Month: March 2024

These Weeks – Spring?

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I hate missing too many Sunday updates. When I get too behind I keep putting it off, making the update a bigger project, vastly increasing the probability that it won’t get done at all. This happen to anyone else? So, it’s not Sunday, but I’ve got 30 minutes so we’re doing a quick book /movie update. Too busy to try and give a life update too so we’ll save that for next time.

Currently Reading

Finished

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon. 5 stars, YA, 312 pages, 2025

Maddy is turning 18 and her life is confined to her home because of an immunodeficiency disease. She’s never had any kind of normal existence and it’s not until a new family moves in next door that this is a problem. Soon, her books are not enough and Olly becomes her hope.

A book about risk and bravery and finding your person.

I loved this book, just as I loved Nicola Yoon’s The Sun is Also a Star. Everything Everything was her debut and I’m only sad it’s taken me so long to read it. I’ll read anything she writes. 

Every note Played by Lisa Genova, 4.25/5 stars, Fiction, 317 pages, 2018

Richard, a renown concert pianist, and Karina, a pianist who put her career on hold, are divorced. It wasn’t amicable, but they do share a daughter now in her 20s. Richard is diagnosed with ALS and in that instant his whole life changes. These changes are not limited to Richard and Karina finds herself making a surprising life change because of it.

I loved Still Alice by Lisa Genova. That book tackled early onset Alzheimer’s just as this one shows ALS bringing down someone in their prime. This book is detailed and heavy and shows that forgiveness shouldn’t wait. I was moved to tears by it. I’ll read anything she writes.

The Forest by Thomas Ott. 5 stars. graphic novella, 32 pages, 2020

I picked this up because of that gorgeous cover and this slight book didn’t disappoint. There are no words, just 25 beautiful illustrations showing a young boy sneaking away from a funeral. It will touch your heart. I highly recommend for children going through the grief process.

Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano. 3.5 stars, Fiction, 400 pages, 2023

Our book group liked (not loved) this one and it had some great discussion points. It’s about the closeness of the four Padavano sisters. What can drive a wedge between the sisters? At what point is forgiveness and moving on the only real option? How many great loves does each person get? Do we ever really get past our relationships with our parents?

It was a little slow, but still worth reading, especially if you like family sagas spanning decades.

Bloodlust & Bonnets by Emily McGovern. 3.5 stars, Graphic Novels, 205 pages, 2019

What a hoot! Lucy is an early 19th century debutante who is approached by Lady Violet Travesty about joining a vampire cult. Just as she’s about to go over to the dark side, Lord Byron, in very dramatic fashion, saves her and whisks away to his magic castle on his psychic eagle Napoleon. They are soon joined by Sham to make a team of very inept vampire hunters.

It’s very funny, especially the first half. It gets a tad bogged down by the end with a meandering plot, but overall a fun graphic novel. I enjoyed my hour or so with this silly trio.

The Vanished Days by Susanna Kearsley. 3 stars, Historical Fiction, 480 pages, 2021

I LOVE Susanna Kearsley! Her books are such comfort reads. I’ll be doing a post on her soon, so I won’t belabor my thoughts on this one. If she hadn’t written it I would have given up on it before the halfway point. There was a nice twist at the end that was a reward for making it that far, but it wasn’t nearly enough.

The Janitor’s Boy by Andrew Clements. 4 stars, Tween Fiction, 140 pages, 2020

Gage and I read this together after having read and loved Frindle by the same author. Jack was a hard character to root for, at least at first. He’s in middle school and he’s embarrassed that his dad is the school janitor. He plans a nasty trick for his dad, but pays the price and it better for it.

As a side note, when I was in elementary school my grandpa was the school janitor and I got to say hi to him every day as I left to get on the bus to go home and as he got ready to clean the school after everyone went home. It’s a bond that I’ll always treasure. I was too young to be embarrassed and as I grew older it never once occurred to me to want to hide that fact from anyone. He worked as a janitor for the schools his whole life.

Movies watched

Saltburn was buzzy for awhile and when Jason and I sat down to watch it, we can see why. It seems normal, normal, eh, oh, definitely not normal, the end. If you like strange movies, this is for you! I do like strange and appreciated it.

Set It Up kept getting recommended to me by Netflix so I finally broke down and watched it. It was a cuter than expected rom-com with a fun cast. If Netflix is also recommending it to you I’d say give it a go!

The Hunt is pure political drivel meets ridiculous violence. I have no excuse for watching it, except that Jason and I were watching it in bed and making fun. Jason fell asleep and I, regrettably, made it til the bitter end.

Have you read or watched any of these? Which ones?

This Week – Calm

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These past two weeks have been just what I needed. No travelling, no huge projects. Just my usual happenings. April is a nightmare month for me time wise, so I am trying to soak in every quiet moment. I did have a parent-teacher conference that went very well, and Gage, Jason, and I toured a school together and loved it for Gage. Now I need to schedule testing to see if we can get him in. I did spend an excessive number of hours volunteering at the library, but that’s just fun. I told the library manager this week that sorting and selling donations was my form of therapy.

Posts

February Favorites

Oath and Honor by Liz Cheney

The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom

Books Finished

I’ve read 30 books so far this year.

Judgement Prey by John Sandford, #33 in the Lucas Davenport series, thriller/mystery, 400 pages, 2023

I started this series with book one and haven’t looked back. I realized I was a few behind so I’m making quick work of the last few. If you like police procedurals you should definitely give this series a look. He started as a Minneapolis police detective, but is currently a US Marshal still based in Minneapolis. He has a recurring partner, Lucas Flowers, and an adopted daughter, Letty, who each have their own spin offs.

Too far From Home by Naomi Shmuel, tweens, 4.5 stars, 96 pages, 2020

Set in Israel, it’s a great fiction book that touches on so many issues that kids are going through, moving from home, trying to make friends, racial bias, embarrassment, defiance…. I’d recommend reading it with your preteen.

Meskerem was born and grew up with her parents, sisters, and grandmother in Golan Heights, but the family had to move to Herzelia for her mother’s new job. Mezkerem was sad to leave her friends and grandmother behind.

On the first day of school kids started ridiculing her by calling her, ‘an Ethiopian’. Mezkerem’s mom had been born in Ethiopia and her dad was American. Meskerem became embarrassed by her heritage.

This story is only 89 pages but packs a lot of discussion into those pages.

Walking in Ava’s Shoes by Kathi Howard-Primes, picture book, 22 pages, 2022

Ava has ADHD. The first line of the book…”Just because I act and learn differently-doesn’t mean something is wrong with me.” It goes through her days showing some of her struggles, like trouble listening and the constant need to move, and ways to help, like eating well and getting enough sleep.

The author based this on her now grown daughter and it’s one I’d recommend for elementary classroom read alouds. And school libraries too! The illustrations are cute and it even has an ADHD checklist in the back.

Mariana by Susanna Kearsley, 5 stars, historical romance, 364 pages, 1994

This was a re-read for me.

Here were my first thoughts on Goodreads when I finished this one, “My love affair with Susanna Kearsley continues. This was one of her first books and it may be my favorite so far. I didn’t want it to end. I was worried that the ending would be all wrong. But it wasn’t. It was perfect.”  There is something so magical and romantic about her stories.  There is history, romance, and a perfect sense of place in all of her books.  This one also felt a little like a ghost story.

Julia was sure she’d found her house and she packed up and moved from London to a small English village without a second thought.  She was a children’s book illustrator and was able to make a few friends right away just as she was being transported back in time at unpredictable times.

It’s tricky when you are going back and forth between time periods and characters.  Inevitably, you are drawn more to one story than the other.  This one did a great job of tying the two together so I was invested in both.  Was this book, the first time she tried the time travel travel romance, perfect? No.  Was it perfect enough to have me rereading the last few chapters again and again because I wasn’t quite ready for it to end?  A resounding YES!

Oath and Honor by Liz Cheney, 4+ stars, current events, 372 pages, 2023

I posted my thoughts this week here.

The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom with Elizabeth & John Sherrill, 5 stars, memoir, 272 pages, 1971

This was a re-read. I posted my thoughts this week here.

Coco Chanel: The Illustrated World of a Fashion Icon by Megan Hess, 4 stars, graphic novel/biography, 218 pages, 2015

The illustrations by Megan Hess in this 200+ pages book are whimsical and fun.

Coco spent much of her childhood in an orphanage in France after her mother died and her father wanted nothing to do with her. She created for herself the life she wanted. “My life didn’t please me so I created my life.” She never married but the love of her life helped her get her start in 1908. She opened her own millinery boutique in Paris.

Everything she touched turned to gold until 1939 when she shut down her 3000 staff salon. She stayed in Paris at the Hotel Ritz with her lover, a German officer, to ride out the war. She fled the country for a number of years after the war before making her comeback.

It’s a beautiful graphic novel for fashion lovers. It wasn’t until after I read this that a friend showed me that Coco had actually been a spy for the Nazis.

Frindle by Andrew Clements, 4.5 stars, kids fiction, 128 pages, 1996

5th grader Nick Allen gets into a war of words with his language arts teacher and it goes further that he could have ever have imagined. Gage and I read it together and had a few laughs and talks about unintended consequences.

How to Fail at Flirting by Denise Williams. 4.25 stars, romance, 343 pages, 2020

Naya, a professor who is 3 years out of an abusive relationship, is convinced by her best friends to open herself to new experiences. She meets Jake at a bar and the two make a connection. I loved this story with two very likeable people. It was a very realistic story with a lot of spice! The domestic abuse is a significant part of the story and some may find it triggering.

On the Screen

Jason and I like all of the Batman movies and we finally saw 2022’s The Batman with Robert Pattinson. We liked quite a bit. Are you a Batman fan? Christian Bale is still my favorite.

Jason and I finished Oppenheimer just in time for the Oscars tonight. I don’t know if I preferred it to Killers of the Flower Moon, but I get the hype.

Plans for the Weekend

Watching the Oscars!

A Favorite Book – The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom with Elizabeth and John Sherrill

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First read 4-28-09, Reread 3-5-24, rating 5/5 stars, biography, 272 pages, 1971

“Happiness isn’t something that depends on our surroundings, Corrie.  It’s something we make inside ourselves.”

Chapter 3

The ten Boom family was an institution in Haarlem, Holland.  The family had owned the watch shop for over 100 years and the current ten Booms had settled into a comfortable life.  Father, known as one of the finest watch makers in the country, and Mother, with her giving spirit even though her own health was weak, raised 4 children and welcomed two sisters into the tiny house behind and above the shop.  This is a family that knew how to take care of each other. 

By the time the Nazi’s occupied Holland only Corrie, the youngest and author, her sister Betsie and Father were left in the house.  The two oldest children, Nollie and Willem, had families of their own close by.  The ten Booms were faithful Christians, exemplifying the spirit of grace, compassion, and giving.  When the Germans began taking Jews from their small village the ten Booms were appalled.  When the first Jew appeared on their doorstep there was no question that they would take him in.  So, the word was out and more people in need began showing up and the ten Boom family home became the headquarters for the Jewish underground effort. By this time Corrie and Betsie were into their 50’s and Father 80’s.

Corrie and her family had a secret room built in the house, had an illegal telephone and radio, and had to make deals with sympathizers to obtain ration cards and shelter for those needing to hide.  The operation became quite large and it was only a matter of time before they were caught.  First, everyone in the family was rounded up and taken to prison and there they were split up.  After some time both Corrie and Betsie were taken to a camp in Holland and then on to a concentration camp in Germany. 

The one thing that sustained Corrie and her family was their faith in God.  This book is a beautiful tribute to the Christian spirit that they were willing to give and suffer so much in the face of hatred.  Corrie’s words leave an impact and she has much to teach us all about forgiveness, death, and loving your enemies.  I am sure that I will read this book again.

It is estimated that they save the lives of 800 Jews. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

Oath and Honor by Liz Cheney

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Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning by Liz Cheney, 4/5 stars (but everyone should still read it), Memoir, 372 pages, 2023

I’m not a Republican. I’m not a Democrat. Until Liz Cheney, third in Republican Party leadership, stood up for truth unlike the vast majority of her party, I would have considered my view of her to be negative. But when a woman has the courage that Liz has shown, I respect her. Her work on the January 6th Committee was such a show of intelligence, strength and resolve. In this book she tells the story of the 2020 election from day one through what’s happening in our country right now.

This is the story of the moment when American democracy began to unravel. It is the story of the men and women who fought to save it, and of the enablers and collaborators whose actions ensured the threat would grown and metastasize. It is the story of the most dangerous man to inhabit the Oval office, and of the many steps he took to subvert our Constitution.

Since 1797, when George Washington voluntarily handed the power of the presidency to John Adams, every American president has fulfilled his solemn obligation to guarantee the peaceful transfer of power- until Donald Trump. (first paragraghs)

This is will be hard for Republicans to read, but those Republicans who rely on Fox News and other far right media are the ones who need to read it most. One of the more conservative of her party she was shown the door because she refused to stand for Trump’s election lies. They all knew it and she brings the receipts.

How we got to this point where a majority of Republicans believe the stolen election lies is frustrating. I encourage everyone to read this book because democracy really is on the ballot in the next election.

“If Trump is on the ballot, the 2024 election will not just be about inflation, or budget deficits, or national security, or any of the many critical issues we Americans normally face. We will be voting on whether to preserve our republic. As a nation, we can endure damaging policies for a four-year term. But we cannot survive a president willing to terminate our Constitution.

…This is more important than partisan politics. Every one of us-Republican, Democrat, Independent- must work and vote together to ensure that Donald Trump and those who have appeased, enabled, and collaborated with him are defeated.” (closing paragraphs)

A few thoughts I had while reading. You can listen to someone you disagree with. Cheney is reporting facts and opinions in this book. I can appreciate her first hand knowledge on what was happening in Congress at the time (fact), but still disagree with her love for Ronald Reagan (opinion). Just as I can dislike Dick Cheney as a politician, but love him as a supportive father for her during this time. Just as Cheney said this about Speaker Nancy Pelosi, “She did not try to micromanage the work of the January 6th Committee, but she was there whenever we needed her. And over the next 18 months, every time I went to her with a concern, a proposed approach, or a request that she intervene with Democrats to help guide things in the right direction, she backed me up. Every time. A relationship that had been unimaginable just a few months earlier would now become indispensable.” (p 201)

I think everyone should read it, especially if you didn’t watch the January 6 public presentations, which are still to be found on YouTube 🙂 The people that helped sell the lie are still in Congress and waiting to aid and abet once again if called upon.