Saturday, December 29, 2018

2018: A Bookish Year in Review


As I say goodbye to yet another year, I pause to reflect on my literary adventures of 2018. This year, I read 38 books (a few less than last year), but I read a number of gems and discovered new genres I enjoyed, specifically memoirs and nonfiction. I also finished reading through the Harry Potter series -- for the first time! :) 

Here's a list of what I read, what I rated them, and a micro overview. I've starred my top ten of the year.

1. Watch for the Light - 3/5 stars - A compilation of essays and sermons relating to Advent and Christmas, some of the selections were better than others.

2. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - 4/5 stars - The one where we find out more about Snape's backstory! :)

3. As Bright as Heaven - 4/5 stars - An enjoyable ARC historical fiction about the Spanish flu in the early 1900s, Philadelphia (thanks for the e-galley, NetGalley!). 

4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - 4/5 stars - The wrap-up of the Harry Potter series -- so glad I finally read them all!

5. Snow Falling on Cedars - 3/5 stars - Historical fiction set in the Pacific Northwest during WWII era and America's fear of the Japanese, including its own citizens. (Interesting historical backdrop, but too explicit for my taste.)

6. *Educated - 4/5 stars - A fascinating memoir of a girl who grew up in an isolated, survivalist Mormon family. (Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley!)

7. Surprised by Joy - 4/5 stars - C.S. Lewis' autobiography.

8. Ready Player One - 3/5 stars - A sci-fi dystopia perfect for 80s pop culture fans and computer geeks (it was a little too computer/video-game-y for me). 

9. Five Decades: Poems by Pablo Neruda - 4/5 stars - A book of Pablo Neruda's poetry. 

10. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2001) - 4/5 stars - Not the book I thought it was when I downloaded the audiobook, but still a fun book of Newt Scamander talking about all his magical creatures. 

11. *The Road - 4/5 stars - Highly disturbing but equally full of hope, I'm glad I stuck with this post-apocalyptic novel even though it was dark.

12. Celtic Tales - 4/5 stars - A collection of Celtic fairytales. 

13. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - 3/5 stars - The screen play. It felt like reading fanfiction, and wasn't as good as the original series.

14. Upstream - 4/5 stars - A collection of Mary Oliver's essays; enjoyable. 

15. *Quiet - 5/5 stars - An awesome nonfiction that affirms introverts in a loud, extroverted world. 

16. Hillbilly Elegy - 3/5 stars - A memoir about a man and his family in poverty-stricken Kentucky and Ohio.

17. *The Worst Hard Time - 5/5 stars - An outstanding nonfiction about the Dust Bowl.

18. The Gods of Howl Mountain - 3/5 stars - Fictional story about a guy who delivers illegal alcohol shipments during the Prohibition, his family, and the violence in back-country Appalachia. 

19. *Made Like Martha - 5/5 stars - Amazing nonfiction for the Martha in the biblical story -- the doer who needs reminding the God is sufficient. 

20. Favorite Celtic Fairytales - 3/5 stars - More Celtic fairytales. 

21. A River in Darkness - 4/5 stars - A memoir of a man who escaped from North Korea and the horrors he experienced there. 

22. Uprooted - 4/5 stars - Fantasy with Russian cultural backdrop (also a subtle retelling of Beauty and the Beast). 

23. Oryx and Crake - 3/5 stars - The weirdest dystopian story I've ever read. 

24. *Walking with God Through Pain and Suffering - 5/5 stars - Another excellent Timothy Keller book.

25. *Fruit of the Drunken Tree - 4/5 stars - A historical fiction ARC (thanks, NetGalley!) about Columbia in the 90s -- fantastic!

26. *The Bear and the Nightingale - 4.5/5 stars - LOVED this atmospheric fantasy novel steeped in Russian folklore and imagery. (Book 1 of the Winternight Trilogy)

27. The Girl in the Tower - 4/5 stars - (Book 2 of the Winternight Trilogy) Also good, but not as good as the first book in the series.

28. The Underground Railroad - 3/5 stars - Historical fiction re-imagining of slavery in the South. 

29. Neverwhere - 4/5 stars - Neil Gaiman's well-written and strange fantasy novel. Very creative.

30. *The Brownsville Butterfly - 5/5 stars - My friend's memoir about growing on in New York and Georgia and all her trials she experienced. 

31. Strong as a Mother - 4/5 stars - Nonfiction about taking care of yourself emotionally and psychologically as a mom.

32. *Once Upon a River - 5/5 stars - A stellar and very well-written magic realism story about a dead girl pronounced alive and the mystery surrounding it in rural England.

33. Maid - 4/5 stars - Memoir about a woman forced to raise her daughter in poverty as a single mom while working for a cleaning company.

34. Bittersweet - 4/5 stars - A collection of essays by Shauna Niequist about life and living through difficult times.

35. The Winter of the Witch - 4/5 stars - (Book 3 of the Winternight Trilogy) An enjoyable end to the story.

36. A Christmas Carol - 4/5 stars - Finally read this gem! (Well, my hubby read it to me, but I think that counts.)

37. Prayer - 3.5/5 stars - Another Timothy Keller book. I found it to be too intellectual for what I was looking for.

38. The Great Alone - 4/5 stars - Kristin Hannah's book about a broken family with a violent father learning to live in the cold, unforgiving land of Alaska.

I'm pleased with this year's reads, and am particular glad that I discovered that not all nonfiction is dull and sleep-inducing. I read 15 nonfiction books!

There you have it. Another year in the rear-view mirror, and another road into literary worlds ahead!

Happy reading, friends!

Saturday, December 8, 2018

The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden

[I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]   

Release date: 1/8/19
Rating: 4/5 stars
Genre: Fantasy
Features: Romance, family, strong female main character, magic
Quotes:

"Have you never thought to believe that heaven and hell are both nearer you than you like to believe."

"There are no monsters in the world, and no saints. Only infinite shades woven into the same tapestry, light and dark. One man's monster is another man's beloved."

"Men make themselves afraid . . . Imagining is worse than anything they actually see. All it takes is whispers in the dark."

I loved the first books in the series, and couldn't wait to get my hands on the third one in Arden's Winternight Trilogy. I was elated when I finally got approved for the ARC -- thanks, NetGalley! As the third and final book in the trilogy, The Winter of the Witch picks up where the story leaves off in The Girl in the Tower. I enjoyed it greatly, and gave it 4/5 stars. I think, though, that the first book was my favorite. 

However, this book still had all the elements I enjoyed in the first two: strong female characters, magic, romance, strong family ties, Russian history and folklore, and atmospheric setting descriptions. Arden develops the characters further in The Winter of the Witch, giving more insight into their motives, desires, and abilities. I was emotionally invested in their plight, and teared up a few times. *No spoilers, promise!* I liked that this book explores the magical world where the women in Vasya's family came from, and a bunch of the fantastical creatures that live in it. 

I was a little disappointed that the book didn't explore more of the characters and their futures. Arden definitely leaves room for further stories to be written, but as this is the third book in a trilogy, I think this will be the last one. All in all, this was a fun book. Not as stellar as the first one, but still a solid four stars. 

Monday, November 26, 2018

Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive by Stephanie Land



[I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]   

Release date: 1/22/19
Rating: 4/5 stars
Genre: Memoir/biography
Features: Single motherhood, poverty, overcoming adversity, anxiety disorder, domestic abuse
Quotes:

"I would do what parents do, what parents had done for generations--I'd make it work. There was no questioning. No other option. I was a mother now. I would honor that responsibility for the rest of my life. I got up, and on my way out, I ripped up my college application and went to work."

"When people think of food stamps they don't envision someone like me . . . Someone like the girl they'd known in high school who'd been quiet but nice. Someone like a neighbor. Someone like them. Maybe that made them too nervous about their own situation. Maybe they saw, in me, the chance of their own fragile circumstance, that, with one lost job, one divorce, they'd be in he same place as I was."


Ever since reading The Glass Castle a little over a year ago, I can't get enough of memoirs. So when this one showed up on NetGalley, I was quick to request it. I was amazed by Stephanie Land's life and the daily trials she had to endure. But perhaps most of all, I was amazed by her determination and love for her daughter, no matter what. 

Stephanie's story is intriguing because it feels close to home. She wasn't too much older than me when her life fell apart starting with an abusive relationship. Although I'm not in an abusive relationship, is struck me how very close we all are to losing everything that makes us feel secure: relationships, jobs, finances, cars, homes, etc. A few tragedies is all it takes.

I think what really stuck with me after reading this book is never assume you know what someone is going through, and never judge based on appearances. It's easy when you see that woman with children in the checkout line using food stamps to judge her choice of foods, to judge the kinds of clothes she and her kids or wearing, or make assumptions about how she got there. Don't

This book really opened my eyes to the need in our world. There are so many people who lack basic, everyday provisions, and I was inspired to educate myself about the need and see how I can do something about it. 

All in all, this was an excellent, enlightening book that changed how I view poverty.

Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield

[I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]   

Release date: 12/4/18
Rating: 5/5 stars
Genre: Magical realism/fantasy/historical fiction
Features: Romance, mystery, racial prejudice, strong families, small town life/people, storytelling, folktales/legends, rural England
Quotes:

"When the moon hours lengthen . . . it is the time of magic. And as the borders between night and day stretch to their thinnest, so do the borders between worlds. Dreams and stories merge with lived experience, the dead and the living brush against each other in their coming and goings, and the past and the present touch and overlap."

"They were collectors of words . . . they kept an ear constantly alert for them, the rare, the unusual, the unique."

"In this room, in this inn, they had seen her dead and seen her alive. Unknowable, ungraspable, inexplicable, still one thing was plain: she was their story."


What happens when a wounded stranger carrying a dead girl stumbles into an ancient inn known for storytelling, and the dead girl comes back to life, all on a cold, dark, winter's solstice night? Stories and conjectures abound, as three different parties come to the forefront and claim a connection to the silent, mysterious child. Is she Lily White's dead sister, the Vaughan's lost daughter, or Robin Armstrong's abandoned child?

Of course, I can't tell you how it all resolves, but I can tell you that the book is worth every word, every sentence that leads to the climactic ending. This rich, atmospheric book is the kind of story perfect for devouring in from of a roaring fire on a snowy, winter's eve. I hadn't read anything by Diane Setterfield before this, but now I'm going to have to look up her other works -- her writing style is just exquisite.

Set during the Darwinian age of rural England, the townspeople near the Swan Inn are still very steeped in folklore and legends. Setterfield weaves in the magical, the mythical, and the physical into a beautiful story. If you're a fan of Katherine Arden's The Bear and the Nightingale, this magical, historical tale is for you.

I also adored the characters. They're unstable, lovers of stories, greedy, honest, optimistic, hardworking, and painfully good and occasionally undeserving of the way they're treated -- but most of all, they're very real. Setterfield focuses on three groups of people that lay claim to the girl and explores their sorrows, their triumphs, and their hearts, and like any masterful storyteller, she weaves it all together for the perfect ending.

I gave this one 5/5 stars. Excellent, honest characters, intriguing characters and folklore, and a seemingly unsolvable mystery had me invested from the beginning.


Sunday, July 22, 2018

Fruit of the Drunken Tree by Ingrid Rojas Contreras

[I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]  

Rating: 4/5 stars
Genre: Historical fiction/Latino lit
Features: Childhood/growing up, post-traumatic stress disorder, government corruption, the strength/endurance of women, tragedy, class differences
Quotes:

"Mama always said--the life she knew was a last-minute tsunami that could sweep away fathers, money, food and children. You were never in control, so it was better to let things run their course."

"I closed my eyes, thankful for the blood thumping in my body, thankful for Mama's life, and I imagined Petrona's blood thumping in her body too, and I felt like we were all joined in some way."


I really enjoyed this book, and gave it 4/5 stars! One of the main things I liked about it was the writing style. True to much Latino literature, this book embraced magical realism -- the spiritual and supernatural were referenced throughout the book as explanations for unknown situations or behaviors. I loved the beautiful blending of the natural, physical world with the supernatural. I also liked how the author showed the violence and corruption of Colombia through the eyes of children by rotating the narration between her two female main characters, Chula and Petrona. 

The characters felt well-developed also. They weren't perfect, which made them real. They had quirks, flaws, and moments of selfless greatness. Most of the main characters were women, too, and I appreciated how Rojas Contreras showed the strength of women during difficult times and tragedy. Her women were stubborn and courageous, unwilling to let hunger, violence, death, and government corruption destroy their loved ones. I loved reading about the fierce, loving women, and how they dealt with hardships. And I loved that Rojas Contreras didn't sugarcoat the hardships -- they were genuine, and couldn't be easily wrapped up with a happily ever after. 

I think what I enjoyed most about the book was the historic and cultural background. I studied Spanish in college along with some Latino literature, so all the Spanish words and phrases the author included, all the cultural nuances, and all details about Colombia and its people were fantastic. It made me want to study South American countries more and brush up on my rusty Spanish. It was especially interesting seeing the class differences in Colombia through the eyes of Petrona and Chula. One girl grew up in poverty, and the other grew up in wealth, but tragedy affected them both.

Overall, the book was a very enjoyable read! Now I want to get my hands on some Isabel Allende and Gabriel Garcia Marquez!

Sunday, May 6, 2018

Made Like Martha by Katie M. Reid

 [I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]

Rating: 5/5 stars
Genre: Christian nonfiction
Quotes:

"I didn't choose to be a doer; I was designed to be one. This temperament--this nature--is here to stay. It's not to be erased but rather to be celebrated and used for God's glory."

"May our 'what if' worry be changed to 'even if' worship as we remember who is with us. Even if our what-if happens, the good news does not change. Jesus is enough."

"While God sometimes asks us to do hard things, those things are never wasted and serve a purpose far greater than we can imagine . . . no matter what happens, we are delighted in, are held by, and belong to a good Father."

Made Like Martha was a perfect read for my weary Martha soul. I'm already planning on buying a copy for myself that I can take notes in and recommending it to my family once it's published!

I loved how the author approached this topic. Books for the do-all Christian woman are not new, but Katie gave interesting and fresh insight. She shared her own struggles with perfectionism and Type-A thinking and offered biblical wisdom to help form a healthier perspective. She also included a Modern Martha section with insight from other writers/authors, practical ways to put the chapter topics into action, and space to reflect on your own heart and motives.

Most of all, I loved that the author was encouraging and pointed out God's love for Martha in the biblical story. Jesus did not condemn her, and He does not condemn us. He made us unique, with unique strengths and weaknesses. It was refreshing to hear from another driven woman like myself and hear her speak on her own Martha personality. Being a doer is not the problem, but the motives and attitudes that accompany the tackle-everything personality can be a problem. It's great to realize you're not alone in your approach to life, and even better, that you can use your God-given personality for His glory!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I can't wait to order my own hard copy in July!

Sunday, March 18, 2018

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline


  
Rating: 3/5 stars
Genre: Sci-fi/Futuristic/Dystopian
Features: 80s cultural references, pop/nerd culture, gaming, virtual reality, friendship
Quotes:

"You don't live in the real world . . . From what you've told me, I don't think you ever have. You're like me. You live inside this illusion."

"[The OASIS] had become a self-imposed prison for humanity . . . A pleasant place for the world to hide from its problems while human civilization slowly collapses, primarily due to neglect."

Ready Player One can be summed up as 80s nostalgia meets Tron and The Matrix. I was so eager to read this book after hearing glowing reviews, and then I was further motivated by seeing the movie trailer (book before movie is my mantra!). Overall, I give it a 3 to 3.5 star rating.

Here's what I liked:

Unfortunately, fate did not smile on me and allow me to grow up in the 80s. I did, however, grow up on 80s music and pop culture thanks to my parents, and though I'm no Parzival when it comes to 80s culture knowledge, I do love me some Duran Duran and Dirty Dancing. I may have caught only half of the 80s cultural references in the book, but my little nerd heart smiled at every one of them and longed for that decade I wasn't old enough to experience. The idea of a society infatuated with 80s nostalgia was super fun--definitely a strength in the novel. 

I also loved the post-apocalyptic vibes. There's not one major catastrophe that causes the overall decaying state in Cline's fictional 2044, but more of a series of plausible events: energy crises, wars, poverty, etc. It was all fairly believable. And then you add in the OASIS, a virtual reality that allows for the ultimate escapism experience. With the technology we have today, none of this seems far-fetched, and I'm simultaneously fascinated and disturbed by this.   

I enjoyed thinking about the possibilities of a virtual reality like OASIS. The OASIS is truly a computer geek's paradise: if you can imagine it, you can make it so. As a nerd--albeit a literary/artistic nerd, not a math/science nerd--this was exciting to envision. You want to have a DeLorean for a spaceship? You got it. You want to live in a castle with a dragon guarding the drawbridge? It's yours with a few programming tweaks.

I also loved dwelling on the deeper themes in the book: What is identity? What makes you, you? In a society that's super "connected" thanks to social media, people can strike up friendships and relationships without having an in-person conversation. Does that allow for a deeper, cerebral connection, without distractions of the physical? Do appearances matter? Also, the idea of taking responsibility for the state of the world was sprinkled throughout. Humanity can't run and hide in a computer game; it has to work to repair the destruction to make Earth a place worth living in for generations to come.

Here's what I didn't like:

I didn't love the writing style. Although I appreciated all the nerd culture and technological details, there were parts that got a little too detailed for my liking. It kind of disrupted the pacing, and made me want to race through those sections. Again, if I was a computer programming nerd and not a word nerd, this may have been a non-issue for me. 

I missed the human (avatar) interaction. It's there--Parzival/Wade does hang out with other people and talk to them, but it's few and far between the detailed, solo missions he's tackling on his own. I really missed the dialogue that helps move a story along. 

Overall, it was a really interesting read, and it got me excited about seeing the movie. Would definitely recommend to 80s culture connoisseurs and self-professed nerds/geeks.

Saturday, February 17, 2018

Educated by Tara Westover

[I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.] 
Rating: 4/5 stars
Genre: Memoir, autobiography
Features: Overcoming abuse, importance of education, Mormonism, survivalists, family dysfunction, bipolar
Quotes: 


"Vindication has no power over guilt. No amount of anger or rage directed at others can subdue it, because guilt is never about them. Guilt is the fear of one's own wretchedness."

"I had come to believe that the ability to evaluate many ideas, many histories, many points of view, was at the heart of what it meant to self-create."

I've recently been on a nonfiction kick, and have especially enjoyed memoirs like Glass Castle. Although not as artistically expressed as Glass Castle, the content of Educated was still mesmerizing. Seeing how other people grew up has become one of my recent fascinations, and Westover's childhood was anything but normal. Born into a Mormon survivalist family, the author grows up with a taught distrust of the government and modern medicine. Her mother is an unlicensed midwife and her father a doomsday "prepper." Tara does not receive a formal education until she first enters a classroom at age seventeen, and when she does, she is shocked at what her parents failed to tell her about the world and its history.

I enjoyed this book because the author overcomes so many setbacks to eventually earn a PhD: a crazy family, physical abuse, brainwashing, a lack of education, and her own personal demons. The journey is not easy, but she slowly learns to evaluate things for herself, including religion and the beliefs she was taught as a child. This book is for anyone who believes in the pursuit of knowledge and freedom of thought, no matter your upbringing or setbacks.


This memoir was chock-full of fantastic quotes about self-worth, finding your voice, and seeking truth. Here are a few other quotes that really resonated with me:

"The most powerful determination of who you are is inside you . . . this is Pygmalion . . . She was just a cockney in a nice dress. Until she believed in herself. Then it didn't matter what dress she wore."

"You are not fool's gold, shining under a particular light. Whomever you become, whatever you make yourself into, that is who you always were. It was always in you . . . You are gold."

"My life was narrated for me by others. Their voices were forceful, emphatic, absolute. It had never occurred to me that my voice might be as strong as theirs."

"I would never again allow myself to be made a foot soldier in a conflict I didn't understand."

Sunday, January 21, 2018

As Bright as Heaven by Susan Meissner

[I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.] 

Rating: 4/5 stars
Genre: Historical Fiction
Features: Human tragedy, dealing with death and loss, family, love, mankind's resilience


ARCs can be very hit and miss, but this one was definitely a hit! The story follows the women in the Bright family and rotates between the perspectives of the three daughters and the mother. It reminds me of Poisonwood Bible for that reason. The oldest Bright child is mature and intelligent, the middle daughter is strong-willed and determined, and the youngest is more artistic and rebellious. (It also pleasantly brought to mind Little Women, and the sisters Meg, Jo, and Amy.)

The book starts off with the Bright family losing their youngest, an infant baby boy, and moving to Philadelphia for the father to join the family business as undertaker. The family all lives in the house attached the the funeral home, providing a unique perspective into the horrors and harrowing tragedy of the Spanish flu. I'll be honest; I knew embarrassingly little about the Spanish flu before reading this novel. I had no idea how devastating it was. And I think that's what makes this book so beautiful: in a near-apocalyptic world of a fatal illness, people still choose what's good even when it's hard. The mother, for instance, chooses to go feed the sick even if it means catching the flu. She is strong for others--her family and even strangers--even when she's weak. And she's fiercely protective of her daughters: "I do not fear Death for myself, but I will not allow its cold fingers to touch my girls. Not even in a slow caress. They are mine, I whisper."

The tragedy makes the characters re-evaluate their priorities and their humanity, and those who survive the flu have to learn to live after such great loss. How do you rebuild and move forward after so much sorrow? The tragedy shapes each character, and I enjoyed watching them grow through the experience and struggle with difficult choices, and seeing how their stories develop and intertwine: "We only see a little bit of our stories at a time, and the hard parts remind us too harshly that we're fragile and flawed. But . . . your story isn't all hard parts. Some of it is incredibly beautiful."

The perseverance of the human spirit when faced with darkness is truly amazing: "We adjust to [change]. Somehow we figure out a way. We straighten what we can or learn how to like something a little crooked. That's how it is . . . we keep moving, keep breathing, keep opening our eyes every morning, even when the only thing we know for sure is that we've alive."

Overall, this book was stellar: excellent characters, fascinating plot, a sweet romance, and great writing style. I will be looking to read more books by the author.


This book had a number of memorable, beautiful quotes. Here were some of my other favorites:


"This flu is like a black shroud that has been flung across everything that breathes under the canopy of heaven."

 "Our humanity is what made what happened to us so terrible. Without it, nothing matters. Nothing is awful. But nothing is amazing either."