More Book Reviews
1.) Eat Cake and Be Brave by Melissa Radke
I stumbled upon Melissa Radke via Youtube. She has some hilarious videos that went viral. I started following her on social media and was impressed not only with her humor but also with her deep faith. She is equal parts funny and serious. She loves the Lord and is bold in her faith
. I have enjoyed listening to interviews with her on several podcasts and she also has her own podcast called
Ordinary People. Ordinary Things. I highly recommend following her on Instagram. Her insta-stories are HILARIOUS!! I was excited to read her book. I just love her.
From Goodreads:
My name is Melissa Radke, and there is a very real chance you have no idea who I am or why I wrote a book. But admit it, you're curious! Even though millions of people seem to like watching my videos bemoaning the trials of parenting, marriage, French braiding, faith, and living life as an anti-aging female, you may still be wondering who let me write a book. I mean, books are written by people who have been interviewed by Gayle King and say things like, "You see, Gayle, I was having a root canal and I literally died in the chair. I saw heaven. Also, when I came back to earth I could speak Mandarin."
Yeah, that didn't happen to me. No Mandarin. Though I have been known to break out in song! (My voice was once described as a "ray of light in a dark world" . . . but I think my dad was being a little dramatic.) Although if Gayle King were to ever ask me I would tell her: "I wrote this book between taking my kids to the local pool and picking out flip-flops at Old Navy, and the only metaphysical moment I experienced came right after I looked directly into one of those mirrors with 10x magnification."
I wrote this book because when I turned 41 I made a decision to be brave. To live brave -bolder and freer. You see, I thought our lives were supposed to change when we turned 40...but mine didn't. Yet every piece of it changed when I turned 41; when I set out to prove that it wasn't too late for me, that careless words wouldn't stunt me and rejection would not stop me. And maybe, just maybe, it will take you reading about the journey I took to finding my sense of self-worth in order for you to rightfully believe in yours. This book is about how all the years of my life led up to the one that changed it. So, cut a big slice and raise a fork...
The book was great! It is just like what I thought it would be. Equal parts hilarious and equal parts tender and serious. I listened to the audiobook version and hearing Melissa read it herself is probably the very best way to enjoy this book. Melissa is funny and at times heart-breaking. She is vulnerable and painfully real. I loved the chapter about her dad and how he would hide money and little gifts for her around her house. So good!
My Rating: Good! Relatable and entertaining.
2.) Saints: The Standard of Truth
One day my daughter came home from seminary very excited to tell me about a book that I should read. They were discussing in her seminary class this new book that had come out that was all about the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Her seminary teacher loved it and was recommending it to all of her seminary students. Ailey thought that, me being the book reader that I am, would love to read this. I was intrigued. It is completely fact based... if they say it was raining on this day it was raining on that day. If someone is quoted as saying something that person actually said that. The amount of time and research that have gone into what will be a multi-volume series is staggering. I was also excited to learn that the book does not gloss over some of the more difficult and controversial parts of the history of the church. They are addressed head on. I also watched a church face-to-face broadcast all about this book that interviewed several of the historians who worked on this enormous project. I downloaded the book to my kindle and had it take the place of my night time insomnia classic. This book also did the trick. Interesting enough to read but not so engrossing that I couldn't fall back asleep. Although some parts were riveting and sad and interesting and difficult and uplifting. I feel like my emotions ran the gamut while reading this book.
From Goodreads:
In 1820, a young farm boy in search of truth has a vision of God the Father and Jesus Christ. Three years later, an angel guides him to an ancient record buried in a hill near his home. With God’s help, he translates the record and organizes the Savior’s church in the latter days. Soon others join him, accepting the invitation to become Saints through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. But opposition and violence follow those who defy old traditions to embrace restored truths. The women and men who join the church must choose whether or not they will stay true to their covenants, establish Zion, and proclaim the gospel to a troubled world. The Standard of Truth is the first book in Saints, a new, four-volume narrative history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Fast-paced, meticulously researched, Saints recounts true stories of Latter-day Saints across the globe and answers the Lord’s call to write history “for the good of the church, and for the rising generations” (Doctrine and Covenants 69:8)
I think that this book is a great foundational history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I feel like I have a much deeper understanding of those early (and often misunderstood) Saints. It also helped that I had just finished studying
The Doctrine and Covenants in my Institute class. We took two years to cover it in depth and my instructor was amazing. She taught us so much about those early days of the church. I felt like this book helped to solidify that knowledge. The book fleshes out those early days in the life of Joseph Smith and as he went on to do God's work of restoring the gospel.
The narrative is well told and easy to read. It's definitely reader friendly. I felt that the writing was almost too simplistic but I understand the need for it. The book is informative and extensively footnoted. Some of those footnotes were the most interesting parts of the book. I read the electronic version so I was able to just click on the link and go right to the footnote which made it very easy.
What I found refreshing about the book is that it acknowledges that the men and women of the early church were human...with flaws, frailties, and weaknesses. They had issues. Personally and as a group. Joseph Smith wasn't perfect. He too was human and made mistakes. The situations that they were in were complex. No one knew what they were doing. It is easy to look back after 200 plus years and make judgments about how situations were handled. The early saints were doing the best they could. They didn't have a well-structured example to follow. They were learning as they went. Some of those early church leaders had legitimate concerns about Joseph's leadership. It gave me a new perspective on why some of those early church leaders struggled and left the church. I have much more empathy for those early saints than I did before and a much deeper appreciation for what they went through and the persecution that they faced. I am staggered by the hardships that those early saints experienced and the incredible strength of their faith. Reading this book made those trials and struggles more real to me than they have ever been before. I asked myself many times, "Would I have stayed if I had to endure what they endured?" I doubt it.
You know who is a rockstar to me? Emma Smith! Wow. What that woman went through...she is amazing. I felt so deeply for her and now feel so much more of a connection to her that I ever have before. I gained a much greater understanding of what she went through and how she must have felt and was amazed that she just kept going. Lucy Mack Smith too. I am in awe. I loved the emphasis on different perspectives in the book particularly those of the women!! This is something that has not been emphasized in the past and I absolutely loved it.
I appreciated the transparency and willingness of the church to discuss the more controversial and turbulent parts of our history. I appreciated having some of the more sensationalized parts of our history put into the proper context while still addressing them head on. My testimony of Joseph Smith has grown. Who would go through what he went through, watched his family go through, watched his friends go through, if he didn't really see what he saw and know what he knew. No one would. I am grateful for the perspective that I gained about the restoration and seeing how the amazing work of the Lord has continued to go forth. I look forward to reading the next book in the series as this one ended with a bit of a cliff hanger. As a side note, it was fun to read about some of my husband's ancestors and some of my own distant relatives.
My Rating: A good basic history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
3.) The Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly
This book has been on my to-read list for a long time. My mom recommended it to me a few years ago and I just never got around to reading it. This was my book club's February 2019 pick. It tells the story of the Ravensbruck "rabbits"... 74 Polish women who were political prisoners and the subjects of horrific abuse, medical experimentation, and sterilization while imprisoned at the concentration camp there. Ravensbruck was Hitler's only concentration camp exclusively for women.
From Goodreads:
New York socialite Caroline Ferriday has her hands full with her post at the French consulate and a new love on the horizon. But Caroline’s world is forever changed when Hitler’s army invades Poland in September 1939—and then sets its sights on France. An ocean away from Caroline, Kasia Kuzmerick, a Polish teenager, senses her carefree youth disappearing as she is drawn deeper into her role as courier for the underground resistance movement. In a tense atmosphere of watchful eyes and suspecting neighbors, one false move can have dire consequences.For the ambitious young German doctor, Herta Oberheuser, an ad for a government medical position seems her ticket out of a desolate life. Once hired, though, she finds herself trapped in a male-dominated realm of Nazi secrets and power.The lives of these three women are set on a collision course when the unthinkable happens and Kasia is sent to Ravensbrück, the notorious Nazi concentration camp for women. Their stories cross continents—from New York to Paris, Germany, and Poland—as Caroline and Kasia strive to bring justice to those whom history has forgotten.
There is still so much to learn about WWII. I have read so many books about WWII from so many different angles and perspectives and every single time I learn something new and horrifying. I often have to gear myself up to read books about WWII because the subject matter is so horrific and heart-wrenching. But despite my occasional reluctance to read another WWII novel, memoir, or biography I am always glad that I did and I am always grateful for the knowledge that I gain. What happened during that time can never be forgotten.
This story is told from the perspectives of Caroline, Kasia, and Herta...three women from three different countries: USA, Poland, and Germany. The story spans 20 years...1939 to 1959. It is based on real people and real events. Caroline and Herta are real people and Kasia is loosely based on a Ravensbruck survivor and her sister. The different perspectives of the story were interesting because we hear what happens from Kasia who is a victim, Herta who is a perpetrator, and Caroline who is a rescuer. It was an interesting way to weave the story. I have not read a WWII novel from the perspective of a Nazi sympathizer before and yes, it was extremely disturbing.
I expected the novel to end with the end of the war but it did not. This is only the second WWII book that I have read that talks about the post-war aftermath and how the people suffered long after the war was over...mentally and physically. (Unbroken was the other book.) PTSD haunted the survivors and affected them far into the future. It wasn't always a happy ending for them when/if they were liberated. It was interesting to learn more about Poland and the conditions there which did not improve after the war ended and it was left under the rule of Stalin and his communist regime.
The stories of Kasia and Caroline are incredibly impactful and unforgettable. The real life Caroline Ferriday was a force to be reckoned with. What an amazing woman! And the women who survived Ravensbruck....There are simply not words to describe their courage and bravery. On the other hand, Herta Oberheuser and her actions are horrifying and disturbing. She did torturous medical experiments and killed many women and children by lethal injection and from the results of her medical experimentation. It is haunting. This is a story that I will continue to think about for many years to come.
My Rating: Good. A story of survival and perseverance.
4.) Fire and Blood by George R.R. Martin
While impatiently waiting for the final Game of Thrones book...Winds of Winter. It has been a long wait! I was slightly annoyed when a 719 page book came out by George R.R. Martin that WASN'T Winds of Winter. I don't understand Martin and his bizarre writing process. Come on! Finish the series. But since the wait for Winds of Winter looks like it will be quite a bit longer I decided to read Fire and Blood. But really! Why is he writing this before finishing the Game of Throne series?? This could easily have been written AFTER! He is THE MOST frustrating author.
From Goodreads:
Centuries before the events of A Game of Thrones, House Targaryen—the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria—took up residence on Dragonstone. Fire and Blood begins their tale with the legendary Aegon the Conqueror, creator of the Iron Throne, and goes on to recount the generations of Targaryens who fought to hold that iconic seat, all the way up to the civil war that nearly tore their dynasty apart. What really happened during the Dance of the Dragons? Why did it become so deadly to visit Valyria after the Doom? What is the origin of Daenerys’s three dragon eggs? These are but a few of the questions answered in this essential chronicle, as related by a learned maester of the Citadel and featuring more than eighty all-new black-and-white illustrations by artist Doug Wheatley. Readers have glimpsed small parts of this narrative in such volumes as The World of Ice & Fire, but now, for the first time, the full tapestry of Targaryen history is revealed.
I went into reading this book slightly annoyed and then I ended up liking it and then I finished it annoyed yet again. This book tells the story of the Targaryen
dynasty. I got pulled right in. I love the Seven Kingdoms and I begrudgingly enjoyed the book. The writing style is unique... it is written like a history book not a novel. There is very little dialogue
. It is the history of Westeros
and the Targaryens
. At first the writing style was a little hard to get into...all tell and no show... but I kept at it and once I did I was hooked. It is a detailed account of the wars, reigns, and relationships of the early Targaryen
Kings and Queens. It was interesting to learn more about how the dragons, their riders, and the Seven Kingdoms world came to be. I liked that it gives a lot of back story and details to people who are only briefly referenced in later books and adds much to the rich history of Westeros
and the GOT universe. It is definitely supplemental material to the series but interesting supplemental material.
My annoyance at the end was that after reading over 700 pages the book only covered one half of the Targaryen dynasty!! Here I was anxiously reading and getting excited to read about the lead up to Robert's Rebellion when...the book just ended. Apparently there will be a book two to cover the second half but, of course, no date yet for when that will be out. Ugh...
My Rating: Good... for the most part but also a little slow and frustrating at times. If you are a George R.R. Martin fan you will enjoy this book.
5.) The Cozy Minimalist by Myquillyn Smith
I follow Myquillyn Smith on Instagram. She is known as The Nester. I read her previous book, The Nesting Place, and really enjoyed it. That book was about making your home a beautiful, cozy, and welcoming place regardless of your current circumstances and finding beauty and contentment in the everyday. I was excited to read her next book The Cozy Minimalist Home.
From Goodreads:
Cozy Minimalism isn’t about going without or achieving a particular new, modern style. Nope. It’s simply a mindset that helps you get whatever style YOU LOVE with the fewest possible items. You want a warm, cozy, inviting home, without using more resources, money, and stuff than needed. Why use more if you don't have to? In Cozy Minimalist Home, accidental stylist and bestselling author Myquillyn Smith guides you step by step on making purposeful design decisions for your home. You'll have the tools to transform your home starting with what you already have, and using just enough of the right furniture and decor to create a home you're proud of in a way that honors your personal priorities, budget, and style. No more fretting when it comes to decorating your house!
I didn't like this book as much as The Nesting Place. This book was definitely more of a hands-on how-to-decorate-your-house 101 primer. It seemed really basic to me but perhaps for others it is a much needed practical guide.
I love Myquillyn's philosophy that our homes should be places to serve, gather, shelter, and nurture. I also love her thoughts on creativity. She says, "We long to create because we were made by a Creator." In fact, her thoughts and philosophies on creating a home were my favorite parts of the book...and what I really enjoyed about her previous book. I liked her ideas behind decorating more than her step-by-step instructions for decorating a home.
There were several ideas that I really liked and support:
1.) Less stuff...more style.
2.) Things don't have to be perfect to be beautiful.
3.) Don't be a stuff manager.
4.) Cozy doesn't mean cluttered.
5.) The idea of *quieting* a room.
All in all, I thought that it was a practical book but extremely basic and a bit too long.
My Rating: Okay
6.) Finding Fraser by KC Dyer
I wanted a quick fluff read and this book was exactly that. It's basically a kind of fan fiction for Outlander fans. The main character is in love with the fictional character, Jamie Fraser, and sets off on an adventure in Scotland to find her own Jamie.
From Goodreads:
Sometimes searching for true love can be a little...Outlandish. I met Jamie Fraser when I was nineteen years old. He was tall, red-headed, and at our first meeting at least, a virgin. I fell in love hard, fast and completely. He knew how to ride a horse, wield a sword and stitch a wound. He was, in fact, the perfect man. That he was fictional hardly entered into it.
The story was fairly entertaining. It is a super quick read. The main character, Emma, was kind of annoying and I didn't love all of the decisions that she made but I did laugh out loud a few times. So there you go.
My Rating: Okay...cute for Outlander fans.
7.) Mindset by Carol S. Dweck
This was our book club pick for March 2019. I am all for reading both fiction and nonfiction in a book club. I know that in some book clubs nonfiction doesn't go over well. I think reading nonfiction truly supports what a book club is meant to do...to encourage you to read outside of your regular genres. I like that my book club DOES recognize the importance of the occasional nonfiction selection. Also, my background is psychology so I enjoy reading books about psychology. This also came very highly recommended.
From Goodreads:
After decades of research, world-renowned Stanford University psychologist Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D., discovered a simple but groundbreaking idea: the power of mindset. In this brilliant book, she shows how success in school, work, sports, the arts, and almost every area of human endeavor can be dramatically influenced by how we think about our talents and abilities. People with a fixed mindset — those who believe that abilities are fixed — are less likely to flourish than those with a growth mindset — those who believe that abilities can be developed. Mindset reveals how great parents, teachers, managers, and athletes can put this idea to use to foster outstanding accomplishment.
This book discusses the power of mindset...how we think about our talents and abilities. You can have a fixed mindset which is the belief that abilities are fixed or a growth mindset which is the belief that abilities can be developed. Mindset affects outlook, potential, motivation, success, and relationships. I loved learning more about the concept of mindset. It has already been extremely helpful in my own life and with my family in identifying fixed versus growth mindsets. This is a topic that everyone should have a working understanding of. Dweck expands the concept of mindset to include parenting, business, school, sports, and relationships. It is a concept that has a great application in a wide variety of areas. The information and insights are valuable. That said, this book could have been MUCH SHORTER!
This book started off with a bang. The first part of the book was extremely interesting. Then somewhere halfway through it became a bit of a slog... the business/CEO part and all of the sports...boring. My interest returned when relationships were discussed and also how to go from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset.
If you like psychology, self-development, and learning new ways to look at the world you will like the concepts in this book. Like I said, the concepts are great but it is a bit too long, too wordy, and too repetitive for me.
My Rating: Helpful and informative...but a bit too long.
8.) Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
This has been one of the most hyped book that I have seen in a LONG time! It seems that everyone is reading it. It is on all of the book lists and book club lists. I was excited to get my hands on the book and read.
From Goodreads:
For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life–until the unthinkable happens.
This is a beautifully written and poignant novel. The writing is descriptive and atmospheric. The imagery is lush, striking, and vivid. The marsh was a main character in its own right. I feel like I know it well. The characters are rich and well-developed. Owens sets the stage for an interesting story of survival, loss, loneliness, hope, love, and mystery. I was pulled into the the world of the marsh and Kya immediately.
Often popular and much-buzzed-about-books aren't always well written,; so it was really nice to read one that was. Delia Owens writing is something to savor. It reminded me of the writing of Pat Conroy with his beautiful descriptive passages with their sense of place and interwoven poetry. Any time poetry is included in a novel it is a thumbs up for me.
My only issue was that the plot, while interesting and thought-provoking, did require a rather big dose of suspended disbelief a few times and that pulled me out of Kya's story. I kept thinking "Is that even plausible?" when I would have rather stayed immersed in the story.
I enjoyed this interesting and haunting book. It will stay with you long after you are done reading it and it is one that is fun to discuss. Also Delia Owens lives is about an hour and a half from me and her personal story is fascinating. I want to read her autobiographical book
Cry of the Kalahari about the seven years that she and her ex-husband, both zoologists, lived in the uninhabited Kalahari Desert in Botswana studying wildlife. The author draws on her own experiences of isolation, loneliness, and survival when writing
Where the Crawdads Sing.
My Rating: Wonderful. A bittersweet story of resilience.
9.) The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell
Bernard Cornwell is Tyler's VERY FAVORITE author and for years he has been asking me to read his books. I have always declined. They just seemed so boring. Then one of his book series was made into a TV show for the BBC and Tyler asked me to watch it and I again declined. Finely he wore me down and I LOVED it! I decided to read the book series while waiting for season four to begin.
From Goodreads:
This is the story of the making of England in the 9th and 10th centuries, the years in which King Alfred the Great, his son and grandson defeated the Danish Vikings who had invaded and occupied three of England’s four kingdoms. The story is seen through the eyes of Uhtred, a dispossessed nobleman, who is captured as a child by the Danes and then raised by them so that, by the time the Northmen begin their assault on Wessex (Alfred’s kingdom and the last territory in English hands) Uhtred almost thinks of himself as a Dane. He certainly has no love for Alfred, whom he considers a pious weakling and no match for Viking savagery, yet when Alfred unexpectedly defeats the Danes and the Danes themselves turn on Uhtred, he is finally forced to choose sides. By now he is a young man, in love, trained to fight and ready to take his place in the dreaded shield wall. Above all, though, he wishes to recover his father’s land, the enchanting fort of Bebbanburg by the wild northern sea. This thrilling adventure—based on existing records of Bernard Cornwell’s ancestors—depicts a time when law and order were ripped violently apart by a pagan assault on Christian England, an assault that came very close to destroying England.
I really enjoyed this book! Historical fiction is my favorite genre and Cornwell is a good writer so it's no surprise that I liked it. Tyler was right! I enjoyed Cornwell's writing style and his first person narrative. Uhtred is a fantastic and complex character and I loved the medieval setting. There is a great mix of historical figures and fictional characters. The story is quite the endless adventure of battles and intrigue. It is gritty and bloody...and interesting!
I really liked the TV series too! Be warned though...it is violent, bloody, and racy. I liked the book because there was so much more background info, character development, and deeper relationships. Several things have been changed in the TV series and it was fun to read the differences. I feel like I have a much deeper understanding of the characters and their motivations after reading the book. It was a fun read!
My Rating: I loved it and am already almost done with book two.
10.) The Pale Horseman by Bernard Cornwell
This is the second book in the Last Kingdom series by Bernard Cornwell. It was fantastic! I love this series and the character of Uhtred! Great historical fiction.
From Goodreads:
At the end of The Last Kingdom, The Danes had been defeated at Cynuit, but the triumph of the English is not fated to last long. The Danish Vikings quickly invade and occupy three of England’s four kingdoms—and all that remains of the once proud country is a small piece of marshland, where Alfred and his family live with a few soldiers and retainers, including Uhtred, the dispossessed English nobleman who was raised by the Danes. Uhtred has always been a Dane at heart, and has always believed that given the chance, he would fight for the men who raised him and taught him the Viking ways. But when Iseult, a powerful sorceress, enters Uhtred’s life, he is forced to consider feelings he’s never confronted before—and Uhtred discovers, in his moment of greatest peril, a new-found loyalty and love for his native country and ruler.
I love that this is a continuing saga. This book picks right up where the last one left off and is even more fast-paced. I loved the mix of historical figures and fictional characters. I loved Cornwell's notes at the end of each book about which people and events are factual. So fascinating. It's interesting to learn so much about England before it became *England*.
Being a rather gritty battle and warrior novel I was surprised by how much I loved so many of the characters. Even the secondary characters are much beloved. I love Ragnar, Leofric, Hild, Beocca, and Pyrlig.
This was an action-packed book. I flew through it and I can't wait to start book three.
My Rating: Excellent.
