Last week I finished:
I have never been a fan of mythology. Ever since encountering it in ninth grade honors English, I've had a hate-hate relationship with it. All those gods acting crazy and all those mortals trying to trick them. And it always bothered me greatly that the gods had all mortal characteristics except for one special power (well, and mortality). They were so limited, so obviously created by man. I've never understood the fascination. But, something spurred me to pick up Circe on audio just to see what it was like. It had been on so many best of 2018 lists that I wanted to see what enjoyment I could get out of Greek mythology all these years after my high school English class. And I have to say, I enjoyed this quite a bit. I can enjoy any story that is well-crafted and well-told, and this was. The audio, especially, was superb. The narrator's voice was perfect for for the character and plot. In short, this is the retelling of the life of nymph/witch Circe, as well as her interactions with Odysseus, Athena, Daedalus, and all the rest. I would suggest, unless you remember your Greek mythology better than I (and no doubt you do), that you listen to this while you're not doing other things. It was difficult for me to miss parts and then be able to pick up again. I had to replay several sections (esp. the ending). I did feel that while the book sailed along at quite a clip, it just seemed to end without resolution. Perhaps I missed something. But I will say I was glad I read (listened) to this one, it was very well done, even if I still don't understand mythology's draw. My rating: 4 stars.
While we were iscussing the PBS's The Great American Read Project, a colleague told me she was disappointed not to see some of her favorites on the list. One she mentioned was Christy, about a young woman in the early 1900s who goes to teach school in Appalachia. I knew of the television adaptation of this starring Kellie Martin (does anyone else remember "Life Goes On" fondly?), but I'd never watched it nor read the book. My local library had the audio version narrated by Martin, so I decided to give it a try. The book is actually the story of the author's mother, Christy, and the audio begins with an interview with the author's son who tells us the man Christy ended up with was different in the book than in real life, which I found interesting. Apparently real life didn't make good fiction in the end. I enjoyed this book. I liked the characters who have a very different way of life and set of priorities than Christy, and I didn't mind the mountain talk--instead of grating on my nerves, I actually found it colorful and endearing (but others may not agree). While living at the church mission, Christy meets the atheist doctor, the preacher, and the Quaker woman who felt a calling to stay and help the people of Cutter Gap. She makes friends with some of the locals and finds a way to truly understand others of them. There is a lot of talk of religion here, while all of the main characters try to get to the bottom of their beliefs, and to be frank, much of this was rather boring to me. These are people who are not very far along in their faith journey, and the preacher, especially, seems terribly naïve in his faith. Answers are posed and answered in a way that made me cringe, but it was a good reminder to myself to extend grace to those on their individual paths to at-one-ment. Overall, I enjoyed this story, the characters, the trials and humorous moments, even if I could have done without so much philosophizing of Christianity. My rating: 4 stars. 
I've always enjoyed Ellen DeGeneres. She seems so much more alive and plugged into the joy of life than a lot of folks on television (anyone remember her 1990s sitcom, Ellen?). I don't really watch her show other than in clips here and there, but I have always been a little fascinated by what makes her tick. Her home design book, Home, has been on my TBR for ages, and I finally checked it out from the library to combat a bit of cabin fever (do you even know how much snow we have up here?). I was so impressed by this book. Although Ellen's style is vastly different from mine, I can appreciate her eye for curating and arranging things in a dramatic yet homey way. Her rooms feel very personal, even though all the pieces are high end with pedigrees. Ellen moves a lot, and the book takes us though several (at least a half dozen) of her homes (she had the foresight to take book-quality pictures of her homes at the time?). You'll see some of the same pieces in new spaces, and it's very interesting. The homes aren't the same at all in style, size, or location, but she settles into each and loves it--before moving on. After showing her own homes, she shares the homes of several of her designer friends with similar style. If I had to categorized their designs, I'd say it's sort of rustic industrial minimalist. This book showed me the utter importance of negative space, something Ellen seems to understand intuitively. The text is sparse, so there's not a lot of verbiage to take away from the photos of the rooms. I recommend this one even if your style is vastly different, in fact, maybe especially if your style is vastly different, from Ellen's. My rating: 3.5 stars.
The first book I'm re-reading this year has been on my re-read list for at least two years. I first read Michael Perry's Truck in 2009, a couple of years after it was published. It's the memoir of Perry's year spent restoring his 1951 International Harvester pickup truck--and falling in love. The Lincoln Journal Star calls Perry "part Bill Bryson, part Anne Lamott, with a skim of Larry the Cable Guy and Walt Whitman creeping around the edges” and I could not have said it better. I've read almost everything Mike has written--and some of it twice--and he is one of my favorite authors. He absolutely nails the small-town-slash-country-life thing. He grew up not far from where I did, and we attended with same university and poetry readings. Much of what he writes about in this book I have personal experience with (I know some of his writer friends, the local bar The Joynt--where we both went to be with writer friends but not to drink, all the corners of Eau Claire where his truck stopped). So this one was like going home to me, his books always are. While this isn't necessarily my favorite of his books (those would be Coop and Visiting Tom), I really enjoyed the re-read. I haven't tried all of his books on audio, but I think I could recommend them all without listening if he reads them. My rating: 4 stars.
I recently discovered Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith's The Slowdown, a short (5-minute) daily podcast of Smith commenting on and reading a poem. It is wonderful. (Also, there goes my idea of doing the same! Always a day late....) And this made me realize I had yet to read any of her poetry, so I picked up Wade in the Water, which received some buzz when it came out last spring. I really like her writing style. Unfortunately, sometimes with short poetry collections (those that hover around 70 pages), it's over before you feel like you've gotten a good taste of the poet's style. So I'll definitely be reading her other work, plus her memoir, Ordinary Light, which I'm really looking forward to beginning. My rating: 3 stars.
This week I'm reading:
Because if it's about a Kennedy, I'll read it.
My Kindle (re-)read:
Still loving this one so much.
I'm also reading:
Still enjoying my Rachel Hollis book, but I've lost interest in Joshua Becker's new decluttering book. I'll explain that when I review it. And I just started a poetry collection of new and selected poems by Dorianne Laux, a talented poet I've enjoyed for quite some time.
My next audiobook:
I might love it, I might hate it, but I think it's time to read it.
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