Nine books for April. The best to me was "Midwives" by Chris Bohjalian. In fact it was my only 5 star read this month. The only one I read that I wouldn't recommend was "Baseball Life Advice." I've also included a review of the Bible study book I completed this month. I'm not including it in the count, but wanted to let those of you who may be interested in a good study book know about it. Once again, I hope you all had a great month of reading. If you've read any of these books I would love to hear your opinions on them. And as always I am always happy to add to Mount To Be Read.
"Good Hope Road" by Lisa Wingate
The story of how a devastating tornado brought a town together and provided healing in many ways. Surprising friendships formed, spiritual renewal and a realization of what is important in life.
This is the second in the Tending Roses series. It takes place in a small Missouri town, but not the same one as the first book. From what I remember of "Tending Roses" there is just one couple from that book in this one, and they were a small blip. But that blip has set up what I think will be a more detailed story in the next book.
The story told here is one of redemption and forgiveness. Redemption from our past and how we let things shape us. Forgiveness for attitudes towards others - especially those we consider "lower" than ourselves. Forgiveness of others for their shortcomings. It is a story of love and how in the midst of some of the worst disasters, we can often find those who rush in to give love and comfort in various, often small seeming, ways. Ms Wingate has a talent for telling stories that make you reflect on your own life. Another encouraging story about focusing on what is really important in life.
"Long Road to Mercy" by David Baldacci
Atlee Pine is one bad FBI agent - and by bad I mean good. She is the only agent assigned to the Grand Canyon. When a donkey is found killed in the canyon, Atlee is called in. The plot grows from there and is really much deeper than one may think on the surface.
I think I read my first David Baldacci book in 2007. I always enjoyed his books but he was one of those authors who had kind of slipped through the cracks for me. It had been many years since I had picked up one of his books so I was excited to start again. And what better way to start than with Book 1 of a new series. I liked a lot about this book. Atlee is someone that I would like to know, but not cross. Her assistant, Carol Blum is the one I would like to live next door. Good characters. Good plot line. But I got a little lost in the details. There were parts of the political discoveries that I never fully understood. However, the book is good enough that I will read the next one. I want to see who is next in Atlee's sights.
Sybil Danforth's story as told by her daughter Connie. The story goes back to the early 1980's when Sybil delivers a baby at an in home birth by emergency cesarean section. Sybil believes the mother had died from a stroke so she sets about to save the baby. The question is was the mother really dead or did Sybil kill her when she performed the C-section?
I have read this book three times now and I will read it again. This is the first book that I read written by Chris Bohjalian and it hooked me in. I have since read 16 more of his books so you can see what I mean. This story is so well written that every time I've read it I admire that again. It is told by going back and giving a history of Sybil and how she became the person she is. The courtroom scenes are intense at times and the story moves along at the perfect pace.
This was our book club read for the month and I am so glad that it was. I loved talking about this story with my book friends. There was a lot of good discussion about the story, the ethical angle and medicine both in the 80's and modern day.
In case you haven't realized it yet - this is one of my all time FAVORITE books. Strong recommendation from me!!
"Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald" by Therese Anne Fowler
A historical fiction account of the life of Zelda and F Scott Fitzgerald, told through the life of Zelda. This starts with their courtship and continues through their turbulent life - the ups and downs and the creative people with whom they surrounded themselves.
I am not an ardent follower of the 1920 - 30's era. My main interest in that area of time as far as creative people is Ernest Hemingway. He is part of the circle of friends in this book and is not shown in the best of light. But then again most of the people in the book aren't. It is well written and an overall interesting book.
"Northeast Angle" by William Kent Krueger
The 11th book in the Cork O'Connor series and once again another good one. This one finds Cork trying to have some family bonding time while making some great memories. He rented a house boat and has taken the three "kids", his sister-in-law, Rose and her husband, Mal, to the Northeast Angle. Memories are made, not necessarily great, but memories that bind the family closer together. As usual, anywhere Cork goes, there seems to be trouble and he's the man to handle it.
Every month I comment on what a great storyteller William Kent Krueger is, and I will state it again this month. I will say that this Cork book started out a little slow for me, but did pull me in. It was also one of the more predictable of his stories. But once again, it was a good one. Ready for book 12 now!
"A Good Neighborhood" by Therese Anne Fowler
A quiet, older neighborhood is slowly becoming THE neighborhood to be with people buying houses, demolishing or updating them. Valerie Alston Holt is one of the long time residents who is widowed and raising her bi-racial son, Xavier. Brad and Julia Whitman are the new neighbors. Brad is a successful business man and they are raising their 2 daughters. The two families share a property line. The trouble starts early on as construction on the Whitman's new house kills the large oak tree in Valerie's backyard. It continues as Brad and Julia's daughter, Juniper, who is white, and Xavier are attracted to each other.
I liked this book - and didn't like this book. The voice of the book, the character development and the story was believable. It hits on topics and areas of life that make you reflect on your own life and views. The downside was at times the book got a little too preachy and agenda driven. A good story to me can just focus on the story and let the reader reach conclusions. In my view that is a better way as what you take from the story truly is your own, not the authors. Plus I am one who believes most people want to be decent people - especially those who love books - and therefore they will reach the right conclusions. 😊
On a side note, it was as I was beginning to read this book that I realized it was the same author as "Z". This is the third of her books I've read and the first that was not historical fiction. Overall I think her writing style fit this one best and I look forward to other books written by Ms Fowler.
"Happiness for Beginners" by Katherine Center
Helen Carpenter is a thirty two year old recently divorced woman. She is having a hard time pulling it together so she decided to do something challenging over her summer break from teaching. She signs up for a hard-core wilderness survival course. Her brother, Duncan, is behind her plans to go. Helen is ill prepared for the physical exertion required for such a trek. To add to this, she is also the old person of the group as most are college age. Oh, and one more thing, Duncan's best friend, Jake, is also part of the group. All things that Helen is not prepared for.
This was a great book to read after a few heavier topics. In true Katherine Carter fashion you know there is going to be conflict, growth and love - and possibly a tear jerker moment. This story had people who were very believable - no stretch to think of people you know with the same personality. There were no big surprises, no great depth or detail, but it was the perfect light read romance for the mood I was in.
"Flight of the Sparrow" by Amy Belding Brown
A historical fiction novel about Mary Rowlandson. The year is 1676. The place is the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Mary Rowlandson, the wife of a Puritan preacher, is captured by Indians when they raided the town while Mary's husband was not there. After capture, she was sold as a servant to a powerful woman tribal leader. Through her time with the Indians, Mary begins to see the wisdom of their life, the freedoms they have and the joy they share. She witnesses the terror and brutality but also the kindness that is part of their life. Mary is torn between the two worlds and her exposure to the tribal life changes her view forever.
This is a fascinating story about a woman that I didn't know about before. It is well written and reflects the mood of Mary's Puritan life, life with the tribe and time afterwards. I could understand Mary's conflicts to a certain extent as I felt conflicted while reading this book. On the one hand, the Puritan way of life was restrictive. Full of rules and regulations plus brutal in the punishment of those who did not follow those. The way of the Indian is more appealing on the surface. But when you consider they were killing the white man, raping woman and taking them as slaves - that 's not the perfect life either. Switching between the two cultures, especially not by choice, would be another conflict. Another interesting and thought provoking book.
"Baseball Life Advice" by Stacey May Fowles
A collection of essays by a sportswriter and fan of the Toronto Blue Jays. These cover many topics. Players behavior, fans behavior, play on the field, the joy of the game, the downsides of the game, the bonding that goes on because of the game, the joy and the defeat that comes with loving a team and the game.
I picked this book because we were getting ready to finally return to the ballpark after 2 years - almost to the day. (Thank you Covid) This book was interesting enough only because I am a baseball fan. While there were some universal observations and stories, for the most part it is pretty much a Toronto Blue Jays book. Being a St Louis Cardinal fan, that wasn't that interesting to me. Plus Toronto is in the American League and the Cardinals are in the Major League so there weren't even that many stories involving other teams that interested me.
I think a lot of these were taken from stories Ms Fowles has written through the years, so there were some repetitive stories and themes. I was so excited to read a baseball story that focused on the thrill of the game but was disappointed. On the positive side, we did have a great trip to St. Louis and I loved seeing my Cardinals and cheering them on!
"Joy: A Study of the Book of Phillipians" by Deb Burma
A book that I didn't count in my April total because I started it as a Bible study with a small group of friends last Fall. It is an eight week study that we finished in April. (Don't judge.)
The book is written as a daily lesson for 5 days each week. There is also a video that goes along with each week that you can watch for free on Youtube. I enjoyed this study - I guess I should say that this study brought me joy. 😏 While it does go a little in depth, it's not where you can't understand the point. There are also challenges to help you focus on God and the joy that each day brings. A nice woman's Bible study book.
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