Olive Kitteridge

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Before I get going, I need to say that I finished this book almost against my will. It was like a documentary on an important, but enormously depressing subject - the kind where you should as a person know about the topic, but really don't want to. So why finish the book, especially considering that life is to short to read books we don't want to? Because the writing is so good. Strout is a fantastic writer capturing well human frailty and disappointed expectations, but in her writing, there is almost no hope. She has a gift for capturing the bleak and the raw realities of life, but she leaves out what makes life worth living.

I think I would classify this book as a book that felt like it was assigned in school. After all, Strout won the Pulitzer for this short story collection. I can see its merit, its strengths, and why people talk about it - hence the high rating. But I would not recommend it to most people. There's too much beauty and hope in life and literature to stay bogged down in cruel realities. I don't mean that literature shouldn't take on hard topics, but opposition demands that the light be included alongside the darkness. As a person who strives to seek out the light, I need stories and writers that do the same.

So as always, happy reading, but maybe not this one? Your call, of course.

Chasing Slow

Chasing Slow: Courage to Journey Off the Beaten Path by Erin Loechner
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I heard Erin Loechner interviewed on a podcast, and as soon as I finished listening the interview, I downloaded "Chasing Slow". I clearly continue to be drawn to writers who explore living a more authentic life that isn't dictated by societal norms or social pressures. Loechner has some great things to say, but there were whole portions of her book that lost focus for me or were too much of an attempt to be clever or to push a metaphor. This book felt a bit like Shauna Niequist's "Present Over Perfect" for me where I loved some sections and totally could have done without others.

Still, I'm glad for the chance to have read this book - the idea of the title will actually be the most lasting takeaway. That we so often are chasing ideals or aspects of life that we don't even realize we're seeking...Attempts to live a better life can also thwart actually just living life. Good food for thought, and you know how hungry pregnant women are for all sorts of food.

Happy reading--

My Oxford Year

My Oxford Year by Julia Whelan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Perhaps it's because I traveled with my sister when she went to study at Cambridge or perhaps it's because I harbor a not-so-secret fantasy to disappear to Derbyshire someday, but "My Oxford Year" fits perfectly into that dream life so many of us, Anglophiles, have. A whole year to live in England - to study, to read, to immerse yourself in the history of one of the great universities and towns....not your fantasy? Then perhaps not your book, but this one was perfectly delightful for me, albeit, a bit more saucy and surprisingly serious than I expected. I can't say I always loved the heroine, but Professor Davenport and Maggie had me from the first pint. Happy reading and happy England dreaming--