books 2011 #36-41

Apologize, Apologize! by Elizabeth Kelly

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I saw that one critic compared the family in this book to the Royal Tenenbaums, and I can see it. Each character is rather one-note, so it's the interaction between them that creates the most interest. Collie, the narrator, is probably the most complex of the characters (or maybe that's just how it seems because we see everything from his point of view). I like it that he's not so cut and dry, that his grief, his frustration are not so easily overcome.

Warning: this book contains a decent amount of vulgar language.


The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Historical novel about the Salem witch trials, written from the point of view of a girl whose mother (and most of her family) was accused. It was fascinating to see how the mass hysteria built up around suspected witchcraft. With essentially no evidence, so many were imprisoned and many hanged. I knew very little about this time period, and was actually surprised that there were not more people involved and that it all happened in a matter of a few months.

I loved the depth of the characters and the development of the relationships.



The Girl She Used to Be by David Cristofano

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

An interesting story about a girl who's been in the witness protection program for most of her life. I'm not sure the characters are all that believable, but it was a quick read about something new to me, and I liked that.




Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm wavering between 4 and 5 stars on this one.

I've read other books about WWII, but never from the perspective of soldiers in Japanese POW camps. Louie Zamperini is amazing, a true testament to the amazing ability of (some) people to persevere, survive, and even flourish. I can't even imagine.

A fascinating, disturbing, and ultimately satisfying book.



The Continuous Atonement by Brad Wilcox

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I heard the author talk about much of the material in this book and I preferred his speaking to his writing. That said, I still found this to be an inspiring and useful book.

some favorite quotes:

"Changes in belief always precede changes in behavior."

"It is one thing to follow Christ and another thing entirely to be led by Him."

"True faith in Christ is more than just knowing about Him or even believing He is divine. It is knowing that His Atonement is real, that its purpose is to transform us, and that it will be available as long as that perfecting process takes."

"Our needs—including the need for forgiveness—are continuous, and so is Christ's Atonement in its ability to meet those needs."

"[Christ] doesn't always clear the path, but He does illuminate it."

"One who chooses Christ chooses to be changed... [The Atonement] rehabilitates, regenerates, renews, and transforms human nature."

"We should recognize that God is pleased with every effort we make—no matter how faltering—to better ourselves."

"Save for the exception of the very few who defect to perdition, there is no habit, no addiction, no rebellion, no transgression, no apostasy, no crime exempted from the promise of complete forgiveness. That is the promise of the Atonement of Christ. (Boyd K. Packer)"

Wilcox's down-to-earth writing and clear examples make a difficult subject much easier to understand.



The Book of Ruth by Jane Hamilton

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Ruth is a very complex character — beaten down, made to feel that she is unintelligent, stuck in her smallest of small town lives. She begins corresponding with her estranged Aunt Sid, the only person to encourage her and lift her. Ruth says that Sid saved her life a million times over.

Even after becoming a mother and wife, Ruth exists in a childlike, innocent state, until a violent act throws her life into complete upheaval. There is a sense of hopefulness throughout that things will turn out okay for Ruth in the end. Despite her awkwardness, she has dignity and resilience.


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books 2011 #32-35

The Nobodies Album by Carolyn Parkhurst

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Probably more like 3.5 stars.

Author Octavia Frost decides to write a book comprised of alternative endings to all of her previous novels. She is also drawn into a murder mystery involving her estranged son.

Interesting premise. I really enjoyed the writing, although I wished there weren't so much language.



City of Thieves by David Benioff

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Two young men (a deserter and a looter) are charged with a mission: bring back a dozen eggs to make a wedding cake by the deadline and keep their lives. While the premise of this WWII-era book is promising and the characters charismatic and interesting, I just can't recommend it because it is so filled with vulgarity.



Room by Emma Donoghue

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I can't remember the last time a book grabbed me the way Room did. I literally had a hard time putting it down.

Jack and Ma live in Room, a space just 11x11', and Jack has never known anything else. His life is made up of Bed, Wardrobe, Rug, etc. He celebrates his fifth birthday at the beginning of the book, and his is the precocious, yet childlike, voice of the narrator.

Having Jack be the narrator was a brilliant choice because a sense of innocence is preserved, even in the face of some pretty horrific circumstances.

I was stunned by the way that Ma makes a life for Jack in that tiny space, the things she has taught him, that face that he doesn't know his life is lacking anything. As a mother, it is hard to imagine never being able to be apart from my child, even for a minute. As tempting as it would be to let him watch tv all day, she resists the urge and creates a rich life for her son. She is fully engaged with him, and their bond is remarkable. This book made me evaluate my own parenting.

While Jack seems perfectly content, Ma knows all that they are missing and is desperate to escape. I was rooting for Jack and Ma and hoping so much that they would both find happiness. I would have followed them anywhere, and I thought the ending was spot on perfect.



Velva Jean Learns to Drive by Jennifer Niven

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A sweet Southern story about a plucky girl who grows up mostly without parents but with lots of other family and important people in her life. She just yearns to get out of her small town and make something of herself (she dreams of being a singer in Nashville), and you yearn for her to be able to achieve her dreams. Unsurprisingly, life happens and it looks like she might be stuck for good.

There is just enough real-life stuff here to keep it interesting, and enough redemption to keep it from being heavy. I could recommend this one to anyone.

3.5 stars.


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books 2011 #26-31

A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

For some reason, I didn't love this one quite as much as the other Flavia books. It wasn't a page-turner for me in the same way.

But I still love Flavia, and I will still read any and all books Bradley writes about her.

I particularly loved the ending. Of course Father is proud of her!

A favorite passage:

I had long ago discovered that when a word or formula refused to come to mind, the best thing for it was to think of something else: tigers, for instance, or oatmeal. Then, when the fugitive word was least expecting it, I would suddenly turn the full blaze of my attention back onto it, catching the culprit in the beam of my mental torch before it could sneak off again into the darkness.

"Thought-stalking," I called the technique, and I was proud of myself for having invented it.

3.5 stars.



A Heart Like His: Making Space for God's Love in Your Life by Virginia H. Pearce

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another thought-provoking book by Virginia Pearce.

My favorite thing is the idea that we don't have to find more time in our busy lives to reach out to others – we don't have to bake more (not that I would mind that) or make time for more visits. All we have to do is pay attention to the condition of our hearts and desire to have softer, more open hearts so that we can feel God's love in our own lives and then have more of that love to give away. Awareness is the key.

I've only been trying it for a short while, but I can already tell a difference.

Some favorite quotes:

"Opening one's heart creates energy. Closing one's heart depletes energy."

"When filled with God's love, we can do and see and understand things that we could not otherwise do or see or understand. Filled with His love, we can endure pain, quell fear, forgive freely, avoid contention, renew strength, and bless and help others in ways surprising even to us." – John H. Groberg

"We cannot help others feel God's love when we are: irritated, critical, discouraged, annoyed, self-absorbed, angry, indignant, or filled with self-pity, hostility, or bitterness."

"When we experience God's love, we feel: acknowledged, accepted, validated, noticed, cared for, supported, encouraged, uplifted, motivated, inspired, comforted, healed, nourished, nurtured, changed, more confident, more able – precisely the ways we want others to feel when they are with us!"

"It is very often in the act of reporting that the Holy Ghost chooses to witness and confirm the actions. And ultimately, it is the confirmation of the Spirit that provides the best motivation to keep doing good things."



The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I might even give it 4.5 stars, if I could.

I loved the writing. I read on the cover that Doig won a Wallace Stegner aware, and his writing does remind me of Stegner's (which I also love). It is very character-driven, so if you are a plot reader, you may not enjoy it as much. This is definitely a slice of life, beautifully rendered.

That said, I loved the characters. I especially loved Paul and Morrie, but I also adored Oliver and Rose and all the rest.

After reading this book, I feel like I understand so much more about the old one-room schools. It's so interesting the way that the material taught to one grade impacted the other grades as well. (And I had never imagined those young children riding to school on horseback!) Paul's love of and defense of the one-room schools was so endearing - his education and success came as a result of that training, not in spite of it.

I didn't come away from this book wanting to learn Latin, but rather just feeling thrilled that Paul found something that ignited his passion for learning and excited his curiosity so much. You just never know what provide that kind of spark.



A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.5 stars.

This book is a rarity – a memoir of a happy childhood! Zippy is hilarious, a curious, scrappy girl trying to make sense of her idiosyncratic family, her friends, and the small town in which they reside. Great small-town characters, as you would expect.

I breezed through this in one day, laughing all the while. It's been a long time since I read a book that was this purely enjoyable. I loved Zippy, her family, and her town. Her parents are a little gruff on the outside and tender on the inside. I found the ending particularly sweet.

A favorite passage:

"We played Ping-Pong for a little while, but it didn't go well. I was completely unskilled and Dana played so hard her shots often went right off the table, and so I spent a fair amount of time searching the corners of the barn. (I later discovered that in order to be a good athlete one must care intensely what is happening with a ball, even if one doesn't have possession of it. This was ultimately my failure: my inability to work up a passion for the location of balls.)"

Ah, a kindred spirit (at least athletically speaking).



The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Eva and I both thoroughly enjoyed this endearing story of a vain, china rabbit who becomes lost and then found several times and learns the meaning of love along the way. Wonderful illustrations, as well.

When we finished it, Eva sighed and said, "The stories I read with you are the best stories." I can't think of a better endorsement than that.




Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Maybe 3.5 stars.

This is a light, fun, quick read about a family in a small town in North Carolina where the women have magical gifts. They also have a fabulous garden with an apple tree that throws its apples at people, trying to entice them to eat. If they do, they will dream about the biggest event in their lives (which, for some, is their death).

The characters are on the one-dimensional side, yet still likable and fairly believable. Claire is a caterer who uses herbs and flowers from her garden to help people feel what they want to (or she wants them to) feel. Sydney returns home to escape an abusive marriage and provide her daughter with the safety and security of the family home. Evanelle is their aunt who is compelled to give people gifts, which eventually come in handy in their lives. Bay is a little girl who instinctively knows where things (and people) belong. A quirky family finding love and happiness together.

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books 2011 #20-25

A Stranger on the Planet by Adam Schwartz

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I prefer my coming of age novels to have a lot less sex than this one does.

While at times I really felt for Seth and what he had to endure with his mother, his father, and his stepmother, I also just got tired of his inability to be a decent person every time it really mattered.

Can't really recommend this one.


Through His Eyes: Rethinking What You Believe about Yourself by Virginia H. Pearce

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is about uncluttering your mind, or in other words, examining your beliefs and discarding the ones that are untrue. Sometimes we hold opposing beliefs and if we really think about it, we can't (or shouldn't) believe them both. Sometimes we allow ourselves to be guided by beliefs that may be true, but are not eternal truths, so we end up getting in our own way.

I found it to be very thought-provoking. I have an ongoing belief list that I can examine for the purposes of truth-seeking. I now feel myself to be an "inquirer after truth," and find myself thinking about it all the time.

Highly recommended.


The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book grew on me as I read it (thereby reinforcing my compulsion to finish a book I have started!). It's about three photographers (two American, one Vietnamese) who are covering the Vietnam War.

At first I didn't find the two Americans to be very likable, but the more I read about their experiences, the more I understood them and their behavior. I knew virtually nothing about the Vietnam War before reading this book, and now I feel like I get why it was so destructive to the people involved. Vietnam was almost a character in this book, the heat, the humidity, the lushness rising right off of its pages.

Linh was my favorite character, such a tender, gentle man. Through him, I learned about Vietnamese culture.

I found it fascinating the way Helen and Darrow became so changed by their time in Vietnam that they no longer even wanted to go home, much like the lotus eaters (referenced in the title) in Homer's Odyssey. A really interesting read.


Body Surfing by Anita Shreve

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I picked this up on clearance at Borders because I liked Shreve's The Weight of Water and Sea Glass.

I like the way Shreve lets us in on her characters' thought processes (the protagonist/narrator, anyway). I liked the way Sydney's imagination would run away with her, the way she would consciously decide to give someone the benefit of a doubt.

I was interested to find out that several of Shreve's novels are set in the very same beachfront house, and we get a brief summary of the house's owners through the years in this book.

3.5 stars. Great beach read.



A Change in Altitude by Anita Shreve

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

An interesting study of a marriage. A couple experiences a traumatic event together, and we see how it impacts them, how they struggle through it.

Set in Kenya, where Shreve lived for several years, I enjoyed the descriptions of the country and the believable way the African characters were written. I never thought mountain climbing would be so interesting to me.

Good story, interesting characters, a quick read. 3.5 stars.



The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I wouldn't go so far as to say that this book read like a novel, as some have said, but it did manage to combine science and human interest very effectively.

I loved Deborah, she is so refreshingly real. I loved it whenever anyone reached out to the Lacks family and tried to help them understand the difficult concepts surrounding their mother's cells and the scientific research and discoveries they facilitated.

I had no idea there were so many controversial issues regarding human tissue research.


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a little white lie

Eva had her second dance recital in June.

We missed the first day of our Snowbird vacation so she could go to the dance pictures, and the last day of the vacation so she could be at the dress rehearsal. The performances were on Friday and Saturday nights.

Both nights, she got home late and didn't get to bed until close to midnight. She was exhausted, and she didn't understand why they had to have two performances. She felt totally done after Friday night.

On Saturday night, her teacher entered the green room and asked the dancers to raise their hands if they liked recitals.

Eva was very concerned when she recounted this to me on the way home, because she knows it's wrong to lie. (What?!)

Mom: So, you don't like recitals?

Eva: Well, not really.

M: Most people think it's the reward at the end of practicing all year. You don't like being on stage and all the applause from the audience?

E: It's okay.

M: How about playing with the other dancers in the green room?

E: Yeah, that's kind of fun.

M: Do you like wearing a costume and makeup?

E: YES!

M: How about watching the other dancers when you're onstage?

E: I LOVE that. But Mom, I basically only do recitals because it's a step to becoming a "big ballerina" (i.e., en pointe).

M: I see. Well, I don't think you need to worry about telling a lie. There are at least some things you like about dance recitals.

Then I verified that she enjoys going to her weekly class. I certainly don't want her to continue if this is all a waste of time and money! Good grief.

The back of her costume kills me.

Her class got to sit on stage during several numbers and watch the "big ballerinas." She can't get enough of that.

This year's show was called "It's a Seussical Life." The principal dancer in the role of the Cat in the Hat was simply magnetic – I could not take my eyes off of her.

I would love to do a dance like this hip hop one!

These teeny tiny girls are always such a hit. One girl fell out of her flowerpot one night, and never emerged from it the next. So funny.

her tap routine

I am so curious to see if age and practice will help Eva to remember her steps and actually stay with the music. Time will tell!

This number with yoga balls as props was seriously creative and impressive!

Two dancers were inside each giant pair of pants and they did a dance to Pants on the Ground. Eva could not stop giggling about that.

I enjoyed this number with masks and black lights.

her ballet routine

The bottom line: it's a means to an end, but as long as being in a recital involves wearing bright red lipstick, blush, and mascara, she's willing to bite the bullet.

books 2011 #14-19

Curly Girl by Lorraine Massey

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book kind of rocked my world. I especially liked all of the interviews with curly-haired women: they know my pain! They have been struggling with their hair their whole lives! And they are in various stages of acceptance, they don't all love their hair now. Just keeping it real.

My life would seriously be so much easier if I could just like my hair the way it is and stop wishing it were straight, trying to straighten it, wanting a different style, etc. I'm trying. I tried not shampooing, as the author recommends, and just using conditioner, but I gave up after a week. I just had to wash my hair!

Her tips about using clips to shape and speed the air-drying process were very helpful. I bought some lavender essential oil to make some lavender mist (haven't made it yet).

I think I want to get a hold of the newer edition to see if there are any changes that might help me with my journey to hair acceptance...


Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Finally!! I don't why it took me a month to get through this book. I liked it! But for whatever reason, it was just really. slow. going. I felt rather guilty for having chosen it for book club (sorry, guys!).

I loved the depth of the character development. Even when some of the action was surprising, it really wasn't, given the characters that had been so fully fleshed-out. I also really liked the maturing of Bathsheba that we witnessed - she went from sort of a flighty girl to a woman of substance and strength.


The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I just love Flavia de Luce, and I'm sure I'll have to read any and all books written about her. She is utterly beyond her 11 years, and then not... just like other tweens I've known. She is fascinated by chemistry, particularly poisons, and is quite a little detective, and yet she is still a child in many ways. She can distill poisons and solve murders, yet she still falls victim to her older sisters' taunts and tales about her being adopted or being voted out of the family. I love that hovering between childhood and more grown-up thoughts and interests.

Aunt Felicity showed herself to be a good ally for Flavia, perhaps more than Flavia herself can recognize at this point. I love their conversation about Harriet and carrying on the torch:

". . . carry on the glorious name of De Luce," she said. "Wherever it may lead you."

This was an interesting thought; it had never occurred to me that one's name could be a compass.

"And where might that be?" I asked, somewhat slyly.

"You must listen to your inspiration. You must let your inner vision be your Pole Star."

I also love the character of Dogger. He is alternately someone that Flavia looks after and someone who looks after her. The entertaining writing as well as the complexity of the characters will keep me coming back for more.



Mudbound by Hillary Jordan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved this book. Again, great characters set in the South, but this time there is no happy happy joy joy matriarchal society. There is hatred, bigotry, injustice, and the KKK, but I loved it all the same.

I can't wait to discuss this at book club.



Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Apparently I just love Southern fiction. I love stories about strong women, inter-generational relationships between women, and stories about strong inter-racial relationships. I just love it when the blacks and whites not only get along, but love each other! Love it.

I love CeeCee, and I am so glad that she was saved from her awful life and rescued, that she ended up with a whole gaggle of women who loved her and that she loved in return. I want that for my daughter. I hope I can be instrumental in that.

Favorite quotes:

"Everyone needs to find the one thing that brings out her passion. It's what we do and share with the world that matters. I believe it's important that we leave our communities in better shape than we found them.

"Cecelia Rose", she said, reaching for my hand, "far too many people die with a heart that's gone flat with indifference, and it surely must be a terrible way to go. Life will offer us amazing opportunities, but we've got to be wide-awake to recognize them. . . if there's one thing I'd like most for you, it's that you'll find your calling in life. That's where true happiness and purpose lies. . . you've got to find your fire, sugar. You'll never be fulfilled if you don't."

". . . But how will I know what my fire is?"

". . . Oh you'll know. One day you'll do something, see something, or get an idea that seems to pop up from nowhere. And you'll feel a kind of stirring–like a warm flicker inside your chest. When that happens, whatever you do, don't ignore it. Open your mind and explore the idea. Fan your flame. And when you do, you'll have found it."

:::

"When we're born, the Good Lord gives each of us a Life Book. Chapter by chapter, we live and learn."

"But, Mrs. Odell, I've never heard of a Life Book."

"It's not a book you can see or touch. It's a book that's held deep within your heart. It's guarded by your spirit. . . When a chapter of your Life Book is complete, your spirit knows it's time to turn the page so a new chapter can begin. Even when you're scared or think you're not ready, your spirit knows you are."

:::

"It's what we believe about ourselves that determines how others see us."



The Wholeness of a Broken Heart: A Novel by Katie Singer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I just love multi-generational novels, particularly those about women. I also tend to like novels told from multiple perspectives. This fills the bill on both counts.

When Hannah's formerly adoring mother suddenly shuts her out, I am shocked. I am angry on Hannah's behalf. I am mystified. The rest of the story, and the differing viewpoints and experiences that are revealed, helps me to understand more. I still don't agree with what she did, but I can understand her better.

I love Hannah's grandmothers. Is there any hurt a loving grandmother can't help to heal?


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books 2011 #11-13

God Wants A Powerful People by Sheri L. Dew

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I love Sheri Dew, and while this wasn't necessarily a page-turner, it has real depth and wisdom, and I found myself marking things on nearly every page. I think it's going to take some time (and probably a little re-reading) to digest.

For example, early in the book, she says, "The simple fact is that our Father did not recommend Sarah or Moses or Nephi or countless other magnificent exemplars for this dispensation. He recommended you and me." !! That is a mind-bender, for sure.

This book contains my favorite Sheri Dew quote of all time:

"It is not possible to sin enough to be happy. It isn't possible to buy enough to be happy, or to entertain or indulge or pamper ourselves enough to be happy. It is not possible to hide enough or run far enough away from trials and troubles to be happy. Happiness and joy come only when we are living up to who we are."



Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I debated about giving this book 5 stars. It's somewhere between 4 and 5 stars, but probably closer to 5, so... Although it's quite long and it took me a long time to read, I felt like I didn't want to put it down.

This is one of those epic books that spans a long time period in the lives of a family and its members. I love those kinds of books, because they are long enough, and involved enough, that the characters are richly developed. You almost feel like you are there in the action.

This one takes place in Ethiopia, which I knew virtually nothing about. Now I have a feel for Addis Ababa, and I always enjoy getting a feel for a new place as well (just as I enjoy reading about a familiar place - I guess they are twin pleasures). I never knew that liver transplants could be so fascinating! Almost as fascinating as the conjoined twins who were separated at birth and both grew up to be surgeons. Almost as fascinating as their parents, an American surgeon and an Indian nun. Almost as fascinating as their adoptive parents, both Indian doctors, their friends, their neighbors.

One of my favorite quotes:

"The key to your happiness is to... own who you are, own how you look, own your family, own the talents you have, and own the ones you don't. If you keep saying your slippers aren't yours, you'll die searching, you'll die bitter, always feeling you were promised more. Not only our actions, but also our omissions, become our destiny."

Highly recommended.



Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If I had known how much I would enjoy this book, I wouldn't have waited so long to get to it!

I really loved the story about Sarah, a young Jewish girl who was part of the Vel d'Hiv roundup in WWII Paris. I feel funny saying that I loved something that was so heartbreaking, but it was wonderfully told through an 11-year-old's eyes. Such horror and pain, and yet she survived and went on to love and be loved.

I didn't really love the story about Julia, a modern-day journalist living in Paris who becomes wrapped up in Sarah's story. (Although I did really enjoy reading about where she was going in Paris, especially since she lived in the same neighborhood we did the first time we lived there. Such fond memories of familiar streets, cafés, parks...)

If the whole thing had been about Sarah and her experience, I would probably have given it 5 stars.


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books 2011 #8-10

A Scattered Life by Karen McQuestion

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Interesting characters, but I wish there were more depth to them. I think Audrey is the most well-developed, but she seems more peripheral to the story than Roxanne, Skyla and Thomas.

I liked the ending – any ending where people realize the good people/things in their lives and resolve to appreciate them more is good in my book.


The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was really surprised by how much I loved this book. I might even give it 4.5 stars. Enzo the dog narrates, and he is determined to educate himself through watching television and listening closely to human conversation, particularly that of his owner, Denny.

I thought I would be bored by the sections about race car driving, but I actually found it to be well done and interesting.

There is heartbreak and cruelty here, but also beauty, hope, and redemption.

Man, I love that Enzo.


Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


4.5 stars. Aminata Diallo is a wonderful narrator, a woman of true grit who was stolen from her African village and sold into slavery. She lives in Charles Town, Canada, New York, and London. Through her own intelligence and ingenuity, she manages to elevate herself far beyond the station in which her captors would keep her.

Orphaned at a young age, snatched from her homeland, and relocated many times, she has to make a new life for herself repeatedly. She finds ways to earn money and trade, she teaches other Africans to read and write, and she earns the respect of many. She finds hope and happiness, despite living in deplorable conditions and enduring terrible trials. Truly an inspirational character.

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books 2011 #1-4

Eating Heaven by Jennie Shortridge

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Maybe 3.5 stars. I liked it more as the book progressed. At the beginning, I couldn't relate to Eleanor very well. Even though we both struggle with food addiction and emotional eating, I thought she was over the top (but maybe not, maybe others could relate better).

As I learned more about her and her relationships, old and new, I started to like her more. I liked the way the author wrote about food and cooking, and I really liked the way she portrayed a woman caring for a dying loved one and grieving. Those emotions rang very true to me.

To sum up: it seems lighter and more frivolous at the beginning than it really turns out to be in the end. Worth sticking it out.


Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I listened to this audiobook and really enjoyed it. The characters are memorable and well-developed. It gives some good perspective on the Japanese internment camps in WWII and provided me with some food for thought – I had never thought about what it might be like for the Chinese Americans at that time. There are relationships with depth here, and I like that. There are also a couple of good twists, at least one of which I did not see coming at all.

Memorable quotes:

"He wore his [I Am Chinese] pin like a merit badge of cruelty."

"Perfection is not what families are about."

Overall, beautiful. Good writing, good story, and perhaps the best title I know.



Ride the Wind by Lucia St. Clair Robson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a re-read for book club. It held up just as well the second time through.

I never would have picked up this book if it hadn't come highly recommended by my sister. I would have been turned off both by the cheesy cover and by the subject matter. I never thought I was interested in Native American stories, but I was oh so wrong.

There is a lot of brutality in Ride the Wind -- members of the Comanche tribe raid white settlers in Texas and commit unimaginably vile acts. Cynthia Ann Parker is kidnapped at the age of 9. Fortunately for her, she was young enough to be adopted by a Comanche couple. (Her older female relatives became slaves and victims of repeated rape and torture.) But there is also so much beauty, in the way the Comanche imbued every object, every act with meaning; in the way that nothing is wasted, nothing taken for granted; and in the wild freedom that they possessed.

I was utterly fascinated by the fact that 9-year-old Cynthia and her 7-year-old brother had both decided, only four months after being taken from their family, that they would resist rescue if it came. Four months!

As is always the case when I read historical fiction, I found myself wondering: which parts are fiction? which parts are accurate? So I wouldn't mind reading more about Naduah (Cynthia Ann) to try and sort out the details.

Towards the end of the book, we see more of the brutality on the white settlers side. It is heartbreaking to see how they introduced disease to the Native Americans, how they killed off so much of the buffalo, took away their land and utterly changed their whole way of life.



Table of Contents: From Breakfast with Anita Diamant to Dessert with James Patterson - a Generous Helping of Recipes, Writings and Insights from Today's Bestselling Authors by Gelman Judy

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The publisher sent me a copy of this book. The introduction makes a claim that people who love books are foodies as well. I don't know if a general correlation exists, but it is certainly true of me (and food is definitely an integral part of our book club).

I think I may like the idea of this book better than its actual execution. It includes brief author interviews and recipes. Some of the authors are ones I was interested in knowing more about, and some of the recipes look like ones I might want to try. But the author interviews felt thin to me, and honestly, if I'm going to read a cookbook, I'd prefer it to just be a cookbook – and with some food photography, please.


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