My 2020 reading list

 

 

It's time once again to share my list of books I've read in the past year. My list is a little shorter than usual this year; particularly during the early weeks of the pandemic I found it a challenge to focus on reading. But there is still a lot of good stuff here. 

As usual, I rate my books out of 5 stars.

 

FICTION:

The Difference - Marina Endicott. (This novel was published in the U.S. under the title The Voyage of the Morning Light.) I absolutely loved this novel and would rank it among my favourites of all time. It is about a young girl, Kay, who leaves Halifax in 1911 with her sister and brother-in-law on the ship he captains, to take a merchant voyage to the far east. Kay is angry and traumatized over what she and her sister experienced in western Canada where, we come to learn, her father ran a native residential school. As Kay encounters new places and the people who inhabit them -- foremost among them her friend/mentor Mr. Brimner and a young Tongan boy named Aren whom her sister purchases -- she starts to question what is or is not true about her past and the distinctions people create between themselves and others. (5 stars)

Five Wives - Joan Thomas. This novel is a fictionalized account of the true story of five missionary men (the most famous being Jim Elliot) killed by Auca (Waorani) tribespeople in Ecuador in the 1950s. It explores the conflicted motives of the men, their wives' struggle to understand and support their husbands' ambitions, and the decades-long fallout from the incident. The book -- which weaves together several characters' stories from different generations -- calls into question many of the myths surrounding Christian martyrdom, missions, and colonization. It's complex but riveting. (5 stars)

Piranesi - Susanna Clarke. I just finished this wonderful, highly-acclaimed novel, and I have a feeling it will stay with me for a very long time. Piranesi ("but I do not think that is my name") lives in The House, an infinite labyrinthine structure filled with statues. He spends his days contentedly writing in his journal, recording the tides, befriending the statues, and caring for the dead bones of the only other 13 human beings he believes have ever existed -- besides himself and The House's one other inabitant, whom he calls The Other and sees only occasionally. But Piranesi's loving relationship with the Beauty and Mercies of The House is disrupted when strange messages begin to appear, suggesting that a third person has entered The House. I loved the atmosphere Clarke creates, the page-turning suspense as the story gets going, and the humble goodness of the main character. (5 stars)

The Gown - Jennifer Robson. This is a lovely novel about two young embroiderers in post-WWII London, Ann and Miriam, who are tasked with working on Princess Elizabeth's wedding dress. The story is told from the perspectives of both women as well as that of Ann's granddaughter, who receives some pieces of embroidery when her grandmother dies and who goes to London to find out more about Ann's early life. (4 stars)

All the Living - C.E. Morgan. This short novel is about a lonely young woman who goes to live on an isolated farm with her boyfriend after his family dies in an accident. The writing is spare yet powerful, with echoes of writers like Elizabeth Strout or Marilynne Robinson. Really good. (4 stars)

The Book of Longings - Sue Monk Kidd. This is about a girl growing up in a wealthy family in Israel; she is a seeker who reads and writes about silenced women and longs to find a purpose worthy of her gifts. When she meets and befriends Jesus, they are drawn together and eventually marry. The premise is unique and interesting, and Kidd's level of research is (as always) admirable -- but this was just Too Much Book for me at the time I read it: too slow and too detailed. This may not be others' experience, of course, but I didn't really enjoy it that much. (3 stars)

In Five Years - Rebecca Serle. This novel is about a young woman who has her whole life neatly planned out: the job she knows she'll get, the man she knows she'll marry. But when a dream shows her five years in the future with an entirely different man, her life is thrown into disarray as she tries to figure out -- and hopefully control -- future events. This is quite a lite novel, but it does get you thinking about life choices and how expectations so often do not match reality. (2 stars)

 

NONFICTION:

One Long River of Song - Brian Doyle. This posthumously published collection of essays by Doyle, who died in 2017 at age 60, is just beautiful. Doyle found so much beauty and joy in life and was able to convey that to us with his long, lanky, playful sentences and poignant tone. (5 stars)

Miracles and Other Reasonable Things - Sarah Bessey. After a serious car accident, Bessey (author of Jesus Feminist and Out of Sorts) faced a long physical and spiritual recovery. This journey includes a trip to Rome to meet the Pope and a slow, difficult realization that miracles may occur in different ways than we expect. Bessey's writing is always so warm and companionable, and this book is no exception. (5 stars)

The Color of Compromise - Jemar Tisby. Historian Tisby gives a clear, detailed account of how the Christian church in the U.S. has been complicit with racism at every stage of America's history. An important book that any Christian, American or not, should read. (5 stars)

The Cross and the Lynching Tree - James Cone. If Tisby's book is like taking a history course, Cone's book is like listening to a lecture and sermon at the same time. He explores the connection between the cross and the lynching tree, showing how they symbolize both the worst man can do and the power of hope and salvation. He also shows just how much the church can learn from Black theology, music, and womanist teachings and the experiences of African-Americans. (5 stars)

The Skin We're In - Desmond Cole. This is a series of 12 interconnected essays by Canadian journalist Cole, in which he chronicles a year in the struggle against racism in Canada. He highlights 12 different incidents -- including his decision to stop writing for The Toronto Star when it criticized his journalistic "activism" -- and how each was handled by police, media, and government. Powerful and eye-opening. (4 stars)

Unafraid - Benjamin Corey. I really enjoyed this book, in which Corey talks about how he had to unlearn the fear-based Christian faith he grew up with and move into a more freeing, love-based one. (4 stars) 

How the Bible Actually Works - Pete Enns. Enns insists that far from being a static how-to manual for life, the Bible is an ancient, ambiguous and diverse library of books that unfolds God's wisdom rather than doling out simple answers. I always enjoy Enns' down-to-earth style and his obvious enjoyment of difficult questions. (4 stars)

Out of Istanbul - Bernard Ollivier. Very absorbing memoir about a French man in his 60s who decides to hike the Silk Road. He begins in Istanbul in hopes of making it to Tehran, encountering many external and internal obstacles along the way. (3 stars)

Too Much and Never Enough - Mary Trump. This book by Donald Trump's niece unpacks some of the unhealthy family dynamics that have made Donald Trump into the person he is. (3 stars)

The Naked Now - Richard Rohr. I haven't finished this one yet, so I won't star it. The subtitle is "Learning to See as the Mystics See," and it is about leaving behind dualism and egotism and learning to be present and accept paradox.

Thanks for reading this far! I hope my list has given you some ideas for books you'd like to read -- and if you've already read some of these and have opinions to share, please leave those in the comments! Happy reading in 2021.

 

Quick Lit: three good novels for a time of social distancing

I haven't linked up with Modern Mrs. Darcy for "Quick Lit" in a long time. But right now, with the coronavirus pandemic causing the cancellation of activities and the need to distance ourselves from others to prevent the spread, there really isn't a better time to read. Not that there is ever a bad time to read...

So if you're looking for some good fiction to get you through the next few weeks, here are the three novels I've read this year so far. BONUS: they are all by Canadian novelists!

(I'll do another post for nonfiction another day, just to spread things out.)

The Difference by Marina Endicott.
I may as well start with the best. The Difference (to be released in the US in a couple of months under the title The Voyage of the Morning Light) is one of the best novels I've read in a long time, maybe ever. Set in 1911, it is about a young girl named Kay who joins her older sister Thea and Thea's husband, the captain of a merchant ship, on a voyage from Nova Scotia to the far east. Kay has nightmares about a traumatic time she and Thea lived through in western Canada where, we come to find out, their father was head of a native residential school. Then an encounter with a boy on a small island in Micronesia changes all their lives, deepening Kay's questions about God, forgiveness, and the differences between people and between all creatures. The descriptions and settings are breathtaking, and the characters are unforgettable. The only negative thing about this book was that it had to end.

Five Wives by Joan Thomas.
Another great novel. This is a fictionalized account of the real-life story of five American missionaries (the best-known being Jim Elliot) who were killed by members of the Waorani people in Ecuador in 1956. Thomas imagines the events up to, including, and after the missionaries' deaths from the points of view of their wives; she also includes modern-day episodes about some of the missionaries' children and grandchildren (these parts are completely made-up, with invented names, etc.) and how these later generations reflect on the true impact the missionaries had in the lives of the Waorani. This novel really makes you think hard about Christian missionary efforts and the choices people make in the name of doing God's will. So good.

The Gown by Jennifer Robson.
My daughter Allison, knowing my great interest in The Crown television series, thoughtfully chose this book for me as a Christmas gift. It is a lovely novel about two young women, one English (Ann) and one French (Miriam), in postwar London. They work as embroiderers and are, to their great excitement, tasked with doing embroidery for Princess Elizabeth's wedding dress. The story is told from the perspectives of both women as well as that of Ann's granddaughter, who receives some pieces of embroidery when her grandmother dies and who goes to London to try to find out more about Ann's early life. If you like Kate Morton's novels, you'll probably like this one.

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)

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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!

What I've been doing - summer 2019 edition

The summer is flying by, and I've been neglecting this blog shamefully.

No, wait: scratch that. No shame, and no shoulds. It's been a busy summer so far, and I just haven't had much opportunity to compose posts. That's life. In this post I'll share a little bit of what I've been up to, under the categories FAMILY, WATCHING, READING, and WRITING.

FAMILY

 

my Uncle Charlie and Aunt Sigga

On July 10 my uncle (my dad's brother) Charlie MacEachern died in PEI after a long illness. His death leaves a huge void in many lives. He was so funny and upbeat, the kind of person who made your day better just by showing up. And he always did "show up" for the people he loved. He was a great support to my dad, calling or dropping by almost daily, and will be very much missed by all of us. 

Uncle Charlie and Jonathan, 2018:

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good"

I was able to go to PEI for Uncle Charlie's celebration of life service; my sister-in-law Caroline suggested we go together in her van, and she visited her sister in Truro, NS while I was on the Island for four days. It was good to be there with my extended family and share memories and stories about my uncle. My brother Lincoln and I sang "You Raise Me Up" at the service; my Aunt Sigga chose this song specifically, and the words are certainly fitting for the kind of person my uncle was to everyone who had the good fortune of knowing him.

You raise me up so I can stand on mountains

You raise me up to walk on stormy seas

I am strong when I am on your shoulders

You raise me up to more than I can be.

In news from the other side of the family: my mother-in-law broke her ankle in May, so it's been a long process of recovery for her. After surgery in mid-May, she's been recuperating in the convalescent wing of a retirement home here in town, and hopes to get home to her own house this weekend. We've all pitched in to help support her during this time, but her own determination and upbeat spirits have done a lot to help the recovery process along. 

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WATCHING 

I saw two movies this summer that have already become absolute favourites: 

Brooklyn: based on the novel by Colm Toibin, about a young Irish girl in the 1950's who moves to Brooklyn, New York to work.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato-Peel Pie Society: based on the novel by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, about a young writer in post-WWII London whose life is changed when she receives a letter from a man from the Guernsey Islands, asking about books and telling her about the Islanders' experience under Nazi occupation during the war. 

I need more movies like this in my life: touching and delightful but with some substance to them. And if they have a large proportion of former Downton Abbey stars (as Guernsey does), so much the better.

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READING 

After watching Brooklyn, I read the novel by Colm Toibin that it's based on; I really enjoyed Toibin's simple storytelling and how the novel captures its place and time so vividly.

I also read Hannah Pasch's Millenneagram: The Enneagram Guide to Discovering Your Truest, Baddest Self. I'm definitely not the target audience for this book, and I don't think I or anyone else has ever applied the word "baddest" to me -- but I liked Pasch's irreverent yet encouraging approach to the enneagram system of personality types.

If you're interested in seeing what other books I've read in the last while, you can check out my June "Quick Lit" post HERE. 

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WRITING 

My poem "Departures" was published this summer in Juniper Poetry, an online journal; you can read the poem HERE. This poem is a special one to me because it's about the death of my mom, so I'm happy that Juniper liked it enough to publish it.

My prose poem "Along King Street" was June's featured poem on our local library's Poetry Blackboard, a site curated by Kingston's Poet Laureate Jason Heroux. You can read the poem HERE. 

"Along King Street" is also going to be featured in an outdoor poetry installation during Kingston's "Vibrant Spaces" event next month. It will be one of five poems displayed along a poetry path -- and in keeping with its subject matter, Jason told me they'll be sure to set it up within view of the windmills. 

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Thanks for stopping by to read this update. I hope your summer has offered you lots of opportunity for rest, recreation, and rejuvenation in just the right proportions. And if you've been reading, watching, writing, or doing anything interesting this summer, let us know in the comments!

June 2019 Quick Lit: What I've been reading

Today I'm joining Modern Mrs. Darcy for Quick Lit, where we share short reviews of what we've been reading.

Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry. 
I have read some of Berry's poetry and the occasional essay, but this was my first foray into his fiction. This is a magnificent book that reads more like a memoir than a novel. As she nears the end of her life, elderly Hannah Coulter reminisces about her life in the Kentucky farming community of Port William: her formative relationship with her grandmother; her youthful, short-lived first marriage; her years married to Nathan and raising three children on the farm; her observations about agriculture, changing times, and community. The whole time I was reading this book I was wishing I'd read it while my mom was still alive so that I could have told her about it. She'd have read it; then she'd have passed it on to Dad; and they'd likely have spent many hours talking about it and connecting with its themes. It's really beautiful. If you're looking for fast pacing and a strong narrative arc, this book won't fit those requirements -- but if you want an uplifting story about ordinary people living ordinary but meaningful lives, this book is for you.

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb.  
While Berry's book is a novel that reads like a memoir, this one is a memoir that often feels like a novel. Gottlieb, a therapist, is devastated when her longtime boyfriend ends their relationship because he doesn't want to marry someone with a child. She realizes she herself needs a therapist to work through this crisis and the deeper issues it has brought to the surface. Gottlieb's story of her work with her therapist, Wendell, is interwoven with stories of her own clients as they work their way toward healthier relationships and greater life satisfaction. This book is entertaining, funny, and thought-provoking and will probably provide a few aha moments for any reader.

The Collected Schizophrenias by Esme Weijun Wang. 
Wang was diagnosed with schizoaffective/bipolar disorder as a teenager; in this collection of beautifully written essays, she discusses not only her own personal experiences -- such as how she was essentially pushed out of Yale University because of her illness when she was a student there, or how she uses her knowledge of fashion to help her pass as more put-together and therefore more stable -- but broader themes such as media depictions of mental illness, crimes involving mental illness, and the debates surrounding diagnosis of schizophrenia and related disorders. Wang's blending of memoir and rigorous research makes for a fascinating book.

 Love, Henri: Letters on the Spiritual Life by Henri J.M. Nouwen.  
This is the book I'm currently reading. Nouwen was a prolific letter-writer, and this volume is a collection of letters he wrote to friends and strangers about spirituality, faith, and vocation. This book is more than just a window into an interesting life; reading it is a truly spiritual experience in itself. Nouwen's kind, probing words, his vulnerability and sharing of his own struggles, make you feel like you're in the presence of a trusted friend or spiritual director who, with a few well-chosen questions, will give you new perspective and grounding. Brene Brown's foreword to the book shows that this was her experience too. I'm reading this book slowly and really savouring it.

What have you been reading lately? I'd love to know!

April 2019 Quick Lit: what I've been reading

Today I'm joining Modern Mrs. Darcy for Quick Lit, where we share short reviews of what we've been reading.

For last month's Quick Lit post I did only a single longer review, of Karen Swallow Prior's On Reading Well. So I have some catching up to do here. I'll try to keep my reviews brief, but you know me: writing in a concise fashion is not a quality I have successfully mastered as of this point in time.

I read four nonfiction books and four novels in the past couple of months. I'll start with the nonfiction:

 Becoming by Michelle Obama. 
I really enjoyed this memoir. Obama describes in fascinating detail her upbringing in a working class Chicago family, her work as a lawyer (where she met future President Barack Obama), and her eight years in the White House as First Lady -- where she advocated for girls' education and improved nutritional health, all while supporting her husband through difficult national events and raising her daughters in the White House fishbowl. Here is a key passage from the final pages of the book:

"So many of us go through life with our stories  hidden, feeling ashamed or afraid when our whole truth doesn't live up to some established ideal. We grow up with messages that tell us that there's only one way to be American -- that if our skin is dark or our hips are wide, if we don’t experience love in a particular way, if we speak another language or come from another country, then we don't belong. That is, until someone dares to start telling that story differently.
        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."

 Lark Rise to Candleford by Flora Thompson. 

Last year we watched the four-season British TV series based on this book (actually a collection of three books) about a small hamlet and neighbouring town in rural England in the late 1800's. The book gives an abundance of historical detail about life in this time period: childhood, farming, education, hobbies, family life, religion, and more. I enjoyed reading about some of the quirky hamlet-dwellers who made their way into the fictionalized TV series. 

Once We Were Strangers by Shawn Smucker. 

This beautiful, moving book is an account of Smucker's friendship with Mohammad, who fled Syria as a refugee with his wife and family and ended up in Smucker's town of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Smucker's story of his deepening relationship with Mohammad may cause us to rethink our definition of hospitality, as well as our willingness to have the grace not only to give but to receive. A wonderful story about the beauty and simplicity of friendship and the universally human desire to create a safe, secure life for ourselves and those we love.

 The Bible Tells Me So: How Defending the Bible Has Made Us Unable to Read It by Peter Enns. 

This is the first book by Enns that I've read, and I loved it. Enns explains why reading the Bible as a "spiritual owner's manual complete with handy index" doesn't work -- nor do the desperate efforts Christians sometimes make to protect the Bible from criticism or critique. Addressing many controversial aspects of Scripture, Enns urges us to read the Bible as it is meant to be read rather than expecting it to do things it was never intended to do -- and to realize that trusting God and trusting the Bible aren't the same thing. Thought-provoking, challenging, and really funny too.

And now for my fiction reads:

The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton. 

This novel follows naive social climber Undine Spragg as she tries to make her way in New York City and Paris. Her efforts to determine who's "in," to infiltrate the "right" crowd, and to find a husband who will keep her in the manner to which she feels she deserves to become accustomed, are as pathetic as they are laughable. Reading this book is like watching a train wreck: you can't tear yourself away. I really enjoyed it, though -- and it gives the lie to the notion that a protagonist has to be "likable" for a novel to be worthwhile. Undine is not likable; but like other heroines of her stripe (Scarlett O'Hara and Emma Bovary come to mind), she certainly is interesting.

Washington Black by Esi Edugyan. 

This highly acclaimed novel won the Giller Prize and was a Booker Prize finalist. It's the story of Washington Black, a young boy enslaved on a sugar plantation in Barbados; he becomes personal servant to the master's brother, who turns out to be an eccentric inventor. When a horrific event forces the two of them to flee the plantation, Washington is caught up in a whole new life, traveling to the Arctic, London, Morocco, and elsewhere. This book was instantly captivating, but it did not deliver quite to the level I was expecting. Too many peripheral characters and episodes seemed to dilute the intensity after a while.

 

All He Ever Wanted and Stella Bain, both by Anita Shreve.

These two novels need to be discussed together because they are about the same people and events.  

All He Ever Wanted is told from the point-of-view of Nicholas Van Tassel, a somewhat stuffy college professor in New Hampshire around 1900; his world is turned upside down when he encounters a young woman, Etna Bliss, outside a hotel after a fire and becomes instantly obsessed with her. Her cool, enigmatic demeanour only fuels his determination to marry her. Looking back years later, Van Tassel reflects on the nature of his relationship with Etna and whether having felt a great love (whether or not it is returned, and for that matter whether or not it is really love) is enough to make one's life worthwhile. This novel reminded me in many ways of Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day, with its somewhat unlikable, probably unreliable narrator. It's a frustrating but masterfully written book.

Stella Bain, which Shreve wrote twelve years later, tells Etna Bliss's story: how she is found in a French field hospital in 1916, unable to remember anything other than that she is an ambulance driver, and a few consonants that lead her to think her name is Stella Bain. Her fight to recover her memory and rebuild her family is compelling, but overall I found this novel less satisfying than All He Ever Wanted, despite its having a much more sympathetic main character. The writing is not nearly as good here: it's told in the third person, so we never really get inside Etna's head the way we did with Van Tassel. Phrases like "Etna was concerned that..." make me feel like I'm watching the character think, which is not exactly gripping. What is great about this book, though, is that it fills in the gaps of the plot, giving Etna's perspective on events which we only saw from Van Tassel's viewpoint in the other book. So if you're going to read All He Ever Wanted, be sure to read Stella Bain too.

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Well, that's what I've been reading lately. Have you read any of these, and if so, what did you think? What have you been reading?

March 2019 Quick Lit: On Reading Well by Karen Swallow Prior

Today I'm joining blogger Modern Mrs. Darcy for "Quick Lit," where we share short reviews of what we've been reading. Although the book I'm reviewing here is not the only book I've read recently, I wanted to give it a slightly longer treatment, so I'll cover my other recent reads in a future post.

On Reading Well: 

Finding the Good Life Through Great Books 

by Karen Swallow Prior

I asked my library to buy this book several months ago; it did, and eventually I got the book into my hands -- but I did NOT want to give it back! Clearly I am going to have to buy my own copy, because it's excellent.

This book is about virtue and literature. In the first chapter, Prior introduces the theme of classical virtues, addresses the need in our day for a return to virtuous living, and reminds us that not only does good literature show us the virtues, but the very reading of that literature is a way of practicing them. 

In each of the subsequent chapters she discusses one virtue -- altogether four cardinal virtues, three theological virtues, and five heavenly virtues -- and expounds upon each one in relation to a work of literature. The literary work may present a character who epitomizes that virtue (as in the patience of Anne Elliot in Jane Austen's Persuasion or the courage of Huck in Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn) or a character who demonstrates the lack of that virtue (as in Jay Gatsby's lack of temperance in The Great Gatsby or Ivan Ilyich's lack of love in Leo Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilych). In each case, Prior shows how the proper expression of each virtue is a moderation between extremes: for example, courage is a mean between cowardice and rashness.

Particular parts of the book stood out for me. One was her discussion of how young Huck Finn has to work through the effects of a malformed conscience: he's been taught slavery is right, so he thinks helping Jim must be wrong -- but when he realizes in his heart that he must help Jim, he's determined to do so even if it means going to Hell. Another was her claim that the virtue of faith in Shusako Endo's Silence can only be truly understood by interpreting the book as a tragedy. And another was her chapter on kindness in George Saunders' short story "Tenth of December" -- a story I was not familiar with -- where she compares a character's suicide plan to her own father-in-law's suicide. In these and other cases, she shows how the virtues are not static stereotypes, but living, flexible concepts that (ideally) grow within us as we work them out in both the mundane and the traumatic moments of our lives.

As with the previous books by this author that I have read (Booked: Literature in the Soul of Me and Fierce Convictions: The Extraordinary Life of Hannah More), Prior's love for her subject matter comes through on every page. As I read each chapter, I felt like I was listening to an engaging lecture. On Reading Well is a book any reader -- or even any person who thinks they "should" become more well-read -- will appreciate. And it's a book I'll definitely want to re-read. 

Time to order myself a copy....

January 2019 Quick Lit: what I've been reading

Today I'm joining Modern Mrs. Darcy for her monthly Quick Lit linkup, where we share short reviews of what we've been reading. Since my last book post (which listed everything I read in 2018), I've read three nonfiction books.

Dare to Lead: Brave Work, Tough Conversations, Whole Hearts by Brene Brown. 
This is the latest by the bestselling author of Daring Greatly, Rising Strong, and other books -- all of which address issues of shame, vulnerability, wholeheartedness, and courage. In this book Brown's focus is leadership, and while many of her examples and anecdotes are from the corporate setting, the principles are applicable to any situation where we work with others to accomplish tasks and strive to foster and maintain a culture of empathy, trust, and openness. 

Brown's work can at times seem a little repetitive because she deliberately reviews and builds on principles from previous books. I also get impatient sometimes with the terminology she creates like "rumbling" and "key learnings" -- but when she gives real-life examples that flesh these concepts out (often based on her own mistakes and misunderstandings), I always find them relevant and memorable. I particularly appreciated her chapter on values, where she encourages readers to zero in on their two primary values and examine whether their actions reflect those values. Overall I really enjoyed this and always take away something valuable from her writing.

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Educated by Tara Westover.  
In this gripping memoir, Westover recounts her life growing up on an Idaho mountainside as the daughter of survivalist Mormon parents. Distrustful of government and full of end-times paranoia, her parents forbade their children to attend school and lived in isolation, stockpiling food, fuel, and ammunition in preparation for doomsday. Westover spent years working in her father's scrapyard, enduring emotional and physical abuse from her father and one of her brothers, until she was able to leave home and attend Brigham Young University and eventually Cambridge and Harvard. She 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. Excellent book.

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White Picket Fences: Turning Toward Love in a World Divided By Privilege by Amy Julia Becker. 
In this thoughtful book, Becker explores the concept of privilege by discussing many different aspects of her own life: her wealthy, secure upbringing in North Carolina (with black household staff); her experiences as a mother of a child with Down Syndrome; her discovery that what we call "answered prayers" may have more to do with privilege and connection than with "God's blessing"; her exploration of how people of colour are (or are not) depicted in children's books; her attempts to pray and fast for healing across political divides; and more.

Toward the end Becker says, "I now understand two things about privilege that I didn't understand before. One, that privilege in and of itself is not a sign of God's blessing but rather a fact of my life that can be used for good or ill. Two, that what our culture calls privilege is a mirage, a false understanding of what it means to live a good life, and that the true privilege of my existence comes in the undeserved favor I have in being one who is loved by God, loved by others, and able to love in return." Thought-provoking and beautifully written.

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What have you been reading lately? Let me know in the comments.