The Seakeeper’s Daughters

 I purchased The Seakeeper’s Daughters by Lisa Wingate in hopes of maybe reading it attending my local book club. 

I had read a book by Wingate before and it was quite good (Before We Were Yours)so I was hopeful going in that this might be the book for me. 

It was a dual-timeline, which seem to be popular these days and I was okay with that.

I fact, the book I’m writing is a dual-timeline. 

However, the 1930’s portion of the story was totally told in a series of letters from the sister. 

The problem with this is you are being told the story, not shown the story. 

To be perfectly honest, it just didn’t hold my interest and I ended up skipping it. 

Now, I know this is unconventional when it comes to reading a novel. But my short attention span would have nothing to do with it. So I’m sure I missed out on some pretty interesting history. 

The modern day story had some really good parts, but I kept feeling the author was working toward a final word count and not a cohesive story.

As far as I was concerned the story was all over the place with too many side stories along the way. 

The basic premise was good and perhaps if she could have shared snippets of the letters in the present day and have shown the rest of the story in the alternating chapters it would have kept my interest. 

I’m starting to read from a writer’s point of view and I certainly don’t pretend to be a more accomplished writer than Wingate. 

I just got the crazy idea to rewrite the story without all the added side plots and to take the letters and write the 1930’s story. 

Of course, I’m in the big middle of my own novel so that’s probably not happening, but who knows?

It might be fun. 

The Any Book Club

 

Last Saturday morning, I attended the inaugural meeting of the De Leon Library Any Book Club. 

I was excited to see it advertised because I've always wanted to be a part of this type of book club. As much as I’ve enjoyed book clubs where we all read the same book, sometimes you come across one that is just not your cup of tea. 

Our group was small, but it still lent itself to interesting conversation as we each discussed a favorite book. Several different genres were shared, and our discussions seemed to leap from one topic to another. I found it quite enjoyable, to say the least. 

I can’t say I came away with a book in hand, but I am looking forward to our next meeting. I’ve already decided which book to share, and hope others join us this time around. 

The Women

I must say that Kristin Hannah is probably one of my favorite authors. Her latest boo, The Women did not disappoint.

The story takes place in the late 1960s and tells the story of Frankie, who volunteers to serve in Vietnam as an Army nurse. 

I was just a young girl during this period, and although I knew our country was at war, it didn’t affect me personally. It was around this time that my father retired from the Army and we moved to Texas and took on civilian life. 

Frankie enters the war as a naive young woman, and this coming-of-age story is full of heartbreak and love. 

Hannah is a master storyteller, and she weaves just enough history to make this novel a textbook on the war itself. 

Throughout the story as Frankie desperately searches for help, she is repeatedly told, “There were no women in Vietnam.” This is a story that had to be told. 

Just like WWII in The Nightingale, after reading this latest book you will come away with a greater understanding of this contentious time in America’s history. 

I highly recommend this book. 

Becoming Mrs. Lewis

 

I must say I fell in love with this book, and the writing style of Patti Calhoun. 

After reading her novel Once Upon a Wardrobe I knew I wanted to read another of her books. 

Both books center around C.S. Lewis. The first telling more about the story behind Narnia, and the second about the love story between him and Joy Davidman. 

Calhoun’s prose is beautifully written, and her novel is well researched, although technically considered historical fiction. 

After reading both books, a trip to Oxford, sounds pretty magical. 

I highly recommend this book.

The Book of Ichigo Ichie

My fascination with Japanese culture and philosophy has me on the hunt for books about Japan. Recently I finished reading The Book of Ichigo Ichie-The Art of Making the Most of Every Moment, the Japanese Way, by Héctor Garcia and Frances Miralles.

The actual translation of Ichigo ichie is either, “Once a meeting,” or “In this moment an opportunity.”

Basically this idea has to do with fully living in the moment. All the while knowing that this moment will never come again. If we allow ourselves to be distracted, “…the moment will be lost forever.”

My Ichigo ichie moment recently has been the budding of our redbud tree. Each year as spring arrives I await the first blooms that signal that spring has arrived. We were unaware of our redbud tree at first, as we moved onto our property in the summer, and the tree blended in with the others. However, We were thrilled the next year to see it peeking out among the other unadorned branches.

What I do know, though, is that it won’t be here for long so I always take a moment to notice it as I travel down our county road. Ichigo ichie reminds me to enjoy the moment, knowing it will not last forever. 

The lesson here is not to get too caught up in the busyness of life to unintentionally miss out on this once in a moment opportunity.

Wintering

 

Wintering by Katherine May is according to Elizabeth Gilbert, “ A truly beautiful book.” And it really was beautifully written, but it was just a little too flowery for me. 

I’m not really a literature type of gal, and my favorite parts of the book had to do with hibernating dormice and the habits of bees. 

Wintering has to do with managing the hard times in life, and there definitely was a value to this book, but it’s not one I’d really recommend as a must read. 

May describes the season of winter as , “a season that invites me to rest well and feel restored, when I am allowed to retreat and be quietly separate.” She uses winter as a metaphor to those times in life when retreating is the best move to make. 

Allowing ourselves time to rest and recharge, is what is needed during this time of wintering. Animals know what to do instinctively, but to us this is not necessarily second nature. 

Our modern world of electrical lights, and regulated temperatures can keep us living the exact same life no matter the season. Taking a lesson from Mother Nature helps us regulate our own natural circadian rhythms. 

During hard times learning how to “winter” can be beneficial. 

How to Age Without Getting Old

 How to Age Without Getting Old by Joyce Myers should be required reading for anyone over sixty, but is a  valuable read no matter your age. 

Myers points out that all of us are going to age if we live long enough. She says, “Fearing, dreading, or refusing to admit that the aging process is happening doesn’t eliminate it.”

In fact, refusing to handle aging head on can actually make it more challenging. If we are not willing to make the changes needed as we age we can end up making our lives more difficult. 

Perhaps the best advice that Myers gives has to do with finding your new normal. She states, “…as we enter different stages of the aging process  we will often need to find a new normal.”

The way we view these changes will make all the difference. That, and allowing ourselves the time to adjust without being so hard on ourselves. 

“Our perspective has the power to help us either enjoy change or resent and resist it.”

Meyers also reminds us not to compare our normal to someone else’s normal. We have to be ready to change and grow when it becomes necessary. Not always an easy task, but an important one. 

Don’t make the mistake thinking that things won’t change, because they will. I have seen changes as I approach my seventh decade. Until reading this book I found myself being really hard on myself. 

Today, though, I’ve stopped criticizing myself, and have accepted that what I once did so effortlessly, no longer is. And you know what? That’s okay. 

I also know that as I continue to age there will be more adjustments. Meyers tells us, “Our value is not in what we do, but in who we are as individuals.”

The Book Place

 

I’ve discovered a pretty cool FaceBook page called The Book Place. It reminds me a little bit of an app called Blinkist.  Except it’s not something you listen to, and it’s free. 

Basically it is a place where book summaries are posted for many popular books. Most of them are nonfiction, and fall into the personal growth genre. 

What I have enjoyed about this page is that each book has a ten point summary. It’s a great way to learn more about the book, and to determine if you want to learn more. 

I often times jot down some notes about each book. It’s a great way to keep learning without having to invest in a subscription service. 

Librocubicularist

Librocubicularist-

noun

A person who enjoys reading in bed

25 in 25

 I’m setting two goals when it comes to reading this year. I’m committing to reading 25 minutes a day, and I’m going to read 25 books from my library that I haven’t yet read.

As much as I would like to commit to reading more I’ve found over the last few years that this is a reasonable amount for me. I’m impressed with several of my young Mama friends who have read triple this amount, even with the responsibility of young children. 

For a while I beat myself up because my attention span just doesn’t seem to be what it used to be. Then I read something Joyce Meyers wrote about aging, and accepting your “new normal.”

I’m excited to say that I’ve gotten started, and am actually finishing up The Engineer’s Wife, a book I posted about before that just didn’t hold my interest. I’m learning more about life in the early 1900’s, the building of the Brooklyn Bridge, and about caisson disease. 

As it turns out the books I have chosen are about 50/50 fiction and nonfiction. I’m including the list below, sans the author. 

☑️The Engineer’s Wife

☑️Becoming Mrs. Lewis

The Women

Life in Five Senses

What You’re Really Meant to Do

Hidden Figures

The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane

The Let Them Theory 

The Midnight Library

☑️Wintering

Chasing Slow

The Year of Living Virtuously 

The Self-Care Year

Live Not By Lies

The Time Keeper

☑️The Book of Ichigo Ichie

No Cure For Being Human

A Simplified Life

The Broken Road

The Forgotten Road

The Road Home

Finish

☑️How to Age Without Getting Old

Dare to Fly

What are your reading aspirations this year?