Summer Reads

The Maid by Nita Prose

Recommended by a bookclub friend, this was a light read about a very obsessive, meticulous young woman working in the Regency Grand Hotel.  Molly's difficulty in social situations sometimes makes her seem odd and unusual; and as she navigates the hurts of her Gran's death, Molly makes some unfortunate choices in trusting people.  When the police target her as a primary suspect in the death of a hotel guest, Molly finds that true friends emerge to give her encouragement and love.  I love that!

The Beautiful Community: Unity, Diversity And the Church at Its Best by Irwin L. Ince Jr.

While visiting our Tennessee kids, I joined a class that was just beginning this book discussion at their Presbyterian church.  In my ever continuing challenge to understand the full meaning of diversity, both in and out of a church setting, this book was another building block to that end.  The author serves as a pastor at Grace Presbyterian Church of Washington DC, having earned degrees at Reformed Theological Seminary and Covenant Theological Seminary.  He is well equipped to comment on his experiences and thoughts about racism and diversity.  He begins with reviewing our creation so that we can embrace our position as Image Bearers: worthiness with incomparable dignity.  He moves on to our fallenness and unpacks reasons for our divisions.  "To cast off the ugliness of disunity and heal our fractured humanity, we must cultivate spiritual practices that help us pursue beautiful community."  Ince developed many ideas as to how to make that Beautiful Community but his premise is that we have an inability to understand one another.  This quote underscored where many of out differences begin:  "Having existed for most of American history as a marginalized minority with limited to no agency in the culture forced the Black church to adopt this right understanding of our duty to speak out against injustice in the public square.  The majority white church, on the other hand, has enjoyed the luxury of neglecting public justice as a part of the church's calling."  We, the white church, did not need to seek justice because we already enjoyed it.  

The People We Keep by Allison Larkin

My recent reading seems to include many stories of "down and outers" who desperately try to figure out how to manage their lives.  Teenager April, living in a motorless RV when her single dad abandons her, determines that her life will vastly improve if she leaves her hometown and finds a new life.  I loved her grit, I loved that she took chances and began to trust people, I loved that she believed in her music, I loved that she finds new people who become "home" to her ....while keeping some from her past who were always her real family.

The Last Bookshop in London: A Novel of World War II by Madeline Martin

Feeding my never-ending love of World War II novels, this once again provided a new perspective.   Grace finds a job in a bookstore, even though she has never been much of a reader.  Her organization skills bring the bookstore back to life and she becomes an avid reader who shares books with the community in weekly reading sessions,  while the bombing in London goes on and on.  Based on a true story, the added historical element was about the Air Raid Protection Wardens who monitored homes and businesses during the London Blitz, and assisted countless families when their homes were burned or partially destroyed.  This particular story felt slightly saccharine, as Grace was an almost perfect character with no faults, and not much plot.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (#4) by J.K. Rowling

What can I say?  Harry, Ron and Hermione continue in this very fun saga of dangerous adventures.  This was my favorite so far because the main storyline was centered on the competition between four students from 3 different rival schools; Harry being one of them due to someone's wizardry.  These books have given me some common ground with my grands, who are avidly reading them.

Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult

"And sometimes, you cannot tell what you're looking at until it's right under your nose."

Diana loves her career in the competitive niche of the New York art auctioning world.  Her almost-fiance Finn is a surgical resident in the bustling medical arena there.  Even though Diana is speaking of art in this quote, it applies so well to many other situations that she faces as the events that unfold during the covid 19 pandemic reach into her personal world.  With an unusual and unexpected twist halfway through the novel, Picoult veers into a subject that is unknown to most of her readers.  All that Diana had been looking at in her life wasn't what it appeared to be.  I was so shocked by the twist that it almost made me dislike the story...almost!  But as Diana presses in to discover what her future will hold, she draws some bright new conclusions about the difference between what she thought was perfect and what her imperfect new life might look like.

"All of us are grieving something.  But while we are, we're putting one foot in front of the other.  We're waking up to see another day. We're pushing through uncertainty; even if we can't yet see the light at the end of the tunnel.  We are battered and broken, but we're all small miracles."

Us Against You by Fredrik Backman

This author! He makes me feel so many things as he works hard to look at the community of Beartown through his super-clear lenses.  He hates injustice, hatred, and unkindness yet he readily portrays these foibles in his characters.  He makes me acknowledge that all of us exhibit some excellent qualities, yet our broken messes and prejudices co-exist alongside those very fine attributes.  

This is the second in the Beartown series. Although the author is Swedish and this fictional town represents a town in that country, the characters represent all of us- the good, the bad, and the ugly.  Backman has an unusual way of writing, yet it sucks me in.  He not only gives the current story, he also conveys how some of the characters may look in their futures.  

"Ramona takes hold of his hand and whispers, " You don't have to become like him, Benjamin.  You've got his eyes, but I think you can become someone else.  Benji isn't ashamed of crying in front of her."

Backman writes about dreams and broken dreams, about childhood traumas and overcoming them, about parental failings and second chances, about how a community can re-invent itself.  Mostly he's a  realist with a bit of optimism thrown in!  And he always convicts me to become better.