Me in Place

I don’t see myself as a literary critic, but I am someone who reads an average of 70 books or so a year, so I definitely have my opinion of what I like and what good writing is!

- I’ll give a short review and opinion of each, but you’ll just have to trust me that they’re good and read them yourself without too much pontificating on my part (Remember, I’m a short attention span girl.)
- I let myself down completely when I finished up my list and realized I’ve only read about 50 books this year. Whaddup?

5. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua. I found this book hilarious and totally interesting; others found it disturbing and battles erupted over it all over the internet. In it, Chua describes her parenting of her two daughters. Forcing both to practice for hours and hours  -even on vacation – so that they could be perfect at playing the piano. Well-written and interesting and, dare I say it, funny.

4. The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. Rubin decided to tackle the task of “being happier” by turning non-concrete goals into tangible lists to follow and charts to mark. She pursued goals such as being a better mother, being a better wife, being a better friend. Loved the idea and loved that she turned it into something she could track. I totally get that.

3. The Hobbit by JRR Tolkein. Okay, so it was probably my fifth time through the book, but this time? This time my kids were finally old enough to listen. I read it out loud and loved it when they referenced Gollum or the ring or Gandolf in the months to come. I read and re-read the first few sentences to them many times, and asked, “Do you get it? Do you see the beauty in those words?”  In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort. ”

2. EntreLeadership by Dave Ramsey. Ramsey gives excellent advice on running your own business. Do I need to say it again? Excellent advice. Read it.

1. And my top favorite book of all year, and possibly of the last ten years, was actually a volume containing two books, Fearfully and Wonderfully Made and In His Image by Dr Paul Brand and Philip Yancey. Amazing, amazing books. They combine the miracle of the human body and relate it to the spiritual Body of Christ. How do the parts all work together? Why is pain a good thing? I wish I could give a proper review of this book in eloquent words…but I would fall short, no matter how much I tried. Please just give this book a chance!

Two Honorable Mentions go to:

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (interesting medical and human interest story)

Trigger Point Therapy Workbook by Claire Davies. This was probably the most practical book I read and also goes to prove I read any book whose title is mentioned in front of me. Must Get Help.

For a complete list of books read this year you can look HERE (although it is still a work in progress…)

What was your favorite book of this year? 

As I was going through some papers, I found my book reading list from 1996 and decided to list it here – not cuz you care, but because I think it’s good for my records!

1. To Have or Have Not: Hemingway, Ernest

2. Bring Me A Unicorn; Lindbergh, Anne

3. Open Windows, Locked Door; Lindbergh, Anne

4. The Flower and the Nettle; Lindbergh, Anne

5. War Within and Without; Lindbergh, Anne

6. Hour of Gold, Hour of Lead; Lindbergh, Anne (all five books are diaries and letters of her life and I highly enjoyed them)

7. Daughter of Deceit; Holt, Victoria

8. Kidnap! – Research of Baby Lindbergh Case

9. Frankenstein; Shelley, Mary

10. What I Saw At the Revolution; Noonan, Peggy
SASR: Speechwriter for Reagan and Bush. Very good.

11. Death on the Nile; Christie, Agatha

12. Bluebird and the Sparrow; Oke, Janette

13. From the Earth to the Moon; Verne, Jules

14. The Conquering Family; Unknown

15. War and Peace; Tolstoy
SASR: Oh, yes, I did read this! Remember this was B.C. (Before Children era)

16. And Ladies of the Club

17. Tender is the Night; Fitzgerald, F Scott

18. Mr Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonder; Wischler

19. The Cat Who Came to Breakfast

20. Cry, The Beloved Country; Paton

21. Pastoral; Shute, Nevil

22. Jungle Book; Kipling

23. Silk; Chaikin, Linda

24. Paul Revere and the World He Lived In; Forbes
SASR: Must read if you like history!!

25. Sarah Morgan:Diary of a Southern Girl During the Civil War

26. Macs for Dummies

27. The Cat Who Moved A Mountain

28. A Town Like Alice; Shute, Nevil

29. Tess of the D’Urbervilles; Hardy, Thomas

30. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings; Angelou, Maya

31. Things Fall Apaart; Achebe

32. Adventures in Birding; Piatt

33. Murder in the Vicerage; Christie, Agatha

34. The Scarlet Pimpernel; Baroness Orczy

35. The Guns of Navarone; MacLean

36. Poor Richard’s Almanac

1. Welcome Home! Our Family’s Journey to Extreme Joy; Woodhouse, Kimberley; 217
SASR: Kimberley’s daughter, Kayla, was born with a rare disorder which means she feels no pain, doesn’t sweat and uses cooling gear just to go outside! Kimberley takes you through their trials of housing, jobs and medical bills as they help their daughter live a full life. Eventually they were on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and were blessed to have a house built with temp controls. Interesting story. Rating: 8

2. Decision Points; Bush, George; 512
SASR: Bush focuses on 14 decisions he made while in office and gives explanations for his decisions and also admits he got it wrong at times. It was a good reminder to realize we don’t know the whole story when hearing the media. Although it wasn’t very personal – I did find it interesting and a good read (And it was the first book I read entirely on the iPad. I’m still rating that experience as opposed to real, in hand books.). Rating: 8

3. Justice Game; Singer, Randy;
SASR: Good legal thriller by a Christian author. Rating: 8

4. Extraordinary, Ordinary People; Rice, Condoleezza; 333
SASR: Story of her life, focusing on her parents. Interesting and inspirational. And, now  – because she’s a pastor’s kid and a piano player whose talent lies in sight reading (as opposed to improv)  – I feel we are best friends. Highly recommended read. Rating: 8

5. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother; Chua, Amy; 225
SASR: Loved it. Good read.

6. Always the Baker, Never the Bride; Bricker, Sandra; 288

7. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks; Skloot, Rebecca; 338
SASR: “Doctors took her cells without asking. Those cells never died. They launched a medical revolution and a multimillion-dollar industry. More than twenty years later, her children found out.” Interesting book detailing the life and death and life (!) of Henrietta Lacks and her cells. Rating: 8

8. Pick Another Checkout Lane, Honey; Demer, Joanie and Wheeler, Heather; 243
SASR: I’ve read a bunch of books on couponing/saving money at home, and yet this book managed to still teach me more! Recommended. Rating: 8

9. ReShaping It All; Bure, Candace Cameron; 238
SASR: Good book about healthy living -including spiritual principles, which I think is important!

10. Made to Crave; TerKeurst, Lysa; 224

11. Listen; Gutteridge, Rene; 432

12. The Simple Dollar; Hamm, Trent; 224
SASR: Hamm discusses how he paid off debt and started working for himself.

13. The Lights of Marfa; Dykes, Doyle
SASR: Memoir written by Doyle Dykes, one of the world’s best finger pickin’ guitar players.

14. Keeping the Little in Your Little Girl; Gresch, Danna
SASR: Keeping an eye on what our tweens see and hear in media, what we say in front of them, etc all adds up to giving them a balanced approach to their future/teen lives. Good points.

15. Almost Heaven; Fabry, Chris; 400

16. Unplanned; Johnson, Abby; 288
SASR: Former Planned Parenthood Director crosses the life line.

17. One Thousand Gifts; Voskamp, Ann
SASR: The “in” book of the year for Christian women, Voskamp speaks of her journey to gratefulness. She was challenged to make a list of 1,000 things she was grateful for and finds contentment in the Lord as she creates the list. Voskamp’s sentences are reminiscent of Annie Dillard’s – long, poetic and slow moving as she takes time to look at the “little things” in life. Note that the slow moving comment is not negative…the sentences match the mood! I read this during a time when I had a no-complaining rule in my life, a wrecked van and insurance people to call…and the book was an encouragement! Rating: 8

18. The Edge of the Divine; Patty, Sandi
SASR: This was a review book I got through Booksneeze.com – a site you can sign up for, request a copy of a book and review it on a blog and one commercial book site. So, it’s not really a book I would have sought out on my own, I’ll admit. But I did appreciate Sandi’s honesty and words of explanation about her journey in weight loss. Sandi had a long history of weight issues, and finally went through with a weight loss surgery. The book speaks of her emotional issues – with her family and with her Christian audience – and her physical issues. While I appreciated the book and her truthfulness, I found the book to have quite a few loose ends – how did her journey eventually turn out? (In other words, if it’s a weight loss journey, what were her goals and did she accomplish them?) A minor complaint, I realize!
Rating: 7

19. The Missional Mom; Lee, Helen; 224

20. Black Ships Before Troy; Sutcliffe, Rosemary ; 154
SASR: Read for school with kids. This is a great and readable adaptation of the Iliad.

21. The Hobbit; Tolkein, J R; 320(school)
SASR: SO excited to read this out loud to the kids. And equally excited to find them enjoying it as much as I did. We talked about Gollum for days afterward.

22. Good to Great; Collins, Jim; 300
SASR: Classic business book. Rating: 8

23. Detectives in Togas; Winterfield, Henry; 272 (school)

24. Jump Off the Hormone Swing; Pintus, Lorraine; 240
SASR: She discusses PMS and peri-menopause. Got it free from husband’s work.

25. What Good is God?; Yancey, Philip; 287
SASR: Yancey writes a chapter about his travels to different parts of the world and then includes the speech he gave to that particular group of people. He speaks to them about having a faith that matters. Rating: 9

26. Choosing to See; Chapman, Mary Beth; 288

27. My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business; Van Dyke, Dick; 304
SASR: I love reading biographies. This one won’t really reveal any deep, dark secrets, but it’s interesting and a good read.

28. Mrs Astor Regrets; Gordon, Meryl; 308

29. The Happiness Project; Rubin, Gretchen; 315
SASR: Gretchen attempts to be happier and have more fun. Each month, she chose a different aspect of happiness to work on, including: being a better mom, better wife, better friend. I liked her ideas and the fact that she tackled an “abstract” with lists. Very good and inspiring because it fits my personality and sounded like something I’d do! Rating: 9

30. A Million Little Pieces; Frey, James; 382
SASR: Memoir of James’ battle with drug and alcohol addiction. Mostly known because of Oprah railing on him and outing him on some of the fabrications in the book. Well-written, though. Rating; 8

31. Trigger Point Therapy Workbook; Davies, Clare; 248
SASR: Well, that title threw you for a loop, right? I was loaned this to flip through, but I ended up reading the entire book. The point is that finding trigger points of pain and applying pressure to, you know, release myofascial pain can help heal muscle/soft-tissue pain. Interesting. Rating: 8

32. Fearfully and Wonderfully Made; Brand, Paul, Yancey, Philip;
SASR:

33. In His Image; Brand, Paul; Yancey, Philip:

34. Stories I Only Tell My Friends; Lowe, Rob;

35. Bossypants; Fey, Tina

36. Eat That Frog: 21 Steps to Avoid Procrastination; Tracy, Brian

37. Beautiful Boy;

38. Room

39. The Confession; Grisham, John

40. Still Life; Penny, Louise

41. A Marriage Carol; Fabry, Chris & Chapman, Gary

42. EntreLeadership; Ramsey, Dave

43. One Day; Nicholls, David;

44. Boundaries; Cloud, Henry

45. One I won’t mention because it was so maddening, I’d hate to think someone would think I was recommending it…

46. Housekeeping;

47. Secrets to a Healthy Metabolism;

48. Bring It; Horton, Tony

49. Heaven for Kids; Alcorn, Randy

50.

With September being a month of sickness around here, I had plenty of time to read! So I’ll be sharing some SASR (Short Attention Span Reviews) of some books I think you’d enjoy. The first was one Mr MIP brought home from work for me (because the author was interviewed on the show he was producing).

Hollow by Jena Morrow is an autobiography that focuses on the author’s struggle with anorexia. While in college, she lost so much weight, she had to withdraw from school and enter rehab. The book covers her time in school, rehab and then after her release. The struggles are honestly dealt with, without glamorizing anorexia in any way. Jena is a Christian and her relationship with the Lord is also brought into her recovery.

I would highly recommend the book and know that many of my readers would be interested to read of her journey.

Here’s a book update of books read since April. I officially reached 50 books read, and looking over the list, it looks as though non-fiction is more to my liking this year. Does that mean I’m getting old? Again, I’ve highlighted in bold the books I’d highly recommend.

31. Why We Love the Church – In Praise of Institutions and Organized Religion; DeYoung, Kevin and Kluck, Ted; 229; 4/25
SASR: Excellent book discussing the importance of church and being involved in a church. Especially in today’s culture, where it is cool to bash church and find “community” outside of church. Also focuses on what’s important – preaching the gospel. Much of the book is defending the church against authors and books that are seeking to “find a new way to do church”. If you spend all your time trying to reach the “seekers” and water church down, and if you remove the gospel, you have nothing.
Rating: 9.5
Mom Rating: 0 kids (concentrate and listen!)

32. Handle With Care; Picoult, Jodi; 477; 4/29
SASR: One of the most depressing stories I’ve ever read. Discusses a little girl who has OI (otherwise known as brittle bone disease). The mom sues her OB Doctor – who happens to be her best friend – because she says the Doc should have told her about the disease earlier in the pregnancy. Obviously, this means she has to declare in court she would have had an abortion. How this affects the little girl, the older sister, the parent’s marriage and everyone else on this depressing earth, is the rest of the story.
Rating: 7
Mom Rating: 3 kids – but you’ll constantly be grabbing them and giving them hugs, so they might get tired of being in the same room with you.

33. The Endurance – Shackleton’s Legendary Antarctic Expedition; Alexander, Caroline; 210; 5/1
SASR: Loved this record of Shackleton’s expedition – it included beautiful black and white photos taken by the crew’s photographer, which made the story all that much more interesting. Although a little harsher – because after you see the cutie patootie sledge dogs, you then have to read how they shot them all. But the true amazing story is in how Shackleton kept the crew together and led to their rescue after over a year on an ice floe. Amazing. (Also amazing to realize they couldn’t reach the South Pole, but a couple of the crew were alive when man walked on the moon!)
Rating: 9
Mom Rating: 2 kids – you don’t want lots of kids being around when you’re crying about the dogs.

34. The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith; Keller, Timothy; 135; 5/3
SASR: Great exegesis on the story of the prodigal son. Are you an elder son or a younger son? Interesting insight.

Rating: 8
Mom Rating: 0 kids. Focus.

36. Though Waters Roar; Austin, Lynn; 428; 5/4
SASR: Story of a grandma who was involved in Temperance Laws and the granddaughter who was just jailed for carrying bootleg alcohol.
Rating: 6
Mom Rating: 3 kids.

37. The Great Wheel; Lawson, Robert;192: 5/10 (kids)
SASR: Novel about a boy who immigrates from Ireland and ends up helping build the great ferris wheel for the Chicago World’s Fair. While not my favorite read-aloud book, it was interesting to learn more about the construction of the giant ferris wheel – and we’ll be taking the kid’s downtown to ride the Navy Pier one this summer, for sure!
Rating: 7
Mom Rating: Read aloud to 3 kids

38. The Hole in Our Gospel; Stearns, Rich; 320  5/12
SASR: Reviewed here. Couldn’t go along with his theology, but agree we need to be nice and helpful to people.
Rating: 6
Mom Rating: 2 kids

39. The Hunger Game; Collins, Suzanne; 384 5/28
SASR: A girl volunteers to enter the hunger game in place of her sister. 24 candidates are brought to a giant “arena” in which they need to fight to the death. The winner brings much honor and respect to her/his district. The story centers on Katniss, a girl from District 12, who makes friends and… You’ll have to read it to find out!
Rating: 8
Mom Rating: 3 kids (and appropriate for maybe age 12 and above)

40. Just Do Something:How to Make a Decision Without Dreams, Visions, Fleeces, Open Doors, Random Bible Verses, Casting Lots, Liver Shivers, Writing in the Sky, etc: DeYoung, Kevin; 127
SASR: Using the wisdom of God to make decisions. That’s all there is to it. (One reason I reviewed an above book so low was because she insisted on showing kids to look for God in the little things, like getting the dinosaur comforter you wanted. However….in my opinion, this only leads to issues like looking for dreams and visions and disappointment in God the first time someone looks at you in a way you weren’t expecting or something serious happens, like, oh say, your dad dies of cancer and where do you turn your anger? Toward God who didn’t come through on the big one – but somehow that’s okay, cuz at least you can cry into your dino comforter??– both books were published by the same publisher, which makes me so weirdly angry, I can’t explain it. But, don’t worry, I used my evil thoughts for good and did some behind-the-scenes maneuvering to get this authors’ books promoted. Maw ha ha. I’ll never tell my secret plan in action. )

41. This Time Together; Burnett, Carol; 266; 6/6
SASR: The older I get, the more I enjoy biographies and autobiographies. Maybe because I want to know how people go where they are and how they dealt with lifes ups and downs. Isn’t it fascinating how things affect us? Carol follows up on her original memoir with further stories of her career, including hilarious stories of her fellow cast members like Vicki Lawrence and Tim Conway (second only to Bob Newhart in my Comic Crushes Book).
Rating:7
Mom Rating: 3 kids and some idiot cutting down his tree across the street while you’re outside trying to get a tan while reading.

42. So Long, Insecurity; Moore, Beth; 350; 6/10
SASR: Good and encouraging book on how to find your security in your standing in the Lord. A little feel-good, woman’s-Bible-study-let’s-all-hold-hands emotional for my personality – but that doesn’t mean it’s not good!
Rating: 7
Mom Rating: 3 kids

43. Gregor the Overlander; Collins, Suzanne; 308; 6/14
SASR: Gregor and his 2 year old sister fall down a vent in a laundry room and find them in the Underworld, where he finds himself part of a prophecy foretold long ago. He meets members of the Underworld, including rats, humans, spiders and cockroaches and battles to free them from the rats. Good fantasy/sci fi read for teens. There are hints of evolution being the smart, scientific answer.
Rating: 7 (I liked Hunger Games by the same author much better)
Mom Rating: 3 kids

44. The Game From Where I Stand; Glanville, Doug;
SASR: I read good reviews of this book and decided to go off my no-book-buying-diet and order it. I’m glad I did. Glanville does not focus a great deal on the game itself, but rather gives insight into the life of a pro baseball player with topics such as the family room, hiring/firing/being traded, and travel. He was critiqued as a player for being perceived as too “laid-back,” and actually, the book kind of took on that personality as well…laid back and easygoing. And somehow that makes him seem more real and approachable. (And it brings up my question of what and how exactly do you tell someone you admire their work without seeming like a ditzy fan?? I need to know in case I ever get to talk to Mark DeRosa.)
Rating: 8
Mom Rating: 3 kids

45. Uncharted TerriTORI; Spelling, Tori;
SASR: More stories from her life. (This is her third book.) I do like her and can’t imagine being critiqued as a celebrity in today’s day and age. Very hard.
Rating: 6 (her others were more interesting)
Mom Rating: 3 kids

46. Finding It; Bertinelli, Valerie; 272; 8/18/10
SASR: More stories of her life – especially dealing with her weight loss and (as I saw it) her search for meaning in life.
Mom rating: 3 kids

47. Me Talk Pretty One Day; Sedaris, David; 272; 8/18/10
SASR: Hilariously sardonic.
Mom Rating: 2 kids

48. Mennonite in a Little Black Dress; Janzen, Rhoda; 241; 8/21/10
SASR: Torn on this review. Janzen is a hilarious and great writer. I like a book that makes me laugh out loud. But on the other hand, it’s another book by a pastor’s daughter who has given up, not just the faith she was raised in (which does seem to focus a great deal on works…), but all faith. Which just ends up making my heart ache. Rating: 7
Mom Rating: 2 kids and a workout

49. Into the Wild; Krakauer, Jon; 207; 8/10/10
SASR: Krakauer is a wonderful author – remember he’s also the author of Into Thin Air about the tragedy on Everest – and this book was an interesting story of a young man who gave up his money and all communication with his family and wandered about America. He ended up in Alaska – and starved to death. Both my husband and I decided the book left us with a spooky feeling – don’t know why – but we both enjoyed the writing. Rating: 9
Mom Rating: 0 kids.

50. Spoken From the Heart; Bush, Laura; 464; 7/25/10
SASR: I always saw First Lady Laura Bush as an elegant, classy lady who guarded her family carefully and tightly. Turns out, I came away with the same opinion after I read her book. She gives a good review of her early life/growing up years and I found these interesting…Interesting to read about 9/11 from her perspective. She gets a bit defensive in the end chapters regarding her husband and his decisions – but, frankly, I would defend my husband too! Rating: 8

51. The Sweetness At the Bottom of the Pie: A Flavia DeLuce Mystery; Bradley, Alan; 416
SASR: 11 year old science prodigy, Flavia, finds a dead body in the garden and goes about her small English village finding the murderer. A well-written protagonist is what sparkles throughout the book – Flavia’s escapades and retorts are hilariously written. Kudos to Bradley for writing such a fun, lighthearted mystery – a perfect summer read. Rating: 8

52. The Weed That Ties the Hangman’s Bag: A Flavia DeLuce Mystery; Bradley, Alan; 384
SASR: Flavia finds herself involved in solving yet another mystery. Again centered in a small English town, the book centers on the precocious 11 year old and her talks with other members of the village. Rating: 8

53. A Beautiful Blue Death; Finch, Charles; 324
SASR: A maid is found dead – the quiet free-lance detective, Charles Lenox, attempts to solve the mystery of who solved her. The writing of the detective’s character is the great part of the book – sort of along the lines of how well-written Nero Wolfe is in Rex Stout’s mysteries. Rating: 8

The Hole in the Gospel is written by Rich Stearns, President of World Vision. His main point is that our hole in the gospel is not caring for the poor and needy.

And here’s my conundrum: I wanted to like this book. I wanted to go along with what he’s saying – mainly because every other kind, sensitive, new “missional” Christian loves this book. And I totally agree about helping out the poor and needy as he describes in the book. We are sponsors of a child through World Vision. However, I cannot support Stearns’ theology. He suggests that caring for the poor will usher in the Kingdom of God on earth and continually quotes scripture out of context to support this idea. (Forgetting that the Scripture he’s using are the words of Jesus spoken to the Israelites – yes, if they accepted Him as their Messiah, the Kingdom of God would have been ushered in immediately. However, they did not.) Also, I hesitate to say that caring for our neighbors or the poor is a hole in our gospel. It might be a hole in the way we reach others, and it might be a hole in the way we respond…but it’s not a hole in the gospel. Assuming you see the gospel as the message of Christ coming to earth to die for us and be resurrected in order to save us from our sins…I think the way we reach people with the gospel – whether they be rich and well-fed, or poor and needy – is not part of the gospel. It’s like here’s point A – the gospel…Here’s sub-point 1., 2., 3. “how we reach others with the good news.”

Now…that being said, of course I enjoyed his biographical chapters and found his leaving his presidency of Lenox to be the president of World Vision to be inspiring. I also thought he gave good ideas for what we can do as our part of reaching the poor and needy and appreciated his insight. And using Bono as our spiritual leader in all things socially spiritual…well, how can any of us stand up to that? (wink, wink)

(The other book similar to this is Wess Stafford’s book, previously reviewed. Just my own humble opinion, but I’m going to side with Stafford on why we reach out to others.)

Last week Mr MIP brought home a book entitled Too Small to Ignore: Why the Least of These Matters Most by Wess Stafford and Dean Merrill. I canNOT express enough how much I want you to read this book. I also feel I don’t have the words to properly explain his book, but I wish I did! Using the story of his life as a missionary kid in Africa – all the way to his life as President of Compassion, Int’l, I came away respecting Stafford immensely and had insight into his heart and passion to help the children suffering in poverty in this world. Here’s the link to order the book (or I’m totally willing to loan it to you if you live by me):

Or,if you just really can’t bring yourself to read a book, please consider sponsoring a child through Compassion International. The charge is $38 a month to sponsor a child. We have tried to explain to our kids a little about ways they can help and we have them contribute to the sponsorship and help write letters or draw pictures to our sponsored children. I searched until I found a girl born on the same day as our middle child, in the year our oldest was born. And our second sponsored child through World Vision has a birthday quite close to our oldest. (Finding children with similar birthdates makes it even more interesting to our kids.) I’m still searching for a little birthday buddy for SuperBoy!

So, consider sponsoring a child, please?

Here is the book list for January 2010. It was a good month of reading, but none were standouts, except the very first one.

NB: I did not buy one single book this month!  I determined I would only get books from the library or read ones I already have on my shelf. Which leads me to my next point, which is THANK YOU! to reader Mike who, when I found out he and his family, including reader Kris, were in Vegas and had eaten at The Burger Bar and I emailed and said, OH! The Burger Bar! That’s Chef Hubert Keller’s restaurant! (The fact that I know this and not basic geography facts would be why I’m only a 69% Jeopardy player). Anyway, I said, hey, if you see an autographed cookbook by Hubert Keller, pick it up and I’ll pay you back. Kind Reader Mike got the book for me and then even said I didn’t have to pay him back – it was a gift. How kind was that? Here’s the book:

Sorry it’s blurry, but still…how fun is that? Maybe this should be the start of a new collection – autographed cookbooks!

Here is the rest of the booklist for January. The only one I’d recommend to you is the second one, The Informant, which I own, so if you live by me, you’re more than welcome to borrow it.:

1. Across Five Aprils; Hunt, Irene; 224; 1/4 (school)
SASR (Short Attention Span Review): This was my third time through the book, and each time it just bored me more. Just rambles. But! A great intro to what it would have been like to live through the Civil War as a kid. Rating: 5)

2. The Informant; Eichenwald, Kurt; 567; 1/3
SASR: Wow. What a crazy, crazy story! I really enjoyed this book – definitely the best book I’ve read this year. (Little joke there for ya.) Although the names can be hard to keep straight at times, this is a book about the price fixing schemes of a large corporation located close to us (ADM in Decatur). A man is used as cooperating witness with the FBI – but is he really helping? Or just confusing the matter with his lies? Made into a movie starring Matt Damon (which we haven’t seen yet – but I’m definitely looking forward to seeing it.). Additionally, here’s a Link to article in World Magazine. Rating: 8

3. Storm Surge; Gutteridge, Rene; 348; 1/5
SASR: Third book in a trilogy of mysteries written by a Christian author. Good, light entertainment. Creepy and suspenseful. A little too much focus on the romance stuff. No man I know would notice whether a girl was wearing mascara or not – and this guy kept noticing it… which, instead of being “sweet”, I found rather creepy.
Rating: 7

4. Juliet, Naked; Hornby, Nick; 390; 1/12
SASR: Book by author of High Fidelity and About a Boy – if you liked either of those books or movies, you’d like this. The title is in reference to an acoustic CD released by a musician who hasn’t done anything in about twenty years. A man and woman who are living together review the CD with two totally different views on it and….then the story happens!

5. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo; Larsson, Steig; 590; 1/14
SASR: I read this because I kept seeing it everywhere. Heavy on the R rated torture scenes, it was also a good mystery and definitely a page-turner. It centers on a journalist who is hired to write a history of a large family and to attempt to solve the mystery of a girl’s disappearance many years before.

6. Chateau of Echoes; Mitchell, Siri; 384; 1/15
SASR: I always enjoy Siri Mitchell’s books. They’re light, escape reading, but better written than most Christian lit. This one focuses on a recently widowed lady who lives in a chateau in France. Journals were found on the property written by a girl in the 1500′s. How do the two women’s lives intertwine?

7. The Other Queen; Gregory, Philippa; 438; 1/24
SASR: I have read most of Gregory’s books and have previously enjoyed them, but this one was scattered and not that interesting and  – if you know even a little English history – you know what’s going to happen, so there’s no suspense. However, I don’t want to disparage Gregory’s writing! She usually is much more interesting, so if you want a good English monarchy book to read, try her “The Other Boleyn Girl” (or rent the movie).

Total Pages January: 2,941

Every four years or so, I’ll randomly pick up a book and soon discover it’s one of Those Books. The ones you read at just the right time, just the right place, just the right frame of mind.

That happened this last week and accounts for my absence from blogland. The book is East of Eden by John Steinbeck and it’s now a Top Ten Favorite Book for me. The book itself covers decades in two families’ lives: the Hamiltons and the Trasks. And the theme of the book is Timshel – the Hebrew word for “Thou mayest.” Using the story of Cain and Abel, the author presents the idea of thou mayest choose to do wrong, or thou mayest choose to do the right thing. (It’s right now I wish I could write a deeper analysis of the book, but I’d bore you and frankly, the fact that I can’t write a deeper analysis is why I’m just me in a suburb and not a great classic author such as Steinbeck)

I highly recommend the book, although some of the topics and language are rather harsh. But the overwhelming story of sin and redemption is powerful, to say the least.

And while books like these are so great to stumble upon, it’s always a major disappoint when they’re done.

This is why I read.

Here’s the books I’ve read so far this year. It’s been kind of a “meh”/so-so year in reading. Sadly enough! If you have any recommendations, let me know!

(I’ve highlighted the ones I would recommend to you.)

1. The Winter of Her Discontent; Haines, Kathryn Miller; 324; 1/8/09

2. I Was Told There’d Be Cake; 1/11/09

3. Still Life With Chickens; Goldhammer, Catherine; 179; 1/24/09

4. Girl Perfect; Strickland, Jennifer; 194; 2/2/09

5. Nurtured by Love; Suzuki, Shinichi; 107; 2/5/09

6. Outliers; Gladwell, Malcolm; 285; 2/7/09

7. Jaywalking With the Irish; Monagan, David; 240; 2/10/09

8. The Truth About the Irish; Eagerton, Terry; 2/16/09

9. McCarthy’s Bar; McCarthy, Pete; 338; 2/20/09

10. Trail of Crumbs: Hunger, Love, and the Search for Home; Sunee, Kim; 370; 2/22/09

11. Super In the City; Uviller, Daphne; 295

12. Eat, Pray, Love; Gilbert, Elizabeth; 2/28/09

13. There’s No Traffic on the Extra Mile; Minor, Rickey; 179; 3/2/09

14. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society; Shaffer, Mary Ann and Barrows, Annie; 278; 3/6/09

15. O Come Ye Back to Ireland: Our First Year in County Clare; Williams, Niall & Breen, Christine; 233; 3/11/09

16. Around the World in Eighty Trades; 3/23/09

17. The Associate; Grisham, John; 3/25/09

18.Death of Riley; Bowen, Rhys;  325; 4/2/09

19. Forgive and Forget; Scanlan, Patricia; 4/5

20. Johnny Tremain; Forbes, Esther; 322; 4/9 (school)

21. For the Love of Mike: Bowen, Rhys;  3234/12/09

22. A Little Bit Wicked; Chenoweth, Kristin; 232; 4/18

23. Girls in Trucks; Crouch, Katie; 241; 4/20

24. In Like Flynn; Bowen, Rhys; 321; 4/22

25. Tuesday NIght at the Blue Moon; Thomas, Debbie Fuller; 366; 4/26

26. Oh Danny Boy; Bowen, Rhys; 323; 4/28

27. A Homemade Life; Wizenberg, Molly; 5/11

28. The Secret Life of Becky Miller; 5/12

29. The Man Who Ate Everything; Steingarten, Jeffrey; 494; 5/14

30. A Skating Life; Hamill, Dorothy; 238; 5/15