Here we are in a brand new year and before moving on to all the great books we will read this year it is time to put 2020 reading to bed. I belong to Goodreads which is a great app for keeping track of what you are currently reading, already read, and even a spot to put down what you might like to read in the future. They also have a challenge each year. At the beginning of the year, you make a note on your page as to how many books you would like to read for the year. I am happy to say my pledge last year was 50 books and I made that pledge, plus 3. This year I have pledged 55 books. It will be interesting to see if the world ever gets back to some kind of normal if my numbers will still be as high. Maybe the pandemic helped me out a bit this year. None the less, it was a great reading year and remained so all the way through December. So, let’s get busy.
Crazy Brave by Joy Harjo I loved this book. I had heard of her poetry but had never read her before. She actually was the poet laureate of the United States in 2019. I also have a strong connection with the Navajo people from Kayenta, Arizona so this memoir reached out to me. It was a short book but beautifully written, grounded in tribal myth and ancestry, music, and poetry and it details her journey to become a poet. It tells the history of the trail of tears and an abusive father and how she developed a strong connection with the natural world and deep spiritual life. Some of it I understood since we have spent some time on the Navajo reservation but it sure filled in a lot of pieces of the struggles they endured and still do. A fascinating read. 5 Stars.
Us Against You by Fredrik Backman This book actually brought to closure the story of Beartown about a hockey team and the residents who lived there. Beartown lost the local tournament and the town was divided when the star hockey player raped one of the young girls in town. Us Against You picks up the pieces and new teams are formed, the head coach is hired back to lead the new Beartown team and hopefully get back the victory and heal the town. I’m not a big hockey fan but I am a Backman fan and I was hoping this would be great but for me, it just wasn’t. The characters were not as engaging as he normally makes them and the storyline was just not my favorite…I’m only giving this 3 stars but it could be it’s just not my kind of story.
Finding Freedom by Scobie and Durand I have to admit, I’m a Royal fan. I have always loved England and London. My husband worked in England on and off for eight years so I was fortunate to visit often and we moved around throughout the country so I’m always excited when a new book comes out about some of my favorite Royals and Megan and Harry fit that bill. I find them so honest and open and this book revealed so much of the pressure that they were going through. It also highlighted much more of what it means to be a Royal. I remember when I was little I always thought it would be lovely to be a royal princess. I don’t think that way at all after reading this book. Then there is the bit about Harry’s obsession with the press and all in all it made sense that they wanted a quieter family life and a more normal routine for their son. I loved the book. I thought it was well written and showed many sides of the unique story of breaking away from the Royals. It is not easy. In the end, the love shared between a grandmother and grandson won out and they both have so much respect for each other…time will tell how this all works out but if you want a lovely, warmhearted read this would be your book. 5 Royal stars.
I’ll Be Seeing You by Elizabeth Berg I have read all of Elizabeth Berg’s books. That should tell you that she is a favorite of mine. I’ll Be Seeing You was her first (I think) memoir. It was the love story of her Mom and Dad and so much more. Elizabeth is an Army brat, so am I, she traveled, I didn’t. Her father sounded very much like mine in so many ways. The Army has a way of developing people with rules that stick and sometimes get brought home. At the core of this book though was the story of her Mom and Dad at the end of their life. She and her sister and brother did their best to see them through selling their home of many years and watching over them when they became sick. Her Dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. It was a heartfelt book, funny in places especially if you’ve ever had to deal with someone suffering from Alzheimer’s. It was also tender and joyful. I loved every page. It brought my own Dad home to me for a few days. 5 stars for this brilliant and loving memoir.
Bag of Bones by Stephen King I’m totally switching gears here…from memoir to horror. Actually, it wasn’t Stephen Kings’ old horror. This was quite good. I haven’t read King in such a long time and I had heard good things about this so thought I would give it a try and I loved it. It is the story of a novelist who suddenly loses his wife and is unable to stop grieving following her death. He lives in Maine in a lakeside house that he calls Sara Laughs. Then the crazy starts. There is an old guy in town who will do anything to take his three-year-old granddaughter away from her widowed mother. Mike is drawn into their struggle as he falls in love with both mother and child. Then the story gets gripping. A page-turner. Not exactly horror but then again, this is Stephen King we are talking about. 5 stars.
The Memory Book by Patti Miller So many pages underlined in this book. One of the best books that I have read on writing a memoir. It is a book that will stay in my office on a shelf with my other favorite writing books. Now if only I would get my ass in gear and write all the stories that run around in my head. Maybe this year. What I most liked about this book of memoir is that she talks a lot about writing about an aspect of life rather than a whole life. Just that sentence got me a bit unstuck. I’m not trying to write the great memoir book, rather I’m trying to write essays for myself and my family after I’m gone. I felt this compulsion after my Mom died and I realized how little I knew about her. So little that I never understood why she was the way she was. It has started me on a journey and I have written a few stories but I want to do more. No one had expressed just writing about an aspect and letting the stories build on their own. Anyone that is interested in writing anything would benefit from reading Patti Miller’s books. This one in particular. 5 stars.
We were getting into the Christmas season and I was looking forward to reading some new Christmas books or some old ones that I hadn’t gotten to in past years. First, though, I had a couple more interesting books to read but both were quick reads so I just dove right in.
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman The book does not show above because I leaned it to someone and I can’t remember who and whoever has it doesn’t know they have it is my guess. But moving on… I was a bit skeptical about trying another Backman book but this one was not about hockey and I gave it a try. I’m glad I did. A delightful story with a bit of a mystery to it. I like when that happens. The story of a down and out person who decides to rob a bank and botches that. So they run into an apartment building that is having a real estate showing and the person hides out in there as the police are looking for the bank robber. So the story goes…all the people looking to buy the apartment have stories of their own and then the mystery starts. It was a really good romp of a book. Fun, sad, but in the end, uplifting. My faith was redeemed in Mr. Backman.
Promise Me, Dad by Joe Biden I like Joe Biden, I always have. Maybe it’s his grandfatherly way. He reminds me a lot of my Grandfather even though he and I are not that far apart in age. When he decided to run for President again, I decided I wanted to know more about him and his family. I had heard an interview about this book and so I knew that would be a good book for me. I found it to be very sincere and honest. I often wondered as I was reading it how anyone could go through what he went through when his wife and baby daughter died and still get up each day to take care of his young boys who were also hurt in that car accident. I came away knowing that it was his strong faith and his love of Jill that got him through. I really enjoyed this book and it made me think of some of my own struggles through life and how we all have strong coping skills if we have faith. I’m giving Joe 5 Stars…
The Penguin Book Of Christmas Stories from Hans Christian Andersen to Angela Carter About a month before Christmas I got this book in the mail from my son. He often sends me books with little notes in them during the year if he thinks it would be something I would like and not likely find. I love that he does that. We have a great love of sharing words. Anyways, I digress. The first thing that I noticed was the cover. Even if you don’t read this book, go to Amazon and look at the cover. It’s like a beautiful New England painting. Simple and stark but the little red barn holds the truth. This is a wonderful coffee table book full of little stories and essays by some wonderful authors. Christmas stories from all over the world and how traditions are different. I honestly enjoyed this book and each year I will put it out on the living room table and perhaps reread some of my favorite stories. BTW, if you need a nice gift to send someone at Christmas, send this. It’s a book for everyone. 5 Stars for Christmas.
A Paris Christmas Immovable Feast by John Baxter I love John Baxter he is informative and witty. I also like anything about Paris…just waiting for my vaccine and a clean plane and I’ll be on my way. From the back cover “A witty and culinary education, charming and funny, and improbable tale of how a man who was raised on white bread and didn’t speak a word of French unexpectedly ended up with the sacred duty of preparing the annual Christmas dinner for a venerable Parisian family.” An American who moved to Paris to marry the love of his life and it was his job to feed 18 of his newfound relatives. A great little book. 4 Stars
Holiday on Ice by David Sedaris Here is another author I have seen and heard lots about. The cover of the book was so festive I just felt this was the best time to try him out. A Christmas book of small essays and stories…Well, folks, either I missed the jokes or this book was not up to all the hype I had heard of how witty he was. I must say for a small book I really struggled with it. I don’t even think I finished it. I know not every book we read can be a five-star book but I’m hard-pressed to even give this a 3 star. So for this one, if you are a David Sedaris fan let me know what you think. Maybe it’s just not my kind of humor I’m going with 2 stars here.
Twig by Elizabeth Orton Jones Here is another book that you must go and look at the cover. It’s just the sweetest cover ever. Let me tell you the story of Twig and how I decided to read her for Christmas this year. The book goes out every Christmas season because it reminds me of Christmas, the colors and style. I have never read Twig but I actually thought it was a Christmas book. A few years back one of my friends suggested this book to all of us in our book group. We were only 5 in that book group and the criteria were that you had to be over 60 when we started it. I don’t know about the others but I bought the book and put it on the shelf. A few years back my friend died but every time I looked at Twig Esther came to mind and I would smile. I’m not sure why this year I decided to read it but I did. Can you imagine my surprise when I read it was for ages 6-12? Then I read the fly cover and the back cover. The Author was nicknamed Twig more than 50 years ago. She was born on June 25th, 1910, the same year as my Miss Margaret in Highland Park, Illinois. In the early 40’s she moved to a house in Mason, New Hampshire, close to where my brother lived before he died, that she bought with her first Royalty check from this well-loved book. That was enough for me. So I read this delightful book and I thought of backyards, imagination, and fairy houses. I thought of magic and fun interweaved with reality and kindness which belongs to the very young. This was one of my favorites books of the season. A chapter book that I will read to my grandsons when we can gather again in the big chair with snuggles and tea. I know why Esther loved it and I saw a bit of Miss Margaret’s world before I knew her. Check out this darling book of days gone by…see if they stir a few memories for you…5 beautiful stars…
So these were the last pages of 2020. It was a great reading year and it really helped me get through the pandemic. We are not out of the woods yet but no worries, I have many more books to read. I can’t imagine life without books and words. So many times over the years words have saved me. I hope you enjoy reading about these books and find a few that you know you must try. Also, I would love to hear about any that you have loved and enjoyed. There is always room on the shelf for a few more.
I’m wishing you the most amazing year. May you be healthy, happy, and find love in all that you do. Most importantly, don’t forget to read…and write if that also interests you…
“When Sun leaves at dusk, it makes a doorway. We have access to ancestors, to eternity. Breathe out. Ask for forgiveness. Let all hurts and failures go. Let them go.
Joy Harjo...Crazy Brave”
