melted smoosh

1) The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo , by Taylor Jenkins Reid. i found myself instantly immersed in this story of a journalist who meets with an aging Hollywood starlet to write her biography. an easy read that made me think about the role media plays in our culture and how that has changed (for better and for worse) over the decades. 5/5. 2) Beartown , by Fredrik Backman. oh... my... goodness. this has immediately catapulted itself onto my Top Ten list of books. Backman has populated the fictional place of Beartown with characters who feel absolutely real. a com passionate but laser-focused examination of culture in a small town obsessed with hockey. i still feel as if i could walk past any one of his characters on the street and recognize them instantly. 10/5.  Difficult questions, simple answers. What is a community? It is the sum total of our choices. 3) The Gunners , by Rebecca Kauffman. a story about six friends who met in childhood and how their relationships ...

prepare yourself for a deluge of books! in the interest of time and space, i'm going to keep my thoughts brief about each one. my summer bookshelf turned out to have several real gems! 1) Oscar Romero: Love Must Win Out , by Kevin Clarke. a short but skillfully written account of Archbishop Oscar Romero, who was martyred in El Salvador for his controversial political and religious beliefs. Saint Oscar Romero was canonized just this past fall. 5/5. 2) All-of-a-Kind Family , by Sydney Taylor. one of my all-time favourite books as a child about a working-class Jewish family living in New York City. now even more delightful as a read-aloud to Greta (who was mostly interested in where she would fall into the age line-up of the five sisters). 5/5. 3) The Wilder Life: My Adventures in the Lost World of the Little House on the Prairie , by Wendy McClure. the concept of this book was alluring: a grown woman decides to dig deep into her beloved girlhood world of Laura and ...

whoops! i'm obviously a bit behind on blogging, mostly because i've been busy doing some freelance transcription work! it's just entry-level and doesn't pay very much, but i'm enjoying it. the specifics are confidential, but so far i've transcribed the audio from court hearings, research studies, focus groups, business meetings, IEP meetings, and lots of interviews (with musicians, scientists, researchers, and physicians). the very best job was a sermon because the pastor spoke so clearly and slowly, and of course, the subject matter was familiar! ha. but anyway, back to the books! 1) The Shadow of the Wind (The Cemetery of Forgotton Books #1) , by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. when i began searching for books set in Spain to read before our trip in April, this was near the top of every list i found. the story takes place in post-World War II Barcelona. it's a mystery, a romance, and a coming-of-age story that couldn't take place anywhere but Barcelona. the ...

my bookshelf in March was exceptionally diverse -- just the way i like it! i've always loved having two or three (or four!) books going at once, so no matter what my mood, i can always find something that fits the bill. 1) The Long Loneliness , by Dorothy Day { #cathLIT2019 : Book by a Catholic Woman}. this was the very first book i've ever recommended for purchase that my library actually bought! (actually, to date, it's the only one they've bought ... but i'll take it!) i really knew nothing about Dorothy Day until reading her autobiography, and i found her story refreshing and inspirational. she was a journalist who was passionate about social justice and thus became involved in Communist and leftwing politics, fighting for workers' rights. after converting to Catholicism, she continued to work tirelessly for fair labor laws and established many houses and communities for the most vulnerable people she encountered. to this day, there are about two hundre...

oh my goodness. there are just so many great books in the world (note that i didn't say too many ... that could never be true!). i truly enjoyed all of the books i read in February, and for the first time ever, i read everything listed "on my bookshelf" from the January post, plus some! 1)  Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration , by Pope Benedict XVI { #cathLIT2019 : A Book By A Pope}. i placed a hold on this e-book through our library system in December, not paying any attention to the subtitle and thinking that i was ordering his book on Jesus' birth. despite my mistake, i thoroughly enjoyed Pope Benedict's writing: clear, direct, full of theological insight but devoid of pretension or highbrow language. just chew on this for a while: "Jesus loaded the burden of all mankind's guilt upon his shoulders; he bore it down into the depths of the Jordan. He inaugurated his public activity by stepping into the place...

well! my 2019 reading challenge has kicked off with a bang. i've set a goal to read 75 books this year, and somehow i've managed to read almost twice as many books this month as i have in the past few months. this is partially because i finally finished two tomes that i started in November, and also because i've been trying to read an actual book when i have a free moment, rather than fritter away so much time on social media. and i've been inspired by so many great books listed under the #cathLIT2019 challenge ! without further ado: 1) Pachinko , by Min Jin Lee. i absolutely loved this book. it follows a Korean family who has emigrated to Japan prior to the second world war. the story is well-written and gripping on its own, but i found the culture and history especially fascinating. 2)  Almost Everything: Notes on Hope , by Anne Lamott. Lamott has such a unique voice, both spiritual and prosaic, idealistic and honest. i found the subtitle of this bo...