Playing catch-up

I really, really, really need to play catch-up here. I can't believe I've read so many books since I last posted a review! I've read some really good books in that time - as well as a few duds. I read 7 books during the 7 weeks I was away from home (first for my daughter's wedding, then on a celebratory trip to Italy), finished another 11 through the end of 2023. I've already finished 10 books in 2024, with 4 more (yes, crazy) in the works.

You know how it's so overwhelming to catch up once you kind of lose the habit of getting things done. After 7 weeks away, I had a crazy time getting back into the swing of being home. (And wasn't home long due to an out-of-town family emergency less than 2 weeks after my return.) Writing book reviews was near the bottom of my list of things to get done. (But yes, seriously, it was - and is still - on my list. I guess I'll get to tick it off today. Yay!

I don't want to not share the books I've read here so I'm going to list them with the stars I gave them on Goodreads. I'm hoping to write at least one or two lines with my thoughts on each title. Yes, for all 28 books!

1. The Breakaway by Jennifer Weiner ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I really enjoyed this one about a young women learning so much about herself as a leader on a bike trip with some unexpected group members.

2. Recipe for Second Chances by Ali Rosen ⭐️⭐️⭐️ I read this in the days leading up to our departure for Italy because it took place in Italy. It was just okay.

3. The Villa Girls by Nicky Pellegrino ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Another just okay read for me. This novel told a story that came before The Italian Wedding (not sure the order of the books being published). The story was okay. What I did love were the bits of the story that took place in Italy. As usual, Nicky Pellegrino does a great job at evoking the location.

4. City People by Elizabeth Topp ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Seriously, until I looked at the synopsis of this novel, I couldn't remember what it was about. Having said that, it was a good read about a band of mothers experiencing the loss of one of their own. I was able to connect to this story on many levels even though my days of being a mom of young kids is way in the past.

5. Tom Lake by Ann Patchett ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This book seems to have such mixed reviews. People either loved it or hated it. I loved Tom Lake, perhaps it was because I was really able to connect to this story. It's set during the early days of COVID which holds appeal to me and Lara's adult daughters have come home to quarantine. The daughters pass the time by listening to their mom share some stories from her younger life. One of Lara's defining moments in life was starring in the play Our Town. I saw my daughter in a minor role in that play years ago so I had that connection, too. This was a warm, comfortable read.

6. Woke Up Like This by Amy Lea ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I believe this was a free Amazon Prime First Read. Time travel. Two teens time travel to their 30s. I really enjoyed this one.

7. When We Were Enemies by Emily Bleeker ⭐️⭐️⭐️ This is one I really expected to love. It's about a young woman in 1943 Indiana working as a translator at a nearby Italian POW camp. It was simply okay.

8. Never Meant to Meet You by Alli Frank ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was another free Amazon Prime First Read that I did not expect to really like, but I did. It was a light enough story but one with a lot of substance about marriage, race, and religion. Plus one of the main characters was a kindergarten teacher. 

9. Paper Doll Lina by Robyn Lucas ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Another free Amazon Prime First Read, this one about a woman who has really lost herself in her marriage. It had promise, was enjoyable enough to read, but just okay.

10. Enough by Cassidy Hutchinson ⭐️⭐️⭐️ I listened to Cassidy Hutchinson read the book. I guess I was hoping to learn a little bit more than I did. Since so much of the story is already out there, I learned a few things and was reminded of just how awful the end of the last presidency and January 6th was. Not that I need a lot of reminders.

11. Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth by Noa Tishby ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I had started to read this highly recommended book before our family emergency. My son and I both flew across the country and were both reading Israel and boy did we have a lot to talk about. I learned many new things, I was reminded of many things I'd learned over the years, and I feel a bit better informed about what's going on in the Middle East right now. Whenever I read anything about Israel, I always wonder how accurate the information is. This seems accurate and I understand that Noa Tishby is a Zionist, but it didn't seem to me like she had some hidden agenda. Reading this reaffirmed most of what I'd already believed. There are no easy answers.

12. The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The author of this one was the same author as Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting. There were lots of similarities across the two books, although the premise of each plot was quite different. In The Authenticity Project, Julian Jessop, an older, lonely artist writes the true story about his life and leaves it in a cafe, suggesting that others do the same. Write their truths and pass it along. Six strangers are brought together and form unexpected friendships. I preferred Iona Iverson but this was a pleasant read, too.

13. The Apology Project by Jeanette Escudero ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I had to look at the synopsis of this one to remember the plot of this one. It's about a woman who gets fired when she's not willing to compromise her principles for a big case at her law firm. What next? While she attempts to figure that out, she is encouraged to apologize to people from her past (some who meant something to her, others that really didn't). That became her project. It was "fun" following along.

14. Only the Beautiful by Susan Meissner ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Susan Meissner always writes an interesting novel that isn't quite the kind of historical fiction where you learn a lot about the time period but which is set in a time period that makes the story especially meaningful. In this case, a key character was living through World War II in Austria. The main character, however, was a young woman whose parents worked on a vineyard when they were killed in an accident. The owners of the vineyard agree to care for her until she legally becomes an adult. She becomes pregnant and things fall apart for her after that. 

15. Our Town: A Play in Three Acts by Thornton Wilder ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ After reading Tom Lake, I decided to reread Our Town. Apparently, I wasn't the only person who had the same thought because there was quite a long waitlist to get the play. This is Thornton Wilder's most frequently performed play.

16. One Summer in Savannah by Torah Shelton Harris ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Sara Lancaster has left her home in Savannah, Georgia to protect her daughter, Alana who was born as the result of a rape. When her father becomes ill, she returns to Savannah and has to deal with the ghosts of the past. It's a bittersweet novel about motherhood and moving forward after something terrible. I loved the character of Alana who is exceptionally smart.

17. Shanda: A Memoir of Shame and Secrecy by Letty Cottin Pogrebin ⭐️⭐️⭐️ This memoir was recommended to me by several people. They were all slightly older than I am, and I wonder if that's what made me think this was just okay and not great. This memoir focuses on the secrets that Pogrebin and her family kept because the truth was "a shanda" or a shame or a disgrace (in Yiddish). I was able to identify some of the shandas in the life of family members.

18. The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I listened to this audiobook with my husband on a long car ride and it was perfect. An engaging story that we could both enjoy and the length of the audiobook matched the hours in day one of our road trip spent in the car. Hannah's husband has disappeared. She and her stepdaughter, Bailey, who don't have the greatest relationship, come together to figure out what could have possibly happened to Owen, husband and dad.

19. Looking for Alaska by John Green ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ After finishing one audiobook on day one of our road trip, I knew I wanted to find another "short" audiobook to listen to on day two of the trip. Looking for Alaska has been on my list of banned books to read and it was the perfect length. It's a coming of age story that takes place at a boarding school. At the end of the story (which coincided with us leaving the highway and just having the local roads to get us home - further than you'd think unless you, too, live in a rural area - my husband and I looked at each other and said, "How important is a book like this for a kid experiencing even a part of what was experienced by the characters in this novel. How wrong that a book like this is banned!"

20. The Surgeon's Daughter by Audrey Blake ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ My first finish for 2024 is the sequel to The Girl in His Shadow which I read as part of a Big Library Read in June 2022. While I gave both novels 4 stars, I much preferred The Girl in His Shadow to The Surgeon's Daughter. Both novels made me really think about what it would have been like to be a women with a brain and with some amibition in the 19th century. (I liked that Nora attended med school in Italy, of course!)

21. Must Love Flowers by Debbie Macomber ⭐️⭐️⭐️ We came home from our road trip to NY and my husband had COVID. Because I'm a strong believer in public health, that meant that I isolated unless I really needed to get out and do something (always wearing a well-fitted, high quality mask). It meant I had a lot of time for reading. I decided I wanted something light so looked for something new by Debbie Macomber. It fit the bill perfectly. It was a story about a young woman and an older woman coming together for convenience and helping each other move on to the next stages of their lives.

22. The Air Raid Book Club by Annie Lyons ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This novel by the same author as The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett took a different spin on the kindertransport program during WWII. Hedy is a refugee from Germany. She's an older teen who goes to England unhappy to be parted from her parents and brother. She's taken in by Gertie is contemplating selling the bookstore that she owned with her recently deceased husband. The book club was really a very minor part of the novel. I think if there had been a little bit more focus on the book club, this could have been a 5-⭐️ read for me.

23. The Little Liar by Mitch Albom ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Lots of chatter about The Little Liar on many of the book websites and Facebook groups that I follow. "Truth" is the narrator of the story which at times felt a little contrived, but it worked. The main character of the story, Nico, is 11-years old when the story begins. He never lies. Ever. Until... the Nazis invade Salonika, Greece to deport the Jews.That's when lying becomes a method of self-preservation and eventually redemption. I'd previously had no knowledge of the vibrant Jewish community in Salonika (Thessalonika) prior to reading this book. 

24. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Here's another novel by the author of Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. A.J. Fikry owns a book store that he'd started with his recently deceased wife. (Didn't I just write something similar for The Air Raid Book Club??) A.J. is still a young man, but he becomes a recluse and has difficulty figuring out what might be next for him. He becomes a recluse. Then he finds a package left behind at the bookstore which sets about a whole new life for A.J. and those in his rather limited circle.

25. The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride ⭐️⭐️⭐️ The premise of this story is that a skeleton is found in Pennsylvania in the neighborhood of Chicken Hill where years ago Jews and African Americans lived side-by-side. Chona runs the Heaven & Earth Grocery Store that was started by her father. The story was interesting, but it dragged on in many parts and I often had a hard time following things as there were so many characters who, to me, weren't all that distinct. Lots of readers have loved this one but it kind of fell flat with me.

26. Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I loved this book, most probably because I also love Hallmark movies. Nora writes screen plays for The Romance Channel (I see you, Hallmark!) and when she writes something more substantial, more or less the story of her marriage falling apart, it gets picked up to be a major motion picture. Then Nora is living in her own Hallmark movie. If you love Hallmark movies, you'll love this book.

27. Tales From The Cafe: A Novel by Toshikazu Kawaguchi ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This is book 2 in the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series. Visitors to a small cafe in Tokyo are able to time travel, but there are several rules they must obey. And they must finish their coffee before it gets cold. In this installment, 4 patrons get to time travel to come to terms with the past and move on to the future. I think I liked the creativity of the first book a little better, but this was enjoyable, too. And I plan to read the next two books in the series as well.

28. No Visible Bruises: What We Don't Know About Domestic Violence Can Kill Us ⭐️⭐️⭐️ I only read this because this was a title my community book club selected. It was a difficult book to read because the subject matter is so difficult. I wish it touched upon spousal abuse in wealthier couples because I have a friend who experienced that and I was hoping I'd getting some insight into her experiences. As tough as it was to get through the book, we did have a great book club discussion.

29. Unorthodox Love by Heidi Sherlock ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Penina is an Orthodox Jewish woman who longs for love and marriage but is not what any Orthodox man would want as she is unable to have babies. At 29, Penina's life is all about going to work and then doing for others in her free time. She's the family fixer and she volunteers at a NICU at a local hospital. Life becomes more interesting when she's set up with a gay Orthodox Jew who would like a fake marriage to please his mother before she dies... and her boss takes a medical leave and his son comes in to run the show. Penina has a smart mouth which I enjoyed. A very pleasant book to read, especially after No Visible Bruises.

And now I'm caught up! Whew! I'm listening to two books and reading two e-books. Hoping to review each book as I finish it.

The Bluest Eye

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison has been on my "to be read" list for years. Since my daughter worked on the play back when she was working in theater. Shortly after I first read Beloved. I finally picked it up now because one of my book clubs is discussing banned books in October. We're all reading George by Alex Gino and then in addition, we're each supposed to pick another banned book that we've never read before. Perfect opportunity for me to read The Bluest Eye.

I found this a book that was disturbing to read. I keep debating in my head whether The Bluest Eye or Beloved tells the more horrific story. The experience of reading both was the same. I'd pick up the book. Read a little bit. Then need to put it down.

The Bluest Eye is the story of Pecola Breedlove, an 11-year old girl in Ohio who comes from a family devoid of love, where ugliness and violence seem to rule. Spoiler alert: Pecola gets raped by her father. Pecola thinks if only she had blue eyes, her life would be perfect.The story told in an interesting way, with different sections of the book focusing on one character or another with whom Pecola interacts.

While I don't think any book should be banned, I can see what might be objectionable to some readers. There are many teachable moments in any controversial book. In this case, there can be discussions about race. Why were there no dolls of color until recently making white, blond, blue-eyed dolls a standard of beauty? What does lack of parenting do to a person? What about poverty? If a person objects to the language and sexual explicitness of the novel, then don't pick it up to read on your own. There are so many books. On your own time, for your own pleasure, pick your own book. There is much to be learned by reading The Bluest Eye. Life isn't all Shirley Temple dolls and happy moments. Nor are the stories that can be told.

The craft of the novel is something to talk about, too. Why did she choose to present the material in the manner that she did? There were messages imbedded within the rich language.

Pecola's story is based in Ohio. But parts of the story goes to the South in the early 20th century so we get a little taste of that setting as well. 

This is a story about  a lonely, vulnerable girl.

I gave The Bluest Eye only 3 stars on goodreads because of how disturbingly difficult it was to read. I know that if I were reading it for a book club where we had all read The Bluest Eye, my opinion of the book would change because there is so much powerful material to discuss. On second thought, I'm going to revise my rating to 4 stars because this is a novel that is going to stick with me and I'm sure it will come up in conversation with some of my more readerly friends.

 

The banning of books

No stranger to banned books, Judy Blume's young adult
novel, Iggie's House (1970) was banned.

Yes, I've been reading Outlander (#6 A Breath of Snow and Ashes) meaning I have nothing new to review. I feel like that gives me nothing to write about.

I've had some great book talks with my sister-in-law, neighbors and friends with probably a dozen titles added to my "To Be Read" list. Are you following me on goodreads?

Why am I writing about banned books today? Isn't Banned Books month in September? I saw a news story the other day and it's weighing heavily on my mind. After a parent complaint to a school district in Virginia, To Kill A Mockingbird and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn have been temporarily banned. The parent's complaint was that the racial slurs (the language in the books) distressed her mixed-race son.

Just a few months ago, after I read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn for probably the first time (shocking, I know!), I came across an article debating whether or not the original book in Mark Twain's words should be read or should a book with "nicer language" be read instead. (My commentary here.) At the time, I felt strongly that it was important to read the original with students for all the teachable moments.

Personally, I don't believe in banning books. And I don't understand books being banned in a school setting. I do understand how a parent might not want his or her child to read a book independently that might appear to normalize racism... or sexual assault... or any negative value the parent might not want the child exposed to on his or her own. 

Aren't these books the ones that need to be read and discussed? And yes, discussion is key in the reading of books that might be "uncomfortable."

Do we want to simply give lip service to racism? Is it enough to say "Never use the n-word?" Or do we want our youth to understand the implications. What easier way to give enough exposure for a meaningful discussion than be reading a book.

Racism is real. It exists today. It existed in the time of Scout Finch and Huck Finn. The two books in question might be fiction but each one is based on the realities of the time periods in which the books are set. These stories challenge prejudice. They don't encourage it. They don't suggest it. They don't condone it. Isn't fiction a great starting point for discussions about icky subjects? And isn't it important to learn lessons from the past so that maybe the future can be a brighter, more peaceful, less hateful time?

You May Be Wondering What I'm Reading Now

It's been nearly 3 weeks since I last posted anything here. I have been reading. I am reading. But nothing that necessitates writing a review. I had parathyroid surgery on Monday so a lot of my reading has been about other people's experiences with parathyroid disease and parathyroid surgery. It's not the most common condition around (although much more common than I'd imagined) so I really had to dig to find things to satisfy my desire to learn more. Based on some of what I read, I expected to dance out of the hospital, stop for lunch on the way home and by evening be living a more energetic, healthier life. It's now Thursday. I can't comfortable to sleep through the night, my throat hurts... and I'm waiting. Waiting to feel great. Waiting for my healthy life to start.

My concentration is probably even worse than it's been in previous weeks and months. (Better concentration is supposed to be a result of the surgery. I'll wait for that, too.) As a result, I'm reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain in fits and starts. It's my Books and Beer Club title for September. I know that I'd never read Huck Finn before. I tried to read it with a fifth grade student about 15 years ago but we were "too bored." I do believe that I read Tom Sawyer back in the day. The dialect isn't as difficult to read as I thought it would be. And when I get bogged down, I just skim. I think I'm getting a full enough idea of what the book is about. Here's another book where I think the discussion is going to really add to my experience with the novel. I can't say I am loving this book, but it is a classic and like many other classics I've read recently, I'm already really glad that I'm reading it.

Just yesterday, someone asked on our book club Facebook page which Huck Finn book are we supposed to be reading. That made me wonder if there were several different Huck Finn stories. I learned that there was a "sequel" called Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer Among the Indians that Mark Twain started... and dropped... and over a hundred years later, that novel was completed by an Author named Lee Nelson. Apparently the writing is seamless and it's hard to tell where Twain left off and Nelson picked up. But that was the only other Huck Finn book that I could find.

Yes, there are several books with the name Huck Finn in them. But all those books are written by other authors and I imagine they are reviews of the original Mark Twain book.

During my searching, I found what I consider a great article about an updated edition of Huckleberry Finn. It's definitely worth a read. It ties in to the fact that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been a banned book. (Books and Beer Club always reads a banned book during September, Banned Books Month.)

I'm glad that I'm reading an "original" edition of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I think as long as we take the language into the context of the time period in which the story is set, we're okay. When I was teaching, whenever I was reading a novel aloud to the class... if the novel had bad language, I often had to consider how I was going to deal with that. I taught about Civil Rights and Social Injustice so the "n-word" is one that appeared in some of the books I wanted to read to my class. Rather than change the words, I'd dedicate a lesson prior to the start of reading the book to discuss that particular term, why it's not appropriate for any of us to use now but why it was written into the book and why the book needs to read as it was written. My colleagues and I would often discuss this particular "dilemma" but I don't think we ever came to an agreement on how it should be handled.

I'm 85% finished with the e-book and will certainly finish it over the weekend.

What will I read next? My community book club is reading A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. It was published in 2012 so we, as a club, didn't think it would be that difficult to find in the library. Of the many libraries I have online access to, only one library system has the e-book. When I got on the waitlist nearly 2 months ago, I was #32 on the list. I am now #16. Even though I really don't have time for audio books these days, I've requested the audiobook, but it's doubtful I'll get that in time. I'm also waitlisted for the print copy at our local library. I'm number 20 in that queue. I think I might need to come up with something else to read. I'm toying with the idea with picking up Outlander again. I left off last fall after completing the fifth book. It might be time to read book six, A Breath of Snow and Ashes. Yes... off to request that one!