33 Days to Eucharistic Glory by Matthew Kelly

 

Did you read any book for the Lent or Easter season?  33 Days to Eucharistic Glory by Matthew Kelly was given to us at church last year.  I decided to this 33-day challenge for Lent starting on Ash Wednesday.

33 Days to Eucharistic Glory is the first guide to Eucharistic consecration.  “At critical times throughout salvation history, God’s people have been invited to consecrate themselves.”  Author Matthew Kelly believe we are at such a time and should consecrate ourselves to Jesus in the Eucharist.  This book is a spiritual journey through 33 days.  It’s a spiritual guide that goes through a wide variety of topics in easy daily snippets. 

The book was split up into the following section:

Week 1 - The Eucharist and the Pilgrim

Week 2 – The Eucharist and the Saint

Week 3 – The Eucharist and You

Week 4 – The Eucharist and History

The finale – The Moment of Surrender

My thoughts on this book:

·       It was very interesting to listen to on audiobook.  It was nice to listen to each day and to have the back-up to read.

·       There were stark and interesting facts about people falling away from the church in the intro.  It states that we need to focus on what makes the Catholic church different than other Christian churches and the belief that the Eucharist is the body of Jesus Christ is what makes the Catholic church unique. 

·       It was a nice way to learn more about my faith during Lent.

·       I liked the statement that the only failure in prayer is not to show up.

·       Holy figures such as St. Therese of Lisieux and Maximilian Kolbe have chapter dedicated to them.

·       It was interesting that one of the essays discussed how the designers of the most beautiful churches fully understood and are in communion with the Eucharist.  I will say that what is considered beautiful changes, so I am not 100% behind this thought.

·       I thought it was fun that it brought up those to read who are fully a part of the Catholic faith and one of those mentioned was JRR Tolkien.

33 Days to Eucharistic Glory by Matthew Kelly is a wonderful and uplifting guide to the Catholic Faith.  It cheered me up to read this each of the 33 days.

The Golden Girls: Tales from the Lanai Edited by Taylor Cole Miller

 

Title: The Golden Girls:  Tales from the Lanai

Edited by: Taylor Cole Miller 

Narrated by: Paul Boehmer, Tanya Eby, Diontae Black

Publisher: Highbridge Audio

Length: Approximately 8 hours and 56 minutes

Source: Review copy from NetGalley.  Thank-you!

What is your favorite nostalgic show?  I have several including The Golden Girls, Magnum PI, Murder She Wrote, and Little House on the Prairie.  Can you tell I was a child of the 1980s?

The Golden Girls:  Tales from the Lanai is a collection of essays that explore the “cultural, industrial, and historical impact of the beloved American sitcom.”  Why does the Golden Girls still resonate forty years after it first aired?

My thoughts on this audiobook:

·       The Golden Girls:  Tales from the Lanai is a nonfiction book on the show, actors, scenes, and episodes, and the impacts they made on society and culture.

·       I listened to the audiobook, and it was fascinating.  I enjoyed the different narrators.

·       I enjoyed the details on how the show was produced, and its narrative structure (flashbacks, lines, etc.)

·       2025 is the fortieth anniversary of the premiere of The Golden Girls television show.  It’s a perfect time to analyze and think about what makes this show so good.

·       There has been a resurgence in popularity in The Golden Girls over the last five years.  It’s one of my own comfort shows that I like to watch.  I didn’t realize it had had a resurgence in popularity as it’s always been popular to me.

·       What is “nostalgic” viewing and why is The Golden Girls a part of it?  Nostalgic viewing includes episodic shows with storylines that are wrapped up in one episode.  Familiarity also fuels nostalgic viewing.

·       The Golden Girls gained a new following and resurgence when it started appearing on Hulu during the 2020 lockdown.  As a family we started watching Magnum PI during this time for similar reasons.

·       I loved recognizing the episodes and scenes in various essays included in this book.

·       It is interesting how this comedy was one of Disney’s biggest successes in the 1980s.

·       It is also interesting how progressive the show was for the 1980s with gay characters, older women having sex lives, Rose having an Aids scare, etc.

·       It was interesting that The Golden Girls premiered on Saturday nights during a block of black programming that included Gimme a Break and 227.  I loved these shows as a kid.   The Golden Girls appealed to black viewers in the 1980s and was one of the top shows in that demographic.

·       There was a warning at the beginning of the book that this is an academic book, not just for casual fans.  I am not a Golden Girls academic, but I understood it and enjoyed the details.

Overall, The Golden Girls:  Tales from the Lanai Edited by Taylor Cole Miller was a fascinating nonfiction audiobook on the details of one of my favorite nostalgic shows and its place in history.  I recommend this for fans of The Golden Girls.

Sweet Nothings by Sarah Perry

 

What is your favorite kind of candy?  I have so many, but one of my favorite kinds of candy is definitely bubble gum.

Author Sarah Perry has written hundreds of “micro essays” on just about every type of candy imaginable.  They are organized by color of the candy.  Perry philosophizes on the candy and its enjoyment, relates it to her life, and/or tells some of the fascinating history of the candy.  Will your favorite candy be included?

My thoughts on this book:

·       I loved the great drawings of the different types of candy that was included throughout the book.

·       I didn’t realize there are SO MANY different types of candy . . . and that I have eaten most of them.  I think I am a secret candy lover, although now as a middle-aged woman, I don’t each much candy at all besides gum.  I may still dream of it.

·       This book was funny, but informational.  I loved the history on things such as bubble gum as well as exactly what defines chocolate.

·       Candy as it is felt through all senses such as taste, flavor, feel, smell, and structure is discussed.

·       The author also tells the story of her life through candy.  She lost her mother at a young age, which deeply impacts her.  Her mother was murdered, which is slightly alluded to in this book.  I need to read her memoir, After the Eclipse.

·       This is definitely a book for adults as the author does bring in her adult relationships and sex life.

·       As this was a book of essays, I did notice a few things repeated at the end of the book.  Each essay could be its own stand-alone story.

·       The length of the essays really varied.  Some were a paragraph long while others went on for several pages.

Overall, Sweet Nothings by Sarah Perry was a funny and heartful book filled with great essays on candy and life.  It was entertaining and a unique read.

Favorite Quote: “What ever possessed the candymakers of the late twentieth century?  It was an era when strange textures and intense physical sensations predominated, a sort of arms race to see who could devise the weirdest way to mainline sugar.  By the 1990s we have Pixy Stix and Ring Pops and nerds and Fun Dip.  Fun Dip!  Just a bag of finely ground sugar, really, pastel cocaine.”

Book Source:  Review Copy from @marinerbooks # morrowpartner.  Thank-you!

World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil

 

Do you like to read any books about nature?  World of Wonders was the Diversity Book Club pick at work in 2024.  It is a beautiful book.

World of Wonders is a memoir that is a collection of essays that meld together the natural world with life experiences.  This book prompted very in depth and interesting discussions during my book club meetings.

My thoughts:

·       The author looked for parts of nature that mirrored her life experiences.  It was very interesting.

·       Nature is interesting and relatable which made it a great theme for every essay.

·       I thought it was very interesting that the book discussed otherness in how one defines oneself and how others define you.

·       I was very sad by the peacock feather story where the author drew a beautiful peacock for a school project.  Peacocks were very important to her family, but her teacher shut her down and told her she needed to draw something “American.”  This led to an interesting discussion on what the teacher could have done differently to make this a learning moment for the entire class about another culture.  How could the teacher have built up the student rather than tearing her down?

·       The author’s mother was from the Philippines and her father was from India. Despite being the first doctor in her family, her mother faces racism from patients in the hospital.

·       The author discusses finding her “pond” where she belonged.  This also prompted great discussion in our book group about finding our own ponds.

·       The essays were a good length and easy to pickup and read.  It was a great format.

Overall, I highly recommend World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil for all those looking for a great book to discuss in a book club or those that love nature and learning more about others experiences.

 

 

 

The Jolliest Bunch: Unhinged Holiday Stories by Danny Pellegrino

 

Title:  The Jolliest Bunch: Unhinged Holiday Stories

Author:  Danny Pellegrino

Narrated by:  Danny Pellegrino

Publisher: Recorded Books

Length: Approximately 6 hours and 30 minutes

Source: Review Copy from NetGalley

 

Are you a fan of the movie Christmas Vacation?  It is one of my favorite Christmas movies and I relate more to it the older I get.  When I saw the title of this audiobook and how it referenced Christmas Vacation, I knew that I needed to read it.

Danny Pellegrino narrates this audiobook himself, which I thought was delightful.  His delivery of the stories made them even more fun.  This is a group of essays about Danny’s true holiday experiences including Christmas and other holidays.  It includes memories, as well as experiences working at Borders, taking road trips, fictional tales, etc.

My favorite story was how his mother had a perfectly put together Christmas but would have a meltdown at the very end of putting it all together before the rest of the family arrived.  Then she would act perfectly fine when guests arrived.  It was relatable as were most of his stories about his youthful holidays.  There was also a crazy story about Danny going on a cross country trip with an unhinged co-worker.   I loved the stories but didn’t like them as much when he veered into writing Mrs. Claus fan fiction.  That bit went on a little too long.  The audiobook overall made me interested in checking out his podcast and hoping that he will have another audiobook in the future.

Quietly Hostile by Samantha Irby

 

Do you like reading essays or short stories?  What are some favorites?

I started off greatly enjoy Samantha Irby’s Quietly Hostile.  It’s a series of essays that delve into her life and experiences.  I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard reading a book of essays.  Her stories were brutally honest and hit home with me on so many levels.

Then the essays fell off a cliff for me.  She had a very strange one that delved into too much detail on the kind of porn she likes to watch.  I don’t really care what she likes to watch and I don’t need to read the details.  I skipped the rest of that essay, but the next essay was a detailed summary of all of the seasons of Sex in the City.  I enjoyed that show twenty years ago, but I’m not so much of a super fan that I even remembered what was being talked about in these vignettes.  She is a writer on the new series, so it was interesting from that perspective.

I just got stuck in the middle of this for two months.  I picked it back up again and the rest were enjoyable, although not at the level of the very beginning of the book.  I especially liked her essay on trying to get a TV show going on the fictionalized version of her life.  It was fun to get the behind-the-scenes perspective on this.

I also enjoyed that Samantha Irby lives in Kalamazoo Michigan and had some local stories as well.  I was born in Kalamazoo and grew up not far from there.

Book Source: Review Copy from NetGalley.   Thank-you! Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

My Life: Growing up Asian in America

 

Title:  My Life: Growing up Asian in America

Author:  Melissa de la Cruz, Marie Lu, Aisha Sultan, Nathan Ramos-Park, etc.

Narrated by:  Jennifer Aquino, Ramón de Ocampo, Deepti Gupta, Kamran R. Khan, Marie Lu, etc.

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Length: Approximately 5 hours and 47 minutes

Source: Review Copy from Simon & Schuster.  Thank-you!

May was Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month.  I thought it was a great month to listen to My Life:  Growing Up Asian in America. This audiobook was 30 essays from varying perspectives about growing up Asian in America.  “There are 23 million people, representing more than twenty countries, each with unique languages, histories, and cultures, clumped under one banner: Asian American.”  Listening to these essays made me realize just how many different experiences there are as an “Asian American.”

The essays were heartfelt and interesting.  They were put together after the shootings in Atlanta and rise of anti-Asian crimes during the COVID epidemic.  They focused on microaggressions and racism that occurred to the authors while growing up.    They were told in different styles and with different narrators in the audiobook for each essay.  It made it a very interesting listening experience.  This was published by the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment (CAPE) and MTV books.  I thought that it was very thought-provoking.  I would be interested in listening to more audiobooks like this about different experiences growing up in America. 

Overall, My Life:  Growing up Asian in America is an important book to help understand different perspectives in America.

My Life as a Villainess by Laura Lippman

I love Laura Lippman’s mystery novels.  This book arrived last week. I had just finished reading a heavy novel and decided I was going to read this to lighten my mood.  I started reading it and couldn’t put it down until I was finished.

My Life as a Villainess is a collection of essays by Laura Lippman talking through different issues and thoughts in her life.  Lippman may be a New York Time selling author married to the producer of The Wire, but I’ll admit, I related to her in her essays.  Our daughters are the same age and many of the items she discussed about her Georgia Rae were similar to my Penelope Rose.  Lippman is an older mother and I liked her discussion about the trials, tribulations, and judgements as an older mother.  I am a middle of the road mother on age.  I also related to her discussion of reading books at the Waldenbooks at her mall growing up.  My Mom worked at PearleVision in the mall when I was growing up.  I would go to work with her as a tween/teen during the summer or weekends and spend my day roaming the mall.  A large part of my time would be spent at B. Dalton.

Lippman’s essays varied and discussed different times in her life.  I loved the story of her first job in Texas as a journalist, as well as her frank discussions about both of her husbands.  There were so many memorable moments.  I enjoyed how she took over her father’s bar where he would go for afterwork drinks.  Lippman looked inward for her essays and realized that at times she wasn’t a good person, hence the “villainess” of the title.  I like that she was proud of who she is, although I looked at her picture when she kept saying she was fat and was very confused.  She looks great – but your family can always find a way to make you not feel good about your body image as I well know. Each and every essay was an interesting look into Lippman’s thoughts and life, and I enjoyed them.  I hope she writes more essays. 

Favorite Quote:

“She conceded this was basically true, but also told me that I must stop writing ‘happily ever after’ at the end of my friends’ stories.  People’s stories are never finished, not as long as they’re alive.  They don’t even end with death.”

Overall, My Life as a Villainess is an enjoyable set of essays that give you a glimpse into Laura Lippman’s life.

Book Source:  Review Copy from William Morrow.  Thank-you!