Compilation: 10 Books That Are Love Songs to Music

In February, I often fill the dreary days with music or books about music. Since I've read quite a few books that I would consider love songs to music, I thought I'd compile a list. While most of these titles are novels, I highly recommend Musicophilia, by Oliver Sacks. It is such an outstanding exploration of all things brain and music-related. If you have children and wish to introduce them to orchestral instruments, you will thoroughly enjoy The Composer is Dead.  As for the novels, my two favorites from this list would have to be The Song of Hartgrove Hall and The Music Shop.

1. Ellie and the Harpmaker by Hazel Prior (novel)
2. The Chilbury Ladies' Choir by Jennifer Ryan (novel)
3. The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce (novel)
4. The House at Tyneford by Natasha Solomons (novel)
5. The Song of Hartgrove Hall by Natasha Solomons (novel)
6. Gilbert and Sullivan Set Me Free by Kathleen Karr (middle grade novel)
7. The Song Remains the Same by Allison Winn Scotch (novel)
8. La's Orchestra Saves the World by Alexander McCall Smith (novel)
9. The Composer is Dead by Lemony Snicket (children's)
10. Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks (non-fiction)

Added 3/14/22: The Lives of the Musicians by Kathleen Krull (children's biography)

Book Review: Holier Than Thou

This world is all about God's love. It is a comfortable, encouraging message. I'm not here to say God doesn't love you. He very much does. But, as this author points out, some prefer God's love over God's holiness and you cannot parse the two. Jackie Hill Perry, in Holier Than Thou: How God's Holiness Helps Us Trust Him, offers a message of hope. He is trustworthy because of His holiness. It may appear to be strict and judgmental, but it is absolute love and genuine goodness. She scours the Scriptures to prove that every believer can embrace, emulate, and trust God's holiness.

My favorite aspect of this book is that the author is a poet. Prior to reading this, or even putting my name on the library's hold list, I visited some of her spoken word recitals on YouTube. Then, while reading, it was as if I could hear the author performing the words in the sentences. She has an impressive skill for emphasis through short sentences that are almost like bulleted points. I wish I could have experienced this book in audio form.

Here are some of the good things I gleaned. We doubt the truth of His commands, or that He intends them for our good, because they cost us something. Moreover, so much of our sin goes back to the primal one in the garden. Satan promises we will be like God, yet we only wish to have God's rightful authority, not His righteousness. We want to be Lord of our own lives.

Sometimes, she articulates things so well, I cannot re-hash in my own words:

"To many, He is good insofar as He fits within the moral standards of society... tolerant... inclusive. This Jesus is a good one, perhaps, but would He be a Holy One?... Holiness should never be determined by the whims, wishes, and standards of a created thing... or... culture. Especially when that culture's ideas are so easily influenced by the deceitful hearts within it."

"If He is just love and not judge, which is no love at all really, then we can rebel without accountability. This is the pseudo-freedom that sinners prefer. Life on their terms."

When we distance ourselves from His holiness, it is often because we have elevated something or someone into an idol. We put what is "other than God" and place it on the throne of our lives. Or as Jackie says, "We take what God called good and remove a letter.... We choose [our idol] over God... because we think it and not Him can give us what we need." Of course, this is easy to see in the lives of others. How clear it is that my prodigal son looks to something other than God, believing it will give him what he supposes God cannot. Far harder to turn my eye inward and detect where I have elevated something else to meet my needs.

God is Holy, apart from us, above us. He is and was and is to come. The Almighty is dependent upon nothing and, because of this, you can trust Him to save and transform you. He will meet you where you are with a love and justice that you cannot beat. Don't you want to rest in His holiness instead of struggling against it? Stop looking elsewhere because that holiness demands something you don't want to give. May He pull back the veil, allowing you to see Him as He is truly is, a Holy God, and your attempts to do what is right for you, as filthy rags. Then, may you recognize His grace and have the faith to exchange those rags for His robes of righteousness.

Book Review: The Stranger in the Lifeboat

Once again, I needed an audio selection but lacked time for the process. I dashed inside the library (something infrequent) and went to the audio fiction books. I figured you can always count on Mitch Albom to provide an inspirational read. He is best known for Tuesdays with Morrie, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, and For One More Day. I've also read Have a Little Faith, The Time Keeper, and The First Phone Call from Heaven. So, yes, I've dipped into his books a time or two. 

I wanted to like this offering. However, several things stood in the way. It delivered on the inspirational end, but failed to show a proper understanding of God and His salvation. Any time an author attempts to portray God in a story, it will fall short. It will always be a human rendering. Albom's God was neither authentic nor likeable. Moreover, if you intend your story to express faith, it probably isn't a great idea to fill the book with filthy language. I understand the goal was to make that character reprehensible. Still, he could have mentioned expletives. Instead, the reader must endure the coarse portrayal. Several times, I almost gave up. I do not agree with the back cover promise, "Albom's most beguiling and inspiring novel yet."

Nine people are adrift at sea on a flimsy lifeboat after their yacht, carrying influential people, explodes. Three days later, they pull aboard someone who claims to be God. Albom attempts to answer the question: "What might the Lord look, sound and act like?" Benji, a deck hand, outlines their experience in a notebook intended for his deceased wife. All of this was a bit of a stretch and, also, irreverent.

I appreciated the author's redirection. He moves the reader from questions of "Why did God take this person from me?" to "Why did God give this person to me?" But, my overwhelming reaction is that Albom has a very limited portrayal of God. This is because he does not grasp or emphasize God's atonement to bring us salvation from sin. Albom's God is hollow, a superficial spirituality meant to buoy one's spirits through difficulties. He emphasizes "believing," but draws no attention to what's greater, our need for salvation from sin offered through the atoning sacrifice on the cross. Even the demons believed.

For me, I do not want religion. I can't embrace a God who only longs for us to believe in His existence but doesn't point out the chasm or offer to reconcile us to our maker. So, while I can appreciate an inspirational, feel-good, uplifting story, it still leaves me starving for the truth of the gospel. Albom's God didn't help them because they didn't even recognize the true nature of their need. So while belief in God assuages grief, true salvation does far more.

Content Caution: 📒 - language

Book Review: The World Played Chess - Highly Recommend

How do I describe this outstanding book? Raw, real, intense, instructive, stirring, and redemptive. This was not an easy read. Many passages made me want to look away. Moreover, it contained that cautionary content that triggered my desire to place a warning on some reviews. It hit all four of the dreaded categories, yet I still rave. I wish my sons would read it (if they were readers), despite the compromising content. I would only insist that they read to the end. If you left off halfway through, you would miss the full maturation process and final conclusions about God.

The title is appropriate, drawn from the adage: "The world played chess while I played checkers." Dugoni deftly weaves three time periods of story into one cohesive coming-of-age tale. Vincent Bianco is now the father of an 18-year-old son, Beau. When William Goodman sends Vincent his Vietnam journal, it propels him into the world of his own 18th summer. Vincent worked with William on a construction job that summer and heard stories about the war. However, opening the pages of William's journal fleshes out those stories in a far more significant way. Thus, the reader follows three men on a journey from boyhood to manhood: Beau (a modern teen used to the comforts of life), Vincent (now a father, but in 1979, a teen on the cusp of adulthood), and William (sent off to a senseless war as a tender teen). In facing down death, they realize the gift every new day provides. They recognize the stakes are far larger than originally imagined.

The war passages are brutal, transporting the reader into the taste, smell, and feel of battle. I struggled because my three sons are close to service eligible ages. War is possible in this crazy world and not just a story. The reality is horrifying. While uncomfortable, I still understood the necessity of full disclosure. Plus, tremendous value lies behind the painful experiences these young men traverse. There "is gold in them there hills," despite the climb.

Dugoni doesn't sugar-coat their responses, either. Obviously, soldiers who live staring death in the face will struggle with God. Yet, I didn't feel this book made God out to be the bad guy in the sky. Nor did it end with a nihilistic tone. Instead, my faith remained intact, and the ending was faith-affirming.

Indeed, the end brought me to tears. It was a powerful story with great purpose and meaning. I keep wishing I knew of a male friend who is a reader, so I could pass along this recommendation. The author captured the teen brain so well. He articulated that underdeveloped pre-frontal cortex that spurs teens into questionable and sometimes dramatically detrimental decisions. This passage near the beginning rings so true:

"Like most eighteen-year-old young men, I inhabited the center of my own universe, though cosmologists steadfastly maintain the universe has no center, that it will forever expand. Try telling that to a high school senior who thinks he's immortal because he has yet to experience mortality and indestructible because nothing has harmed him, who believes he can achieve anything he puts his mind to simply because others have said he can.... The realities of life had not yet popped the bubbles in which we lived. We did not know that nothing is guaranteed, not even nineteen."

So, although I give my content caution, I applaud this amazing novel and all it achieves. The writing sweeps you into the stories while keeping them separate and distinct. Each lesson packs a punch. The emotional resonance sings from the pages. This is a tour de force!

Note: I highly recommend reading the acknowledgements at the end (explains the creation process) and the further resources. My copy also provided 13 questions for book club discussion. I think this would make a top choice and generate interesting discussion and reflection.

Content caution: 📒 - drugs, language, sex, and violence

I'm Infatuated

As frustrated as I am with my Facebook feed (go away quilt ads, women's underwear ads, local eyeglass ads that appear just after I text the photo of my new eyewear to my sister), I'm obsessed with two Internet sensations I've somehow missed. They've been around and have solid popularity. How did I miss this?? Without this invasive Facebook feed, they'd still be strangers. Oh, the hours I've whittled away watching videos. With the first, my husband is exasperated. With the second, he actually watches, too, sometimes. I know I don't watch television at all and make no attempts to keep up with current trends, but am I living in a cave?? Apparently so.

Celtic Thunder, how did I miss you in the past ten years of your popularity?? According to Twitter, they are a worldwide sensation and have topped the world music charts ten times. What a fabulous group of Irish male singers! Handsome, talented, theatrical, entrancing! Especially, the youngest member (never watched Glee, so didn't encounter him there, either). I've spent hours watching his progression from a tender teen to a young adult. I would ask for a DVD for my birthday (cannot just listen, must also watch) if they made a DVD of Damien McGinty songs through the years.

Here are my two favorites:

And who wouldn't love this sweet rendition of "Like a Bird Without Wings" by the baby-faced Damien McGinty? Love it!

My second new fixation is with Emmymade videos. I love her spunk and her style. She always teaches me a new recipe or a new treat I may wish to try someday. I've memorized her sign-off: "I hope you enjoyed this video. I hope you learned something. I'll see you in the next one. Toodle-loo, take care, bye!" She is delightful. 

Imagine my surprise when I discovered her YouTube video about balut, a fertilized duck egg popular in the Philippines. When I went on my summer youth mission trip to the Philippines in 1987, we had a running challenge to see who would try balut. In the end, my friend Andrew actually tried it, while I was only willing to drink out the juice, or as Emmy calls it, the soup. I think I would have been more adventurous had I watched this first.

Book Review: Heads You Win

If you want to read an author who weaves a crafty web of intrigue and wraps his stories up with an unexpected twist, you definitely want to pick up a book (or short story) by Jeffrey Archer. I've reviewed countless other books by Archer and always enjoy the experience. Heads You Win has a similar feel to the Clifton Chronicles series. It is an epic tale, spanning a family's experiences through several decades of time, with plot twists and ever-increasing stakes. 

Plus, I'm a big fan of the premise of Heads You Win. I've enjoyed several other books/movies that explore the idea of how one action could lead to two separate lives. Sliding Doors handles the idea expertly and the ending is sweet and hopeful. The biggest challenge with stories portraying parallel lives is in keeping track of the divergent paths. Sliding Doors divided the tales by showing one character in short hair and the other in long hair. In this book, Archer uses two separate names.

In 1968 Leningrad, Alexander Karpenko awaits the verdict on his schooling path, unaware that his father's attempts to form a union will soon derail his life. After the KGB kill his father, and threaten his mother, Alex agrees to his uncle's plan to smuggle the two out of the country on one of two cargo ships. With the flip of a coin, fate will send them either on the boat bound for London or the boat bound for New York. Thus, the book begins a back-and-forth examination of the parallel lives possible. The reader is left to wonder, did they end up in America (Alex) or in England (Sasha)?

For most of the book, I felt sure I would end up highly-recommending this title. On each side of the equation, Karpenko faces tremendous odds and obstacles. Despite unusual success in his immigrant lives, he comes up against plenty of nefarious characters intent on destroying him. Chapters often end with dynamic cliff-hangers. Will he be framed for a crime he didn't commit? Will he win the election? Will he get the girl? Finally, will he recognize and follow the true calling of his life?

Sadly, my opinion of the book plummeted in the final section. I had to pick up the hard cover copy to follow the tale, as it became too confusing. I don't want to provide spoilers. Indeed, I recommend the story. It was thoroughly absorbing and the plot intensified repeatedly. But, I will warn you - you might not appreciate the ending. Billed as a stunner that will drop the jaws of even the most ardent Archer fans, the ending left me cold and a tiny bit resentful. After emotionally investing in the various lives of this loveable character, I just couldn't accept the twist that brought it all to an end. I wasn't amused. Who knows, though, you might think it a truly satisfying reveal. I don't argue against the shock-value; I simply argue that the shocker left me deflated and disappointed. Still, a great Archer read, just not my favorite.

Content caution: 📒 - language, sex, violence

Book Review: Midnight at the Blackbird Café

Author Karen White declares Heather Webber's book Midnight at the Blackbird Café, as "magical realism at its best!" While I found the start a bit slow, once further in I enjoyed this novel. It brims with contemplation of loss and grief, feuds and resolutions, the past and new beginnings. I thought the characters were lovely and the conflicts realistic. When the past threatens to hold us down, we must heal the wounds and start again.

Anna Kate Callow has inherited her grandmother Zee's little restaurant in the town of Wicklow, Alabama, with the stipulation to run the business for a few months before she is free to sell. This is significant because Anna Kate's mother Eden never allowed her to set foot in Wicklow. Her mother fled the town just after an accident killed her boyfriend A.J. Linden. As is typical in a small town, everyone is up in everyone else's business. The Lindens blame Eden and refuse to set foot in the café. That would be fine and dandy, except now A.J.'s sister is desperate for a piece of the famous blackbird pie. They say the pie has magical healing powers and everyone could use a bit of magic now and then.

This would make a great selection for book groups, especially if you're looking for a clean read. You can find discussion questions here and here. Or use the questions the author offers at her website.

Content Caution Coming

As a book reviewer who is also a Christian, I know my readers may include other Christ-followers. My blog will not be for everyone. My opinions often reflect a moral compass others do not respect or follow. Mostly, I shy away from books that delve into compromising content. I'm convinced some readers are clamoring for wholesome book recommendations and I will do all I can to assist those readers.

However, I am also a writer-in-training. I seek books that teach while I'm entertained. Not every skillful writer shares my personal convictions, and not every book I read is crystal clean. I desire to follow Philippians 4:8, which says, "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true... honest... just... pure... lovely... of good report, if there be any virtue... any praise, think on these things." (KJV) Yet, sometimes I will skim through compromising content if I discern something of value from the topic it covers or the premise it explores.

At the moment, I am reading a few books that fit this description. So, while I try to avoid venturing into troublesome territory, I still hope to give a heads-up to readers who might take offense to such content in one of my book recommendations or reviews. Thus, I'm adding a new tag to help readers make their reading decisions. I will use a system similar to traffic symbols. Since most of what I read IS clean, I won't bother to supply a content caution with a green book, and will probably never review a red book. Still, I hope to give guidance on books I consider yellow territory. I will label these with a yellow book and designate the cautionary content: drugs, language, sex, or violence:

Content Caution: 📒 - drugs, language, sex and violence

I am reading just such a book right now. Despite all of those cautions, the subject is worth exploring, and the writing is outstanding.

I apologize, in advance, if I ever encourage you to read a book you end up regretting because the content was not as clean as you had hoped (from a blogger dedicated to seeking clean reads). What I value (examples of skilled writing) may not be something you value enough to wade into dishonorable details. Still, there are writers I applaud despite their decision to muddy the waters with unwholesome text. Plus, there are often books I would love to run through a washing machine to salvage the brilliant colors minus the filth. Maybe one day publishers will grasp this reality and offer sanitized versions of popular polluted books. Wouldn't that be fabulous!