The Art of the Handwritten Note. Finished 4-17-20, 3/5 stars, reference, 153 pages, pub. 2002

For those who enjoy writing notes, or those who value doing so but find themselves intimidated by the task, acclaimed calligrapher Margaret Shepherd has created both an epistolary tribute and rescue manual. Just as you cherish receiving personal mail, you can take pleasure in crafting correspondence. Love, gratitude, condolences, congratulations–for every emotion and occasion, a snippet of heartfelt prose is included, sure to loosen the most stymied letter writer.  from Goodreads

Civilized, stolen right from the title, is the perfect work for this letter writing reference.  Shepherd starts with the why of a personal, handwritten note and during these crazy times of social distancing I think we all can agree that a heartfelt note in the mailbox can really brighten your day.  Gage and I made crafty heart cards for all of our neighbors on the street and spread some love closer to home.  It’s a great time to pick up a pen and paper and practice your cursive skills.

There’s quite a bit of time spent on the paper to choose, the different kinds of pens, and how to improve your handwriting before she gets into the nitty-gritty of what to say.  I liked reading about what to say and what not to say, but the whole thing felt a little bit tone deaf in 2020.  I picked this up at the library book sale a few months ago and it was a good time to read it.

American Dirt. Finished 4-11-20, 4/5 stars, fiction, pub 2019

Lydia Quixano Pérez lives in the Mexican city of Acapulco. She runs a bookstore. She has a son, Luca, the love of her life, and a wonderful husband who is a journalist. And while there are cracks beginning to show in Acapulco because of the drug cartels, her life is, by and large, fairly comfortable.

Even though she knows they’ll never sell, Lydia stocks some of her all-time favorite books in her store. And then one day a man enters the shop to browse and comes up to the register with a few books he would like to buy—two of them her favorites. Javier is erudite. He is charming. And, unbeknownst to Lydia, he is the jefe of the newest drug cartel that has gruesomely taken over the city. When Lydia’s husband’s tell-all profile of Javier is published, none of their lives will ever be the same.

Forced to flee, Lydia and eight-year-old Luca soon find themselves miles and worlds away from their comfortable middle-class existence. Instantly transformed into migrants, Lydia and Luca ride la bestia—trains that make their way north toward the United States, which is the only place Javier’s reach doesn’t extend. As they join the countless people trying to reach el norte, Lydia soon sees that everyone is running from something. But what exactly are they running to?    from Goodreads

So, I read about the controversy before my book group picked it for this month.  I understood that it was coming from a sincere place.  I won’t go into it much here, but you can always do a search if you’re interested, there are lots of articles.  I read the first shocking and heartbreaking chapter and understood the hook.  I was drawn in right from the get go.

The story begins with the violent murders of Lydia’s family, fourteen in total, by the cartel in Acapulco.  Forced to flee with her son, this middle class bookstore owner has more means and motive than the average migrant heading north.  The two are literally running for their lives.  Luca is only a year younger than Gage and I would love to own a bookstore so I was perhaps extra invested in their plight.  The complexity of escaping the cartel and the stories of the people they met along the was eye opening.

I liked the way that the story was told with live action interspersed with significant flashbacks to give the story heft.  There was a humanizing of all of the characters that you don’t often find.  It’s a timely and important story with a perspective not many of us understand and for that reason alone it should be read.

My book group of ten all liked the book to varying degrees, except for the one who only made it to the 82% mark.  I found it hard to read about such a heartbreaking topic when I was so stressed and I do think that tempered my enjoyment of it.  I’m still glad that I read it.

The Knife of Never Letting Go.  Finished 4-3-20, rating 4.75/5, dystopia YA, 512 pages, pub. 2008

Chaos Walking Trilogy, book 1

Todd Hewitt is the only boy in a town of men. Ever since the settlers were infected with the Noise germ, Todd can hear everything the men think, and they hear everything he thinks. Todd is just a month away from becoming a man, but in the midst of the cacophony, he knows that the town is hiding something from him — something so awful Todd is forced to flee with only his dog, whose simple, loyal voice he hears too. With hostile men from the town in pursuit, the two stumble upon a strange and eerily silent creature: a girl. Who is she? Why wasn’t she killed by the germ like all the females on New World? Propelled by Todd’s gritty narration, readers are in for a white-knuckle journey in which a boy on the cusp of manhood must unlearn everything he knows in order to figure out who he truly is.       fromGoodreads

When I started reading this one I hated it.  I disliked Todd and I didn’t understand why some of it was written phonetically.  By the end I still had the phonetic question, but Todd turned into a character that I loved.  Todd is being raised by two dads in Prentisstown, a town in the New World made up only of men, when he is forced to flee for reasons he doesn’t understand.  He is the last boy in town.  As he escapes he finds what he thinks is a girl, but doesn’t understand how this can be since all of the women were killed by the Spackle in the war.  And he is accompanied by his faithful dog Manchee whose thoughts you can also hear.

The unlikely threesome run for their lives and the chase takes them to new towns with facts long hidden from Todd and astonishing to the girl, Viola.  The men and women they encounter change their view of the world and shed light on the inclinations of people that is truly alive and well today.  Manchee, my favorite character, is all things a good dog is, loyal, clever, and loving.

This may not sound like it’s in your wheelhouse and I get that.  I remember reading all of the rave reviews when this came out 12 years ago, but didn’t think it sounded like something I’d be interested in.  I was wrong.  I got sucked in and the book kept it’s hooks in me the entire time.  The book is over 500 pages long and as I finished I still wanted to keep reading and immediately order the next book.  I’m still waiting for it to arrive.  Not that I’m impatient or anything.

I know a few of you have read this already and loved it, but if you haven’t I suggest you give it a try.  Please give it at least 50 pages before making up your mind.  You’re welcome.