Inbox: New Books in March/April

I didn't buy/receive a single book in March.  It was the month of major packing and moving, so I just couldn't justify it. After getting installed into our next rental house, though, life slowed down a bit and in came some books! Typically it's the times that leave me little time to read that I end up splurging on books...I feel like I ended up doing pretty good this time around considering the size of my splurge urge!

    
These three are books that have been calling my name. Funny Girl I read immediately and enjoyed thoroughly. Ragtime was the first book my book club read (a year or two before I joined them back in '98/'99) and I thought it would be a good place to begin filling in some holes. The Knausgaard books seem to keep popping up, and I've got Nordic countries on the brain, so let's see what the fuss is about.



    
Our Endless Numbered Days and The New and Improved Romie Futch were both part of the latest Indiespensable shipment from Powell's Books. I got sucked into Romie's crazy life, and am now venturing into a much different world in Claire Fuller's book. The Dream Lover was sent to me from the publisher through LibraryThing, and will most likely be next in the queue.



    
These three all have special circumstances. The Warriors book is for my 10yo. The Sound and the Fury was my book club book, and The Eyre Affair I purchased as a potential book club selection since it was my turn to pick next.  Not only did I end up not picking it (I picked Caleb's Crossing instead) but I'm starting to think I may already have a copy in storage.  Oops.



      
Continuing with my nonfiction cravings, I read the very interesting travel memoir/social history of the major Nordic countries: The Almost Nearly Perfect People. I heard about that on NPR I think? The other three here I realized I have an almost Guilty Pleasure attitude about. Spending time or money on them feels indulgent for some reason (like I should be doing it, not reading about it)...which kind of only makes me want to do it more often. I was totally going to resist the Kondo book because I feel like I've read the entire contents in summary, but then I added it to my most recent order at my local book shop anyhow (and to be honest I'm excited to get it!) Organizing and language: strange subjects for guilty pleasures perhaps, but there you have it.

That Cover, Though

I've been known to be guilty of judging a book by its cover. It has been a while, especially since I don't impulse buy as much as I used to, but while browsing the Barnes & Noble stacks for a good option to pick for my book club, this old habit reared its head in a major way.

Back when The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman was released, I was on the fence about whether I'd enjoy it. From reviews it sounded like it would be a little too dramatic and I'd get bored. The topic didn't intrigue me. But the cover was interesting and it got a lot of attention, so I bought it.

It remained on my TBR shelf for the next couple years. I'd pull it out occasionally and flip through, ultimately setting it back on the shelf and choosing a different book instead. I've never read Hoffman before (argument for reading it already) but all the women and all the drama (argument for putting it back on the shelf) and so it goes. Until I saw a new cover at B&N. And now I'm thinking my hunch was right. I may just get rid of the book now. I don't know.  I realize now it's a tie-in, which explains even further why I don't like it, but it really caught me off guard. Have you read it? Have you seen this cover?

For the Record: March 2015

March was a month for the record books. Not, unfortunately, for how much I read, but rather for how much I did.  It was a crazy one. Between birthday parties, goodbye parties, out-of-country business trips, packing and moving out of our rental into a hotel (first) and a vacation rental (next)...the focus has really been on trying to get our house project complete enough to move into. We are currently living out of suitcases (albeit in a beautiful place steps from the beach—which certainly helps make up for the chaos!) and have suspended home school in favor of getting our house done and picking back up with summer school. Whew. Still and all, a girl has to read. So here's the fun stuff:

7 Books Read in March: [24 books year-to-date]

3 Nonfiction:
  - The First Time We Saw Him, Matt Mikalatos (3.5) For a book that looked to describe stories from the gospels in a fresh, modern light, I expected a little more creativity. This book was half retellings and half commentary on life application.  It was better than other Christian Nonfiction I've read, but still pretty light reading.
  - The Lexicographer's Dilemma, Jack Lynch (4.5) I did this one on audio, but enjoyed it so much I'm buying a paper copy to reread in bits and pieces. It could be subtitled "A History of the Grammar Nazi" since it basically shows the history of English prescriptivists vs. descriptionists (or, should a dictionary indicate how we should use language, or how we do use language?) I loved the history of our crazy language, and seeing how far back this debate developed. Written in a lively, organized fashion without heavy bias.
  - That's Not English, Erin Moore (3.5) I must have been on a language kick! This was sent to me by the publisher through LibraryThing, and it was a lighthearted cultural look at how British English is different from American English. It was enjoyable, but I did have some issues.  The fact that I read it after The Lexicographer's Dilemma probably didn't help, as the details of history weren't Moore's strong suit. Neither was organization, though she certainly did try (her chapters were organized, but the text in each chapter was lacking a solid arc.) I found it difficult to not be irritated by her huge generalizations, and was a bit confused regarding the target audience. Still, her experiences on both sides of the pond were fun to read about. This was light and fun enough that it would make a good vacation read - not something that can often be said for nonfiction!

1 Junior/Teen Fiction:
  - The Birchbark House, Louise Erdrich (4) I read this aloud to my kiddos a few years back, and didn't like it so well as I did this time. I remember the kids liked it, but I had to do a lot of explanation about Native American culture—words and beliefs that were confusing—which makes me think now that it was more a matter of timing. For the child that is able to comprehend those more abstract concepts of religion etc., this book offers wonderful insight into daily life of the Native people. It was almost like Little House on the Prairie from the Ojibwe perspective.

3 Adult Fiction:
  - The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins (3.5) Not my usual fare, but I was in the mood for something light and entertaining and the audio was fun to listen to.
  - The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy, Rachel Joyce (3) I loved The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry so much that I jumped on the chance to review this book (another ARC through LibraryThing). As with many sequels, (and the reason I don't often read a whole series,) this just wasn't as good. I enjoyed reading more about the characters, but it just didn't seem as if there was enough story to merit a whole other book. Many portions seemed drawn out, without enough at stake to actually hold the suspense.
  - The Light Between Oceans, M.L. Stedman (4) Read for my book club. This was a captivating story. I'm not really sure why I kept avoiding reading it. (??) I enjoyed the location and time period, and all the different looks at marriage and motherhood.

            


2 Current Reads:

  - The Warmth of Other Suns, Isabel Wilkerson. This was an impulse buy at the airport (why does that always happen?) but it had been on my radar for quite a long time. It is incredibly good reading; I'm adoring it.
  - Mary Barton, Elizabeth Gaskell. I've been having a hard time taking the time to focus on classics, so I thought I'd attempt the audio. The narrator (Juliet Stevenson) is perfect and the story is just as enjoyable as Gaskells others.

  

On My Nightstand:
My next book club pick is The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner, so I probably need to start on that one next. I'm still itching to read Wolf Winter too though, and some more nonfiction, so we'll see how it goes.

    

For the Record: February 2015

I thought I was going to be able to squeeze one more book into February, but it didn't happen.  Still, it was a pretty rewarding reading month for me. Since I've been so busy with house design, I feel like more time is passing than really is—I keep thinking it's almost June.  SoCal weather is absolutely no help in this regard.  While the rest of the Continental US is suffering through another terrible winter, we're still sunny mid-70s. It could be any month of the year, honestly. That's definitely one of the factors urging me to read more...my messed up conception of time.

Since I'm getting anxious to move back into our house, I thought I'd give you guys a little peak at what we've been working on for the last two years.

One of the [way too many] bathrooms - not complete yet
but I love how the tile and stone work together.

We have a lot of walnut in the house (floors, closets etc.)
This is a half flight of stairs leading to kitchen.

My laundry room is going to be so gorgeous! Alder cabinets and a mahogany
counter. Can't wait to see them after the wood is sealed.

This is a little private courtyard off the master suite where a lot of our
exterior materials converge: cedar, teak, andesite.

7 Books (1,858 pages) Read in February: 
[17 books (5,084 pages) year-to-date]

2 Nonfiction:
  - Lies My Teacher Told Me, James W. Loewen (3.5) I liked the topics (American History and how it is taught in public schools) but the tone was somewhat alarmist which isn't my jam. Most of the stuff I already knew, whether through my own reading or by virtue of homeschooling, (not via traditional textbooks,) so what was most interesting to me was his brief comments on how little continuing education most history teachers do. That, to me, seems to be a large part of the problem. It's always easier to learn a subject if your teacher is enthusiastic about the topic.
  - The Light and the Glory (for Young Readers), Peter Marshall & David Manuel (2.5) I was disappointed to find much less usable text in this book as compared with its sequel. Most frustrating was the coverage on Columbus, who was presented as very rose-colored two-dimensional character. Almost as irritating was the general lack of organization in the writing.  Maybe I was just in a bad mood when I read it!

2 Junior/Teen Fiction:
  - Brown Girl Dreaming, Jacqueline Woodson (4.5) Woodson did a beautiful job writing about her childhood, really giving a full picture of her family members and the locations they lived. Recommended! [counts towards the Book Riot Read Harder Challenge: YA Novel]
  - When Mystical Creatures Attack, Kathleen Founds (3.5/4) This was fantastic to flip through, and I loved the first half or so, but as the story went on it got more and more depressing.  I kept hoping that there would be a sparkle of hope that would bubble up and infiltrate the various emotional problems and mental illnesses, but no such luck. [counts towards the Book Riot Read harder Challenge: Something Recommended to you]

2 Adult Fiction:
  - Still Alice, Lisa Genova (4) Read for my book club...actually listened to, since I did this one on audio.  It was read by the author, and I had a bit of a hard time deciding if it was just read poorly or if it was also written poorly.  I ended up forgiving the writing quality because I appreciate the author's goal of using the novel as a way to illuminate the intricacies of a disease.  This was about early onset Alzheimer's, and provided good discussion for our group. [counts towards the Book Riot Read Harder Challenge: Audiobook]
  - We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Shirley Jackson (5) I thought this story was just about perfect. Well written, atmospheric, creepy, so wonderful.

1 Classic:
  - Cakes and Ale, W. Somerset Maugham (4) Almost more of a fictionalized essay than a proper novel...though there was indeed an interesting story to be had.  The main characters are authors, who are giving their thoughts about publishing and literature, so that's always fun.  And a commentary on society as well, done in a humorous manner. [counts towards the Book Riot Reader Harder Challenge: by an author of a different gender than yours]

            


1 Current Reads:
I'm kind of in between books today. I have a couple of books I'm reading aloud to my 10yo, but those will be on hold next week because I'll be out of town. I got sucked into the audio version of The Girl on the Train and didn't pick up any books in print in the meantime.

  - The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy, Rachel Joyce. From LibraryThing's Early Reviewers. I loved Harold Fry and am hoping to love Miss Queenie also.



On My Nightstand:
I read all my new books from last month except The Magnificent Ambersons and Wolf Winter, so I'll be taking those on my trip next week...maybe I'll also take my new book club pick: The Light Between Oceans.

    

Inbox: New Books in Jan/Feb

I decided to keep track of the books I purchase this year, just because I'm curious. I'm not trying to change any habits, except for trying to buy as many of my books from my local independent book shop as possible. The store is pretty small, so it isn't the easiest place for an impulse purchase, (they just don't have the inventory,) but if I know I want a book I'll order it from them.

Typically, I like to own my books...though I have no problem getting rid of them either.  A book does have to merit space shelf—usually that means I'd reread it, loan it, or it's collectable for some reason. With the exception of the history books I bought from Sonlight, all books in Jan./Feb. were purchased from my local shop, except for my Powell's Indiespensable shipment of course. I didn't think I'd bought so many until seeing them all spread out in this post!

      

I ordered some school books from Sonlight Curriculum. We'd been working through early modern history in our homeschool but I got too frustrated with the program we were using (History Odyssey) and decided to bail mid-year. I'm excited to be moving onto American History a bit early. The new edition of Landmark looks wonderful, as does the DK history. I pre-read the two others and found the first (The Light & the Glory) too intent on pursuing the Providential view to maintain logical and cohesive organization in the stories. From Sea to Shining Sea, on the other hand, was written in a way that makes it easy to use the stories and have open discussion about the people and facts.



      

On the more Classic side, (of some sort...all were written more than 50 years ago,) I have some books I'm excited about.  The Belknap Press annotated editions of the classics are incredible, and I can't wait to learn new things while rereading Northanger Abbey. The Shirley Jackson was wonderful...more on that in my monthly roundup. I have to wait another month or so to read The Edge of Sadness, as this is a book with a purpose—my husband told me that the first book I read in our newly remodeled home should be a book from the time it was originally built, so I chose the 1962 Pulitzer prize winner. The intro was completely fascinating and I can't wait to dive in...just a couple more months. The Magnificent Ambersons caught my eye off the Pulitzer list too.  Since I loved Main Street so much, it seemed logical to give this one a shot also.



        

Some current fiction also found its way into my house these last couple months. I stalled out in Ruby right before it was announced as an Oprah book; I loved the writing and was interested in the story, but was having a hard time with the spiritual component. When Mystical Creatures Attack! was a fun one, but a bit of a downer in the end. I haven't yet picked up Fourth of July Creek or the newest Indiespensable: Wolf Winter.



    

On the more NonFiction side, Woodson's memoir sort of thing was well deserving of all those medals on its cover. The First Time We Saw Him was in one of Book Riot's posts or round-ups or something, and I was hoping that it would truly put the gospels in a different light, but nothing so intriguing so far.  In Flour Water Salt Yeast, however, there is much to be captivated by, and I can't wait to get my new bread-making tools and experiment with the science of bread. Mmm.



I've been itching to order some more books, but have put it off so far.  I'm wanting the new Nick Hornby, and am running out of patience with Pioneer Girl (Laura Ingalls Wilder's autobiography) being so hard to get. I also want to read The Almost Nearly Perfect People - nonfiction about Nordic cultures. First, though, I have to get through a couple more of the ones listed above...that's motivation!