January 2015 Books

My book reviews are back! I may eventually catch up on October, November, and December of last year but for now, it's a new year and here's the line up for January: 

Wonder: 5 Stars
I just can't stop reading this book!  I think this is my 3rd book review of R. J. Palacio's "Wonder".  And it is every bit as good (if not better) the third (fourth, fifth. . .) time around. After you've read the story and you don't have to wonder (Ha! no pun intended) what's going to happen, you can enjoy all the other little things - like the heartfelt lessons and charming humor. I read it this month for book group, and I discovered new insights that I hadn't before.  Like the realization that people love "Wonder" not just because it teaches empathy but because it builds courage.  Bad and hard things will happen in our lives and we can still be okay. We can even be more than okay!  We can be stronger, happier. . . we can thrive! Just like Mommy Cannon always used to say whenever anything bad happened, "It will all work out in the end."  I think she would've liked this book.

The House Girl: 3.5 Stars
I really enjoyed this book.  It's about a young ambitious attorney who gets the difficult assignment of finding a convincing plaintiff for a slavery reparations case.  She ends up uncovering a remarkable story about a house slave named Josephine and tracks down her descendants - one name and story at a time. It is a wonderfully vivid and eye-opening work of historical fiction.

Pay It Forward: 2 Stars
I really wanted to like this book.  And I do like the idea of using our time, talents, and means to do big planned acts of kindness as opposed to only random acts of kindness. And I already do think that one person can make a difference in the world - there are countless (true and better) real-life examples of this.  "Pay it forward" is catchy though and it sounds like a great idea, right?  Except that the book itself is poorly written and the idea of being kind to other people has actually been around for. . . well, forever. Besides, I like Christ's version better - where you don't wait for someone to "pay it forward" to you before you "pay it forward" to someone else. And even when someone does something unkind to you, you still "pay it forward". The fifth graders at Lydia's school just read this as part of a school assignment.  They sent letters to all the parents at the school describing what they'd learned and spearheaded their own "book drive" as their way of "paying it forward". I was impressed with their entrepreneurship and cheerful enthusiasm. And it made me wonder if Clayton would like the book. I'm glad I read it first though because I decided not to hand it off to him.  There were too many parts (ask me, I'll gladly tell you) that rubbed me wrong and quite frankly, there's better literature out there.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: 5 Stars
We listened to this on our drive back from Florida. (It's the only way we'll ever get Nate to read the books!) I never get tired of Harry Potter. In fact they just get better with time! Prisoner of Azkaban is one of my all-time favorite books!

Call the Midwife: 5+ Stars
This book was every bit as enchanting as the PBS miniseries.  I enjoyed reading Jennifer Worth's memoir so much that I found myself trying to read it slowly, like I was savoring a sliver of flourless chocolate cake with a smooth layer of ganache and raspberry drizzle. Not that life in the Dockland slums in the 1950's has anything to do with fancy desserts, but "Call the Midwife" is writing at it's best! A deliciously charming, hilarious, heart wrenching tale of deliveries and . . .deliverance!
Here are two of my favorite quotes:

"Their devotion showed me there were no versions of love there was only. . . Love.  That it had no equal and that it was worth searching for, even if that search took a lifetime."

"Was it love of people?" I asked her.

'Of course no.' she snapped sharply. 'How can you love ignorant, brutish people whom you don't even know? Can anyone love filth and squalor?  Or lice and rats? Who can love aching weariness, and carry on working, in spite of it?  One cannot love these things.  One can only love God, and through His grace come to love His people."

The Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time: 3 Stars
Wow.  This book is one of the most fascinating works of fiction I have ever read.  It is a novel (a dog murder mystery) told from the perspective of an autistic boy named Christopher who doesn't like to be touched, cannot decipher human emotions, but is a complete genius at solving mathematical puzzles. His quirks make his life both hindered and extraordinary at the same time. It is a story of love and bravery. And it gave me a glimpse into the mind of an autistic person. The language is terrible (do all British swear so much?) which is why I can't give it more than 3 stars and would feel uncomfortable recommending it. But besides the swearing, I thought it was ingeniously written and I'm glad to have the enriched perspective.