Hello All,
My apologies for not getting this blog out sooner. I have had some computer issues which are not yet resolved but I am going to make-do until I can get it all taken care of. In the meantime I am sending some of the more recent book lists I have received by e-mail. Some wonderful books here for you to read.
SUE DE MARTINI
MARYANN STEVENS
Death of Yesterday by MC Beaton 3.5
️ Hamish MacBeth normally quiet Highland hamlet is suddenly overwhelmed by a series of murders.
From a Far & Lovely Country by Alexander M Smith. 3.5️ Precious & Grace& Charlie solve another mystery in their lovely Botswana.
Den of Spies by 4️ nonfiction. From Reagan forward reporter researches political dirty tricks that have substantially changed the times we live in
Honor by Thrity Umrigar 4.5 ️ contemporary India. Smita, an American-Indian journalist traveling worldwide to report on war, women’s issues, poverty, & power said she would never return to India after barely escaping sectarian violence as a pre-teen, when her fellow journalist calls on her to fill in after an injury. Smita must travel hours into the interior to attend the trial for the death of a Muslim man & the disfigurement of his Hindu wife, a crime committed by her family members.
Lilac Ink by Jean Grainger 4.5 ️ 1938 Ireland. Grace writes a letter to St Jude, thé patron saint of list causes, pouring out her heart & enumerating her woes. She puts the note in an old whiskey bottle & tosses it into the Bay of Dingle. 6 weeks later Richard’s dog digs in the Sand on the beach of an island off the coast of Georgia, USA. they become pen pals of a sort & learn about each other. The sequel is on my hold list.
Sister in Science 4.5️ by Olivia Campbell. The true story of 4 female physicists. First, their struggle to be accepted as credible scholars in the early 20th century & then the strenuous efforts to escape Nazi Germany.
Reading Genesis by Marilyn Robinson 5️ Author analyses & then reads thé entire book of Genesis. She sees so many things I never have. Well worth reading. Eating the apple - is a complex act of will. The old Christian writers refer to ‘thé Fortune Fall,’ embodies agency & freedom; human culpability is absent from parallel religions. Humans are both fallen & divine. Beauty exists in the world because our pleasure is anticipated in the creator. Comparing Babylonian creation & flood accounts thé big difference is how central to gods creation is man. Cain doesn’t seem to be punished. Is mercy nearer to the personality of God than Justice? Grace tempers Justice in each of the OT stories. Adam & Eve do not die that day. Esau forgives Jacob. Joseph forgives his brothers. Etc. to refrain from thé use of or to put aside power is Godlike.
Matterhorn Karl Marlantes 4️ but I can’t recommend in whole due to the Marine language. However, if you want to read the story of the Vietnam War through the eyes of a Marine infantry platoon, this is your book, all 21 hours of it. Death of Yesterday by MC Beaton 3.5️ Hamish MacBeth normally quiet Highland hamlet is suddenly overwhelmed by a series of murders.
From a Far & Lovely Country by Alexander M Smith. 3.5️ Precious & Grace& Charlie solve another mystery in their lovely Botswana.
Den of Spies by 4️ nonfiction. From Reagan forward reporter researches political dirty tricks that have substantially changed the times we live in
Honor by Thrity Umrigar 4.5 ️ contemporary India. Smita, an American-Indian journalist traveling worldwide to report on war, women’s issues, poverty, & power said she would never return to India after barely escaping sectarian violence as a pre-teen, when her fellow journalist calls on her to fill in after an injury. Smita must travel hours into the interior to attend the trial for the death of a Muslim man & the disfigurement of his Hindu wife, a crime committed by her family members.
Lilac Ink by Jean Grainger 4.5 ️ 1938 Ireland. Grace writes a letter to St Jude, thé patron saint of list causes, pouring out her heart & enumerating her woes. She puts the note in an old whiskey bottle & tosses it into the Bay of Dingle. 6 weeks later Richard’s dog digs in the Sand on the beach of an island off the coast of Georgia, USA. they become pen pals of a sort & learn about each other. The sequel is on my hold list.
Sister in Science 4.5️ by Olivia Campbell. The true story of 4 female physicists. First, their struggle to be accepted as credible scholars in the early 20th century & then the strenuous efforts to escape Nazi Germany.
Reading Genesis by Marilyn Robinson 5️ Author analyses & then reads thé entire book of Genesis. She sees so many things I never have. Well worth reading. Eating the apple - is a complex act of will. The old Christian writers refer to ‘thé Fortune Fall,’ embodies agency & freedom; human culpability is absent from parallel religions. Humans are both fallen & divine. Beauty exists in the world because our pleasure is anticipated in the creator. Comparing Babylonian creation & flood accounts thé big difference is how central to gods creation is man. Cain doesn’t seem to be punished. Is mercy nearer to the personality of God than Justice? Grace tempers Justice in each of the OT stories. Adam & Eve do not die that day. Esau forgives Jacob. Joseph forgives his brothers. Etc. to refrain from thé use of or to put aside power is Godlike.
Matterhorn Karl Marlantes 4️ but I can’t recommend in whole due to the Marine language. However, if you want to read the story of the Vietnam War through the eyes of a Marine infantry platoon, this is your book, all 21 hours of it.
he Darkest Hour by Anthony McCarten nonfiction narrative account of the first three weeks of Winston Churchill as PM. The Nazis have overrun the Low Countries & invaded France. Seek a devastating truce or fight on & risk losing the entire professional military? Not good choices Through meeting minutes McCarten describes the battle in the War Council itself.
The Glass Chateau by Stephen P Kieran 5 France at the end of WWII. One of the minor characters says, “Victory doesn’t equal peace.” I came to realize much more clearly that despite an armistice signed by world leaders, prosperity & peace takes a long time to trickle down to the common people. Another said, “Grief is a form of love.“ and every person acts out grief & recovers differently.
Asher’s wife & daughter are killed by a Nazi soldier with one bullet. He joins the French resistance, his speciality is assassination. After the armistice he returns home to find his home & cobbler shop razed, covering the graves of his loved ones. He wanders aimlessly through France for two years, eating a bit every two or three days through someone’s kindness. He discovers the Glass Chateau which has accepted in a limited number of similarly broken men who are taught glass making skills by the glass master & former priest, Marc & his mothering wife,
Each man’s secrets are carefully hidden & his brokenness is soothed. Miraculously he finds a place there & begins to heal his soul even while hiding his Jew heritage in this place full of Christians repairing a cathedral. A truly remarkable story of redemption. Kieran is a new favorite author.
Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan 4. Pre-WWII NYC a father, unbeknownst to his family, is involved with gangsters. He suddenly disappears & the family, his death having been rumored, must do without him. Oldest daughter, Anna becomes a Navy diver during WWII & father joins the Merchant Marines. Each faces unique traumas alone. Well written. Good story.
Bakers Secret by Stephen P Kieran 4.5 WWII Normandy Coast of France, a small village is occupied by the Nazis. Emma Is given ration allotment & is ordered to make 12 loaves of bread each day for the Nazi officers. By unusual means she enlarges the batch to 14 & bicycles the extras around town, 1/3 loaf here, 1/3 loaf there. This activity leads her to be contacted by others who wish to circumvent Nazi control & then create a secret network to feed the village. Great cast of characters. Great story.
Death and Fromage by Ian Moore 3 Competitive Chefs, blackmail, multiple murders in the Loire Valley. British accents & French accents. I won’t be reading his other books.
Sent from my iPhone
KARLA COX
Short History of Nearly Everything By Bill Bryson
I confess that I listen to at least twice the number of books I actually read in print. Multi-tasking has become an essential gift of our time. When I speed up the delivery, which I usually do, I’m learning more, faster. At least that’s how I see it.
This book, with those factors considered, provided me with more science lessons than I had in all my years of schooling. Add to that the delight of Bill Bryson’s ever-engaging voice, always enthusiastic about his topics, and you have a total win in a matter of hours. 
Too bad I won’t remember every detail…
From the age of the world to DNA, and all the science I don’t always agree with but leave in the faith realm; it’s all here, compacted, with a closing cautionary quote: One planet, one experiment (Edward Wilson). A fascinating book.
Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin
My second of Goodwin’s non-fiction, and even more engaging than the first. This book is a history of Lincoln, from the perspective of his genius in selecting his diverse and seemingly contentious cabinet, and their essential teamwork through the bloody and contentious civil war.
This account painted a much kinder portrait of Mary Lincoln than some biographies; but also more tragic. Both Lincolns suffered greatly from the death of their son Willie; but she was inconsolable and virtually non-functioning for about two years. This was followed by a wagon accident that may have caused brain damage and a change in her temperament.
From the summary: This is “Pulitzer prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin’s modern classic about the political genius of Abraham Lincoln, his unlikely presidency, and his cabinet of former political foes.”
William Seward, who was gravely injured in a carriage accident and then also attacked with intent to kill the same night Lincoln was murdered, transformed from his competitive run against Lincoln for president to become his truest and most loyal friend.
Lincoln is my ultimate national and political hero. This biography crowns others ai have read, and seals his throne.
I think everyone would benefit from this historical perspective.
We All Live Here by JoJo Moyes
“Nobody writes women the way JoJo Moyes does,” is the review Jodi Picoult gives this book. But this book is also about husbands and dads and moms and daughters, and lovers. Because they all claim space in woman’s life and heart.
This is a fun, sometimes surprising (though usually not) tale of a divorced woman who finds angst in everything - until she finds herself at 43.
Moyes’ dialogue is truly clever. And since this story takes place in somewhere, England, with a struggling writer heroine, a proper British step-dad, an American movie star absentee dad, two extreme daughters, a noisy dog and a BMW convertible, I’m seeing a movie someday soon.
When We Meet Again by Kristin Harmel
The names Kristin Harmel and Kristin Hannah are too similar, and I’m easily confused. But that doesn’t mean either is more worthy of being read; just know that their styles are distinctly different. This story is heartbreaking and spiritually heartlifting, in Harmel’s characteristic way.
Emily Emerson is used to being alone. Her dad left when she was a child, her mom died when she was 17, she’s just lost her reporting and daily column job, and her grandma, her only remaining anchor, just died when the story begins. Then she receives a mysterious and beautiful painting of her grandmother as a young woman; that painting sets her on a course to learn about her family, herself, and the importance of love, even when it seems impossible. She also learns about the WWII POW camps in Florida, where German prisoners worked for American farmers (a slice of history of which I never knew).
This is a beautifully written story, moving back & forth from the 1940s and Emily’s current day. It’s about pain, deceit, betrayal, heartbreak, and “If only”, but also redemption and the hope of more than this life.
A wonderful fictional novel with historical details.
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
This is the story of a Giant Pacific Octopus, named Marcellus by his rescuers (aka, captors); told by Marcellus, the mostly orange and remarkably bright octopus. And it’s also the story of some less-bright but still lovable humans, and one remarkably bright older woman who took time to care about and talk to Marcellus. So he took time to care for her.
This is a “compulsively readable exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope”, that makes connections with generational relationships and unexpected - yet somehow logical - connections between people, unremarkable and remarkable.
Van Pelt’s style and story are remarkably like Fredrik Backman’s books. Her debut novel “is a gentle reminder that sometimes… the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.” I loved it!
An interesting thread connects Moyes’, Harmel’s, and Van Pelt’s stories: they all include unwed mothers, lost opportunities, and heart-wrenching regrets and hopeful tomorrows as prominent themes. Common threads seem to link stories a lot in my reading, and purely by chance. Or is it?
Secrets of Adulthood by Gretchen Rubin
This audio book is literally one hour. Less, if you aren’t writing anything down so you’re listening on a higher speed (I thought the normal pace was unbearably slow).
You may want to write down some of the aphorisms Rubin has been collecting her whole life, of which this little book is merely categorized highlights.
I’ve really enjoyed her other books, but this one felt a little contrived - like maybe she wanted to generate some vacation income or something.
The aphorisms are interesting, regardless. And to be fair, the review was much more tantalizing.
Luminous by Silvia Park
I returned this one unfinished. That doesn’t happen often at all. It just wasn’t holding me, with its futuristic fantasy. Maybe another year I will try again.
The Hitler Dilemma by Caroline Twede Frank
And LDS perspective of serving in Hitler’s army when everything in your heart says it’s wrong. Young Max is drafted, and copes daily with the horrors of fighting a war on the wrong side. But his faith is a personal confirmation that God would protect him gets Max, and his parents safely through the war. An added angle is Max’s interaction with an atheist on a bus across America three years after the war. I often think about how the average German felt during WWII; this book is another of those historical novels that give some valid opinions. Thank you to Geri (?) for loaning it!
Becoming Dr. Seuss by Brian Jay Jones
This is the definitive biography of Theodor Geisel, the guy who turned reading, illustration and children’s literature upside down. I could say so much about this book, just as people can say so much about Dr. Seuss; I grew up with his books, bought them for our children, and have long been curious about his life and meaning. So I learned a lot. Some was thrilling, some disappointing. Some refuted the public view (i.e, that he didn’t like children: in fact he adored them one on one, but en masse they terrified him; he and his first wife couldn’t have children, he inherited two stepchildren with his second wife but didn’t raise them). Some were just plain surprising. From his very first, And to think that I saw it on Mulberry Street to his very last, Oh, the Places You’ll Go, Ted Geisel/Theo LeSeig/ Dr Seuss was magic. I really enjoyed learning the story behind the icon.
Geisel was an Oxford dropout, had few but profound failures [Seven Lady Godivas, 5,000 Fingers of Dr T], experienced changing ideology [insensitive rascist to champion of minorities], was a German-American who vehemently hated Hitler; From college newspaper editor and cartoonist to ad man to political cartoonist to author to movie maker to publisher to most well-known name in American children’s literature; was a dedicated husband and business partner for 40 years, who fell in love with another woman and may have been the cause of his first wife Helen’s suicide; had a brilliant mind and was a quirky artist who found his niche in children’s books, where he originally had no interest; was a soldier who served under Frank Kapra; was a naturally comedic prankster who nevertheless, as a perfectionist, and struggled over every phrase and detail of every work; was a chain smoker and heavy drinker but never alcoholic… But no author is more beloved.
Disposable: America’s Contempt for the Underclass
by Sarah Jones
Ambivalence. That’s what I feel about this book and its message. While many points about the elderly and the poor suffering more greatly during the COVID Pandemic and in general are valid, the author seems only to want to vent her furious anger on capitalism, the wealthy, and Trump, though none of these is to blame for the pandemic or its negative impact. My heart hurts for the forgotten people; and I know some segments of society were harder hit by the pandemic. But her vitriol seems misguided and toxic, not informative. Mostly I just couldn’t embrace her cause because of her anger and blame. Maybe I am too politically and theologically different from Ms Jones to find the value in her book.
Know Your Newlywed by Elena Armas
This was a made-for audio story, so it was a little like listening to a rom-com. But I have a decent imagination, so it worked and I enjoyed listening.
Javi and Cleo met on a dating app. They’re both a bit obsessed with a newlywed game show from the 80s, so when it’s chosen for a revival, they decide to apply to compete, sans wedding. And they’re off! It’s a cute, mostly predictable, sweet Hallmark movie in a book. Though I didn’t love that the whole premise was based on lies, everything ends right. Also clean and a quick listen, at just over 4 1/2 hours (on higher speed, of course; it’s five hours normal speed. )
The Dressmakers of London
by Julia Kelly
This is another heart-engaging Julia Kelly story of women. It’s a WWII story of two English sisters, estranged through life’s circumstances, who inherit their mother’s dress shop together after her rather sudden death. The depth of the story is built on the difficulties of war (one sister is drafted into the WAAF because she is young and single) and the struggle to find common ground between two women whose lives have been very different, though they had the same parents.
There’s love, hurt, redemption and hope in this lovely book by Julia Kelly. And if you’re a seamstress of any level, you’ll enjoy that foundation (no pun intended) as well. Having created and altered patterns and sewed for my daughters and myself for decades, I loved it.
The Girl from Venice by Martin Cruz Smith
I’ve inadvertently fallen into my WWII groove again, since this was the fourth this month… I guess, because my dad couldn’t serve (4F), I’m learning through authors.
This story is from an Italian perspective; a love story against the backdrop of occupied Venice. But it’s told through the eyes of Vencenzo - Cenzo throughout the story - a humble fisherman, who is also a highly intelligent veteran of Mussolini’s battles in North Africa. He’s determined not to become involved in the insanity going on in the world. But then he finds a young girl floating in the water in the lagoon near his home village. And she’s alive. And she’s Jewish. Her name is Giulia. This is their story, but many lives interweave with theirs, along with the inevitable suspense of a war-torn country and people who compromise at every turn, to make money or to simply stay alive. It’s about the lunacy of war and the bravery it can inspire.
Strictly fiction, but definitely worth reading!
Darktown by Thomas Mullen
This was a little different from my usual mixture. It was perfect for listening, as the reader’s ability to use the various Atlanta voices brought the story to life.
Post-WWII Atlanta Georgia, where racism is king, corruption at every level is commonplace, and a good cop isn’t safe. Even less so if he’s among the brand new eight black men who are allowed to wear a badge, carry a firearm, and protect the black neighborhoods of Darktown, aka Sweet Auburn.
Part mystery, part thriller, mostly sad and a little bit hopeful, this book is well worth the listen, and equally worth the read.
One more that I forgot from last month but that deserves to be added:
Igniting The Holy Flame
By Steven A. Hitz
While the author’s delivery is a little plodding, his message is profound. He cites many of my favorite religious boundary pushers - Terryl & Fiona Givens, Brian McClarren, and Eastern religious ideas, for instance - and makes an excellent case against False or Fabricated Fellowship and Harmful Religiosity (the two concepts I mentioned in my last RS lesson). He shares personal experiences that make me think he would be a fine individual to talk to, as I definitely learned and re-awakened to important truths from his book, such as the way we love and accept others and how we commune with the Divine, including meditation, a practice I deeply appreciate. I will probably buy it, just to mark the key parts. (I honestly wonder if he used AI to write his book, and voice the audio version, because the underlying message is much more powerful and soul-pleasing than the awkward, even mechanical delivery.) His epilogue says it all: “I have sought to help all people, regardless of where they are in their spiritual journey. [Instead of only pointing out problems,] I have tried to provide solutions… for… Individuals and collective communities of faith. What could happen if all of us… Stripped away that protective armor, so that the flame of spirituality could burn within the hearts of every member of the community? What would we be capable of as a collective of worshipers and seekers of light?”
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