Erin's bookshelf: all en-US Wed, 26 Mar 2025 18:23:50 -0700 60 Erin's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[Juniper Bean Resorts to Murder (Happily Ever Homicide, #1)]]> 102777361
There’s just one problem: she can’t seem to stop killing off her main characters.

After accepting that a genre change is in order, Juniper sets out to do some research. What’s the best way to carry a dead body? How exactly does one pick a lock? Juniper is going to find out—with the unwilling help of her new roommate, Aiden.

But Juniper’s plans go haywire when she stumbles across an actual, real-life dead body—and before she knows it, she and Aiden are thrust into the middle of a murder mystery that seems suspiciously tied to Juniper’s past.

Who killed the girl in the woods? Can Juniper ever get the hang of mystery writing? And, perhaps the biggest question of all: Why the heck does Aiden look so good in a tweed jacket?]]> 368 Gracie Ruth Mitchell Erin 1 4.02 2023 Juniper Bean Resorts to Murder (Happily Ever Homicide, #1)
author: Gracie Ruth Mitchell
name: Erin
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2023
rating: 1
read at: 2025/03/26
date added: 2025/03/26
shelves:
review:
I mean, this isn't my genre, so take my review with a grain of salt, but I couldn't get over the ick factor of the fact [spoilers removed]. Just kinda gross, to be honest.
]]> <![CDATA[The Boughs of Love: Navigating the Queer Latter-day Saint Experience During an Ongoing Restoration]]> 220366491 American A New History of Mormonism Like the prophet-historian Mormon, Brother Nathan Kitchen deftly chronicles the history of his people while standing as a witness to their labors, sufferings, miracles, and eternal worth in the eyes of God. Interweaving secular history, soul-searching religious memoir, striking anecdote, and Christ-saturated imagery, Kitchen keeps a fixed foot on the reality of the past, contextualizing the present while longing for yet more glorious and redemptive futures for the queer Latter-day Saint. His book is engrossed with such thoroughly Mormon concepts as covenant belonging, unmerited grace, the ongoing restoration, and the sacred—if not essential—nature of questions in our spiritual journeys. An act of holy consecration, The Boughs of Love is as much an accessible, sprawling roadmap of the pitfalls and progress of queer identity within the LDS tradition as it is a testimony of the expansive hope that the Restored Gospel of Christ can offer to all members of the family of God.

Jaxon Washburn, Master of Theological Studies, Harvard Divinity School; PhD Student, the University of California, Los Angeles I was not prepared for how much I would enjoy reading Nathan’s memoir. I prepared myself to feel pain, anger, and grief as I read his words. But I found something else in addition—joy. Nathan deftly braids together his experience as a gay LDS man, the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with regards to gender and sexual minorities, and his time as the President of Affirmation. Nathan’s stories, poetry, and reflections provide an important glimpse into the lives of individuals and families navigating the intersection of their LDS faith and their queer realities. Nathan shares his testimony and anguish as he experienced harmful LDS policies with respect to 2SLGBTQIA+ people while also leading an organization of people directly affected by those policies. Remarkably, Nathan’s joy as a father, husband, and person constructing a life of authenticity also shines through the pages and rings of hope and possibility.

Roni Jo Draper, Ph.D. (she.her), Emeritus Professor Brigham Young University Few have captured the complexity of the LGBTQ+ experience within the LDS Church as powerfully as Nathan Kitchen does in this compelling memoir. As the Church grapples with evolving policies that profoundly impact its queer members, The Boughs of Love offers an intimate and rare perspective on how these changes have shaped not only his life, but also the lives of countless others. With stories of resilience, Kitchen’s memoir is both eye-opening and deeply inspiring. It illuminates the strength and love that endure even in the face of profound challenges, while offering a hopeful vision for a future where the Church embraces its LGBTQ+ members with genuine compassion, understanding, and inclusivity.

Gerardo Sumano, Mormon Stories Podcast Producer]]> 474 Nathan Kitchen Erin 4
That isn’t a bad thing. It keeps his focus razor tight. Every bit of his life that he shared ties into his theme, and it gives his arguments the emotional impact that only good storytelling can accomplish.

Kitchen crafts this book well. He deftly weaves his personal experiences with different eras of the church’s approaches to the LGBT community. He creates powerful frameworks for understanding the queer Mormon experience. My two favorites were his discussions of the rise and fall of different "dominant narratives� the church has used over the years when creating policies and rhetoric for its queer populations, and how he cracks open the problems with the church interacting with LGBT communities through the religious freedom lens because it treats LGBT and religious groups as distinct entities, and queer Mormons inhabit both realms.

Kitchen knows his audience and frames his chapters with the vivid, tangible, and memorable metaphors and personal experiences our favorite conference talks utilize so effectively. It’s a smart rhetorical choice because it squarely places the queer Mormon experience inside the framework of the faithful, rather than outside of it, and places the reader in the same frame of mind we slide into every Sunday when we come for instruction.

A beautifully crafted and emotionally resonant portrait of the realities, hearts, and resilience of queer Latter-day Saints. ]]> 4.50 The Boughs of Love: Navigating the Queer Latter-day Saint Experience During an Ongoing Restoration
author: Nathan Kitchen
name: Erin
average rating: 4.50
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/04
date added: 2025/03/11
shelves: mormon, nonfiction, memoir, panel
review:
Kitchen is very effective at doing what he set out to do � translate the experiences of queer Mormons for the larger LDS community and make his case for extending membership privileges towards 2SLGBTQIA+ members that marry according to their orientation and live according to their gender identity. Yes, it is technically a memoir, but the memoir elements serve to advance his advocacy efforts. It captures how his life fits within the cultural currents of the queer Mormon experience.

That isn’t a bad thing. It keeps his focus razor tight. Every bit of his life that he shared ties into his theme, and it gives his arguments the emotional impact that only good storytelling can accomplish.

Kitchen crafts this book well. He deftly weaves his personal experiences with different eras of the church’s approaches to the LGBT community. He creates powerful frameworks for understanding the queer Mormon experience. My two favorites were his discussions of the rise and fall of different "dominant narratives� the church has used over the years when creating policies and rhetoric for its queer populations, and how he cracks open the problems with the church interacting with LGBT communities through the religious freedom lens because it treats LGBT and religious groups as distinct entities, and queer Mormons inhabit both realms.

Kitchen knows his audience and frames his chapters with the vivid, tangible, and memorable metaphors and personal experiences our favorite conference talks utilize so effectively. It’s a smart rhetorical choice because it squarely places the queer Mormon experience inside the framework of the faithful, rather than outside of it, and places the reader in the same frame of mind we slide into every Sunday when we come for instruction.

A beautifully crafted and emotionally resonant portrait of the realities, hearts, and resilience of queer Latter-day Saints.
]]> <![CDATA[The Woman They Could Not Silence: One Woman, Her Incredible Fight for Freedom, and the Men Who Tried to Make Her Disappear]]> 56132724
The horrific conditions inside the Illinois State Hospital in Jacksonville, Illinois, are overseen by Dr. Andrew McFarland, a man who will prove to be even more dangerous to Elizabeth than her traitorous husband. But most disturbing is that Elizabeth is not the only sane woman confined to the institution. There are many rational women on her ward who tell the same story: they've been committed not because they need medical treatment, but to keep them in line - conveniently labeled "crazy" so their voices are ignored.

No one is willing to fight for their freedom and, disenfranchised both by gender and the stigma of their supposed madness, they cannot possibly fight for themselves. But Elizabeth is about to discover that the merit of losing everything is that you then have nothing to lose...]]> 540 Kate Moore 1492696722 Erin 0 currently-reading 4.29 2021 The Woman They Could Not Silence: One Woman, Her Incredible Fight for Freedom, and the Men Who Tried to Make Her Disappear
author: Kate Moore
name: Erin
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/10
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[I, Claudia: The Life of Claudia Lauper Bushman in Her Own Words]]> 218105483
Claudia’s autobiography is, however, more than a personal memoir; it is a testament to the power of storytelling and exemplifies her work with the Claremont Mormon Women’s Oral History Project, which she established to capture the diverse and rich lives of Latter-day Saint women. I, Claudia thus stands as both an inspiring personal journey and a powerful call to action for the preservation of women’s histories.]]> 323 Claudia Lauper Bushman 1589588126 Erin 0 currently-reading 4.50 I, Claudia: The Life of Claudia Lauper Bushman in Her Own Words
author: Claudia Lauper Bushman
name: Erin
average rating: 4.50
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/10
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Weyward 57823095 I am a Weyward, and wild inside.

2019: Under cover of darkness, Kate flees London for ramshackle Weyward Cottage, inherited from a great aunt she barely remembers. With its tumbling ivy and overgrown garden, the cottage is worlds away from the abusive partner who tormented Kate. But she begins to suspect that her great aunt had a secret. One that lurks in the bones of the cottage, hidden ever since the witch-hunts of the 17th century.

1619: Altha is awaiting trial for the murder of a local farmer who was stampeded to death by his herd. As a girl, Altha’s mother taught her their magic, a kind not rooted in spell casting but in a deep knowledge of the natural world. But unusual women have always been deemed dangerous, and as the evidence for witchcraft is set out against Altha, she knows it will take all of her powers to maintain her freedom.

1942: As World War II rages, Violet is trapped in her family's grand, crumbling estate. Straitjacketed by societal convention, she longs for the robust education her brother receives––and for her mother, long deceased, who was rumored to have gone mad before her death. The only traces Violet has of her are a locket bearing the initial W and the word weyward scratched into the baseboard of her bedroom.

Weaving together the stories of three extraordinary women across five centuries, Emilia Hart's Weyward is an enthralling novel of female resilience and the transformative power of the natural world.]]> 408 Emilia Hart Erin 0 to-read 4.21 2023 Weyward
author: Emilia Hart
name: Erin
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Rhythm of War (The Stormlight Archive, #4)]]> 49021976 The eagerly awaited sequel to the #1 New York Times bestselling Oathbringer, from epic fantasy author Brandon Sanderson

After forming a coalition of human resistance against the enemy invasion, Dalinar Kholin and his Knights Radiant have spent a year fighting a protracted, brutal war. Neither side has gained an advantage, and the threat of a betrayal by Dalinar's crafty ally Taravangian looms over every strategic move.

Now, as new technological discoveries by Navani Kholin's scholars begin to change the face of the war, the enemy prepares a bold and dangerous operation. The arms race that follows will challenge the very core of the Radiant ideals, and potentially reveal the secrets of the ancient tower that was once the heart of their strength.

At the same time that Kaladin Stormblessed must come to grips with his changing role within the Knights Radiant, his Windrunners face their own problem: As more and more deadly enemy Fused awaken to wage war, no more honorspren are willing to bond with humans to increase the number of Radiants. Adolin and Shallan must lead the coalition’s envoy to the honorspren stronghold of Lasting Integrity and either convince the spren to join the cause against the evil god Odium, or personally face the storm of failure.]]> 1232 Brandon Sanderson 0765326388 Erin 0 currently-reading 4.58 2020 Rhythm of War (The Stormlight Archive, #4)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Erin
average rating: 4.58
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/04
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Black Beauty 3685
Whether pulling an elegant carriage or a ramshackle cab, Black Beauty tries to live as best he can. This is his amazing story, told as only he could tell it.]]> 245 Anna Sewell 0439228905 Erin 3 3.99 1877 Black Beauty
author: Anna Sewell
name: Erin
average rating: 3.99
book published: 1877
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/23
date added: 2025/02/25
shelves: childrens, classics, audiobooks
review:
I mean, 3 stars is actually pretty high for me for a book written from the perspective of an animal. They aren't my thing. Very Victorian children's book sensibility, but it does a good job of helping children gain empathy and value courage, and I liked how people from all walks of life were both heroes and villains in this tale (and given opportunities to choose to do better when they knew better, or not, depending on their character).
]]> <![CDATA[Oathbringer (The Stormlight Archive, #3)]]> 34002132 Oathbringer, the third volume of the New York Times bestselling Stormlight Archive, humanity faces a new Desolation with the return of the Voidbringers, a foe with numbers as great as their thirst for vengeance.

Dalinar Kholin's Alethi armies won a fleeting victory at a terrible cost: The enemy Parshendi summoned the violent Everstorm, which now sweeps the world with destruction, and in its passing awakens the once peaceful and subservient parshmen to the horror of their millennia-long enslavement by humans. While on a desperate flight to warn his family of the threat, Kaladin Stormblessed must come to grips with the fact that the newly kindled anger of the parshmen may be wholly justified.

Nestled in the mountains high above the storms, in the tower city of Urithiru, Shallan Davar investigates the wonders of the ancient stronghold of the Knights Radiant and unearths dark secrets lurking in its depths. And Dalinar realizes that his holy mission to unite his homeland of Alethkar was too narrow in scope. Unless all the nations of Roshar can put aside Dalinar's blood-soaked past and stand together--and unless Dalinar himself can confront that past--even the restoration of the Knights Radiant will not prevent the end of civilization.]]> 1248 Brandon Sanderson Erin 4 mormon, audiobooks, fantasy 4.60 2017 Oathbringer (The Stormlight Archive, #3)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Erin
average rating: 4.60
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/16
date added: 2025/02/19
shelves: mormon, audiobooks, fantasy
review:
4.5 stars, rounding down because I do feel like it should have been about 100 pages shorter (which is less of a criticism for a 1300+ page book than a 300 page one, but still), and I'd gotten used to the tight plotting of the previous two installments. Still, the world building is as rich as always, the characters have great growth arcs, the philosophical questions it wrestles with are interesting, and I loved its message about learning to carry the painful parts of who we are and what we've done instead of numbing ourselves so we don't have to feel it. This series earns its hype.
]]> <![CDATA[The Menopause Manifesto: Own Your Health with Facts and Feminism]]> 55272232 Just as she did in her groundbreaking bestseller The Vagina Bible, Dr. Jen Gunter, the internet’s most fearless advocate for women’s health, brings you empowerment through knowledge by countering stubborn myths and misunderstandings about menopause with hard facts, real science, fascinating historical perspective, and expert advice.

The only thing predictable about menopause is its unpredictability. Factor in widespread misinformation, a lack of research, and the culture of shame around women's bodies, and it's no wonder women are unsure what to expect during the menopause transition and beyond.

Menopause is not a disease--it's a planned change, like puberty. And just like puberty, we should be educated on what's to come years in advance, rather than the current practice of leaving people on their own with bothersome symptoms and too much conflicting information. Knowing what is happening, why, and what to do about it is both empowering and reassuring.

Frank and funny, Dr. Jen debunks misogynistic attitudes and challenges the
over-mystification of menopause to reveal everything you really need to know about:

- Perimenopause
- Hot flashes
- Sleep disruption
- Sex and libido
- Depression and mood changes
- Skin and hair issues
- Outdated therapies
- Breast health
- Weight and muscle mass
- Health maintenance screening
- And much more!

Filled with practical, reassuring information, this essential guide will revolutionize how women experience menopause--including how their lives can be even better for it!]]> 400 Jen Gunter 0806540664 Erin 0 to-read 4.08 2021 The Menopause Manifesto: Own Your Health with Facts and Feminism
author: Jen Gunter
name: Erin
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Last Good Snow Hunt 214226164 111 Joshua Dewain Foster Erin 4 3.67 The Last Good Snow Hunt
author: Joshua Dewain Foster
name: Erin
average rating: 3.67
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/11
date added: 2025/02/11
shelves: memoir, mormon, nonfiction, panel
review:
I liked this subtle and well-crafted memoir more than I thought I would. I’m not into hunting culture and I’d worried the father/son dynamic would be heavy handed, but there was nothing overwrought about it. This one doesn’t have grand ambitions of trying to advance any major theme or persuade you of anything � just an attempt to capture a meaningful day that he wants his infant son to understand when he grows older, with enough personal background to contextualize his experience. Foster is self-assured in his distinct voice, his narrative is crisp, and I like the hopefulness of his tale. I also like how he captured his connection to the landscape and the people that inhabit it. What Foster strikes out to do, he does beautifully.
]]> <![CDATA[Sharing Too Much: Musings from an Unlikely Life]]> 58438609
Before he was the #1 New York Times bestselling author of holiday classics such as The Christmas Box , Richard Paul Evans was a young boy being raised by a suicidal mother and dealing with relentless bullying. He could not fathom what the future held for him.

Now, in this intimate and heartfelt collection of personal essays, Evans shares his moving journey from childhood to beloved author. With his signature “seasoned finesse� ( Booklist ), he offers the insightful lessons he’s learned and engaging advice about everything from marriage to parenthood and even facing near-death experiences. This is a charming essay collection that is the perfect gift all year round.]]> 272 Richard Paul Evans 1982177462 Erin 2 mormon, nonfiction, panel
But nothing really spoke to me in this collection of 1-4 page aphoristic vignettes. There’s no personal growth arc, no cohesive theme, no nuance. Just little anecdotes with tidy morals. Honestly, it feels like a bunch of blog posts dumped together so they can be monetized.

I think RPE fans would enjoy them, but for the rest of us, nothing felt new.]]> 4.21 2024 Sharing Too Much: Musings from an Unlikely Life
author: Richard Paul Evans
name: Erin
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2024
rating: 2
read at: 2025/02/08
date added: 2025/02/08
shelves: mormon, nonfiction, panel
review:
I'm not the right reader for this book. Look, I am too much of a librarian to hate on an author whose books help people through hard times (particularly where he writes in a genre that tends to skew towards female readers, and books with that skew aren't taken as seriously as books for male readers with similar deviations from what makes something literary). I don't care for his fiction, but if they make people’s lives better, I’m glad they are out there for the people who need them.

But nothing really spoke to me in this collection of 1-4 page aphoristic vignettes. There’s no personal growth arc, no cohesive theme, no nuance. Just little anecdotes with tidy morals. Honestly, it feels like a bunch of blog posts dumped together so they can be monetized.

I think RPE fans would enjoy them, but for the rest of us, nothing felt new.
]]> Bones Worth Breaking 127282253
Nobody around David Martinez saw how quickly he was breaking apart except for his younger brother, Mike. They stood out in mixed-race in a Mormon community that, in the years before David’s birth, considered Black people ineligible for salvation. The Martinez brothers were raised to be “good boys,� definitely not to get high, skateboard all night, or get arrested, all of which they did with zeal. Then their paths diverged. David went on a two-year mission trip to Brazil like his father before him, and Mike stayed in the States, finding himself in and out of prison. When David returned, in the middle of the still-unnamed opioid epidemic, things had irrevocably changed, and in 2021, Mike unexpectedly died in prison.

Martinez writes with a serrated edge, as viscerally felt as an exposed nerve, and transforms from a stoic boy constantly seeking escape to a vulnerable man eager to contextualize the legacies and losses that have shaped his life. With a wild, ragged velocity―flipping and soaring like a pro skater―Martinez defies a linear telling of his life and tackles topics from abuse and racism to writing and capturing the meaning of the specific nostalgia of saudade .

Bones Worth Breaking is a portrait of the unbreakable bond between brothers who were robbed of the chance to grow old together, and a reckoning with the brutal global forces that let so many poor young men of color fall perilously through the cracks.]]> 400 David Martinez 0374610959 Erin 4
It isn’t a perfect book, and it would have benefitted from a defter editor. At times it was overly repetitive, and other segments that should have been powerful felt rushed and didn’t make me feel anything at all. It would have been better to take on fewer themes and focus on where his writing was superb � the bond with his brother, the complex factors that underlie addiction, how viscerally he makes you feel the pain of being a young child that believes there is something inherently and irreparably wrong about you, and his lyrical descriptions of what skateboarding meant to him in his teens. The first 250 pages were fantastic, but the last 150ish floundered. Also, I'll own my bias that while many of his critiques of his parents are valid, I had a hard time empathizing with the sheer depth of his angst and blame towards them, as a lot of people that are close to me deal/dealt with way, way worse on a regular basis. They strike me as normal-range incapable and ill-equipped, not abusive incapable and ill-equipped, if that makes sense. Maybe I just know a lot of really screwed up people?

This one will absolutely stay with me, though - heart-breaking, courageous, and full of beauty.]]> 3.84 2024 Bones Worth Breaking
author: David Martinez
name: Erin
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/06
date added: 2025/02/06
shelves: mormon, nonfiction, memoir, panel
review:
3.5 stars. Well, that was an emotional gut punch. His writing is powerful, eloquent, and raw, and he has many important things to say about addiction, the opioid epidemic, systemic racism, grief, mental illness, failure to reckon with history (US and Mormon), the US prison system, education, and trauma from religious shame culture. I have people close to me that struggle with addiction, and this book helped me understand them on a far deeper level.

It isn’t a perfect book, and it would have benefitted from a defter editor. At times it was overly repetitive, and other segments that should have been powerful felt rushed and didn’t make me feel anything at all. It would have been better to take on fewer themes and focus on where his writing was superb � the bond with his brother, the complex factors that underlie addiction, how viscerally he makes you feel the pain of being a young child that believes there is something inherently and irreparably wrong about you, and his lyrical descriptions of what skateboarding meant to him in his teens. The first 250 pages were fantastic, but the last 150ish floundered. Also, I'll own my bias that while many of his critiques of his parents are valid, I had a hard time empathizing with the sheer depth of his angst and blame towards them, as a lot of people that are close to me deal/dealt with way, way worse on a regular basis. They strike me as normal-range incapable and ill-equipped, not abusive incapable and ill-equipped, if that makes sense. Maybe I just know a lot of really screwed up people?

This one will absolutely stay with me, though - heart-breaking, courageous, and full of beauty.
]]> The Women 127305853 From the celebrated author of The Nightingale and The Four Winds comes Kristin Hannah's The Women—at once an intimate portrait of coming of age in a dangerous time and an epic tale of a nation divided.

Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie� McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.

As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is over-whelmed by the chaos and destruction of war. Each day is a gamble of life and death, hope and betrayal; friendships run deep and can be shattered in an instant. In war, she meets—and becomes one of—the lucky, the brave, the broken, and the lost.

But war is just the beginning for Frankie and her veteran friends. The real battle lies in coming home to a changed and divided America, to angry protesters, and to a country that wants to forget Vietnam.

The Women is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on all women who put themselves in harm’s way and whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has too often been forgotten. A novel about deep friendships and bold patriotism, The Women is a richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose idealism and courage under fire will come to define an era.]]> 471 Kristin Hannah 1250178630 Erin 0 to-read 4.59 2024 The Women
author: Kristin Hannah
name: Erin
average rating: 4.59
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Mormon Women at the Crossroads: Global Narratives and the Power of Connectedness]]> 58878769 256 Caroline Kline 0252086430 Erin 5 mormon, nonfiction
What emerges isn't a story of duped and downtrodden women that are doubly victims of a patriarchal society and religion, nor a rosy picture where everything is perfect and no changes are necessary to serve them. She focuses on showing how these women use their agency to creatively and proactively craft lives of meaning for themselves, and makes the argument that the priority underlying all these women's choices is a desire for non-oppressive connectedness to God, others, and self. She shows fascinating ways the church empowers these women to build that connectedness, and ways the church's traditionally western worldviews are not translating well into these women's lived experiences. She then builds a womanist-influenced abundance theology based on the values and wisdom of these women, and the religious writings of other LDS women of color (and y'all know I'm always there with bells on when Chieko Okazaki's writings make an appearance).

I'm no expert on the global south, but from where I'm sitting, she wildly succeeds at translating the knowledge of these women, seeing them on their own terms, and showing them as creative and capable decision makers. I can't wait to hear the stories she brings us in the future. ]]> 4.65 Mormon Women at the Crossroads: Global Narratives and the Power of Connectedness
author: Caroline Kline
name: Erin
average rating: 4.65
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/27
date added: 2025/01/30
shelves: mormon, nonfiction
review:
I absolutely loved this ethnographic analysis of oral histories collected from Mormon women of color in Mexico, Botswana, and the US. She consciously puts her Western feminist biases on the shelf, and rather than using them to interpret the lives of women in the global south, she starts by letting these women tell their own stories, and then builds a framework for understanding the wisdom they have to offer the church, ways the church has served them well, and ways the church can improve its ability to serve them, based on these women's narratives and values (and a solid helping of studying the writings of postcolonial feminists and ethnographers of women in traditional religions to give her perspective).

What emerges isn't a story of duped and downtrodden women that are doubly victims of a patriarchal society and religion, nor a rosy picture where everything is perfect and no changes are necessary to serve them. She focuses on showing how these women use their agency to creatively and proactively craft lives of meaning for themselves, and makes the argument that the priority underlying all these women's choices is a desire for non-oppressive connectedness to God, others, and self. She shows fascinating ways the church empowers these women to build that connectedness, and ways the church's traditionally western worldviews are not translating well into these women's lived experiences. She then builds a womanist-influenced abundance theology based on the values and wisdom of these women, and the religious writings of other LDS women of color (and y'all know I'm always there with bells on when Chieko Okazaki's writings make an appearance).

I'm no expert on the global south, but from where I'm sitting, she wildly succeeds at translating the knowledge of these women, seeing them on their own terms, and showing them as creative and capable decision makers. I can't wait to hear the stories she brings us in the future.
]]> The Little Wartime Library 61237143 An uplifting and inspiring novel based on the true story of a librarian who created an underground shelter during World War II, perfect for readers of The Paris Library or The Last Bookshop in London.Ěý

London, 1944: Clara Button is no ordinary librarian. While war ravages the city above her, Clara has risked everything she holds dear to turn the Bethnal Green tube station into the country’s only underground library. Down here, a secret community thrives with thousands of bunk beds, a nursery, a café, and a theater—offering shelter, solace, and escape from the bombs that fall upon their city.

ĚýĚýĚýĚýĚýĚýĚýĚýĚý Along with her glamorous best friend and assistant Ruby Munroe, Clara ensures the library is the beating heart of life underground. But as the war drags on, the women's determination to remain strong in the face of adversity is tested to the limits when it may come at the price of keeping those closest to them alive.]]> 468 Kate Thompson 1538724219 Erin 0 to-read 4.20 2023 The Little Wartime Library
author: Kate Thompson
name: Erin
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Lost Year 60316963 A middle-grade survival story that traces a family secret back to the Holodomor, a terrible famine that devastated Soviet Ukraine in the 1930s.

Thirteen-year-old Matthew is miserable. His journalist dad is stuck overseas indefinitely, and his mom has moved in his one-hundred-year-old great-grandmother to ride out the pandemic, adding to his stress and isolation.

But when Matthew finds a tattered black-and-white photo in his great-grandmother’s belongings, he discovers a clue to a hidden chapter of her past, one that will lead to a life-shattering family secret. Set in alternating timelines that connect the present-day to the 1930s and the US to the USSR, Katherine Marsh’s latest novel sheds fresh light on the Holodomor � the horrific famine that killed millions of Ukrainians, and which the Soviet government covered up for decades.

Inspired by Marsh’s own family history.]]> 368 Katherine Marsh 1250313600 Erin 0 to-read 4.47 2023 The Lost Year
author: Katherine Marsh
name: Erin
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Get the Picture: A Mind-Bending Journey Among the Inspired Artists and Obsessive Art Fiends Who Taught Me How to See]]> 156741696 The author of Cork Dork takes readers on another fascinating, hilarious, and revelatory journey—this time burrowing deep inside the impassioned, secretive world of art and artists.

An award-winning journalist obsessed with obsession, Bianca Bosker’s existence was upended when she wandered into the art world—and couldn’t look away. Intrigued by artists who hyperventilate around their favorite colors and art fiends who max out credit cards to show hunks of metal they think can change the world, Bosker grew fixated on understanding why art matters and how she—or any of us—could engage with it more deeply.

In Get the Picture, Bosker throws herself into the nerve center of art and the people who live for it: gallerists, collectors, curators, and, of course, artists themselves—the kind who work multiple jobs to afford their studios while scrabbling to get eyes on their art. As she stretches canvases until her fingers blister; talks her way into A-list parties full of billionaire collectors; has her face sat on by a nearly naked performance artist; and forces herself to stare at a single sculpture for hours on end while working as a museum security guard, she discovers not only the inner workings of the art-canonization machine but a more expansive way of living.

Probing everything from cave paintings to Instagram and from the science of sight to the importance of beauty as it examines art’s role in our culture, our economy, and our hearts, Get the Picture is a rollicking adventure that will forever change the way you see.]]> 370 Bianca Bosker 0525562206 Erin 0 to-read 4.10 2024 Get the Picture: A Mind-Bending Journey Among the Inspired Artists and Obsessive Art Fiends Who Taught Me How to See
author: Bianca Bosker
name: Erin
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Voices of Latter-day Saint Women in the Pacific and Asia]]> 222247863 363 Po Nien (Felipe) Chou 1649334095 Erin 0 to-read 4.00 Voices of Latter-day Saint Women in the Pacific and Asia
author: Po Nien (Felipe) Chou
name: Erin
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Edgedancer (The Stormlight Archive, #2.5)]]> 34703445 From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson, a special gift edition of Edgedancer, a short novel of the Stormlight Archive.

Three years ago, Lift asked a goddess to stop her from growing older--a wish she believed was granted. Now, in Edgedancer, the barely teenage nascent Knight Radiant finds that time stands still for no one. Although the young Azish emperor granted her safe haven from an executioner she knows only as Darkness, court life is suffocating the free-spirited Lift, who can't help heading to Yeddaw when she hears the relentless Darkness is there hunting people like her with budding powers. The downtrodden in Yeddaw have no champion, and Lift knows she must seize this awesome responsibility.

]]> 272 Brandon Sanderson 1250166543 Erin 4 fantasy, mormon, audiobooks
My favorite part was the relationship between Lift and Wyndle. They drive each other crazy, but they push each other to become better versions of themselves, and it was delightful to watch their partnership grow.

I've heard a lot of people say that this is essential reading for the series, despite being a side novella, and I haven't read far enough into the series to know if that's true. Still, Lift isn't going to be for everyone, so you can probably get what you need to out of a summary on a fan website. I liked watching the character development of the principal actors, and I do enjoy Lift's brand of humor, so reading this was the right choice for me.]]> 4.15 2016 Edgedancer (The Stormlight Archive, #2.5)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Erin
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/07
date added: 2025/01/08
shelves: fantasy, mormon, audiobooks
review:
3.5 stars. This fun little side novella has a very different feel than the other Stormlight Archive books I've read, which is refreshing and frustrating all at the same time. I think the people that come to Stormlight for the high-stakes epic fantasy drama will be scratching their heads at this quirky little street urchin running around stealing pancakes and sassing her spren. Still, I think it is really fascinating to see how some of the big ideas of the other books play out in a more lighthearted setting, and the world building is as intriguing as always. Also, this has some very funny moments, some very touching moments, and I think he packed a lot of character growth in for people that didn't even have huge page counts in this one.

My favorite part was the relationship between Lift and Wyndle. They drive each other crazy, but they push each other to become better versions of themselves, and it was delightful to watch their partnership grow.

I've heard a lot of people say that this is essential reading for the series, despite being a side novella, and I haven't read far enough into the series to know if that's true. Still, Lift isn't going to be for everyone, so you can probably get what you need to out of a summary on a fan website. I liked watching the character development of the principal actors, and I do enjoy Lift's brand of humor, so reading this was the right choice for me.
]]> <![CDATA[East Winds: A Global Quest to Reckon with Marriage]]> 63007617 —Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

Rachel panicked as she lay awake on the first night of her year-long honeymoon—a backpacking trip around the world. Though young and in love, she wasn’t sure she actually believed in marriage, let alone the lofty Mormon ideal of eternal marriage. This unconventional honeymoon felt like a brief reprieve from the crushing expectations for a Mormon bride. But this trip also offered opportunities: the chance to study wedding traditions in other cultures and the space to confront what marriage—including her own—meant to her.

Along the way, she got kicked out of Peru, escaped rabid dogs in the Amazon, stumbled upon democracy protests in Hong Kong, launched an unlucky lantern in Thailand, and trekked five hundred miles across Spain in sandals. These experiences helped Rachel confront her tumultuous past, question her inherited relationship models, and embrace her restless nature within marriage—exchanging faith in certainty for faith in the day-to-day choice of partnership and faith in herself.

EAST WINDS is written in the tradition of Elizabeth Gilbert’s COMMITTED, Cheryl Strayed’s WILD, and Tara Westover’s EDUCATED. Far more than a travelogue, this sweeping coming-of-age memoir offers timeless insights into this complex, universal institution. Too many love stories end with marriage. This one starts there instead.

*
Advance Praise

"[A] soulful debut memoir . . . Rueckert’s grappling with uncertainty yields courage and a luminous sense of hope. An engrossing exploration of a hard but ultimately exhilarating trek toward love and commitment."
—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review



Is it an ethnography, a travelogue, a memoir, a love story, or a true confession? Whatever its genre, it is funny, inciteful, poetic, and engaging. A delightful read!
—Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, PhD, Pulitzer Prize winner & author of WELL-BEHAVED WOMEN SELDOM MAKE HISTORY


Trouble abounds in this brave, stirring, engaging memoir, but the protagonist proves equal to every bit of it, thanks to her self-awareness and pluck. A travel account that takes us deep into the author's inner life and spiritual struggles while delivering vividly detailed accounts of the lands she explores, this satisfying record of the growth of a self should please readers of every type. It certainly pleased me.
—Phillip Lopate, PhD, American essayist & editor of THE ART OF THE PERSONAL ESSAY


Thoroughly smart and clear-eyed. EAST WINDS invites the reader to question their assumptions. Rueckert asks unique questions that resonate on a universal level.
—Gary Shteyngart, author of LITTLE FAILURE


In EAST WINDS, Rachel Rueckert journeys around the world and into the heart of a marriage, asking how we can truly know our partner, ourselves, and the truth of our bond. Exploring communities in Asia, South America and Europe as well as excavating her own Mormon roots, Rueckert’s warm, frank voice takes the reader across oceans and generations, examining how love, family, connection and commitment are reflected in and through culture. A fascinating travelogue and a charmingly bumpy love story, EAST WINDS is an ultimately joyous struggle for identity as and with a partner that many women will recognize within themselves.
—Allison K Williams, author of SEVEN DRAFTS


Rachel Rueckert’s EAST WINDS is outstanding. A captivating reflection on love and faith found in unexpected places, it’s a chronicle of the early days of marriage. Rueckert is a writer to watch. In lovely, candid prose, she shares intimate insights about partnership and the connections that exist because of it. I could not put it down.
—Wendy S. Walters, PhD, Nonfiction Director at Columbia University & author of MULTIPLY/DIVIDE


The engine that drives this delightful memoir is the rash condition the author puts on her fiancé: immediately after marrying, they must embark on a low-budget, one-year-long honeymoon around the world. This would strain any relationship to the breaking point, but Rueckert and her husband triumph in surprising and moving ways. Both are socially progressive Mormons; they rebel against their faith without rejecting it. By turns comical and serious, this passionate, searchful book will speak especially to readers who grapple with the cultural pressure to marry and the taboo of divorce. In strange, far-off cities and miserable hotels, Rueckert investigates this conundrum with a restless and insightful mind. The writing is filled with funny, shivery, illuminated moments. EAST WINDS brims with intelligence.
—Michael Greenberg, author of HURRY DOWN SUNSHINE

A worldwide voyage of self-discovery and intriguing anthropological study in marriage relationships . . . Author Rachel Rueckert establishes a compelling case for women’s empowerment and provides a significant amount of information about various backgrounds of marriage throughout the globe. Due to its comprehensive and thorough nature, this book is strongly recommended. Those interested in anthropology and women’s studies will benefit from the information and stories told within.
—Reedsy Must Read Review]]> 344 Rachel Rueckert 1948218674 Erin 4 memoir, nonfiction, mormon
A little bit coming-of-age memoir, a little bit travelogue, a little bit ethnography, but overall, a story of a woman learning to trust her own truth and act on it.]]> 4.23 East Winds: A Global Quest to Reckon with Marriage
author: Rachel Rueckert
name: Erin
average rating: 4.23
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/04
date added: 2025/01/06
shelves: memoir, nonfiction, mormon
review:
4.5 stars. Rueckert's journey to craft a marriage, spirituality, and life of her own choosing, knowing that nothing is ever guaranteed, resonated with me. I have felt so many of those emotions in my bones when I was figuring out who I was - that rage against the feeling that you have to give up important parts of yourself to take on marriage, that urge towards freedom taking the form of travel and moving on, that desire to wound and push people away to protect yourself, the way new places help you see new ways of being in the world, that messy spiritual journey of untangling all the untrue and deeply damaging things tangled around the true and healing ones, and eventually, the power of connection and commitment in the process of becoming.

A little bit coming-of-age memoir, a little bit travelogue, a little bit ethnography, but overall, a story of a woman learning to trust her own truth and act on it.
]]> <![CDATA[The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 8]]> 222021967 "Strange, considering it all now after a night's sleep, that I'd had no premonition of what awaited. That seems to be the nature of life, however. Things that ought to come with warnings rarely do."

The Year is 1884 and Emma M. Lion has, at long last, gained her majority. Entering a golden age of friendship with Pierce, Islington, and Hawkes, Emma is confident she will manage whatever comes her way. It is The Season she must help Arabella secure a husband, while navigating the threat of Aunt Eugenia, the unflagging adoration of Charles Goddard, and the amusing unpredictability of St. Crispian's. But the secrets of her trusted friends are what might very well bring about disaster.

Emma M. Lion offers up her Unselected Journals, however self-incriminating they may be. Armed with wit and a sideways amusement, Emma documents the curious realities of her life at Lapis Lazuli House.

Readers have compared Beth Brower's writing to Jane Austen, Oscar Wilde, P.G. Wodehouse, and L. M. Montgomery.]]> 353 Beth Brower Erin 4 historical-fiction 4.78 The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 8
author: Beth Brower
name: Erin
average rating: 4.78
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/06
date added: 2025/01/06
shelves: historical-fiction
review:
4.5 stars. This might be my favorite volume yet. Yes, there are all the cozy, charming moments I come here for (I would love to hang out in Stonecrop for a month), but the quartet starts moving into territory where their friendship becomes more complicated, the ugly bits of themselves they've been trying to hide start coming through the cracks, but they still hold true to each other. A lovely portrait of friendship.
]]> <![CDATA[Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive, #2)]]> 17332218 From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson, Words of Radiance, Book Two of the Stormlight Archive, continues the immersive fantasy epic that The Way of Kings began.

Expected by his enemies to die the miserable death of a military slave, Kaladin survived to be given command of the royal bodyguards, a controversial first for a low-status "darkeyes." Now he must protect the king and Dalinar from every common peril as well as the distinctly uncommon threat of the Assassin, all while secretly struggling to master remarkable new powers that are somehow linked to his honorspren, Syl.

The Assassin, Szeth, is active again, murdering rulers all over the world of Roshar, using his baffling powers to thwart every bodyguard and elude all pursuers. Among his prime targets is Highprince Dalinar, widely considered the power behind the Alethi throne. His leading role in the war would seem reason enough, but the Assassin's master has much deeper motives.

Brilliant but troubled Shallan strives along a parallel path. Despite being broken in ways she refuses to acknowledge, she bears a terrible burden: to somehow prevent the return of the legendary Voidbringers and the civilization-ending Desolation that will follow. The secrets she needs can be found at the Shattered Plains, but just arriving there proves more difficult than she could have imagined.

Meanwhile, at the heart of the Shattered Plains, the Parshendi are making an epochal decision. Hard pressed by years of Alethi attacks, their numbers ever shrinking, they are convinced by their war leader, Eshonai, to risk everything on a desperate gamble with the very supernatural forces they once fled. The possible consequences for Parshendi and humans alike, indeed, for Roshar itself, are as dangerous as they are incalculable.]]> 1088 Brandon Sanderson 0765326361 Erin 5 fantasy, mormon, audiobooks
Lives up to the hype - great character development, wildly imaginative world building, flawless pacing, a few twists I wasn't expecting, some delightfully funny scenes, the right blend of new mysteries and resolution to old ones, moments where you cheer the characters' awesomeness and moments where they are profoundly flawed and human, great action sequences, interesting philosophical questions, it's all there. I loved it. ]]> 4.76 2014 Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive, #2)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Erin
average rating: 4.76
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/02
date added: 2025/01/03
shelves: fantasy, mormon, audiobooks
review:
Well, I feel a little robbed that I missed counting this 1080-page behemoth in my page count for 2024 by 2 days, but at least my 2025 stats are currently incredible.

Lives up to the hype - great character development, wildly imaginative world building, flawless pacing, a few twists I wasn't expecting, some delightfully funny scenes, the right blend of new mysteries and resolution to old ones, moments where you cheer the characters' awesomeness and moments where they are profoundly flawed and human, great action sequences, interesting philosophical questions, it's all there. I loved it.
]]> The Life Impossible 198281740
“What looks like magic is simply a part of life we don’t understand yet…�

When retired math teacher Grace Winters is left a run-down house on a Mediterranean island by a long-lost friend, curiosity gets the better of her. She arrives in Ibiza with a one-way ticket, no guidebook and no plan.

Among the rugged hills and golden beaches of the island, Grace searches for answers about her friend’s life, and how it ended. What she uncovers is stranger than she could have dreamed. But to dive into this impossible truth, Grace must first come to terms with her past.

Filled with wonder and wild adventure, this is a story of hope and the life-changing power of a new beginning.]]> 324 Matt Haig 0593489276 Erin 3 fantasy 3.45 2024 The Life Impossible
author: Matt Haig
name: Erin
average rating: 3.45
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/20
date added: 2024/12/25
shelves: fantasy
review:
3.5 stars, rounded down because I adored The Midnight Library and The Humans, & this wasn’t the same caliber (he got a little pedantic this time). Still, a thoughtful, quirky, hopeful book about starting over, how our relationship to the past can warp how we see the present, & a lovely tribute to a place that means something to the author. It helped me make sure I was really seeing the people and the everyday beauty around me during a busy time where it would have been easy to lose track of that.
]]> <![CDATA[Do I Know You?: A Faceblind Reporter’s Journey into the Science of Sight, Memory, and Imagination]]> 199928370
Science writer Sadie Dingfelder has always known that she’s a little quirky. But while she’s made some strange mistakes over the years, it’s not until she accosts a stranger in a grocery store (who she thinks is her husband) that she realizes something is amiss.

With a mixture of curiosity and dread, Dingfelder starts contacting neuroscientists and lands herself in scores of studies. In the course of her nerdy midlife crisis, she discovers that she is emphatically not neurotypical. She has prosopagnosia (faceblindness), stereoblindness, aphantasia (an inability to create mental imagery), and a condition called Severely Deficient Autobiographical Memory.

What Dingfelder learns about the brain captivates her. What she learns about the places where her brain falls short forces her to reinterpret major events from her past and grieve for losses she didn’t even know she’d had.

As Dingfelder learns to see herself more clearly, she also discovers a vast well of hidden neurodiversity in the world at large. There are so many different flavors of human consciousness, and most of us just assume that ours is the norm. Can you visualize? Do you have an inner monologue? Are you always 100% sure whether you know someone or not? Do you know your left from your right? If you can perform any of these mental feats, you may be surprised to learn that many people � including Dingfelder � can’t.

A lively blend of personal narrative and popular science, Do I Know You? is the story of one unusual mind’s attempt to understand itself � and a fascinating exploration of the remarkable breadth of human experience.]]> 304 Sadie Dingfelder 0316545147 Erin 0 to-read 4.11 2024 Do I Know You?: A Faceblind Reporter’s Journey into the Science of Sight, Memory, and Imagination
author: Sadie Dingfelder
name: Erin
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Caused an Epidemic of Mental Illness]]> 171681821
A must-read for all parents: the generation-defining investigation into the collapse of youth mental health in the era of smartphones, social media, and big tech—and a plan for a healthier, freer childhood.

“With tenacity and candor, Haidt lays out the consequences that have come with allowing kids to drift further into the virtual world . . . While also offering suggestions and solutions that could help protect a new generation of kids.� —Shannon Carlin, ,i>TIME, 100 Must-Read Books of 2024

After more than a decade of stability or improvement, the mental health of adolescents plunged in the early 2010s. Rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicide rose sharply, more than doubling on many measures. Why?

In The Anxious Generation, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt lays out the facts about the epidemic of teen mental illness that hit many countries at the same time. He then investigates the nature of childhood, including why children need play and independent exploration to mature into competent, thriving adults. Haidt shows how the “play-based childhood� began to decline in the 1980s, and how it was finally wiped out by the arrival of the “phone-based childhood� in the early 2010s. He presents more than a dozen mechanisms by which this “great rewiring of childhood� has interfered with children’s social and neurological development, covering everything from sleep deprivation to attention fragmentation, addiction, loneliness, social contagion, social comparison, and perfectionism. He explains why social media damages girls more than boys and why boys have been withdrawing from the real world into the virtual world, with disastrous consequences for themselves, their families, and their societies.

Most important, Haidt issues a clear call to action. He diagnoses the “collective action problems� that trap us, and then proposes four simple rules that might set us free. He describes steps that parents, teachers, schools, tech companies, and governments can take to end the epidemic of mental illness and restore a more humane childhood.

Haidt has spent his career speaking truth backed by data in the most difficult landscapes—communities polarized by politics and religion, campuses battling culture wars, and now the public health emergency faced by Gen Z. We cannot afford to ignore his findings about protecting our children—and ourselves—from the psychological damage of a phone-based life.]]> 400 Jonathan Haidt 0593655036 Erin 0 to-read 4.36 2024 The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Caused an Epidemic of Mental Illness
author: Jonathan Haidt
name: Erin
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Three-Body Problem (Remembrance of Earth’s Past, #1)]]> 20518872 472 Liu Cixin Erin 3
If you are a setting reader, particularly if you are into hard science fiction, you are going to love this book. It has imaginative and thought-provoking world building, and it does a great job of capturing the fear and destruction of cultural revolution in China. I don't want to spoil anything here, but dang, he had enough intriguing world-building ideas he could have written three different series with this one, and he worked them together into one book. I was impressed with Cixin's imagination, and the big ideas he explores in this book.

If you are a character reader, you are going to hate this book with a fiery passion. With the exception of Ye Wenjie and Da Shi, everyone is profoundly one-dimensional. I have no idea what makes our main character tick, despite spending 400 pages with him. He is just someone that witnesses what is happening to the world, and doesn't really have a personality. This is a book that is more concerned with ideas than characterization, so you've been warned. If you need to care about the characters to like a book, you won't enjoy this one.

As for plot, it will depend on your tolerance levels for theoretical physics and virtual reality gaming. I am not a scientist, but it was fun to try to stretch my brain around the physics concepts. However, there are few things I hate more than watching people play video games, so I have to say I had a hard time motivating myself through those bits, even if they were very important to the plot.

Language will also depend on how you feel about translated works. I'd say this scores low on the language scale if you want emotionally profound descriptions of things, but I did enjoy seeing the way the translator used language to try to capture Chinese artistic sensibilities and worldviews, and I was very pleased with how much he communicated with only minimal footnotes.

3.5 for my own enjoyment. It had some really great philosophical questions to roll around my brain, and I loved his world building. I did enjoy this one. Still, I didn't really care enough about any of the characters to feel eager to pick up the next book (although I still might go for it if the mood strikes), so I'm rounding down.]]> 4.08 2006 The Three-Body Problem (Remembrance of Earth’s Past, #1)
author: Liu Cixin
name: Erin
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at: 2024/11/28
date added: 2024/11/30
shelves:
review:
I'm going to go all Nancy-Pearl-4-doors on this review, since this will be anywhere between a 1 and 5 star book, based on what kind of reader you are.

If you are a setting reader, particularly if you are into hard science fiction, you are going to love this book. It has imaginative and thought-provoking world building, and it does a great job of capturing the fear and destruction of cultural revolution in China. I don't want to spoil anything here, but dang, he had enough intriguing world-building ideas he could have written three different series with this one, and he worked them together into one book. I was impressed with Cixin's imagination, and the big ideas he explores in this book.

If you are a character reader, you are going to hate this book with a fiery passion. With the exception of Ye Wenjie and Da Shi, everyone is profoundly one-dimensional. I have no idea what makes our main character tick, despite spending 400 pages with him. He is just someone that witnesses what is happening to the world, and doesn't really have a personality. This is a book that is more concerned with ideas than characterization, so you've been warned. If you need to care about the characters to like a book, you won't enjoy this one.

As for plot, it will depend on your tolerance levels for theoretical physics and virtual reality gaming. I am not a scientist, but it was fun to try to stretch my brain around the physics concepts. However, there are few things I hate more than watching people play video games, so I have to say I had a hard time motivating myself through those bits, even if they were very important to the plot.

Language will also depend on how you feel about translated works. I'd say this scores low on the language scale if you want emotionally profound descriptions of things, but I did enjoy seeing the way the translator used language to try to capture Chinese artistic sensibilities and worldviews, and I was very pleased with how much he communicated with only minimal footnotes.

3.5 for my own enjoyment. It had some really great philosophical questions to roll around my brain, and I loved his world building. I did enjoy this one. Still, I didn't really care enough about any of the characters to feel eager to pick up the next book (although I still might go for it if the mood strikes), so I'm rounding down.
]]> Chesapeake 12661 1024 James A. Michener 0812970438 Erin 0 to-read 4.19 1978 Chesapeake
author: James A. Michener
name: Erin
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1978
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet, and Ourselves]]> 199514774
How often do we open the fridge or peer into the freezer with the expectation that we’ll find something fresh and ready to eat? It’s an everyday act, easily taken for granted, but just a century ago, eating food that had been refrigerated was cause for both fear and excitement. Banquets were held just so guests could enjoy the novelty of eggs, butter, and apples that had been preserved for months in cold storage—and demonstrate that such zombie foods were not deadly. The introduction of artificial refrigeration overturned millennia of dietary history, launching an entirely new chapter in human nutrition. We could now overcome not just rot, but also seasonality and geography. Tomatoes in January? Avocados in Shanghai? All possible.

In FROSTBITE, New Yorker contributor and co-host of the award-winning podcast Gastropod Nicola Twilley takes readers with her on a tour of the cold chain from farm to fridge, visiting such off-the-beaten-track landmarks as Missouri’s subterranean cheese caves, the banana-ripening rooms of New York City, and the vast refrigerated tanks that store the nation’s OJ reserves. Today, more than three-quarters of everything on the average American plate is processed, shipped, stored, and sold under refrigeration. It’s impossible to make sense of our food system without understanding the all-but-invisible network of thermal control that underpins it. Twilley’s eye-opening book is the first to reveal the transformative impact refrigeration has had on our health and our guts; our farms, tables, kitchens, and cities; global economics and politics; and even our environment.

In the developed world, we’ve reaped the benefits of refrigeration for more than a century, but as Twilley soon discovers, the costs are catching up with us. We’ve eroded our connection to our food, extending the distance between producers and consumers and redefining what “fresh� really means. More importantly, refrigeration is one of the leading contributors to climate change. As the developing world races to build a U.S.-style cold chain, Twilley asks, can we reduce our dependence on refrigeration? Should we? A deeply-researched and reported, original, and entertaining dive into the most important invention in the history of food and drink, FROSTBITE makes the case for a recalibration of our relationship with the fridge—and how our future might depend on it.]]> 400 Nicola Twilley 0735223289 Erin 0 to-read 4.19 2024 Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet, and Ourselves
author: Nicola Twilley
name: Erin
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Small and the Mighty: Twelve Unsung Americans Who Changed the Course of History, from the Founding to the Civil Rights Movement]]> 219507018 A #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

From America’s favorite government teacher, a heartfelt, inspiring portrait of twelve ordinary Americans whose courage formed the character of our country.

In The Small and the Mighty, Sharon McMahon proves that the most remarkable Americans are often ordinary people who didn’t make it into the textbooks. Not the presidents, but the telephone operators. Not the aristocrats, but the schoolteachers. Through meticulous research, she discovers history’s unsung characters and brings their rich, riveting stories to light for the first time.

You’ll meet a woman astride a white horse riding down Pennsylvania Ave, a young boy detained at a Japanese incarceration camp, a formerly enslaved woman on a mission to reunite with her daughter, a poet on a train, and a teacher who learns to work with her enemies. More than one thing is bombed, and multiple people surprisingly become rich. Some rich with money, and some wealthy with things that matter more.

This is a book about what really made America–and Americans–great. McMahon’s cast of improbable champions will become familiar friends, lighting the path we journey in our quest to make the world more just, peaceful, good, and free.]]> Sharon McMahon Erin 0 to-read 4.45 2024 The Small and the Mighty: Twelve Unsung Americans Who Changed the Course of History, from the Founding to the Civil Rights Movement
author: Sharon McMahon
name: Erin
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Short Walk Through a Wide World]]> 176443045
Paris, 1885: Aubry Tourvel, a spoiled and stubborn nine-year-old girl, comes across a wooden puzzle ball on her walk home from school. She tosses it over the fence, only to find it in her backpack that evening. Days later, at the family dinner table, she starts to bleed to death.

When medical treatment only makes her worse, she flees to the outskirts of the city, where she realizes that it is this very act of movement that keeps her alive. So begins her lifelong journey on the run from her condition, which won’t allow her to stay anywhere for longer than a few days nor return to a place where she’s already been.

From the scorched dunes of the Calashino Sand Sea to the snow-packed peaks of the Himalayas; from a bottomless well in a Parisian courtyard, to the shelves of an infinite underground library, we follow Aubry as she learns what it takes to survive and ultimately, to truly live. But the longer Aubry wanders and the more desperate she is to share her life with others, the clearer it becomes that the world she travels through may not be quite the same as everyone else’s...

Fiercely independent and hopeful, yet full of longing, Aubry Tourvel is an unforgettable character fighting her way through a world of wonders to find a place she can call home. A spellbinding and inspiring story about discovering meaning in a life that seems otherwise impossible, A Short Walk Through a Wide World reminds us that it’s not the destination, but rather the journey—no matter how long it lasts—that makes us who we are.]]> 400 Douglas Westerbeke 1668026066 Erin 0 to-read 3.48 2024 A Short Walk Through a Wide World
author: Douglas Westerbeke
name: Erin
average rating: 3.48
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 7]]> 185965151
The Year is 1884 and Emma M. Lion has, at long last, gained her majority. Entering a golden age of friendship with Pierce, Islington, and Hawkes, Emma is confident she will manage whatever comes her way. It is The Season she must help Arabella secure a husband, while navigating the threat of Aunt Eugenia, the unflagging adoration of Charles Goddard, and the amusing unpredictability of St. Crispian’s. But the secrets of her trusted friends are what might very well bring about disaster.

Emma M. Lion offers up her Unselected Journals, however self-incriminating they may be. Armed with wit and a sideways amusement, Emma documents the curious realities of her life at Lapis Lazuli House.

Readers have compared The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion to Jane Austen, P.G. Wodehouse, L. M. Montgomery, and Jean Webster.]]> 313 Beth Brower 1957492015 Erin 4 historical-fiction
Lots of plot movement in this volume, & simultaneous revelations & new questions. ]]> 4.78 The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 7
author: Beth Brower
name: Erin
average rating: 4.78
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/09
date added: 2024/11/09
shelves: historical-fiction
review:
Oh man, that bookish feeling of discovering a series late in the game, growing accustomed to just grabbing the next volume, & then catching up and having to wait for the next installment! Rough, I’m telling you. At least volume 8 should be out next month. I’ll have a long wait after that.

Lots of plot movement in this volume, & simultaneous revelations & new questions.
]]> <![CDATA[The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1)]]> 7235533 From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson, The Way of Kings, book one of The Stormlight Archive begins an incredible new saga of epic proportion.

Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter.

It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Men trade kingdoms for Shardblades. Wars were fought for them, and won by them.

One such war rages on a ruined landscape called the Shattered Plains. There, Kaladin, who traded his medical apprenticeship for a spear to protect his little brother, has been reduced to slavery. In a war that makes no sense, where ten armies fight separately against a single foe, he struggles to save his men and to fathom the leaders who consider them expendable.

Brightlord Dalinar Kholin commands one of those other armies. Like his brother, the late king, he is fascinated by an ancient text called The Way of Kings. Troubled by over-powering visions of ancient times and the Knights Radiant, he has begun to doubt his own sanity.

Across the ocean, an untried young woman named Shallan seeks to train under an eminent scholar and notorious heretic, Dalinar's niece, Jasnah. Though she genuinely loves learning, Shallan's motives are less than pure. As she plans a daring theft, her research for Jasnah hints at secrets of the Knights Radiant and the true cause of the war.

The result of over ten years of planning, writing, and world-building, The Way of Kings is but the opening movement of the Stormlight Archive, a bold masterpiece in the making.

Speak again the ancient oaths:

Life before death.
Strength before weakness.
Journey before Destination.

and return to men the Shards they once bore.

The Knights Radiant must stand again.]]> 1007 Brandon Sanderson 0765326353 Erin 5 audiobooks, fantasy, mormon
Sanderson is really, really good at what he does. If you aren’t into epic fantasy, there are definitely smaller tomes for you to dip your toes into. But if you think it might be for you, you will have no shortage of imaginative and deep world building, great characterization, great pacing, and interesting philosophical ideas to roll around your brain. I’m honestly blown away by his craft.

:) taking a breather before I dive in to book 2, but I’m definitely continuing.]]> 4.66 2010 The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Erin
average rating: 4.66
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at: 2024/10/18
date added: 2024/11/06
shelves: audiobooks, fantasy, mormon
review:
4.5, rounded up. I’d been hesitant to take on a 1000 page book in a 5 book arc without having reasonable assurance the author wouldn’t die before finishing the series. Sanderson fans will have their happy conclusion next month, so it was time to give in to my teens� insistence that I have to read it or I’ll never understand anything they are talking about, hah.

Sanderson is really, really good at what he does. If you aren’t into epic fantasy, there are definitely smaller tomes for you to dip your toes into. But if you think it might be for you, you will have no shortage of imaginative and deep world building, great characterization, great pacing, and interesting philosophical ideas to roll around your brain. I’m honestly blown away by his craft.

:) taking a breather before I dive in to book 2, but I’m definitely continuing.
]]> <![CDATA[The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 6]]> 63027990 There is bedlam, and there is delightful bedlam.
This afternoon touched on the second, much to my pleasure.

The Year is 1884 and Emma M. Lion has, at long last, gained her majority. Entering a golden age of friendship with Pierce, Islington, and Hawkes, Emma is confident she will manage whatever comes her way. It is The Season she must help Arabella secure a husband, while navigating the threat of Aunt Eugenia, the unflagging adoration of Charles Goddard, and the amusing unpredictability of St. Crispian’s. But the secrets of her trusted friends are what might very well bring about disaster.

Emma M. Lion offers up her Unselected Journals, however self-incriminating they may be. Armed with wit and a sideways amusement, Emma documents the curious realities of her life at Lapis Lazuli House.

Readers have compared The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion to Jane Austen, P.G. Wodehouse, L. M. Montgomery, and Jean Webster.]]> 249 Beth Brower Erin 4 historical-fiction Charming as ever 4.79 2022 The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 6
author: Beth Brower
name: Erin
average rating: 4.79
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/06
date added: 2024/11/06
shelves: historical-fiction
review:
Charming as ever
]]> The Unwedding 199262864
To add insult to injury, there’s a wedding at Broken Point scheduled during her stay. Ellery remembers how it felt to be on the cusp of everything new and wonderful, with a loved and certain future glimmering just ahead. Now she isn’t certain of anything except her love for her kids and a growing realization that this place, although beautiful, is unsettling.]]> 339 Ally Condie 1538757583 Erin 4 mormon
Condie did some really smart stuff in this book. Big Sur, with its towering forests, cliffs, fog, oceans, wildness with pockets of affluence, & propensity towards mudslides, made this a brilliant setting for a closed room mystery. It was brooding, unforgiving, & disorienting, while also letting you vicariously look out on gorgeous vistas and moments of self-indulgence.

I appreciated her reflections on grief and mourning. They were profound, elegantly written, & honest. I love that Ellery had pain, but good people around her while she learned to carry it.

I also appreciated that it didn’t give me the icky, voyeuristic, gape at the worst of humanity vibes I often feel when I read this genre.

Yes, there were plot elements were hard to buy, but I always feel that way about the genre, so it didn’t really bother me.

This was a thoughtful, slow-burn mystery in a beautiful place, & I enjoyed it.]]> 3.16 2024 The Unwedding
author: Ally Condie
name: Erin
average rating: 3.16
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/29
date added: 2024/11/01
shelves: mormon
review:
It needs to be said that Big Sur has been really high on my travel bucket list for twenty years, so I’m going to have a huge bias towards books that let me vicariously hang out there. I had a blast reading this.

Condie did some really smart stuff in this book. Big Sur, with its towering forests, cliffs, fog, oceans, wildness with pockets of affluence, & propensity towards mudslides, made this a brilliant setting for a closed room mystery. It was brooding, unforgiving, & disorienting, while also letting you vicariously look out on gorgeous vistas and moments of self-indulgence.

I appreciated her reflections on grief and mourning. They were profound, elegantly written, & honest. I love that Ellery had pain, but good people around her while she learned to carry it.

I also appreciated that it didn’t give me the icky, voyeuristic, gape at the worst of humanity vibes I often feel when I read this genre.

Yes, there were plot elements were hard to buy, but I always feel that way about the genre, so it didn’t really bother me.

This was a thoughtful, slow-burn mystery in a beautiful place, & I enjoyed it.
]]> Unsouled (Cradle, #1) 30558257
Lindon is Unsouled, forbidden to learn the sacred arts of his clan.

When faced with a looming fate he cannot ignore, he must defy his family's rules...and forge his own Path.]]> 294 Will Wight Erin 0 to-read 4.16 2016 Unsouled (Cradle, #1)
author: Will Wight
name: Erin
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Table for Two 195474144 From the bestselling author of The Lincoln Highway, A Gentleman in Moscow, and Rules of Civility, a richly detailed and sharply drawn collection of stories set in New York and Los Angeles. The millions of readers of Amor Towles are in for a treat as he shares some of his shorter six stories set in New York City and a novella in Los Angeles. The New York stories, most of which are set around the turn of the millennium, take up everything from the death-defying acrobatics of the male ego, to the fateful consequences of brief encounters, and the delicate mechanics of compromise which operate at the heart of modern marriages. In Towles’s novel, Rules of Civility, the indomitable Evelyn Ross leaves New York City in September, 1938, with the intention of returning home to Indiana. But as her train pulls into Chicago, where her parents are waiting, she instead extends her ticket to Los Angeles. Told from seven points of view, “Eve in Hollywood� describes how Eve crafts a new future for herself—and others—in the midst of Hollywood’s golden age. Throughout the stories, two characters often find themselves sitting across a table for two where the direction of their futures may hinge upon what they say to each other next. Written with his signature wit, humor, and sophistication, Table for Two is another glittering addition to Towles’s canon of stylish and transporting historical fiction.]]> 451 Amor Towles 0593296370 Erin 3
That said, the Los Angeles novella was not my cup of tea at all. I'm pretty sure I'm not the right reader for it. I've noticed that for Towles' work, the historical setting is basically a major character in the book, and classic Hollywood era isn't my favorite. He did some clever stuff incorporating the noir genre, but at the end of the day, I was bored when I was reading it. ]]> 4.15 2024 Table for Two
author: Amor Towles
name: Erin
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/13
date added: 2024/10/18
shelves: shortstories, historical-fiction
review:
As with most collections of short fiction, there were 5-star stories, stories that just didn't do it for me, and some in between. I was a huge fan of 5 out of 6 of the short stories. There's something smooth and elegant about Towles' writing that is delightful to read, and he was playing around with interesting ideas about authenticity, relationships, art, and how small moments can change everything.

That said, the Los Angeles novella was not my cup of tea at all. I'm pretty sure I'm not the right reader for it. I've noticed that for Towles' work, the historical setting is basically a major character in the book, and classic Hollywood era isn't my favorite. He did some clever stuff incorporating the noir genre, but at the end of the day, I was bored when I was reading it.
]]> The Years 145625252 Considered by many to be the iconic French memoirist’s defining work and a breakout bestseller when published in France in 2008.

The Years is a personal narrative of the period 1941 to 2006 told through the lens of memory, impressions past and present—even projections into the future—photos, books, songs, radio, television and decades of advertising, headlines, contrasted with intimate conflicts and writing notes from 6 decades of diaries.

Local dialect, words of the times, slogans, brands and names for the ever-proliferating objects, are given voice here. The voice we recognize as the author’s continually dissolves and re-emerges. Ernaux makes the passage of time palpable. Time itself, inexorable, narrates its own course, consigning all other narrators to anonymity. A new kind of autobiography emerges, at once subjective and impersonal, private and collective.

On its 2008 publication in France, The Years came as a surprise. Though Ernaux had for years been hailed as a beloved, bestselling and award-winning author, The Years was in many ways a departure: both an intimate memoir “written� by entire generations, and a story of generations telling a very personal story. Like the generation before hers, the narrator eschews the “I� for the “we� (or “they�, or “one�) as if collective life were inextricably intertwined with a private life that in her parents� generation ceased to exist. She writes of her parents� generation (and could be writing of her own book): “From a common fund of hunger and fear, everything was told in the “we� and impersonal pronouns.”]]> 240 Annie Ernaux 1609807871 Erin 0 to-read 4.22 2008 The Years
author: Annie Ernaux
name: Erin
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 4]]> 56553921
The Year is 1883 and Emma M. Lion has returned to her London neighborhood of St. Crispian’s. But Emma’s plans for a charmed and studious life are sabotaged by her eccentric Cousin Archibald, her formidable Aunt Eugenia, and the slightly odd denizens of St. Crispian’s.

Emma M. Lion offers up her Unselected Journals, however self-incriminating they may be, which comprise a series of novella-length volumes. Armed with wit and a sideways amusement, Emma documents the curious realities of her life at Lapis Lazuli House.]]> 208 Beth Brower Erin 4 historical-fiction 4.75 The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 4
author: Beth Brower
name: Erin
average rating: 4.75
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/23
date added: 2024/10/11
shelves: historical-fiction
review:
Charming, light read with delightful characters. I’m enjoying this series!
]]> <![CDATA[The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 5]]> 59041700 “What a lovely bible,� Mrs. Tribly said.
“Isn’t it just?� I replied, hoping she would not ask me to read a favorite verse aloud.
I do not believe the psalmist wrote,
Fifteen men on a dead man’s chest,
Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum.

The Year is 1883 and Emma M. Lion has returned to her London neighbourhood of St. Crispian’s. But Emma’s plans for a charmed and studious life are sabotaged by her eccentric Cousin Archibald, her formidable Aunt Eugenia, and the slightly odd denizens of St. Crispian’s.

Emma M. Lion offers up her Unselected Journals, however self-incriminating they may be, which comprise a series of novella-length volumes. Armed with wit and a sideways amusement, Emma documents the curious realities of her life at Lapis Lazuli House.]]> 247 Beth Brower 0998063657 Erin 4 historical-fiction Another charming installment! 4.77 The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 5
author: Beth Brower
name: Erin
average rating: 4.77
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/11
date added: 2024/10/11
shelves: historical-fiction
review:
Another charming installment!
]]> <![CDATA[The Five Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts]]> 8160689 How do you discover your spouse’s � and your own � love language? Chapman’s short questionnaires are one of several ways to find out. Throughout the book, he also includes application questions that can be answered more extensively in the beautifully detailed companion leather journal (an exclusive Amazon.com set). Each section of the journal corresponds with a chapter from the book, offering opportunities for deeper reflection on your marriage.

Although some readers may find choosing to love a spouse that they no longer even like –hoping the feelings of affection will follow later� a difficult concept to swallow, Chapman promises that the results will be worth the effort. "Love is a choice," says Chapman. "And either partner can start the process today." --Cindy Crosby. This text refers to the Amazon.com Exclusive Journal & Paperback Book Set.

]]> 172 Gary Chapman 1575678853 Erin 5 nonfiction 4.35 1990 The Five Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts
author: Gary Chapman
name: Erin
average rating: 4.35
book published: 1990
rating: 5
read at: 2010/10/04
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: nonfiction
review:
I found this to be very readable, and I agree with his premise that different people feel and express love in different methods, and it is important to recognize what methods matter to the people you love.
]]> <![CDATA[See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love]]> 52626691
Kaur takes readers through her own riveting journey—as a brown girl growing up in California farmland finding her place in the world; as a young adult galvanized by the murders of Sikhs after 9/11; as a law student fighting injustices in American prisons and on Guantánamo Bay; as an activist working with communities recovering from xenophobic attacks; and as a woman trying to heal from her own experiences with police violence and sexual assault. Drawing from the wisdom of sages, scientists, and activists, Kaur reclaims love as an active, public, and revolutionary force that creates new possibilities for ourselves, our communities, and our world. See No Stranger helps us imagine new ways of being with each other—and with ourselves—so that together we can begin to build the world we want to see.]]> 389 Valarie Kaur 0525509097 Erin 4
I've been hungry lately for books about conflict resolution and peace building, so I added this one to my TBR pile. It needs to be said that I genuinely can't imagine this one resonating with any of my conservative friends. I don't really consider myself at home in any political party, but I lean left, and there were still parts of this book that made me do a full-body eye roll, particularly when she went all new-age spiritual towards the end. I think my conservative friends would make it about 20 pages before muttering snowflake and giving up on it, and further, they would consider themselves misrepresented. Kaur's research and activism focuses on places of extreme trauma (hate crimes, police brutality, Guantanamo Bay, etc), so those are the places the concrete examples she uses in her text come from, and there aren't really examples of run-of-the-mill conservatives in this text.

All that said, this is an excellent book for left-leaning people to learn more about activism from a place of power, humanity, and emotional health. It is a memoir of growing into activism, of the complexity of life as a Sikh-American woman, and of healing our relationships and ourselves.

First of all, this book is worth the read simply to learn more about life for Sikh-Americans in post-9/11 America. Kaur's earliest major activist project was a documentary of hate crimes against Sikh and Muslim Americans in the years after the attack, and she was heavily involved in the community recovery from the Oak Creek mass shootings. Her work in this area is heartbreaking, powerful, and wise.

Kaur is a skilled storyteller, and she is great at creating memorable and effective frameworks for how to think about activism, whether she's talking about large systems or interpersonal relationships. I greatly appreciated her arguments about emotionally healthy forgiveness, the difference between seeing people as opponents instead of enemies, how your activism is better if you understand the humanity present in your opponent, the importance of wondering and being curious about people who see things differently than you do, and that genuine love requires action. This book gave me a lot to think about.

Also, Kaur's narration for the audiobook is well done, so that's a solid option. ]]> 4.55 2020 See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love
author: Valarie Kaur
name: Erin
average rating: 4.55
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/13
date added: 2024/09/20
shelves: nonfiction, memoir, audiobooks
review:
K, I liked this one, but I'm giving my caveats first.

I've been hungry lately for books about conflict resolution and peace building, so I added this one to my TBR pile. It needs to be said that I genuinely can't imagine this one resonating with any of my conservative friends. I don't really consider myself at home in any political party, but I lean left, and there were still parts of this book that made me do a full-body eye roll, particularly when she went all new-age spiritual towards the end. I think my conservative friends would make it about 20 pages before muttering snowflake and giving up on it, and further, they would consider themselves misrepresented. Kaur's research and activism focuses on places of extreme trauma (hate crimes, police brutality, Guantanamo Bay, etc), so those are the places the concrete examples she uses in her text come from, and there aren't really examples of run-of-the-mill conservatives in this text.

All that said, this is an excellent book for left-leaning people to learn more about activism from a place of power, humanity, and emotional health. It is a memoir of growing into activism, of the complexity of life as a Sikh-American woman, and of healing our relationships and ourselves.

First of all, this book is worth the read simply to learn more about life for Sikh-Americans in post-9/11 America. Kaur's earliest major activist project was a documentary of hate crimes against Sikh and Muslim Americans in the years after the attack, and she was heavily involved in the community recovery from the Oak Creek mass shootings. Her work in this area is heartbreaking, powerful, and wise.

Kaur is a skilled storyteller, and she is great at creating memorable and effective frameworks for how to think about activism, whether she's talking about large systems or interpersonal relationships. I greatly appreciated her arguments about emotionally healthy forgiveness, the difference between seeing people as opponents instead of enemies, how your activism is better if you understand the humanity present in your opponent, the importance of wondering and being curious about people who see things differently than you do, and that genuine love requires action. This book gave me a lot to think about.

Also, Kaur's narration for the audiobook is well done, so that's a solid option.
]]> The Girl Who Drank the Moon 28110852
One year, Xan accidentally feeds a baby moonlight instead of starlight, filling the ordinary child with extraordinary magic. Xan decides she must raise this enmagicked girl, whom she calls Luna, as her own. To keep young Luna safe from her own unwieldy power, Xan locks her magic deep inside her. When Luna approaches her thirteenth birthday, her magic begins to emerge on schedule--but Xan is far away. Meanwhile, aĚýyoung man from the Protectorate is determined to free his people by killing the witch. Soon, it is up to Luna to protect those who have protected her--even if it means the end of the loving, safe world she’s always known.]]> 388 Kelly Barnhill 1616205679 Erin 4 childrens, fantasy 4.11 2016 The Girl Who Drank the Moon
author: Kelly Barnhill
name: Erin
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/20
date added: 2024/09/20
shelves: childrens, fantasy
review:
3.5 stars, rounding up since my 5th grader loved it, and she's the one in the target audience. It isn't a perfect book. It was about 50 pages too long, and the woven plot structure makes it a harder sell for newer/less sophisticated chapter book readers, but Barnhill sticks the landing. Her pacing and craft is pitch perfect for the last 100 pages, her prose is lovely, she knows how to evoke an atmosphere in her text, and I love its messages of hope, courage, and love. It should be fun to discuss with my book group.
]]> TransAtlantic 16085517
Dublin, 1845 and '46. On an international lecture tour in support of his subversive autobiography, Frederick Douglass finds the Irish people sympathetic to the abolitionist cause—despite the fact that, as famine ravages the countryside, the poor suffer from hardships that are astonishing even to an American slave.

New York, 1998. Leaving behind a young wife and newborn child, Senator George Mitchell departs for Belfast, where it has fallen to him, the son of an Irish-American father and a Lebanese mother, to shepherd Northern Ireland's notoriously bitter and volatile peace talks to an uncertain conclusion.

These three iconic crossings are connected by a series of remarkable women whose personal stories are caught up in the swells of history. Beginning with Irish housemaid Lily Duggan, who crosses paths with Frederick Douglass, the novel follows her daughter and granddaughter, Emily and Lottie, and culminates in the present-day story of Hannah Carson, in whom all the hopes and failures of previous generations live on. From the loughs of Ireland to the flatlands of Missouri and the windswept coast of Newfoundland, their journeys mirror the progress and shape of history. They each learn that even the most unassuming moments of grace have a way of rippling through time, space, and memory.

The most mature work yet from an incomparable storyteller, TransAtlantic is a profound meditation on identity and history in a wide world that grows somehow smaller and more wondrous with each passing year.]]> 304 Colum McCann 1400069599 Erin 0 to-read 3.82 2013 TransAtlantic
author: Colum McCann
name: Erin
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 3]]> 55138117 "It has been a day ordained by the fates, for how else could one explain the wholly cursed chain of events?" The Year is 1883 and Emma M. Lion has returned to her London Neighbourhood of St. Crispian's. But Emma's plan for a charmed and studious life are sabotaged by her eccentric Cousin Archibald, her formidable Aunt Eugenia, and the slightly odd denizens of St. Crispian's. Emma M. Lion offers up her Unselected Journals, however self-incriminating they may be, which comprise a series of volumes. Armed with wit and a sideways amusement, Emma documents the curious realities of her life at Lapis Lazuli House. Readers have compared The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion to Jane Austen, P.G. Wodehouse, L. M. Montgomery, and Jean Webster.]]> 229 Beth Brower Erin 4 historical-fiction 4.66 The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 3
author: Beth Brower
name: Erin
average rating: 4.66
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/02
date added: 2024/09/02
shelves: historical-fiction
review:
More witty, wholesome fun with Wodehouse vibes. I definitely needed something fun I could read in small chunks, & this series is fitting the bill nicely.
]]> <![CDATA[The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 2]]> 48677941
The Year is 1883 and Emma M. Lion has returned to her London neighbourhood of St. Crispian’s. But Emma’s plans for a charmed and studious life are sabotaged by her eccentric Cousin Archibald, her formidable Aunt Eugenia, and the slightly odd denizens of St. Crispian’s.

Emma M. Lion offers up her Unselected Journals, however self-incriminating they may be, which comprise a series of novella-length volumes. Armed with wit and a sideways amusement, Emma documents the curious realities of her life at Lapis Lazuli House.
]]> 162 Beth Brower Erin 4 historical-fiction 4.60 The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 2
author: Beth Brower
name: Erin
average rating: 4.60
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/28
date added: 2024/08/28
shelves: historical-fiction
review:
4+ stars. So THIS is why this series has a cult following. I read the first, and it was charming, but I didn't quite understand the buzz. Still, it was easy to just click "read the next volume" on my kindle when I finished it, and now I do get the enthusiasm. The cast of quirky characters is delightful and more developed now, and I love the humor of Emma's narration. The short chapters make it really easy to pick up and put down, so I've been able to fly through these books in little pockets of time between tasks. Fun, clean, light reading.
]]> <![CDATA[The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 1]]> 52085140
The Year is 1883 and Emma M. Lion has returned to her London neighborhood of St. Crispian’s. But Emma’s plans for a charmed and studious life are sabotaged by her eccentric Cousin Archibald, her formidable Aunt Eugenia, and the slightly odd denizens of St. Crispian’s.

Emma M. Lion offers up her Unselected Journals, however self-incriminating they may be, which comprise a series of novella-length volumes. Armed with wit and a sideways amusement, Emma documents the curious realities of her life at Lapis Lazuli House.]]> 125 Beth Brower 0998063614 Erin 3 historical-fiction 4.24 2019 The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 1
author: Beth Brower
name: Erin
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2024/08/24
date added: 2024/08/24
shelves: historical-fiction
review:
3.5 stars. If you’re in the mood for a plucky, book-loving heroine with quirky associates, this regency novela is a solid choice. I’m not obsessed, but Emma’s is a great head to spend time inside of, & I’d read more in the series.
]]> Other Birds 59807954 An enchanting tale filled with magical realism and moments of pure love that won’t let you go.

Between the real and the imaginary, there are stories that take flight in the most extraordinary ways.

Right off the coast of South Carolina, on Mallow Island, The Dellawisp sits—a stunning old cobblestone building shaped like a horseshoe, and named after the tiny turquoise birds who, alongside its human tenants, inhabit an air of magical secrecy.

When Zoey comes to claim her deceased mother’s apartment at the Dellawisp she meets her quirky and secretive neighbors, including a young woman with a past, two estranged middle-aged sisters, and a lonely chef, and three ghosts. The sudden death of one of Zoey's new neighbors sets off a search that leads to the island's famous author and to a long-estranged relative of the sisters.
Each of them has a story, and each story has an ending which hasn't yet been written.]]> 290 Sarah Addison Allen 1250019869 Erin 0 to-read 4.00 2022 Other Birds
author: Sarah Addison Allen
name: Erin
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Cemetery of Untold Stories]]> 195820829 Ěý
Alma Cruz, the celebrated writer at the heart of The Cemetery of Untold Stories , doesn’t want to end up like her friend, a novelist who fought so long and hard to finish a book that it threatened her sanity. So when Alma inherits a small plot of land in the Dominican Republic, her homeland, she has the beautiful idea of turning it into a place to bury her untold stories—literally. She creates a graveyard for the manuscript drafts and revisions, and the characters whose lives she tried and failed to bring to life and who still haunt her.
Ěý
Alma wants her characters to rest in peace. But they have other ideas, and the cemetery becomes a mysterious sanctuary for their true narratives. Filomena, a local woman hired as the groundskeeper, becomes a sympathetic listener as Alma’s characters unspool their secret tales. Among them: Bienvenida, the abandoned second wife of dictator Rafael Trujillo, consigned to oblivion by history, and Manuel Cruz, a doctor who fought in the Dominican underground and escaped to the United States.
Ěý
The characters defy their author: they talk back to her and talk to one another behind her back, rewriting and revising themselves. The Cemetery of Untold Stories asks: Whose stories get to be told, and whose buried? Finally, Alma finds the meaning she and her characters yearn for in the everlasting vitality of stories.
Ěý
Readers of Isabel Allende’s Violeta and Barbara Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead will devour Alvarez’s extraordinary new novel about beauty and authenticity that reminds us the stories of our lives are never truly finished, even at the end.]]> 243 Julia Alvarez 1643753843 Erin 3 latinx
In the Time of the Butterflies is one of those books that is dear to me, and one I revisit every few years or so, despite my big TBR pile. I've been a little afraid to read other books by her because I've been nervous I'll be disappointed when I don't feel that same magic. I took a chance on this one, as I have a huge soft spot for works where seasoned writers reflect on their craft and their artistic choices. It was a joy to step back into her writing and her discerning mind.

I like the big questions Alvarez was grappling with. Do historical figures deserve any degree of privacy in their story? Can you ever really know how much you are distorting them, based on the limited information you have, and do you have that right? How much borrowing from the lives of people in your sphere is justified in your craft? Who is it OK to hurt in the name of creating art? Whose stories get told? What obligation do authors have to the stories they could potentially tell, particularly when it means promoting greater understanding between cultures?

I also liked the dynamics between her characters, and the way these interactions help you understand who they are and what matters to them.

OK, so the stuff I didn't love. [spoilers removed]

Still, great to spend time inside the head of a brilliant literary mind. I wouldn't start here if you are new to Alvarez, but there are some good things going on here.]]> 3.64 2024 The Cemetery of Untold Stories
author: Julia Alvarez
name: Erin
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/08/20
date added: 2024/08/20
shelves: latinx
review:
3.5 stars, rounded down because there were elements of the ending I was unsatisfied with, and it left a bad taste in my mouth.

In the Time of the Butterflies is one of those books that is dear to me, and one I revisit every few years or so, despite my big TBR pile. I've been a little afraid to read other books by her because I've been nervous I'll be disappointed when I don't feel that same magic. I took a chance on this one, as I have a huge soft spot for works where seasoned writers reflect on their craft and their artistic choices. It was a joy to step back into her writing and her discerning mind.

I like the big questions Alvarez was grappling with. Do historical figures deserve any degree of privacy in their story? Can you ever really know how much you are distorting them, based on the limited information you have, and do you have that right? How much borrowing from the lives of people in your sphere is justified in your craft? Who is it OK to hurt in the name of creating art? Whose stories get told? What obligation do authors have to the stories they could potentially tell, particularly when it means promoting greater understanding between cultures?

I also liked the dynamics between her characters, and the way these interactions help you understand who they are and what matters to them.

OK, so the stuff I didn't love. [spoilers removed]

Still, great to spend time inside the head of a brilliant literary mind. I wouldn't start here if you are new to Alvarez, but there are some good things going on here.
]]> <![CDATA[I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life]]> 38502471
I'd Rather Be Reading is the perfect literary companion for everyone who feels that way. In this collection of charming and relatable reflections on the reading life, beloved blogger and author Anne Bogel leads readers to remember the book that first hooked them, the place where they first fell in love with reading, and all of the moments afterward that helped make them the reader they are today. Known as a reading tastemaker through her popular podcast What Should I Read Next?, Bogel invites book lovers into a community of like-minded people to discover new ways to approach literature, learn fascinating new things about books and publishing, and reflect on the role reading plays in their lives.

The perfect gift for the bibliophile in everyone's life, I'd Rather Be Reading will command an honored place on the overstuffed bookshelves of any book lover.]]> 156 Anne Bogel 0801072921 Erin 4 nonfiction 4.02 2018 I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life
author: Anne Bogel
name: Erin
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/16
date added: 2024/08/16
shelves: nonfiction
review:
A charming collection of essays about the joys and quirks of life as a reader.
]]> Listen for the Lie 127279000 What if you thought you murdered your best friend? And if everyone else thought so too? And what if the truth doesn't matter?

Lucy and Savvy were the golden girls of their small Texas town: pretty, smart, and enviable. Lucy married a dream guy with a big ring and an even bigger new home. Savvy was the social butterfly loved by all and, if you believe the rumors, especially popular with the men in town. But after Lucy is found wandering the streets, covered in her best friend Savvy’s blood, everyone thinks she is a murderer.

It’s been years since that horrible night, a night Lucy can’t remember anything about, and she has since moved to LA and started a new life. But now the phenomenally huge hit true crime podcast Listen for the Lie and its too-good looking host, Ben Owens, have decided to investigate Savvy’s murder for the show’s second season. Lucy is forced to return to the place she vowed never to set foot in again to solve her friend’s murder, even if she is the one who did it.

The truth is out there, if we just listen.]]> 352 Amy Tintera 1250880319 Erin 2 audiobooks
Also, the audio production was beautifully performed. I think I would have abandoned the book if the voice actors weren’t so great. Lots of swearing, though, for those of you that watch for that, & definitely some bits I fast forwarded.]]> 4.07 2024 Listen for the Lie
author: Amy Tintera
name: Erin
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2024
rating: 2
read at: 2024/08/12
date added: 2024/08/12
shelves: audiobooks
review:
Don’t take my rating too seriously, since I’m just not into murder mysteries. There’s something voyeuristic about them that makes me feel like a creep for reading them. I finished it, so that speaks well for it. I thought it was predictable, but I thought Lucy was a great antihero I was rooting for. And the sassy grandma was awesome.

Also, the audio production was beautifully performed. I think I would have abandoned the book if the voice actors weren’t so great. Lots of swearing, though, for those of you that watch for that, & definitely some bits I fast forwarded.
]]> Bettyville: A Memoir 22571772
As these two unforgettable characters try to bring their different worlds together, Hodgman reveals the challenges of Betty’s life and his own struggle for self-respect, moving readers from their small town—crumbling but still colorful—to the star-studded corridors of Vanity Fair. Evocative of The End of Your Life Book Club and The Tender Bar, Hodgman’s New York Times bestselling debut is both an indelible portrait of a family and an exquisitely told tale of a prodigal son’s return.]]> 279 George Hodgman 0525427201 Erin 4 nonfiction, memoir 3.68 2015 Bettyville: A Memoir
author: George Hodgman
name: Erin
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/18
date added: 2024/08/05
shelves: nonfiction, memoir
review:
Hodgman is excellent at his craft - he knows exactly when to flip the switches between nostalgia, mourning, humor, introspection, zaniness, all of it. Yes, it is a memoir of caring for an aging mother, but it is also a thoughtful reflection on our complicated relationship to home and the people that make it up. I think he was at his most powerful when he was capturing the ways you can love your family so fiercely, yet keep essential parts of yourself hidden or undiscussed because of your fear of disappointing each other and driving each other away. The picture he draws of his mother is nuanced and bighearted.
]]> Apples Never Fall 56143578 #1 New York Times Bestseller
A Peacock Original TV Series–Streaming Soon

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Liane Moriarty comes a novel that looks at marriage, siblings, and how the people we love the most can hurt us the deepest

The Delaney family love one another dearly—it’s just that sometimes they want to murder each other . . .

If your mother was missing, would you tell the police? Even if the most obvious suspect was your father?

This is the dilemma facing the four grown Delaney siblings.

The Delaneys are fixtures in their community. The parents, Stan and Joy, are the envy of all of their friends. They’re killers on the tennis court, and off it their chemistry is palpable. But after fifty years of marriage, they’ve finally sold their famed tennis academy and are ready to start what should be the golden years of their lives. So why are Stan and Joy so miserable?

The four Delaney children—Amy, Logan, Troy, and Brooke—were tennis stars in their own right, yet as their father will tell you, none of them had what it took to go all the way. But that’s okay, now that they’re all successful grown-ups and there is the wonderful possibility of grandchildren on the horizon.

One night a stranger named Savannah knocks on Stan and Joy’s door, bleeding after a fight with her boyfriend. The Delaneys are more than happy to give her the small kindness she sorely needs. If only that was all she wanted.

Later, when Joy goes missing, and Savannah is nowhere to be found, the police question the one person who remains: Stan. But for someone who claims to be innocent, he, like many spouses, seems to have a lot to hide. Two of the Delaney children think their father is innocent, two are not so sure—but as the two sides square off against each other in perhaps their biggest match ever, all of the Delaneys will start to reexamine their shared family history in a very new light.]]> 467 Liane Moriarty 1250220254 Erin 2 audiobooks
I really loved Moriarty's What Alice Forget, and this had some similar themes - those complicated feelings of looking back at your life choices and seeing how everything is so much messier, more beautiful, and more soul crushing than you could have imagined when you made them; and then the ways we try to find other people to fill those holes in ourselves from those disappointments and losses, and the complications that come from making those choices. There are a billion books out there about how someone's spouse failed to give them the life they'd hoped for, so they go have an affair. I'm very, very bored with that genre. I liked how these women had turned to platonic relationships with other women and communities of women that put them in destructive and problematic places, and then Moriarty asks these juicy, unanswerable questions about when you cross that line from a great friendship into depending on that relationship in ways that are harmful to you.

I was really into this book when it explored Joy's experience of looking back at the sacrifices she had made in her marriage and motherhood, but it was buried under an enormous cast of characters and their own problems. By trying to include so many of their inner lives, she just kind of skimmed the surface of a dozen or so issues without really having anything interesting to say about any of them. I didn't care about the mystery. People did ridiculous things that only served to advance the plot. The dialogue wasn't nearly as witty and enjoyable as in other books of hers I've read. At the end of the day, it was just boring. I didn't care what happened to any character besides Joy, and I just didn't see how she emotionally got from where she started to where she ended the novel. Her editor really needed to ask her to trim and focus this novel - it could have been excellent.]]> 3.69 2021 Apples Never Fall
author: Liane Moriarty
name: Erin
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2021
rating: 2
read at: 2024/08/03
date added: 2024/08/03
shelves: audiobooks
review:
2.5 stars. Well, that was a bloated disappointment. It is a shame, because there was actually a really great novel in there. I normally DNF & don't review books that I can tell aren't going to be 3 stars or higher for me, since life is short and who really needs to rage read when there are so many amazing books out there? Most of my 2 star books on here are books that I finish because I can see a shimmer of something worthwhile in, but it didn't quite make it in the end.

I really loved Moriarty's What Alice Forget, and this had some similar themes - those complicated feelings of looking back at your life choices and seeing how everything is so much messier, more beautiful, and more soul crushing than you could have imagined when you made them; and then the ways we try to find other people to fill those holes in ourselves from those disappointments and losses, and the complications that come from making those choices. There are a billion books out there about how someone's spouse failed to give them the life they'd hoped for, so they go have an affair. I'm very, very bored with that genre. I liked how these women had turned to platonic relationships with other women and communities of women that put them in destructive and problematic places, and then Moriarty asks these juicy, unanswerable questions about when you cross that line from a great friendship into depending on that relationship in ways that are harmful to you.

I was really into this book when it explored Joy's experience of looking back at the sacrifices she had made in her marriage and motherhood, but it was buried under an enormous cast of characters and their own problems. By trying to include so many of their inner lives, she just kind of skimmed the surface of a dozen or so issues without really having anything interesting to say about any of them. I didn't care about the mystery. People did ridiculous things that only served to advance the plot. The dialogue wasn't nearly as witty and enjoyable as in other books of hers I've read. At the end of the day, it was just boring. I didn't care what happened to any character besides Joy, and I just didn't see how she emotionally got from where she started to where she ended the novel. Her editor really needed to ask her to trim and focus this novel - it could have been excellent.
]]> The Spirit of Revelation 58898588
”The roles of both the mind and the heart in personal revelation are crucial,� writes Elder David A. Bednar, “and no simple formulas or recommended action steps can guide us through this rigorous spiritual process. Indeed, this book is not an attempt to define how revelation works. Rather, it is a witness and a testimony that revelation does work―and in a multitude and variety of ways.�

In this landmark book, Elder Bednar outlines several principles of revelation, then provides a host of examples in which we can observe these principles in action for ourselves. As we come to recognize the role of revelation in our lives, we can move forward in confidence that the Lord is guiding our steps. As Elder Bednar writes, “If we are striving to be and become good―not perfect right now, but gradually getting better, . . .then indeed we can have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. We are not â€preparing to receive revelationâ€�; we are â€living in revelation.’”]]> 154 David A. Bednar 1629729485 Erin 4 mormon, nonfiction
:) I'm several book reviews behind, so I'm banging this one out quickly, but I would definitely recommend it to people that are interested in learning more about how revelation works in their life. ]]> 4.74 The Spirit of Revelation
author: David A. Bednar
name: Erin
average rating: 4.74
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/01
date added: 2024/07/22
shelves: mormon, nonfiction
review:
I definitely see his background as an educator coming out in this one. The workbook-esque structure that first teaches some general principles of revelation, and then asks readers to see which principles are at play in real life stories of himself and his family, was highly effective.

:) I'm several book reviews behind, so I'm banging this one out quickly, but I would definitely recommend it to people that are interested in learning more about how revelation works in their life.
]]> 84, Charing Cross Road 368916
[text from the back cover of the book]]]> 106 Helene Hanff Erin 3 nonfiction, memoir 4.17 1970 84, Charing Cross Road
author: Helene Hanff
name: Erin
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1970
rating: 3
read at: 2024/07/22
date added: 2024/07/22
shelves: nonfiction, memoir
review:
A charming slice of life for book enthusiasts and letter writers.
]]> <![CDATA[The Anatomy of Peace: Resolving the Heart of Conflict]]> 25480369
Like Leadership and Self-Deception, The Arbinger Institute's first book, The Anatomy of Peace has become a worldwide phenomenon—not because of a media blitz, movie tie-in, or celebrity endorsement, but because readers have enthusiastically recommended it to colleagues, relatives, and friends.

The Anatomy of Peace asks, What if conflicts at home, conflicts at work, and conflicts in the world stem from the same root cause? What if we systematically misunderstand that cause? And what if, as a result, we unwittingly perpetuate the very problems we think we are trying to solve?

Through an intriguing story we learn how and why we contribute to the divisions and problems we blame on others and the surprising way that these problems can be solved. Yusuf al-Falah, an Arab, and Avi Rozen, a Jew, each lost his father at the hands of the other's ethnic cousins. The Anatomy of Peace is the story of how they came together, how they help warring parents and children come together, and how we too can find our way out of the struggles that weigh us down.

This second edition includes new sections enabling readers to go deeper into the book's key concepts; access to free digital study and discussion guides; and information about The Reconciliation Project, a highly successful global peace initiative based on concepts in The Anatomy of Peace.]]> 288 Arbinger Institute 1626564310 Erin 4 nonfiction
This one reminded me a lot of Warner's The Bonds that Make Us Free, an imperfect book that completely changed my relationships with others for the better when I read it a decade ago, so I wasn't surprised when I learned that Warner founded the Arbinger Institute. The writing method was much stronger in the earlier book, but I will say that Anatomy of Peace fixed the elements in the previous book that would have been problematic in abusive relationships, so I can't say which one would be better to recommend.

I hard core recommend the ideas about cyclical conflict, though. It was truly revelatory to look at my life and realize the high percentage of conflict in my life that was based on (or at least exacerbated by) my responses to them. It has been too long ago for me to remember what was the book itself and what were ideas I built off it, but I've learned that when I feel wronged or angry with someone to ask myself WHY whatever the situation was touched a nerve with me. For me, it was usually that I felt defensive, inadequate, or that I had betrayed myself or my boundaries; in other words, usually my anger had more to do with how I felt about myself and my choices than it did about the other person. I had to learn how to be true to myself and my needs, and then learn how to see the people in my life through a more humanizing lens when I did move into situations where conflict needed to be resolved.

I read Warner's book when my kids were very little, so it was really good to review these ideas now that I have older kids. I'd actually picked this up because my community (like many of yours) has been growing more polarized and angry, and I'm rolling ideas around my brain about who I want to be in this new dynamic, but reading this made me take a hard look at my parenting and realize the conflict cycles I had fallen into with one of my kids. I could literally plug it into all the diagrams and see the way we had been feeding off each other, so I'm doing the work to break those cycles, and I'm very grateful to the book for that. It was also really good to have the reminder that my actions with others are never going to be helpful if I'm not making them from the right emotional place. Thought provoking. ]]> 4.13 2015 The Anatomy of Peace: Resolving the Heart of Conflict
author: Arbinger Institute
name: Erin
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/01
date added: 2024/07/04
shelves: nonfiction
review:
3.5 stars. OK, it needs to be said that the writing style of this one is obnoxious. I'm not into Socratic dialogues, though. If they don't bother you, you'll feel fine here, but the first 50 pages were rough going for me.

This one reminded me a lot of Warner's The Bonds that Make Us Free, an imperfect book that completely changed my relationships with others for the better when I read it a decade ago, so I wasn't surprised when I learned that Warner founded the Arbinger Institute. The writing method was much stronger in the earlier book, but I will say that Anatomy of Peace fixed the elements in the previous book that would have been problematic in abusive relationships, so I can't say which one would be better to recommend.

I hard core recommend the ideas about cyclical conflict, though. It was truly revelatory to look at my life and realize the high percentage of conflict in my life that was based on (or at least exacerbated by) my responses to them. It has been too long ago for me to remember what was the book itself and what were ideas I built off it, but I've learned that when I feel wronged or angry with someone to ask myself WHY whatever the situation was touched a nerve with me. For me, it was usually that I felt defensive, inadequate, or that I had betrayed myself or my boundaries; in other words, usually my anger had more to do with how I felt about myself and my choices than it did about the other person. I had to learn how to be true to myself and my needs, and then learn how to see the people in my life through a more humanizing lens when I did move into situations where conflict needed to be resolved.

I read Warner's book when my kids were very little, so it was really good to review these ideas now that I have older kids. I'd actually picked this up because my community (like many of yours) has been growing more polarized and angry, and I'm rolling ideas around my brain about who I want to be in this new dynamic, but reading this made me take a hard look at my parenting and realize the conflict cycles I had fallen into with one of my kids. I could literally plug it into all the diagrams and see the way we had been feeding off each other, so I'm doing the work to break those cycles, and I'm very grateful to the book for that. It was also really good to have the reminder that my actions with others are never going to be helpful if I'm not making them from the right emotional place. Thought provoking.
]]> <![CDATA[That Can Be Arranged: A Muslim Love Story]]> 51200095 Yes, I'm Hot in This, Huda Fahmy tells the hilarious story of how she met and married her husband. Navigating mismatched suitors, gossiping aunties, and societal expectations for Muslim women, That Can Be Arranged deftly and hilariously reveals to readers what it can be like to find a husband as an observant Muslim woman in the twenty-first century.

So relevant in today's evolving cultural climate, Fahmy's story offers a perceptive and personal glimpse into the sometimes sticky but ultimately rewarding balance of independent choice and tradition.]]> 192 Huda Fahmy 1524856223 Erin 4 memoir, graphic-novels 4.20 2020 That Can Be Arranged: A Muslim Love Story
author: Huda Fahmy
name: Erin
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/23
date added: 2024/06/23
shelves: memoir, graphic-novels
review:
This graphic memoir of Fahmy's experiences in traditional Muslim courtship was warm, honest, and very funny. I've enjoyed all her books, and hope she keeps them coming.
]]> <![CDATA[Seeking Persephone (The Lancaster Family, #1)]]> 57832325
Lodged deep in a thick forest infested with wild dogs, the Duke’s castle is as cold and forbidding as the Duke himself, a man with terrible scars on his body and his soul. But the Duke’s steely determination to protect his heart at all costs is challenged by his growing attachment to his lovely and gentle bride.

With caring persistence, Persephone attempts to pierce the Duke’s armor and reach the man beneath. Yet he cannot tolerate such exposure, and his repeated rejections take their toll.

But when grave danger arises, the Duke realizes he must face the risk of revealing his true feelings or lose the woman he cannot live without.

A regency romance novel you won't want to put down.]]> 288 Sarah M. Eden 1608617963 Erin 2 historical-fiction
This one didn't work for me. Despite my love of Disney's Beauty and the Beast when I was young (he gave her BOOKS!), I just can't get into books that use that trope. I'm just too sensitive to the way abused partners try to take on the blame for their partner's behavior that it just rubbed me the wrong way that Persephone was basically walking around trying to force herself into the right shape for an angry and cold man to show her basic human decency. Her responses were completely understandable given her circumstances, and it is understandable why Adam would have such trust issues, but I can't say I was rooting for them.

That said, I did appreciate that in a genre that frequently ends in a proposal, this one was more of a story of how to make a marriage between very imperfect people work. Love and marriage involve compromise, understanding, forgiveness, vulnerability, communication, self-reflection, boundaries, and work, and I appreciate that Eden was trying to capture the way relationships need these things to thrive.]]> 4.20 2008 Seeking Persephone (The Lancaster Family, #1)
author: Sarah M. Eden
name: Erin
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2008
rating: 2
read at: 2024/06/22
date added: 2024/06/22
shelves: historical-fiction
review:
Regency isn't for me, so don't take my rating too seriously.

This one didn't work for me. Despite my love of Disney's Beauty and the Beast when I was young (he gave her BOOKS!), I just can't get into books that use that trope. I'm just too sensitive to the way abused partners try to take on the blame for their partner's behavior that it just rubbed me the wrong way that Persephone was basically walking around trying to force herself into the right shape for an angry and cold man to show her basic human decency. Her responses were completely understandable given her circumstances, and it is understandable why Adam would have such trust issues, but I can't say I was rooting for them.

That said, I did appreciate that in a genre that frequently ends in a proposal, this one was more of a story of how to make a marriage between very imperfect people work. Love and marriage involve compromise, understanding, forgiveness, vulnerability, communication, self-reflection, boundaries, and work, and I appreciate that Eden was trying to capture the way relationships need these things to thrive.
]]> <![CDATA[The Gilded Wolves (The Gilded Wolves, #1)]]> 39863498 From New York Times bestselling author Roshani Chokshi comes a novel set in Paris during a time of extraordinary change--one that is full of mystery, decadence, and dangerous desires...

It's 1889. The city is on the cusp of industry and power, and the Exposition Universelle has breathed new life into the streets and dredged up ancient secrets. Here, no one keeps tabs on dark truths better than treasure-hunter and wealthy hotelier SĂ©verin Montagnet-Alarie. When the elite, ever-powerful Order of Babel coerces him to help them on a mission, SĂ©verin is offered a treasure that he never imagined: his true inheritance.

To hunt down the ancient artifact the Order seeks, SĂ©verin calls upon a band of unlikely experts: An engineer with a debt to pay. A historian banished from his home. A dancer with a sinister past. And a brother in arms if not blood.

Together, they will join SĂ©verin as he explores the dark, glittering heart of Paris. What they find might change the course of history--but only if they can stay alive.]]> 388 Roshani Chokshi 125014454X Erin 0 to-read 3.71 2019 The Gilded Wolves (The Gilded Wolves, #1)
author: Roshani Chokshi
name: Erin
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Monsters We Defy 60376516
In the summer of 1925, along Washington, DC’s “Black Broadway�, a malevolent entity has begun preying on Negro residents. Twenty-three-year-old Clara Johnson is determined to discover what’s going on in her community. Using her natural ability to talk with spirits, she begins to investigate, but a powerful spirit tasks her with a difficult quest: steal an ancient, magical ring from the finger of a wealthy socialite.

When Clara meets Israel Lee, a supernaturally enhanced jazz musician also vying for the ring, the two decide to work together. They put together an unlikely team including a former circus freak, a pickpocketing Pullman Porter, and an aging vaudeville actor to pull off an impossible heist.

But a dangerous spirit interferes at every turn and conflict in the spirit world is leaking out into the human world. With different agendas, even if Clara and Israel pull off the heist, only one of them can truly win.]]> 349 Leslye Penelope 031637802X Erin 4
Also, just going to pat myself on the back because this is my 1,000th book I've reviewed here! I love the way this place exposes me to books I wouldn't have otherwise found and provides a place where I can look back at what I've read and how the ideas I found there shaped me. ]]> 4.11 2022 The Monsters We Defy
author: Leslye Penelope
name: Erin
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/20
date added: 2024/06/21
shelves: historical-fiction, fantasy, africanamerican
review:
4.5 stars, might come back and round this up. Time to add black historical fantasy heist novels to my list of genres I love, because this was a blast. I adored the 1920 DC black renaissance setting (I mean, Harlem is great, but we had interesting stuff happening over here too), enjoyed the world building based on African folk magic and mythology, appreciated the questions it explored, and yes, heists are just plain fun. Heck, I even liked the romance, and I'm not a romance girl. I cared about the cast of characters, and especially loved how Penelope took the real Clara Johnson's story and used it as a springboard to craft something true to Johnson but uniquely her own.

Also, just going to pat myself on the back because this is my 1,000th book I've reviewed here! I love the way this place exposes me to books I wouldn't have otherwise found and provides a place where I can look back at what I've read and how the ideas I found there shaped me.
]]> <![CDATA[The Injustice of Place: Uncovering the Legacy of Poverty in America]]> 75816949 352 Kathryn J. Edin 0063239493 Erin 4 nonfiction, audiobooks
Note: this review is scattered, but I don't have time to clean it up, and I don't want too much time to pass between finishing and reviewing.

I'll definitely be thinking about this deep dive into rural poverty for a long time. I have a relative that grew up in the Pee Dee region that is discussed in this book, and it definitely provides some context for how they move through the world.

My moderate heart is always on the lookout for books that tackle heavy issues in ways that could appeal to both sides of the aisle, and this one comes pretty close (though it does skew left a bit, as many books about poverty do). When poverty based on systemic racism comes up in discussions, I frequently hear the comment, "it is a class issue, not a race issue," and I think the way this book zooms in on places of entrenched poverty in various ethnic backgrounds (Latinx in South Texas, white in Appalachia, primarily black in regions of the South) could be a way to start the conversation from that point and then move forward. The book does a good job of showing what these groups have in common (areas with a history of exploitation of workers to maximize profits from once resource-rich areas, highly corrupt government, unscrupulous providers of various forms of addictive substances), but also shows what different challenges these groups face based on their race. It feels like a book that can still acknowledge the influence of class in America, while also providing context for the historical forces that shape the present of people in our country. Also, the author is not afraid to call a spade a spade when politicians on both sides of the aisle enact policies that make life harder for people in areas of entrenched poverty.

All in all, I think looking at places of entrenched poverty, rather than specifically on impoverished individuals themselves, provides a productive framework. I especially appreciated the focus on deep disadvantage, rather than strictly income-related metrics. The other factors they measure when determining disadvantage, such as life expectancy, low birth rate, teen pregnancy, access to healthcare and social services, potential for upward mobility, labor force participation rates, etc, provide a more robust picture of poverty in America. I also think their framework of talking about these regions having been created as internal colonies within the US gives readers a different perspective on these places. I definitely recommend this one.]]> 4.15 2023 The Injustice of Place: Uncovering the Legacy of Poverty in America
author: Kathryn J. Edin
name: Erin
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/03/31
date added: 2024/06/21
shelves: nonfiction, audiobooks
review:
Hmm, apparently I never posted this. Glad goodreads saved my draft.

Note: this review is scattered, but I don't have time to clean it up, and I don't want too much time to pass between finishing and reviewing.

I'll definitely be thinking about this deep dive into rural poverty for a long time. I have a relative that grew up in the Pee Dee region that is discussed in this book, and it definitely provides some context for how they move through the world.

My moderate heart is always on the lookout for books that tackle heavy issues in ways that could appeal to both sides of the aisle, and this one comes pretty close (though it does skew left a bit, as many books about poverty do). When poverty based on systemic racism comes up in discussions, I frequently hear the comment, "it is a class issue, not a race issue," and I think the way this book zooms in on places of entrenched poverty in various ethnic backgrounds (Latinx in South Texas, white in Appalachia, primarily black in regions of the South) could be a way to start the conversation from that point and then move forward. The book does a good job of showing what these groups have in common (areas with a history of exploitation of workers to maximize profits from once resource-rich areas, highly corrupt government, unscrupulous providers of various forms of addictive substances), but also shows what different challenges these groups face based on their race. It feels like a book that can still acknowledge the influence of class in America, while also providing context for the historical forces that shape the present of people in our country. Also, the author is not afraid to call a spade a spade when politicians on both sides of the aisle enact policies that make life harder for people in areas of entrenched poverty.

All in all, I think looking at places of entrenched poverty, rather than specifically on impoverished individuals themselves, provides a productive framework. I especially appreciated the focus on deep disadvantage, rather than strictly income-related metrics. The other factors they measure when determining disadvantage, such as life expectancy, low birth rate, teen pregnancy, access to healthcare and social services, potential for upward mobility, labor force participation rates, etc, provide a more robust picture of poverty in America. I also think their framework of talking about these regions having been created as internal colonies within the US gives readers a different perspective on these places. I definitely recommend this one.
]]> Daughter of the Merciful Deep 199343573 A woman journeys into a submerged world of gods and myth to save her home in this powerful historical fantasy that shines a light on the drowned Black towns of the American South.

“Our home began, as all things do, with a wish.�

Jane Edwards hasn’t spoken since she was eleven years old, when armed riders expelled her family from their hometown along with every other Black resident. Now, twelve years later, she’s found a haven in the all-Black town of Awenasa. But the construction of a dam promises to wash her home under the waters of the new lake.

Jane will do anything to save the community that sheltered her. So, when a man with uncanny abilities arrives in town asking strange questions, she wonders if he might be the key. But as the stranger hints at gods and ancestral magic, Jane is captivated by a bigger mystery. She knows this man. Only the last time she saw him, he was dead. His body laid to rest in a rushing river.

Who is the stranger and what is he really doing in Awenasa? To find those answers, Jane will journey into a sunken world, a land of capricious gods and unsung myths, of salvation and dreams made real. But the flood waters are rising. To gain the miracle she desires, Jane will have to find her voice again and finally face the trauma of the past.

For more from Leslye Penelope, check out The Monsters We Defy.]]> 398 Leslye Penelope 0316378224 Erin 0 to-read 3.99 2024 Daughter of the Merciful Deep
author: Leslye Penelope
name: Erin
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Invisible Man 758728
He describes growing up in a Black community in the South, attending a Negro college from which he is expelled, moving to New York and becoming the chief spokesman of the Harlem branch of "the Brotherhood," before retreating amid violence and confusion.

Originally published in 1952 as the first novel by a then unknown author, it remained on the bestseller list for sixteen weeks and established Ralph Ellison as one of the key writers of the century.ĚýThe book is a passionate and witty tour de force of style, strongly influenced by T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land , James Joyce, and Dostoevsky.]]> 608 Ralph Ellison 0679601392 Erin 5 africanamerican, classics
I'm a sucker for books that grapple with questions about the uneasy tensions that occur when you tie yourself to an ideological movement. It offers purpose, identity, results, and so much more potential to improve the world around you, but pouring your soul into something that you can influence but not control is terrifying because you can't ultimately control the outcome of the movement, and the movement's greater good will not hesitate to discard you or crush you when your own identity and needs get in the way. It was heartbreaking to watch the narrator repeatedly try to pour himself into the many and competing movements for making life better for black people in America and get discarded and crushed time and time again. It is absolutely an indictment of society's inability to offer black Americans any viable path to live an authentic and full life, and highlights the way we all fail to understand ourselves and those around us when we only look at each other through the lens of the worldview we subscribe to. His exploration of the concept of invisible was spot on.

This book is savage - no one is spared from getting their hypocrisy called out, liberal or conservative, black or white, male or female, powerful or weak, blatantly racist or white savior. Ellison's voice is memorable, eloquent, and darkly hilarious. This one will stay with me for a long time.]]> 4.21 1952 Invisible Man
author: Ralph Ellison
name: Erin
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1952
rating: 5
read at: 2024/05/15
date added: 2024/06/15
shelves: africanamerican, classics
review:
4.5 stars. I am kicking myself because I finished this one a month ago but neglected to write a review while it was fresh in my mind, but this book is brilliant and deserves to be talked up.

I'm a sucker for books that grapple with questions about the uneasy tensions that occur when you tie yourself to an ideological movement. It offers purpose, identity, results, and so much more potential to improve the world around you, but pouring your soul into something that you can influence but not control is terrifying because you can't ultimately control the outcome of the movement, and the movement's greater good will not hesitate to discard you or crush you when your own identity and needs get in the way. It was heartbreaking to watch the narrator repeatedly try to pour himself into the many and competing movements for making life better for black people in America and get discarded and crushed time and time again. It is absolutely an indictment of society's inability to offer black Americans any viable path to live an authentic and full life, and highlights the way we all fail to understand ourselves and those around us when we only look at each other through the lens of the worldview we subscribe to. His exploration of the concept of invisible was spot on.

This book is savage - no one is spared from getting their hypocrisy called out, liberal or conservative, black or white, male or female, powerful or weak, blatantly racist or white savior. Ellison's voice is memorable, eloquent, and darkly hilarious. This one will stay with me for a long time.
]]> The Song of the Lark 48214 The Song of the Lark charts the story of a young woman's awakening as an artist against the backdrop of the western landscape. Thea Kronborg, an aspiring singer, struggles to escape from the confines her small Colorado town to the world of possibility in the Metropolitan Opera House. In classic Cather style, The Song of the Lark is the beautiful, unforgettable story of American determination and its inextricable connection to the land.

"The time will come when she'll be ranked above Hemingway." -- Leon Edel]]> 417 Willa Cather 0395345308 Erin 3 classics
I always say my biggest tells that I'm a Nebraska native are my unabashed love of corn on the cob and Willa Cather. Something about Cather speaks to me. I love the quiet assurance and truth of her prose, the way different cultures and ideas bump into each other and speak volumes more about each group than they would have viewed separately, and the way the land is so deeply bound into the way her characters understand themselves and the world around them. This is my 7th of her books, and even though I've hit all her greats, I'm sure this won't be my last of her books.

This book is a tough sell if you aren't already drinking the Cather Kool-Aid like I am. It is 80 or so pages too long, Thea isn't exactly an endearing heroine, and tbh, the way adoring older men hovered around 12yo Thea was super creepy. Also, note that while she was quite progressive when it comes to race issues for a woman of her time, there are a few bits of this text that don't age well. Definitely don't start here if you're new to Cather.

However, if you already admire her, this absolutely worth a read. This book offers a deep understanding of what Cather hopes to accomplish through a creative life. While her heroine is a singer and Cather is a writer, the issues at play are the same. It was fascinating to watch her grapple with the consequences of living a life devoted solely to artistic excellence, the challenges of finding the right mentor, the compromises artists have to negotiate on a regular basis, her definitions of what artists are striving towards in their work, how an artist creates emotional depth in herself to be able to create, and what constitutes success in a creative life. It also has the rich characterization, gorgeous landscape writing, just-right turns of phrase, and cultural mixing that I come to Cather for.

I am glad I read it, but there were definitely chunks that felt like a slog, so I'm leaving it at 3. Also, check out the Breton painting the book is named after - I can see why it resonated with Cather. ]]> 3.88 1915 The Song of the Lark
author: Willa Cather
name: Erin
average rating: 3.88
book published: 1915
rating: 3
read at: 2024/06/15
date added: 2024/06/15
shelves: classics
review:
Yes, I am going back home to Omaha in a few weeks, how could you tell?

I always say my biggest tells that I'm a Nebraska native are my unabashed love of corn on the cob and Willa Cather. Something about Cather speaks to me. I love the quiet assurance and truth of her prose, the way different cultures and ideas bump into each other and speak volumes more about each group than they would have viewed separately, and the way the land is so deeply bound into the way her characters understand themselves and the world around them. This is my 7th of her books, and even though I've hit all her greats, I'm sure this won't be my last of her books.

This book is a tough sell if you aren't already drinking the Cather Kool-Aid like I am. It is 80 or so pages too long, Thea isn't exactly an endearing heroine, and tbh, the way adoring older men hovered around 12yo Thea was super creepy. Also, note that while she was quite progressive when it comes to race issues for a woman of her time, there are a few bits of this text that don't age well. Definitely don't start here if you're new to Cather.

However, if you already admire her, this absolutely worth a read. This book offers a deep understanding of what Cather hopes to accomplish through a creative life. While her heroine is a singer and Cather is a writer, the issues at play are the same. It was fascinating to watch her grapple with the consequences of living a life devoted solely to artistic excellence, the challenges of finding the right mentor, the compromises artists have to negotiate on a regular basis, her definitions of what artists are striving towards in their work, how an artist creates emotional depth in herself to be able to create, and what constitutes success in a creative life. It also has the rich characterization, gorgeous landscape writing, just-right turns of phrase, and cultural mixing that I come to Cather for.

I am glad I read it, but there were definitely chunks that felt like a slog, so I'm leaving it at 3. Also, check out the Breton painting the book is named after - I can see why it resonated with Cather.
]]> <![CDATA[Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America from the Culture of Contempt]]> 39893128 NOW A NATIONAL BESTSELLER!

To get ahead today, you have to be a jerk, right?

Divisive politicians. Screaming heads on television. Angry campus activists. Twitter trolls. Today in America, there is an “outrage industrial complexâ€� that prospers by setting American against American, creatingĚýa “culture of contempt”—the habit of seeing people who disagree with us not as merely incorrect, but as worthless and defective. Maybe, like more than nine out of ten Americans, you dislike it. But hey, either you play along, or you’ll be left behind, right?

Wrong.

In Love Your Enemies, theĚýNew York Times bestselling author and social scientist Arthur C. Brooks shows that abuse and outrage are notĚýthe rightĚýformula for lasting success. Brooks blends cutting-edge behavioral research, ancient wisdom, and a decade of experience of experience leading one of America’s top policy think tanks in a work thatĚýoffers a better way to lead basedĚýon bridging divides and mending relationships.

Brooks� prescriptions are unconventional. To bring America together, we shouldn’t try to agree more. There is no need for mushy moderation, because disagreement is the secret to excellence. Civility and tolerance shouldn’t be our goals, because they are hopelessly low standards. And our feelings toward our foes are irrelevant; what matters is how we choose to act.

Love Your Enemies offers a clear strategy for victory for a new generation of leaders. It is a rallying cry for people hoping for a new era of American progress. Most of all, it is a roadmap to arrive at the happiness that comes when we choose to love one another, despite our differences.

Ěý]]> 256 Arthur C. Brooks 0062883771 Erin 0 to-read 4.29 2019 Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America from the Culture of Contempt
author: Arthur C. Brooks
name: Erin
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/06/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Romney: A Reckoning 101025305 A remarkably illuminating biography of the political maverick, filled with revelations and written with his full cooperation by an award-winning writer at The Atlantic.

Authoritative, personal, and vividly written, Romney: A Reckoning is a revealing account of Mitt Romney’s life.

Based on dozens of exclusive interviews with Romney, his family, and his inner circle as well as hundreds of pages of his personal journals, this book offers a rare, portrait of a politician who in recent years has been at the center of our nation’s most defining political dramas.]]> 416 McKay Coppins 1982196238 Erin 4
I usually steer clear of writings by or about contemporary politicians because they always come with an agenda, but I picked this one up because I have deep respect for Coppins as a journalist. I trusted him to treat his subject with objectivity, and to write with the same razor-sharp focus and insightful perspective that I so often find in him. I was right on both counts.

Technically, this is a Romney bio, but I'd argue it is more of a deep dive into the culture shifts of American politics, and the GOP in particular. It is book where you watch the world change around Romney and see what it means to be his particular brand of politician over the years. As Coppins points out, he served in high office in all three branches of government, and went from his party's standard bearer to a pariah in a short matter of years. It matters to see what caused that change. Neither side of the aisle is spared, nor is the whole nature of political maneuvering, but it is especially indicting of the Trump era, as one would expect from the major Never Trump champion.

My inner pluralist celebrates the integrity of the subject and the author. ]]> 4.33 2023 Romney: A Reckoning
author: McKay Coppins
name: Erin
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/05/29
date added: 2024/06/06
shelves: mormon, nonfiction, audiobooks
review:
As one always has to do these days when discussing a political figure, here are my biases before my review. I didn't vote for him for president (we had some profound foreign policy differences), but I would have for MA governor or UT senator, where he wouldn't have been in a position to make those foreign policy moves. I think he is a capable executive, a consensus builder, and a man that lives by his principles, which are all traits I look for in a public figure before I look at their policy platform. :) You're allowed to disagree with me, and we can still be excellent friends.

I usually steer clear of writings by or about contemporary politicians because they always come with an agenda, but I picked this one up because I have deep respect for Coppins as a journalist. I trusted him to treat his subject with objectivity, and to write with the same razor-sharp focus and insightful perspective that I so often find in him. I was right on both counts.

Technically, this is a Romney bio, but I'd argue it is more of a deep dive into the culture shifts of American politics, and the GOP in particular. It is book where you watch the world change around Romney and see what it means to be his particular brand of politician over the years. As Coppins points out, he served in high office in all three branches of government, and went from his party's standard bearer to a pariah in a short matter of years. It matters to see what caused that change. Neither side of the aisle is spared, nor is the whole nature of political maneuvering, but it is especially indicting of the Trump era, as one would expect from the major Never Trump champion.

My inner pluralist celebrates the integrity of the subject and the author.
]]> <![CDATA[Beyond the Wand: The Magic & Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard]]> 61062194 From the magical moments on set as Draco Malfoy to the challenges of growing up in the spotlight, get a backstage pass into Tom Felton’s life on and off the big screen in this #1 New York Times bestseller.

Tom Felton’s adolescence was anything but ordinary. His early rise to fame in beloved films like The Borrowers catapulted him into the limelight, but nothing could prepare him for what was to come after he landed the iconic role of the Draco Malfoy, the bleached blonde villain of the Harry Potter movies. For the next ten years, he was at the center of a huge pop culture phenomenon and yet, in between filming, he would go back to being a normal teenager trying to fit into a normal school.

Speaking with great candor and his signature humor, Tom shares his experience growing up as part of the wizarding world while also trying to navigate the muggle world. He tells stories from his early days in the business like his first acting gig where he was mistaken for fellow blonde child actor Macaulay Culkin and his Harry Potter audition where, in a very Draco-like move, he fudged how well he knew the books the series was based on (not at all). He reflects on his experiences working with cinematic greats such as Alan Rickman, Sir Michael Gambon, Dame Maggie Smith, and Ralph Fiennes (including that awkward Voldemort hug). And, perhaps most poignantly, he discusses the lasting relationships he made over that decade of filming, including with Emma Watson, who started out as a pesky nine-year-old whom he mocked for not knowing what a boom mic was but who soon grew into one of his dearest friends. Then, of course, there are the highs and lows of fame and navigating life after such a momentous and life-changing experience.

Tom Felton’s Beyond the Wand is an entertaining, funny, and poignant must-read for any Harry Potter fan. Prepare to meet a real-life wizard.]]> 288 Tom Felton 1538741369 Erin 3 4.28 2022 Beyond the Wand: The Magic & Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard
author: Tom Felton
name: Erin
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2024/06/06
date added: 2024/06/06
shelves: audiobooks, memoir, nonfiction
review:
Just what I needed it to be - funny, nostalgic, & authentic. Audio narration was great.
]]> Shark Heart 62919375
At first, Wren internally resists her husband’s fate. Is there a way for them to be together after Lewis changes? Then, a glimpse of Lewis’s developing carnivorous nature activates long-repressed memories for Wren, whose story vacillates between her childhood living on a houseboat in Oklahoma, her time with her college ex-girlfriend, and her unusual friendship with a woman pregnant with twin birds.]]> 416 Emily Habeck 1668006499 Erin 5 fantasy
If I’m putting on my objective reviewer lenses, I’m rating this too high. There are pacing issues. There are plot elements that feel like they are there because the author wanted to make a statement, not because it is true to the novel itself. There is info the author withholds for dramatic effect that felt a bit manipulative.

But dang it, this is the right book for me at the right time.

This is a love story, but not a “How do they wind up together?� kind of love story. It is a “How on Earth are we brave enough to love another person and commit our lives to them and build a future with them when nothing is certain and everything can be taken from you in an instant?� kind of love story.

This book is written in a world where some people suffer from genetic mutations that gradually turn them into aggressive animals - birds of prey, carnivorous lizards, sharks, you get the idea. The sufferers watch everything that makes them who they are fall away piece by piece. Their loved ones watch them become something monstrous and foreign step by step, doing that dance of understanding that the people are going through something horrifying and physically painful and largely uncontrollable, but it doesn’t change the fact they are doing hurtful and terrifying things that impact you intensely. And in the end, you can’t stop the fact that you are going to lose that person.

I’ve been circling this earth enough decades now to get the metaphors. When you think about it, life is terrifying. You let people in your life, make these hard-to-detangle life commitments, & then the world happens. Your husband spends years battling cancer and lashes out, in his relentless physical pain and emotional trauma, against the people that love him most. Your child suffers mental illness that makes them aggressive and violent, and you fear for the safety of your other children. You suddenly lose your sister to a car crash. Your spouse sinks deeper and deeper into alcoholism. The variants are endless. Permanent commitments are utterly terrifying - there are no guarantees.

But dang, they can be so intensely beautiful. They can give everything meaning. They make everything richer, more vibrant, and more fulfilling. They teach you, build you, inspire you, stretch you, and fill you with so much joy you don’t understand how your body can possibly hold it all. And the only way to claim that dazzling beauty is to give it your whole heart, knowing nothing is certain.

This is a book that celebrates love, whether we’re talking found family, parenthood, or committed romantic love, despite its capacity to absolutely shatter you. It is a book about opening your heart again, knowing the destruction life is variable of. I loved this book.


]]> 3.96 2023 Shark Heart
author: Emily Habeck
name: Erin
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2024/05/19
date added: 2024/05/19
shelves: fantasy
review:
Ok, so apparently the way to get me enthusiastic about a love story is for it to involve one of the pair slowly turning into a great white shark. Yep, you read that right. Buckle your seat belts.

If I’m putting on my objective reviewer lenses, I’m rating this too high. There are pacing issues. There are plot elements that feel like they are there because the author wanted to make a statement, not because it is true to the novel itself. There is info the author withholds for dramatic effect that felt a bit manipulative.

But dang it, this is the right book for me at the right time.

This is a love story, but not a “How do they wind up together?� kind of love story. It is a “How on Earth are we brave enough to love another person and commit our lives to them and build a future with them when nothing is certain and everything can be taken from you in an instant?� kind of love story.

This book is written in a world where some people suffer from genetic mutations that gradually turn them into aggressive animals - birds of prey, carnivorous lizards, sharks, you get the idea. The sufferers watch everything that makes them who they are fall away piece by piece. Their loved ones watch them become something monstrous and foreign step by step, doing that dance of understanding that the people are going through something horrifying and physically painful and largely uncontrollable, but it doesn’t change the fact they are doing hurtful and terrifying things that impact you intensely. And in the end, you can’t stop the fact that you are going to lose that person.

I’ve been circling this earth enough decades now to get the metaphors. When you think about it, life is terrifying. You let people in your life, make these hard-to-detangle life commitments, & then the world happens. Your husband spends years battling cancer and lashes out, in his relentless physical pain and emotional trauma, against the people that love him most. Your child suffers mental illness that makes them aggressive and violent, and you fear for the safety of your other children. You suddenly lose your sister to a car crash. Your spouse sinks deeper and deeper into alcoholism. The variants are endless. Permanent commitments are utterly terrifying - there are no guarantees.

But dang, they can be so intensely beautiful. They can give everything meaning. They make everything richer, more vibrant, and more fulfilling. They teach you, build you, inspire you, stretch you, and fill you with so much joy you don’t understand how your body can possibly hold it all. And the only way to claim that dazzling beauty is to give it your whole heart, knowing nothing is certain.

This is a book that celebrates love, whether we’re talking found family, parenthood, or committed romantic love, despite its capacity to absolutely shatter you. It is a book about opening your heart again, knowing the destruction life is variable of. I loved this book.



]]> The Lost Bookshop 65137920 The Keeper of Stories meets The Lost Apothecary in this evocative and charming novel full of mystery and secrets.

â€The thing about books,â€� she said â€is that they help you to imagine a life bigger and better than you could ever dream of.â€�

On a quiet street in Dublin, a lost bookshop is waiting to be found�

For too long, Opaline, Martha and Henry have been the side characters in their own lives.

But when a vanishing bookshop casts its spell, these three unsuspecting strangers will discover that their own stories are every bit as extraordinary as the ones found in the pages of their beloved books. And by unlocking the secrets of the shelves, they find themselves transported to a world of wonder� where nothing is as it seems.]]> 432 Evie Woods 0008609209 Erin 3 4.04 2023 The Lost Bookshop
author: Evie Woods
name: Erin
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/05/19
date added: 2024/05/19
shelves: audiobooks, fantasy, historical-fiction
review:
3.5 stars. If you like romance, you can probably round it up. I’m not the right reader for it, so I did a lot of eye rolling and cringing. But I liked the magical elements, & the different European settings are fun to hang out in. Did it make me want to hang out in book stores (particularly magical ones) in Europe & cozy up with a good book? Absolutely.
]]> <![CDATA[All Creatures Great and Small (All Creatures Great and Small, #1-2)]]> 32085
Delve into the magical, unforgettable world of James Herriot, the world's most beloved veterinarian, and his menagerie of heartwarming, funny, and tragic animal patients.

For over forty years, generations of readers have thrilled to Herriot's marvelous tales, deep love of life, and extraordinary storytelling abilities. For decades, Herriot roamed the remote, beautiful Yorkshire Dales, treating every patient that came his way from smallest to largest, and observing animals and humans alike with his keen, loving eye.

In All Creatures Great and Small, we meet the young Herriot as he takes up his calling and discovers that the realities of veterinary practice in rural Yorkshire are very different from the sterile setting of veterinary school. Some visits are heart-wrenchingly difficult, such as one to an old man in the village whose very ill dog is his only friend and companion, some are lighthearted and fun, such as Herriot's periodic visits to the overfed and pampered Pekinese Tricki Woo who throws parties and has his own stationery, and yet others are inspirational and enlightening, such as Herriot's recollections of poor farmers who will scrape their meager earnings together to be able to get proper care for their working animals. From seeing to his patients in the depths of winter on the remotest homesteads to dealing with uncooperative owners and critically ill animals, Herriot discovers the wondrous variety and never-ending challenges of veterinary practice as his humor, compassion, and love of the animal world shine forth.

James Herriot's memoirs have sold 80 million copies worldwide, and continue to delight and entertain readers of all ages]]> 437 James Herriot 0312965788 Erin 4
I don't feel a need to keep going with the series, but this was pleasant to listen to while I drove here and there.]]> 4.30 1972 All Creatures Great and Small (All Creatures Great and Small, #1-2)
author: James Herriot
name: Erin
average rating: 4.30
book published: 1972
rating: 4
read at: 2024/05/02
date added: 2024/05/02
shelves: nonfiction, memoir, audiobooks
review:
3.5 stars. I'd written this one off because I am not an animal person, but my father and my stepfather-in-law both loved it, and their reading taste doesn't overlap much, so I decided to check it out. Yes, there are animals involved, but it is really a love letter to the Yorkshire Dales and their people. It is a charmingly told picture of a way of life with lots of heart and character.

I don't feel a need to keep going with the series, but this was pleasant to listen to while I drove here and there.
]]> <![CDATA[Peter and the Starcatchers (Peter and the Starcatchers, #1)]]> 34262 Peter Pan. Peter and the Starcatchers is brimming with richly developed characters, from the scary but somehow familiar Black Stache and ferocious Mister Grin to the sweet but sophisticated Molly and fearless Peter. Page after page of riveting adventures take readers of all ages on a voyage from a filthy, crime-ridden port in old England across the turbulent sea. Aboard the Neverland is a trunk that hold the “greatest treasure on earth� —but is it gold, jewels, or something far more mysterious and dangerous?

Roiling waves and raging storms; skullduggery and pirate treachery provide the backdrop for battles at sea. Bone-crushing breakers eventually land our characters on Mollusk Island—where the action really heats up.

This impossible-to-put-down tale leads readers on an unforgettable journey—fraught with danger yet filled with mystical and magical moments.]]> 452 Dave Barry 078684907X Erin 3 childrens, fantasy
It starts slow, and the audience seems a little inconsistent. For instance, this did not work as a family read aloud because there was adult humor that would easily go over the 6yo's head, but did not go over my middle schooler's head, if you catch my drift, so I switched to reading this on my own. Sometimes it seemed to be targeting kids, sometimes YA, sometimes adults, and it didn't quite catch any of the readers in my family perfectly.

Still, I appreciated the creativity in how Barry and Pearson weaved in different elements of the Peter Pan story, appreciated that it called out the original on its treatment of indigenous people, and I enjoyed the nostalgic feelings of reading Dave Barry's humor again.]]> 4.05 2004 Peter and the Starcatchers (Peter and the Starcatchers, #1)
author: Dave Barry
name: Erin
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2004
rating: 3
read at: 2024/04/21
date added: 2024/04/24
shelves: childrens, fantasy
review:
My parents loved Dave Barry, and I read a fair bit of his writing when I lived at home, so it was fun to step into his writing again.

It starts slow, and the audience seems a little inconsistent. For instance, this did not work as a family read aloud because there was adult humor that would easily go over the 6yo's head, but did not go over my middle schooler's head, if you catch my drift, so I switched to reading this on my own. Sometimes it seemed to be targeting kids, sometimes YA, sometimes adults, and it didn't quite catch any of the readers in my family perfectly.

Still, I appreciated the creativity in how Barry and Pearson weaved in different elements of the Peter Pan story, appreciated that it called out the original on its treatment of indigenous people, and I enjoyed the nostalgic feelings of reading Dave Barry's humor again.
]]> <![CDATA[Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians (Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians, #1)]]> 59025100
AN ANCIENT RIVALRY REAWAKENS.

Everything I'd known about the world was a lie.

On my thirteenth birthday, I, Alcatraz Smedry ( yes, I got named after a prison, don’t ask ) received my a bag of sand . And then I accidentally destroyed my foster parents� kitchen. It’s not my fault, things just break around me, I swear !

I thought the sand was a joke until evil Librarians came to steal it. You’re probably thinking, “Librarians are nice people who recommend good books,� but that’s just what they want you to think! It turns out they’re actually a secret cult keeping the truth from you―a hidden world filled with magical eyeglasses, talking dinosaurs, and knights with crystal swords!

Or so my Grandpa Smedry claimed when he suddenly showed up to rescue me. So now I have to go with him to invade the local library and get that sand back, before it's used to conquer the world. And Grandpa says how I keep breaking things is actually an amazing talent. There’s no way that can all be true, right?

Will I ever make it back home alive?

"An excellent choice to read aloud to the whole family. Funny, exciting, and briskly paced." ―NPR]]> 320 Brandon Sanderson 0765378957 Erin 4 3.94 2007 Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians (Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians, #1)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Erin
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 2024/04/13
date added: 2024/04/13
shelves: childrens, mormon, fantasy, audiobooks
review:
My kids are obsessed with this series and have been bugging me for years to read it, so I put on the audiobook while I drove them all the places. It is zany, ridiculous, meta fun.
]]> Leonard (My Life as a Cat) 54950866
The cat that Olive rescues from a flood has a secret: he’s not really a cat at all, but an alien who crashed to Earth on a beam of light. The cat, whom Olive names Leonard, was prepared to visit the planet as a human—but something went wrong. Now Leonard may never know what it’s like to hold an umbrella, go bowling, or host a dinner party. (And his human jokes still need some work: Knock, knock. Who’s there? Just Leonard. It is me.) While Olive worries about whether she will have to move after her mom and her new boyfriend get back from their summer vacation, Leonard tries to figure out how to get from South Carolina to Yellowstone National Park, because if he’s not there at the end of the month, he’ll miss his ride home. But as Olive teaches Leonard about the beautiful and confusing world of humans, he starts to realize how much he cares about this particular one. A sweet and dryly funny story about what it means to be human—and what it means to be home.]]> 240 Carlie Sorosiak 1536207705 Erin 4 childrens, science-fiction
I'd pitch this one as Matt Haig for middle grade - it is a gentle story, focused on celebrating what is beautiful and hard about the human experience. The author says that she pitched it to her family as a book about an alien cat. I think those two statements give you a pretty good sense of what this book is about. A hive-mind alien hopes to spend a month-long vacation on earth as a Yellowstone Park ranger, but something goes wrong, and it winds up as a cat in South Carolina, suddenly mortal and terrified of how it will make it to its pickup spot in Yellowstone without getting left behind forever. He is adopted by a socially awkward and loving 11 year old who is going through some stuff, and comes to understand just how terrifying and beautiful a mortal human life can be. It is witty and warm, a great found family story.]]> 4.29 2020 Leonard (My Life as a Cat)
author: Carlie Sorosiak
name: Erin
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2024/04/09
date added: 2024/04/10
shelves: childrens, science-fiction
review:
Let's go with four stars for the target audience. I realized I know a lot more about middle grade fantasy than science fiction, and I want to beef up a little bit in this genre. I grew upon ST:NG, after all.

I'd pitch this one as Matt Haig for middle grade - it is a gentle story, focused on celebrating what is beautiful and hard about the human experience. The author says that she pitched it to her family as a book about an alien cat. I think those two statements give you a pretty good sense of what this book is about. A hive-mind alien hopes to spend a month-long vacation on earth as a Yellowstone Park ranger, but something goes wrong, and it winds up as a cat in South Carolina, suddenly mortal and terrified of how it will make it to its pickup spot in Yellowstone without getting left behind forever. He is adopted by a socially awkward and loving 11 year old who is going through some stuff, and comes to understand just how terrifying and beautiful a mortal human life can be. It is witty and warm, a great found family story.
]]> <![CDATA[The Way Out: How to Overcome Toxic Polarization]]> 55716065
The Way Out offers an escape from this morass. The social psychologist Peter T. Coleman explores how conflict resolution and complexity science provide guidance for dealing with seemingly intractable political differences. Deploying the concept of attractors in dynamical systems, he explains why we are stuck in this rut as well as the unexpected ways that deeply rooted oppositions can and do change. Coleman meticulously details principles and practices for navigating and healing the difficult divides in our homes, workplaces, and communities, blending compelling personal accounts from his years of working on entrenched conflicts with lessons from leading-edge research. The Way Out is a vital and timely guide to breaking free from the cycle of mutual contempt in order to better our lives, relationships, and country.]]> 296 Peter T. Coleman 0231197403 Erin 0 to-read 3.68 2021 The Way Out: How to Overcome Toxic Polarization
author: Peter T. Coleman
name: Erin
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/04/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> In the Wild Light 44287012
But when Delaney manages to secure both of them full rides to an elite prep school in Connecticut, Cash will have to grapple with his need to protect and love Delaney, and his love for the grandparents who saved him and the town he would have to leave behind.

From the award-winning author of The Serpent King comes a beautiful examination of grief, found family, and young love.]]> 432 Jeff Zentner 1524720240 Erin 4 mormon, young-adult Looking for Alaska, as it has similar boarding school/grappling with big questions/interesting trivia vibes, but I daresay Zentner does it even better. I like its themes of found families, how you hold on to your roots while still growing, what is means to be there for someone and the power of believing in them, grief and how you carry it, overcoming trauma, learning courage, and really being present in what is good in your life. I cared about these characters, and Zentner's writing is gorgeous.

I'd heard good buzz for The Serpent King, but also knew some had criticized it for leaning too heavily on generic harsh stereotypes of Christians and Southerners. I have literally no idea if that was a fair criticism, since I haven't gotten to it, but I feel like Zentner addressed those concerns in this one. The types of belief and unbelief were varied, the crucial role of Appalachian mamaws and papaws was in full force, and Cash's hometown was allowed to be beautiful and brutal simultaneously. And I appreciated that, yes, Southerners were allowed to be ugly, but so were kids from all over the country and different levels of privilege. It felt like a more nuanced picture of the south than I had anticipated. And for the record, I've never lived in Appalachia, so I might have no idea what I'm talking about!

Note, plenty of language, for those that watch for that.]]> 4.44 2021 In the Wild Light
author: Jeff Zentner
name: Erin
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2024/04/02
date added: 2024/04/04
shelves: mormon, young-adult
review:
I'd definitely recommend this to people that like John Green's Looking for Alaska, as it has similar boarding school/grappling with big questions/interesting trivia vibes, but I daresay Zentner does it even better. I like its themes of found families, how you hold on to your roots while still growing, what is means to be there for someone and the power of believing in them, grief and how you carry it, overcoming trauma, learning courage, and really being present in what is good in your life. I cared about these characters, and Zentner's writing is gorgeous.

I'd heard good buzz for The Serpent King, but also knew some had criticized it for leaning too heavily on generic harsh stereotypes of Christians and Southerners. I have literally no idea if that was a fair criticism, since I haven't gotten to it, but I feel like Zentner addressed those concerns in this one. The types of belief and unbelief were varied, the crucial role of Appalachian mamaws and papaws was in full force, and Cash's hometown was allowed to be beautiful and brutal simultaneously. And I appreciated that, yes, Southerners were allowed to be ugly, but so were kids from all over the country and different levels of privilege. It felt like a more nuanced picture of the south than I had anticipated. And for the record, I've never lived in Appalachia, so I might have no idea what I'm talking about!

Note, plenty of language, for those that watch for that.
]]> The Sunlit Man 60531420 From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson―creator of The Stormlight Archive, the Mistborn Saga, and countless bestselling works of science fiction and fantasy―comes this standalone novel showing a rare glimpse of a future Cosmere universe.

Running. Putting distance between himself and the relentless Night Brigade has been Nomad’s strategy for years. Staying one or two steps ahead of his pursuers by skipping through the Cosmere from one world to the next.

But now, his powers too depleted to escape, Nomad finds himself trapped on Canticle, a planet that will kill anyone who doesn’t keep moving. Fleeing the fires of a sunrise that melts the very stones, he is instantly caught up in the struggle between a heartless tyrant and the brave rebels who defy him.

Failure means a quick death, incinerated by the sun� or a lifetime as a mindless slave. Tormented by the consequences of his past, Nomad must fight not only for his survival―but also for his very soul.]]> 447 Brandon Sanderson 1938570391 Erin 4 fantasy, mormon
This has everything I want from a Sanderson novel - fascinating world building, characters that go on interesting emotional journeys, and opportunities to reflect on what it means to be a moral human in an imperfect world/universe full of messy questions. ]]> 4.28 2023 The Sunlit Man
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Erin
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/03/27
date added: 2024/03/31
shelves: fantasy, mormon
review:
When I placed my library hold, I hadn't realized that this one leans hard on the world building and plot from the Stormlight Archive, so if you're planning to read that series, definitely read it before this one. There was a lot going on that I could tell meant something more than I was picking up on. That said, I still enjoyed the journey! It still stands without the info from the Stormlight Archive, and I just asked my teenagers a few questions when things came up, and I was good to go.

This has everything I want from a Sanderson novel - fascinating world building, characters that go on interesting emotional journeys, and opportunities to reflect on what it means to be a moral human in an imperfect world/universe full of messy questions.
]]> <![CDATA[One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich]]> 17125 The only English translation authorized by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

First published in the Soviet journal Novy Mir in 1962, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich stands as a classic of contemporary literature. The story of labor-camp inmate Ivan Denisovich Shukhov, it graphically describes his struggle to maintain his dignity in the face of communist oppression. An unforgettable portrait of the entire world of Stalin's forced work camps, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich is one of the most extraordinary literary documents to have emerged from the Soviet Union and confirms Solzhenitsyn's stature as "a literary genius whose talent matches that of Dosotevsky, Turgenev, Tolstoy"--Harrison Salisbury

This unexpurgated 1991 translation by H. T. Willetts is the only authorized edition available, and fully captures the power and beauty of the original Russian.]]> 182 Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Erin 2 classics, in-translation good day in the camp, and that the main character went to bed happy. I really wanted to like it, but it just didn't hold my interest. I guess when I compare it with other prison camp books I've read, it seemed to lack to drive and overall purpose others did. Although maybe the point is that his suffering is meaningless, and I'm too shallow to appreciate it.]]> 3.98 1962 One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
author: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
name: Erin
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1962
rating: 2
read at: 2009/10/04
date added: 2024/03/15
shelves: classics, in-translation
review:
This is an important book historically, but as a piece of literature, I found it really dull. Maybe I've just read too much holocaust literature and have become jaded. My favorite part of the book was that it described a good day in the camp, and that the main character went to bed happy. I really wanted to like it, but it just didn't hold my interest. I guess when I compare it with other prison camp books I've read, it seemed to lack to drive and overall purpose others did. Although maybe the point is that his suffering is meaningless, and I'm too shallow to appreciate it.
]]> <![CDATA[The Connected Child: Bring Hope and Healing to Your Adoptive Family]]> 776763
Written by two research psychologists specializing in adoption and attachment, "The Connected Child" will help you: Build bonds of affection and trust with your adopted child Effectively deal with any learning or behavioral disorders Discipline your child with love without making him or her feel threatened]]> 264 Karyn Purvis 0071475001 Erin 4 nonfiction, parenting
Since I'm not an adoptive parent, my review won't be extremely helpful, but that said, this book offers useful frameworks for understanding how your child's history impacts their behaviors and coping strategies, how they interpret your parenting choices, and practical strategies to meet your child exactly where they are and nurture your child into better emotional health. The writing is accessible, hopeful, and completely honest, and I would definitely recommend this to anyone considering fostering/adopting children.]]> 4.45 2007 The Connected Child: Bring Hope and Healing to Your Adoptive Family
author: Karyn Purvis
name: Erin
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 2024/03/13
date added: 2024/03/13
shelves: nonfiction, parenting
review:
No, I am not planning to adopt a child - four kids is just right for me. Why did I pick this one up? 30% thought experiment about that whole thing you have with your siblings about "hey, if my spouse/partner and I died, would you raise my children?," and what it would mean to suddenly have an older child(ren) to raise that has/have been through something really traumatic. 40% I have friends that foster/adopt kids from challenging backgrounds, or are considering it, and I wanted to learn a little bit more about their journey. 30% just general picking up good parenting tips. I can always use more of those!

Since I'm not an adoptive parent, my review won't be extremely helpful, but that said, this book offers useful frameworks for understanding how your child's history impacts their behaviors and coping strategies, how they interpret your parenting choices, and practical strategies to meet your child exactly where they are and nurture your child into better emotional health. The writing is accessible, hopeful, and completely honest, and I would definitely recommend this to anyone considering fostering/adopting children.
]]> Swim Team 58842729
With Etta's training and a lot of hard work, Bree suddenly finds her swim-crazed community counting on her to turn the school's failing team around. But that's easier said than done, especially when their rival, the prestigious Holyoke Prep, has everything they need to leave the Mighty Manatees in their wake.

Can Bree defy the odds and guide her team to a state championship, or have the Manatees swum their last lap--for good?]]> 248 Johnnie Christmas 0063056763 Erin 3 4.25 2022 Swim Team
author: Johnnie Christmas
name: Erin
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2024/03/12
date added: 2024/03/12
shelves: africanamerican, childrens, graphic-novels
review:
3 for my own enjoyment, 4 for the target audience. There was some plot elements that didn’t quite work for me, but it did a great job of talking about resilience, teamwork, the long-lasting effects of segregation, & showing up for the people you care about.
]]> Allergic 52664752
At home, Maggie is the odd one out. Her parents are preoccupied with getting ready for a new baby, and her younger brothers are twins and always in their own world. Maggie loves animals and thinks a new puppy to call her own is the answer, but when she goes to select one on her birthday, she breaks out in hives and rashes. She's severely allergic to anything with fur!

Can Maggie outsmart her allergies and find the perfect pet? With illustrations by Michelle Mee Nutter, Megan Wagner Lloyd uses inspiration from her own experiences with allergies to tell a heartfelt story of family, friendship, and finding a place to belong.]]> 240 Megan Wagner Lloyd 1338568914 Erin 4 graphic-novels, childrens 4.18 2021 Allergic
author: Megan Wagner Lloyd
name: Erin
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2024/02/29
date added: 2024/03/12
shelves: graphic-novels, childrens
review:
4 for the target audience. This graphic novel does help children understand the struggles of being a child with allergies, but it is also a story about friendship, family, and dealing with change.
]]> Squished 60758243 From the Eisner-nominated duo behind the instant bestseller Allergic comes a fun new graphic novel about finding your own space� especially when you're in a family of nine!

Eleven-year-old Avery Lee loves living in Hickory Valley, Maryland. She loves her neighborhood, school, and the end-of-summer fair she always goes to with her two best friends. But she's tired of feeling squished by her six siblings! They're noisy and chaotic and the younger kids love her a little too much. All Avery wants is her own room -- her own space to be alone and make art. So she's furious when Theo, her grumpy older brother, gets his own room instead, and her wild baby brother, Max, moves into the room she already shares with her clinging sister Pearl! Avery hatches a plan to finally get her own room, all while trying to get Max to sleep at night, navigating changes in her friendships, and working on an art entry for the fair. And when Avery finds out that her family might move across the country, things get even more complicated.

Megan Wagner Lloyd and Michelle Mee Nutter have once again teamed up to tell a funny, heartfelt, and charming story of family, friendship, and growing up.]]> 248 Megan Wagner Lloyd 1338568930 Erin 4 childrens, graphic-novels 4.12 2023 Squished
author: Megan Wagner Lloyd
name: Erin
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/03/11
date added: 2024/03/11
shelves: childrens, graphic-novels
review:
A sweet graphic novel about the joys and challenges of big family life, and learning to adapt to life changes. My fourth grader loved it.
]]> The Muse 27213208
On a hot July day in 1967, Odelle Bastien climbs the stone steps of the Skelton gallery in London, knowing that her life is about to change forever. Having struggled to find her place in the city since she arrived from Trinidad five years ago, she has been offered a job as a typist under the tutelage of the glamorous and enigmatic Marjorie Quick. But though Quick takes Odelle into her confidence, and unlocks a potential she didn't know she had, she remains a mystery - no more so than when a lost masterpiece with a secret history is delivered to the gallery.

The truth about the painting lies in 1936 and a large house in rural Spain, where Olive Schloss, the daughter of a renowned art dealer, is harbouring ambitions of her own. Into this fragile paradise come artist and revolutionary Isaac Robles and his half-sister Teresa, who immediately insinuate themselves into the Schloss family, with explosive and devastating consequences . . .]]> 393 Jessie Burton 0062409921 Erin 4 historical-fiction
It isn't a perfect book - the mysteries are pretty easy to figure out, the ending was a little melodramatic for my taste, and I don't think she committed fully enough to exploring the post-colonial themes she brought up. Also, I think it would be a little hard to understand what is happening if you don't already have a basic grasp of the Spanish Civil War. That said, Burton knows how to invoke a mood and craft a delicious turn of phrase, and it was a pleasure to get swept into these pages.]]> 3.79 2016 The Muse
author: Jessie Burton
name: Erin
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2024/03/11
date added: 2024/03/11
shelves: historical-fiction
review:
3.5 stars. Atmospheric, well-crafted, and full of complex characters and interesting ideas about the creative process and how we determine value and meaning in art. Don't read this one if you need to like your protagonists, since they are a complicated and frustrating bunch, but they are vividly drawn and nuanced.

It isn't a perfect book - the mysteries are pretty easy to figure out, the ending was a little melodramatic for my taste, and I don't think she committed fully enough to exploring the post-colonial themes she brought up. Also, I think it would be a little hard to understand what is happening if you don't already have a basic grasp of the Spanish Civil War. That said, Burton knows how to invoke a mood and craft a delicious turn of phrase, and it was a pleasure to get swept into these pages.
]]> Tom Lake 63241104 In this beautiful and moving novel about family, love, and growing up, Ann Patchett once again proves herself one of America’s finest writers.

In the spring of 2020, Lara’s three daughters return to the family's orchard in Northern Michigan. While picking cherries, they beg their mother to tell them the story of Peter Duke, a famous actor with whom she shared both a stage and a romance years before at a theater company called Tom Lake. As Lara recalls the past, her daughters examine their own lives and relationship with their mother, and are forced to reconsider the world and everything they thought they knew.

Tom Lake is a meditation on youthful love, married love, and the lives parents have led before their children were born. Both hopeful and elegiac, it explores what it means to be happy even when the world is falling apart. As in all of her novels, Ann Patchett combines compelling narrative artistry with piercing insights into family dynamics. The result is a rich and luminous story, told with profound intelligence and emotional subtlety, that demonstrates once again why she is one of the most revered and acclaimed literary talents working today.]]> 309 Ann Patchett 006332752X Erin 5 audiobooks
I think the highest praise I can give this quiet, character-driven book is that her characters felt absolutely real to me, even when that meant they did spectacularly dumb things. Not only are the characters themselves beautifully crafted, but the way they interact with each other is pitch perfect. Patchett also somehow managed to craft a book with so many cozy and comforting vibes, while also exploring thoughtful and hard questions about how we understand our past and how we communicate our story to others, how loving another person (in a variety of formats) alters us, how it feels to be in a position of disempowerment, and what it means to let go a dream and find out it actually wouldn't have been what made you happy. I think this book would have bored the snot out of me when I was 20, but I'm old enough now to be asking those question of myself.

"Our Town" factors into this one a lot, and you definitely don't have to watch/read it to appreciate this story, but if you have, you can appreciate the ways Patchett plays with that text throughout her work. I assume she's doing the same with "Fool for Love," but I'm not familiar with that play, so I can't speak to that.

4 stars is probably the truer rating, but whatever, I loved listening to this, so 5 stars it is. ]]> 3.92 2023 Tom Lake
author: Ann Patchett
name: Erin
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2024/02/29
date added: 2024/02/29
shelves: audiobooks
review:
I'm a little unsure if I can rate the book itself because Meryl Streep's narration was absolutely stunning, and I'm having a hard time separating the two. I knew she was a well-respected actor and all (can't speak to that much because I don't watch many movies), but seriously, I was blown away, and now I'm suddenly finding myself interested in listening to books she's narrated that didn't really interest me before. I highly recommend the audiobook.

I think the highest praise I can give this quiet, character-driven book is that her characters felt absolutely real to me, even when that meant they did spectacularly dumb things. Not only are the characters themselves beautifully crafted, but the way they interact with each other is pitch perfect. Patchett also somehow managed to craft a book with so many cozy and comforting vibes, while also exploring thoughtful and hard questions about how we understand our past and how we communicate our story to others, how loving another person (in a variety of formats) alters us, how it feels to be in a position of disempowerment, and what it means to let go a dream and find out it actually wouldn't have been what made you happy. I think this book would have bored the snot out of me when I was 20, but I'm old enough now to be asking those question of myself.

"Our Town" factors into this one a lot, and you definitely don't have to watch/read it to appreciate this story, but if you have, you can appreciate the ways Patchett plays with that text throughout her work. I assume she's doing the same with "Fool for Love," but I'm not familiar with that play, so I can't speak to that.

4 stars is probably the truer rating, but whatever, I loved listening to this, so 5 stars it is.
]]> <![CDATA[Let’s Talk About Race and Priesthood]]> 109810658 176 W. Paul Reeve 1639931198 Erin 5 mormon, nonfiction
]]> 4.74 Let’s Talk About Race and Priesthood
author: W. Paul Reeve
name: Erin
average rating: 4.74
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2024/02/27
date added: 2024/02/29
shelves: mormon, nonfiction
review:
SOOOO good. Hands down the best thing I've read on the topic. I've dabbled a little in reading Paul Reeve's work, primarily in entries in his (which is quality work), and appreciated him as a historian, but this won me over to him as a writer. His writing is clear and warm, with laser precision. He always gave the right amount of primary source, enough to provide nuanced understanding, but not enough to bog the text down. He championed the voices and experiences of marginalized people whenever possible, while never losing sight of how they fit into his overall narrative. He has charity, but holds people absolutely accountable for their mistakes (and there are many, many mistakes). His argument is beautifully reasoned and supported. Highly recommended.


]]> Defiant (Skyward, #4) 43606308 From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson comes the final book in an epic series about a girl who will travel beyond the stars to save the world she loves from destruction.

Spensa has made it out of the Nowhere, but what she saw in the space between the stars has changed her forever. She came face to face with the Delvers, and finally got answers to the questions she’s had about her own strange Cytonic gifts.

The Superiority didn’t stop in its fight for galactic dominance while she was gone, though. Spensa’s team, Skyward Flight, was able to hold Winzik off, and even collect allies to help with the cause, but it’s only a matter of time until humanity–and the rest of the galaxy–falls.

Defeating them will require all the knowledge Spensa gathered while in the Nowhere. But being Cytonic is more complicated than she ever could have imagined. Now, Spensa must ask herself: How far is she willing to go for victory, if it means losing herself–and her friends–in the process.

The final book in the Skyward series will free humanity, or see it fall forever.]]> 420 Brandon Sanderson 0593309715 Erin 4 mormon, young-adult, fantasy 4.28 2023 Defiant (Skyward, #4)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Erin
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/02/25
date added: 2024/02/26
shelves: mormon, young-adult, fantasy
review:
A satisfying conclusion to the series, with plenty of doors left open for Janci Patterson to walk through if she takes the project on. I appreciate its message of the power and beauty of human connection, even though it also brings pain. This series is always at its strongest when the Skyward Flight crew is present, so I'm glad they played a bigger role in this installment.
]]> Lone Women 60460704
Adelaide Henry carries an enormous steamer trunk with her wherever she goes. It’s locked at all times. Because when the trunk opens, people around Adelaide start to disappear.

The year is 1915, and Adelaide is in trouble. Her secret sin killed her parents, forcing her to flee California in a hellfire rush and make her way to Montana as a homesteader. Dragging the trunk with her at every stop, she will become one of the “lone women� taking advantage of the government’s offer of free land for those who can tame it—except that Adelaide isn’t alone. And the secret she’s tried so desperately to lock away might be the only thing that will help her survive the harsh territory.

Crafted by a modern master of magical suspense, Lone Women blends shimmering prose, an unforgettable cast of adventurers who find horror and sisterhood in a brutal landscape, and a portrait of early-twentieth-century America like you’ve never seen. And at its heart is the gripping story of a woman desperate to bury her past—or redeem it.]]> 275 Victor LaValle 052551208X Erin 0 to-read 3.68 2023 Lone Women
author: Victor LaValle
name: Erin
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Expanding the Borders of Zion: A Latter-day Saint Perspective on LGBTQ Inclusion]]> 75575306
Expanding the Borders of Zion bridges the gap between religion and the LGBTQ community in a way that is both bold and inviting. It will undoubtedly inspire you to love deeper, grow closer to Christ, and expand your heart to more fully embrace all of God’s children.]]> 225 Charlie Bird Erin 0 to-read 4.76 Expanding the Borders of Zion: A Latter-day Saint Perspective on LGBTQ Inclusion
author: Charlie Bird
name: Erin
average rating: 4.76
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/02/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Traitor King: The Scandalous Exile of the Duke & Duchess of Windsor]]> 58283723 Traitor King, by Sunday Times bestselling author Andrew Lownie, looks at the years following the abdication of Edward VIII when the former king was kept in exile, feuding with his family over status for his wife, Wallis Simpson, and denied any real job.

Drawing on extensive research into hitherto unused archives and Freedom of Information requests, it makes the case that the Duke and Duchess of Windsor were not the naĂŻve dupes of the Germans but actively intrigued against Britain in both war and peace.

It reveals:
- the story behind the German attempts to recruit the Duke as a British PĂ©tain in the summer of 1940.
- the efforts, by Churchill in particular, to prevent post-war publication of the captured German documents which detailed the Duke's Nazi intrigues.
- the reasons why the Duke, as Governor of the Bahamas, tried to shut down the investigation into the 1943 murder of his close friend Harry Oakes.
- the full extent of the feud with the British Royal Family, based on his betrayals going back to his dishonesty about his true financial position at the time of the abdication.
- that far from a love story, Wallis felt trapped in a marriage she had never wanted with a pathetic and suffocating husband, one of the reasons she took several lovers, including the gay playboy Jimmy Donahue.

Traitor King tells the story of a royal exiled with his wife, turning his back on duty, his family and using his position for financial gain.]]> 352 Andrew Lownie Erin 1 audiobooks, nonfiction
Still, it doesn't work for me in several other ways. The biggest is Lownie's writing style. Maybe it would have felt different had I read it instead of listening to it, but it really felt like a lot of footnotes strung together. I genuinely think a third of this book should have been in the footnotes, with the author doing what historians do and presenting the reader with a narrative from that information. I didn't need to listen to dozens of people complain about how Wallis was plain and tacky and they didn't know what HRH saw in her, for instance. I wanted far more of his interpretation and voice guiding me through this information.

That lack of interpretation and voice caused real problems when sensitive areas are discussed. In a book that felt like, "Here are a million reasons why the Windsors were terrible," with maybe three positive things said about them throughout the entire book, just laying down a bunch of gossipy accusations from kinda shady sources of them being homosexual/bisexual made me feel wildly uncomfortable, particularly where they happened near the end. It gave the impression of saying, "and what's more, not only were they Nazi sympathizers, they were also gay!" I am sure that was not Lownie's intention, and again, maybe it would have felt different in book form, but without providing interpretation and context of this information, at best it felt like dropping salacious tidbits in a play for more readership, and at worst, very negative towards the LGBT community. More narrative voice would have corrected this error. I also didn't like this from a feminist angle, because calling a forceful woman a lesbian to try to insult her is also the oldest trick in the book, and some of the people making those accusations could easily fall into this camp.

And there it is again, those gossipy sources. Throughout the book, it felt like some of them were included without offering any context for why they might have a vested interest to say what they said. There were unquestionably enough trustworthy sources to make the case that the Windsors were nasty pieces of work, I'm not denying that, but he includes plenty of sources that seemed like it would be in their best interest to say the most scandalous things they could. I didn't feel confident that Lownie was being discriminating in whose voices he listened to when he told this story.

A poorly written biography of some really nasty people.]]> 3.70 2021 Traitor King: The Scandalous Exile of the Duke & Duchess of Windsor
author: Andrew Lownie
name: Erin
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2021
rating: 1
read at: 2024/02/13
date added: 2024/02/15
shelves: audiobooks, nonfiction
review:
In full disclosure, I am absolutely the wrong reader for this book. Royal gossip just doesn't appeal to me, and this one has plenty. It also didn't deliver in ways I wanted it to. For whatever reason, my reading style this year is to alternate wildly between happy romances and books that explore how complicated it is to move forward after traumatic events and cycles of violence, so I was hoping for something that would provide insight into the mindset of Nazi sympathizers during WWII and their psyche after. Turns out the Windsors were just vain and cold, and didn't seem to think much of it at all.

Still, it doesn't work for me in several other ways. The biggest is Lownie's writing style. Maybe it would have felt different had I read it instead of listening to it, but it really felt like a lot of footnotes strung together. I genuinely think a third of this book should have been in the footnotes, with the author doing what historians do and presenting the reader with a narrative from that information. I didn't need to listen to dozens of people complain about how Wallis was plain and tacky and they didn't know what HRH saw in her, for instance. I wanted far more of his interpretation and voice guiding me through this information.

That lack of interpretation and voice caused real problems when sensitive areas are discussed. In a book that felt like, "Here are a million reasons why the Windsors were terrible," with maybe three positive things said about them throughout the entire book, just laying down a bunch of gossipy accusations from kinda shady sources of them being homosexual/bisexual made me feel wildly uncomfortable, particularly where they happened near the end. It gave the impression of saying, "and what's more, not only were they Nazi sympathizers, they were also gay!" I am sure that was not Lownie's intention, and again, maybe it would have felt different in book form, but without providing interpretation and context of this information, at best it felt like dropping salacious tidbits in a play for more readership, and at worst, very negative towards the LGBT community. More narrative voice would have corrected this error. I also didn't like this from a feminist angle, because calling a forceful woman a lesbian to try to insult her is also the oldest trick in the book, and some of the people making those accusations could easily fall into this camp.

And there it is again, those gossipy sources. Throughout the book, it felt like some of them were included without offering any context for why they might have a vested interest to say what they said. There were unquestionably enough trustworthy sources to make the case that the Windsors were nasty pieces of work, I'm not denying that, but he includes plenty of sources that seemed like it would be in their best interest to say the most scandalous things they could. I didn't feel confident that Lownie was being discriminating in whose voices he listened to when he told this story.

A poorly written biography of some really nasty people.
]]> Averno 76548 WINNER OF THE NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE

Averno is a small crater lake in southern Italy, regarded by the ancient Romans as the entrance to the underworld. That place gives its name to Louise GlĂĽck's tenth collection: in a landscape turned irretrievably to winter, it is a gate or passageway that invites traffic between worlds while at the same time resisting their reconciliation. Averno is an extended lamentation, its long, restless poems no less spellbinding for being without conventional resoltution or consolation, no less ravishing for being savage, grief-stricken. What Averno provides is not a map to a point of arrival or departure, but a diagram of where we are, the harrowing, enduring present.

Averno is a 2006 National Book Award Finalist for Poetry.]]> 76 Louise GlĂĽck 0374530742 Erin 4 poetry 4.21 2006 Averno
author: Louise GlĂĽck
name: Erin
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2024/02/11
date added: 2024/02/15
shelves: poetry
review:
I'm a sucker for explorations of liminal spaces, particularly the way the boundaries we create both define what is, yet transform things on both sides of that boundary. Persephone is also very productive ground to create poetry from. Lots of interesting ideas to roll around my brain.
]]> The Bodyguard 58724801 Hannah Brooks looks more like a kindergarten teacher than somebody who could kill you with her bare hands. But the truth is, she's an elite bodyguard and she's just been hired to protect a superstar actor from his stalker.

Jack Stapleton's a Hollywood heartthrob - captured by paparazzi on beaches the world over, rising out of the waves in clingy board shorts and glistening like a Roman deity.

When Jack's mom gets sick, he comes home to the family's Texas ranch to help out. Only one catch: He doesn't want his family to know about his stalker. Or the bodyguard thing. And so Hannah - against her will and her better judgment - finds herself pretending to be Jack's girlfriend as a cover.

Protecting Jack should be easy. But protecting her own heart? That's the hardest thing she's ever done...]]> 302 Katherine Center 1250219396 Erin 4
You guys have figured out by now that my star ratings are really a rating of how well the book matched my mood, right? I was in the mood for a happy romance. If you breathe too hard on this plot, will it collapse? Yes. Is it full of plenty of romance tropes that aren't my thing? Yes. Did I spend a sizeable chunk of my Saturday binge reading this and grinning? Also yes. I genuinely had a good time reading this one.

In the epilogue, Center talks about how this was her pandemic book, and that she wanted to skew as far to the "joy" side of storytelling, and that absolutely came through. I enjoyed her sense of humor, and the hopeful message of the book, and it was a pleasure to read. ]]> 3.94 2022 The Bodyguard
author: Katherine Center
name: Erin
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/02/10
date added: 2024/02/11
shelves:
review:
My frozen, black heart might be thawing because we're only 6 weeks or so into the year, and I've already read two romance books that I enjoyed.

You guys have figured out by now that my star ratings are really a rating of how well the book matched my mood, right? I was in the mood for a happy romance. If you breathe too hard on this plot, will it collapse? Yes. Is it full of plenty of romance tropes that aren't my thing? Yes. Did I spend a sizeable chunk of my Saturday binge reading this and grinning? Also yes. I genuinely had a good time reading this one.

In the epilogue, Center talks about how this was her pandemic book, and that she wanted to skew as far to the "joy" side of storytelling, and that absolutely came through. I enjoyed her sense of humor, and the hopeful message of the book, and it was a pleasure to read.
]]> The Night Diary 35464020 In the vein of Inside Out and Back Again and The War That Saved My Life comes a poignant, personal, and hopeful tale of India's partition, and of one girl's journey to find a new home in a divided country

It's 1947, and India, newly independent of British rule, has been separated into two countries: Pakistan and India. The divide has created much tension between Hindus and Muslims, and hundreds of thousands are killed crossing borders.

Half-Muslim, half-Hindu twelve-year-old Nisha doesn't know where she belongs, or what her country is anymore. When Papa decides it's too dangerous to stay in what is now Pakistan, Nisha and her family become refugees and embark first by train but later on foot to reach her new home. The journey is long, difficult, and dangerous, and after losing her mother as a baby, Nisha can't imagine losing her homeland, too. But even if her country has been ripped apart, Nisha still believes in the possibility of putting herself back together.

Told through Nisha's letters to her mother, The Night Diary is a heartfelt story of one girl's search for home, for her own identity...and for a hopeful future.]]> 272 Veera Hiranandani 0735228515 Erin 5 childrens
I adored Nishi's imperfect but loving family, and appreciate the way this book helped me take the bare facts I already knew about partition and feel it in my bones.]]> 4.20 2018 The Night Diary
author: Veera Hiranandani
name: Erin
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2024/02/05
date added: 2024/02/09
shelves: childrens
review:
I was very impressed with the writing on this middle grade historical fiction about the 1947 Partition of India. The children Hiranandani wrote felt absolutely real to me. We often think about childhood as this simple, blissful time, and while that is sometimes the case, being a child is utterly bewildering. So much that happens to you is completely outside of your control, and the world moves according to rules you are not remotely equipped to understand, especially in times of conflict. Hiranandani captures this so well. Nisha has many thoughts and many actions that seem crazy through adult eyes, but Nisha doesn't have those. Everything she knows about the world is unraveling, and adults are behaving in dangerous ways that would have been crazy the month before, and she is being taxed in physical and emotional ways that the even the adults around her are failing to cope with. She is carrying trauma, and the writing felt like the way a child would try to make sense of it.

I adored Nishi's imperfect but loving family, and appreciate the way this book helped me take the bare facts I already knew about partition and feel it in my bones.
]]> <![CDATA[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter, #3)]]> 5 435 J.K. Rowling 043965548X Erin 5
****
2019 update: Just finished reading this with my kids (Charlotte's first time - the older two read it on their own earlier). I think I love this series more every time I read it, but I might be biased because I love watching my kids love these books.



2018 update: I just finished the Jim Kay illustrated version, and it was delightful. The illustrations are beautiful in their own right, and suited the book perfectly.


Lupin is one of my favorites, and this book had some fun plot twists.]]> 4.57 1999 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter, #3)
author: J.K. Rowling
name: Erin
average rating: 4.57
book published: 1999
rating: 5
read at: 2024/02/03
date added: 2024/02/03
shelves: childrens, audiobooks, fantasy, read-aloud
review:
2023 reread: What can I say? I can't resist any of the editions of this series. My husband got me the Minalima illustrated edition for Christmas, and it is beautifully illustrated and designed.

****
2019 update: Just finished reading this with my kids (Charlotte's first time - the older two read it on their own earlier). I think I love this series more every time I read it, but I might be biased because I love watching my kids love these books.



2018 update: I just finished the Jim Kay illustrated version, and it was delightful. The illustrations are beautiful in their own right, and suited the book perfectly.


Lupin is one of my favorites, and this book had some fun plot twists.
]]> Iqbal 264447 This moving fictionalized account of the real Iqbal Masih is told through the voice of Fatima, a young Pakistani girl whose life is changed by Iqbal's courage.]]> 122 Francesco D'Adamo 1416903291 Erin 0 to-read 3.98 2001 Iqbal
author: Francesco D'Adamo
name: Erin
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2001
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The House of Eve 61273858 From the award-winning author of Yellow Wife, a daring and redemptive novel set in 1950s Philadelphia and Washington, DC, that explores what it means to be a woman and a mother, and how much one is willing to sacrifice to achieve her greatest goal.

1950s Philadelphia: fifteen-year-old Ruby Pearsall is on track to becoming the first in her family to attend college, in spite of having a mother more interested in keeping a man than raising a daughter. But a taboo love affair threatens to pull her back down into the poverty and desperation that has been passed on to her like a birthright.

Eleanor Quarles arrives in Washington, DC, with ambition and secrets. When she meets the handsome William Pride at Howard University, they fall madly in love. But William hails from one of DC’s elite wealthy Black families, and his par­ents don’t let just anyone into their fold. Eleanor hopes that a baby will make her finally feel at home in William’s family and grant her the life she’s been searching for. But having a baby—and fitting in—is easier said than done.

With their stories colliding in the most unexpected of ways, Ruby and Eleanor will both make decisions that shape the trajectory of their lives.]]> 384 Sadeqa Johnson 1982197366 Erin 0 to-read 4.23 2023 The House of Eve
author: Sadeqa Johnson
name: Erin
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Kitchen Front 54873823
Two years into WW2, Britain is feeling her losses; the Nazis have won battles, the Blitz has destroyed cities, and U-boats have cut off the supply of food. In an effort to help housewives with food rationing, a BBC radio program called The Kitchen Front is putting on a cooking contest--and the grand prize is a job as the program's first-ever female co-host. For four very different women, winning the contest presents a crucial chance to change their lives.

For a young widow, it's a chance to pay off her husband's debts and keep a roof over her children's heads. For a kitchen maid, it's a chance to leave servitude and find freedom. For the lady of the manor, it's a chance to escape her wealthy husband's increasingly hostile behavior. And for a trained chef, it's a chance to challenge the men at the top of her profession.

These four women are giving the competition their all--even if that sometimes means bending the rules. But with so much at stake, will the contest that aims to bring the community together serve only to break it apart?]]> 408 Jennifer Ryan 0593158806 Erin 0 to-read 3.94 2021 The Kitchen Front
author: Jennifer Ryan
name: Erin
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The World We Found 7107515 320 Thrity Umrigar 0061938343 Erin 0 to-read 3.80 2012 The World We Found
author: Thrity Umrigar
name: Erin
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Both Things Are True 175352596
Both Things Are True is a guided walk through six sets of tensions that disciples must navigate in their practical efforts to become like Christ. Author Kate Holbrook draws on her lifetime of expertise as a historian of Latter-day Saint women’s history to examine the “contraries,� the fruitful tensions that have stretched Saints present and past, including the true Church, revelation, housework, forgiveness and accountability, and legacy. While the book is richly illustrated with personal and historical examples, its ideas are expressed in the simple, gently manner that is Kate’s trademark. Both Things Are True is remarkable in its ability to reach readers of every walk of life.]]> 152 Kate Holbrook 1649332203 Erin 4 mormon, nonfiction 4.46 Both Things Are True
author: Kate Holbrook
name: Erin
average rating: 4.46
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/07
date added: 2024/01/25
shelves: mormon, nonfiction
review:
A lovely farewell to a fantastic scholar and human. It needs to be said that if you aren't familiar with Holbrook's work, this isn't the best place to start, as she died before this book could become the book it was capable of becoming. Still, if you know and appreciate her work, you won't regret reading this one, and I'm so thankful to her editors for giving us this opportunity to learn from her one last time. Holbrook is warm, wise, faithful, and perceptive. The idea of paradox has been very important in my spiritual life in recent years, so I very much appreciated her take on this theme.
]]> Cracking India 40238 298 Bapsi Sidhwa 1571310487 Erin 0 to-read 3.87 1988 Cracking India
author: Bapsi Sidhwa
name: Erin
average rating: 3.87
book published: 1988
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Much Ado about Nada 62802747 A sparkling second-chance romance inspired by Jane Austen's Persuasion...

Nada Syed is stuck. On the cusp of thirty, she's still living at home with her brothers and parents in the Golden Crescent neighbourhood of Toronto, resolutely ignoring her mother's unsubtle pleas to get married already. While Nada has a good job as an engineer, it's a far cry from realizing her start-up dreams for her tech baby, Ask Apa, the app that launched with a whimper instead of a bang because of a double-crossing business partner. Nothing in her life has turned out the way it was supposed to, and Nada feels like a failure. Something needs to change, but the past is holding on too tightly to let her move forward.

Nada's best friend Haleema is determined to pry her from her shell...and what better place than at the giant annual Muslim conference held downtown, where Nada can finally meet Haleema's fiancé, Zayn. And did Haleema mention Zayn's brother Baz will be there?

What Haleema doesn't know is that Nada and Baz have a past--some of it good, some of it bad and all of it secret. At the conference, that past all comes hurtling at Nada, bringing new complications and a moment of reckoning. Can Nada truly say goodbye to once was or should she hold tight to her dreams and find their new beginnings?]]> 320 Uzma Jalaluddin 0593336380 Erin 4 3.82 2023 Much Ado about Nada
author: Uzma Jalaluddin
name: Erin
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/20
date added: 2024/01/23
shelves:
review:
Romance isn't my genre, but I'll enthusiastically read anything Jalaluddin writes. I like the clear-eyed, diverse, warm, and nuanced way she captures her Canadian Muslim community, her hat tips to the classics that never overtake the natural progression of her characters' lives, and the way she writes relationships, whether family, friend, or romantic. I care about the characters she writes, and I'm always eager to pick the book up again.
]]> <![CDATA[The Lemon Tree (Young Readers' Edition): An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East]]> 51182560 On the stoop of this shared house, Dalia and Bashir began a surprising friendship, forged in the aftermath of war and later tested as political tensions ran high and Israelis and Palestinians each asserted their own right to live on this land. Adapted from the award-winning adult book and based on Sandy Tolan's extensive research and reporting, The Lemon Tree is a deeply personal story of two people seeking hope, transformation, and home.]]> 192 Sandy Tolan 1547603941 Erin 4
With that out of the way, this is a fantastic book for YA and adult readers to understand how Israel and Palestine have arrived the situation we are in today. The explanations are clear and nuanced, the framework is really compelling, and I think both of the central characters would feel they were represented fairly. Even though they were often at odds, I rooted for both of them.

In some ways, this book reminded me of Rian Malan's fantastic My Traitor's Heart, which grapples with those same challenges of breaking out of long-entrenched cycles of violence. I'd say that neither book is the kind that offers tidy answers, but rather, they encourage the reader to ask better questions, especially of themselves. I certainly asked a lot of questions of myself and the blind spots of my pluralist heart. This was thought-provoking, and I plan to offer it to my teens before I return it to the library.]]> 4.04 The Lemon Tree (Young Readers' Edition): An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East
author: Sandy Tolan
name: Erin
average rating: 4.04
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/16
date added: 2024/01/17
shelves: young-adult, nonfiction, childrens
review:
4.5 stars. While the content of this young readers' edition is appropriate for middle grade readers in terms of violence, etc, it does need to be said that unless a middle grade reader is REALLY interested in the topic, they will get bogged down in the 80 pages of basically just historical details in the first half of the book. My 2nd kid would have been undeterred, but then again, he asked to have his own copy of "The Art of War" as part of his Easter basket when he was 10, so he's not your typical reader. Child 1 & 3 would have struggled to make it through to the first half at that age, but would have had no problems in the second half where there is a stronger sense of narrative. I will say that I appreciate that Tolan never talked down to his audience, and he believed in their ability to handle big ideas and make their own decisions.

With that out of the way, this is a fantastic book for YA and adult readers to understand how Israel and Palestine have arrived the situation we are in today. The explanations are clear and nuanced, the framework is really compelling, and I think both of the central characters would feel they were represented fairly. Even though they were often at odds, I rooted for both of them.

In some ways, this book reminded me of Rian Malan's fantastic My Traitor's Heart, which grapples with those same challenges of breaking out of long-entrenched cycles of violence. I'd say that neither book is the kind that offers tidy answers, but rather, they encourage the reader to ask better questions, especially of themselves. I certainly asked a lot of questions of myself and the blind spots of my pluralist heart. This was thought-provoking, and I plan to offer it to my teens before I return it to the library.
]]> Under the Whispering Door 53205888 Welcome to Charon's Crossing.
The tea is hot, the scones are fresh, and the dead are just passing through.

When a reaper comes to collect Wallace from his own funeral, Wallace begins to suspect he might be dead.

And when Hugo, the owner of a peculiar tea shop, promises to help him cross over, Wallace decides he’s definitely dead.

But even in death he’s not ready to abandon the life he barely lived, so when Wallace is given one week to cross over, he sets about living a lifetime in seven days.

Hilarious, haunting, and kind, Under the Whispering Door is an uplifting story about a life spent at the office and a death spent building a home.]]> 376 T.J. Klune 1250217342 Erin 0 to-read 4.11 2021 Under the Whispering Door
author: T.J. Klune
name: Erin
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]>