What I read over Christmas break

I took almost three weeks off in December, giving myself lots of time to read, wrap presents, work jigsaw puzzles, and watch it snow. Unfortunately, once I finally had the time to read as much as I wanted to, I had a hard time settling into a book--like, a HARD time. I never have this problem. But I did find a couple of things that kept me going.

The Giver of Stars is a book I picked up off our library's new book shelf. I've never read a Jojo Moyes book, and I'm not sure if this book is representative of her work, but I was impressed by it. While a little fluffy and a little overly dramatic, it was much better written than I expected. This is the story of a small group of American women who set up a mobile library, delivering books on horseback to folks who live in the mountains. The characters are interesting and easy to root for, and there is good resolution, which I sort of demand in a story. There was also a strong sense of setting, which I enjoy. All in all, I liked this one quite a bit, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone looking for something a little lighter (actually, the story isn't light, but the reading is). My rating: 4.5 stars.

Okay, can I just admit something? I was never a fan of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. The man creeped me out as a child, and frankly, still does as an adult. And those puppets, especially, creeped me out. But there's been a huge resurgence of Mr. Rogers; tons of books for adult and children have been published in the last couple of years, and of course the new movie with Tom Hanks, so I decided to give The Good Neighbor a listen while I worked on jigsaw puzzles. Read by LaVar Burton, I enjoyed this on audio. The book itself was a bit fawning, but not badly, and my only real disappointment was that Fred Rogers' faith and religious training was somewhat glossed over, or at least, I would have preferred more discussion of that. While my feelings for Rogers haven't really changed, this book did make me examine why I felt that way as a little kid, and why I feel that way still. I was a shy, sensitive child, and his ultra-gentle manner should have been reassuring and a respite from a loud, demanding world. But it wasn't. Perhaps it was that Mr. Rogers was so unlike every adult male in my life, so my little mind decided he was too different for comfort. At any rate, I enjoyed this biography, especially the audio version. My rating: 4 stars.

I just love a Pioneer Woman cookbook, and I'm so glad they come out every other year. I keep fearing Ree will run out of recipes and have to go weird, but I hasn't happened yet. In her newest cookbook, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: The New Frontier, she does include several low-carb recipes as well as numerous instant pot recipes. I found several things I'd like to try, though I can't really remember any right now other than the overnight peaches and cream oatmeal. The book, too, has a fresher look than her previous books, and I have to admit I kind of miss the visual overload of riotous color and collage art of the older books. It was still a pretty book, but it's much more average. Her picture-for-each-step technique and her funny introductions to each recipe haven't gone anywhere, though, and I'm glad of that. This book was every bit as good as her other books. My rating: 4.5 stars.

I have only one more book to read in the Flavia de Luce series before I'm caught up, and I don't like that one bit. With the most recent book, the tenth in the series, Alan Bradley said he was going to evaluate whether Flavia was done giving him stories. I sure hope she sets him straight that she has LOTS more to tell and many more mysteries to solve. In the ninth book of the series, The Grave's a Fine and Private Place, Flavia, her sisters, and Dogger go on a little boat ride to shake the gloom after the death that happened at the end of the eighth book, and as Flavia trails her fingers in the water, she hooks them into a dead man's mouth. And we're off and running. This wasn't one of my favorite plots of the series, but the murder and mystery as always less important to me than Flavia's wit and brilliance anyway. And Flavia was every bit herself in this one. My rating: 4 stars.

Nicole Chung's All You Can Ever Know has been on my TBR for ages. I love books about Asian culture, and I have a soft spot for adoption stories, so I was interested in this one from the beginning. Every time I tried to read it, however, I could not get into it. I finally decided to try it on audio, but in the end I decided it's not the format, it's the book that I don't like. I don't really know how to say what I want to about this one, and I don't want to disparage anyone's adoption journey or feelings of being caught between cultures. And yet, this book annoyed and troubled me. There was a constant feeling that Chung was trying to drive her story after it happened, trying to make it bigger than it really was. Frankly, her feelings of being different and feeling alienated were no different from most kids' childhood experiences. I think her feelings had less to do with race differences than they do with personal differences. I kept feeling like she was looking back and injecting what she feels about her race as an adult into her childhood . It did not ring true for me at all. It felt fake and contrived and manufactured. I smelled it a mile away, and I really should have stopped listening. Had she taken a gentler approach and tried less to ram race (and her hatred of her birth mother) down her readers' throats, had she trusted her readers (even if some of them are white!) to understand how hard it must be to be the only Asian American girl at school (because we were all the "only" something in school), it could have been a transforming experience for her and her readers. As it was, she bludgeoned her story and her readers, and I just felt bad about all of the negativity in the book after it ended. I'll continue my search for a more nuanced story of intercultural adoption. My rating: 2.5 stars.

There, now that I'm finally done with my December 2019 reviews, I can catch up on my January reviews. I feel so far behind, but it will feel good to be caught up...eventually.

 

2019 Wrap-up and 2020 Reading Goals

It's time for a 2019 wrap-up and a look at 2020!


Last year was a banner year for me as far as reading numbers--and it wasn't that shabby for reading quality, either, but more on that later. I finished a total of 200 books, broken down as follows:


73 fiction
108 nonfiction
19 poetry


Of these, 32 were children's books (not including picture books) and 32 were re-reads. I also read 152 picture books.


My high numbers were due in part to Cybils children's book judging--I finished 139 books for first round judging, which includes picture books and middle-grade books--and in part to my push to reach 200.


The months I read the most were October (23 books) and November (20 books), due largely to Cybils books. My lowest month (not just this year, but for years) was December when I only read nine books.


I finished the year with a bad case of readerly unrest, and I couldn't settle into a book for love or money, which was especially unfortunate because I was off for nearly three weeks around Christmas, and I hoped to read, read, read. I was especially looking forward to reading adult books again after all that children's nonfiction. This condition persists in the new year.


For the most part, I was happy with everything about my reading year except for the pace. There were days I "had" to read instead of "wanted" to read. Still, I'm proud of myself for accomplishing this goal, though I don't think 200 is a goal I'll ever set again.

This year, my goal is to read less, to open up more time for spiritual study, prayer, and daydreaming, things I had trouble fitting in last year. My theme is CLARITY (2020, 20/20 vision, clarity...), and I've made my reading goals accordingly. I've put much less emphasis on numbers and much more on higher ideals. I'd intended not to create reading goals for this year after my break-neck reading of 2019, but they kind of made themselves. What can I say, some folks are just goal and rule people.


My 2020 Reading Goals


1. Read less.
I plan to read only 12-13 books per month, for a total of 150 books for the year. Still a lot, but a much more comfortable goal that won't require a lot of angst and will still leave time for readerly exploration. Fast experience has shown me that this is a rather natural pace for me.


2. Read according to my values.
I'm done with reading things because I should. I'm done with pushing myself to read things I disagree with. Unless there is something I feel I need clarity on, I'm putting this kind of reading behind me. I naturally read all kinds of things by all kinds of writers, and I don't need some book lister to tell me what will expand my vision of the world. I do that organically, and I need to trust myself. Books that promote identity politics, us vs. them attitudes, and hateful rhetoric are gone. I don't have time for them. Also out are thrillers and any book that manipulates to get its message across. I've read enough by those who disagree with my spiritual, religious, political, and moral values. This year I plan to seek out authors whom I agree with and books that edify my values.


3. Read well-reviewed books.
The number one reason I read is to read good writing, and I want to better learn to trust my instincts with books that everyone is rating highly but just don't seem like something I'd enjoy.


4. Buy books with intention.
It's too easy for me to enter a used bookstore and leave with a bag of books that I genuinely want to read, but I won't be reading soon, just because they're available. I want to be more honest about books that I likely won't need to own or re-read after I read them once.


5. Read lots of nonfiction, especially children's.
Even though I read a lot of nonfiction last year, I still ended up feeling like I missed it. Good nonfiction can be hard to find, and it's often long and takes me longer to read, but I still want to tackle more of it. Also, last year I found that I adore children's nonfiction, and I want more, more, more of it in 2020.


6. Read books published in 2019 and 2020.
I've made this goal for the last several years, and I've really enjoyed it. It's easy, for one, but it also keeps me reading books while they're current.


7. Do some re-reading.
I loved all the re-reading I did last year, and I want to continue with it this year.


8. Re-read Persuasion.
Each year I re-read a Jane Austen book, and this year I'm so excited for Persuasion.


9. Read (or re-read) a classic or (super) large book.
I've been meaning to re-read Wuthering Heights for a couple of years now. And I've also wanted to read George H. W. Bush's letters (he wrote no memoir), and I hope to get to both of these this year. Also, for years I've been kicking around the idea of reading Lonesome Dove, Team of Rivals, and Truman. Will this be the year for any of them?


10. Finish 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die.
At the end of 2019 when I couldn't seem to settle into any book, I picked up 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die, and I was quickly hooked. This 900-page monster is arranged alphabetically by author, and I've just finished the Ds.


11. Read a book by or about Mary Baker Eddy.
I plan to have only one poetry book and one nightly read going each month, to open up time to read 1,000 Books... and a biography of Mary Baker Eddy, the discoverer and founder of Christian Science.


12. No half-star reviews. Give more 1- and 2-star reviews.
If I had my druthers, I'd probably change the way I rate books on my blog to a 3-star scale instead of the current 5-star, but it's too late now. The least I can do is get rid of 3 1/2- and 4 1/2-star reviews. Also, I generally don't give anything lower than a 3-star review, which is ridiculous if you're using a 5-point scale. I never want to hurt anyone's feelings, but some books just deserve less than average scores, and I need to deal with that.


Some books I'm excited to read this year:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top Ten (Percent) of 2019

Once again, I read much too much this year to be able to narrow my favorites to 10, so I've decided to post my top ten percent--20 of my favorite books from 2019. I believe eleven of these were published in 2019, but the other nine are a bit older.




See also:
See this post for my favorite poetry books of the year.
See this post for my favorite children's books of the year.
And see this post for this year's stinkers.


Overall this was a great year for reading, but it wasn't difficult to choose my favorite 20 books out of the 200 I read. The cream just rose to the top this year.

My Top Ten (Percent) of 2019



Crazy Rich Asians and China Rich Girlfriend, Kevin Kwan

Perhaps I should have chosen just one of these, but I decided that they both deserved a spot in the top ten. Of all the books I read this year, this series (I'm saving the third one for the new year) surprised me most. Funny, outrageous, and well-written, I just loved these. I listened to the first and read the second. The audio was very good.

As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust, Alan Bradley

My love for Flavia knows no bounds, but she seldom ends up on my top ten. I can't explain that. I made myself choose just one of the three books from the series I read this year, and I chose this one because it takes Flavia out of her element and plunks her down at an all-girls school in Canada. The strong sense of place made it especially memorable.

The Satapur Moonstone, Sujata Massey

While I didn't love it as much as the first book in the series (read my review here), I am so loyal to the series, though we're only two books in, that I could not not include it. This one was perhaps more unbelievable and involved more thrill than the first, but I loved the adventure just the same.

20 Years in the Secret Service, Rufus W. Youngblood

God bless the men and women who guard the president and his family. What a difficult and thankless job. This is the memoir of a young secret service agent who served Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon. It was originally published in 1973, but was re-released in 2018. A wonderful, intimate book.

At Home: Sarah Style, Sarah Richardson

Sarah Richardson is my spirit animal. Or something like that. I love her work and I loved this book. It's Sarah at her best and shows some of the rooms from her wonderful show, Sarah's House, which I have wanted to see again for years.

Daisy Jones & The Six, Taylor, Jenkins Reid

This one surprised me so much I had to give it a place on my top ten. Written in documentary style, it shows the unraveling of an "it" band in the 1970s. I found it very real to life and enjoyed it so, so much.

Dreyer's English, Benjamin Dreyer

This could very well be my favorite book of the year. This comprehensive guide to grammar, punctuation, and the rest, is written in an engaging and approachable way. I loved, loved, loved it. It could be used as a reference guide, but you'll miss so much of the charm if you don't read it cover to cover.

Girl with a Pearl Earring, Tracy Chevalier

I think I like this one even more the further I get from my reading of it. I liked the quiet tone of it so much. The movie captures that quiet very well, too. I'm glad I finally got around to this one.

In the Unlikely Event, Judy Blume

One of the most readable books of the year for me. Its plotting was swift, and I never wanted to put it down. Although her Summer Sisters disappointed me, this one was so, so good.

Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson

A stunning book about justice and mercy written by a man who has spent his life trying to right the wrongs done to mostly poor black Southern men and women who were abused by the justice system. Written with such empathy and an almost utter lack of bitterness.

Maybe Your Should Talk to Someone, Lori Gottlieb

This one is every bit as good as all the reviewers say it is. It's a smart book, and there is much to take forward into your introspection of your own life.

Once Upon a River, Diane Setterfield

One of the first books I finished this year, and I found it lovely and generous and wonderful. There's a touch of magical realism (at least I think there is), and I loved every page of it.

Outer Order, Inner Calm, Gretchen Rubin

I didn't expect much from this little book, but I ended up finding it very helpful. Knowing different people approach decluttering in different ways, it's full of wonderful and varied tips to help you. One of the more helpful books of its ilk--and I've read most of the ilk.

Saints for All Occasions, J. Courtney Sullivan

I loved this book about two sisters who become estranged after a lifechanging event. One becomes a wife and mother, the other a cloistered nun. Very well written and engaging.

Sea Stories, Admiral William H. McRaven

I so wish my father were still around to receive this book for Christmas. I loved it. McRaven tells about his years in the Navy and Special Ops with a series of wonderful, honest, wry, heartwarming stories.

The Library Book, Susan Orlean

One of the best straight nonfiction books I've read in ages. This is the story of the 1986 arson fire that consumed 400,000 books and damaged 700,000 more in the Los Angeles Public Library. It's wonderful, especially if you happen to work in a library.

The Lost Man, Jane Harper

Jane Harper is one of my favorite authors, and this is one of her best. Her writing conjures up such a strong sense of place, one of my very favorite things in a book. This takes place in the vast, desolate Australian Outback. Perhaps my favorite of her three books.

The Matriarch, Susan Page

I enjoyed this book perhaps more than Barbara Bush's own memoir. It's not comprehensive, but it covers everything, and it was written with Mrs. Bush's cooperation. It was an honest look at one of the more outspoken first ladies in recent memory. I adored the book.

The Sun Does Shine, Anthony Ray Hinton

This is the true story of Anthony Ray Hinton, who spent 30 years on Alabama's Death Row. It was riveting, and his outlook was astounding. A must read.

And a bonus:

The Giver of Stars, Jojo Moyes

I finished this late in the year, and I probably would have replaced Girl with a Pearl Earring with it, but I'm sort of beyond thinking about last year's reading at this point. I liked this one very much, and it was just the right book for my end-of-year restless monkey brain. It had much more substance than I expected, and it almost read itself.