Last week I finished:
Some books win the Pulitzer Prize and you've never heard of them or have no interest in reading them, and some books win, you read the book, and you understand why it was given one of literature's highest honors. Empire Falls is a small town in Maine that's seen better days. The mills that had employed so many are shuttered, and most anything that works in the town is owned by heavy-handed Francine Whiting, including the Empire Grill, run by our main character, Miles Roby. Miles is going through a divorce, and his soon-to-be ex is dating "The Silver Fox" who tortures Miles with his overbearing presence daily. The story follows other folks, including Miles' teenage daughter, Tick, and her friends; Miles' unbelievable father Max; Miles' bother David; Miles' longtime crush; the woman who has had a crush on Miles her whole life; the demented priest and the gay priest; and others. It also ventures back in time to give us the background of Miles' life and his deceased mother's life. And there is an undercurrent of hopelessness that is almost a character itself. There are plot twists and turns that feel natural, and Russo isn't afraid to spend a lot of time on seemingly inconsequential scenes, which feels masterful. There are some intense situations, and some frank language, but there is also a depth and complexity of characters and situations that I don't encounter often enough in fiction. I have a fondness for small town stories, and this is one of the best. Though the book is older (early 2000s), its themes are surprisingly current (there is a school shooting, for instance). After reading (listening to, actually) Empire Falls, I'm determined to tackle some of Richard Russo's other books, probably Nobody's Fool and Everybody's Fool. I can't recommend this one enough if you go in knowing and expecting a story that's often not gentle. But sometimes a story's magnificence resides in its ability to make the reader feel a part of things, and when that happens, I just have to pass along the recommendation. My rating: 4.5 stars.
I finished a re-read of Shauna Niequist's Present over Perfect last week, and it's interesting how a book can mean different things to you depending on when you read it. I read this the summer it came out (2016) at a time when my husband was struggling with some physical issues and I was licking my wounds over a falling out with someone in my church. I was feeling overwhelmed and under-loved. The book was a lifesaver for me then. This is the story of Niequist's realization that her life had gotten out of control; her schedule was too full, and her ability to care for herself was taking a backseat to all of the obligations she'd said yes to. She realized she needed to slow down, start saying no, start practicing self care, and start spending more quality time with her husband and two young boys. It's comprised of short essays about her years spent digging her way out of the mess she'd created. If you're unfamiliar with her work, it can be summed up as very personal essays with evangelical Christian themes that focus on family, faith, and food. She's the kind of writer Oprah talks to on her Super Soul Sunday show. Critics might say that her work is also highly emotional, and more and more I understand this critique. I've read everything she's written (some books twice) with the exception of her devotional book, and this had been my favorite. This time through, though, the book didn't do much for me. I found it too emotional (she uses the word "soul" a lot), too fraught, and not specific enough. I also feel there was just too much human will used to change herself and her situation, which is something I have found seldom works because it eliminates the purpose of the change the wrests the power from the only powerful One. Also, I just don't think I'm in the same situation Niequist is in. I don't have young children, I say no to things I don't want to do and/or won't enrich my life, and I'm very careful about how I spend my time. Not that I don't have things to work on, but when it comes to living a slow life, maybe my life is the "after" picture and this book is for folks living "before" lives. I do think that if you're looking for faith-based help on slowing down, this will be perfect for you. I guess that just wasn't what I was looking for this time around. My rating: 3 stars.
I did it! I finished all 823 pages of Pablo Neruda's All the Odes. Whew, I feel like I was on a arduous month-long trip, and it's nice to be home. I don't know if books like this are meant to be read cover to cover or to be used as reference, but I do know that I don't plan to read 800 pages of any one poet's work again anytime soon. It's like having the same breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day for a month. Way too much of one thing. Yet, I really did enjoy the experience. I'm sure I didn't read every poem as critically as I would have had I only been reading a handful of his poems, so I'm sure a bit was lost along the way. But I did find some old friends here (Ode to a Pair of Socks) and I found some wonderful new friends: Ode to the Happy Day, Ode to the Simple Man, Ode to a Stag’s Birth, and Ode to the Storm. The collection consists of 225 odes laid out with the original Spanish (Neruda is Chilean) opposite the English translation. Having had four years of Spanish in my high school and college years, I sometimes tried to translate a line without looking at the English, and it's amazing how much I actually remember (nouns anyway; I seem to have lost all of the verbs). A collection like this often becomes its own thing, more than just a bunch of poems like in shorter books, and this one evolved into a series of questions that kept going though my mind as I read. For instance, I wondered throughout just how much is lost in translation. You can translate the words, sure, but can you translate the feeling? the creative nuance? the cultural and personal undercurrents? I also asked myself, or course, what my odes would be if I were to write 225 of them. So, although at times it felt like this collection was going to be the poetic death of me, I did enjoy the journey, and I recommend this book to those looking for good intermediate poetry--not simple, but not inaccessible. My rating: 3.5 stars. 
With the fifth and final Penderwicks book coming out in May, I find myself a bit behind. After enjoying the second book so much last year, I decided to listen to the third, The Penderwicks at Point Mouette (and hopefully the fourth, the Penderwicks in Spring) so that I can read the fifth one this summer. Book two ended with Mr. Penderwick getting married, and book three sort of keeps this plot in suspension while we go back to the plot of first book: the Penderwick girls are away on summer vacation. The three youngest are going with Aunt Claire to Maine while the oldest sister is going on vacation with a friend. And the parents and little stepbrother are going on a honeymoon, which essentially wrote them out of the plot of this book. While the girls are apart, Skye is the OAP (Oldest Available Penderwick), a job she does not feel prepared for, Jane is tackling romance both on the page and in real life, and little Batty is learning she has a skill none of the other sisters do. Their friend Jeffrey, from the first book, is back, and he finds himself face to face with a life-changing surprise. While I found at least part of the plot a bit farfetched, I enjoyed this one. The books are gentle, yet real. The girls don't always get along, but even when they don't, they really do. It's a good balance between reality and ideal. My rating: 3 stars.
This week I'll finish:
I finished my March books early, so I was able to get almost all of my April chunkster, Jackie, Janet and Lee, read last week. I'll finish it up today and post a review next week.
Last week I began and abandoned:
I'd been looking forward to reading Everything You Need to Know about Social Media since it came out last fall, but when I sat down and started it, I realized I just don't care enough about social media to learn about it (much less use it). I did learn a bit of background of various social media that I wasn't entirely familiar with, which was helpful, and that might be all I needed to get out of the book. It's not a bad book, I just realized I didn't care enough about the topic to continue.
Last week I began:
I was flailing around last week trying to find a Kindle book to read, when I started Hillbilly Elegy on a whim and was hooked. It's not at all what I expected, and I'm loving it. I've finished a third of it already.
I moved Movie Nights with the Reagans to a nighttime read because I wanted to open up a "main book" space for a new title I just discovered and am dying to read. This one is a nice pick up and put down book for bedtime reading. It's about watching movies with the Reagans during their eight years' worth of weekends at Camp David.
And I began Li-Young Lee's new volume of poems The Undressing. So far, I have mixed feelings, but I'm not far, so I'll reserve judgment.
My audiobook:
With a new book out this week by the duo behind America's First Daughter, I really wanted to get this read, so I'm listening to it this week. Other than the gentile southern accent feeling a little syrupy, I'm enjoying the story. This is historical fiction telling the story of Thomas Jefferson's daughter's life.
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