Book Log: December 2017

My youngest sister has been doing an annual post of books completed, and I always enjoy looking through it. I do keep a log of my finished books, so I thought cataloging my completed books at the close of every month would be a good way to dust off this blog and encourage me to jot down a few lines -- or a few paragraphs -- with my impressions (a compiled list will appear at the close of the year). I don't like spoilers, so while I put some initial thoughts after each title, when possible I'm purposely vague regarding plot specifics so as not to dissuade any of you from reading them. This is my second year doing this; here is a page containing the 2016 posts (or here is a list of all 2016 books, without the commentary on each one).

The included Amazon links are affiliate links; many of these titles I check out from the library or already own, but should you be inclined to purchase one, these links only mean Amazon will give me a small percentage of the cost, at no additional expense to you.


75) 12/16: Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry

Wendell Berry first came to my attention when my youngest sister talked about reading The Art of the Commonplace, a selection of his essays. Since then, I've heard him crop up in conversation, both for his nonfiction and fiction works.

This book was one that was often recommended, and my library had an audiobook version of it.

As the book opens, Hannah Coulter is an elderly woman reflecting on her life: how she came to be married, what she learned from raising children, and what it was like to care for the land. The land itself feels like a character at times.

Something about it, maybe the pacing, made me think of Marilynne Robinson's writing -- measured and thoughtful and beautiful.

76) 12/16: The Lord and His Prayer by NT Wright

This was my first read of an NT Wright book, and my husband and I read and discussed it at regular intervals with some other couples. It's a relatively short read, breaking up the Lord's Prayer in small chunks and reflecting in depth about the meaning. I enjoyed the insights, and the Daily Bread chapter especially resonated with me.








77) 12/16: Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

I've heard this mentioned as a fun read, and it didn't disappoint. It plays with the concept of every time you make a decision, there's another world where you make a different choice, meaning there are thousands and thousands of branches playing out every possibility. I can see its appeal as we watch the protagonist end up in another world.

My one quibble is that when I've heard interviews with the author, it's made clear immediately what the premise is, although the book takes a while to play it out. It reminded me of the time I saw a preview for Mr & Mrs Smith, where we learn they are both assassins, although they have kept that information from their spouse. However, the movie doesn't expect you to know those details, so it takes forever for them to reveal that to the audience. This book felt similarly - if you knew any of the premise, you're just drumming your fingers, waiting for the character to make the same realization. It does pick up after that point, though, and there's some high-adrenaline moments.

78) 12/22: Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World by Bob Goff

A good friend brought this title to my attention as one of her favorites. I acquired a copy and while I was reading it, I also noticed Bob Goff and his wife were going to be in the area for an event. This friend and I ended up going to hear them speak, and while I'd intended to finish this before I saw him, that wasn't to be.

Bob Goff is a character. He is gregarious and quirky and amusing. This book is set up as a collection of short reflections about what love does. We learn a lot about his life, and some of it sounds so absurd. But as he expounds on how he feels we need to find the whimsy in life -- how God is whimsical and would wish us to follow suit -- you can't help but grin.

I realized that I wasn't unfamiliar with Bob Goff -- I quickly placed him as the individual Donald Miller meets in A Million Miles in a Thousand Years (which I read last year) and Don makes repeat appearances in this book.

It's an easy book to pick up and read in spurts since the sections are short and relatively self-contained. I can see the attraction of it and find myself thinking of some of the circumstances in the book (helping his children contact all the world leaders, then getting to visit a number of them; holding court at Disney; becoming Honorary Consul for Uganda; including his personal phone number in the book to be approachable for anyone who felt the need to call, and on and on).

79) 12/25: Still Life by Louise Penny
I've heard this author and series mentioned for years; I believe my first encounter was via the NPR: Books podcast when we lived in Indiana. I distinctly remember sitting at my sewing table working on some project while listening, thinking I should pick up the first in the series.

Still Life is the first in her Inspector Gamache series. I grew up on a steady diet of Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes, devouring all that I could of their works. As I read this, I understood the attraction. We get to know the individuals in Three Pines, a quaint Canadian town where a death happens. Inspector Gamache and his team come in to investigate, find the woman's death wasn't accidental, and work to find the culprit.

The characterization is strong - I remember thinking Penny was going to great lengths to convey all the characters convincingly, far more than expected when I thought we wouldn't see these individuals again (non-spoiler: I'm playing catch up with my book log, and at the time of writing this, I've actually read two more of her books, also based in Three Pines).

I'm not unbiased, given my early love of mysteries, but I really enjoyed this book. In fact, I was actually sick late Christmas Eve into Christmas Day. When I couldn't sleep (which was basically the whole night), I found myself reading this on my Kindle, and even having it connected with my miserable illness didn't dull my impression of it.

80) 12/25: The Greatest Gift: Unwrapping the Full Love Story of Christmas by Ann Voskamp

This was an advent devotional I followed more or less successfully (sometimes there was some catch-up to do, but these readings aren't that long so it was possible). It's framed with a short passage of the Bible (there's even a link to print off Jesse Tree ornaments to follow, her reflections on it as well as a short quotation from an another author, and several questions to encourage reflection, discussion, and action.

Ann Voskamp writes in a style that's a blend of narrative and poetry - I find myself having to concentrate more and not rush so I can take it in. I appreciated the quotations she gathered from others, and some of her reflections stuck with me. Is it one I will return to again? I don't know that I will, but I appreciated walking through Advent with these readings and I'm eyeing her newest children's Advent release of short daily readings, which includes a pop-up tree that holds ornaments, one for each day; I imagine my children will connect with that.

81) 12/26: Dear Martin by Nic Stone

This is a Young Adult lit book where we meet a high schooler who is wrestling with being a person of color in our current setting. He admires Martin Luther King, Jr., and begins writing letters to him in a way of trying to process what he's seeing in the world around him and figure out whether a life of non-violence is even feasible.

I really wanted to like this book, but the premise is stronger than the execution. It could be that it's because I couldn't help but compare it to The Hate U Give, a book I read earlier in the year; they try to do similar things, but I found The Hate U Give to be much more powerful and successful at it.



82) 12/27: The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

Let's start with a tangent. Way back in 2005 I had an Audible account, long before they were acquired by Amazon. It was perfect as I commuted to and from work, 45 minutes each way. I was an English teacher at the time, and periodically I would re-listen to what we would be covering in class that week as I drove so my prep time could be spent drawing up the questions and exercises.

Sometimes free or heavily discounted titles would be offered, so I ended the year with quite an extensive library, not all of which I was able to listen to. However, I had used an email address for that account that I no longer had access to, and since I couldn't remember my password, there was no way to log in and I couldn't reset it without access to the email account. This has been hanging over my head as something I really wanted to figure out, and I'd periodically contact Audible to see if I could resolve it, getting one step closer each time. FINALLY I got connected with Jessica, my favorite Audible employee of all time. Over a couple different phone calls, I was able to track down the necessary details to prove I was the holder of that defunct account, and Amazing Jessica then merged those titles with my current account.

This was one of those titles that I was re-connected with (I'd listened to it ages ago, but it had been a different performance). I loaded it onto my phone in anticipation of our holiday driving. It's a short but entertaining listen about false identities originally created to allow an out for tedious social commitments. When confusion arises that might result in the loss of love, there's brief tension that ends up concluding pleasantly.