The Booklover's Library, written by Madeline Martin
With married women legally prohibited from being employed, a discrimination that includes widowed moms, the protagonist, a young woman who's experienced multiple losses, has to make some very hard decisions as she tries to care for her daughter. Loaned to me by a friend, I enjoyed this novel so much that I read it in one evening. Historical fiction set in London during WWII, it's a story of love and loss within a family, among friends, for a country, and romantically. It includes intergenerational friendships, people who love reading, and the beauty of connecting with and caring for people in your community.
p. 106, "I find the best way to understand a woman's mind is to delve into the books they love best."
p. 108, She always had admired readers who ventured outside of their natural genres. Those were often the people who had the greatest empathy, the most understanding of others around them, and the broadest appreciation for the world.
p. 257, There was nothing more magical in the world than the spell of a good story read by a captivating narrator.
p. 262, "I do enjoy reading to myself," Olivia said. "It's like my brain is drinking in something good, like warm chocolate milk."
p. 273, Truly, there was nothing better than the companionable silence that fell between readers in a quiet room, each entirely lost in their own worlds.
Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art, written and narrated by James Nestor
This book was far more about science and history than I usually choose, but I'd bailed on an audiobook, my Libby hold list was full, and I needed something available immediately. This one came up as a "skip the line" option, so I went for it. I already knew mouth breathing was unhealthy and nose breathing was best, but this book gave lots of insight into the effects of both breathing types. While I don't share the author's beliefs about evolution or his passion for learning about breath and have no intention of mouth taping or attending any type of breathing class, I did find the book interesting. It was a good reminder to prioritize healthy breathing practices, something I tend to focus on only when I need to calm myself down. Ironically, I started listening right about the time I came down with a mild cold that had me a bit congested.
The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century, written by Kirk Wallace Johnson and narrated by MacLeod Andrews
The author learned about a 2009 natural history heist while on a fishing trip and was immediately intrigued. His years of research led to this story that involves salmon fly-tying with Victorian methods, the historic collection of exotic birds, and hundreds of bird skins stolen with ease from a London museum. While the case was eventually closed because of the suspect's confession, many birds were still unaccounted for and questions remained. I'm not interested in birds, fly-tying, or fishing, but Johnson wrote of his pursuit of answers in a way that, with the exception of what felt to me like a slow start, but was a necessary backdrop to the story, kept me interested to the last page. I heard about this book on What Should I Read Next?, episode 454 - Holiday gift recommendations from our team.
How to Pray: A Simple Guide for Normal People, written by Pete Greig
A friend shared this book with me and I found it to be thought-provoking, practical, and encouraging. I think prayer can be either minimized to the point of neglect or ritualized to the point of disconnect, but this book presents a healthy middle ground of priority and engagement.
An acronym used throughout the book -
P.R.A.Y.
- Pause: Slowing and Centering
- Rejoice: Adoration and Thanksgiving
- Ask: Petition, Intercession, and Perseverance
- Yield: Contemplation, Listening, Confession, and Spiritual Warfare
p. 60, The writer of Hebrews urges us to "offer to God a sacrifice of praise." What could be more sacrificial than praising him when we don't feel like it? It's relatively easy to worship when we're singing stirring songs with the saints on Sunday morning, but not so easy on a miserable Monday morning before work. I suspect that that unemotional worship - the kind that feels a bit forced and fake - is precious to God precisely because it is so costly to us.
p. 86, Faith is found in the person of Christ. If you want to trust Jesus more, get to know him more. Look at him more, listen to him more, spend more time with him. It really is that simple. The more you see Jesus, the more you will trust him, because he's the most reliable, loving, and powerful person you will ever meet.
p. 142, Let me say this as clearly as I possibly can: Your soul is crying out for a deeper encounter with Christ, and if your faith is to thrive for years to come, if it is to survive seasons of darkness and pain, if you are to know and be known by Jesus in a richer, more fulfilling way, if you are to continue engaging with him when words no longer have meaning, if you are to become the loving person he wants you to be and to see the world the way he sees it, you must make space in your busy life for regular meditation, contemplation, and communion with God.
p. 171, It doesn't matter what you've said or done; what you've thought about saying or doing; where yoy've been or who you've been there with - there is more grace in God than sin in you.
p. 174 (quoting David G. Benner), Unwelcome circumstances ... are not gifts. But they may contain a gift.
p. 181, Unforgiveness, it is said, is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die. Forgiving is not naive. It isn't forgetting. It's not saying that what the other person said or did was okay in any way. It doesn't mean leaving yourself exposed to future attack. Forgiving may involve talking to a friend, getting counseling, or even going to the police. But forgiveness is the choice to love and let go, not to hate and hold on. It tends to be a process, as we choose to forgive again and again, or, as Jesus puts it, "not seven times, but seventy-seven times."
p. 190, In the West, we have, for the most part, replaced biblical cosmology with humanistic psychology, sociology, and anthropology. Every sin is attributed to a societal or clinical cause. And yet - for all our supposed sophistication - we remain acutely aware of evil at work in our world. People who rape children, imprison strangers, torture animals, or drop sarin bombs on civilians are invariably branded "evil." And away from the spotlight of public disdain, we remain acutely aware within our selves of dark shadows lurking - our own shocking capacity to hate, to hurt, to use and abuse others.
p. 207, Wherever you live in the world, try to spend more time blessing what's right than cursing what's wrong.
I'll Watch the Moon, written by Ann Tatlock
There are several difficult stories under the roof of a Minnesota boardinghouse in the late 1940s. A young girl desperate for a dad. A woman hardened by how men have treated her. A boy dangerously ill. A man who survived Auschwitz and Dachau. Loved ones who have died. Hated ones who have died. Their stories weave together in sharing grief, encouraging hope, and choosing forgiveness.
p. 227, "Better to keep one's face toward heaven, even if you are angry with God, than to turn away and find nothing at all."
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, written by Helen Simonson and narrated by Peter Altschuler
I always assumed this book had a military theme and wasn't intrigued. I was wrong. It doesn't and the novel is delightful. Set in a small village in the English countryside, two widows befriend each other and their relationship makes waves in the community because it's interracial. Meanwhile, there are issues of greed, class, family drama, love, religious beliefs, cultural expectations, and scandal among the cast of characters. Contrary to how that sounds, the story is charming and funny.
The New Menopause: Navigating Your Path Through Hormonal Change with Purpose, Power, and Facts, written by Mary Claire Haver, MD
Several friends have mentioned this book in passing or specifically recommended it to me, both those who are in a similar stage as me and a few years down the road, so I figured I should read it. The first half talks about various aspects of menopause - dismissal of symptoms by medical professionals, menopausal connection to many health problems beyond hot flashes, increase in menopause research, and more - and the second is a reference section where the reader can look up specific symptoms and their available treatments. I appreciate her balanced approach to lifestyle choices, prescriptions, and supplements in addressing the negative effects of being premenopausal through postmenopausal. I liked the presentation of information in this book far more than in a different book about menopause I read a couple years ago and may actually buy myself a copy.
The Reading List, written by Sara Nisha Adams and narrated by Tara Divina, Sagar Arya, and Paul Panting
Books, both specific and general. Reading, both for the pleasure it brings and how it connects us with others. Libraries, both in their community and as a community of their own. Intergenerational friendships, like an elderly man and a teenager who works at the library. Cross-cultural friendships, like London locals and people of Indian descent who also live there. Those are some of my favorite things in a book. Throw in some hard things like mental illness and grief, ordinary struggles like family and cultural expectations, wonderful things like people loving and supporting each other, along with the interesting way people's stories get tangled up in each other, and there's a novel I really love.
