The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

For book club, I read The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab. I did not love it. 

Addie LaRue is a young woman in a time that is unkind to young women. She has always loved the local unmarried woman and aspires to be her. However, her father arranges a marriage for her. In a last-ditch effort to avoid the wedding, Addie enters into an agreement with a higher power, agreeing to live a life where once she has gone out of sight of someone, she will go out of mind, too. She can move through life forever: immortality! But no one will remember her, even from one interaction to the next. 

The writing was good. The story really pulled me along! I enjoy high-concept books and movies, and this one did a particularly good job exploring at least one branch of "Hmm, what would that actually be like?" I just didn't like Addie. I found it pretty hard to relate to her in most cases. I vacillated between not really liking Addie and really not liking Addie. 

Clare and I tried on some clothes recently.
Addie LaRue steals all her clothes because ...she can? ...she has to? 

The book made for an interesting discussion, especially because Tara helped us along. She hadn't read the book but wanted to hear about it and form conclusions about it, so she asked lots of thoughtful questions. We discussed morality and relationships and mental health and more. 

So, I find myself ambivalent about the book. I was complaining about it to my husband Jacob about three quarters of the way through -- how the characters were all ridiculous and made the worst possible choices all the time. He reminded me that I didn't have to finish, to which I responded, "Yeah...but I think I want to." I knew that finishing the story via an online summary wouldn't answer my deepest questions about it, and that not finishing wouldn't either. I disliked pretty much all the characters and disliked the way the author seemed to buy in to what I consider Hollywood tropes: sex, drugs . . . rock and roll? But the author did raise interesting questions about time, morality, relationships, what people want out of life, etc. So, though I don't hesitate to put a book down when I hate it, this one walked right along that line, pretty much start to finish. Ha!

Have you read it? I'd love to know what you think. I'm writing this a few months after reading the book, so if it's been a while for you, too, tell me what stuck with you.

Fall (in-love) Reading

This fall I read two books about falling in love. Both had some good meat on the bones of the romance, which made them enjoyable not only as romances but as stories of their time. 

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion 

Our protagonist Don is a Australian genetics professor with a side project: find his ideal wife. He crafts an elaborate survey to help him, and the results are comical. He also volunteers to help Rosie with her own project: uncovering the identity of her biological father. Two projects soon become one and the same. I enjoyed reading this book, which was very popular a few years back. I had tried to read it at the height of its popularity, but put it down due to language and sexual themes. I picked it back up again and enjoyed the story. It is a well paced book with laugh-out-loud moments and quiet memorable moments, too. The characters grow in some inspiring ways, and I won't soon forget our main cast. I'm interested to watch the movie, which hasn't been made yet, but is in talks. 

The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes 

I read this book about a horseback library program in Depression-era Kentucky for book club. Our main character, Alice, has married for love AND money, only to find that neither one is worth having to put up with her insufferable father-in-law. She escapes by volunteering to take books to country folk over the hills, and makes friends and finds true love along the way. This book was expertly plotted. I particularly liked how the prologue set the readers expectation for the book. In the flow of the larger narrative, coming back to the prologue rather than having that chapter set in the middle of the book is ingenious. The characters are memorable, well developed, and varied. The book wraps up in a satisfactory way, but one or two questions that the author leaves for readers to answer made for a lively book club discussion.

Just for fun, here's a photo of me and my true love. 

 

Alysa's Summer Reading

Hello! I did do some good reading this summer that I want to share with you. 

Race the Sands by Sarah Beth Durst 

My book club read this fantasy novel and it was enjoyed by all. A couple of us thought we were reading a YA fantasy book, but it turns out this one is marketed to adults. The main premise is that in Bekar, people live good lives hoping for rebirth as a human or auger. The worst thing to be reborn as is a kehok - a monster. The kehoks are dangerous, but that doesn't stop people from racing them! We follow a trainer, a rider, and the political turmoil in the country. 

Our group agreed that the worldbuilding and characters were excellent. It was so refreshing not to have a love triangle! And the abundance of strong female characters was awesome. There was a fair bit of violence in the book, but prrrrobably definitely less than The Hunger Games or something. No bedroom scenes. I was so into the book that I ended up telling my kids all the plot of it, just because my mind was so thoroughly engrossed. I definitely filtered out some of the violence in my retelling though, ha! Recommended. 

The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse

This was my pick for book club this summer. It met with mixed reviews in the club, partly because it came on the heels of Race the Sands, and Bertie Wooster is very down on Angela Basset throughout! Those who liked it really liked it, and those who didn't, didn't. I find that's pretty typical of humor books. 

The Code of the Woosters is a middle book in the Jeeves and Wooster series. It was the most accessible title at the local libraries, which is why I chose it over Right Ho, Jeeves, which is probably my favorite (Right Ho, Jeeves is especially good on audio). Anyway, the series follows young bachelor Bertie Wooster in London in the 1930's, who is constantly getting into tight spots and requiring the ingenious brain of his valet, Jeeves, to get him out of trouble. This installment details Bertie's misadventures with a collectible silver cow creamer, blackmail, rifts between lovers that could have dire consequences for him, and more. I noticed it was on a list of recommended classics for eighth graders, and I could get behind that. If you want to dip your toes into the Jeeves and Bertie world, you can always look up some of the old episodes of the BBC TV adaptation on YouTube for a taste. 

How Not to Die by Michael Greger, M.D., FACLM

This thick volume details the research on nutrition in health for a number of scenarios. There are two main sections in the book: the first section has chapters organized by disease, the second section has chapters organized by types of foods. Chapters in section one include How Not to Die from Suicidal Depression, How Not to Die from Breast Cancer, How Not to Die from Diabetes and many more. Chapters in section two include Spices, Cruciferous Vegetables, Berries and many more. 

I became interested in reading this book because I did an internet search for "how to lower your estrogen" and the search results I found referenced the book multiple times. Obviously, I thought, it would be a better source of complete information. And I was right, there really is so much info in the book. The author has made a living of studying medical research findings and publishing them in layman's terms. He runs the website nutritionfacts.org. His grandmother's life was saved when she changed her diet in her old age, and he shares that amazing story in the beginning of the book. 

I didn't read the book cover-to-cover, but I did read large swaths of it, and found it fascinating and motivating. I shared enough passages of it with Benjamin that he took it up himself and started sharing passages back with me. We've both been eating healthier since. I recommend it, if you're interested! 

Oh, I also checked out the How Not to Die Cookbook from my library. It was alright. I've learned how to make vegetable broth now. I took down a few of recipes before I returned it: the one for Veggie broth, one for a dish of beans, rice and broccoli, and the last for a dairy-free "macaroni and cheese" dish.  My favorite healthy eating cookbook is still The Smoothie Project by Catherine McCord.

The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

This was the August pick for book club, and I had read it for another book club in another state some years ago. I remembered liking it, and I remembered all of the worst and most violent parts. So, I'm happy to say that I really enjoyed the reread!

This is the first in a series of detective novels set in Botswana. The author helps us get to know our lady detective, Mma Ramotswe, explores her country and family history, and takes us on several of her cases. 

Some of the cases are lighthearted and some are heavier, and the book strikes a good balance. I definitely categorize it as "for grownups," but then again as a teen I read a lot of Agatha Christie. Anyway, since I had read the book before and many of the cases outcomes came back to mind as I was reading, I was able to really enjoy the superb writing in this book and appreciate some of the humor and foreshadowing that I couldn't enjoy last time, because I was on the edge of my seat, metaphorically. I might read more in the series . . .There are apparently 21 books in the series now, wow. 

This is another series (like Jeeves and Wooster, above) that has been made into a television show. After reading the book I did look up the first episode of the show on YouTube, just to satisfy myself that I was pronouncing Mma correctly (and to pass the time as I folded laundry). Unfortunately I can't recommend the series, because it makes the main characters into buffoons. I was offended, on behalf of Mma Ramotswe. (Incidentally, Bertie Wooster is also a buffoon, but he is meant to be a buffoon.)

A Gentleman in Moscow

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

The book opens with the transcript of a trial, and answers this question: What will become of a gentleman in Moscow? Specifically, what will the new communist Russian government do with the Count, His Excellency Alexander Ilyich Rostov, son of the Grand Duke, now that the Tsar has been deposed?  Before the beginning of Chapter 1, we learn that the Count is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol Hotel.  

I really loved this book, and it reminded me of many of my favorite books. I loved the characters -- they felt as real to me as the March sisters in Little Women. I loved the setting and learning a little bit more about Russian history, because my brother Ransom speaks Russian and has spent time in Ukraine. I loved Count Rostov's noblesse oblige attitude (a la The Scarlet Pimpernel). And maybe you should imagine Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic, A Little Princess, but with a grown man?

I don't want to say much about the plot. I myself loved knowing nothing about where it was going as I went along. I would recommend this book for adults, but if my teen wanted to read it I wouldn't mind. 

This is the sort of book that makes me wish I spoke five languages, had read lots of classic Russian literature, and watched all of Humphrey Bogart's films. 

One of my favorite scenes in the book is the description of the twice-tolling clock and the purpose for which it was commissioned. And, of course, the hide-and-seek game in the Count's study. Ah, now that I'm thinking of favorite scenes, there are too many! 

I gave Ransom this book for his birthday. I don't know if anything else I can say could recommend the book more highly. 

Have you read it? Please tell me your favorite parts. I read it for a zoom book club, but then I missed the discussion, so I'm itching to discuss. 

I didn't take this photo in Moscow, but I did take it in the snow!

Four Book Club Books I Enjoyed Recently

The book group I'm in didn't meet from March - August 2020, but we did start meeting again in the fall. For September and October we met outdoors, but for November and January we met online only. Here's what we've been reading.

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

I really liked this book. It started off as a family history reminiscence, but wound its way around into being a present day drama, connected of course to the family history. I liked that it was short and succinct. I liked that little tidbits were revealed. I loved little lines like "[Television] seems so two-dimensional after radio." And I loved the parallelisms for instance, the young Jack Boughton being mistaken for a preacher. The time that Lila comforted John Ames "you'll be just fine" and the time she comforted Jack "People can change." I liked how the book shifted from quoting the Old Testament to quoting more of the New Testament, reflecting changes in the spiritual life of the family. 

The book is a letter, or book of remembrance, that John Ames writes for his young son. John is in his seventies, and tells of his life growing up and marrying his childhood sweetheart, only to lose his wife and baby at the baby's birth. In a roundabout way he imparts the lessons of his widower life and the love story that surprised him late in life. Throughout the book John switches from remembering the past -- sometimes remembering stories of times before he was even born -- into the present moment. This switching and the little sections the book is written in work very well to convince the reader that the book was written over the course of a few months, here and there.

Touching moments and astute reflections abound in the book. Our book group discussed many of these! I was surprised by how many people had come with passages marked that they loved and wanted to talk about. 

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

This one is a murder mystery (chosen for the month of October). I listened to it on audio, and the swearing bothered me a bit. There was plenty of sex, drugs and violence, too! The suspense was very well done though, and the plot was twisty and had lots of red herrings. It was a nail biter, right up until the big reveal.

The Silent Patient is narrated by a psychologist whose patient never speaks. She is a famous artist, institutionalized after being convicted of the murder of her husband. Did she really murder him? If so, why? If not, who did? 

The interplay between Greek and Christian names and symbols in this book was one of my favorite parts of it. 

We had a great time discussing all of our hairbrained theories about who had done the murder. I found it interesting that the two group members who read the book quickly both suspected the same person, while those of us who read the book over a longer time had various other theories. 

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

I had heard of this book, but it wasn't until it was selected for book club that I realized its settings were closely tied to the settings of my own life. Paul Kalanithi, who wrote this memoir as a young doctor dying of cancer, moved to Kingman, Arizona when he was ten years old. About ten years later, I moved to Kingman, Arizona when I was nine years old. Eventually Paul moves to Connecticut to study at Yale. I currently live in Connecticut, about an hour from Yale. I really enjoyed connecting with the settings of Paul's life so strongly. 

I expected this book to be more about dying than it was. I expected it to be like The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch, which I had read previously and enjoyed. When Breath Becomes Air is much more a descriptive memoir and less a prescriptive, well, lecture than The Last Lecture. I felt like I got to know Paul a little bit, and that was meaningful to me, knowing that we have some mutual friends. 

This was another book the people marked passages from and shared insights about. Discussing hypothetical situations about death, current medical situations and problems, and tender family moments was the meat of our book club conversation.   

The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck

I listened to this one on audio, and the narration was excellent. I had never heard of The Good Earth before it was picked for book club, but Jacob had. 

The Good Earth reminded me of The Fiddler on the Roof -- it's a life story. The Good Earth follows Wang Lung from the  morning of his wedding day until his death. There's a lot that happens in between! I feel that I learned about Chinese culture in the late 19th and early 20th century, along with learning about these particular characters. 

I was reminded of Boxers & Saints, a pair of graphic novels that I love, since the books are set in the same time period. 

Our book group talked about Chinese culture, what we loved and hated about Wang Lung's choices, the strength of O-lan, the way nature grounds us, and more. 

For next month's book group I get to pick the book. I've chosen All Thirteen. It's really SO good. It's winning all the awards right now. My review here. 

Teens and Adults, These Two are for You!

Most of what I've read and reviewed so far for Cybils nonfiction this year has been picture books. But now I'll share with you a couple of great books that weigh in at 200-300 pages. 

Fly Like a Girl: One Woman's Dramatic Fight in Afghanistan and on the Home Front by Mary Jennings Hegar

This is the young readers edition of Mary Jenning Hegar's autobiography, Shoot Like a Girl. In Fly Like a Girl, MJ shares her journey to becoming a Combat Search and Rescue Pilot, her experiences (good and bad), and some of her life after service. 

I found this book chock full of amazing stories. The writing is accessible and visceral -- I felt I was there with MJ. The way Hegar balances the description of events with her own feelings about them is really well done. I can't really see myself putting this into the hands of someone younger than high school age, because of the book's content. Gender discrimination is a big theme, of course, and Hegar touches on some of the assault she faced. I felt this was done well. That is to say, her experiences stayed on my mind for a while, but didn't give me nightmares. Hegar also did 3 tours in Afghanistan, and talks about her experiences with war. It was fascinating to hear not only about the exciting missions, but also about the typical day. Swearing is starred out in Fly Like a Girl -- but just the middle two letters of your average four letter word. So, this book is not going to teach any kids how to spell swears, but those who know them already will surely experience swearing as part of the reading. I really liked this book, and I won't soon forget it. 

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Ibram X. Kendi & Jason Reynolds

Stamped is also an adapted book, the cover proclaims it "A Remix of the National Book Award-winning Stamped From the Beginning."  I liked that this one was not called a "young readers edition" because I feel it would be great for adults, too. I'd like to get a copy of Stamped From the Beginning and compare the two books. 

Anyway, Stamped was so educational for me. I really appreciated how it quickly dove in and defined racism and antiracism. I have heard plenty about personal racism vs. institutional racism recently, but I haven't heard nearly as much about segregationist vs. assimilationist racism. (I did learn some about segregation, assimilation, and integration in college, for my TESOL minor.) After defining the terms, the book covers history and explains how racism began and continues. It is a fascinating book. 

I was annoyed a little bit by the tone and word choice of the book, sometimes. For instance, I wasn't wild about how the book started off saying "this is not a history book" but then backtracked and, what do you know, it is a history book. I think the tone is meant to be hip and accessible. It probably is. On the whole I found the book very good. I'm guessing, though, that Jason Reynolds was writing with black teens in mind, not white women. It wasn't usually a problem for me, but it did bother me when I felt like it was trying to make me feel a certain way, instead of presenting me with truths and letting me feel.

Stamped does a really good job of showing how complex and multifaceted Black Americans are. They're not a monolith. I'm convinced now that while a lot of Black people esteem famous Black Americans like Frederick Douglas, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and W. E. B Du Bois, some have mixed feelings about them and what they did. Just because I know one Black person and know how they feel about something doesn't mean I know how Black people feel about it. I hope I knew that already, but now I know it even more. 

I recommend this book. I feel like I have eyes that can see racism just a little bit better than before. I've noticed it and called it out in a few places that I wouldn't have, otherwise. And I'm curious to get my hands on Stamped From the Beginning to see if I find it even more educational.

    

A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II

Hello! Thought I'd pop in here and share my thoughts about my most recent read: A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II by Sonia Purnell.

My mom came to visit me, to help with our recent move, and on her way over she bought this book in the airport. She read it while she was here and kept telling us how Virginia Hall's life was SO compelling. When she was packing her bags I asked her to leave the book behind, so that I could read it. And because she cares more about my feelings than about the refund she would get if she returned it, she left it behind. Yay for moms!

9 Scary Books I Survived Reading (And Actually Recommend)!

I'm not really into scary books. I don't watch scary movies.

I was terrified and haunted by a Goosebumps book I read in my childhood, so I steer clear of those, but I can recommend these scary books.

You Should Definitely Read This Book: Mindset by Carol Dweck

I have just finished reading Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck.

I loved it.

I confess, I only read this book because it was picked for our book club. I had heard about how good the book was -- I even posted Lindsay Call's review of it four years ago, (see here, and see how I said that I wanted to read it to help me work more effectively with Levi! Ha!) but I didn't pick it up until now.

I guess because the concept of growth mindset took off like wildfire, and because I felt I agreed with it and did a pretty good job of living it, I didn't need to spend a lot of time reading a book about it. In fact, I was afraid this book would be a bit of a slog.

It was awesome.

The Other Side of the Bridge

About 6 months ago, my book club did The Orphan Keeper by Camron Wright. The Orphan Keeper tells the fascinating story of a man who was abducted as a child in India and sold to a couple in Utah who believe they are adopting an orphan. Once the couple (who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, like me and my book club friends) find out that the boy was not adopted, they make efforts to find his family, but all traces are lost in the scam, until years later. It's a true story that has been fictionalized for convenience, and I wished it was just the true story, but it made for a great book club discussion.

So, I was interested when I heard that author Camron Wright was coming out with The Other Side of the Bridge, a new, completely fictional story. I wanted to know if the book was any good, but I was still bound up with some Cybils work. So I asked Sarah, who chose and hosted our book club on The Orphan Keeper if she'd like to read it. And she said yes!

Sarah read the book, and I asked her lots of questions about it. We had a good discussion about The Other Side of the Bridge, and here's what we wrote together: 

I was really excited to read The Other Side of the Bridge but came away disappointed. The book follows the story of two seemingly unrelated characters. Katie is a young woman living in San Francisco, struggling with her father’s death and what she wants out of life, and writing a history of the Golden Gate bridge. Dave is a middle-aged man, living in New Jersey whose world turns upside down when his family is tragically killed. I felt like the book started off really well, but didn't finish strong.

My husband, Todd, decided to read it after I finished it and he really related to Dave, since they're the same age and each have a wife and three kids. But as the book went along, it became harder to relate to Dave. Todd thought that the whole book should have been about Dave's journey across the country. Instead, the trip was summarized and we didn't see into what Dave was thinking as he made this physical and emotional journey. As a result, the end felt rushed, and confusing.

As for me, I couldn't relate to either Katie or Dave very well. And the little bit of romance that happens in the book was so cheesy.

I liked that the eventual interaction between Dave and Katie was realistic though. Katie has been looking for Dave during her research, and though they meet once in person, when they later talk on the phone they don't realize that they've met before. That seemed true to life. 

I loved The Rent Collector; it really gave me a new perspective on how people in other countries live. I like stories about people thriving in adverse situations, and overcoming difficult circumstances. I loved The Orphan Keeper, too. Ultimately, I felt like The Other Side of the Bridge had all the ingredients to be breathtaking, but it in the end it was just “meh”. I felt like the book was reaching for something, but it didn't go deep enough. 

My Cousin Wrote a Book!

Hey, look! My cousin wrote a book!


Baker's Dozen by Amey Ziegler is billed as a "cozy romantic suspense." I admit I had no idea what that meant. So here's what I found out.

Baker's Dozen is about Andy Baker, a small-town reporter. She often works undercover and exposes bad guys, but this time she gets pulled into a bigger case and who happens to be involved? Our handsome love interest, Hugh, of course!

According to Cozy Romance v. Romance Romance, "Cozies often revolve around themes or small towns or both." This one definitely revolves around a theme and a town, and the suspense and mystery, just as much as the romance. So I guess that's what makes it "cozy"!

I had fun reading Baker's Dozen, even though I don't typically read romances, because I could see my cousin and her family in it. As I was reading I would think "Oh, that is SO Amey." And when we came into Andy Baker's costume room -- one of the most fun scenes in the book -- I thought of Amey's older sister Merilee. When the descriptions of guns came up I thought of Uncle Milo, and there were some great desert survival tips that probably come from Amey's time living in Arizona.

But you probably don't know my cousins! Will you like the book anyway?

The book doesn't have a lot of bad language (I can't remember any at the moment) or detailed descriptions of intimate relations. It does have some vivid violence, though. And here's something I found distracting -- the copy editing in the book needed help. Authors have no control over that, it's all up to the publishing house, and in my opinion they let too many typos slip in.
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I'd say if you like romances, you'll like it. My book club has done a couple of romances, namely Garden Spells and The Magic of Ordinary Days. If you liked those, Baker's Dozen is along the same lines, but with more of an action movie feel. (That's the suspense coming in.)

If you mixed Miss Congeniality humor with Bourne Identity suspense, you'd have Baker's Dozen by Amey Ziegler.

The Happiest Kids in the World

Hola! So I just enjoyed reading some new non-fiction I picked up at the library:

view on Amazon 

The Happiest Kids in the World: How Dutch Parents Help Their Kids by Doing Less by Rina Mae Acosta and Michele Hutchison

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book. I was (strangely) somewhat disappointed to learn that I was already doing many of the things the authors recommend. Isn't that odd?! I already doing a pretty good job of giving my kids a happy childhood!

The book has thirteen chapters, which mostly take the reader through the authors' thoughts on each age: prenatal, baby, preschooler, school kids, and teenagers, and also break out into particular topics like schooling, discipline, food, and sex education. I read the whole book and found interesting things in each chapter, but I felt like a lot of my reading was just enjoying hearing someone else's experiences, rather than enjoying learning something new. 

I already knew that I should take good care of myself and make sure my own physical, emotional and social needs were met. The authors talk about what wonderful sleepers Dutch children are, and . . . my kids are wonderful sleepers! When Benjamin, my oldest, was first born, my mom said to me, "Once he gets to be about 6 weeks old, he can sleep for 6 hours a night. I wish someone had told me that was possible and healthy with my firstborn!" That bit of advice was huge for me, and coming from my mom it was much more meaningful than coming from this book. The book was more like, "Dutch babies can sleep a lot! Can my babies do it? I'm not sure? I think it might be working? But it might just be a symptom of them growing older." 

It was kind of the same story with schooling: Dutch parents don't get really choosy about their kids schools, and don't pressure their kids (as much as parents in the US and UK) to perform well academically in school. I learned to be relaxed about school from my own mom. We never lived in a place that had a private school option. I grew up in a time before online school was a thing. My parents didn't pressure us to excel academically, because . . . we did that naturally, without pressure. I'm not saying I was immune to the cultural pressure to perform. I definitely felt that pressure. But I knew it wasn't coming from my parents. I knew if I got bad grades my parents would be like, "What do you think are the contributing factors here? How can we help you do better?" instead of slashing my privileges or withdrawing their love. 

And recently when my own son was struggling with enjoying Kindergarten, my mom gave me the good reminder that if a child can be happy at school, that's what makes life good. Kids spend so much time at school. So when the authors of the book were talking about how the Dutch let kids begin academics at their own pace and emphasize relationships above academics in primary grades, I was like, "Yeah. Thumbs up to that."

I think the biggest piece of advice from the book that I am putting into practice in my own life is to get my kids outdoors more. It was inspiring to read about Dutch people (and the authors!) going camping, biking through snowstorms, and just getting outdoors regardless of the weather. I have friends who are better at this than I am, so I have some real-life inspiration here, too. Anyway, the authors talked about how going outside and playing outside in inclement weather gives kids grit. 

So a few days ago we drove my oldest to a playdate, and on our way we passed a playground that we had never seen before. It was a good-looking playground, too! But it was actively raining. I thought about bringing it up, but didn't. But then my four-year-old daughter saw the playground on our way home and asked to stop at it. So I reminded myself of a few things: 1. Playing in the rain will give us grit. 2. When I was a kid I always played in the rain, because rain in AZ is a celebration worthy of dancing in the streets. 3. If the author Michele can take her kids biking through the snow and then dump them in a hot bath, I can totally take my kids to a playground in the rain and then do the same if need be. The fact that I found a towel in the back seat of the van cinched it, and I said we were going out!

Benjamin was at his playdate. Jubilee loved the idea from the start. But it took Levi (age 6) longer to warm up to the thought of playing at the park in the rain. He couldn't be coaxed out of the car until he had his umbrella up, and only then to run under the pavilion. But pretty soon he was swinging while holding his umbrella, and then you know how it's just easier to do things when you're not holding an umbrella . . . plus the rain let up a bit. So we got him by degrees. And once I could see that he was enjoying himself, I started really talking it up. "Wow, this is fun, isn't it? All the other kids think they can't come to the park today because it's raining, but we know you can!" Haha. Honestly it helped me that this park was not muddy at all. Very grassy, nice paved path, and rubber under the swings and playground area. So I'm not saying I'm hardcore yet. I'm just saying this book convinced me to try something I wouldn't have otherwise, and I think it made my kids a little happier.

Three good books!

Hi there! It looks like I've been holding out on you. I've got some good books to recommend, so here they are without further ado. All three are historical fiction with female protagonists. All three make great books for book club. The book covers are links to Amazon, as usual.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
I read this one because it was chosen by my book club, and I loved it. It was a lot of fun to read, tough to put down, and not too scary or gory, as some mysteries can be.

The story follows Flavia, a girl living on the family estate in England in ... gosh I can't remember what year. But she rides a bike and uses a telephone, though it is somewhat unusual that their home has "the instrument." When Flavia finds a dead body in the back garden, she does what 10-year-old girls do best: finds out as much information as possible as unobtrusively as she can. And of course that leads to trouble.

This book comes the absolute closest to a Nancy Drew mystery that I've read in adulthood. Flavia and Nancy are both young girl detectives with independent transportation and permissive families, but Nancy generally is appreciated by the police. Flavia is not.

It made for a good book discussion with questions like "How realistic do you think it is that Flavia had the skills needed to solve the mystery?" "When did you know who the murderer was?" and "What ages do you think this book would be appropriate for?" It was generally agreed that 12+ would be fine.

This is the first in the series, and I would mind reading the other ones at all. The mystery is all tied up at the finish, but some loose ends about the characters remain.

The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schlitz

I first heard this recommended by Leila Roy, who was gushing about it a couple of years ago. I finally picked it up, and I loved it. I was going to pick it for my next book club pick, but Bethany beat me to it!

The Hired Girl is the diary of a farm girl circa 1910. Her mother died a few years before the story opens, and we find her working like a slave (unpaid, unprivileged, constantly belittled) to keep the family farm going. When she sees advertisements for positions as a Hired Girl and realizes the worth of her work, she runs away from home and her abusive father. Of course, being a runaway in 1910 comes with its own huge set of challenges and learning experiences.

I think it can be really tricky to do a diary format novel right. I'm really picky about diary format, because I keep a personal diary. The author does a really good job here, and also makes the story so interesting that I was happy to forgive entries that seemed too long or too detailed to be completely realistic. The story was realistic, and captivating, and I can't wait to discuss it with the book club ladies. Everything from journal keeping and women working to domestic abuse and religion.

I loved the way that religion featured largely in the book. Religion features largely in my life, and I find that a lot of young adult literature these days doesn't touch the subject. our protagonists late mother was a different religion than her father, and other characters of other religions and various degrees of devotion to their religions are big in the book, and make the whole story more nuanced and believable.

The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer

Ashley has been telling me for a while now that I need to read some Georgette Heyer books. And as we all know Ashley has great taste. So I went over to the grown-up section and it looks like Heyer is prolific. I picked The Grand Sophy because I seemed to remember hearing about it before. Now that Bethany has stolen The Hired Girl as her book club pick, I think The Grand Sophy will be mine. (Do you hear that, friends? DIBS)

The Grand Sophy is set in post-Napoleonic England, and will remind you of Jane Austen's books if you've read them. (Heyer was not, however, a contemporary of Jane Austen. Heyer wrote The Grand Sophy in the 1950s.) The book follows a family in London whose situation is rough: father has gambled away all of the money, and his eldest son has inherited a fortune from an uncle. Because the eldest, Charles, has a good heart, he is helping his family out, but he's a bit of a tyrant about it. Into the picture comes cousin Sophy, who needs a place to stay while her father is out of the country on government business. She has all kinds of virtues and a few vices and upsets the apple cart in all the best ways.

This one was just SO fun to read. I laughed out loud several times and loved the scene with the moneylender, particularly. I have to wonder if Eugenia from the Mercy Watson books is named for Eugenia in this book. That will be something to ask Kate DiCamillo someday! Anyway, good call Ashley, and I'll definitely be reading some more Georgette Heyer.

A new kind of textbook: Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal

I really like a lot of Amy Krouse Rosenthal's books. I haven't read them all, because she's pretty prolific, but I definitely enjoyed Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life and I love her picture books Spoon, Little Pea, Bedtime for Mommy and others. If I spot a book of hers I haven't read, I stop and check it out.

Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal was no exception: I really liked it. I think I will probably pick it for my book club pick—my turn is coming up in January.

About the book:
The book is divided into sections: Geography, Social Studies, Art, Science, Midterm Essay, Romance Language, History, Music, Math, Language Arts and Final Review. In each section there are short pieces that could loosely fit in that category. Some are diagrams or charts, others take up a page or two, some are short enough to be a status update.

The most unique element of the book is the texting (SMS) component. At certain spots in your reading you're invited to pause and text something to the number given, and you're promised something in return. For instance in the Language Arts section, she shares a favorite poem and invites you to text if you'd like to hear the author reading the poem -- she recorded him reading it over 15 years ago.

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About my reading:
I found this book very easy to read. I read it straight through, but you could definitely skip around in it, if you like. I read a good chunk of it while on a trip to NYC with my friend and former roommate Hilary. I ended up reading section after section aloud to her, because they amused and amazed me and, since we were sitting on hotel beds just a few feet apart, I saw no reason to keep the fun to myself.

I also had to read some passages aloud to Jacob. It's just such an easy book to read that it almost feels like cheating. Some pages have very, very little text on them. But I loved it. I suppose if I had bought the book I might have been miserly and thought that less paper would have made it less expensive. I didn't buy the book though; the publisher sent me an advance copy for review. And I love the feeling of accomplishment I get when I finish a book, regardless of how little text was on any given page.

Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal came out August 9, 2016, and I recommend it. While there is no content in it that I'd be uncomfortable sharing with my kids, I think it will appeal most to adults who like thinking about life and art.