This is my first ever quarterly book talk! Since the start of the year, I’ve read 10 books. Most were fiction, one was a memoir, and two were non-fiction. One I expected to be better than it was. Another delivered more than I expected. And one may be my absolute favorite for the year! Let’s dive in! These are in the order that I read them.
Where the Crawdads Sing
by Delia Owens
This is THE ONE! In this story a young girl named Kya experiences a fairly solitary life growing up in a marsh in rural North Carolina. Her character is so very well developed by the author as we follow her from just a wee age and see her grow into a young woman. The way the author describes the nature within the marsh is captivating. I found Kya’s hobby of collecting little artifacts of nature enchanting. While Kya’s circumstances seem to force her to live on her own, it’s clear that she has a desire for normal relationships. It’s heartwarming and touching when Kya is befriended by a local boy. And the story goes on from there. It is both a mystery and a coming-of-age story. This was a book I did not want to stop reading. I’m so glad my friend Lynn suggested it for our book club. It’s definitely the main contender for my favorite fiction book of the year.
The Girl with Seven Names: Escape from North Korea
by Hyeonseo Lee with David John
This is the one memoir that I read this quarter. The author grew up in North Korea and crossed over to China in 1997. She tells of her family life growing up and then her agonizing experiences once she has left her homeland. While I didn’t always agree with some of the choices she made along the way, who knows what I would do in the same situation? I couldn’t help but compare this book to another one I’ve read about a female who escaped from North Korea. That book is titled In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl’s Journey to Freedom and was written by Yeonmi Park with Maryanne Vollers. Hyeonseo Lee was from a higher social status than Yeonmi Park, and the differences in how they perceived life in North Korea were interesting. If this subject interests you, then I would recommend either or both of these books.
The Storyteller’s Secret: A Novel
by Sejal Badani
This is one of those books that has a story within a story. Jaya is a wife, daughter, and journalist. She is distraught over her multiple miscarriages and what it has done to her relationship with her husband. She grasps an opportunity to go to India (her mother’s homeland) to learn about the country and her family background, but also to escape her current sad situation. In India she learns about her mother’s and grandmother’s pasts, which gives her a better understanding of her mother now. This is a fairly long and somewhat predictable saga. I would not personally have chosen it to read, but it was a book club selection.
Swear on this Life
by Renee Carlino
Emiline is a writer who is having a hard time writing anything good. Her roommate tells her about this fabulous new book she read and encourages Emiline to read it. When she finally does, she realizes the book is her life story, and the author is the former (?) love of her life. Throughout this book we read along with Emiline as she reads this book. So another form of story in a story here. I actually enjoyed reading about Emiline’s past…probably more than the current day setting. While I enjoyed this book, there were parts that just didn’t seem convincing.
The Lost Husband
by Katherine Center
This is the one I had high expectations for. I guess because it’s a Texas author, the setting of the story is in Texas, and I was drawn in by the first third of the book. Libby Moran is raising two young children alone after the sudden death of her husband. She moved in with her not-very-likeable mother after his death. After two years there, she receives an invitation to move to the Texas Hill Country to live with her Aunt Jean on her goat farm. She accepts, and her adventure into a new life with her kids begins. There are so many loveable characters in this story. It IS a good story, and I would recommend it. It just became a little predictable for me, but it was a very enjoyable read. They’ve actually made a movie of it, but the release date is still TBD. The title doesn’t seem very fitting in my opinion. I would rename it if I had my way.
Prayer Can Change Your Life
by William R. Parker & Elaine St. Johns
This book had some surprises for me and gave me much food for thought. First of all, I came across it when I was digging through my nightstand for something else. The copyright on it is 1957, and my version here was reprinted in 1979. You won’t find a cover that looks like this on Amazon. I had kept this from the days when my kids were still very young. Never read it. I was thinking that now I could definitely use some growth in the area of prayer, so I read it. Then I reread it (skimming) and took 3 pages of notes. I figured this book was probably out of print, but I looked it up on Amazon anyway just out of curiosity. You can imagine my surprise to read in the description that “this work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.” No wonder it impressed me so! The author conducted experiments where he had 3 groups: those who received only psychotherapy with no prayer, those who simply continued to pray as they always had, and those who received Prayer Therapy. All of the participants had some sort of physical or emotional problem. According to his results, the group that received Prayer Therapy had the best results. He then goes on to explain some of the concepts and practices of the Prayer Therapy. If anyone reading this post has read this book or reads this book in the future, I would love to discuss some of the points made.
The Interestings
by Meg Wolitzer
This one was recommended to me by my daughter 2 or 3 years ago. I’m so glad I finally got around to buying a copy! This story follows a group of kids from their teen years at summer camp through their life journeys into their fifties. I was drawn into their circle and before mid-book I cared about each one of them. I loved the style of this author’s writing. I would recommend this book as a really good fiction read set in the seventies through present day.
These is My Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901
by Nancy Turner
This book was SO GOOD! Historical fiction set mostly in the Arizona territory. I fell in love with Sarah! And the ending…perfection! Reading a story set in these times causes me to reflect on the way things are today as opposed to then. I highly recommend this book. This was another book club book. We’ll be discussing it in April. I see there are two more after this one: Sarah’s Quilt and The Star Garden. I’m adding them to my want-to-read list!
Life is Good: The Book
by Bert and John Jacobs
Such a positive inspiring book! The creators of the Life is Good t-shirts are the authors. They talk about their family life growing up, how they finally found success in their business, and the driving philosophy behind that success. Witty, charming, and heartwarming accounts. They devote a section to each of what they call the 10 superpowers of life, and at the end of each section they outline ways you can incorporate each superpower into your daily life. There are little extras in most sections as well, like a Ten Songs of Compassion list and a Ten All-Time Not-to-be-Missed Comedies list. Most of the time after I’ve read a book, I post it on Paperback Swap, but this one is a keeper.
Me Before You
by Jojo Moyes
This is the one that, for whatever reason, I didn’t expect much. Boy, was I wrong! I really liked this book. It was so much deeper than I thought it was going to be. It really made me think. A young lady Louisa Clark takes a job caring for a quadriplegic young man. I won’t go any further than that. This is the first of a trilogy, and yes, the other two are on my want-to-read list. Here’s a funny thing: I just finished reading this earlier this week. Yesterday when I went to relieve Mom’s caregiver, I switched the TV over to Judge Judy like I usually do (I know, so sad). Well it was a rerun that I’d already seen, so I was looking for something else and lo and behold this movie was just starting on the Lifetime channel! Of course I watched it, and it followed the book fairly closely. Close enough. The book was better, of course, but the casting of Emilia Clarke was brilliant! I recommend this book.
That’s it! Have you read any of these books? If so, I’d love to know your thoughts. What are you reading now? Would you recommend it? I debated whether to do monthly book talks or quarterly. Was this too much? Would every other month be better? Shoot me a comment and let me know!
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