The Impossible Knife of Memory: a brief review

taken from Goodreads.com

This book caused me to have a pretty significant epiphany; the first two books of Anderson's that I ever read were Speak and Wintergirls, which are both hardcore, intense, and super good. Because of them, I got it in my head that Anderson's books were all hardcore, intense, and super good, despite the fact that the last four books of hers that I've read (Prom, Twisted, Chains, and Forge) weren't nearly as "wow"-filled. I kept thinking and saying over and over that each of those books just weren't filled with the old Laurie Halse Anderson ka-pow, when maybe it's just that the first two books I read were the only ones that had that ka-pow. This book (which only had a little bit of ka-pow) made me finally realize that if five of the seven books I've read by this author are kind of run-of-the-mill, typical teen books and two are blow-you-out-of-the-water intense, maybe those are the exceptions. And not the rules.

But anyway, a book review. I liked this one, a comfortable 3 out of 5 stars worth. Some tougher issues are definitely approached with this plot (the lasting effects of war, PTSD, childhood trauma, drug abuse of both teens and adults, alcoholism) but the rest of it is pretty typical teen drama. Not only is it typical teen drama, it's kind of realistic teen drama (aka: the protagonist's crush is kind of moody and inconsistent and dumb and I didn't like him). I thought maybe she was going to blow me away with a crazy and traumatic ending, but then she mellowed out and gave kind of a glossed-over, middle of the road ending instead. I enjoyed it, but it didn't change my world or anything.

Marriage and Parenting: brief reviews

taken from Goodreads.com

JT and I just finished this book after reading it with our small group over the course of the last couple months. Its basic premise is that there are 10 emotional needs that every person needs, although 5 are typically associated with women and 5 are typically associated with men. There is a chapter on each need and a survey in the back of the book for each spouse to take in order to determine which needs they specifically identify the most with. We liked this book; even though a lot of it seemed common sense and straightforward to us, there were certainly a lot of points that made an impact and gave us great starting points for conversation and change in our relationship. There were also a handful of points he made that we didn't quite agree with, but no book is perfect. I definitely think that if you're feeling at a loss or in need of direction in your marriage this is a great starting point. The thing that's helpful about this book, I think, is that even though each chapter just kind of scratches the surface on each issue/need, there are a couple hundred books out there written on each of these 10 needs that you can dive into as needed for a deeper level of help and direction. It's a great starting point, though.

taken from Goodreads.com

I picked this book up a little bit ago after JT heard an interview with the writer on Focus on the Family. After finishing Created to be His Help Meet, I was looking for a parenting book and I started this one. I didn't necessarily dislike this book, but it was kind of "eh." There just wasn't a lot of depth to it and there wasn't anything I read that wasn't either common sense or way over on the other end of the spectrum, taking parenting to an extreme that I don't think is entirely necessary. I ended up skimming the last half of it or so so I could move on. I like the basic argument of the book (that parents need to be intentional and proactive in making their home a comfortable, safe, and warm environment for their children), and pretty much could have gotten that from the back of the book.

Three Times Lucky: a brief review

taken from Goodreads.com

I heard about this one several years ago, back when I was still reading a lot of YA book review blogs. I spotted both it and its sequel a couple weeks ago at the Green Valley Book Fair, and I'm so glad I did because this one is fantastic. I actually listened to the audiobook - which I recommend if you can get your hands on it - and it's one of my new favorites. This adorable detective/murder mystery/comedy is told by "rising sixth grader" Mo, whose attitude and spunk remind me of both Scout Finch and Tom Sawyer. I definitely recommend this one, with two thumbs and five stars. And I can't wait for the sequel.

A Thousand Splendid Suns: a brief review

taken from Goodreads.com

I'm a little behind the curve with reading Mr. Hosseini's books, but after reading The Kite Runner about a year ago I definitely made sure to read his others at some point. A Thousand Splendid Suns, which I read via audiobook, did not disappoint. Similar to The Kite Runner, this book is graphic, heartbreaking, and at times even sickening as the story of two neglected and abused Afghan women is woven through several decades. As hard as some (most?) of the contents of this book were to listen to, I very much enjoyed it, and I deeply respect Mr. Hosseini's gift as an author. If you haven't read any of his work, I definitely recommend him. I might even recommend this one more than The Kite Runner.

Cold Tangerines: a brief review

taken from Goodreads.com

Although I feel like I am close person friends with Shauna Niequist because of her role on the Relevant podcast (and her blog), Cold Tangerines is the first book of hers that I've read. Well, that's not true; I have read some of her devotional book Savor, but I will say that that maybe doesn't count. Anyway, I enjoyed this one very much. Each chapter is its own individual essay, with the same overarching theme of seeing the beauty and Godly in everyday circumstance; I highlighted many words and found great truth throughout the entire book but I confess it's not my favorite way to read a book. I usually love it until about three-quarters of the way through and then I'm ready for a "real" book. So I did enjoy it a lot, I definitely recommend it, but I'm looking a little more forward to reading her book Bittersweet soon.

Rapidfire book reviews

As promised, here are the single paragraph book reviews of the last several books I've read, since they haven't made it onto the blog yet. Moving forward, I may stick to this style for time's sake.

taken from Goodreads.com

I grew up hearing about this book, Created to be His Help Meet by Debi Pearl, from my mother and many of her friends who studied it and adopted it as their lifestyle. Now that I've read it myself, I can say with confidence that I agree wholeheartedly with about 95% of this incredibly conservative and biblical description of God's design for wives. My only wish - apart from the minor details I disagree with her on - that she had written the book with a little less harshness and a little more grace.

taken from Goodreads.com

This one, Wonder by R.J. Palacio, had been on my list for years, and I finally listened to it on audiobook. This YA book about a middle school boy with severe birth defects and facial deformities is heartbreaking, hilarious, and deeply heartwarming. I loved the way the author explores both the very worst and the very best about the middle school-aged population. I definitely recommend it and I am excited to read the companion books.

taken from Goodreads.com

To Kill a Mockingbird was a reread, half in honor of the release of Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman and half because I claim it's one of my favorite books and yet I have never reread it. (I never ever reread books anymore, always in the pursuit of the ever growing "list." That's something I'm determined to change in the future.) This particular reread was well worth it: I still love it and it's still wonderful. And I am equal parts giddy and terrified of the sequel.

taken from Goodreads.com

Elie Wiesel's Night is one of the books that I am shocked I'd never read until now. I hadn't realized before listening to the audiobook that this book is actually the author's story of imprisonment in various concentration camps during the Holocaust. The tale is horrifying, heartbreaking, sickening, and shocking; there are so many stories about the Holocaust that it's almost easy to become hardened to it, in one ear and out the other. But some of the specific details of this story were too disgusting and horrifying to grasp, and when I tried to tell JT about them later on the words literally wouldn't come out of my mouth because I knew I'd start crying. This is both a terrible and special book, and if you haven't read it I do recommend it.

taken from Goodreads.com

I read Jeannette Walls' first book The Glass Castle, which is her own personal memoir, when I was in college. It made a huge impression on me and whenever I've seen her other two books for sale or on friends' shelves I have made a note to read them someday. Someday came in the form of an audiobook for Half Broke Horses, which is the hilarious and thought-provoking story of her grandmother's life. This story becomes especially interesting when Walls' grandmother's daughter Rosemary is born, and you learn of so many of the reasons and life events that turn her into the future mother and wife that raises Walls. (Super confusing sentence...I couldn't figure out how to make it more clear so just reread it a couple times till you see what I mean.) This overlapping of the two books and three generations makes me really want to reread The Glass Castle.


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So there you have it. You're caught up on the reading I've been doing since the blog went quiet. I'm up to 33 books this year, which is already one more than last year's 32, and I'm pretty stoked about that.

Updates, Changes, Etc.

Hi friends. It's been such a long time since I've written, which on the one hand is because I haven't had too much to write about, and because on the other hand I just haven't really felt like it. We've been slow on the projects and house updates so far this year, which is actually a really good thing since it probably means nothing it too terribly broken or in need of immediate repair. I have still been reading books, but I was starting to feel like every time I finished a book I had this immediate chore/burden of writing a review, and I am not such a fan of that. I think I'm past my blogging apathy, though, and am ready to come back. The result is that I'm going to be writing one post soon that has all of the books I've read recently, but with extremely short reviews. I might stick to that style moving forward for my own sanity's sake. We will see.

With new life seasons and life priorities, though, usually comes a good, solid spring cleaning or two. Mine came in the form of my bookshelves today. I took Charlotte to the Green Valley Book Fair for the first time this morning and when it was time to put the new books I'd purchased on the shelves, I realized that so many of those 94 books that I had left to read were of no interest to me. That's why they still hadn't been read. I might have wanted to read them at some point or I might have heard something good about them from someone I trusted or whatever, but if I don't at this current time have any desire at all to read them, it probably wouldn't hurt to do some donating to Goodwill. So I took down a pile of books, reevaluated my list of remaining books on the ever huge 94 books, and decided that there just didn't even need to be such a list any more. My "to read" list on Goodreads is quite modest and doable now, and I plan to just keep whittling away at it. That list includes all the books left on my shelf to read and it includes the ones I bought today and it includes the ones on my wishlist at the library and on Amazon. Manageable lists are much more tackle-able and I like that. So I guess I've come full circle, and the 94 book list concept was a good one that taught me a ton about how to shop (for books, for decorations, for clothes) within the piles of stuff you already own, and for that I am so thankful. But I think I can safely move on and trust myself at this point to not spend money on new books without abandon and without ever actually reading them (which is pretty much what I had been doing). Yay for reading, yay for lessons learned, and yay for getting lists accomplished and defeated and minimized. All those things are so, so good.

As far as what I'm planning on reading now or reading next, either follow me on Goodreads or just wait till my next post :)