.

It is the last day of January, and I somewhat started a purge...sort of...kind of...okay, well, maybe not. Yet, the difference between a resolution and a (whatever this is...a to do list by a certain time...20 Actions Before 2020) makes itself most clear when I fail.

When I fail a resolution, I fail. End of story. End of resolution. Try again next year. When I fail at this list, I don't think of myself as failing. One, it was made up in fun and whimsy and a measure of reality. Two, when I failed at some of these, I actually succeeded at something better. That silly number 9 about using bookmarks? I learned not to use bills and checks, and I learned that old envelopes and library receipts (or coffee receipts) and napkins can be torn to mark special pages. Therefore, fancy bookmarks are not always the best choice for me to mark a page.

My 20 Before 2020 list is an opportunity to ask myself "What works?" and "What didn't work and why?" Or, "What didn't work, but worked out even better?" On one hand, I failed miserably on #12 -- tech free, utility free day / month. On the other hand, I succeeded because I kept trying each day to fulfill number 12 and, by the end of the month, I had more moments of turning out lights, of making decisions to not use technology or appliances. I became more aware and more conscious of my actions.

A third reason I don't feel like a failure: Many of these involve one action to be completed by the end of the year. One month has finished, but I have eleven more to go!

(P.S. For those wondering about "deeper" actions: I do have additions, but that's a whole other post, and who is to say that numbers 1-12 aren't deep?) 

Transitioning ('The War Bride's Scrapbook' by Caroline Preston and 'Jane and Prudence' by Barbara Pym)

I started to use "Matchmaking" as a post title; however, the war was the "matchmaker" in the one book and matchmaking isn't such a draw anymore. On a whim I grabbed The War Bride's Scrapbook off of the new library books shelf. If I couldn't find something better, the cover would meet a reading book challenge of "book you chose for the cover" (Modern Mrs. Darcy Reading Challenge).

(I reviewed the middle book Proof in my previous post.)

The War Bride's Scrapbook was also my third book read in 2019 (3/52). I read it fairly quickly, four days, and not because it is a novel in pictures. While not a typical novel, author Preston does actually give us the story of Lila Jerome who elopes after a few weeks of knowing Perry Weld who is about to ship out to the European front. I found the clippings of vintage postcards, magazine articles (with advice that borders on hilarious to us nowadays), newspaper clippings (sad), and photographs to be enlightening -- an excellent way for an adult to learn more about WWII and life during that time. Not exactly high school textbook material (who would have thought grandma and great grandma -- and great, great grandma --  thought that way about sex in the 1940s). It was an enjoyable book and in that respect I would give it 4 stars, but I usually reserve 4 stars for something I would buy at least at thrift store prices. The more I think about it, I might buy this book as a gift, so I'll leave it at 4 stars. It's worth checking out from the library and if it was a bit more general audience content in the bedroom, I would definitely buy it for a high school history/government class. 

I intentionally ordered from the library Jane and Prudence by Barbara Pym (1953) because it was a book written before I was born; I saw it on a Goodreads list; and Pym is an author I did not know (with a book cover that looks Austen-ish). Interestingly, Shirley Hazzard (apparently an author I should know but I don't), is quoted on the cover as saying, "Her books will last." I had never heard of Pym before so she did not make the 50 years necessary to become a "classic." Although, who knows, maybe she's going to make a posthumous comeback. This novel reads so much like an Austen type of novel, but has modern qualities, that I was baffled by the time frame at first. It is indeed a modern (modern for Pym and 1953) novel. Other reviewers claim Pym's novel has the feel of Wodehouse, but I can't verify that as I have not read Wodehouse (I know, let the shaming begin); however, I can agree that it has the feel of Austen (Pym is a bit more gently edgy, a bit more thought provoking in not just relationships but also church hierarchy and social mores for men and women), and the feel of Trollope (but not so long and drawn out) and the feel of Gaskell (but not so short). Stars, oh yes, rating with stars. This is one of those books, I would encourage people to check out of the library and keep checking out of the library so that it doesn't get discarded. I don't think I really need to buy it (which means 3 stars: I like it, but I don't want to buy it); however, I think the book is worth keeping around. Maybe I could say that I would buy it as a gift, not necessarily for my children (so, my children, don't start groaning about mom's next Christmas gift to you), but my literary women friends, if I had unlimited book funds, yes, I would buy it for them. 

Book Discussion Group? -- Definitely for both of these books. 

Transitioning? -- For the first, transitioning through the war years and the aftermath, transitioning in married life, transitioning in the role of women in culture. For the second, transitioning into modern life and also transitioning in the role of women in culture. 

Racing (Proof by Dick Francis)

"Racing" in this title refers to the world of horse racing in the book, but it can also refer to me racing to catch up with posting about what I have been reading. I have never stopped reading (even if it meant reading cereal boxes during my childrearing years); however, writing (as I recently read) quickly turns into a long and boring practice (which...cough...often spills over into this blog). Therefore, let me race through this review.

My local library book group periodically mentions Dick Francis, yet I never picked up any of his books until this year when I was looking for a book written in 1984. Of course, I looked up the 1984 booklist on Goodreads and saw this one Proof by Dick Francis. Mysteries, detective work, etc. don't usually appeal to me -- too much blood and guts, and I'm horrible at solving the mystery.

I did not solve the mystery (before it was revealed) in Proof either; however, the story of whiskey and wine being stolen, the additional background of horse racing, and, more importantly, an actual mystery written with more character development than blood and guts, kept me interested...so much so that I was disappointed to find out that Francis had not continued writing books about these characters. They would be perfect for a television series (since I can't read more about them in books). This book was #2 in the 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge, and it was going to be my book outside my genre comfort zone on the 2019 Modern Mrs. Darcy Reading Challenge. Since then I have found another book farther outside my comfort zone. Proof is a mellow, enjoyable read. I give it 4 stars which equals "Really good. I am returning it to the library, but I did recommend it to someone who bought the ebook version (for cheap), and if I saw it (not ebook) at a thrift store price, I would buy it." Interesting side note: the pages in this hardbound copy are super thick. I like quality paper, but these were almost too thick.

💕💕💕 Family section: I can't reveal all without including a plot spoiler, but Proof includes the protagonist's struggle with living up to his father. The conclusion is much better (thought-provoking) than one expects in a mystery novel. We all tend to have someone we try to whom we try to measure up, and sometimes we discover that that person had those very same feelings.

--- Thought-provoking spiritual formation quote: "To err was human, to be easily forgiven was to be sentimentally set free to err again. To be repeatedly forgiven destroyed the soul" (158). 

Lying (Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty)

My first book read in 2019, Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty, fulfills both book 1 read in week 1 of the 52 Books Read in 52 Weeks Challenge and one of the challenges on the 2019 Modern Mrs. Darcy Reading Challenge list: "a book in the backlist of a favorite author".  I don't know that Liane Moriarty fully qualifies as a favorite author as I have only read one other book of hers, Nine Perfect Strangers. Find that review here. However, one of the libraries in our county-wide system discarded their large print version of Big Little Lies so I snatched it up for a mere couple of dollars. Moriarty wrote it before Nine Perfect Strangers so I was set to meet the backlist challenge.

Note: I had to look up to see what a backlist is (it's a list of books an author has written before the one you are currently reading, and it is usually at the front of the current book). I thought maybe it was other book titles by other authors that the author one is reading mentions within his or her book, if that makes sense.

I was prepared for a well-written story as most reviewers of Nine Perfect Strangers felt it did not match the greatness of this book Big Little Lies. It was excellent, four stars excellent; however, I can't write that it was better than Nine Perfect Strangers. The books are different from one another.

I wasn't quite prepared for the seriousness of Big Little Lies. Moriarty's humor and satire come through but there are some deep issues dealing with abuse in Big Little Lies. CAVEAT: the situations could spark emotions in readers who have had to deal with these issues although I also hope that if someone is going through the same issues that this might encourage them to seek help.

I can imagine that someone who reads Big Little Lies first and then follows up with Moriarty's next book might have expected something just as serious as they read Nine Perfect Strangers, but Moriarty mixed it up a bit. Her satirical take on modern life is in both books, but is more prevalent in the later book. It will all boil down to a matter of taste. I liked both books. I gave away Nine Perfect Strangers to my son because I thought he would enjoy the health spa improvement satire in it, but I don't see me giving him Big Little Lies because Moriarty gets more into the heads of her female characters in this book. Not that males can't read a book heavy with female characters. Heavens! Females have read books heavy in male characters for years!

Big Little Lies would make a great book discussion group read (there's even a so-called book discussion group in the story although mostly they gossip). CAVEAT: Moriarty occasionally drops the "F" word and other like terms. When this happens I tend to remember something I read 20 or more years ago. An Australian writer (like Moriarty but not Moriarty) stated that Americans had such clean speech but horrible morals whereas research showed Australians with high morals and colorful speech.

I can't go into much more without revealing plot spoilers. Yes, there is a mystery to be solved and I enjoyed how Moriarty set up the book. For my friends who hate ambiguous endings, you will like this book because it is not ambiguous. In spite of some fairly shallow conversations, the people are complex. I read 675 pages in three days, but it was large print. Still it's not a small book and it is easy to stay interested in the story and read it quickly.

---My real life section of the blog as it relates to this book. The children. The children see and they do what mom and dad model. It can be cute, but it can also be horrible when it deals with these situations. Our family did not, but no one gets off free of missing the mark in this book. Gossip and pettiness is framed humorously, but those "big little lies" come back to haunt you. 

Wrap Up of 52 Books in 52 Weeks

As a first timer last year in the 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge, I did not realize that there was a end-of-the-year wrap up until I saw a friend's post. Now that I know, here is mine (complete with a picture of my many bookmarks and a gift mug from a friend)!

Did you reach your reading goal or did you decide to just meander about and follow  rabbit trails and end up getting lost in the enjoyment of reading?  

I didn't have any goal other than to reach 52 books in the year. It turns out that I easily read 52 books in less than 52 weeks; however, reviewing them and writing about them was more challenging. It was also disheartening when Google changed up their algorithms in October so that I had less folks reading the blog. Not that I write to gain lots of readers, but it helps to have some readers. I was encouraged and content to have 70-100 and did not need more. A change of algorithms meant less exposure, and I'm not interested in adding ads. So, there you have it: if you read my blog minus the ads, thank you!

Where did your armchair travels take you?  Which countries and time periods did you journey through? 

France, Burundi, South Africa (twice), UK (twice), Mexico, and Russia were the countries I "traveled" to outside of my own which made up the majority of the rest of the books when they were not non-fiction or fantasy.  

Which books stayed with you the longest?  Did you set any aside to read again at some point and savor the story all over again?

I'll be dipping back into a number of non-fiction books: Joyful Journey; the Barefoot/Shoes series by Sharon Garlough Brown (actually fiction involving non-fiction...hard to explain); The End of Alzheimer's; Braving the Wilderness; Becoming Dallas Willard; The Crossroads of Should and Must; Blue Zones Solution; The Plant Paradox; Spiritual Direction; 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do; The World According to Mr. Rogers; The Art of Listening in a Healing Way; Leadership and Self-Deception; Donald Hall's two books; maybe Soul Keeping. So, that looks like about all of my non-fiction books. 

This made me realize I read a LOT of non-fiction this past year, and I never used to read any non-fiction (except textbooks forced upon me by teachers). The one fiction book I would re-read would be The Gentleman in Moscow.  Surprisingly, a book that I only gave 3 stars to kept coming back to mind: Calypso (also non-fiction). I was mad at Sedaris over the turtles. I probably needed to give his book 4 stars if it was going to keep coming back to my mind like that (and not because of the turtles). The non-fiction books definitely made an impact and bits and pieces have stayed with me. Goodness, only 16 of my 54 books were true fiction. Add 6 more that were fictionalized true stories, and that is still less than half. 

Did you discover any new to you authors or genres? 

Let's look at this in a different way: the only author I was familiar with was Gary Moon who wrote Becoming Dallas Willard. Every single other author was new to me! Wow. 

Which books intrigued or entertained, made you laugh, cry, dance or sing?

Again, I need to look at that question in the opposite direction. Which book did NOT make me feel any of those things listed? I can't recall what Evensong was about, and the Shelf Life I recall as mostly feeling like authors being forced to write a story which included a book he or she had read and I didn't like any of the stories until a couple at the end. 

Share your favorite titles, covers, quotes and of course, your reading lists. 

Forgive me if I don't list all the books here. Scroll down through my blog list on the right and all the book titles are listed in the titles of each blog post reviewing each book. 

Traveling (And We're Off by Dana Schwartz)

52 books in 52 weeks. Actually, I have read a lot more but failed to record / review them as I went along. I'll finish with a rare 2 star book. I suppose I could give it 3 stars; however, I am lacking in 2 star book reviews so I'll go with the 2 stars.

What I will give the author credit for is so accurately portraying her seventeen-year-old protagonist. Schwartz captures the character of that age (of many, not all) so well that it is painful and/or annoying to read. I'm not writing this as just someone past that age. A number of my former students have come back and said they were sorry for being such...teenagers. AND, it's not just the teenager, the mom is equally annoying, and the relationship is equally painful to read.

At this point, my daughter to whom I gifted the book is asking, "Why? Why would you gift me with this book?" Um, I'm hoping she thinks our journey to Italy together (granted, thankfully, she was 25 and not 17) was better than this mom and daughter's journey to Ireland.

I did not read any reviews before getting the book. I needed to pick something and the blurb caught my attention: traveling to Ireland. I still shudder at the realness of the book. I wonder if seventeen year olds would get something out of it...or helicopter moms with issues...or family members before they travel together. My guess is that their focus would be on the dysfunctionality of the other person rather than themselves. 

Improving (Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty)

This is not an advertisement for Book of the Month club. It just happens to be the only picture I took that included Liane Moriarty's Nine Perfect Strangers before I gave it away at Christmastime. As a fictional story, I liked the book. In fact, when other reviewers stated this was not as good as her other books, I became excited about reading Big Little Lies which I had just picked up. Now I may have overly high expectations of that novel. 

However, since this was my first Moriarty book, perhaps, I enjoyed a taste of her wry observations on modern life. Others felt those same observations were lacking, and maybe once I read Big Little Lies, I too will think Nine Perfect Strangers isn't so perfect. Parts of it are corny and silly, yet, at the time, I was looking for something light to read. This fit. I didn't think about the treatment of minor characters or anything that might have come up in a literature class. 

As for Book of the Month? Well, you need to know that if you get a gift subscription for someone and you get a free book for doing so, with the caveat that you are also buying what you think is only one book, you are also signing up for a month-to-month subscription. I did not realize that until I saw 3 monthly charges on my charge card. Thankfully, it all gets credited to your account (you don't lose your money with no books) so I had a few months credit to use. The books all have current publication dates, no oldies but goodies here. 

Strengthening (13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do by Amy Morin)

Move over, Brené Brown, Amy Morin's in town! Before you turn away because you think "mentally strong" has something to do with intelligence or IQ, let me assure you that it does not.

"Developing mental strength is about improving your ability to regulate your emotions, manage your thoughts, and behave in a positive manner, despite your circumstances" (Morin 9).

Don't get me wrong. I appreciate Brown's work, but Morin offers even more...this is how I started off writing this blog review back in October.

Then, I read some Goodreads reviews which made me question my high rating. So I shelved my review to think about it some more. In the meantime, I lost the book among my piles of books. At least that fits my method of organization. I don't think I gave it away because I liked it and wanted to refer back to it. Mostly I recall thinking as I read the reviews that it seemed unfair of people to dislike the book just because Morin read her book and she has a high pitched voice. Unfair, but I suppose authors need to take note to get someone else to read their books if their voices are going to stand in the way of the message. Sigh. Others felt Morin was not understanding of deep hurts. I did not get that feeling from the book. I felt strengthened by her research that stated strong people don't let hurtful people turn them into victims.

Since I can't find the book, I can't include other favorite quotes, but I liked the book well enough that I bought her 13 Things Mentally Strong Parents Don't Do. I have not finished it, but, so far, I like it just as much as I liked the first one which was a lot. 

Adopting (Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate)

Not actually my forty-ninth book in the 52 books in 52 Weeks reading challenge since I have read 52 and beyond; however, I'm slow in posting reviews and this one needs to go back to the library. It was a chosen-for-me book by the library discussion group I attend, and I liked it. I started it the day it was passed out to us and finished it the very next day.

My ratings of 3 and 4 stars are starting to slide together. I can't say that this is a beach read or an entertaining read since the subject is so horrific and horrifically true at that: a woman who steals children (even responsible for the deaths of children) and adopts out the "cute" ones, and then...but, maybe that last part would be considered a spoiler so I won't write it in. It's an historical story set side by side with a fictional story that some reviewers had issues with. With such horrible facts, a little fictional romance breaks the darkness.

I did not actually know this 1930s and 40s account (before my time), but I did remember reading about Joan Crawford's adoption of her children (Mommie Dearest exposed the tragic consequences of Crawford's lack of love for those children), and I wondered if Crawford adopted from this place. It turns out she did along with other well known movie stars and political figures. For those who want all the horror and none of the light fiction, journalist Barbara Bisantz Raymond wrote a non-fiction book.

As an easily read historical novel that made me aware of a heartbreaking story, the book was good, four stars good. Generally, a four star book for me is one that I might buy; it might have quotes I want to remember, and this one does not. So in that line of thinking, I understand someone who would give it three stars.

---My real life section of the blog---One of my siblings is adopted (and usually everyone thinks it is the blonde-haired one since the other six of us (yes, six) are brunettes (or at least we used to be); however, the one with blonde hair has our mother's genes for hair. This sib found the birth mom and was not stolen from her. Good relationships abounded, but that's because of who are mother is. She has the gift of being friends with birth mothers and the wives of her ex-husband and the ex-wife of our stepdad. As long as you don't harm her family, biological, adopted (formally or informally), she will make you feel at home in her presence. I don't know what we would have done if we had found out the adopted sibling was stolen. As far as we are concerned that sibling is stuck with us forever!

💕💕💕 My spiritual formation section of the blog 💕💕💕Just putting this out there, I think the word "adoption" is possibly a human word in scriptures, yet, a human word where God loves us as much as--no, make that "more than", we love our adopted sibling. In God's language, I am thinking that everyone is God's biological kid and God loves us as much as -- no, make that "more than" -- my mom loves each and everyone of her family members. This is God that I want to find and know. 💕

Ascending (A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles)

"Ascending" is an odd choice of gerund for this particular book, especially since the main character descends in social stature as he is confined to a hotel in Moscow, never to step foot outside of its doors in house arrest. However, this gentleman Count Alexander Rostov ascends up the stairs to unused servant quarters in the attic. Rostov also ascends a ladder of growth in what really matters in life when much is taken from you. Much, but not all. Furthermore, the chapter titles start with 'A' and "Ascending" is one of the chapters.

A Gentleman in Moscow has a high rating on Goodreads (4.36 stars), and mine is not going to change that rating. Of the 52 books I have read this year (while this is only my 48th review this year, I have already read all 52), this one wins as my favorite fiction. The criticisms from those who did not give it 4-5 stars ranged from "too much historical fiction" to "not enough historical fiction" (so those cancel each other out in my mind), "too charming and like a fairy tale" (valid, but that's one reason I was drawn to the book), and "needs a quiet place to be read" (I indeed had a wonderful quiet place to read this book).

In a lovely vacation rental near the beach, where activities such as beach walks, puzzle building, craft making, eating, and conversing were happening, I had a comfy chair to sit in and read. It helps that I love Russia, Russian literature, charming vocabulary, lots of conversation, literary allusions, and gentle action with enough sad parts to keep it real.

This was a library discussion book (in which every member loved the book -- highly unusual), but I ended up buying my own copy. Whether one buys the book to read or borrows it from the library, it does make for a great discussion group book. It has been a couple of months since our group discussed this book so I will comment on discussion questions I could glean from my bookmarks.

Page 29: What is it that keeps us going? Revenge, goals, practicalities?
Pages 86-87: (a hard one to explain, but definitely discussable): What does it mean to be out of step with one's times (or in step)? What of poetry? What of the written word?
Pages 109-110: Is there value in marking time? "...if attentiveness should be measured in minutes and discipline measured in hours, then indomitability must be measured in years. Or, if philosophical investigations are not to your taste, then let us simply agree that the wise man celebrates what he can."
Page 121: If you found a tree and ate of its fruits which enabled you to start your life anew, would you?

At this point, I'm going to say "and many more" because the book is a hefty 462 pages long. Towles breaks it up into 5 books in one, but I felt each "book" moved seamlessly into the next. There are plenty of characters that also move in and out of the story just like in Russian stories. I thought I would get lost, but I didn't. Unlike Russian stories, Towles gave most of his characters only one name. The book would make an excellent movie or even series. The characters are all ages, and charming little stories are within the main story. I even learned some games to play while waiting for dinner in a restaurant! The ending is surprising, in a good way. 

Surviving (Born a Crime by Trevor Noah)

I confess I did not know who Trevor Noah is (Jon Stewart's replacement on The Daily Show) because I don't watch television at 11 pm. I also did not choose this book to read but I read it for a local library discussion group (a group which I am leading so reading the book definitely will help with that). I do agree with the 4 star rating of my friends. It's listed under biography, but it is autobiographical. Trevor writes stories of his life growing up in South Africa when it was a crime for a white Swiss-German father and a black Xhosa mother to conceive a child. It would be best to go into a reading of this book knowing that the format is set up for individual stories rather than a seamless narrative.

If you're looking for sappy, romantic, or humorous view of South Africa, this is not the book to read. As an adolescent, the book cover states that Trevor was "mischievous".  That's one way to put it. Other reviewers found him to be a mouthy, smart-aleck brat. Let's say that he does not sugar coat his adolescence and he probably gave his mother a lot of gray hairs, but he survived under some truly dysfunctional circumstances both in his culture and in his family life. There is both swearing in this book (Trevor's and others) and faith in God (his mother's). There are poor choices, survival choices, funny choices (but not really as many as you might think coming from a comedian. A one point I was fed up with Trevor's sass and antics, but by that point I had learned so much that I did not know about South Africa that I hung on. It was important to me to walk in Trevor's shoes. There is both a shocking scene involving a boy named Hitler that will be incredibly thought-provoking and an equally miraculous scene involving his mother that is nothing short of amazing.

This book is a fast read and an excellent choice for discussion groups. I won't be buying the book new, but if I were to see a used copy for sale, I probably would buy it.  I also heard that the audio book is fantastic. 

Losing and Living (A Carnival of Losses: Notes Nearing Ninety by Donald Hall)

I read this final book of Donald Hall's close on the heels of his Essays After Eighty (You can find that review here.) However, I did not want to review two growing old books, one after the other, especially one with a title about losses. At the time that I read the book, I still had all of my aunts and uncles and both parents alive (and I'm not a child). I have seen that they have had to live through the losses of loved ones and the loss of health, but they have continued to live. This book is about living even as it is also about losing, and there is much to be learned from Hall's story. Not to mention, as I have come to realize, there is much to learn from Hall's writing. He remained a master writer to the very end (he died in June of this year), no wonder as he continued to revise to extraordinary lengths. In his first essay "You Are Old," he writes: "You are old when an essay of reminiscence takes eighty-four drafts." However, he is comparing that number to the numbers he mentioned when he was younger -- up to sixty! Clearly, he hones his craft more than the rest of us.

Because Hall writes from the vantage point of nearing ninety, "he feels free to reveal...several vivid examples of 'the worst thing I ever did' which is different from someone trying to keep an untarnished image of him or herself. However, be prepared for an entire essay (only two paragraphs, one half of a page) dedicated to the F- word. It is on page 181 of a 216 page book. Some will get the book for that essay alone and others will want to burn the book. I wouldn't go that far. I both bought the book and also dislike that particular essay. I don't want obscene words in my head that will come out at random sometime in the future if I fall into my father's stage of Alzheimer's or have a stroke and the only words I remember are obscene. It may sound funny on paper or in a movie, but in real life, it's not humorous at all.

Here are the great parts: amazing writing, writing of images that make this book (and his Essays After Eighty) required reading for some medical students. Hall captures so incredibly well what aging can look like that medical students are asked to read the book so that they will have some understanding of their older patients, some understanding of what the ailments of growing older feel like. His essay "Solitude Double Solitude" is nothing short of amazing (I'm running our of superlatives for Hall's writing) and his final sentence was gut-wrenching.

A surprising element of reading this book happened as Hall recounted his life with various poet-peers. These were poets who were famous in their day, and some I had never even heard of. Hall didn't expect to be remembered for too long either, and I think, perhaps, his prose will outlast his poetry! Nonetheless, I read these chapters at the same time that I was pondering legacy. Not many people will have their names remembered for years upon years, but each person matters. Each person brings something to the world of living, whether it be for ill or good.

Hall's final essay "Tree Day" is the perfect essay to end on, a perfect transition from one generation to the next. I do recommend the book. 

Raining (Rain of Gold by Victor Villaseñor)

This book was recommended to me by a family member, and she is right: the story is very good. I borrowed it from the library, and while I won't be buying it new, if I ever saw it on sale or at a used book shop, I would immediately buy it.

The story itself and the real people are fascinating. An added benefit was the amount of history (history in Mexico as well as prohibition history in the US) I learned. Most of the reviewers give this book a high rating. Of the two I saw who disliked the book, one person couldn't stand the mothers and thought they were evil. What?! The mothers are the life of the story not to mention the life of their families! Another reviewer mentioned the dialogue and writing style, specifically mentioning about "true love". 99.9 percent of us do not talk like characters in a television show. We're not witty or eloquent. The way the book is written made me believe the story as the non-fiction it is. This isn't to say that the dialogue is boring. While Villaseñor's family members sometimes repeat themselves, they have plenty of interesting, raucous, thought-provoking conversations.

The story also opens up the reader's eyes to what it can take to survive (and it isn't pretty). The reader also has to be willing to read dialogue that includes not only cuss words but also words of faith which these families have in plenty.

Most book discussion groups don't take on such large size books (562 pages), but lots of good topics of discussion in this book: what happens when a precious metal like gold is discovered, immigration (used to cost an adult Mexican 10 cents to get across the border and 5 cents for a child), how people treat each other, racial inequality, family dynamics, education. I enjoyed reading the author's notes at the end: which family members helped with the story, who remembered what differently.

Quotes that could also be used in a discussion group: "Blood is blood, but justice is justice. And Don Pio never let blood blind his eyes to justice" (127).
"Remember to respect a fallen star takes much more dignity than to admire the rising sun" (175).
"Oh, mi hijita, you woman of such little faith! God respects my honesty that I admit that I lie. He's a hundred thousand years tired of people preaching the truth in His home, but then lying to all the world once they get away from the shadow of His domain!" (377).

Since a number of my family members and friends are Hispanic (and I knew some of the areas mentioned in the book), I wondered if their extended family members knew or where a part of any of the families mentioned in this book. I can think of at least one family member who would be intrigued with reading this book.

💕💕💕 When I was in college the second time around, I took a foundational education course, and we did an activity where we all had color dots on our foreheads. We did not know which dot was on our own forehead but we could see everyone else's dot. We had instructions on how to treat classmates according to their dots. Ignore the blues. Be friends with the yellows. In an Exceptional Child class, we had to have some change which would make it more difficult for us to go out shopping and interact with people (broken leg, deafness, blindness). We all understand to some extent what it is like to be the not-popular student (unless you've always been the popular one). If we already have something genetic that hinders our interaction, we know how that feels, but many of the adults in my class did not. These are activities that can only be approached cautiously in a classroom; however, in a homeschooling community, we could even practice within limits what it would be like to be poor, even be a slave. Of course, it's not real, right? We know we will go back to being a free person, but anything that doesn't cause harm but will help open one's eyes to at least start understanding what it is like to be an outsider is a benefit to a child's empathy for others. Reading stories, traveling to other countries, helpful, as long as one does not take on an attitude of "I'm so important; I'm helping the downtrodden and unfortunate" as though others have less intelligence or knowledge or wisdom than we do. The families in this book, Rain of Gold, are smart, resourceful, wise, and hardworking. They just did not have money.

---Diving into the stream of social justice is a transformative practice. How to do it with humility takes thought and a tender heart. Still worth pursuing even if we're not at the point of humility yet. Being a genuine person to the people one meets as one shops at a store in a section of town where one does not normally shop might be a good start. I'm not to the point where I could go to the scariest parts of metropolitan cities, but any of the areas in my own county would be safe so I have no excuse. Also, if I was living back in my former home area, I would think going one section of town over from my own would be a good start.