Archive | January 2013

Horten’s Incredible Illusions by Lissa Evans

Jan18

I liked the second book better than I did the first, I think. Children who like puzzles and magic tricks would really find this book and its prequel, Horten’s Miraculous Mechanisms, quite compelling.

I just wanted more character development, more reasons to like or at least sympathize with the children in the two stories. Stuart is short, curious, and persistent. The triplets are annoying, and I had trouble telling them apart, even though I get the names attached in print. I couldn’t remember which one was which, so they all three felt annoying.

The puzzles are good and appropriate for ten and eleven year olds—which is not to say that I could have solved them myself. Sometimes it takes a child to solve a child’s puzzle. Anyway, for budding magicians and illusionists, Horten’s two books (so far) would be the perfect summer, or anytime, read.

The Bess Crawford series by Charles Todd

Jan17

A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd. In which we are introduced to nurse Bess Crawford as she becomes a survivor of the sinking of HMHS Britannic in the Kea Channel off the Greek island of Kea on the morning of November 21, 1916. Upon her return to England to convalesce, Bess carries a cryptic message to the family of a soldier who died while under her care. The message begins a chain of events which lead to Bess’s involvement with a man who is possibly an escaped lunatic, but also possibly a wronged man.

An Impartial Witness by Charles Todd. This second book in the series featuring World War I nurse detective Bess Crawford uses good, solid storytelling and slow, careful character development to hold readers’ interest. Upon Bess’s return to England from the trenches of France, she witnesses a tearful parting between a woman, Mrs. Evanson, and a soldier who is not her husband but possibly her lover. When Bess recognizes Mrs. Evanson from her picture that was carried by her pilot husband and when the woman is later murdered, Bess becomes enmeshed in the family’s affairs and in the resolution of the mystery of her death.

In both of these books, the mystery and the characters were intriguing and entertaining. Bess Crawford is an independent young woman, and yet she doesn’t come across as a twenty-first century feminist artificially transplanted into the soil of the World War I-era. Instead, she has a family to whom she listens and she allows herself to be protected to some extent by the men in her life, especially family friend Simon Brandon. (I think Bess and Simon are headed for romance, but at least by the end of the second book in the series, the romance is completely unrealized.) And still Bess does what Bess feels obligated or drawn to do, and she meddles in things that are not really her concern.

In fact, that would be my only complaint about these books. For the purpose of furthering the plot, the authors (a mother-son team using the Charles Todd pseudonym) have Bess ask all sorts of questions and become over-involved in the lives of strangers with very little justification for her visits and intrusions. However, I can overlook the lack of warrant for Bess’s interference in the lives of her patients and their families for the sake of a good story.

Lots of comparisons are made at Amazon and Goodreads between these books and the Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear. I liked these two, at least, better than I liked the books about Maisie. Maybe I just liked these books set during the Great War better than those set just after.

Gray Matter by David Levy

Jan16

A Neurosurgeon Discovers the Power of Prayer . . . One Patient at a Time.

This nonfiction “blend of medical drama and spiritual insight” reminded me of one of my favorite books from 2011, Praying for Strangers by River Jordan. In Gray Matter, Dr. Levy, a neurosurgeon, tells the story of how he started offering to pray with his patients before surgery, and eventually at other critical moments in their medical journey. He writes honestly about the fears involved in this experiment of faith: how he feared losing his reputation, offending patients or fellow medical coworkers, making a fool of himself, even ruining God’s reputation if his prayers went unanswered.

But Dr. Levy also tells how he felt compelled to offer his patients the gift of faithful, simple prayer before, and often during, what was for the patient an anything-but-routine procedure. And very few of his patients refused his offer to pray for them. For those who did refuse, Dr. Levy respected their wishes and went on to do the surgery with all of the skill he had. But the book focuses on the stories of individual patients who did agree to have Dr. Levy pray for them. The author tells about how prayer became for him an integral part of the treatment process and about how those prayers and God’s presence acknowledged in the OR made a difference in the lives of both doctor and patients.

I was especially encouraged to read about the importance of forgiveness and the release of bitterness on the road to physical health. Many, many people are afflicted by diseases and ailments that are caused or exacerbated by the spiritual illness that they hold onto in the form of bitterness and resentment. As Dr. Levy began to pray for his patients, he sometimes felt led to ask about their spiritual health, especially in the area of forgiveness. And some patients he was able to lead to forgive those who had hurt them and at the same time bring themselves into a place to receive healing and forgiveness for their own sins.

It seems to me that if I really believed that God hears my prayers and that He chooses to work through prayer to work in the world and in people’s lives, I would offer to pray for people much more often and then I would do it. This story of a doctor who does believe, not without doubts and stutters, but nevertheless believes and puts into practice what God has called him to do, is inspiring.

Carrie at Reading to Know just wrote a review in which she credits her mother-in-law with inspiring her to pray more fervently and consistently:

“When a situation popped up she held my hand and simply said, “We will pray.” And I did. And I know she did. Her example and exhortation was worth more to me than a pile of pamphlets, even though they may be written by Martin Luther. . . She also prays for each member of our family. And I know that her prayers are answered. I know. Her spirit of humility and committment to follow Christ was a huge spiritual wake-up call to me.”

Simply pray. Offer to pray. Pray daily. Pray through. If I believe in Jesus’ words “wherever two or three are gathered in my name, there am I”, I will pray for those He gives me breath to encourage in that way. And my faith will grow, and God will be glorified.

Impossible by Nancy Werlin

Jan15

Impossible by Nancy Werlin. Recommended by CarrieK at Books and Movies.

Lucy Scarborough is seventeen, in her senior year of high school, with a handsome and likable date to the prom, a best friend with whom she can share all her secrets, and foster parents who love her dearly. Her life seems near-perfect. However, seventeen was the age of Lucy’s mother Miranda, when she had a baby girl and then went mad. A family curse passed down from mother to daughter in unbroken line seems far-fetched, impossible, but Lucy might have to believe in the impossible to break the curse.

I’m a Simon and Garfunkel fan from way back, so of course I enjoyed the fact that this folk tale translated into the present was based on the old folk tune, Parsley, Sage Rosemary and Thyme (Scarborough Fair), even if the lyrics are changed up a bit from the version I knew.
Here’s a performance by Hayley Westenra of Celtic Women:

The book puts a rather dark interpretation on this old song: Lucy must perform the tasks in the song so that she can free herself and her family from the Elfin King’s curse. The penalty if she is not successful: insanity and captivity under the Elfin King’s sway.

The characters and their actions and reactions in this story were a bit off-kilter; they reminded me of some of Madeleine L’Engle’s characters and plots, not quite believable or convincing in their actions. It’s not the fantasy parts of the novel that I didn’t find probable but rather the characters’ reactions to the improbable situation in which they find themselves. Would you plow a beach with a goat’s horn, even if you did believe in an age-old curse on your family?

Still, there was something endearing about Lucy and her family and friends and their willingness to fight together against the curse. Just as the characters in L’Engle’s novels “fight against the night” in ways that stretch credibility but also enrich the imagination, Lucy makes a stand in her own way and refuses to give in to the Elfin King.

Solid Young Adult fiction for the readers of vampire tales and dark ghost stories and borderline horror.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

Jan14

The series of mysteries that begins with this novel and features almost eleven year old detective, chemist, and poison expert Flavia de Luce has been on my radar for some time now, but I finally used my Barnes and Noble gift card to buy The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie and I’m determined to consume the other novels in the series as quickly as possible. The first one is just as good as the many fans have said it was.

From Mr. Bradley’s website: “Great literary crime detectives aren’t always born; they’re sometimes discovered, blindfolded and tied up in a dark closet by their nasty older sisters. Eleven-year-old Flavia de Luce’s bitter home life and vicious sibling war inspires her solitary diversions and “strange talents” tinkering with the chemistry set in the laboratory of their inherited Victorian house, plotting sleuth-like vengeance on Ophelia (17) and Daphne (13), and delving into the forbidden past of her taciturn, widowed father, Colonel de Luce. It comes as no surprise, then, that the material for her next scientific investigation will be the mysterious corpse that she uncovers in the cucumber patch.”

I will say that Flavia is unbelievably precocious; she reminds me of my youngest, Z-baby who is intelligent, stubborn, sassy, and spoiled rotten. I say this with some chagrin, since I promised myself that my youngest would not be a pain in the you-know-what like so many other babies of of the family tend to be. And then life happened, and I find myself amazed at her maturity and giftedness and at the same time busily correcting and counteracting her sometimes tendencies to be presumptuous and impertinent.

Anyway, Flavia is a character who might exhaust you if you were her parent, but in a book she’s a delight. I can’t wait to get to know her better, and I’m also anxious to find out more about her sisters, her long-suffering but somewhat absent father, and Dogger, the loyal retainer who serves as dependable adult in Flavia’s life (even though he suffers from something like PTSD or some such ailment as a result of his war experience). The other books in the series are>

The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag
A Red Herring Without Mustard
I Am Half-Sick of Shadows
Speaking From Among the Bones
The Dead In Their Vaulted Arches

I plan to request them from the library immediately. Mr. Bradley is a Canadian author who now lives in Malta, Sherlockian author of a book that argued that Holmes was a woman (!), and a septuagenarian.

Sweet and sassy, and the author is over seventy years old? Congratulations, Mr. Bradley!

Sunday Salon: 12 New Books I Want to Read in 2013

Jan12

Booked: Literature in the Soul of Me by Karen Swallow Prior. I found a discussion of this book at the Christianity Today blog. Subtitled “Soul Lessons from Literary Classics,” it sounds luscious. (October 20, 2012)

Forgotten Road by Randall Arthur. Sheila at Book Journey makes this novel about loss, tragedy and redemption sound fantastic. (November 29, 2012)

The Aviator’s Wife by Melanie Benjamin. A novel about the life and marriage of Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh. (January 15, 2013)

Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan. This spy novel by the author of Atonement came out in late 2012, but it just now hit my radar. (November 13, 2012)

Perfect Scoundrels (Heist Society, #3) by Ally Carter. (February 5, 2013)

The Runaway King (The Ascendance Trilogy, #2) by Jennifer A. Nielsen. Sequel to The False Prince, one of the Cybils Middle Grade Fantasy finalists. (March 1, 2013)

UnSouled (Unwind, #3) by Neal Shusterman. Sequel to Unwind and UnWholly.

The Lucy Variations by Sara Zarr. “Lucy Beck-Moreau once had a promising future as a concert pianist. The right people knew her name, her performances were booked months in advance, and her future seemed certain.
That was all before she turned fourteen.
Now, at sixteen, it’s over. A death, and a betrayal, led her to walk away.
When you’re used to performing for sold-out audiences and world-famous critics, can you ever learn to play just for yourself?”
(May 7, 2013)

And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini. (May 21, 2013)

Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief by Lawrence Wright. (January 17, 2013)

Coolidge by Amity Shlaes. (February 12, 2013)

The World’s Strongest Librarian: A Memoir of Tourette’s, Faith, Strength, and the Power of Family by Josh Hanagarne. (May 2, 2013)

12 “Old” Books I Want to Get Around to Reading in 2013

Jan10

These are not all ancient texts; some are just books that have been around for a while that I want to read. This post serves as a reminder to myself, and maybe a help to you.

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary Schmidt. I was reminded of this unread-by-me Newbery Honor book by Betsy at LiterariTea.

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. I am in the midst of re-reading this my favorite novel of all time. I first read it more than twenty-five years ago when I was in college. I stayed up until 4:00 in the morning, reading to find out what would happen to Jean Valjean and Cosette. Since then I’ve read excerpts of the novel, but never the entire book again. Now is the time. There are things about it I had forgotten, and I will be sharing with you my thoughts, probably in several posts.

Bleak House by Charles Dickens. I’m watching the mini-series now. I don’t usually do things in that order, but I’ll be reading the book this year anyway. Recommended by Carrie at Reading to Know.

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner. There were a lot of comparisons between this best-seller and one book in particular that we read for Cybils this year. I couldn’t compare since I’ve never read Ms. Turner’s first book in the Attolia series. In fact, I think I have it mixed up in my mind with another book that I tried to read and couldn’t get interested in completing. The Thief comes highly recommended by the members of the Cybils judging committee that I was privileged to be a part of.

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. Maybe it’s this book that I tried and couldn’t get into. About some Italian street kids living in a theater or something, but with fantasy elements? Anyway, I’m going to try it again—or for the first time. (I looked it up, it’s The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke that I have confused with The Thief. Oh, well, I’m just confused.)

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi. For my West Africa reading project and for my Classics Club project. Recommended by Ti at Book Chatter.

The Silver Pencil by Alice Dalgliesh. 1945 Newbery Honor Book.

The Summer Book by Tove Jansson.

Greengage Summer by Rumer Godden. Recommended by Lanier’s Books.

Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner. Recommended by Caribousmom.

The Last Cavalier by Alexandre Dumas. Recommended by Mindy Withrow.

Ruth by Mrs. Gaskell. Recommended by Sarah at Library Hospital.

12 Favorite Nonfiction Books Read in 2012

Jan9

Winston’s War: Churchill, 1940-1945 by Max Hastings.

The Devil in Pew Number Seven by Rebecca Nichols Alonzo.

Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood by Mark Harris

Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis, with Beth Clark.

The Big House: A Century in the Life of an American Summer Home by George Howe Colt.

The Fortune Cookie Chronicles by Jennifer 8. Lee.

The Presidents Club: Inside the World’s Most Exclusive Fraternity by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy.

The Blood of Heroes by James Donovan.

Catherine the Great by Robert Massie.

Me, Myself, and Bob by Phil Vischer.

Gray Matter, A Neurosurgeon Discovers the Power of Prayer . . . One Patient at a Time by David Levy, with Joel Kilpatrick.

Bringing Home the Prodigals by Rob Parsons.

12 Projects for 2013

Jan8

For several years now, I’ve been starting off the year with projects instead of resolutions. I don’t always complete my projects, but I enjoy starting them and working toward a goal. And I don’t feel guilty if I don’t finish. If I do finish, I feel a sense of accomplishment. Win-win. So, here are my twelve projects for 2013:

1. 100 Days in the Book of Isaiah. I’m really looking forward to this study along with my church family.

2. Reading Through West Africa. The countries of West Africa (according to my scheme) are Benin, Biafra (part of Nigeria), Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo. That’s fourteen nations, if I include Biafra, and I would very much like to read at least one book from or about each country. If you have suggestions, please comment.

3. I’m working on a project with my church for a community/tutoring/library media center. This TED talk by author Dave Eggers was inspirational, although it’s not exactly what I have in mind. I am working more on a library and study center for homeschoolers and of course, it would be open to kids who are in public or private schools, too. A lot of my work will be in relation to the library, gathering excellent books and adding to the library and helping homeschool and other families to use the library to enrich their studies. I am also inspired by this library and others like it.

4. I want to concentrate on reading all the books on my TBR list this year –at least all of them that I can beg, borrow (from the library) or somehow purchase. I’ve already requested several of the books on my list from the library.

5. My Classics Club list is a sort of addendum to my TBR list, and I’d also like to read many of the books on that list. In 2012 I read Scoop by Evelyn Waugh, The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West, and Memento Mori by Muriel Spark, three out of fifty-three, not a good average if I’m to be done with all of them by 2017.

6. I have house-keeping project that I’m almost embarrassed to mention here. I’ve started small–cleaning and sorting piles in a corner of my bedroom. I’d really like to continue cleaning, purging, and organizing around the perimeter of my bedroom and then the living room until eventually I get around the entire house. A project so ridiculously mundane and yet so needed.

7. I continue to work through this list of new-to-me recipes and through several cookbooks and other recipe sources for dishes I want to try this year. I would like to make one new dish per week, and maybe I can manage to “review” the meals and food I make here at Semicolon. If you have any extra-special recipes you think I should try, please leave a comment.

8. Praying for Strangers (and Friends) Project. I was quite impressed by my reading of River Jordan’s prayer project book, Praying for Strangers. I still can’t walk up to strangers and tell them that I’m praying for them or ask them for prayer requests. But in 2013 I hope to ask God to give me one person each day to focus on and to pray for. Maybe I’ll be praying for you one day this year. I have been much more consistent in praying for specific people this past year, and I hope to continue the practice.

9. U.S. Presidents Reading Project. I got David McCullough’s biography of Truman for Christmas in 2011, and I plan to read that chunkster during my Lenten blog break since I didn’t read it last year. I don’t know if I’ll read any other presidential biographies this year, but if I finish Truman I’ll be doing well.

10. The 40-Trash Bag Challenge. Starting tomorrow. My life needs this project.

11. 100 Movies of Summer. When we’re not traveling, which will be most of the summer, we might watch a few old classic but new-to-us movies. I’ll need to make a new list, since we’ve watched many of the ones on the list I linked to, but I hope to find a few gems this summer.

12. I got this Bible for Christmas (mine is red), and I’ve already begun transferring my notes from my old Bible into this new one and taking new notes. I just jot down whatever the Holy Spirit brings to mind with the intention of giving the Bible to one of my children someday.

12 Favorite Adult and Young Adult Fiction Books Read in 2012

Jan2

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein.

The Summer of Katya by Trevanian.

The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides.

Nanjing Requiem by Ha Jin.

The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes.

The Hour Before Dawn by Penelope Wilcock.

What Is the What by Dave Eggers.

Joy for Beginners by Erica Bauermeister.

Dancing Priest by Glynn Young. I never managed to get this book reviewed after I read it over Lent, but I have purchased and downloaded to my Kindle the sequel entitled A Light Shining. I hope to read it and then review both books together soon.

The Importance of Being Seven by Alexander McCall Smith.

Bertie Plays the Blues by Alexander McCall Smith. Thoughts on Mr. McCall Smith and his books here.

One Amazing Thing by Chitra Divakaruni.

Best novel of the year? Nanjing Requiem, I think. Fascinating history and fascinating moral dilemmas. It made me wonder how much courage and sanity I would retain in such a crisis situation.