101 Books to Read Before You Die discussion
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Two Days Gone by Randall SilvisIrene (Harborcreek, PA)’s review of Two Days Gone | Goodreads
This is a typical murder mystery with the standard hard drinking, emotionally wounded detective and the misdirections. The part I enjoyed was the setting which was in my neck of the woods. It was fun to read of familiar places.
Report on the Church by Richard McBrienIrene (Harborcreek, PA)’s review of Report on the Church: Catholicism After Vatican II | Goodreads
This is a collection of columns written by a distinguished Catholic theologian between 1965-190. It was published on the anniversary of the Second Vatican Council. The columns are arranged by topic. Despite being written many decades ago, they remain relevant and thought provoking. I want to read the next 35 years of his thoughts.
The Difficult Words of Jesus by Amy Jill LevineIrene (Harborcreek, PA)’s review of The Difficult Words of Jesus: A Beginner's Guide to His Most Perplexing Teachings | Goodreads
I enjoy the perspective of this Jewish scripture scholar in exegeting Gospel texts. She brings insights from her faith tradition that are unfamiliar to me.
The Sequel by Jean Hanff KorelitzIrene (Harborcreek, PA)’s review of The Sequel | Goodreads
This needs to be read when The Plot is still fresh. I had forgotten too much in the first book of this series and spent too much time playing catch up. The playful tone of the narrator who is a serial killer was fun.
In My Father’s House by Ernest J GainesIrene (Harborcreek, PA)’s review of In My Father's House | Goodreads
This is a powerful story of the devastating impact on a father and a son when the father abandons the family. It is an exploration of generational trauma and of the corrupting influence of material wealth and social status. This is an account of a man’s fall from grace and of the hope for redemption.
The Maidens by Alex MichaelidesIrene (Harborcreek, PA)’s review of The Maidens | Goodreads
Someone is killing female Cambridge students. A clinical psychologist who graduated from Cambridge years ago and whose niece is connected to the victims tries to unravel the mystery. Great writing and strong characters made this an engaging read even if I wasn’t convinced by the ending.
The Lemon Tree by Sandy Tolen Irene (Harborcreek, PA)’s review of The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East | Goodreads
This book traces the dispute between Palestinians and Jews over land that both regard as their ancestral heritage. By focusing on two families that claimed the same house, the Arab family that built it in the 1930s and a Bulgarian Jewish family who moved into that house as refugees fleeing the horrors of the Nazis, the author makes this conflict personal. Young children when the Palestinians were evicted from their land, an Arab boy and Jewish girl develop a relationship decades later. Through their letters and conversations, the reader understands why this conflict is so intractable.
Morality For Beautiful Girls by Alexander McCall SmithIrene (Harborcreek, PA)’s review of Morality for Beautiful Girls | Goodreads
I have tried two books in this popular series, but it is not for me. It is a light break in my reading, but the story is not engaging me. The dialogue feels like it belongs in an early chapter book.
The Aviator’s Wife by Melanie BenjaminIrene (Harborcreek, PA)’s review of The Aviator's Wife | Goodreads
This was a re-read so that I could participate in my in-person book group’s discussion.
The Catch by Yrsa Daley-Ward
Irene (Harborcreek, PA)’s review of The Catch | Goodreads
Well written, but the story was outside my comfort zone.
The Confessions of Nat Turner by William StyronIrene (Harborcreek, PA)’s review of The Confessions of Nat Turner | Goodreads
This is a highly fictionalized memoir of the 19th century leader of a slave revolt. It has received literary acclaim and social condemnation. I could not get beyond the choice of a highly educated voice for Turner.
Heirs of the Founders by H. W. BrandsIrene (Harborcreek, PA)’s review of Heirs of the Founders: Henry Clay, John Calhoun and Daniel Webster, the Second Generation of American Giants | Goodreads
This is a great overview of the political battles of the decades between the War of 1812 and the Civil War. This piece of U. S. history is told through the careers of Henry Clay, John Calhoun and Daniel Webster who represented the 3 major factions in the young country. At the heart of their debates are the balance between federal and state authority and the question of slavery.
My Father’s Daughter by Hannah PoolIrene (Harborcreek, PA)’s review of My Fathers' Daughter | Goodreads
The author was born in Eritrea and moved to England by her adoptive parents. Her mother died in child birth and it was believed that her father was also dead. Despite having a loving upbringing, she had a nagging hole wondering about her biological family. And despite her adopted father being an expert on Eritrea, she felt disconnected to her heritage. As a young adult, she is contacted by the brother she never knew she had and discovered a family that had never stopped looking for her. This is her story of returning to Eritrea to meet this family who was eager to embrace her. She captures the disorientation, exaltation, confusion and comfort of her experience. And she comes to terms with how different her life would have been had she remained in her father’s village. 3.5 stars
Women and Catholicism by Phyllis ZaganoIrene (Harborcreek, PA)’s review of Women & Catholicism: Gender, Communion, and Authority | Goodreads
The author explores various issues around the question of female ordination in the Roman Catholic tradition. Scholarly, balanced, thought-provoking, important book on the topic.
The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieIrene (Harborcreek, PA)’s review of The Thing Around Your Neck | Goodreads
A solid collection of short stories around the experience of modern Nigerians, primarily women.
The Diary of a Country Priest by Georges Bernanos Irene (Harborcreek, PA)’s review of Diary of a Country Priest | Goodreads
Set in the early 20th century, a young priest is assigned to a rural French village. In the pages of his diary, he reflects on the events of his day to work out his confusion and uncertainty. Physical and spiritual pain, grief and mortality, the dignity and desperation of the poor, faith and desolation, this is a ruminative book with little joy.
Cold Mountain by Charles FrazierIrene (Harborcreek, PA)’s review of Cold Mountain | Goodreads
It is 1864 and a young Confederate soldier has walked away from the battle field and is slowly making his way home to his North Carolinian home. Meanwhile, his sweetheart has found herself orphaned and penniless on a farm that has been left fallow. In alternating chapters, we are given the story of each in lush prose.
The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean VuongIrene (Harborcreek, PA)’s review of The Emperor of Gladness | Goodreads
This could have been syrupy sweet, but the incredible writing kept it from falling over that line. A troubled 19 year old boy and an elderly woman with the on-set of dimensia develop a friendship when she stretches a lifeline to him. Soon he is working at a fast food place where he becomes part of another community of support. This is a story of broken people carrying broken people to safety. My only criticism was the lack of nuance in the portrayal of the old woman’s son and his family.
Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here by Jonathan BlitzerIrene (Harborcreek, PA)’s review of Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here: The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis | Goodreads
There is much to be praised about this book and things that disappointed. The weaving of personal immigrant stories through the text made it readable and engaging. The history of U.S. policy on immigration since the 1980s never became overly technical. Blitzer cuts through the language of demonization of migrants to paint a complex and humane portrait. But this was lacking the breadth that I was anticipating. El Salvador received the most extensive attention. I had hoped to hear from those who support mass deportations and limited access to judicial hearings for asylum. I finished this book with my opinion reinforced and no new insights into the arguments on the other side of the issue.
Jesus and John Wayne by Kristin Kobes Du MezIrene (Harborcreek, PA)’s review of Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation | Goodreads
Many pundits were surprised and baffled that the majority of Evangelical Christians backed the candidacy of Donald Trump, a man who appeared to violate much of Christian morality. The author argues that Trump is the embodiment of an evolution of teaching about gender roles in the white conservative Evangelical churches over the past century. Beginning in the early 1900s , this branch of the Evangelical movement emphasized an image of masculinity that was authoritarian, militant, physically strong and socially powerful. Women were submissive, dependent, and sexually available to their husbands at all times. She traces the increasing radicalization of these teachings through different religious movements, social changes and political forces. Churches that promoted MMA ministries, pastors that shocked congregations with in-your-face language, the defense of sexual misconduct and abusive of minors by religious leaders as simply being masculine, and more set the stage for the behaviors of Trump. Rather than violating biblical norms, she shows how Trumps vulgarity, sexual objectification of women, idolizing of wealth, authoritarian leadership style and combative interactions are the fulfilment of what came to be the masculine ideal.
The Amalfi Curse by Sarah PennerIrene (Harborcreek, PA)’s review of The Amalfi Curse | Goodreads
A professional diver and explorer of sunken wrecks is racing to locate a treasure her father saw on his final dive. Two centuries earlier, an Italian fishing village has been protected by the magical powers of women who can influence the currents and other ocean properties. But when danger comes over land, the women are threatened. It is no spoiler to say that these two alternating story lines converge by the end of the novel. Both lines feature strong female characters and passionate romance. This is not the type of story I gravitate to, but read it for a book group pick.
Galileo’s Daughter by Dava SobelIrene (Harborcreek, PA)’s review of Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith and Love | Goodreads
This was not what I expected from the subtitle. Since neither Galileo nor his daughter wrote a memoir, I expected historical fiction narrated from the viewpoint of the daughter. Instead, this was a biography of the 17th century mathematician which gave particular attention to his relationship with his oldest daughter, a cloistered nun in a Poor Clare convent. In this account, Galileo is portrayed as a religiously conventional man who did all he could to ensure that his writings were in conformity to Church teachings, not out of fear of the Inquisition, but because he believed in the authority of the Church. This is the first full length biography I have read of this man, so I learned much.
Forgotten Fatherland by Ben MacintyreIrene (Harborcreek, PA)’s review of Forgotten Fatherland: The Search for Elisabeth Nietzsche | Goodreads
Although she is not well known today, Elisabeth Nietzsche, the sister of the well-known philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, had some degree of fame in her day. In the 19th century, she led a group of 14 couples, along with her husband, to Paraguay to form an anti-Semitic, pure German society. It failed completely. Returning to Germany to care for her sick brother, she continued to write and to promote her racist ideas. This book felt like it was all over the place, trying to stretch a feature-length article across several hundred pages.
Fantasyland by Kurt AndersenIrene (Harborcreek, PA)’s review of Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History | Goodreads
In our prosperous, highly literate, post-modern American society, why do so many people accept unproven conspiracies, irrational belief systems, “alternative facts” from public figures? The author argues that this nation was founded by nutty religious zealots and gullible fortune hunters at a historical moment when the Enlightenment was shunning institutional authority in favor of the individual. From this soil grew a culture with a propensity for the fantastic. This book throws a wide net which catches everything from witch trials to the Chicago World’s Fair, from cosmetic surgery to the KKK, from the suburban pastoral dream to role play games, from Pentecostalism to carnival freak shows, from the gold rush to the belief in UFOs. There was little that escaped the litanies of examples. The tendency to inhabit a world of fantasy of one’s choosing accelerated when an actor was elected president, as TV and later interactive video games invited people to inhabit a fictitious landscape and as cable “news” presented a narrative detached from reality. If you look hard enough, you can find connections to everything. But I am not sure how many of these would hold up if given a sufficient tug. Nor do I think that this answered the question why everything from vaccine skepticisms to a belief in Sensient lizards ruling the world, from a willingness to protect Trump from fact checking to Amway flourishes to a greater degree in the U.S. than in other industrial countries, or if it does.
Hemmingway’s Boat by Paul HendricksonIrene (Harborcreek, PA)’s review of Hemingways Boat: Everything He Loved in Life, and Lost, 1934 - 1961 | Goodreads
This biography of Hemmingway’s final three decades relies heavily on his correspondence. The author tries to revise the popular perception of this famous writer. Beneath the alcohol, women, violence, threats and arrogance, this biography finds a caring father, a generous friend, a selfless mentor and a love for life. Although this did not convince me to abandon prior perceptions, I did appreciate this fuller portrait. I only wish it had been streamlined.
The Guncle by Steven RowleyIrene (Harborcreek, PA)’s review of The Guncle | Goodreads
The stereotyped gay TV star unexpectedly becomes the full-time guardian of his young niece and nephew who he hardly knows. The author mixes humor with sentimentality. It was a bit cheesy, but a fun break from more serious books.
101 Books to Read Before You Die
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Irene (Harborcreek, PA)’s review of Sixpence House: Lost in a Town of Books | Goodreads
The author moved with his wife and baby son from California to Hay-on-Wye, a town on the border of England and Wales famous for its numerous bookstores. We meet the owner of one of these stores who is credited with launching the town into its bookish identity. We accompany the young couple as they try to find a quaint old house to purchase. We listen to his musings as he prepares his first book for publication. We peer into the workings of stores that focus on old or salvage books. I listened to this as a audio download and found the quality of the production poor. Ends of most sentences faded into inaudibility. I think I would have enjoyed this more if I could have understood more of the recording.