My year in books - 2022

 

It's time for my annual "books I read this year" list.

In previous years I've tried to break my list up into various genre categories, but this time I'm just going with plain old Nonfiction (20 books) and Fiction (7 books), alphabetical by author in each category.

I hope my list gives you some ideas for books to read in 2023.

 

NONFICTION

Son of Elsewhere: a Memoir in Pieces - Elamin Abdelmahmoud.
I absolutely loved this book by the Toronto writer/podcaster and former Queen's student. Abdelmahmoud writes with humour, humility, and grace about his experiences as a 12-year-old immigrant from Sudan to Kingston, Ontario and the struggle to fit into a new place where he was instantly defined as Black, an identity that was completely new to him. The author explores his youthful and adult passions such as wrestling, country music, highways, TV shows, and radio -- always making a connection to that concept of "elsewhere," that pull between the "once-home" and the "new home." A beautiful book. (I also had the opportunity to hear Abdelmahmoud speak at an event put on by Kingston ArtsFest this past spring, just after I'd read the book; that was a real treat.)

No Cure For Being Human (And Other Truths I Need To Hear) - Kate Bowler.
In this follow-up to Everything Happens for a Reason (And Other Lies I've Loved), Bowler talks about her colon cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment and reflects on how our culture of relentless positivity tries to tell us we have unlimited choices and the best is just out there waiting for us. She reminds us that acknowledging our limitations and our fragile humanity is the most truthful way to live. I really enjoy Bowler's frank, funny style -- she can have you laughing one moment and tearing up the next.

Good Enough: 40ish Devotionals for a Life of Imperfection - Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie.
I keep this book at my bedside and enjoy dipping into the short chapters about hope, disappointment, exhaustion, the in-between, and more. Each contains a brief reflection, a prayer, and a practice to help readers let go of unrealistic, guilt-producing expectations (of themselves and others) and accept the gift of being an ordinary, imperfect person.

Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole - Susan Cain.
Cain is the author of Quiet, the best-selling book on introversion. In this one she talks about how some people are naturally drawn to sadness and longing and how an acknowledgement of these feelings -- rather than just relentless positivity -- is essential to personal growth and stronger relationships. She talks about the importance of grieving well, the role of sadness and longing in creativity, and the need to acknowledge impermanence, among other things. Excellent book.

The Whole Language: The Power of Extravagant Tenderness - Fr. Greg Boyle.
As in his previous books Tattoos on the Heart and Barking to the Choir, Father Boyle shares moving and humorous stories about the gang members he works with at Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, showing how learning to be tender with ourselves and others is life-changing. His books are such a gift.

Atlas of the Heart - Brene Brown.
I have read all of Brene Brown's books (most of which address vulnerability and shame in various contexts), and this is one I think I'll be returning to over and over again to study and absorb. It's essentially a map of emotions and emotion-related thoughts, clustered according to different situations or needs. For example, Ch. 1 is called "Places We Go When Things Are Uncertain or Too Much" and talks about stress, anxiety, worry, avoidance, etc. Ch. 2, "Places We Go When We Compare," addresses resentment, jealousy, schadenfreude, and other emotions. And so on. Very interesting and insightful.

A Mind Spread Out on the Ground - Alicia Elliott.
Another excellent memoir in essays. Elliott was born into a racially mixed family (white Catholic mother and Indigenous father) and this reality shapes how she explores topics like depression, poverty, racism in the legal system, representation of Indigenous people in Canadian writing, and more.

The Sacred Pulse: Holy Rhythms for Overwhelmed Souls - April Fiet.
I had the honour of being an early reader for April's book, and it's lovely. She talks about the need for "holy rhythms" to guide our days, using everyday subjects like gardening, handcrafts, cooking, raising chickens, etc. to invite us to become more present and in tune with the "kairos time" of God.

Once More We Saw Stars: A Memoir - Jayson Greene.
This is a very sad, beautiful memoir by the father of a two-year-old girl who died when a brick fell from a building onto the bench where she was sitting with her grandmother. It sounds horrible and obviously it is, but it's also very life-affirming.

Best Wishes, Warmest Regards: The Story of Schitts Creek - Daniel Levy and Eugene Levy.
I watched all six seasons of Schitts Creek a year or so ago, and Richard gave me this companion book last Christmas. It was a lot of fun to read, containing interviews with the cast, descriptions of the characters and episodes, and tons of photos and fan art.

Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times - Katherine May.
In this engaging book, May weaves stories and lore about winter with her own experiences, showing the importance of stepping into what winter has to offer and embracing the natural, seasonal cycles."Life meanders like a path through the woods. We have seasons when we flourish and seasons when the leaves fall from us, revealing our bare bones. Given time, they grow again."

Attached to God: A Practical Guide to Deeper Spiritual Experience - Krispin Mayfield.
This book by a therapist explores the different attachment styles people have -- anxious, shutdown, and shame-filled attachment -- and how each one can affect their relationships with other people as well as with God. In all three cases a lack of trust, sometimes resulting from hurtful experiences in childhood and/or Christian community, can prevent us from experiencing God in the way we long to. Then Mayfield goes beyond simply telling us about how attachment theories work to addressing how we can move from anxiety to rest, from shutdown to engaged, and from shame to delight in our relationship with God. So good.

An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination: A Memoir - Elizabeth McCracken.
This is a powerful memoir about stillbirth. McCracken, an American, was living and writing in France while she and her husband awaited the birth of their first child; at nine months they discovered the baby had died. McCracken is a brilliant writer, interweaving details about that ill-fated delivery with those of her second pregnancy, so that she moves readers simultaneously toward the devastating events of her loss and toward the joy she and her husband have with their living child.

Do I Stay Christian? A Guide for the Doubters, the Disappointed, and the Disillusioned - Brian McLaren.
I had only read one other book by McLaren -- A New Kind of Christian -- and that was a number of years ago, so I thought it was time to remedy that. Part I of this book addresses the reasons a person might want to leave the fold of Christianity; Part II addresses the reasons they might want to remain. Then in Part III he discusses some practices and principles which will help us become better people no matter which decision we make, such as becoming more in tune with the earth, committing ourselves to the pursuit of reality, etc. Lots to think about here; I'd highly recommend this.

When We Belong: Reclaiming Christianity on the Margins - Rohadi Nagassar.
Nagassar, a Calgary writer, church planter, and organizer, has written a very interesting and challenging book about deconstructing and decolonizing Christianity. He talks about various barriers to true belonging in society and the church and how racism and white supremacy must be identified and addressed for true liberation to occur. "Institutions are not designed to change; they're fundamentally designed to keep things the same, a posture that comes at the cost of further marginalizing those who have faced abuse and seek justice."

Unprotected: A Memoir - Billy Porter.
I thoroughly enjoyed this inspiring memoir by actor/dancer/singer Porter, whose writing is bigger than life, just like his public and onstage personality. (You may be familiar with his iconic appearance in a black tuxedo gown at the 2019 Oscars.) As a boy, Porter experienced sexual abuse and was rejected by his beloved church for being gay. He writes about how his voice and other gifts took him places he would never have imagined, yet he still had to deal with the trauma of his past in order to truly thrive and love himself.

Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close - Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman.
These co-authors were close friends for many years -- and even started a podcast about women's friendships -- yet they had to acknowledge they were not well prepared when conflicts about racial insensitivity, life changes, and geographical distance strained their relationship. Their belief that their friendship was "too big to fail," combined with how public that friendship was, hindered resolution at first. But the investment they made in the relationship, including seeking a counselor's help, led to a stronger, more intentional bond. This book definitely struck a nerve for me; I read it with a combination of admiration and wistfulness.

The Journey to Wholeness: Enneagram Wisdom for Stress, Balance, and Transformation - Suzanne Stabile.
In this book, Stabile -- whose book The Path Between Us I've also read -- goes in-depth into two main categorizations of the Enneagram, the Triads (Heart, Head, Gut) and the Stances (Withdrawing, Aggressive, and Dependent), in order to help us find balance in stressful "liminal" times. I love the clarity and practicality of Stabile's approach to the Enneagram.

Coming Home: A Spiritual Memoir - Lori Vos.
The author, whom I've known for over 35 years, blends narrative, short essays, and poetry as she recounts her upbringing by abusive parents and her journey to healing and freedom from her past. This was a challenging book because of some of its subject matter and other aspects, but it was an important book for me to read this year, and I'm glad the writer has found peace.

Why Poetry? - Matthew Zapruder.
Zapruder argues that people are intimidated by and resistant to poetry because they've been wrongly taught that poems are deliberately obscure, with meanings that hide behind the words on the page. He looks at poetry more as a way for both poet and reader to make imaginative associations; experiencing poetry is an attitude or state of mind rather than the cracking of a code. I loved this line about the "usefulness" of poetry: "The role of poetry in our time of crisis is the same as always: to preserve our minds and language, so we may be strong for whatever is to come."

 

FICTION

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell - Susanna Clarke.
This 1,000-page novel of magical realism is about two 19th-century magicians who are at times allies and rivals in their quest to bring back "practical magic" to England. I first watched a seven-part BBC miniseries based on this book and loved it – and in fact when reading the book I found it quite advantageous to have watched the show first. The book is definitely a commitment but very enjoyable.

One Night Two Souls Went Walking - Ellen Cooney.
I really liked this quiet novel about the experiences of a chaplain during one night at her job at a hospital, as she interacts with various patients and ponders questions of the soul, life, and death. I had to keep reminding myself this was not a memoir because it reads so much like one.

Wives and Daughters - Elizabeth Gaskell.
"Mrs. Gaskell" was a contemporary of the Brontë sisters. This novel is one of her best known, about the remarriage of a widowed doctor and the relationships between his own daughter and his new wife and her daughter. I watched a BBC miniseries based on the book and thoroughly enjoyed that, so I decided to read the novel -- but what I didn't know was that the book was not finished before Gaskell's death. You get to the end where everything should be tied up and it just ... stops! It's a delightful book, but if you read it, be prepared for it to be inconclusive (and watch the TV series if you want a satisfying wrap-up).

Firefly Lane - Kristin Hannah.
A friend recommended this novel to me. It's about the 30-year friendship between two women who first meet as kids living across the street from one another: one flamboyant and from a troubled home, one more reserved and from a stable background. It's fairly predictable, and the endless references to time periods are kind of cringe ("Kate put on her tie-dyed t-shirt and bell-bottom jeans while listening to the Carpenters," that sort of thing), but it held my interest. It's quite a good story about two women whose relationship remains strong even through times of conflict and betrayal. (Apparently this novel was made into a TV series too, although my friend says it's very different from the book.)

O William! - Elizabeth Strout.
Strout is one of my favourite novelists and I will eagerly read anything she writes. This book, about the title character from her earlier novel My Name is Lucy Barton, explores writer Lucy's relationship with her first husband, William, and her role in helping him discover secrets from his past. Strout is so good at capturing people and relationships in a few quick strokes. I loved it.

Lucy By the Sea - Elizabeth Strout.
I was thrilled to discover this fall that another Elizabeth Strout novel about Lucy Barton had come out. It's about Lucy's experience through the Covid-19 pandemic as she escapes New York with William for a seaside house in Maine. This one was not quite as satisfying to me; Strout is not a highly dramatic writer, but this felt especially flat and formless. Maybe that was her way of depicting pandemic life – but I didn't find it as compelling as I'd hoped to. I also feel at times that Strout wants to "both-sides" things: for example, to use her characters to try to understand the motives of the Jan. 6/21 White House insurrectionists. I think if you're going to do that, you have to go all in, rather than say "but there were racists and Nazis there too" and then back away, shrugging at the mystery of it all. (There's a whiff of privileged Boomer energy here, despite Lucy Barton's destitute upbringing.) All this to say, if you're a Strout fan you won't want to miss this one, but in my view it isn't one of her best.

The Lincoln Highway - Amor Towles.
I'd describe this book as a "yarn." It begins with Emmett, a teenage boy in 1950s Nebraska, returning home from a work farm after his father's death. He and his little brother decide to drive from Nebraska to California to start new lives and maybe find their long-lost mother. But two friends from the work farm have stowed away in their car and suggest a detour that leads them in the opposite direction, to New York City. It's quite entertaining, with chapters told from the point of view of multiple characters.

(I also started Anthony Doerr's Cloud Cuckoo Land because I'd heard raves about it, but I abandoned it in the early going when it became obvious that a character who commits a terrible act of destruction (very early on, so no spoiler here) is likely autistic. Autistic people are far likelier to be victims of crime than perpetrators, so this inaccurate trope can be really damaging, regardless of the author's intent. Doerr strikes me as a wise author, so this was a real disappointment; I wish someone had warned him against taking this approach -- or if someone did, that he had listened.)

Well, that's my list! Thanks for reading it -- or skimming it, or even just glancing at it and saying "TL: DR -- I ain't reading all that." I'd love it if you'd leave a comment below and tell me if you've read any of these, or if you've read something else in 2022 that was especially meaningful to you.

 

My year of reading - 2021 edition

 

  

It's time for my end-of-year list of all the books I've read in the past year, with mini-reviews. I'm not going to star them this time; sometimes I have a hard time deciding between a 4 and a 5, and I'm pretty sure you'll be able to tell from my descriptions what I thought of the book. 

Note that I've broken up the nonfiction section thematically since so many of the books I read were clustered by theme.

NONFICTION 

RACE AND JUSTICE:

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson.
I think this was the first book I read in 2021, and I honestly have not stopped thinking about it. Wilkerson talks about how the concept of caste puts people in a hierarchy so that every aspect of their lives is judged to legitimize where they've been placed. She describes caste with this memorable image: "As we go about our daily lives, caste is the wordless usher in a darkened theater, flashlight cast down in the aisles, guiding us to our assigned seats for a performance." Wilkerson applies the concept of caste to three major groups -- Black people in America, the Untouchables in India, and Jews in Nazi Germany -- to explain how it functions. An incredible, thought-provoking, beautifully written book.

How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X Kendi.
This has been one of the "everyone's talking about it" books for the past two years, and it is so interesting. It's part memoir, part theory: Kendi describes experiences and stages in his own life to illustrate his changing views of racism and the development of his antiracist model. For Kendi, racism is a system composed of racist inequities, racist policies (which create and entrench the inequities), and racist ideas (which justify the inequities). I learned a lot from this book and am eager to read his previous one, Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America.

How to Fight Racism: Courageous Christianity and the Journey Toward Racial Justice by Jemar Tisby.
Tisby is a history professor and author of The Color of Compromise (which I read last year and which details the tendency of the American Christian church to compromise with racism at so many points in its history). In this second book he gives practical suggestions for readers to combat racism in their own spheres, using a model called ARC: Awareness, Relationships, and Commitment.

You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories About Racism by Amber Ruffin. 
In this book, Ruffin (who writes and presents on Seth Meyers' late-night show) talks about the experiences her sister Lacey Lamar has had living as a Black woman in Nebraska: weird comments, microaggressions, bizarre assumptions about Black people, etc. It's not exactly a well-written book -- it's really more like a standup routine and might have benefited from a few more rounds with an editor's pencil -- but it's funny and shocking. It definitely lives up to its title: many of the things that happen to Lacey are likely unbelievable to a white person but all too familiar to Black Americans.

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stephenson.
This memoir (which was also made into a movie, though I haven't seen it) is about Stephenson's work as a lawyer in the South seeking justice for (primarily Black) clients who have been wrongly accused or convicted, who are sentenced to life imprisonment as children, or who are languishing in the system without proper representation. The book lays bare the injustice and inequity in the American legal system, but Stephenson's compassionate efforts and the supportive communities that rallied behind many of his clients are inspiring. Excellent book.

Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States by Samuel Perry and Andrew Whitehead. 
This book by two sociologists focuses on Christian nationalism: the belief that the US is a Christian nation and that the entire social order must be structured around that reality. It goes into a lot of detail about how Americans' opinions on issues like immigration and refugees, gun control, etc. are shaped by a Christian nationalist mindset.

GENDER AND FAITH:

Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation by Kristin Kobes Du Mez.
Wow. This one was a lot to take in. Du Mez is a historian, and she presents in convincing detail a history of the role "militant masculinity" has played in white American evangelical Christianity. Adopting masculine heroes that are more cultural than Biblical, evangelicals have fashioned a view of masculinity based on violence, authoritarianism, conservative values, and resistance to women's and LGBTQIA rights. A very eye-opening book.

The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth by Beth Allison Barr.
Another really good historical analysis. Here Barr discusses how in every stage of Christian history (early church, middle ages, Reformation, Bible translation, etc.), women's voices have been edged out or the focus shifted to marriage, motherhood, and homemaking as women's proper (only) sphere.  Yet parallel to that she also reveals an amazing, influential history of Christian women leading, teaching, and preaching in the face of constant efforts (by church, broader culture, or both) to thwart them. Really a worthwhile read.

Transforming: The Bible and the Lives of Transgender Christians by Austen Hartke.
This is a very interesting, accessible and much-needed book. Hartke, a trans man, addresses many Scripture passages and real-life stories in order to help readers understand transgender issues in relation to faith and inclusive Christian community.

  CHRISTIAN LIFE:

Love Matters More: How Fighting To Be Right Keeps Us From Loving Like Jesus by Jared Byas.
This is a book about love and truth. Byas talks about how our well-intended efforts to "speak the truth in love" often fail because we forget that we don't have the absolute truth, or we mix shame and judgment in with the truth and end up failing to love. He reminds us that wisdom is a higher form of truth than certainty and that humility is essential to all of our efforts to convey truth. I really enjoyed this one.

Wholehearted Faith by Rachel Held Evans (with Jeff Chu).
When Evans died in 2019 at the age of 38, she was in the middle of writing this book. Her husband asked close friend Jeff Chu to finish it; the result is this warm, encouraging book of essays. Evans reflects on women in Scripture and in her own life who said yes to God; she shares her own doubts and encourages readers to embrace questioning rather than certainty; she talks about letting ourselves be vulnerable; she (very poignantly, now) meditates on death and resurrection; and she constantly reminds us of the compelling beauty of the story of Jesus. There's such a sense of settled peace in this book; it's a real gift. But it's also so sad to think that this is the last book of hers we'll read.

 AUTISM AND DISABILITY:

On the Spectrum: Autism, Faith & the Gifts of Neurodiversity by Daniel Bowman, Jr.
In this memoir-in-essays, Bowman first talks about receiving an autism diagnosis in 2015 after experiencing serious depressive episodes and meltdowns that drove him and his wife to separate. This diagnosis explained his lifelong sense of not fitting in and gave him a new narrative for his life. Then in short, evocative essays, he discusses many different issues and themes, all through the lens of being an autistic person: reading and writing poetry, teaching, volunteering at an arts community, choosing NOT to volunteer for church service, riding his motorcycle, being a husband and parent, crying, autistic representation, and more. Of great interest, as well, are three interviews Bowman has done with people who reached out to know more about his life and about autism. There is so much packed into this book: it's one man's life, but it's also a meditation on art, community, faith, and neurodiversity. Beautiful and moving.

We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation by Eric Garcia.
In this book, autistic journalist Garcia gives an overview of the current landscape of autism in America. There's a chapter on education and academic accommodations, one on housing, one on love and relationships, one on work and employment, etc. In each chapter he explains some details of his own life as an autistic person navigating this particular area, introduces us to the experiences and insights of other autistics, and explores some of the historical background and policies that affect how autistic people function in and contribute to society. The structure is really interesting, and Garcia conveys a lot of information while also debunking myths and stereotypes about autism.

Blind Man's Bluff by James Tate Hill.
Very engrossing memoir about Hill's loss of vision (due to a hereditary eye disease) at age 16 and how he essentially tried to hide his blindness from the world for 15 years, with results that are both funny and sad. Really liked this.

Diary of a Young Naturalist by Dara McAnulty.
This unique, delightful book covers a year in the life of 15-year-old McAnulty, an autistic Irish teenager. In his diary entries he describes his passion for and knowledge about the natural world, his conservationist efforts, and his everyday life with his family and at school. He is an incredible writer whose joy in nature is infectious. "The night crackles as the storm of flitting [moths] moves off. We jump up and down and hug each other, tension leaking out. We chat and look at the sky, sparkling with Orion, Seven Sisters and the Plough. This is us, standing here. All the best part of us, and another moment etched in our memories, to be invited back and relived in conversations for years to come. Remember that night, when fluttering stars calmed a storm in all of us."

 MEMOIR, AUTOBIOGRAPHY, ESSAYS:

We Are All Perfectly Fine: A Memoir of Love, Medicine and Healing by Jillian Horton.
This is an excellent memoir that centers on a retreat Horton attended for burned-out doctors. She was skeptical at first about what a weekend retreat could do to alleviate her sense of exhaustion and despair. But as she and the other doctors opened up to one another they were able to help each other let go of guilt, practice compassion for themselves and others, and acknowledge that the medical profession itself is set up in a way that fosters stress and burnout. Very moving book; I loved it.

Big Reader: Essays by Susan Olding.
In this beautiful book of essays, Olding shows how beloved books can help us make sense of life experiences and memories. She writes of her mother's vision loss (and accompanying inability to read), the breakup of her marriage, her attempts to connect with the daughter of her new husband, and more -- revealing how the books and stories we read can also, in a sense, end up reading our lives. Olding is such a wonderful writer.

The Answer Is...: Reflections on My Life by Alex Trebek.
This book by the late Jeopardy host is not really a sustained autobiography so much as a series of snapshots of different stages of his life, from childhood right through to his work on Jeopardy. It answers many questions fans might have about his life and work and is quite entertaining and upbeat.

POETRY

I read a few very good collections of poetry this year: 

Ways We Vanish by Todd Dillard 

The Last Bridge is Home by Rodd Whelpley 

And Drought Will Follow by Lee Potts

Late Summer Flowers by Julian Day

The Tradition by Jericho Brown 

Good Bones and Goldenrod by Maggie Smith

I tend to discover a lot of individual poems on Twitter, but I really need to read more collections.

FICTION

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig.
In this fantasy novel, a young woman named Nora, brought to despair by personal failures and regrets, is considering ending her own life. Then she finds herself in the Midnight Library, which is full of books telling the stories of other lives she might have lived if she had made different choices. Nora is given the opportunity to try some of these lives and see if she can find one that would make her happier than her real life has. This novel is kind of a cross between It's a Wonderful Life and Choose Your Own Adventure. I loved it.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas.
This book (also an excellent movie) is about Starr, a Black teenager feeling pulled between the relatively poor neighbourhood where her family lives and the mostly-white prep school she attends. When her childhood friend is killed by police in a traffic stop as she looks on, Starr's life becomes even more complicated; she has to testify before a grand jury and decide how to use her voice to contribute to change. I think this book (and movie) should be required reading/viewing for anyone wanting to understand the complexities of the Black experience in America.

Ross Poldark by Winston Graham.
This is the first in Graham's 12-novel Poldark series about a man who returns to Cornwall, England after fighting in the Revolutionary War, only to find his father dead, his estate in shambles, and his childhood sweetheart engaged to his cousin. I read it because I watched the entire Poldark TV series this year and absolutely loved it. The book was good, and I enjoyed it, but I haven't yet made a point of reading any of the other novels in the series. If you haven't watched Poldark, you should -- it's so good.

Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry.
This is a beautiful novel, similar in tone and style to Berry's Hannah Coulter, which I read a couple of years ago. Like that book, Jayber Crow reads more like a memoir than a novel. After losing his parents and then the surrogate parents who raised him, Jayber leaves home for the big city but then returns to become the barber in his small hometown of Port William (a fictional Kentucky town). He reflects on his work there, his interactions with the townspeople, and especially his love for a young woman who marries an undeserving man. This novel is poignant and lovely.

Jack by Marilynne Robinson.
This is the fourth novel in Robinson's Gilead sequence, after Gilead (Rev. John Ames' letter to his young son), Home (about Ames' friend Rev. Robert Boughton, his daughter Glory, and his ne'er-do-well son Jack), and Lila (about Ames' wife). Jack is essentially about Jack Boughton's relationship with his Black lover, Della. Frankly, I found this book really, really tiresome. It begins with 75 pages of dialogue between Jack and Della. I pushed through because Robinson is a gifted writer and I hoped for an ultimate payoff -- but Jack's arch, pathetic tone, his self-recriminations and self-justifications, were just too much. There were moments where I sympathized with his pitiful attempts to become a respectable man, and I'm certain there's some deep spiritual message in this prodigal son narrative -- but overall the reading experience for me was tedious. 

 

Well! Sorry to end on a bit of a downer note with that last one. But overall this was another good year of reading for me. I hope my list gives you some good ideas for your own reading in 2022. I'd love to hear your thoughts below in the comments: whether you've read any of these books, agreed or disagreed with my assessment of them, have other books to recommend, or whatever.

 

Five Minute Friday: OBSERVANT

 

Today I'm linking up with the Five Minute Friday community, writing for five minutes on a given prompt. 

This week's word is OBSERVANT.

 

I watched a movie not long ago about an observant person.

The movie's called Paterson, and it's about a bus driver in Paterson, New Jersey who is also named Paterson (the specific reason why is never explained) and who has a "secret life" as a poet.

He carries a notebook with him everywhere and writes his poems in it -- we see the drafts appearing across the screen as he walks to work or drives his bus around the city. He stares at a matchbox while eating breakfast, and that inspires a poem that ends with his love for his wife. He eavesdrops on the conversations of passengers on his bus, stops to listen to a rapper composing in a laundromat, chats with a young girl who has a notebook of her own.

His daily routines are mundane and rarely change, but his inner life is rich. There isn't always a direct connection between what he observes and what he writes; the things he sees and hears are more like compost enriching his creative life.

Our lives are richer when we are observant, when we take notice of the things around us. It's so easy to walk around in a fog, stuck in our heads, preoccupied with ideas and worries and plans. At least it is for me. Simple objects, sounds, and conversations can inspire our creativity. They can also connect us with other people and remind us that we're just a small part of something greater.

 

2019: A Year in Books

photo: unsplash

As 2019 comes to a close, it's time for my annual year-end book list. I always enjoy looking back at what I've read, and I hope that if you're looking for suggestions to add to your own t0-read pile or even for last-minute Christmas gift ideas, you'll find this list interesting.

My ratings:
5/5 = Exceptional
4/5 = Excellent
3/5 = Good
2/5 = Okay
1/5 = Poor

FICTION:

All He Ever Wanted (Anita Shreve). I didn't expect to love this novel as much as I did, but I found it completely captivating and so well-written. It's about Nicholas Van Tassel, a stodgy professor in New Hampshire in 1900, who becomes obsessed with a young woman named Etna Bliss whom he meets after a hotel fire. As he reflects years later on their long relationship and the things he did in his effort to win Etna's love, we come to realize that he may not be the most reliable -- or likable -- main character. If you liked The Remains of the Day, you may very well like this. (5/5) (See companion novel Stella Bain below.)

The Custom of the Country (Edith Wharton). And speaking of unlikable main characters: social-climbing society girl Undine Spragg really takes the cake. As she flits from one man and one social stratum to another, desperately trying to secure herself a life of wealth and ease, it's like watching an impending train wreck but not wanting to miss a moment of it. (5/5)

The Dutch House (Ann Patchett). This is the third Patchett novel I've read (besides Bel Canto and Commonwealth) and I love her writing more with every book. She is the kind of novelist you can trust: she gives enough (but not too much) information to keep you turning the pages, and she always takes you somewhere satisfying. This novel is about the close relationship between brother and sister Danny and Maeve, who are forced to fend for themselves when their stepmother kicks them out of the ostentatious home they've grown up in. A really moving and often funny book about family secrets, past hurts, and shared memories. (5/5)

Hannah Coulter (Wendell Berry). This beautiful novel reads like a memoir, as the aging Hannah looks back on her childhood, married life, and parenting with her husband Nathan on a farm in the small community of Port William, Kentucky. Hannah's reflections on agriculture, community, and changing times are wise and touching. (5/5)

Brooklyn (Colm Toibin). This is the novel on which the 2015 Oscar-nominated movie of the same name is based. I saw the movie earlier this year and absolutely loved it, so I wanted to read the novel too. Toibin's understated story of an Irish girl who goes to live and work in Brooklyn in the 1950's is very appealing. (4/5)

The Dearly Beloved (Cara Wall). I enjoyed this novel about the friendship between two couples: two ministers, Charles and James, who are hired to co-pastor a church, and their wives Lily and Nan. As the characters work through their journeys of faith (or lack thereof) over several decades, their lives become more and more intertwined. (4/5)

Olive, Again (Elizabeth Strout). In Olive Kitteridge, Strout's 2008 Pulitzer-winning book of related stories, Olive Kitteridge was the touchstone and central figure. She returns in this similarly-structured new book. Here we meet some of the same characters from Olive Kitteridge and even from Strout's other books. Olive is as irascible and odd as ever, but her impact on the people in her small Maine town is undeniable. I found some of the stories underwhelming, but as the book goes on and Olive is forced to come to terms with many of the losses and indignities of old age, I found myself once again rooting for her and admiring her. (4/5)

Washington Black (Esi Edugyan). This Giller-winning novel is the story of young Washington, a slave on a sugar plantation in Barbados. The eccentric scientist brother of the slave master takes Washington on as his personal assistant; then, when a family crisis occurs for which Washington may be blamed, the two of them escape. The novel takes Washington from the Arctic to Nova Scotia and to London and beyond. The first part of this novel is riveting, but I found the second half, with its many peripheral characters, less interesting -- and Washington is a somewhat opaque narrator. A wonderful book, but in my opinion it didn't totally live up to the hype. (4/5)

The Water Dancer (Ta-Nehisi Coates). This is the first novel by essayist and memoirist Coates, author of Between the World and Me. It's the story of a young Virginia plantation slave, Hiram Walker, who is the son of a white slave owner and a slave woman whom the owner sold when Hiram was young. Hiram has a mysterious power called conduction that allows him to transport across time and space and that makes him a useful worker in the Underground Railroad. The combination of history and magical undercurrents make this a very compelling novel -- and one that would also be interesting to compare with Washington Black, above. (4/5)

Stella Bain (Anita Shreve). This novel, written 13 years after Shreve's All He Ever Wanted (see above), is told from the perspective of Etna Bliss, the main female character in the earlier book. Stella Bain fills in many of the details that the earlier one (being told solely from Van Tassel's viewpoint) didn't give us, so it is worth reading, but it's not nearly as well-written as the first book. (3/5)


NONFICTION:

Becoming (Michelle Obama). I loved this memoir of Obama's journey from a working-class Chicago family to her eight years as First Lady in the White House. As Obama says, "I grew up with a disabled dad in a too-small house with not much money in a starting-to-fail neighborhood, and I also grew up surrounded by love and music in a diverse city in a country where education can take you far. I had nothing or I had everything. It depends on which way you want to tell it." (5/5) 

Educated (Tara Westover). This memoir tells of Westover's tough upbringing in Idaho with Mormon survivalist parents. Westover worked in her father's scrapyard, enduring abuse from him and one of her brothers, until she could leave and go to Brigham Young University and eventually Harvard. The book details her complex and painful relationships with various family members, her struggle to affirm her womanhood, and the challenge of telling one's own story in the face of others' conflicting versions. (5/5)

On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life Through Great Books (Karen Swallow Prior). In this wonderful book, Prior discusses twelve virtues, each one in relation to a particular work of literature, such as Jane Austen's Persuasion and Shasuko Endo's Silence. She shows us that not only does literature contain great examples of virtue (or its absence) but that the actual reading of literature is a way of practicing the virtues. See my full-length review of this book HERE. (5/5)

Love, Henri: Letters on the Spiritual Life (Henri J.M. Nouwen). Nouwen's letters to the many friends and strangers he encountered over the course of his life showcase his compassionate, pastoral heart. They return again and again to the themes on which Nouwen wrote most extensively: vocation, humility, and closeness to Jesus. (5/5)

Once We Were Strangers (Shawn Smucker). Beautiful, gentle, moving book about Smucker's friendship with a Syrian refugee. As Smucker tells us, he started out intending to write one book but ended up writing quite a different one. The one he did write focuses on the beauty and simplicity of friendship, the give-and-take of hospitality, and the universal desire to create a place of safety and security for those we love. (5/5)

The Collected Schizophrenias (Esme Meijun Wang). Wang was diagnosed with schizoaffective/bipolar disorder in her twenties; in this beautifully-written book of essays she discusses her own experiences with mental illness as well as broader topics about the depiction of mental illness in media, crimes committed by the mentally ill, and debates over diagnosis. A fascinating blend of memoir and rigorous research. (4/5)

Dignity: Seeking Respect in Back Row America (Chris Arnade). Arnade left a high-powered job on Wall Street to travel across the U.S., talking to people in McDonald's and coffee shops to document the lives of those in what he calls "back row America." Fascinating personal stories and striking photographs of the poor and marginalized, with commentary on race, privilege, and division in America. (4/5)

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed (Lori Gottlieb). Interesting and entertaining memoir by a therapist whose life falls apart when her longtime boyfriend tells her he no longer wants to get married; her decision to find a therapist of her own to work with through this crisis leads her to new insights on dealing with loss and change and coming to know oneself better. (4/5)

Shameless: A Sexual Reformation (Nadia Bolz-Weber). Bolz-Weber is a Lutheran minister and the author of two previous books of memoir, Pastrix and Accidental Saints. Drawing on her own personal story and the stories of her parishioners at the House For All Sinners and Saints in Denver, Shameless discusses the need for a new and more freeing way to look at sexuality. Bolz-Weber proposes a sexual ethic that is based neither on premarital abstinence nor solely on consent, but on care and concern -- and that puts the flourishing of people ahead of rules that cause them harm. Her primary metaphor is that of a crop irrigation system, whereby the traditional rules may work well for those within the irrigator's circle, but not necessarily for those in the unwatered corners of the field. Excellent book. (4/5)

White Picket Fences: Turning Toward Love in a World Divided by Privilege (Amy Julia Becker). Becker reflects on her upbringing in an upper-class North Carolina family with black staff, her experiences as a parent of a child with Down Syndrome, her realization that "answers to prayer" sometimes have more to do with personal connections than God's blessing, her exploration of how people of colour are (or aren't) depicted in children's books, and more. I love Becker's thoughtful, honest voice. (4/5)

Dare to Lead: Brave Work, Tough Conversations, Whole Hearts (Brene Brown). This book covers some of the same ground as Brown's previous work -- vulnerability, empathy, trust, and wholeheartedness -- but with a focus on leadership. The real-life examples she shares are, for me, always some of the most memorable aspects of Brown's writing. There wasn't a lot here that was really new, but I did like the section on zeroing in on our two primary values and asking ourselves whether the way we live is reflecting those values. (3/5)

Don't Read Poetry: A Book About How to Read Poems (Stephanie Burt). Many people shy away from reading poetry because they find it daunting and inaccessible. Burt insists that instead we focus on poems and how they speak to one another and to us as readers. (3/5)

Glorious Weakness: Discovering God in All We Lack (Alia Joy). This memoir of Joy's struggles with family poverty, mental illness, doubt, and faith is honest and moving. (3/5)

Lark Rise to Candleford (Flora Thompson). Last year Rich and I watched the TV series of this name, about a small English hamlet and town in late 1800's England. The book -- really a combination of 3 books -- goes into great detail about rural life in that period. I enjoyed seeing the background to the show and encountering some of the quirky real-life characters on whom the fictionalized series was based. (3/5)

Millenneagram: The Enneagram Guide for Discovering Your Truest, Baddest Self (Hannah Pasch). Pasch's irreverent and encouraging guide to the Enneagram system of personality types was a fun read. (3/5)

**************** 

This brings us to the end of my list. Thanks for reading it! Let me know in the comments if you've read any of the titles here or if any of them otherwise spark your interest. And if you have your own year-end blog post about what you've read, feel free to link it in the comments! Happy reading in 2020!

New blog name!

In a shocking turn of events, I've decided to change the name of this blog from "Little house on the circle" to "Jeannie Prinsen." 

One reason I made this change is that there are numerous other blogs out there with "little house" names, such as "Little house on the hill" and "Little house on the corner." I also thought it would be easier for people to find my blog if it had my name in the title. And basically I just felt it was time for a change.

But besides the title (and the font!), it's really the same old blog. I haven't been posting much in the past several months--for reasons I've explained in recent posts--but I'm hoping to be more consistent with this in the future. I hope to see you back here again soon. 

Christmas 2018: greetings from our family

Dear friends and family,

As Christmas approaches and 2018 draws to a close, I thought I'd write this post to share some brief updates about what our family's been doing in the past year.

Jonathan turned 16 in September and is in Grade 11 at KCVI (Kingston Collegiate & Vocational Institute). He is so happy to be a part of the School-to-Community class there. He has a new teacher this year but the same Educational Assistant (Dylan) as last year, so that continuity has helped. He has enjoyed many outings with his class: they took a day trip by train to Brockville (an hour away) to visit an aquarium; they attended a hockey game and the "Grinch" movie; they participated in Special Olympics basketball and bocce tournaments; and they take regular walks to the grocery store and parks for exercise. (Jonathan is known among his classmates for being a very fast,  enthusiastic walker!) Otherwise his favourite activities are going to the library to pick out DVDs and hogging the couch as he watches YouTube videos on the iPad he got for his birthday.

Allison is 20 now and is continuing her online studies at Queen's. This past year she's taken courses in children's literature, cognitive and social psychology, and world religions. She has adjusted well to the online course environment and seems to enjoy what she's taking, particularly psychology.  

Richard is still working as a nurse at Kingston General (recently renamed Kingston Health Sciences Centre, fyi) and as a clinical instructor for a Queen's nursing course. He's still volunteering every week with Circle of Friends and Run & Read, and staying active by running and playing squash, softball, and soccer. 

I (Jeannie) am still teaching an online course at Queen's,  participating in music and a women's study group at Bethel Church, and doing a lot of writing. I was gratified to have several publications this year: I'll post the links here in case you're interested in checking them out, but if not, feel free to scroll on by! 

- I had a poem published in a print journal for the first time: Relief published my poem "Lakeside, with Jonathan" in its Spring 2018 issue. 

- My poem "Coyotes" appeared in Issue 2 of Barren Magazine. Link here.

- My  short poem "Seen" was one of the winners of Fathom Mag's 40-word poem contest. Link here. 

- My very short story "Glimpse" was one of the winners of Fathom Mag's tweet-sized stories contest (entries had to be 280 characters maximum). Link here.

- My poem "Daylight saving" appeared in The Bangor Literary Journal's "Spring's Bride" publication. Link (to download pdf) here. 

As a family we travelled to PEI in August to visit Dad and other relatives for two weeks. We stayed at an AirBnB rental near Dad's (and my brother Lincoln's) apartment in Cornwall, which worked really well; we could walk back and forth to have coffee or supper with Dad and Lincoln, and we had lots of space of our own to relax in. It was one of our best trips in a while and we hope we can make a similar arrangement next time we visit.

We also had a family wedding this year: our nephew Josh Prinsen got married to Jess Davies in July, and we enjoyed celebrating with them and other friends and relatives.

To all our family and friends, we truly hope you enjoy times of celebration and reflection over the Christmas season. All the best in 2019 -- and please keep in touch!

 Photo at top of post taken by Carolyn Prinsen at Josh and Jess's wedding, July 2018.

Five Minute Friday: ONE

I'm linking up with Five Minute Friday, writing for five minutes on a given prompt.

This week's word is ONE.

Earlier this week there was a piece published in the online magazine LitHub by author Jonathan Franzen: 

"Jonathan Franzen's Ten Rules For Novelists"

It wasn't a very helpful list, to be honest. 

Some of the "rules" sounded more like fortune-cookie proverbs: "You see more sitting still than chasing after."

Some were vague: "Interesting verbs are seldom very interesting." Uh ... ok ... would you like to proffer, bestow, or furnish some examples, Jonathan?

And some were just head-scratchers: "It’s doubtful that anyone with an Internet connection at his workplace is writing good fiction." First of all, what if you have a job as an accountant and then come home and work on your novel: how does having WiFi at work make you a poor fiction writer? (Why not just say, "Stop surfing the net when you're supposed to be writing your novel," if that's what you mean?) Also -- "his workplace"? What is this, 1950? Or does this rule only apply to male writers?

I just have One Rule For Writing, and it's an adaptation of a quote attributed to Mother Teresa talking about prayer:

WRITE AS YOU CAN, 

NOT AS YOU CAN'T.

I don't mean "You're as good a writer as you're ever going to be, so just churn out whatever comes easiest and don't challenge yourself."

What I mean is, find the time, place, style, tone, voice, genre, or structure of writing that works for you. If you can't get up at 5 a.m. to write for two hours, don't. If it isn't possible for you to write every day, don't worry about it. If your style is earnest and thoughtful, don't try to write light, quirky material just to cater to popular audiences.

And the paradox is: as you focus on writing "as you can" -- finding your unique style and gift -- one day you'll look back and see that you are writing more and better than you ever thought you could.