2019 - Fourth Quarterly Review

To assist my blog readers, I've decided to summarize my reading four times a year, providing a brief description, the page count, and a grading scale (5 thumbs up - Highly Recommend, 4 thumbs up - Enjoyed, 3 thumbs up - Good, but not as satisfying as I'd hoped, 2 thumbs up - Meh, and 1 thumb down - Regret, wishing I could get back the time invested). I might also document the mention of agents in the acknowledgement section - this is primarily for my own purposes, since it benefits a writer to know what agents represented similar works.

I read the following books during the fourth quarter of 2019 (for my full review, click on title):


The Road Back to You by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile - A helpful Christian outline of the Enneagram personality paradigm. - 240 pages, 👍👍👍👍 - Revised to 👎 after learning how heretical these teachings are.

All the Flowers in Paris by Sarah Jio - Waking with amnesia, Caroline must piece together her past, along with the history of an untouched room in her apartment on the Rue Cler. For fans of Sarah's Key. - 304 pages, 👍👍👍-1/2

Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey by The Countess of Carnarvon - Weaving information from Highclere Castle's archives, the current Countess presents the story of the fifth Countess of Carnarvon's life, loves, and nursing work. - 310 pages (I listened in audio form, 7 CDs, 8 hours), 👍👍👍-1/2

The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni - Born with ocular albinism, Sam Hill endures bullying on the strength of his mother's assertion that his condition is "God's will." He, however, is unsure whether he believes his mother's convictions and doubts his life will be extraordinary. - 434 pages, 👍👍👍👍

The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester - Professor James Murray, editor of the renown OED, welcomes the help of Dr. William Chester Minor, unaware that he is an inmate in a criminal lunatic asylum. - 298 pages, LP edition, 👍👍👍👍

Carnegie's Maid by Marie Benedict - When Clara Kelly dissembles to gain employment as Mrs. Carnegie's maid, she never imagines the impact her relationship with Andrew Carnegie will bring.  - 288 pages (I listened in audio form,  CDs,  hours), 👍👍👍👍

The Path Between Us: An Enneagram Journey to Healthy Relationships by Suzanne Stabile - Outlines Enneagram personality types and how to best approach relationships between the various personalities. - 240 pages, 👍👍👍 - Also revised because of heretical nature of this teaching 👎

Saving Jemima: Life and Love with a Hard-Luck Jay by Julie Zickefoose - A gorgeous tale, illustrated with photos and sketches, chronicling the rescue of an abandoned blue-jay. - 247 pages, 👍👍👍👍

The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan - Author Anthony Peardew finds and catalogs lost items with the hopes of one day reuniting them to their owners. When he dies, he leaves his house and collection to his assistant and she ferrets out their stories with the help of a Downs Syndrome neighbor and the handsome gardener. - 288 pages, 👍👍👍

Ellie and the Harpmaker by Hazel Prior - Ellie Jacobs stumbles upon Dan's Harp Barn and is overwhelmed when he gives her one of his custom-made harps. But following her dream of playing the harp might come at some cost and might stir up trouble for everyone. - 336 pages, 👍👍👍👍

My Name is Mahtob by Mahtob Mahmoody - The continuation of the story begun in the film Not Without My Daughter, told from the daughter's perspective and pointing to the faith and hope that preserved her through and after her abduction ordeal. - 352 pages, 👍👍👍👍

A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by C. A. Fletcher - In a distant future, after a severe thinning of the population, Griz knows only his home and his family until a man arrives, drugs them, and steals his dog. A coming-of-age story sure to take you by surprise. - 384 pages (I listened in audio form, 9 CDs, 11 hours), 👍👍👍👍

Firstlight by Sue Monk Kidd - A compilation of the early writings of Sue Monk Kidd (mostly from Guideposts) covering topics of parenting, spirituality, solitude, and compassion. - 240 pages (I listened in audio form, 5 CDs, 5 hours), 👍👍👍

Unlikely Converts: Improbable Stories of Faith and What They Teach Us About Evangelism by Randy Newman - Is there someone you think will never convert to Christianity no matter how often you share the gospel? Newman encourages you to never give up because God has a plan and can radically redeem those He chooses. 192 pages, 👍👍👍👍-1/2

Church of the Small Things: The Million Little Pieces That Make Up a Life by Melanie Shankle - A humorous look at how God uses the small moments of our lives for great impact. - 224 pages (I listened in audio form, 5 CDs, 5-1/2 hours), 👍👍👍-1/2

Word Catcher: An Odyssey Into the World of Weird and Wonderful Words by Phil Cousineau - A compilation of interesting words and their origins. - 291 pages, 👍👍👍👍-1/2

The Words Between Us by Erin Bartels - With an assumed name, Robin Dickinson attempts to flee her past, but an old friend reappears and is determined to bring it all up again. - 384 pages, 👍👍👍

Beautiful Boy by David Sheff - A heartbreaking memoir about a father dealing with his son's addiction to crystal meth. - 352 pages, 👍👍👍-1/2

Border Crossing by Pat Barker - A therapist jumps into a freezing river to save a young man who turns out to be a boy sent to prison on his own testimony. Intriguing idea, but no redemption. - 228 pages, (I listened in audio form, 6 CDs, 7 hours), 👎

Pleased to Meet Me by Bill Sullivan - The musings of a scientific materialist on how we are simply a mass of matter with no function or purpose. Even if I agreed with the author, I couldn't abide his constant inclusion of pop culture references. - 331 pages, 👎