Sarah, Plain and Tall.  Finished 9-19-19, 4.25/5 stars, kids classic, pub. 1985

Set in the late nineteenth century and told from young Anna’s point of view, Sarah, Plain and Tall tells the story of how Sarah Elisabeth Wheaton comes from Maine to the prairie to answer Papa’s advertisement for a wife and mother. Before Sarah arrives, Anna and her younger brother Caleb wait and wonder. Will Sarah be nice? Will she sing? Will she stay?

This children’s literature classic is perfect for fans of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie books, historical fiction, and timeless stories using rich and beautiful language. Sarah, Plain and Tall gently explores themes of abandonment, loss and love.    from Goodreads

I picked up this Newbery Award winner because I needed some short classics for my challenge and I’m so happy that I did.  It gave me all of the feels of a different place and time and tugged at the motherly heartstrings.  I’m a city girl, always have been.  I like being surrounded by trees and neighbors and within walking distance to something social.  This book took me to a different place, a lonely yet beautiful place, where you only need a loving family and a bail of hay to make happy memories.

I had no idea until I finished that there are four more books about this sweet family and I’m looking forward to checking them out.  They are easy enough to read to Gage fairly quickly so I may give that a try too.

Loved this short kids classic and it’s   my 31th selection for the Classics Club challenge.  I have until January 1, 2020 to get to 50. (Yes, I realize this is not going to happen, but I’m still pretending I can do it :))

 The Secrets We Kept. Finished 11-6-19, rating 4/5 stars, fiction, 344 pages, pub. 2019

At the height of the Cold War, two secretaries are pulled out of the typing pool at the CIA and given the assignment of a lifetime. Their mission: to smuggle Doctor Zhivago out of the USSR, where no one dare publish it, and help Pasternak’s magnum opus make its way into print around the world. Glamorous and sophisticated Sally Forrester is a seasoned spy who has honed her gift for deceit all over the world–using her magnetism and charm to pry secrets out of powerful men. Irina is a complete novice, and under Sally’s tutelage quickly learns how to blend in, make drops, and invisibly ferry classified documents.

The Secrets We Kept combines a legendary literary love story—the decades-long affair between Pasternak and his mistress and muse, Olga Ivinskaya, who was sent to the Gulag and inspired Zhivago’s heroine, Lara—with a narrative about two women empowered to lead lives of extraordinary intrigue and risk. From Pasternak’s country estate outside Moscow to the brutalities of the Gulag, from Washington, D.C. to Paris and Milan, The Secrets We Kept captures a watershed moment in the history of literature—told with soaring emotional intensity and captivating historical detail. And at the center of this unforgettable debut is the powerful belief that a piece of art can change the world.    from Goodreads

Are you a Dr. Zhivago fan?  If so this will fascinate you.  Never read or watched Dr. Zhivago?  It doesn’t matter – this novel is about so much more.  There was a time in the not too distant past that the United States government felt that great literature could change the world.  There were people devoted to making sure that books like Animal Farm, 1984 and yes, Dr. Zhivago made it into the hands of those behind the closed door of communist countries.  While Boris Pasternak’s epic novel was written in Russia it was not allowed to be printed there.

The 1950’s mission to get Dr. Zhivago out into the world is the stage but it’s really the stories of three women who carry the story.  In alternating chapters we hear from Olga, Pasternak’s mistress, who went to the Gulag for 3 years for her loyalty to the author, Sally, a seasoned CIA spy,  and Irina, who was chosen to do more than just type because of her Russian ancestry.  There was a fourth ‘narrator’, a woman from the typing pool who was able to fill in the details about the role of accomplished women in the CIA offices.

We read this for our book group last week and it led to great discussion about career women in the 50’s, the role of literature, hiding sexuality to keep your job, and many other issues that stemmed from these.  These women impressed me with their strength and intelligence.  I’m happy that I was able to read about this time in history when women were coming into their own and changing the world.  Now I need to go watch Dr. Zhivago again, or better yet read the book.

As part of my year of healthy changes I’ve started reading a devotional book every morning.  Some are Christian, some just inspirational and yet others are in the Buddhism tradition.  Often I’ll start one and abandon it after a few days if it doesn’t speak to me, but these two I finished and was lifted up every day.

 My Soul in Silence Waits: Meditations on Psalm 62 by Margaret Guenther. Finished 8-26-19, 4.25/5, 152 pages, pub. 2000

 In these reflections on Psalm 62 Margaret Guenther provides the foundation for a time of reflection and retreat without ever leaving home. The book’s first chapter introduces us to ways of making a retreat wherever we are, at a place apart or in the midst of our daily lives. Guenther then offers eight meditations on Psalm 62, with its themes of waiting on God’s presence with patience, trust, and expectation.   from Goodreads

I love devotional books that start with a verse or even story in the Bible and then expounds on what that means for my daily life.  I admit that I’m pretty picky because so many of these types of books do not inspire or cause me to grow, but this one did both.  Here’s something I marked from one of the eight chapters,

In the realm of enemy voices, fearfulness is a close relative of self-doubt and self-contempt.  We persuade ourselves that it is better to stick with the tried and true.  As the old Scottish saying puts it, “Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t.”  Change for the sake of change and risk for the sake of risk can be foolish and imprudent.  But unwillingness to stretch and risk and grow is also a kind of death wish.

Highly recommend it.

 Illuminated Life:Monastic Wisdom for Seekers of Light by Joan Chittister.  Finished 9-30-19, 4/5, 143 pages, pub. 2000

So many of the books that I have loved this year have really centered on finding the magical and profound in every day.  From the introduction…

Religion is about rituals, about morals, about systems of thought, all of them good but all of them incomplete. Spirituality is about coming to consciousness of the sacred.  It is in that consciousness that perspective comes, that peace comes.  It is in that consciousness that a person comes to wholeness.  

This book chooses a theme for each letter of the alphabet, awareness, beauty, community, dailiness, enlightenment, faith, growth, humility, justice, kindness…  The beginning of each section is very short story followed by ways to bring true meaning into your life.  It focuses on the contemplatives and what we can do to understand not only God but our role in the universe.  I loved this one!

 Alice’s Adventure’s in Wonderland.  Finished 9-30-19, classic, 3/5 stars, 175 pages, pub. 2015

Beautifully illustrated by Anna Bond.

It’s been 150 years since Lewis Carroll penned Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the story which has become a favorite of children and adults the world over. Now, in a deluxe hardcover edition from Puffin, Alice’s story comes to life for a whole new generation of readers through the colorful, whimsical artwork of Anna Bond, best known as the creative director and artistic inspiration behind the worldwide stationery and gift brand Rifle Paper Co. Lose yourself in Alice’s story as she tumbles down the rabbit hole, swims through her own pool of tears, and finds herself in a rather curious place called Wonderland. There, she’ll encounter the frantic White Rabbit, have a frustrating conversation with an eccentric caterpillar, and play croquette with the hot-headed Queen of Hearts. Follow Alice on her wild adventure through the eyes of the artist in this definitive gift edition.  from Goodreads

So, I’m continuing my curmudgeonly thoughts with another childhood classic.  Let me start by saying that I LOVED this edition.  Anna Bond’s illustrations were the only saving grace when I read this.  They were modern, colorful and fun.  None of which I am going to say about Alice.  Maybe you have to be a child or reading to a child to like this one?  Maybe I should try reading it to Gage to test this theory.  I found Alice to be a bit on the insufferable side, but I’m old (just had a birthday a few weeks ago that proves it).

You tell me, what’s so great about Alice?

This is   my 30th selection for the Classics Club challenge.  I have until January 1, 2020 to get to 50.

 The Silent Patient. Finished 8-15-19, fiction, 4.25/5 stars, pub. 2019

Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word.

Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations–a search for the truth that threatens to consume him….  from Goodreads

I listened to the audio way back in August and realized I never shared my thoughts.  It’s been a while, but I still remember the story and the feelings.  This debut thriller was at times a bit boring, but my husband loved it so I continued listening so I could see what all the fuss was about and by the end I got all the buzz and was happy I stuck with it.

Theo is a strange man.  Alicia became a strange woman.  The story was told in a strange way.  All of these things give it extra points for originality.  The fact that I can remember almost all of the details over two months later gives it extra points too. All I know is that I kept thinking that I would not want Theo as my therapist because he seemed creepy, but since his wife was cheating on him I cut him some slack.  You should too and give this one a try, but once you start make sure you make it to the end.