The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Round Two

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

December 14, 2018
I am a rereader. I can't help but come back to visit stories that I love. I picked up this book again because of the movie that came out this past summer. The book is just as wonderful as my first time through. I love the characters, the island, the epistolary format. My hours reading this book were like getting a birds eye view of one of the Society's meetings. The book makes me want to write, to hug the people I love, and to live with more fervor. Absolutely worth a read if you haven't yet-

Happy reading and potato peel pie eating--

ps. If you haven't watched the movie yet, it's really well done. The story changes quite a bit, but the core is the same. Lily James and Michiel Huisman are perfect as Juliet and Dawsey, not to mention the rest of the cast.

December 25, 2008
This book about reading, writing, loving, losing, and finding hope after losing so much, surprised me both in its simplicity and ability to capture candid conversation. It's rare the books written as a series of letters make you feel like you are getting all the detail you want about the character, but "The Guernsey" succeeds. I know I gravitate towards WWII era fiction, but I think this book transcends traditional historical fiction. I hesitate to use the word "delightful" - but it's the only word that comes to mind. I picked this book up and was entranced immediately--

Harry Potter: A History of Magic

Harry Potter: A History of Magic by British Library
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is a remarkable collection of backstories on many elements found in the Harry Potter series. It is a bit like a topical encyclopedia, so it's definitely not for the faint of heart or a casual Harry Potter fan. I actually think a great audience for this book would be middle grade age kids who love learning and the world J.K. Rowling created.

All in all, while the book felt a bit like homework, I am again struck with how amazing J.K. Rowling is. Her ability to combine so many historically significant legends and stories while also creating her own magical world is almost impossible to grasp. So many of her storylines are layered in folklore and real history, but it is done with such a deft hand, that I didn't even notice. I had no idea that a hippogriff wasn't something she created. More than that, I love that this book showed some of her drafting process. Every detail was included on purpose and drafted and redrafted. If I was still in a classroom, I would have been sharing how many drafts Rowling's beloved stories actually went through.

And until I can go to the British Library for this exhibit, I have had a fantastic taste of it.

Happy reading and imagining--

A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Everyone knows the story found in "A Christmas Carol", but watching Mickey's version or even one of the spectacular stage versions is different than reading the full text Dickens penned so many years ago. I loved revisiting this book as an adult. The lessons Scrooge learns as the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future visit him are ones we need in our lives today. And living as though it's Christmas every day - that's something I can fully get behind.

Happy reading and merry, merry Christmas!

The Deal of a Lifetime - Round Two

The Deal of a Lifetime by Fredrik Backman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This week I wanted to read books that were adult versions of Christmas stories - meaning stories you return to again and again each holiday season. This is one of those stories for me. It's powerful and well told, but not conventional. Told in a the sparse, direct way that only Backman can do, I found myself seeing this story so differently now that I am a parent. Definitely worth the read!

Happy reading and happy Christmas!

Off the Clock: Feel Less Busy While Getting More Done

Off the Clock: Feel Less Busy While Getting More Done by Laura Vanderkam
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I finished this book just yesterday, and already I think I'll read it again in a few months (if not sooner). Like Greg McKeown's Essentialism, Off the Clock boils things down to a very basic level. We all have 168 hours in a week - what we do with those hours is up to us. We walk around often feeling the victims of circumstance; too many responsibilities and to do's. Vanderkam challenges those assumptions we have about time in tangible, practical ways that can be acted upon immediately. In my professional life as a teacher and private life, I lived and died by my to do list and schedule - I purposefully put in things I love to do alongside the things I had to do. However, as a new mom and now stay-at-home-parent, my rhythm is dramatically different. I seemingly have less to do, but find myself much more at the mercy of things outside of my control. This book was timely in that regard. Vanderkam's commentary that we are wasting more time than we think through our overall media/social media consumption was also a key takeaway. We need to be intentional about how all time is spent. That's how we find the time to do the things we love with the people who matter most. I'm a work in progress, but every minute found means a lot.

Happy reading--

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Elsewhere

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Gabrielle Zevin won me over years ago with her book "Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac" - the title alone and cover alone were enough to compel me to buy it. Fast forward to now, and I still gladly pick up any of her work. This book has a unique premise in its take on the afterlife, but the twists are a bit predictable and the teenage angst too keyed up. I do like Zevin's ability to try different types of stories - no two of her books read the same. That, in and of itself, is impressive.

Happy reading and happy living--

A Place for Us

A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It's hard to define the intangible qualities that sometimes help a book resonate with their readers, and "A Place for Us" had so many intangibles for me. It's too simplistic to say that this book is a multi-generational book on faith, family, culture, and expectations, but to get more specific about the plot would do this story a disservice. The prose is beautiful and purposeful while the depth of human emotion and characterization so nuanced that thoughts shared by the characters felt like mini-revelations.

In the days since I finished "A Place for Us", I've tried to decide if the storylines were too well matched with my life experiences, and if that's why I loved the book so much. After all, I was raised to be very devout in my faith and at times felt torn between what my faith and familial expectations were as compared to what overarching questions I had. I am also a very driven, goal-oriented oldest daughter who desperately wanted to please her father with a brother whose choices have complicated things time and time again. I am a new mother who wants her son to feel safe and loved amid the chaos of this world. But this story is bigger than my own personal ties to it. We all have parents, beliefs, siblings, hopes, failed dreams, and questions. This book seems to explore what it means to be human, to love, and to be loved. It doesn't necessarily even tell us a concrete answers in those explorations, and yet, isn't that also so profoundly true to life?

In short, this debut novel by Fatima Farheen Mirza is worth the investment and time. Her narrative style requires focus as she moves between characters and years. She is also less focused on events rather than reflections on those events, but her details are not superfluous or tedious. Instead, Mirza adds texture and voice to already vivid characters. Read it please because we really need more books like this and more courage to face what these characters are grappling with themselves.

Happy reading and happy November--

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