Book Reviews from Spring Reading List

Today is a holiday here in the USA.  We are celebrating Memorial Day to honor all the veterans, past and present who have served our country.....here's a quote from the Rev. Billy Graham that I really like for today:


“Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of 
others are often stiffened."

photo is taken from the website
fineartamerica.com

Usually during this holiday weekend, in years past, we have either camped, hiked, visited extended family, or a little of all 3.  This year, because of so much going on with extracurricular school events, and a very rainy spring season, we opted to stay home and get all the yard work done, the flowers in, and get major projects done (like listing our camper for sale, working on graduation announcement and party invites).  My youngest daughter had to get a Graduation Dance dress for the 6th grade dance which is held the evening before she graduates from elementary school.  All of these things have been packed into our weekend....and along with that, I have forced my self to have some down time to try to get rid of this achy, sore throat/body thing I have going on.....so  I've spent some time finishing a novel and a non-fiction book.  And I can say I am doing pretty well on the Spring Reading book list.  I've finished 8 books from my original list and 2 books that I added a couple of weeks ago.  So, that is 10 books total this spring!  

Here's the first review based on the book Run by Ann Patchett.

This is my first book by this author and I've read many good reviews about her books so was happy to find this in the library last week.  She is an excellent author!  I've read excerpts from 2 of her other novels and now I think I"m going to borrow those for summer reading.

The setting is Boston.  It's a contemporary fiction book and most of the book takes place in 24 hours.

There are not alot of characters in this story, which I liked.

It was an easy read and the main themes are  religion, race, class, politics, and family.  It does leave a bit of an impact about the vast differences in the city of Boston, between the upper crust (the very rich) and the downtrodden (the very poor).  I, my self, when I am in the city of Boston, which is often, am always amazed at how wealthy the city is, and how poor.  There really is no middle class in the city. But, like my husband pointed out, that does seem to be the case in most large metropolitan areas.  

Here's a brief summary of the story:

Tip and Teddy Doyle have been raised by their possessive, loving and very ambitious father.  They were adopted by Bernadette and Bernard Doyle (mayor of Boston when they were young) who are Irish Catholics.  The boys are African-American.  Bernadette and Bernard have a biological, older son named Sullivan.  Bernadette dies when the boys are very young.  Bernard wants to see the boys enter the political field.  The boys have never shared this dream. In an argument on the streets of Boston during a blinding Northeast snowstorm, there is an accident that involves a stranger and her child. (an 11 year old girl).  All Bernard cares about is keeping his children safe....all of his children.  Who is the woman??  How does she know so much about the Doyle family?? and what impact does this little girl have on this family??

I don't want to ruin the story for you by explaining the woman and her child.  There is also a Catholic statue of the Virgin Mary involved in this saga......the story opens with the statue and the story surrounding it (how it came to be, way back in Ireland from Bernadette's great grandfather).

I highly recommend this novel.  Based on a rating of 1-10 with 10 being the highest, I rate it a 10!  It was that good!!  The title of this book is PERFECT once you begin to meet the little girl and see all the complexities of each character, particularly of Tip.  The characters have emotional depth.  I like that.  They are believable and I felt like I would love to meet this family if they were real.  

Book Review # 10

The non-fiction book, One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp, is one I've just finished and it  is another good one.  I hear it is a bit controversial but for the life of me I cannot figure out WHY!  This is just a woman, who has been through some tough times in dealing with a great loss (she saw her sister die when both were just preschoolers).  I first heard of her because she is a Christian blogger!!  Her blog, Holy Experience, is excellent.  The thing I did not like about her book is that it read too much like a blog.  Journal style writing.  So I couldn't read large chunks of it at once. Plus, the content is deep. It is very thought-provoking and sometimes downright sad.  She has suffered through trying to deal with the loss of a young sibling.  She was cutting her self as a teenager.  She was basically looking for Christ and the fullness of really living. She talks about the word Eucharisteo and explains it. I am probably not doing a very good job summarizing this book because it is such a personal story.  She has clearly been through some tragedies and although it wasn't clear in her book if she ever received some good Christian counseling, it does show us that by persevering through her trials and looking for the gifts that God has given her, that she has come to embrace Christ as her Savior and Lord and that it really is ok to have questions, anger/rage, bewilderment, sadness at all that life throws at us and still have the deep inner peace and joy of the Lord.  

I highly recommend this book but keep in mind that her writing style is like reading a journal.  It is basically her deep thoughts, written out, for us to maybe glean from and find something for our selves.  I do know that I am now keeping a journal of things I am grateful for, that I see in my everyday life.  It is amazing that by doing this exercise, like what she describes in her book, we can get through some of our more mundane days.  God has blessed us in ways we might not ever think about.  I encourage you to read this if you have suffered through a tragedy, or betrayal, or have a hard time forgiving or feeling forgiven.  If anything, it will open up your eyes to the world around you, and you, too, can find 1000 things to be thankful for.....all gifts from God.

This is a book you need to experience for your self.  I am glad I own it.  I will be referring my small group to it and referring back to it in years to come, I am sure.

Are you reading any good books....which secular books are you enjoying?  What about Christian books?  

Next on my list to finish:  Hell's Corner(secular fiction) by David Baldacchi and Scent of Water(Christian non-fiction) by Naomi Zacharias (she is a Wheaton College graduate who now lives in Oxford,England...  this book is so powerful!!  It will make you look around you and be thankful you are living in a free country).