I know a book is going to be good when it begins like this: “A long time ago, in another country, I nearly killed a woman. It’s a particular feeling, the urge to murder. It takes over your body so completely, it’s like a divine force, grabbing hold of your will, your limbs, your psyche. There’s a joy to it. In retrospect, it’s frightening, but I daresay in the moment it feels sweet. The way justice feels sweet.” Part mystery, part biographical fiction, The Christie Affair is a clever, mesmerizing read written by a talented novelist. Nina de Gramont brilliantly weaves together two storylines, that of Agatha Christie, and the […]
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My Favorite Book of January 2022
Amanda Dykes knocked it out of the park with Whose Waves These Are. The story is so beautiful it changed me. It inspired me. It made me weep. Her book made me feel warm inside and her words were medicine for my weary soul. I could feel God in them. And her writing is gorgeous; lyrical and sweeping. I like to highlight passages when I read for later reflection, but if I did that with this book, my eBook would have been more yellow than not. Don’t even get me started on her characterization. I fell in love with the people and their way of life. I envied their sense […]
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The Last Thing He Told Me – Book Review
Owen Michaels, a coder for a prominent tech company, vanishes just before his boss is arrested for corruption. He leaves two things behind: A duffle bag full of cash for his 16-year-old daughter, Bailey, and a cryptic note to Hannah, his beloved wife of one year: Protect her. Hannah quickly realizes her husband isn’t who he said he was. Despite their complicated relationship, Hannah and Bailey set out to discover the truth and find some surprises along the way. The author deftly handled Hannah’s dual timelines, which alternate between Hannah’s early days with Owen and her current hunt for him. I loved some parts of the book, but others made me […]
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Painting the Light – Book Review
Martha’s Vineyard, 1898. In her first life, Ida Russell was a painter, who confidently walked the halls of Boston’s renowned Museum School, enrolling in art courses that were once deemed “unthinkable” for women to take, and showing a budding talent for watercolors. Now she is Ida Pease, resident of a seaside sheep farm and wife to Ezra. Cold and distant, Ezra often leaves her to run the farm while he and his business partner, Mose, operate their salvage vessel. Then Ezra and Mose’s ship goes down, with all passengers presumed dead, and Ida feels relief rather than loss. What follows is her new story, the one she was meant to […]
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The Flying Scotsman
When I think of runner Eric Liddell, I envision young men running on the beach to beautiful instrumental music in the 1981 Oscar winning film Chariots of Fire. What made his story so powerful wasn’t his athletic prowess during the 1924 Olympics, though, it was what happened after the Games. Eric Liddell was born in 1902 to a missionary family in Tientsin, Qing China. He and his elder brother, Rob, went to a boarding school for the sons of missionaries in south London. Later at Edinburgh University, Eric competed in rugby, cricket, and track, specializing in the 100-meter event. Known as The Flying Scotsman, he was humble about his talent. […]
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My Favorite Book of 2021
Angle of Repose may be the best book I have ever read. Wallace Stegner’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel traces the fortunes of four generations of one family as they attempt to build a life for themselves in the American West. Confined to a wheelchair, retired historian Lyman Ward sets out to write his grandparents’ remarkable story, chronicling their days spent carving civilization into the surface of America’s western frontier. But his research reveals even more about his own life than he’s willing to admit. What emerges is an enthralling portrait of four generations in the life of an American family. Stegner’s novel is stylistically complex and simply outstanding. I savored every […]
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The Relentless Courage of a Scared Child – Book Review
“As much as we all like happy endings, the trust is we are all works in progress with broken pieces and, hopefully, with repairs. We win, we lose, we carry on. We soar, we crash, we pick ourselves up. Or not. The choice is always our own.” – Tana Amen, The Relentless Courage of a Scared Child. I read Tana Amen’s book just after Thanksgiving and was inspired by her journey toward emotional and physical health. Her memoir about growing up in poverty, neglected and abused with God’s help. It was also to discover that her husband, Daniel Amen, developed The Daniel Plan for Saddleback Church. Although I found the […]
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The Heron’s Cry – Book Review
North Devon is enjoying a rare hot summer with tourists flocking to its coastline. Detective Matthew Venn is called out to a rural crime scene at the home of a group of artists. What he finds is an elaborately staged murder—Dr Nigel Yeo has been fatally stabbed with a shard of one of his glassblower daughter’s broken vases. Then another body is found—killed in a similar way. Matthew must tread carefully through the lies that fester at the heart of his community. Ann Cleeves’ 30+ books have been translated into twenty languages. She is wildly popular in the UK and two of her book series have been made into multi-season […]
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Five-Star Reads of 2021
These were my five-star reads in 2021. I’m stingy with my stars, so these books really stood out for me among the 115+ books I read last year. I enjoyed them for a variety of reasons: Some inspired me, some taught me forgotten history, some were funny, some were creative, but one stands alone for extraordinary writing. Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner Angle of Repose may be the best book I have ever read. Wallace Stegner’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel traces the fortunes of four generations of one family as they attempt to build a life for themselves in the American West. Confined to a wheelchair, retired historian Lyman […]
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Songs in Ursa Major Book Review
The year is 1969, and the Bayleen Island Folk Fest is abuzz with one name: Jesse Reid. He is poised to tip from fame to legend with this one headlining performance until his motorcycle crashes on the way to the show. Jane Quinn is a Bayleen Island local whose music flows as naturally as her long blond hair. When she and her bandmates are asked to play in Jesse Reid’s place at the festival, it almost doesn’t seem real. But she plants her bare feet on the Main Stage and delivers the performance of a lifetime. A star is born. Jesse stays on the island to recover from his near-fatal […]
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