2021 - First Quarterly Review

To assist my blog readers, I 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 read the following books during the first quarter of 2021 (for my full review, click on title):

Freezing and Thawing: New and Revised Stories from the Midwest by Kyle L. White - From a letter of recommendation for Autumn to minutes from an insomnia meeting, White presents equal parts humor and introspection. A gem from a Midwest poet I call a friend. 130 pages, 👍👍👍👍-1/2

Four Umbrellas: A Couple's Journey into Young-Onset Alzheimer's by June Hutton and Tony Wanless - Tender and tragic tale of two writers and their journey through the deterioration brought on by Alzheimer's. 224 pages, 👍👍👍

Audacious by Beth Moore - Moore's manifesto for reaching all women with the message of the gospel so they can audaciously love Christ. 174 pages (I listened in audio form, 4 CDs, 5 hours), 👍👍-1/2

Floriography: An Illustrated Guide to the Victorian Language of Flowers by Jessica Roux - Beautifully illustrated coffee-table book highlighting the Victorian practice of using flowers to communicate sentiments. Simply wanted more. 226 pages, 👍👍-1/2

Prayers for Prodigals: 90 Days of Prayer for Your Child by James Banks - 90 prayers, supported by Scripture, to bolster and encourage the hearts of parents with wayward children. 240 pages, 👍👍👍👍

Reaching Your Prodigal: What Did I Do Wrong? What Do I Do Now? by Phil Waldrep - After numerous parents approached Waldrep in despair over their child's choices, he determined to study the problem and offer wisdom for parents in this troubling predicament. 256 pages, 👍👍-1/2

Acedia & me: A Marriage, Monks, and a Writer's Life by Kathleen Norris - Writers often struggle with the emotional malaise that accompanies isolated work that is often viewed as wasted time and energy. This form of sloth (sin?) impacts the emotional and religious experience of a writer. 334 pages, 👍👍👍👍-1/2

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig - Between life and death, Nora Seed encounters a library full of books that will allow her to rewrite her regrets, but will she be able to find a life worth living? Intriguing and life-affirming! 304 pages (I listened in audio form, 7 CDs, 9 hours), 👍👍👍👍-3/4

The Cloister Walk by Kathleen Norris - A poet reflects on lessons from monastic life. Beautiful writing but differed on some points. 385 pages, 👍👍👍

The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist by Adrian Tomine - A cartoonist's honest memoir about seeking success with his creative work. 162 pages, 👍👍-1/2

Rhythms of Renewal: Trading Stress and Anxiety for a Life of Peace and Purpose by Rebekah Lyons - A compendium of suggestions to help regulate your life and relieve stress and anxiety. Nothing new, but great storytelling to support ideas. 224 pages (I listened in audio form, 5 CDs, 5-1/2 hours, 👍👍👍👍

How to Write One Song by Jeff Tweedy - A songwriter encourages would-be-songwriters in the discipline, play, and word-dancing required for penning lyrics and melodies. 158 pages, 👍👍👍

The Hungering Dark by Frederick Buechner - While written half a century ago, this book of essays (sermons?) by Buechner could have been penned today - same darkness, same hunger for God's holiness to intervene and wipe away our tears and doubts. 125 pages, 👍👍👍👍

Someone Like You by Karen Kingsbury - A stand-alone novel, starring characters from Kingsbury's famous Baxter family, exploring ethical and emotional ramifications of embryo adoption. 301 pages (I listened in audio form, 7 CDs, 8 hours), 👍👍👍-1/2

Yes to Life: In Spite of Everything by Viktor E. Frankl - A concentration camp survivor's thoughts on the meaning we can derive from suffering and the importance of each and every life. 115 pages, 👍👍👍👍

Winter is Scissors: A Winter Companion by Kyle L. White - My friend Kyle's book of 31 daily readings "extending the metaphor that winter cuts." 76 pages, 👍👍👍👍

Halfway to Forever by Karen Kingsbury - This follow-up to Waiting for Morning, traces the expectations and obstacles in two families patiently awaiting the addition of children. 354 pages (I listened in audio form, 10 CDs, 11-1/2 hours), 👍👍👍-1/2

Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard - A step back in time to watch a madman murder, a president fall, a doctor usurp, and a scientist invent. Excellent! 354 pages (I listened in audio form, 8 CDs, 9-3/4 hours), 👍👍👍👍👍

We Dream of Space by Erin Entrada Kelly - Bird, Fitch, and Cash bear the fall-out of their parent's animosity. Aligned with the Challenger mission of 1986, the book explores the typical struggles and dreams of middle-schoolers. 389 pages, 👍👍👍👍-1/2

Pianos and Flowers by Alexander McCall Smith - 14 short stories prompted by old photos. 192 pages, 👍👍-1/2

The Library Book by Susan Orlean - A thorough telling of the San Francisco Library fire of 1986 and a love song to books and libraries. 310 pages (I listened in audio form, 10 CDs, 12 hours), 👍👍👍👍

Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline - A masterful sequel that ups the ante a hundred-fold. A riveting ride of a book. 371 pages, 👍👍👍👍-1/2

Book Review: Ready Player Two

I'm always hesitant to open the cover of a sequel to a bestselling book, fearing the author will not live up to the mark of the first. Ernest Cline did well in Ready Player Two. This sequel, as I told my 14-year-old, is Ready Player One on steroids. The OASIS kicks up a notch and is more addictive than ever. Halliday comes through with another quest with unbelievable odds and consequences. The bad guy's threat is not just the loss of a game, but possibly the loss of Wade's life and countless other lives.

I loved dipping back into the constant 80s references (many I recognized, some left me clueless). However, I did note that at one point in the book, Cline uses a sentence he may have ripped from a negative book review. Sorrento asks, "Don't you kids ever get tired of picking through the wreckage of a past generation's nostalgia?... I mean, look around. The entire OASIS is like one giant graveyard, haunted by the un-dead pop-culture icons of a bygone era. A crazy old man's shrine to a bunch of pointless crap." Still, I spent my teen years in the 80s, so I enjoyed that aspect of the romp.

I enjoyed contemplating the benefits and drawbacks of technology. While I didn't love the ending, the book was a thoroughly riveting read. I struggled with the first 100 pages, but once the background was set and the bad guy made his appearance, I had to fasten my seatbelt. It was a good thing I started the book on a weekend (only 3 days from the due date), because I read the last two-thirds of it in one day. Couldn't put it down.

If I had hesitations about letting my teen read Ready Player One, I had even more with the sequel. It is not a clean read. All the boxes are checked for the things people seem to expect in their literature these days. Since Sean preferred the movie to the book for Ready Player One anyway, he may wait for Ready Player Two to come out in movie form (although, I doubt the movie will be any cleaner).

Book Review: The Library Book

Occasionally, an audio book cannot convey the whole meaning of a book. Each chapter of The Library Book by Susan Orlean starts with a list of titles, authors, and call numbers. The lists include books about topics springing up in the chapter. Since I wanted to see these listings, I went back to the library to check out the hard copy and discovered it also offered photos. If "a picture speaks a thousand words," I was missing out on plenty. My recommendation: read the hard copy instead of listening to the audio book. Plus, they should have selected someone with a wider language background to narrate the book (the author stumbled through pronunciations of German and other languages).

That consideration aside, I relished this book about the 1986 fire at the Los Angeles Public Library. As the Booklist review declared, it was "A riveting mix of true crime, history, biography, and immersion journalism." The author describes each individual in great detail. Orlean's physical descriptions were vivid and her personality descriptions delightful. As a book-lover, her homage for books resonated. Although the subject could have netted a much shorter book, Orlean expands on the topic to present a multi-faceted tale. The reader not only considers books, libraries, and librarians, but also tackles the emotional aspects of burning books and the wider functions of public libraries.

Perhaps my favorite chapter of all focused on Ray Bradbury. Orlean introduced Bradbury, who considered himself "library-educated." His fondness for books led to his novel Fahrenheit 451, another book about burning books. I not only dashed off to the library to pick up the hard copy of Orlean's text, but also snagged a library copy of Fahrenheit 451. Orlean appropriately sums up that section by revealing that all of Bradbury's books burned in the L.A. library fire. Ironic! 

This is a love song to books and those who keep them. The importance and power of books is emphasized again and again. She writes: "You don't need to take a book off a shelf to know there is a voice inside that is waiting to speak to you, and behind that was someone who truly believed that if he or she spoke, someone would listen.... Even the oddest, most particular book was written with that kind of crazy courage - the writer's belief that someone would find his or her book important to read. I was struck by how precious and foolish and brave that belief is, and how necessary, and how full of hope it is to collect these books and manuscripts and preserve them." Books and libraries are essential. They will endure no matter what technological advances threaten to displace them.

Book Review: Pianos and Flowers

Alexander McCall Smith is perhaps best known for his Number One Ladies' Detective Agency books. I greedily consumed the first half of this series when my library carried the earlier books in audio form. Having fallen in love with Lisette Lecat's excellent narration, I cannot imagine going back to the physical reading of the books. Thankfully, it appears my library now has a few more of that series in the audio format.

In this new acquisition to my library, Pianos and Flowers, Smith provides brief stories prompted by old photos. Since the photos help set up the stories, this book is best consumed in hard copy form. Most of the stories were passing fair. My favorite was a tale of twin sisters who fall in love. I discovered this cute little trailer for the book, produced by an Indiana public library not far from me:

Book Giveaway: Pandemic Prayerbook

Prayer is always paramount, but especially so when hard times descend. This past year has been unlike any other I've experienced. Life has changed. Often it seems like the very fabric of society has shifted. We have all encountered uncertainty, anxiety, inconvenience, and difficulty. Perhaps, like me, you have cried out to God for His protection and provision.  

Several years ago, in an on-line writer's group, I met Darcy Wiley. She co-authored The Yes Effect: Accepting God's Invitation to Transform the World Around You. I subscribed to her blog. At the end of last year, Darcy posted about her Pandemic Prayerbook: A Pray-at-Home Guide for the Coronavirus Crisis. She offered two copies in a giveaway. Anyone who responded to explain what Scripture verses have carried them through this pandemic season received an entry. Yay! I won!

The Pandemic Prayerbook compiles 29 prayers for this specific time. Written by various writers, they cover topics like victims, nurses, physicians, first responders, essential workers, creatives, teachers, e-learners, etc. Each prayer reads like poetry and incorporates Scripture. At the end of the book, Darcy provides writer biographies, along with space to compile your own pandemic prayer. She encourages readers to post their prayer on social media and tag it #pandemicprayerbook.

Want to be a winner, too? If you live in the U.S., you can enter my giveaway for my second copy of the book in three ways: 1) by subscribing to my blog via e-mail (button on the top right), 2) by commenting on this post, or 3) by sending me an e-mail at wendy.hill0596@gmail.com to express your interest. The giveaway will be open for entries until April 15, 2021 (an easy deadline to remember - and, yes, taxes are due that day, no delays this year).

(Darcy's photo to accompany her prayer "As I Wash My Hands")

Book Review: We Dream of Space - Highly Recommend

Erin Entrada Kelly is a Newbery award-winning writer, yet I don't believe I've read any of her other books. I will remedy that! Her writing is impressive. We Dream of Space is an outstanding middle grade book about a girl, with a complicated home life, who longs to venture into space like her role models on the Challenger mission. I well remember, as I'm sure others do, the images of the Challenger explosion (the Y puffs of smoke) and the feelings of astonishment and devastation. The author steps into the shoes of those children who watched the televised launch while at school. 

Bird and her brothers, Cash and Fitch, each respond in their own way to the parental friction within their home. This proves, once again, that parents give their children an enormous gift when they strive to love one another. But family life is often complicated, and this novel will resonate with those who struggle with such difficulties. The book appeals equally to boys, as it outlines the pent-up rage of Fitch and the frustrating failures of Cash as they both try to find their place in the world. Kelly captures the emotions of tweens. She presents historical fiction sure to inspire young readers to reach for the stars.

Book Review: Destiny of the Republic - Highly Recommend

How did it take a decade to stumble onto this excellent 2011 non-fiction title? Candice Millard's storytelling abilities shine. She capably transports readers back in time and gives a bird's-eye view as four men collide in one significant event. Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President presents an assassination that robbed America of what probably would have been an outstanding presidency. 

James A. Garfield went to his party's convention to deliver a rousing speech nominating General Sherman. After many votes, someone introduced Garfield's name to the ballet. He watched in shock as they determined to put him forth as their presidential candidate. He expected his life to alter the day he transformed from common citizen to national leader. What he could not foresee, was the tragic end that lay before him.

When Charles Guiteau fired a gun into the president, he believed he was following a divine directive. Moreover, he was sure that Vice President Chester Arthur would rejoice in this triumph and give Guiteau the foreign office position he coveted. His delusions were monumental. His actions unthinkable. He set in motion a further perplexing tale.

The madman's act may not have killed Garfield had it not been for a power-seeking doctor who took over the care of the president. Dr. Bliss probed the wound with a dirty rod, attempting to find the bullet. With Garfield secure in a tiny White House room, Bliss sent away all other doctors, claiming Garfield and his wife begged for his care. Meanwhile, Alexander Graham Bell worked feverishly to invent a machine to locate the bullet inside the body. It was fascinating to hear how this one act altered the political climate, united a country in mourning, and ushered in medical advancements.

Paul Michael is an outstanding narrator in the audio version of the book. The rich tenor of his voice and his excellent accents bring the story to life. His voice sounded familiar, and I thought I had heard him read another audio book at some point. Despite searching through his profuse list of credits, I couldn't pinpoint where I had heard him before. I will definitely seek more books written by Candice Millard and more books read aloud by Paul Michael.

Watchin' Our Solitude Slippin' Away

I'm amazed by the speed at which our solitude is slipping away. Last Friday, two house frames appeared, as if out of nowhere, on the horizon of the plot adjoining our land. Yesterday, I attempted to take photos to show the rapid development. (Sorry, I'm a horrid photographer and it doesn't show how close they feel.) There are now 9 houses in various stages of construction dotting the landscape:

At least they are not yet directly across from our meadow; but at this pace, it is only a matter of time.

This morning, I went out to take closer images (before the workmen arrive, bringing their cacophony of noise).

I'm sure I wouldn't mind it so much if our house didn't face that spell of land. It is the idea that we will look out our front door to houses backed up onto the edge of our property that is so distressing.

People have already started cutting a path through our meadow to get from the walking trail to the road. Makes me want to build a wall around our house, meadow, woods, and orchards. Doubt that will happen.

Book Blurb: Halfway to Forever

Again, I trust Karen Kingsbury to provide an engrossing story that is wholesome and inspiring. After selecting this audio book, I realized it follows a previously read book, Waiting for Morning. In the first book, Hannah loses her husband and oldest daughter in a car accident. Now, married to the lawyer who pursued the case of the responsible drunk driver, she wants to adopt a daughter. While they enter the process, their best friends, Jade and Tanner, learn that they are expecting. But, in a flash, trials threaten both growing families. A bit heavy on message and a tad maudlin in spots, but still an alluring storyline.

Apparently, there was a second book sandwiched between these two. A Moment of Weakness tells the story of Jade and Tanner prior to Halfway to Forever. I don't think I'll look for it, though. 

Book Blurb: Winter is Scissors

Reading my friend Kyle's newest book in January prompted a search for my review of his 2018 book. Alas, I failed to write a review when I read it after purchasing the Kindle version back in 2018. I re-read the book this past January. Winter is Scissors: A Winter Companion provides "thirty-one small, daily readings... extending the metaphor that winter cuts." With 31 entries, it is a perfect fit for January reading, but you could just as well tackle it in March.

I had several favorite entries: On day 6 - Epiphany - White asserts that, like the wise men, he has received the message to cut an alternative path for home. On day 8, he humorously personifies weather and our relationship to it in "The Scandalous Truth About You and Cold Weather." Of course, I appreciated day 19, "Winter is for Writing." On day 20, he compares shoveling and shaving. While I'm not a big fan of winter (my sister and her husband, who live in Texas, pine for winter and snow as much as Kyle does), these poetic readings warmed my heart and gave meaning to the chill outside.