Christian Novel - A first for me in several years

The Memory Book

By: Penelope J. Stokes

Genre: Christian/Historical Fiction

Pages: 304

Published: 2004

Read:  January

4 out of 5 stars

I definitely judged this book by its cover when I bought it. The cover (and title) were extremely eye catching to me. I had no idea it was a Christian novel.  Not that I minded, I’m Christian, just haven’t read one in years. I can definitely see some readers not believing Phoebe’s story if they don’t believe in God. This book did not take me long to read and it definitely held my interest. It was a very unique premise, well written and I felt believable. The reason being is my brother was in a horrific accident years ago and after he woke up from his coma he explained to our parents that he had a very realistic and visual dream. It was not a religious “I saw God” dream. The dream was actually about him and friends bowling, but he said it had more of a “real feeling” than normal nightly dreams. This is exactly how Phoebe tells her story and why I could believe Phoebe’s explanation. I definitely recommend this book to Christians and others with a belief of a greater power.

An Entertaining and Helpful Self-Help Book

I Really Didn’t Think This Through: Tales from My So-called Adult Life

By: Beth Evans

Genre: Non-fiction/self help

Pages: 192

Published: 2018

Read:  January

4 out of 5 stars

Evans can help any reader with anxiety in a fun, entertaining way. This book is especially good for teens and young adults, but I read it as a woman in my 40’s and still enjoyed it. It will crack you up, while providing you with knowledgeable and useful advice. If interested, she has a fantastically entertaining Twitter and Instagram account with many more illustrations. As a Young Adult Librarian, I will be talking this book up to my patrons for sure.

A great book of poems

Gmorning Gnight! little pep talks for me & you

By: Lin-Manuel Miranda

Genre: Poetry

Pages: 207

Published: 2018

Read:  January

4 out of 5 stars

First, I love the reason this book was published. Miranda would tweet a Good Morning and a Good Night every day. Some of his followers requested the poems be published in a book. He obeyed.

Some poems were inspirational, some funny, some very serious and some just plain old cute. Although I did not care for every single one, they were all well done. The ones that didn’t trigger with me were because I felt the Good Morning versus Good Night poems were too similar, repeating the phrases.

I would love to see these poems in a page-a-day calendar so you can read one every morning/every night. I guess I could do that on Twitter. Jonny Sun did a phenomenal job with the illustrations for each poem as well.

One of my favorites is:

Good Morning.

I know it seems like everyone left

without you for the party

and those stepsisters suck,

but us woodland creatures are on your side.

Good night.

I know it seems like everyone is at the Prince’s ball

all the time,

but it’s okay to go home before midnight.

Kick off your shoes.

First "DID NOT FINISH" of 2019

What was She Thinking? [Notes on a Scandal]

By: Zoe Heller

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Pages: 258

Published: 2004

Read:  DNF (page 63) - January

NO RATING

I was really looking forward to reading this book. For years I was obsessed with the Mary Kay Letourneau case, I still am.  I look for follow-ups when they surfaces. It’s just isn’t very often any more.  A couple of years ago there was a 20/20 Special interviewing them and their daughters. I am intrigued by the affair, especially considering the fact that they kept a successfully marriage for so many years.

Even though this book is a work of fiction, the premise is very similar to the Letourneau affair. However, the author wrote a very scattered book filled with tons of tangents (even by page 63), that made it very difficult to follow, not to mention uninteresting.

A Magical World Lost

The Snow Child

By: Eowyn Ivey

Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystical Realism

Pages: 386

Published: 2012

Read:  January

3 out of 5

As plenty others have mentioned, the descriptions of the scenery and the "quietness" of this novel is definitely the magical power behind it. Ivey knows the way to describe a "perfect" scene while making the visual so uniquely yours. Not only that, but I truly felt the pain of Mabel and Jack's desire to have a child of their own. It was a great story with lots of character.

Now what I didn't like...The magic of Faina just vanished with no explanation. All of a sudden she no longer had to disappear during the summer (love alone wasn't enough to convince me) and the fact that her birth child had no affliction to season change or other worldly characteristics....What happened to the magic of the story?

I understand eventually she went away because she couldn't handle it, but the magic for me was already spoiled.

My 2018 Year of Books

I don't like to brag, but here is my YEAR OF BOOKS for 2018. I do have to say it's an accomplishment.

2018 Year of Books

A Classic - First Book of 2019

The Jungle

By: Upton Sinclair

Genre: Classic, Historical Fiction

Pages: 335

Published: 1906

Read:  January

3 out of 5

Why I read this...It's simple. My brother made me do it. He said something along the lines of "You are 43, live it Chicago (area), read 191 books last year AND haven't read The Jungle?" So I accepted the challenge. I thought I would hate it. I usually don't like classics and my brother and I have very different tastes when it comes to books.

Well, I was pleasantly surprised. I didn't hate it and never felt the urge to give up on it. My main reason for hating classics is the writing style of the 1800's and early 1900's. This book, published in 1906, was not like that - It was written in plain language and I didn't need Cliff Notes to interpret every sentence. 

I was expecting more about the meat industry. I always thought that was main premise (especially because of FDA's outcome from book), but after reading I found the meat industry story line to be a subplot. The book followed a family through suffering and surviving the early 1900's during the Industrial Revolution. I found it to be a very depressing story, which was expected. 

My rating of 3 stars was mostly because I was bored through the political aspects of the book.