Thursday, January 31, 2013

Review: Mended

Mended: Pieces of a Life Made Whole
By Angie Smith 
B and H Publishing Group 2012
183 Pages
From Shelton Interactive

Mended: Pieces of a Life Made Whole

This devotional is a collection of popular posts from Angie Smith's blog Bring the Rain. Each chapter focuses on the ways God can use people who are broken, people who feel as if they have nothing to give. She gets the idea for the book from a project she undertakes after the death of her daughter Audrey. Angie can't shake an idea that she read in a book on grieving - that breaking a piece of pottery can help with the healing process. So Angie shatters a pitcher and begins to painstakingly glue it back together.

She realizes that "this pitcher was my life, and every piece was a part of the story that He had chosen to put together. I started crying, and remembering things I thought I had forgotten. It took a long time to finish, but it was time well spent. Every nook and cranny whispered to me, until at last it stood in all its imperfection.
Here you are, Angie. You are mended. You are filled with My Spirit, and I am asking you to pour yourself out.
The image of my life as a broken pitcher was beautiful to me, but at the same time, it was hard to look at all of the cracks. I ran my fingers along them and told Him I wished it had been different. I wished I had always loved Him, always obeyed Him, always sought Him the way I should. I was mad at the imperfections, years wasted, gaping holes where it should be smooth.
But God, my ever-gracious God, was gentle and yet convicting as He explained.
My dearest Angie. How do you think the world has seen Me? If it wasn't for the cracks, I couldn't seep out the way I do. I chose the pitcher. I chose you, just as you are." 

This book is written in a very conversational way. It's easy to imagine that Angie has invited you over for a cup of coffee and a chat or that you happen to be in the same Bible study group. She is a gracious writer, open to telling you her failures and her fears. She discusses the ways in which we feel we are unworthy of God and his grace in relation to Peter, she imagines how our lives would change if we challenge ourselves to do just one better, and she learns about the way God directs our lives as she imagines what her future might look like.

This is a good read, but perhaps it has more impact when it is savored. I read through the book in a few days and found myself engaged, but I didn't have the impulse to get through just a few more pages. If you are at a point in your life where you are truly doubting if God can love you in spite of your mistakes, this would be an excellent choice for insight from a woman who has been in that same dark place. 


My reviews of Angie Smith's I Will Carry You and What Women Fear can be found here. 

To the guys and gals of the FTC: I received this book from Shelton Interactive in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, Andrea! 

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Wednesdays with David: Time Train

Time Train
By Paul Fleischman
Illustrated by Claire Ewart
Harper Collins 1991
From the library



The story: Miss Pym is taking her class to the Dinosaur National Monument during spring vacation. When the ticket seller tells them to get on the Rocky Mountain Unlimited, they are transported back in time and get to meet the dinosaurs in person! 

Mama opines: I liked how the author and illustrator showed a gradual trip back through time. The children on the train get to see horse-drawn carriages and Civil War soldiers before they make it back to the prehistoric age. Fleischman has a lot of fun with the dinosaurs - the children camp in giant footprints and one industrious student takes some great pictures via pteranodon. The illustrations are gorgeous as well. 

Thoughts from David: I like it because it goes back through time and they see real dinosaurs! 
Favorite part: I liked when they go back through time. 

Happy Reading!

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Review: The Adventures and the Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

The Adventures and the Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Sterling Publishing Co. 2004
563 pages
Borrowed from my sister

The Adventures and the Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

I picked up this collection of stories for two reasons. First, I was feeling some literary guilt for never going to the Sherlock Holmes party. Second, I really miss watching Sherlock. The BBC is so mean to leave us waiting like this...

Within this book, you will find some of the best-known Sherlock Holmes stories including A Scandal in Bohemia, The Speckled Band, The Red-Headed League, and the much despised The Final Problem. These stories were published serially in a magazine before Doyle gathered them together for The Adventures and The Memoirs. 

It's hard to say too much about these stories that hasn't already been mentioned. I found them a perfect pick for winter. It was easy for me to sit down with a blanket and immerse myself in the dark alleys of London or the mysterious country homes with dark secrets. The mysteries are well-written and the combination of Holmes and Watson has stood up to the test of time for good reasons. Watson makes the perfect every man narrator to show us the bizarre but compelling world of the reclusive Holmes. The good detective has, of course, become an archetype for detective stories everywhere. His mind seems to work on a different level than that of the average person, as he seamlessly uses his powers of observation and his vast knowledge of science, history, and psychology to solve case after case.

It was interesting for me to note that the Sherlock Holmes of Doyle's stories is a more multi-faceted character than the one we often see portrayed on TV and in the movies. He is a genius who is socially awkward and feels that he is superior to everyone he encounters. But the Holmes created by Doyle goes through many more emotions than we usually see portrayed - he is unsure of his decisions, he worries for his friend, and in rare moments he even worries for himself. This character has so much for the reader to uncover and it feels that you could spend a lifetime with him (as Watson does) and perhaps you will never really know him.

I'm glad I finally read some Sherlock Holmes. The mysteries are wonderful and I feel inspired to pick up some other classic mysteries (Agatha Christie, maybe?). Sherlock Holmes and Watson are an incredible duo  and I'm glad to have met them in their original incarnations.


Have you read Sherlock Holmes? What is your favorite story or novel?

Sunday, January 27, 2013

It's Monday and it has been quite a week!


Hey there, party people. How are things going? It's been quite a week around here. Do you remember in Angela's Ashes when they refer to the second story of their house as Italy because the downstairs is freezing and the upstairs is warm? My house was a visit to Italy this week. Our pipes froze sometime during Tuesday/Wednesday. Thankfully, it was only the ones that heated the downstairs so we were fine for sleeping. We lived upstairs for a few days, which had the uncomfortable effect of making us feel like we were sick even though everyone was healthy.

My husband and a friend valiantly worked to heat the pipes back up. And then the pipes started bursting. At which point I took David and escaped to my mom's house for the day. Thank you husband....I apologize for abandoning you, but sanity had to be maintained.

So our house is a mess, but we have heat again! Oh, and did I mention that I am singing in/organizing a benefit concert for this weekend? I'm a bit frazzled and trying to prioritize between the concert and sorting through all of the things that got a soaking when the pipes burst.

Enough about my crazy life. I'm moving on to the books. Unless of course you live in central NJ and you want to come to our concert - you can find all of the details here.


Read This Week:
Year of Wonders
Year of Wonders
By Geraldine Brooks

The Magician King
The Magician King
By Lev Grossman

Posts from this Past Week:
It's Monday
Reading in 2013: Pen/Hemingway Winners
Wednesdays with David: The Cars Storybook Collection 
Reviews of The Lost Daughter and Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Coast Trail

Reading Now:
Cult Insanity: A Memoir of Polygamy, Prophets, and Blood Atonement
Cult Insanity
By Irene Spencer

Up Next:
Open City
Open City
By Teju Cole

What are you reading this week?

Friday, January 25, 2013

Review: Wild

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail
By Cheryl Strayed
Knopf 2012
315 pages
From my shelves 

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail

Cheryl Strayed finds herself at a turning point in life. She has divorced her husband after the terrible death of her mother, and the rest of her family members are nowhere to be found. She decides to make a solo trip across the Pacific Crest Trail in spite of the fact that she has no experience as a hiker. This is Cheryl's story of her incredible trip and the realizations that she had about her past and what her future could be.

I've enjoyed reading Strayed's thoughts as Sugar on the website The Rumpus, but this is the first book of hers I have read. It lived up to all of hype. The tale of her journey by itself is interesting reading, even for those of us who have little desire to spend any time camping or hiking. You might think that this book would get repetitive or boring - it's just hiking day after day, right? But Strayed encounters many trials during her trip. She starts to lose her toenails because of ill fitting boots and finally loses the boots themselves; her supplies and money don't make it to the next stop in time for her to get them, and she meets some downright threatening characters, both of the human and animal kind. But her adventures and the long bouts of solitude give the young writer a lot of time to think - about her relationships, her choices, and where she wants to go from here in life (both literally and metaphorically). 

Some critics have decried the many terrible decisions that Strayed makes before and during her journey. She does drugs, has random sex, and oh yes, goes on a dangerous hike with no companions, no experience, the wrong boots, and a backpack she can hardly lift. But I think she is typical of a lot of people in their twenties and this trip is her turning point. It is the moment in her life when she discovers what she can do by herself - without the help or advice of a parent or a spouse. Who is she in her darkest moments when she is completely alone?

Cheryl Strayed is a beautiful writer. Her words have such grace and wisdom that I found myself pausing often to re-read passages. “Uncertain as I was as I pushed forward, I felt right in my pushing, as if the effort itself meant something. That perhaps being amidst the undesecrated beauty of the wilderness meant I too could be undesecrated, regardless of the regrettable things I'd done to others or myself or the regrettable things that had been done to me. Of all the things I'd been skeptical about, I didn't feel skeptical about this: the wilderness had a clarity that included me.” 

I'm don't usually love memoirs. Often, they are so personal that there is no connection for the reader or they are so saccharine in their conclusions that the author must have been watching Pollyanna continually while writing. But this is a book I will read again and again, to experience Cheryl's crazy adventures, to observe the way she effortlessly crafts a gorgeous and heartbreaking passage, and to glean all of the insights she gains along the way. 

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Reading in 2013: PEN/Hemingway Award Nominees and Winners

I'm not big about reading the winners of book awards. I figured that the winners of honors like The Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award get plenty of attention and many readers. But as I thought about a book project for 2013, I decided to peruse the different awards and see if I could find one that was a bit under the radar.

I discovered the PEN/Hemingway Award, which is given for an author's first published novel or short story collection. In looking at the list, I realized that I had read only one of the books nominated. I decided during 2013, I would attempt to read one book each month that was a nominee or winner of this award. This will be a way for me to discover some new authors and hopefully add some new favorites to my bookshelves.

First up is the 2012 award winner - Open City by Teju Cole. Upcoming possibilities are The Madonnas of Echo Park, A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True, Cutting for Stone, and The Silver Linings Playbook. If you want to find some PEN/Hemingway award winners for yourself, you can find the list here.

Open City

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Wednesdays with David: The Cars Storybook Collection

Disney/Pixar Cars Storybook Collection
Disney Press 2011


The story: This collection of stories features the gang from Radiator Springs. Lightning McQueen races against new competitors, the cars become honorary deputies, and Guido is surprised by an Italian extravaganza!

Mama opines: The first few stories re-tell the plot of the movie, but most of them are new. David adores this book. This is the one he picks to bring with him in the car or look at while he is eating a snack. This actually was a library book. David was so excited to read it that he took it to the grocery store with him and it got snagged in the shopping cart. When we took the book back to the library and offered to pay for the repairs, they gave it to him to keep because he loved it so much and it was such a worn-out copy. He thinks it's the greatest thing ever that he gets to keep a library book!

Thoughts from David:I like the book because the characters can really move. They can race with Chick and Stinger and because Stanley was the first to move into the area, he decided to name the town Radiator Springs.
Favorite part: I like when they surprise Guido!


What book does your little one ask you to read again and again?

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Review: The Lost Daughter

The Lost Daughter
By Lucy Ferriss
Berkley Books 2012
380 pages
From my shelves

The Lost Daughter

Brooke O'Connor made a terrible decision as a teenager. But that was a long time ago. Now she has a good life, as a beloved wife and mother. Their family seems happy and secure, so her husband Sean is puzzled at her adamant refusal to consider having a second child. When Brooke's high school boyfriend resurfaces, Sean can't help but wonder what secrets they share. Is Brooke still pining for her first love or is the past finally catching up to Brooke and Alex? 

This was one of those books that was firmly in the middle for me. I was interested in what was going to happen, but I wasn't in love with the characters and I wasn't desperate to read just a few more pages. I picked up this book largely because of Wally Lamb's glowing praise on the front cover. As you know, he is one of my favorite authors, so if something was a win for Mr. Lamb, I thought it would be a great choice for me. I can see a lot of similarities between the writing of Lamb and Ferriss. Both writers write dark stories about the damage of secrets among family and the need for people to make the right choices both for themselves and for the people they love. 

However, I would consistently rate Lamb's characters above the characters here. None of these characters seem to have the ability to talk to each other. They are all going through a lot but instead of discussing it with anyone, they all carry their secrets around for a long, long time. It starts to get obnoxious when you realize that all of the issues could be resolved if people just opened their mouths!

The story is largely predictable. I had deduced what was going on long before Alex or Brooke did. While this is not always a bad thing in a book, in this case it seemed like some serious stupidity (at least on Alex's part) that they didn't figure things out before they did. There are also some points where the details of the plot don't make sense. Things happen in this book in ways that I can't imagine they could ever happen in real life.

Unfortunately, this book is one of those that is interesting enough to keep reading but not engaging enough to stay in your mind after you have finished it. 

Sunday, January 20, 2013

It's Monday, so we talk about books


Hey everyone. How was your week? It feels like it has been a long few days, doesn't it?

I was supposed to go visit a friend this weekend, but she came down with the flu so we had to postpone. Boo. I did enjoy some quiet time in the house and a date night with the husband, since David went to Grandma and Grandpa's house this weekend.

On to the books!

Read This Week:
White Teeth
White Teeth
By Zadie Smith

One Good Turn
One Good Turn
By Kate Atkinson

Posts from This Week:
It's Monday
A Book and an Announcement
Wednesdays with David: Book Series for Kids
Reviews of The Year of Miracles and A Year of Biblical Womanhood

Reading Now:
Year of Wonders
Year of Wonders
By Geraldine Brooks

Up Next:
The Magician King
The Magician King
By Lev Grossman

What did you read this week?

Friday, January 18, 2013

Review: A Year of Biblical Womanhood

A Year of Biblical Womanhood: How a Liberated Woman Found Herself Sitting on Her Roof, Covering Her Head, and Calling Her Husband "Master"
By Rachel Held Evans
Thomas Nelson 2012
310 pages
From my shelves

A Year of Biblical Womanhood

Rachel Held Evans is a blogger and writer who focuses on Christianity and the church. As a child and an adult, she received a lot of mixed messages about what it meant to be a Christian woman. Evans decided that she would take one year to focus on the women of the Bible and exactly what the Scriptures say about women. Rachel sleeps in a tent in her backyard during her period, learns to cook, and researches if the Bible truly instructs her to be silent in church and submit to her husband.

In the interest of full disclosure, I should state that I follow Rachel's blog. I think she asks a lot of really important questions about church culture in the US and she does it in a way that invites dialogue instead of division. As both a pastor's kid and a pastor's wife, I am obviously invested in and interested by the church in both its strengths and its weaknesses.

In this book, Evans is very respectful about the spectrum of traditions that are encompassed by women in the contemporary church and those of the women in the Bible. She makes the effort to read books by, visit, and speak with women of a multitude of beliefs - a conservative Jew, a polygamist, a Quaker congregation, and Mennonite and Amish women. She also does some really beautiful work in giving the women of the Bible a true voice. Common biases and misconceptions about well-known women such as Eve and Mary Magdalene are noted and forgotten names like Junia and Tabitha are brought back into the light.

While I found this book interesting, I think it fell flat for me for two reasons. The first, which I realize is rather my fault, is that I've read many of her thoughts on these issues before. When Rachel argues that Proverbs 31 is completely misunderstood because we view it as a to-do list instead of one husband's praise of his wife, I had already read it on her blog and agreed with her wholeheartedly. So I found myself skimming in places to get to some new ground.

The second issue for me was that this book is constructed almost in a series of vignettes. Each month, Rachel takes on a certain characteristic such as modesty or domesticity. The chapter then details some of the specific things she did in an attempt to cultivate that skill or characteristic. Rachel is incredibly candid about her experiences and the effect that this experiment had on her, her husband, and her relationships. But the book lacks a solid conclusion or real cohesion between the chapters.

Basically, I think this is a good book to start with if you are scratching your head about a church in the 21st century that says that women shouldn't speak during services or that they should submit to their husbands. Evans manages to take a serious look at some big issues while maintaining a disarming, and often humorous, demeanor. A Year of Biblical Womanhood is a great jumping off point for researching exactly what the Bible says about half of its readers. 

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Review: The Age of Miracles

The Age of Miracles
By Karen Thompson Walker
Random House 2012
269 pages
From the library

The Age of Miracles

Would you hop over to the Atlantic Highlands Herald and check out my thoughts on The Age of Miracles? Have you read this book? What did you think? 

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Wednesdays with David: Book Series for Kids

David has been really big on reading through series lately. We are currently reading the 12th Magic Treehouse novel and the 4th Boxcar Children book. We've also enjoyed one Ramona book, some Junie B. Jones, and all of the Mrs. Piggle Wiggles.

So, we have to ask: what are your favorite series to read with your kids?


Polar Bears Past Bedtime (Magic Tree House, No 12)                       Mystery Ranch

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

A book and an announcement..

So I wanted to let you know about this book I've been reading lately...



We are thrilled to announce that we are expecting a new little reader in early May! Sometimes I've been reading, but sometimes a mama has to take a nap!

Sunday, January 13, 2013

It's Monday - Did you read any good books this week?


My reading powers seem to have slowed down a bit post holidays. I only finished one book this week. I think there are some good reasons, though. Come back and visit tomorrow and I will tell you all about it!

If you use social media as a part of your book blogging, would you hop over to this post and let me know what you think about using Twitter or Facebook? I am considering starting one or both in this new year and I would love to hear about your experiences. Thanks in advance.

Read This Week:
Lost in a Good Book (Thursday Next, #2)
Lost in a Good Book (Thursday Next #2)
By Jasper Fforde

Posts from this Past Week:
It's Monday
Some Questions
2012: A Retrospect in Books
Review of The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag

Reading Now:
White Teeth
White Teeth
By Zadie Smith

Up Next:
One Good Turn
One Good Turn (Jackson Brodie #2)
By Kate Atkinson

What are you reading this week?

Friday, January 11, 2013

Review: The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag

The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag
Flavia de Luce #2
By Alan Bradley
Delacorte Press 2010
358 pages
From the library

The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag (Flavia de Luce, #2)

Intrepid young scientist and sleuth Flavia de Luce is at it again in the second mystery from Alan Bradley. A traveling puppet show comes into town and the puppeteer and his assistant are coerced into performing while their truck is being repaired. Flavia befriends Nialla, the assistant, and learns that things are not as rosy between Nialla and Rupert as they might appear onstage. When Rupert is murdered, Flavia puts her powers of intuition, science, and pure pluckiness to work and realizes that there are many suspects in her tiny town and that this mysterious death may be tied to another local murder from long ago.

Flavia is a very polarizing character. She is a precocious 11 year old chemistry whiz with a wicked sense of humor who is loved by many and despised by some. At times, she does seem to understand much more than she should for her age, both about human nature and about science. While Flavia is incredibly bright and can be incredibly impetuous at times, she realizes both the positives and negatives of her age. "Eleven year-olds are supposed to be unreliable. We're past the age of being poppets: the age where people bend over and poke us in the tum with their fingers and make idiotic noises that sound like "boof-boof" -- just the thoughts of which is enough to make me bring up my Bovril. And yet we're still not at the age where anyone ever mistakes us for a grown-up. The fact is, we're invisible -- except when we choose not to be." 

While I found the mystery in this book compelling, it has a very slow buildup. The murder in question doesn't happen until halfway through the book and I knew who was in trouble long before the crime was committed. I wasn't miserable waiting for the plot to build up to the murder - Flavia is always entertaining, whether she is gallivanting around town on her bike Gladys or plotting against her insufferable older sisters.  Bradley excels at creating the quintessential small British town with a zany and lovable cast of characters. It's interesting to see how he builds the characters in each story, so you meet a few more residents of Bishop's Lacey in each book. 

While this is a sequel, it shouldn't stop you from jumping into this book. I don't think you will be confused if you haven't read The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. But really, why should you miss any of Flavia's adventures? She is an unforgettable character and Alan Bradley is a great writer. I look forward to seeing what mischief Flavia finds next in A Red Herring Without Mustard. 

Thursday, January 10, 2013

2012: A Retrospect in Books

Ok, I know that this post is a little late. Most of you are organized and had this post up at the end of December or in the first week of January. But 2012 was a great year in books for me and I want to share all of that goodness with you.

Books Reviewed in 2012: 105
Pages Read: 33,543
Fiction: 86 books
Non-fiction: 19 books
Books by male authors: 41
Books by female authors: 64
Most Disappointing Book: The Slap 
Favorite New Author: Nick Harkaway


Top Ten Books of 2012 at Literary Lindsey:
(title links to my review) 

Angelmaker
Angelmaker
I loved this book. It's funny, the characters are wonderful, and the action moves at the perfect pace. This is the book I want to push into everyone's hands, proclaiming that it is smart and heartfelt and more fun than you've had reading a book in a long time.

Code Name Verity
Code Name Verity
My husband likes to tease me about my love of WWII era novels and I do read a lot of them. This book is an extremely compelling story about two spies that will make you question everything you think you know about the characters. In addition to being an incredible page-turner, it is wonderfully refreshing to find a novel about two friends that is unencumbered by contrived romantic plots.

Mr. Fox

I read this book very early in the year but it stuck with me for a long time. In a sea of cookie cutter novels, this one really stands out. The lines between a writer's life and his work are blurred in this inventive and unique book that will remind you why you love stories.

No One Is Here Except All of Us

In this heartbreaking story, the residents of a small village decide to face the imminent Nazi invasion by rewriting the story of their lives. No One Is Here Except All of Us is about the strength of the connections with our family, friends, and neighbors and how easily they can be broken.

People of the Book
People of the Book
People of the Book follows Hanna Heath, who specializes in rare books as she studies the Sarajevo Haggadah. As she uncovers details of the book, Brooks gives us a possible history of this incredible (and real) book. This novel spans decades and countries and I wished that it wouldn't end.

The House at Tynneford

This novel about a Jewish woman who goes to work in an English manor house during WWII manages to be  comfortable without compromising wonderfully rendered characters or beautiful writing. This is perfect for curling up with on a cold winter's day with a cup of tea.

The Imperfectionists
The Imperfectionists
This collection of linked short stories follows the employees at a failing English newspaper in Rome. The characters are incredibly well-written and I was often surprised by the choices they make. In addition to beautiful writing, it is a meditation on the heart of journalism as newspapers are losing their position as rulers of the news.

Wish You Were Here
Wish You Were Here
This is a great family saga. It centers around the last summer a family will spend at their cabin after the death of their patriarch. The characters are so rich and nuanced and I wanted to spend more time with this wonderfully dysfunctional family. I look forward to reading the sequel this year.

The Fault in Our Stars
The Fault in Our Stars
I do not read a lot of YA because I am usually disappointed. I loved this book, though. The characters were unique and funny and I loved the unexpected ending and the realism that pervaded the pages. Not every story ends happily, but there is always joy and humor to be found along the way. If you are going to read one YA novel, pick this one.

Mighty Be Our Powers: How Sisterhood, Prayer, and Sex Changed a Nation at War 

I try to read a decent amount of non-fiction because I think it's important to be informed about the people and places of our world. Leymah Gbowee is an incredibly courageous woman who fought for herself and other women in the midst of a terrible war. She writes with brutal honesty and grace. This book will give you new insight into the conflict in Liberia and into the mind and heart of an incredible woman.


Alright, it's your turn. What was your favorite book in 2012?

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Some Questions

In this new year, I've been thinking about expanding the blog a bit. I wanted to pick the brains of some of you book bloggers who use social media more than I do. Do you have a Facebook page or Twitter account for your blog? What do you find to be the pros and cons? Did you meet a lot of new bookish people that way and get more blog traffic? What should I do as a first time Twitter user?!?!


I'm also curious about how you all use Goodreads. I have an account there and love it. I realized that I had just been giving books starred reviews as I finished them and was several months behind transferring my reviews from my blog to Goodreads. I was going to catch up on that, but then I started thinking about how easily my reviews might be used by other people. I started reading the user agreement, but I'm still not sure I understand it all. Does Goodreads own the rights to your reviews once you publish them on their site? Do you publish partial reviews on Goodreads and then direct people back to your blog?


Give me your thoughts, oh wonderful blog readers. Thanks!

Sunday, January 6, 2013

It's Monday again...tell me about your books!


Hello, bookish people! Did you have a good week? I'm having the sort of night where I can't even remember what's been happening in the past few days! It was a fun weekend - we had a great Saturday afternoon at the arcade with some of our family and friends (David liked the helicopter ride and the husband was the king of laser tag). Today, I filled in for our pianist at church and then promptly came home and took a nap. My in-laws came over and we had a nice relaxing evening complete with Chinese food. Thank goodness for weekends, right?


Read This Week:
The Adventures and the Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
The Adventures and the Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle


Mended: Pieces of a Life Made Whole
Mended: Pieces of a Life Made Whole
By Angie Smith

Posts from this Past Week:
It's Monday
December Wrap-Up
Reviews of I Know This Much is True and For Her Own Good

Reading Now:
Lost in a Good Book (Thursday Next, #2)
Lost in a Good Book (Thursday Next #2)
By Jasper Fforde

Up Next:
White Teeth
White Teeth
By Zadie Smith

What are you reading this week?

Friday, January 4, 2013

Review: For Her Own Good

For Her Own Good: Two Centuries of the Experts' Advice to Women
By Barbara Ehrenreich and Deirdre English
Anchor Books 2005
362 pages
Borrowed from my sister

For Her Own Good: Two Centuries of the Experts' Advice to Women

Authors Barbara Ehrenreich and Deirdre English decided to investigate the 'experts' in the fields of marriage, child-raising, and domesticity during the past two centuries. Who decided that these people were experts? Were their findings actually scientific and unbiased?  Most importantly, what effect did their advice have on the women who utilized it in their homes and their lives?

This book gives a lot of interesting insight into the ways that women have been defined by American culture. It begins with the Industrial Revolution at a time when the family was split up. While the entire family once worked together for the common goal of survival, men soon left the home and the family to go work in cities. The very tasks that women had done in the home were now accomplished in factory assembly lines. Now they were instructed to create welcoming, non-stressful environment for their husbands when they returned at the end of the day. The gap between men and women and work and home life was widening exponentially.

From there, Ehrenreich and English delve into the fields of medicine, domestic science, and mothering. Reading For Her Own Good may lead to frustration, outbursts, and book-throwing. It's incredible to realize that men in positions of power created a culture of female submission and then used medicine to subdue women who dared to assert any authority over their lives. It's no wonder women feel like they can't possibly do a good job raising their children when they are admonished in one decade not to baby their children and then told they are not giving them enough attention just a few years later.

While this book takes a more academic tone, I still found it incredibly interesting. At times, the biases of the authors are evident and there are moments when they seem to wonder off topic a bit. While it is decidedly not a book you can speed read, it is a book that will make you reflect on the expectations placed on women both in the past and the present. 

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Review: I Know This Much is True

I Know This Much Is True
By Wally Lamb
Harper Collins 1998
897 pages
From my shelves

I Know This Much Is True

Dominick Birdsey is a man carrying a heavy burden. His twin brother, Thomas, is schizophrenic. As the brothers get older, Dominick finds himself increasingly carrying the weight of caring for Thomas to the detriment of his own life and relationships. When Thomas commits a horrible act of violence while claiming to listen to the voice of God, Dominick is forced to re-evaluate everything he thought about his decisions, his family, and putting himself last. 

This is my last fictional foray into the works of Mr. Lamb (until he writes another novel, hint hint!). I enjoyed She's Come Undone and I thought The Hour I First Believed was amazing. There are a lot of similarities between this book and The Hour I First Believed. Both feature a male protagonist who looks at his life with a new perspective after a major tragedy. In each book, the main character discovers letters or a book that will impact the way they continue with the rest of their lives.

Dominick is given a manuscript of his grandfather's autobiography.  He originally plans to get it translated into English as a present for his mother, but he loses the book. When he gets it back in a bizarre turn of events, he decides to read it and try to understand the man who impacted his mother so much. It is a testament to Lamb's skill as an author that I was just as interested in the autobiography of Dominick's grandfather as I was in Dominick's experiences. Domenico is not a likable character. He is full of himself and cruel to the people in his life. As Dominick learns about his heritage and his family, he is at first horrified at his grandfather's actions. But he soon discovers that the story of his grandfather informs his in ways that he could not have imagined.

I Know This Much is True is a powerful look at the other person - the one who is on the sidelines, the one who is the caregiver, the one who looks after the person who can't care for themselves. It's a difficult place to be as you care for someone you love with the knowledge that the care you give is a tremendous drain, financially, physically, and emotionally. Dominick is someone who has a lot of anger that his brother is sick, that the system is failing him, and that their mother could never stand up for them to their abusive stepfather. When Dominick tries to find some happiness of his own, his new family falls apart after the loss of their baby.

This is a sweeping novel about the ways in which we deal with grief and the disappointments of our family. Dominick ultimately realizes that while he has been shaped by his family, he cannot be controlled by it. He must choose his own destiny and decide which relationships can be salvaged and which ones are destroying his life. This is a gigantic novel and it's not an uplifting one, but it is not a tale of hopelessness. If you find yourself wondering if you could cart a 900 page book around with you so you don't miss a single minute of reading, don't say I didn't warn you. 

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

December Wrapup

Happy New Year! I thought it would be appropriate to take the first day of January to talk about December. Right?

So...December. I'm a little embarrassed by you. Only four book reviews? It's like I don't even know you. Oh well. The plus side of taking a week off from blogging at the end of December is that you read a ridiculous number of books. January is going to be excellent for the books reviews.

Books reviewed in December: 4
Pages Read: 1,482
Fiction/Non-fiction: 3/1
Female authors/male authors: 3/1
My books/library books: 4/0
Lindsey's favorite book in December: Full Disclosure

Books reviewed with David: 2
David's favorite book in December: I Like to Be Little

What was your favorite read in December?


Why yes, David is wearing a reindeer tie.
We get very fancy in the literary household.