May 2019 wrap-up

I think I set another reading record in May, finishing 19 books. There was a little bit of everything: biography, new fiction, series fiction, poetry, decorating, children's fiction, rereads, and a bit of miscellaneous. I gave two 5-star reviews this month, to Sarah Richardson's At Home (decorating) and Kevin Kwan's China Rich Girlfriend (second in the Crazy Rich Asians series). Full reviews are linked to the one-word reviews below.

comprehensive

4 stars

fun

4 stars

disillusioning

4 stars

fabulous

5 stars

great

4.5 stars

(no rating)

 

strong

4 stars

unwieldy

3 stars

pleasant

4 stars

 

disappointing

3 stars

 

mediocre

3 stars

 

average

3.5 stars

nostalgic

3 stars

exploitative

3 stars

 

nail-biting

4.5 stars

helpful

4 stars

(pure) pleasure

5 stars

fine

3.5 stars

dry

3 stars

What I'm reading this week (5/27/19)

Once more, it's been a busy week for finishing books. I'll try to keep it short and sweet.

Last week I finished:

Anne Bogel called Peter Heller's The River the best book she's read this year, and while I had a library hold on it long before her endorsement, her words only made me want to read it more. This is a fast-paced thriller about two college friends who take a wilderness canoe trip that turns horrific. Not only do they end up trying to outrun (out-paddle?) a forest fire, they are also being pursued by a (perhaps) homicidal man. The uncertainty of both issues makes for some intense situations. This was a very good book. I listened to it on audio, which I feared was a missed opportunity to dig into a good read, but I liked it on audio just fine, and it didn't tamp down the suspense. The writing is brisk and matter-of-fact, and the main characters are likable and believable. There's nothing frivolous here, but there is just enough backstory, and it really works. And yet. I kept waiting for something more, something else, a plot twist, a character to become something you weren't expecting, something. I finished the book and couldn't believe it was actually just a straight story, with plenty of action, but no surprises. I don't know why that rankled me a bit, after all, it normally rankles me when a plot twist is thrown in last minute, but I just expected something else to happen, and it never did. Stepping back from my expectation, I have to say I still really enjoyed this journey, and I plan to buy a copy of this book to re-read at some distant date when I've forgotten the plot enough to see if I still expect some grand change at the end. This is the perfect summer adventure book. My rating: 4.5 stars.

I spent a good chunk of time last night trying to explain the Crazy Rich Asians series, and specifically the second book in it, China Rich Girlfriend, to my husband, and I just kind of failed. The books are funny and snarky and outrageous and light, but those words make you think of something that doesn't quite capture how good the books are. I generally shy away from light fiction, from things characterized as "beach reads" and "chick lit" because those books generally don't satisfy my need for great writing, full characters, and an engaging plot. The books in this series do. No, they're not high literature, but neither are they trivial trifles. They aren't frivolous. And yet, they kind of are. I guess what I'm saying is that they perfectly bridge women's lit and contemporary literature. They are satirical (I didn't realize because I listened to the first book, Crazy Rich Asians, that the books contain numerous footnotes that serve as the author's asides, which are hilarious and sardonic) and witty. The outrageous wealth of the people involved is mindboggling to the average American. These are folks with private jets that contain koi ponds; these are folks who spend $50,000 on a single outfit, who go on shopping sprees and buy everything on the shelves but three items. (By the way, I think the title Crazy Rich Asians is saying not so much that the Asians are crazy and rich as it's saying they are crazy-rich.) I'm afraid to Google just how Kevin Kwan knows so much about this culture in its fascinating specificity, because I don't want to know that he made it all up nor that he's a part of it. I just go along for the ride and drop my metaphorical jaw every few pages. These books are long (this one is 479 pages), but they read very quickly. This is one of the first books of the year I just could not put down. The plot is a continuation of the first book (Nick and Rachel are on their honeymoon), so do read them in order (but I dare you to read the first book without going on to the second). It's a good summer romp. I hope you try them if you haven't. My rating: 5 stars.

I love books about books and libraries and reading, and I've been saving my Kindle copy of I Work at a Public Library for the right time. I finally decided to bust it out this month, and I ended up reading it in two days. This is a compilation of the odd, funny, and sad patron interactions the author, Gina Sheridan, has had in her years working in a public library. Working in a university library, and spending a lot of time in the public library, I have a number of these stories myself, and I was expecting a fun book. And it was fun, but...it was also rather uncomfortable. Most of the interactions detailed in the book made me sad. I felt the book exploited folks in unfortunate situations in a callous way. I got the feeling (and personal experience backs me up) that most of the people Sheridan interacted with were disadvantaged in some say. Many were likely homeless, mentally ill, and/or dealing with addiction and chaos. Some are presumably just elderly and don't know about current technology. Some are immigrants who don't know how the library works. I'm not one to play the PC pity card, and I think I have a good sense of humor, but I came away from the book with a bad taste in my mouth. It just felt exploitative and compassionless, poking fun at and profiting off of people who are in difficult situations. I didn't like it. I understand that dealing with these befuddling interactions day after day is different from reading about it, and I might come to the book differently if I had those daily experiences. I also realize I may be coming at this in an overly sensitive way, but if you can separate the humor from the individuals in the book, you'll be doing much better than I. My rating: 3 stars.

Years ago, I picked up a copy of Sheila Bridges' book Furnishing Forward, and it sort of changed my decorating life, or, at the very least, it gave me a foundation for decorating my own home. I've been a little reluctant to re-read it since I don't want to find it holds no meaning for me anymore, but having finished all of my nightly reads early this month, I decided to be brave and read it again. And I guess I could say it both lost something and reaffirmed my love for it. It was definitely a touchstone book for me, something I needed when I read it, and while it is no longer profound in its wisdom, it certainly isn't without sagacity. I can see why I loved it so the first time I read it. Bridges' philosophy is that you should always make decisions when decorating your home with the future in mind, thus, "furnishing forward." Not that you can't upgrade the IKEA bookcase that fits your current budget, or take risks that can be remedied later, but in general, choose things that you'll want to live with for the long haul. As a sentimental decorator, I get it. I still have a particle board bookcase in my basement because my father helped me put it together the day I moved into my dorm room. I may never get rid of that bookcase because it will always "spark joy." There's a decorating philosophy out there that you should always buy the best you can afford at the moment of purchase. I think that dictum fits with the furnishing forward philosophy. While Bridges' decorating style is not at all like mine, she does have a gift for creating harmony and tension in the same space. Her color combinations are unconventional (they tend to lack contrast), they work. It was a good introduction to breaking the rules back in the day, and it's still relevant for me now. In all, this may still be one of the best guides for decorating I know. While other books may have more appealing pictures, this one has an intimacy the others don't. That's a big part of what appealed to me years ago and what makes me enjoy the book these years later. My rating: 4 stars.

Speaking of re-reads from long ago.... Back in eighth grade, our school librarian, Shirley Mattson, introduced us girls to the books of Janette Oke (we all pronounced it "Oak-ee" back then, but I guess it's "Oak"). Oke wrote several series of books about pioneers with Christian values. They were kind of like Little House on the Prairie books for big girls (and women). Love Comes Softly is the first book in the series of the same name. It was published in the late 1970s, and has since been made into a television series. In this first book, young Martha (Marty) and her husband Clem are riding in their wagon to stake out homesteading land in the Midwest when Clem dies, leaving a pregnant Marty completely alone, without a home or resources, and miles away from family. She is approached by a local widower, Clark, with a proposition: he'll marry her and give her a home if she'll raise his daughter as her own. It will be a marriage of convenience, not love (nor sex). She has no choice but to marry him. And thus begins their odd marriage where...love comes softly. I devoured these books when I was a kid. They were some of the only books I ever read without having to. And when I finished this series, I read some of Oke's other series in the same vein. The book is straightforward, not syrupy or sweet. The writing is serviceable, and the characters deal with human emotions. Things aren't whitewashed, but neither is there anything here terribly objectionable. Perfect for a young girl who isn't ready for the emotional whirlwind of most YA literature. I'm not sure that I'll continue with the series, but it was nice to return to the first book. My rating: 3 stars. 

Another re-read from several years ago that I finished last week was Naomi Shihab Nye's Fuel. My guess is I read this my last semester in college or perhaps the summer after I graduated. At the time, it was my favorite book of poetry. Nye is one of my favorite poets, and I love her humor (sometimes just a touch zany) and way of looking at things. A couple of my favorite poems by her are "Famous" and "The Art of Disappearing". She is a Palestinian-American, and her poems often touch on the conflict that exists in that part of the world. Admittedly, I'm somewhat of a Zionist, so the more militant of these poems often frustrate me. This book didn't hold the same appeal for me that it once did. I didn't find many of the poems nearly as comfortable as I once did. Perhaps my tastes have changed, or perhaps I was idealizing Nye back then. Maybe both. Still, it's a good collection, and there are a number of sweet poems about babies, including "Wedding Cake" and "How far is it to the land we left?" They were favorites then, and they remain so. My rating: 3.5 stars.

This week I'll be reading:

I've read that this isn't a particularly good book, so I reserve the right to put it aside and move on. Still, I've been interested in reading it for quite some time.

My Kindle re-read:

I couldn't decide on a Kindle book after I finished I Work at a Public Library, but I finally settled into this favorite re-read. Can't say no to baseball.

Starting my June reading early:

I am loving this. I'm going to have to buy my own copy. For all the word and grammar buffs out there who will read it cover to cover whether it's meant to be or not.

My current audiobook:

It's a little boring, but it's interesting enough to keep me going.

What I'm reading this week (5/20/19)

Hold on to your hats, this might be a long one. I finished seven books last week, and I'll try to review each of them fully below.

What I finished last week:

Occasionally, I check in with Reese's Book Club to see what she's recommending. Her April 2019 pick was The Night Tiger, the audio version of which stood unclaimed in my library system, so I immediately put a hold on it. I love books set in Asia (this was set in British Malaya), and I was looking for a good story to listen to. This is the story of Ji Lin, a young woman working as a dance companion to pay off her mother's mahjong debts; her stepbrother, Shin, a secretive young doctor-in-training; and a little boy named Ren who is tasked with finding his benefactor's severed finger within 49 of his death or his soul will never be at peace. These characters, and more, interplay in a plot rather too intricate for the book to withhold. There is death and murder and fevered dreams and abuse and female suppression and Chinese custom and lots more. It was often a confusing book to listen to, as all the twists and turns didn't always stay with me from disc to disc. It wasn't a bad book, but there were two big magical realism subplots that I didn't particularly care for nor fully understand. The straw that broke the camel's back, though, was when the stepsiblings decide to start a romantic relationship. I found that element distasteful and completely unnecessary to the already over-burdened plot. This was a book that tried to do too many things, and in my opinion, it suffered for it. The writing was good, and if you can forgive incest and love magical realism, you'll likely enjoy it more than I. My rating: 3 stars.

I read my first John Grisham novel at the end of last year, and I loved it. The experience opened up a whole lot of opportunity as Grisham is a rather prolific writer. I haven't yet read any of the legal thrillers he's best known for, but I keep adding his books to my TBR based on my interest in the plots. I recently decided on Calico Joe, because I love stories about baseball. This is the story of Paul Tracey; his father, a pitcher for the 1973 Mets; and Joe Castle ("Calico Joe"), a rookie who begins his career by breaking record after record, until the day Calico Joe is at bat with Warren Tracey on the mound, and the lives of all three men change forever. This is a story of baseball, fathers and sons, and virtue. It's a short book, and Grisham's writing is succinct and not flowery. It's an unsentimental story (very unsentimental) that examines difficult relationships between an abusive father and his estranged son, but also forgiveness between baseball rivals. I've said before that I do not care for books with characters who are all good or all bad. Warren Tracey was an "all bad" character, and while he changed in the second half of the book, it was not a subtle or progressive change. I kept waiting for a plot twist or complication that would give the book more depth, but I was ultimately disappointed. I came away thinking that it could have been a great book, but it just didn't dig deep enough. I'd love if someone read it herself (it would take some of you an afternoon) and let me know if I'm wrong. My rating: 3 stars.

I've been meaning to read a book by Mark Twain for a couple of decades now, but I'm often not very interested in "boy" books, so I've never given Twain a try. Still, I have always assumed his sense of humor would delight me, so I haven't given up wanting to read a couple of his more popular titles. Last week I finished The Adventures of Tom Sawyer on audio (it's really not that long of a book), and I was right, I was delighted. For some reason, I didn't really expect a children's book, but that's certainly what this is--though, of course, it's not a children's book that adults can't enjoy. If you haven't read it, I'm sure you know the plot and many of his adventures anyway: how he tricks other kids into whitewashing his aunt's fence (and even tricks them into paying him to do it), his exploits with Huck Finn, his deep infatuation with Becky Thatcher, and the occasional peril he finds himself in. At least twice, his aunty believes him to be dead, and he once shows up alive at his own funeral. This was a charming book, through and through. Twain really is a master storyteller who remembers what it was like to be a mischievous boy. If it's still on your list, give it a try. I don't think you'll be disappointed. 

My rating: 4 stars.

In an effort to re-read 19 books this year (19 for '19), I made a list of possible titles, and right at the top was Jen Hatmaker's For the Love. When I read this book in 2016 (review here), I was blown away by it. At the time, I was much closer to some raw emotions, and I found the book very cathartic. I'd left my church and lost my father the year before, and at the time of reading, I was helping my husband through a difficult health situation (plus, the political conventions happened that summer, and watching Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump prepare to square off was a situation that needed emotional fortification). This time through, though, I was not as taken with the book. I had none of the emotional needs I did the first time, and I'm so glad I read this book when I needed it most. I re-read this on Kindle, and I often had to force myself to settle in for another essay. Though it was something I had wanted to re-read, I wasn't always very interested in doing it. This time through I found myself getting impatient. I probably should have quit reading, but I had already abandoned so many books this month, I refused to put aside another. It was just me and where I was at this point in my life; and it's one of the perils of choosing your reading list in advance. But it's not like you have to be in a difficult period of your life to enjoy this book. Hatmaker touches on motherhood, womanhood, faith, friends, food, and church. It's just that she can often be a little too light for me, and I didn't really have the patience for some of that this time through. I prefer when she goes deep and uses the humor as a spice, not a main ingredient. In short, though, I would still recommend this book. Of the three Hatmaker books I've read, this is my favorite, and I think there's a lot here to chew on. My rating: 3.5 stars.

Oh how I love Billy Collins. I have yet to read several of his earlier collections (I'm saving them for a rainy day), but when a university library offered a copy of Taking Off Emily Dickinson's Clothes to our library, I nabbed it. So that I could read it first. Sorry not sorry. This one started out a little rocky for me. The collection came out in 2000, and it's comprised of selected poems up to that time. I began to wonder if I just wasn't going to like Collins' early work. But before I could figure out exactly what it was that didn't appeal to me about them, I was over the hump. Either the work progressed to poems that felt more like the Billy Collins I knew or my poetry psyche recalibrated (or I got out of a certain mood), but the book became quite enjoyable. There were some old friends here--such as the title poem--and a lot of new-to-me ones. I ended up enjoying this as much as many of his other books. The only thing that really hampered my enjoyment was the size of the pages. While I like the feel of small books like this one, they do not always lend themselves well to poetry. The poems were cut off in weird places (and too often). I'd often get to what I thought was the end of a poem only to realize it continued on the next page. That made for an awkward reading experience that I wish the publisher would have addressed. My rating: 4 stars.

I have been burning through audiobooks lately (I think I'll finish eight this month), and last week while waiting for some holds to come in, I had to scramble for a short filler. While browsing the shelves, I ran across Mike Huckabee's Dear Chandler, Dear Scarlett, which clocked in at just three CDs, and I decided to give this sure-to-be sentimental book a try. (Working in a library myself, I sometimes like to check out the more obscure titles to keep their circulation stats up--or maybe just to skew circ data. Now that is a book nerd confession.) This is a book of letters written by Mike Huckabee to his two grandchildren, Chandler and Scarlet. Huckabee was the governor of Arkansas from 1996-2007, and he ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 and 2016. Before his career in politics, he was an evangelical minister. His daughter, Scarlett's mom, is White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. His letters to his grandchildren (which number more than two now--this was published in 2012) cover big topics like faith, education, work, America, creativity, and handling pain. I expected a sentimental group of essays, and that's pretty much what I got. Much of it had little depth, but it was all sweet. I was surprised that the statements were so surface when he has such a wealth of experience in so many arenas, and I wished I would have heard more of that, but I guess that's what his books for adults are for. My favorite parts were the personal stories about his childhood and his children's childhoods. While the book is sort of forgettable, I still enjoyed it while I listened, an overall win in my book. My rating: 3 stars.

I also finished Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy for the fourth? fifth? seventh? time. Many Christian Scientists read this book cover to cover and begin again once finished. This book along with the Bible are the pastors of our church, and while I will not review this book, I will tell you that it is the only book that has changed my life--and of course, healed many ills, physical, psychological, and financial. It and the Bible are the two books that are most important to me.

What I'm reading this week:

I'm so excited to settle into book two of the Crazy Rich Asian series.

What I'm reading at night:

 

I'm enjoying both of these re-reads from long ago.

This week's audiobooks:

Two of these are short, so I'll finish them both next week, but the book about the space program will take a little longer. I'm excited about all three, especially on audio.

 

What I'm reading this week (5/13/19)

Last week I finished:

I love a good book about a president or first lady. They are my reading sweet spots. The latest biography of first lady Barbara Bush, Susan Page's The Matriarch, was a wonderful treat for what started out as a finicky reading month. This is the portrait of the wife of the 41st president and mother of the 43rd. What makes this especially important and special is that it was authorized by Barbara Bush, and in fact, she sat down for five interviews at the end of her life to answer questions for the book. She also allowed the writer access to her diaries, so her own thoughts and words could be presented. Numerous interviews with family, friends, both president Bushes, staff, and many others, were also conducted. The book, only 350 pages, covers Mrs. Bush's long life from her days growing up and attending school in the East to the early days of her marriage to George Bush in the oil fields of Texas to the death of her three-year-old daughter Robin, to her days as a politician's wife to her White House years and beyond. She discusses how George Bush took the lead and she followed (a paradigm we don't look favorably on these days but that worked well for them), how she felt about her sons getting into politics, how she felt about Nancy Reagan (particularly juicy), the similarities with George W. Bush and differences with Laura Bush, her midlife depression, and how she felt about being pigeonholed as America's matron who never worked outside the home. She lived an incredible, long life, and she was known for her frankness (sometimes to the point of hurting feelings), self-deprecating humor, and though the author never points it out, her words speak for her remarkable self-awareness. It is an honest book, and while comprehensive, it never bogs down in detail. If you have read Barbara Bush's memoir, Barbara Bush: A Memoir, or other books about the Bush family (such as memoirs by George W. Bush, Laura Bush, or the biography George W. Bush wrote about his father, 41) or Kate Andersen Brower's The Residence or First Women, or Jon Meacham's biography of George H.W. Bush, Destiny and Power, only the later chapters will be new to you. There wasn't a lot here that was news to the seasoned Bush family reader, but then, not all of you are the Bush family buff that I am. There were two things that make this book different. First, the author inserts herself into the narrative. This is so unusual in biographies, but it never really bothered me. Instead, it gave the book an intimacy I rather liked. Second, the book, though authorized by Barbara Bush and overall flattering to her, was a balanced look at the first lady. It didn't gush, nor did it tear down Mrs. Bush. If you're looking for a strong, fair, approachable, book about a contemporary first lady, I don't think you'll be disappointed. My rating: 4.5 stars.

When in doubt when it comes to your reading, try a biography. Biographies and memoirs always center me and get me back on the reading track if I'm having trouble settling into books or dealing with "monkey brain." I started the month out reading Tiger Woods by Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian, but after seeing how slow my progress was, I switched to audio. This is a full biography of the world-famous golfer, the man who broke golf records as the youngest man and the first African-American man to do any number of things. His abilities were legendary, his lack of fear on the tournament course phenomenal, his ability to focus exceptional. He started golfing at age two and due to his love of practice (he loved to practice as a boy and teen more than he liked to play), gave him so many hours of skills practice that his strength and precision were remarkable. People fell in love with him. But the book tells a different tale of Tiger Woods. In the book, coaches, friends, and other players paint him as indifferent, ungracious, vulgar, and dishonest. It paints his father as even worse. The way they treated other people, the way his father touted Tiger as the next Messiah, the times they used the race card for personal gain, the way both men lied about and made up horrific events to gain sympathy, made them seem slimy and detestable. The tone of the book bothered me. No doubt, many of the moments described happened as described, and some can be interpreted in no other way, but I often felt the book was likely being too hard on him. It's an unflattering portrait, to be sure, and at times I wondered if it was a hit piece. Adding to the feel of the book was the fact that Tiger apparently values loyalty to such a degree that family, friends, and staff were forbidden from talking to journalists. In other words, the only people who would give interviews for the book weren't still on particularly good terms with the golfer and had mostly negative stories to tell. So I did often wonder how fair the book was. The book takes us through Tiger's childhood, university days, and pro years, through his humiliating fall from grace, his time in a sex addiction rehab clinic, and to his very recent rebuilding of his game and image. I'm not sure what to think about Tiger as a man, but as a golfer, he was unequaled, and I think that's enough. Don't read this book if you have a sterling image of Tiger you want to keep untarnished, and if you do read it, perhaps read it with a grain of salt. My rating: 4 stars.

Years ago, I eagerly awaited every episode of a show called Sarah's House, where design guru Sarah Richardson and her gregarious homosexual sidekick Tommy recreated a home room by room, a house that was, apparently, really Sarah's house. Richardson was so charismatic and funny, and so talented, I ate that show up. I loved every room in that house, and I would have moved in in a heart beat. But it didn't last long. So I turned to her books. I read her Sarah Style (2014) and was so disappointed (though I don't remember exactly why) I redoubled my efforts to find old episodes of the show. No luck. I would have given anything to see those rooms again. When her 2015 book At Home came out, I put it on my TBR, but I was so disappointed in the first book, I never sought out a copy until I recently checked it out from the local library. And you know what? This book is easily in my top five favorite decorating books. And you know what else? It contains photos of the Sarah's House rooms I fell in so in love with years ago! And you know what else? I still love those rooms as much as I did then. This was serendipity, and I'm so happy I gave the book a chance. It surprised and delighted me. The book shows several of the homes she's lived in, each with a different design style (modern city, country, lake vacation, and even her mother's home in a converted church). Even when the design of the space isn't something I would feel comfortable living in, I still find each space masterfully done. She's about my favorite designer, and I just loved this book so much. My rating: 5 stars.

I love a good, spunky heroine in a storybook, and I'm not sure there's one I like more than Clementine. In book six of the series, Clementine and the Spring Trip, Clementine is preparing for her third grade spring trip to Plimoth Plantation. This involves a ride on Bus 7 with its horrific "cloud" of stink that no one can quite locate and the need to pack a noiseless lunch because fourth graders have a rule against third graders crunching, slurping, and "snicking" while eating. Also, Clementine's family is still awaiting the arrival of her new brother or sister (but it doesn't happen in this book). I love each of these hilarious books, and I'll be sad when I get to the end of the series. But that just means I'll be able to start all over again. My rating: 4 stars.

Next up:

Some baseball sounds good to me right now.

My nightly reads:

 

Since I finished two of my night reads last week, I added another to the mix: Furnishing Forward, a decorating book re-read that I found particularly inspiring the first time I read it.

My audiobook:

 

I wasn't sure I liked this at first, but I've really gotten into it.