Summer Book Reviews: Part 2
1.) Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
I am still on my quest to read more classics and Jane Austen and the Brontes are my safe harbors. It's hard to dislike anything written by them and this book was utterly enjoyable as well. Yay classics!!
From Goodreads:
Northanger Abbey is often referred to as Jane Austen's Gothic parody. Decrepit castles, locked rooms, mysterious chests, cryptic notes, and tyrannical fathers give the story an uncanny air, but one with a decidedly satirical twist. The story's heroine is Catherine Morland, an innocent seventeen-year-old woman from a country parsonage. While spending a few weeks in Bath with a family friend, Catherine meets and falls in love with Henry Tilney, who invites her to visit his family estate, Northanger Abbey. Once there, Catherine, a great reader of Gothic thrillers, lets the shadowy atmosphere of the old mansion fill her mind with terrible suspicions. What is the mystery surrounding the death of Henry's mother? Is the family concealing a terrible secret within the elegant rooms of the Abbey? Can she trust Henry, or is he part of an evil conspiracy? Catherine finds dreadful portents in the most prosaic events, until Henry persuades her to see the peril in confusing life with art.
OH. MY. GOSH. I was surprised at how much I liked this book. It was so funny and I loved the parody of the Gothic novel genre of the time. The novel is witty and sarcastic. I often found myself chuckling away. Jane Austen was a genius and this book is brilliant. I was thoroughly charmed.
My Rating: I LOVED IT!
2.) 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker
From Goodreads:
American life can be excessive, to say the least. That’s what Jen Hatmaker had to admit after taking in hurricane victims who commented on the extravagance of her family’s upper middle class home. She once considered herself unmotivated by the lure of prosperity, but upon being called “rich” by an undeniably poor child, evidence to the contrary mounted, and a social experiment turned spiritual was born. 7 is the true story of how Jen (along with her husband and her children to varying degrees) took seven months, identified seven areas of excess, and made seven simple choices to fight back against the modern-day diseases of greed, materialism, and overindulgence.
Because I enjoyed her book For the Love so much I decided to immediately read another one of her books. This is one of her most well-known. I was hoping that I would like this book just as much. Unfortunately, I did not. The premise was intriguing. A social experiment with a spiritual basis...Hatmaker and her family identified seven areas of excess: food, clothing, spending, media, possessions, waste, and stress, and attempted to remove one of those areas from their lives each month. She writes in a diary format about how it is going for herself and her family in each area. I found it interesting to read about how exactly she and her family were going execute their plan each month. How they went about removing the excess from each of these areas in their lives was pretty drastic. For example, during the month where the emphasis was food, Hatmaker resolved to only eat 7 foods for the entire month. Or only wearing 7 items of clothing in a month. The take away message is that we have too much excess in our lives, that we can live (and thrive!) with less, and that we can take our over abundance and use it to help those around us in big ways. I agree with all of it. But for whatever reason this book didn't really do it for me...I just didn't LOVE it. Her self-deprecating tone in this book got to be a little bit too much for me whereas I really enjoyed her voice in For the Love. There is another Hatmaker book that I am interested in reading so I will give her another try. She is quite entertaining to follow on social media. I highly recommend doing so.
My Rating: An interesting look at over consumption in our society.
3.) Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte
From Goodreads:
At age 19 Anne Brontë left home and worked as a governess for a few years before becoming a writer. Agnes Grey was an 1847 novel based on her experience as a governess. Bronte depicts the precarious position of a governess and how that can affect a young woman. Agnes was the daughter of a minister whose family was in financial difficulty. She has only a few choices for employment. Agnes experiences the difficulty of reining in spoiled children and how wealth can corrupt morals.
I find the Brontes fascinating. As I am now reading even more of their books, I find them even more so. Charlotte, Emily, Branwell, and Anne. Their lives, their deaths, their imaginary world and lost writings. It's good stuff. This was my first Anne Bronte novel. While perhaps not as entertaining as Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights, this novel was still an enjoyable read albeit less complex. She did a fantastic job describing the nasty charges and woeful conditions of Agnes Grey...the Bloomfield children (little psychopaths!) and the naughty Murray sisters. It was delightful. She also did a wonderful job of depicting social class and the working conditions of women who were in domestic service...especially the lowly governess... as completely powerless. The feeling was palpable. This novel is quiet, perhaps like Anne herself, with gentle prose and is much less dramatic than some of her sisters' works. Still, I found the trials of the long-suffering Agnes Grey highly readable. I look forward to reading Anne Bronte's more popular work, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.
My Rating: Lovely
4.) Looking For Lovely by Annie F. Downs
From Goodreads:
“I want you to take every step of your life with excitement for where you are headed. And I want you to feel beautiful and confident as you do.” But how? When the enemy whispers lies that you are not smart enough, pretty enough, or rich enough? Or you are too dumb, too loud, too quiet, too thin, too fat, too much or not enough? What if you don’t have what it takes to be who you really want to be? In Looking for Lovely, Annie F. Downs shares personal stories, biblical truth, and examples of how others have courageously walked the path God paved for their lives by remembering all God had done, loving what was right in front of them, and seeing God in the everyday..."
This is another Christian author that I have heard interviewed on various podcasts and have enjoyed. She is extremely likable. She has written another book popular called, Let's All Be Brave. Perhaps I should have started there. I just didn't enjoy this book as much as I had hoped.
This book is highly personal. The author talks candidly about her "broken crazy". Sometimes to the point that I felt a little uncomfortable. The author shares experiences from her life and allows herself to be quite vulnerable. She shares how she has used her trials and experiences to move forward and to "look for the lovely" i.e. God's hand and His many tender mercies in her life. Gratitude is healing. That message is one that is so important for the world to hear. Downs' tone is conversational and easy to read. Her message is that we are all works in progress and that God loves us unconditionally. So while I appreciate her candor and her message, the book didn't grab me.
My Rating: Okay
5.) Lady Susan by Jane Austen
From Goodreads:
Beautiful, flirtatious, and recently widowed, Lady Susan Vernon seeks an advantageous second marriage for herself, while attempting to push her daughter into a dismal match. A magnificently crafted novel of Regency manners and mores that will delight Austen enthusiasts with its wit and elegant expression.
I had never even heard of this particular Jane Austen book before I went looking on my Kindle for free classics. What a delight to come upon it!! It was so much fun and so clever! I thoroughly enjoyed the epistolary style it was written in. The letters back and forth from the various characters in the book were so entertaining. It was tremendous fun to read about the dastardly doings of the coquettish and scheming Lady Susan and her equally awful friend, Mrs. Johnson. I loved the fretting and disgust of her sister-in-law, Mrs. Vernon. It was a fun and very quick read. I also just found...today in fact...that the movie Love and Friendship is in fact the movie version of Lady Susan. Perfect timing! Can't wait to see it.
My Rating: Fun!
6.) The Good, The Bad, and The Grace of God by Jep and Jessica Roberston
From Goodreads:
Jep Robertson, the youngest son of Duck Commander, Phil Robertson, and his wife, Jessica, open up about their personal trials, their early years together, and the challenges that might have destroyed them both had the grace of God not intervened. Jep describes being molested as a child and his reluctance to tell anyone until only a few years ago, his downward spiral into drug and alcohol abuse, and the eventual intervention of his family. Jessica shares about the difficult failure of her first marriage while still a teenager and the hurt that came along with it, much of it from the church. Her insecurities spun out of control as she wondered whether she would ever be good enough or pretty enough. This book is their love story but, more importantly, their love story for God.
I preface this review as I do with each of my reviews of a book written by any of the Robertsons. If you like them, you will like this book. What I particularly love about the Robertsons, besides their love of family, is their willing to share their faith and their love of God in a big and public way. They take a lot of hits and criticism for it too. I completely respect that, especially in our society that vilifies and tears down people of faith. I also appreciate their openness. I particularly enjoy reading books that lack pretension and that the author(s) are real and honest. Even when it doesn't cast them in the best possible light. That is somewhat the case in this book at times. All in all, it was a quick and enjoyable read. I appreciate the themes of overcoming trials, forgiveness, redemption, and sharing the love of Christ.
My Rating: Pretty good.
7.) The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
From Goodreads:
'They say Aslan is on the move. Perhaps he has already landed,' whispered the Beaver. Edmund felt a sensation of mysterious horror. Peter felt brave and adventurous. Susan felt as if some delightful strain of music had just floated by. And Lucy got that feeling when you realize it's the beginning of summer. So, deep in the bewitched land of Narnia, the adventure begins. They opened a door and entered a world--Narnia--the land beyond the wardrobe, the secret country known only to Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. Lucy is the first to stumble through the back of the enormous wardrobe in the professor's mysterious old country house, discovering the magic world beyond. At first, no one believes her. But soon Edmund, Peter and Susan, too, discover the magic and meet Aslan, the Great Lion, for themselves. And in the blink of an eye, they are changed forever.
When I was in 3rd grade my father gave me a boxed set of The Chronicles of Narnia for Christmas that year. This was the exact cover of my own copy of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. That set got lost somewhere during my college years so you can imagine my joy when I found the same boxed set at a thrift store in Portland. I was thrilled. I instantly began reading them to my two youngest daughters. These books were magical to me as a young girl. I loved each and every book in the set particularly The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and the last book in the series, The Last Battle. Even as a non-religious little girl who knew pretty much nothing about the Bible, I knew that these books...and Aslan in particular...had something to do with Jesus and I was drawn to them.
Now years later, I am a mother of four children and a woman of faith. It was fun to read this book to my daughters, who are quite knowledgeable of the scriptures, and watch them make the connection. It was magic. They also enjoyed the references to being "Daughters of Eve" they thought that was pretty cool. I loved this book as a child and I think that I loved it even more while sharing it with my own children.
My Rating: Excellent!
8.) The Girls Series by Rachel Hollis
From Goodreads:
Book 1: Party Girl
Landon Brinkley’s dreams are all coming true. She’s landed an internship with the fabulous Selah Smith, event planner for the Hollywood elite, taking her from small-town Texas to the bright lights of LA. Landon soon finds herself in a world in which spending a million dollars on an event—even a child’s birthday party—is de rigueur and the whims of celebrity clients are life-and-death matters. At first, the thrill of working on A-list parties and celebrity weddings is enough to get Landon through the seventy-five-hour workweeks and endless abuse at the hands of her mercurial boss. But when the reality of the business reveals itself, she’s forced to make a choice: do whatever it takes to get ahead, or stay true to herself. Drawing on the author’s real-life experiences as an event planner to the stars, Party Girl takes readers on an adventure among Hollywood’s most beautiful—and most outrageous—people, revealing the ugly side of Hollywood’s prettiest parties.
Book 2: Sweet Girl
Max Jennings is in a bad mood. It’s not anything you did; it’s just that secrets from her past make it her natural state of being. But she’s not going to talk about it or share her feelings, so don’t bother asking. Max’s bad mood means that very few people actually truly understand her or know that her secret dream is to be a pastry chef. When a rare opportunity to work for world-famous Avis Phillips presents itself, Max jumps at the chance. Avis and her staff aren’t stingy with the tough love, so Max spends every spare minute practicing her craft. As she bakes brownies and custards, cookies and galettes, she builds an unlikely friendship with a man she once loathed and finds herself falling into something she’s spent the last six years avoiding. Will she let her painful past stand in the way, or will she muster the strength to forgive herself and realize her full potential?
Book 3: Smart Girl
Brilliant designer Miko Jin is a hopeless romantic. She’s spent most of her life falling in love over and over again…with the men she finds in the pages of her favorite novels. When Miko meets Liam Ashton, it’s love at first sight. At least, for her. Sure, the two of them are polar opposites, and yes, he seems to be dating someone new each week. But Miko knows what true love is and that you can’t rush it—after all, what she lacks in real-world experience, she makes up for in book smarts. With novels as her guide, and her best friends by her side, she knows she can get Liam to love her back. But just like any good romance novel, fate has a few plot twists in store. Will Miko get her own happy ending? Will she find the strength to stand up for what she deserves even if it means breaking her own heart?
Novella: The Party Girl's First Date
Landon Brinkley is twenty-four years old and she’s never been on a real date. That’s mostly because she’s been working so hard on her dreams she hasn’t had time to bother with men. But then Brody Ashton walked into her life and since he looks like an underwear model (but you know, with clothes on) it was kind of impossible not to take notice. So Landon and Brody are dating now, or really, beginning to. It’s all very new and exciting and there’s only one problem… they still haven’t gone on a real date. So that’s what tonight is supposed to be; magical, romantic, expensive… and it's about to go horribly wrong.
This is a book series that I heard about on a podcast. I really love podcasts!! :) The author was being interviewed and I loved her!! She is hilarious and inspiring. Rachel Hollis has a lifestyle blog called The Chic Site, a fun Instagram account, and a great YouTube channel as well. I didn't think that I would enjoy the books as much as I did. It was a fun surprise. Take them for what they are and were intended to be...delightful chic lit. They are sweet, cute, funny, awkward, and charming. I breezed through them...including the novella... in less than a week. They are great summer reads. I read the Kindle editions. They are super cheap. The first book and the last book are based on the author's own experiences. The first book is about her time working with celebrities as a party planner in Hollywood and the third book is based on her relationship with her husband. I also loved all the literary references in the third book. I got each and every one of them. #booknerd. It was my favorite book in the series.
My Rating: Great fun!
9.) A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg
From Goodreads:
When Molly Wizenberg's father died of cancer, everyone told her to go easy on herself, to hold off on making any major decisions for a while. But when she tried going back to her apartment in Seattle and returning to graduate school, she knew it wasn't possible to resume life as though nothing had happened. So she went to Paris, a city that held vivid memories of a childhood trip with her father, of early morning walks on the cobbled streets of the Latin Quarter and the taste of her first pain au chocolat. She was supposed to be doing research for her dissertation, but more often, she found herself peering through the windows of chocolate shops, trekking across town to try a new pâtisserie, or tasting cheeses at outdoor markets, until one evening when she sat in the Luxembourg Gardens reading cookbooks until it was too dark to see, she realized that her heart was not in her studies but in the kitchen...Molly Wizenberg recounts a life with the kitchen at its center.
I love a good food memoir and this one came highly recommended. The author has a blog called Orangette that I have perused a time or two. She and her husband also have a restaurant in Seattle called Delancy. I have never been there but I would definitely like to give it a try sometime. The book is written as a selection of very readable essays with correlating recipes at the end of each chapter. You can read the book by reading a few essays one day and then picking it up again to read a few more another day or you can read it straight through like I did. I was hooked by page 11 when I read this:
"...You can tell a lot about someone by their potato salad. I like to think of it as the Roschach test of foods." (page 11)
I have TOTALLY thought that!! Seriously!! (Just like you can learn a lot about a person by asking them what their five favorite books are.) Both can be deal breakers. I love potato salad and am VERY PARTICULAR about it. Luckily Tyler and I are potato salad compatible. That could have been a big problem in our marriage. Huge.
**SIDE NOTE: Growing up I thought that there was only one way to make potato salad...the way my mother makes it. Little did I know as I ventured out into the world how many possible ways there are to make such a basic comfort food. So many terrible...disgusting...ways. My mom's recipe is based off of her mother's recipe but jazzed up a bit. My Grandma Ellersick made hers with russet potatoes, eggs, dill pickles and mayo (Best Foods of course.) Pretty bland. My mom took that recipe and ran with it...she changed it up a bit though... and added red potatoes, eggs, dill pickles, green onions, salt and pepper and mustard. When I went to college my roommate/BFF also made her potato salad the same way as my mom did (it was her mother's recipe) and thus we knew that we would/could be life-long friends. My step-grandma (My Nana) made hers with eggs, russet potatoes, sweet pickles, sweet onions and miracle whip. (inedible). My dad's mom bought hers from the grocery store in a plastic tub. (Also inedible) My mother-in-law makes hers with russet potatoes, celery (are you kidding me?), eggs, miracle whip, and the barest squirt of mustard. (No.) The author's father's potato salad has caraway seeds, red onions, no eggs, fresh dill and ranch dressing. See, you really can learn a lot about people from their potato salad!!
My recipe is based on my mom's recipe that I have jazzed up and a hint I got from my cousin Hannah. I feel that it is the gold star of potato salads:
Kristin Johnson's Potato Salad:
yellow new potatoes
boiled eggs
green onions
dill pickles
sweet pickles (this dill/sweet combo I got from Hannah)
Best Foods Mayo (No substitutions)
French's Yellow Mustard (No substitutions)
Grey Poupon Dijon Mustard (No substitutions)
Salt and Pepper
I like my potato salad pretty egg-y. I also like a lot of pickles (of both varieties). When preparing...I get a small bowl and mix up the mayo, both kinds of mustard (I like mine very mustard-y), and add in a big slosh of dill pickle juice from the dill pickle jar (I learned that from my weird Uncle Clayton). Whisk it all together and pour the velvety sauce over the potatoes, eggs, pickles, and green onions that have been generously salt and peppered. Whisking up the sauce makes it so much better and with the addition of the pickle juice it coats beautifully. I like to eat mine when the potatoes and eggs are still slightly warm...it must be the German in me. **
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So, if you can wax philosophical about potato salad you will probably like this book. At times the author can be fairly pretentious but most foodie-types are...myself included. I found it cozy reading about recipes and the relationships behind them. The author talks about how when we go into the kitchen we never go alone. We take with us all of our friends and family members whose recipes we make. I truly believe that! It also makes time travel possible. One bite of a certain food and I am in another time and place. I love that! I also quite enjoyed the book.
My Rating: A cozy foodie read.
