A Jane Austen Year curated by Jane Austen’s House (Austenprose PR Book Tour)

 

What was the last book you purchased just because of Instagram?  Frozen River for me!

A Jane Austen Year celebrates Jane Austen’s 250^th birthday year by exploring her life through her letters, objects, and manuscripts.  This is put together by the curators of Jane Austen’s house in Chawton – a place that is on my bucket list to visit.

The introduction talks about how this book was written from Jane Austen’s house in Chawton and how it has “an unparalleled collection of Austen treasures including items of furniture, paintings, and household objects.  Visitors can discover Jane’s personal letters and first editions of her novels, items of jewelry, portraits of her friends and family, and the tiny writing table at which she wrote.”

This book shows us fragments of Jane Austen’s life.  It is split up into twelve months.  Each month details events from her books and life that happened in that month.  For example, in January:

·       The Dashwood sisters take a trip to London the first week of January.  Artwork is shown of this trip and an excerpt from the novel.

·       A picture of the miniature of Tom Lefroy and a written description of Jane dancing with Tom in January.

·       Pride and Prejudice was published on January 28, 1813.

·       On January 14, 1817, Jane wrote a friend asking for her orange wine recipe.  The recipe is shown as well as a beautiful picture.

·       A letter is written out that was sent from Jane to Cassandra on January 29, 1813.

·       A picture of Jane’s piano and a description of the two books of sheet music that were copied by Jane.

·       A picture and description of the French Revolution including snippets of a letter Jane wrote to her cousin Phila Walter about her poor cousin Eliza’s husband, the Comte de Feuille, who was executed in France during the revolution.

I loved all the Christmas information that was listed in the month of December.  The book is both informative and beautiful.  There is also a great index at the end of the book and more detailed information about Jane Austen’s house.

Overall, A Jane Austen Year is a fantastic book for any Jane Austen lover in your life (including yourself).  It would be fun to read throughout a year but was also great to read all at once.  It’s a nice conservation book for like minded Jane Austen loving friends.

Book Source:  Review copy from @janeaustenshouse @batsfordbooks as part of the Austenprose PR Book Tour. Thank-you!  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

BOOK DESCRIPTION

This beautifully illustrated book charts the life of one of the world’s most beloved authors through the letters, objects, and manuscripts that shaped her life.

Published in partnership with the curators of Jane Austen’s House, the enchanting Hampshire cottage where Jane Austen’s genius flourished that now attracts thousands of visitors every year.

Arranged over the course of a calendar year, from snowy scenes in January to festive recipes in December, specially commissioned photography of Austen’s home and possessions are brought together with extracts from her books, reproductions of her letters, and stories of her life throughout the seasons. Highlights include the first time Austen read a published copy of Pride and Prejudice to an enraptured audience in her drawing room, affectionate letters to her sister Cassandra reproduced in full and an exquisite miniature portrait of Tom Lefroy, the man she nearly married.

Read this book for a unique and intimate insight into Austen’s world. Dip into it as you will, or visit each month, and enjoy a full year of Austen—her life, works and letters, people and objects she knew, and of course her idyllic, inspiring home.

CURATOR BIO

Jane Austen’s House is the inspiring Hampshire cottage where the beloved author lived for the last eight years of her life. It houses an unparalleled collection of Austen treasures. Highlights include Jane’s jewelry, letters, first editions of her novels, and the table at which she wrote her much loved novels. Visitors can step back in time to 1816 and follow in Austen’s footsteps as they explore the rooms where she lived and wrote. It has been open to the public as a museum since 1949 and is an international center for Jane Austen studies.

Spare by Prince Harry

 

Title:  Spare

Author:  Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex

Narrated by:  Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex

Publisher: Random House Audio

Length: Approximately 15 hours and 39 minutes

Source: Checked out with Libby through the Kewaunee Public Library.  Thank-you!

Are you a fan of the royal family?  Although I am American, I have always enjoyed reading about the royal family of the United Kingdom.  Spare is Prince Harry’s tell all memoir that was much publicized.  This was the August pick for the Page-turners Book Club at the Kewaunee Public Library.

My thoughts on this audiobook:

·       Prince Harry’s memoir started with his mother’s, Princess Diana’s, death.  This was a defining moment in his life and many of his actions through his life have all been based on this.

·       Harry’s relationship problems with William seem to be typical brother woes but made to be worse by the separateness of family members.  Treating two brothers so very differently is going to cause problems.  I was horrified by the details Harry included that were personal and would have been best discussed directly with family members rather than in a tell all memoir.

·       Prince Harry read the book himself, which I greatly enjoyed.  He has a nice voice.

·       The memoir seemed raw and honest; it was Harry’s truth as he sees it.

·       I am not sure I believe that Harry should have written about his family like this.

·       Harry really hates the paparazzi, and it seems to consume his life.

·       He has a real fear of not having himself and family protected, and I understand that.

·       You can feel his love for Meghan in this book.  You can also feel the love that his father has for him.  I’m sad that they are estranged.

·       Harry has had a lot to live with being in the public eye, his mother’s death, and PTSD from his military service.  I hope he can get the help he needs, and I hope he learns to keep some things private and to appreciate the family he has while he has them.

Overall, Spare was an interesting memoir, and I am glad I listened to the audiobook.  It did make me wonder about our insatiable curiosity about the royal family.  Living under the microscope can benefit family members like Harry who are looking for an income, but it really seems to strain family relationships.

Leslie F*cking Jones by Leslie Jones

 

Title:  Leslie F*cking Jones

Author:  Leslie Jones

Narrated by:  Leslie Jones

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Length: Approximately 16 hours and 32 minutes

Source: Checked out with Libby through the Kewaunee Public Library.  Thank-you!

 What is your favorite funny book, audiobook, or show?  I still enjoy Saturday Night Life skits, especially weekend updates.  I loved it when Leslie Jones was on SNL and I thought she was hilarious.  I saw that Leslie F*cking Jones was nominated for a Goodreads award in humor and I kept seeing great reviews of the audiobook, so I thought it was time to listen to this audiobook myself.

My thoughts on the audiobook:

·       I LOVED that Leslie Jones narrated this audiobook herself.  She was a joy to listen to.

·       This audiobook was very emotional.  Leslie Jones laughed but was also brought to tears through the remembrances of her own experiences. 

·       I enjoyed Jones’s details of playing basketball at the high school and college level, and then eventually coaching.

·       I loved that she had the dream of being a comic and she kept working towards her dream.

·       She was real and had moments of “real talk” about decisions she made.

·       Jones swears a lot, which is just how she talks.  If you don’t like to hear lots of swearing, this is not the book for you.

·       It feels like a personal talk with Jones at times addressing the audience.  At times it seemed like she was carrying on a conversation and not really reading what she had written.  I liked that.

·       I think this book should really be read as an audiobook versus the physical book, it was such a great audiobook. 

·       In the epilogue, Jones ends with plans for her own funeral, and they are as hilarious as you would imagine.

Leslie F*cking Jones was a funny audiobook and a joy to listen to, I was sad when this audiobook ended.

Soldier: The Life of Colin Powell by Karen DeYoung

 

Title:  Soldier:  The Life of Colin Powell

Author:  Karen DeYoung

Narrated by:  Coleen Marlo

Publisher: Random House Audio

Length: Approximately 23 hours and 12 minutes

Source: Checked out with Libby through the Kewaunee Public Library.  Thank-you!

What modern day political or military figure would you like to learn more about?  I was in middle school during the Gulf War when I first heard of Colin Powell.  I admired him and his career after that, but I realized when he passed away that I did not know that much about his life. 

Solider:  The Life of Colin Powell tells the story of Colin’s life from his birth through his role as Secretary of State in the George W. Bush administration.  I learned a lot from this book.  I thought it was very interesting that Powell’s parents were Jamaican immigrants in the Bronx and that very much shaped his personality and ethics. He had very different views on race because of his parent’s heritage.   He joined the ROTC while earning his geology degree in college and joined the Army after graduating.  He loved serving his country and found that he was able to rise up the ranks in the army through his abilities.  He eventually became a four-star General, the National Security Advisor, the Joint Chief of Staff Chairman, and finally the Secretary of State.  He served in Vietnam and successfully lead the military through Desert Storm in the early nineties.

Listening to this audiobook was a good review of modern U.S. history.  Powell was a very popular person in the United States and was an independent before becoming Republican in 1995.  He considered running for President and I know my Dad always regretted that he didn’t as he really wanted to vote for him.   Powell had a very successful career which only seemed to have a downside when he became the Secretary of State.  The George W. Bush administration had a lot of internal problems that hampered Powell.  After Powell gave his speech to the United Nations calling for war in Iraq, he faced a lot of political fall-out when no weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq.  It was a very unfortunate end to his otherwise great career.  It was also very un-Powell like as he had always stressed being prepared for such action and making sure the United States was successful and had an exit strategy.  He was a good soldier overall and always followed the direction of his commander in chief.

I enjoyed that author Karen DeYoung interviewed a wide swath of people for this book and was able to put together a riveting biography.

I enjoyed listening to this on audiobook, except for one item.  The audiobook was obviously originally on CD as it kept saying, “end of Disc X” all of the way through the audio.  I thought this was very annoying.

Christmas Past: The Fascinating Stories Behind Our Favorite Holiday Traditions by Brian Earl

 

Title:  Christmas Past: The Fascinating Stories Behind Our Favorite Holiday Traditions

Author:  Brian Earl

Narrated by:  Brian Earl

Publisher: Recorded Books

Length: Approximately 4 hours and 21 minutes

Source: Review Copy from NetGalley.  Thank-you!

 

Do you like learning about the history of holiday traditions?  I love it!  I’ve been reading books about holiday traditions since I was in elementary school.

I was very excited to discover this audiobook this year, Christmas Past:  The Fascinating Stories Behind Our Favorite Holiday Traditions.  I was even more excited to learn as I listened that Brian Earl has a podcast called Christmas Past and I have also been enjoying listening to it this Christmas season.  Christmas Past is a short fun book that has four main sections:  food, entertainment, sights and sounds, and society.  Each section has several chapters with a variety of subjects.  I loved learning about fruit cake, Christmas cards, wrapping paper, Christmas songs, Christmas movies, and why do we say Merry Christmas rather than Happy Christmas?  There were many other interesting topics as well.

Brian Earl the author narrated this and also does his podcast.  He was a great narrator and very interesting to listen to.  After I finished up this book, I immediately started listening to his podcast.

I highly recommend this book and podcast to anyone who is interested in learning more about Christmas traditions.

Fashionable Goodness: Christianity in Jane Austen’s England by Brenda S. Cox (Book Tour)

 

Who is your favorite fictional religious figure?  I’ll admit that my favorites are all Jane Austen creations – Mr. Collins, Henry Tilney, Mr. Elton, etc.

Fashionable Goodness by Brenda S. Cox is a fascinating look into how Christianity influenced Jane Austen’s works.  Cox takes a deep dive into researching and explaining how the Church of England was set up at the time of Austen, Austen’s history with the church and religion, and how it was reflected in her writings.  As the daughter and sister of clergymen, Cox estimated that Austen knew 100 clergymen.  I thought it was very interesting and enjoyed reading this book.

I liked that the title “fashionable goodness” refers to people and characters such as Mary Crawford in Mansfield Park who attend church to appear fashionable, and not because they have a deep faith.  Cox explores that Austen has more than a fashionable goodness – she had a deep and abiding faith.  That did not stop her at poking fun at the foibles of the clergy, but some of her best characters were also clergymen, such as Henry Tilney.

Fashionable Goodness will be a resource that I will be using again in the future.  It has extensive notes to explain the details of research and the meanings behind items.  It has great pictures.  My favorite were fascinating tables that the author put together to explain things such as the church of England hierarchy, the difference between rectors, vicars and curates in Austen’s England, incomes in Austen’s England, etc.  I love data and tables and I’ve already read these multiple times.  Also included in the appendices is George Austen’s letter to Frank Austen when he went to sea in 1788 at age 14.  It is a great letter of fatherly advice, and he especially tells him, “The first & most important of all considerations to a human being is religion or a belief of a God & our consequent duty to him, our Neighbour, & ourselves.” It’s a great letter and also wonderful that Frank held onto it and passed it down his family tree.  Also in the appendices are Jane Austen’s prayers, a timeline, places to find further information, and more.

I found Fashionable Goodness to be an absorbing book that gave me a lot of great details to further understand Austen’s novels.  I highly recommend it to any fan of Jane Austen’s works.

Favorite Quotes:

“While we may interpret Austen’s timeless novels according to our own experiences and values, we can enjoy them more deeply as we get to know Austen’s world.”

“Jane Austen’s novels reflect her deep religious faith.  Her best characters live according to religious values and principles, or learn to, while her worst characters do not.”

Review Copy from author Brenda S. Cox as part of the Book Tour.  Thank-you! I received a
complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

To Love and Be Loved: A Personal Portrait of Mother Teresa by Jim Towey

 

Title:  To Love and Be Loved:  A Personal Portrait of Mother Teresa

Author:  Jim Towey

Narrated by:  Jim Towey

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Length: Approximately 7 hours and 5 minutes

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

 Who is an inspiration in your life?  I thought it was fitting for All Saints Day to post my review of To Love and Be Loved:  A Personal Portrait of Mother Teresa by Jim Towey.  Mother Teresa is an inspirational figure in my life.   I grew up watching her inspirational work with the poor through the Missionaries of Charity, which she founded in 1948.  In 2016 she became St. Teresa of Calcutta.

 Author Jim Towey was a lawyer and a Congressional staffer until a meeting with Mother Teresa in the 1980s changed his life forever.  He began volunteering in one of her soup kitchens and helping her with legal matters.  Soon he gave up his job and his possessions to become a full-time volunteer helping Mother Teresa navigate legal problems and set up meetings with world leaders.  He met his wife through her ministries.  Mother Teresa helped Towey to see Jesus through the poor.

 I thought this was an interesting look at Mother Teresa’s works through Towey’s eyes.  He gave a brief biography of her and how she set up her ministry, but most of the book were his personal experiences with her the last two decades of her life.  I never thought about how Mother Theresa would need a lawyer because both people within and outside of the church sadly tried to take advantage of her. 

 Mother Teresa had a difficult life in trying environments, but she gave her all working to fulfill God’s purpose.  I was surprised to learn that she had dark times and doubts earlier in her life.  She didn’t want this to be hidden as she wanted everyone to know that you can struggle in your faith and still find your way to God.  She always saw the best in people and could work with everyone.  Friends included both the Reagans and Hillary Clinton, Princess Diana, etc.  Mother Theresa and Pope John Paul II were also good friends. 

 Author Jim Towey was the narrator of this audiobook and I thought he did an excellent job.  I always love when an author reads their own work, in particular when it is about their own life experiences.  I liked learning more about Mother Teresa and about the impact she had on the author and others.

Thomas Stone – Elusive Maryland Signer by John M. and Robert J. Wearmouth

 

Do you like genealogy?  I have always enjoyed it.  As a child I used to call my grandparents and great grandparents and draw out the family trees.  I always thought it was interesting.  As an adult, I thought it was very interesting to find out that one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence was a relative.  My mother was a Stone.  She had two Stone first cousins marry in her family tree.  One of their other first cousins was Thomas Stone, the signer of the Declaration of Independence.

We went on a family road trip this summer to Gettysburg, Washington DC, and Virginia.  Our main focus was Washington DC and the area.  We went to Thomas Stone’s home, Habre de Venture in Maryland.  It’s a beautiful National Park.  It was a very peaceful place, and we got a wonderful personalized tour from the park ranger who gave us not only Thomas Stone’s history, but the history of the Stone family.

Thomas Stone is a direct descendant of William Stone, the first protestant governor of Maryland.  He was the oldest son of a second wife, so his eldest brother inherited the Stone estate of Poynton Manor.  Thomas Stone used his wits to study for law and build up his own successful practice.  He also married a wealthy woman, Margaret Brown.  With her dowry, he was able to purchase land build Habre de Venture.  They had three children, but Margaret was sickly and bedridden for the last ten years of her life.  While Thomas tried to care for his family, he also worked to get Maryland on board with signing the Declaration of Independence.  He also was a secret supply depot for the Maryland Militia during the Revolutionary War.  After his beloved wife died young, Thomas Stone died of heartbreak less than a year later at the age of 44.  His son died in a yellow fever epidemic and his daughters married and moved to Virginia.  Dying so young and working under the radar to get things done has made Stone an elusive patriot that not much is known about today.  I thought these quotes did a great job of describing him.

“Laboring often under very real threats of total self-destruction (family, estates, business, health) the sometimes foundering fathers prevailed in a great pioneering, audacious effort to create a new social order in which each individual stood a fair chance to enjoy security, agreeable livelihood, freedom from oppression - - ‘Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness,’ words we hope are familiar to all Americans.”

“And among his peers few have been less known and more neglected.”

“Among his peers in the Continental Congresses Stone stood tall and remained substantial, politically astute and highly respected figure right up to the eve of his very tragic death.”

“Stone’s life reflects a nature, background, ability and spirit for freedom not matched by most Colonials during the decade before the Declaration.  He worked to help remove the wrinkles from government under the Articles of Confederation.  He played a major part in marking out the spectacular trail from the Mount Vernon Convention of 1785 to the deliberations of the Constitutional Convention of 1787.”

“Thomas Stone is one of the least conspicuous of Maryland’s great Revolutionary heroes not because he was not entitled to the plaudits of the enthusiasts of the Republic then in the marking, but because he shunned notoriety, and was only given to a few intimate associates to know the true worth of the man.”

This biography was of great interest for me for the family history.  I also liked the pictures included.  My only complaint was that the layout of the book was a bit strange.  I would love to read this story as a historical fiction novel.

Book Source:  Purchased at the Thomas Stone National Historic Site.

Will by Will Smith

 

Title: Will

Author:  Will Smith

Narrated by:  Will Smith

Publisher: Books on Tape

Length: Approximately 16 hours and 27 minutes

Source: Checked out from the Kewaunee Public Library through Overdrive.  Thank-you!

 What celebrity from your youth would you like to learn more about?

 I was already curious about this book, but after the infamous slap at the Oscars, I decided I wanted to listen to the audiobook.  I had seen great reviews of it.

 Will is a very enjoyable audiobook experience.  Will Smith is an expert narrator.  He is expressive and fascinating to listen to.  I also loved the use of music and sound effects throughout the audiobook. 

 This audiobook starts out hard with abuse that Will watched as a child that his dad inflicted on his mom.  Will felt ashamed that he didn’t stick up for his mom.  He had a complicated relationship with his dad.  He both inspired and terrified him.

 This book is a great look into fame and family and how it all shaped Will Smith’s life. 

 

Elizabeth and Monty by Charles Casillo

 

Title: Elizabeth and Monty

Author:  Charles Casillo

Narrated by:  Paul Heitsch

Publisher: Highbridge, a division of Recorded Books

Length: Approximately 11 hours and 47 minutes

Source: Checked out from the Kewaunee Public Library through Overdrive.  Thank-you!

 Do you have a lifelong best friend?

 Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift were unlikely best friends on the surface; they seemed more destined to be Hollywood lovers.  Elizabeth was a beautiful teenager on the verge of stardom and Montgomery Clift was a young rising star when they first starred together in A Place in the Sun.  Elizabeth fell madly in love with Montgomery, but he had a secret, he was gay.  The two had chemistry, but it was just as friends.  They loved bawdy humor and could commiserate on their stage mothers.  They remained friends through all of their trials through the end of Clift’s life and beyond.  Taylor’s work with HIV patients was partially inspired by Clift.

 I had just listened to the History Chicks podcast on Elizabeth Taylor and I wanted to learn more.  I was intrigued by this audiobook.  It told the story of the two stars lives and how their paths crossed.  Nothings was as shocking as the crash that changed Clift’s life forever.  Taylor saved his life that day, but Montgomery had a sad, slow decline until the end of his life at the age of 44.  I felt so sad for him and horrified.

 The only thing I didn’t like about this book was when it went into gossip about Clift’s genitalia.  The guy is dead . . . you can leave those details alone.

 I just rewatched The Heiress with Montgomery Clift and it has made me really want to rewatch A Place in the Sun to see the start of this great friendship. 

The Catch Me If You Can: One Woman’s Journey to Every Country in the World by Jessica Nabongo (TLC Book Tour)

 

How many countries have you visited?

Unlike author Jessica Nabongo, I am a sad traveler that has only visited three countries, all in North America.  I hope to travel more in the future as the kids grow up.

The Catch Me If You Can is an intriguing memoir of Jessica Nabongo.  Nabongo was taking the corporate world by storm when she realized she wanted more out of life.  She moved to Japan to teach English and from then on, the trajectory of her life was changed.  She started a blog called The Catch Me If You Can that focused on her travels and her photography.  By 2017 she had a goal of visiting every country in the world and she did it.  She has visited 195 countries and 10 territories. 

I found this memoir to be fascinating.  I loved Nabongo’s beautiful pictures, but I also loved the narrative about her travels.  I like how she just went to countries and then organically found cool things to do.  I’ve always wanted to visit many of these countries and Nabongo made me feel like I could do it.  I loved her descriptions of the pyramids, “No matter how many pictures you’ve seen of the pyramids, nothing can prepare you for seeing them up close.”  I also like that she gave facts, history, and dimensions on them. For each country she had fascinating items to share about the country and its people.  I also enjoyed the bucket list at the end for the reader for cool things to visit in each country.

I was scared for Nabongo to visit North Korea, but she said she was never afraid of traveling there.   “What I found most fascinating about North Korea was just how normal it felt.”  I thought that was fascinating.  Overall, that is what Nabongo realized as she traveled around the world, that people are people.  They are “more similar than we are different,” and that “most people are good.”  I thought it was very inspirational and very positive.  I greatly enjoyed this book. 

Book Source:  A Review Copy from Hachette Book Group / National Geographic as part of the TLC Book Tour.  Thank-you! I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Jane Austen, the Secret Radical by Helena Kelly

 

Jane Austen, the Secret Radical was one of the May selections for the JASNA Northwoods Book Club.  Author Helena Kelly analyzes each of Austen’s novels for signs of the “secret radical” that she believes Austen was.

The introduction is an analysis of Jane Austen. Each chapter started with a narrative on Austen’s life and then followed by an analysis of each of her novels.  “”I would suggest that when dealing with someone like Jane Austen, we could add another, and more dangerous, class of knowledge; what might be termed the unknown knowns – things we don’t actually know but think we do.”

I thought the writing was engaging and not written like a dry academia book.  Sadly though, detailed notes were lacking in the book that could have explained why Kelly seemed to not agree with many items that seem to be established ideas from other scholars. 

I did like how the author brought out interesting thoughts and ideas about the characters and the novels.  In particular the Mansfield Park section had an interesting discussing about slavery.  I learned that Maria Edgeworth had to rewrite Belinda to remove a marriage between a white character and a black character after being ravaged by critics.  The links of Mansfield Park to slavery were detailed.

I was not happy about the analysis of Sense and Sensibility which heavily implied that both Edward Ferris and Colonel Brandon had strange sexual proclivities.  I was not amused and not feel like I can never look at these characters in the same way.  The analysis seemed to stretch way to far with these characters.

Favorite Quotes:

“She loves her family – truly, she does – but the days seem to slip through her fingers.  There is always some demand on her time:  someone needing to be nursed or entertained a letter of condolence to be written, paper boats to be sailed on the river, yet another new niece or nephew to sew caps for.”

“In a society where unmarried men and women were largely kept separate, and permitted to socialize only when properly chaperoned, how could a woman arrive at any sort of knowledge of a man’s character, and how could a man hope to understand the nature of the woman he married?”

Overall, Jane Austen, the Secret Radical, was an interesting read, but the analysis seemed off the rails at times.

Chasing Lakes by Katey Walter Anthony (TLC Book Tours)

 

What is your passion?  While you can definitely guess that books and reading is my passion, water resources and engineering is my professional passion. Even better is when I can combine both my love of water and reading. Chasing Lakes is the perfect book for this situation.

Katey Walter Anthony grew up loving science and the great outdoors.  Her research on methane brought her to Siberia where she had adventures trying to figure out how to capture methane for her research.  Her adventures continued in Alaska, but as she grew older, she started to realize there was a piece still missing in her life, which was faith.  She also discovered love along the way with Peter, a Minnesota farmer.

I enjoyed everything about this memoir, the great outdoors, the adventure, the science, and the introspective look on life and love.  It was a coming-of-age novel as well as an exploration of faith.  I geeked out on the science talk.  I also got into my field because I love water.  It did a good job of talking about how the natural world and human made world blend together and about climate change.  It’s hard to really define this book by any one genre, but it was a personal story of a woman exploring science, but also finding her faith.

Overall, Chasing Lakes is a personal journey of one woman through science and faith that brought her to a better understanding of the world.

Book Source:  A Review Copy from Harper One as part of the TLC Book Tour.  Thank-you! I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

 

Title:  Crying in H Mart

Author: Michelle Zauner

Narrated by:  Michelle Zauner

Publisher: Random House Audio

Length: Approximately 7 hours and 23 minutes

Source: Checked out from the Kewaunee Public Library through Overdrive 

What is your favorite book or movie about the relationship between daughters and mothers?   What is your favorite book that describes food as part of the narrative?

Crying in H Mart is a gripping memoir that I could not stop listening to.  It’s a very personal story of the author Michelle Zauner and her relationship with her mother.  A lot of their connections and happy memories are connected with the tasty Korean food that her mother made.  Michelle narrated the audiobook herself and it made it very personal.   

Michelle was in her twenties in a band and working as a waitress out east when she received a call that her mother was seriously ill with cancer.  She puts her life on hold and returns to Eugene Oregon to help her mother through her illness and ultimately through her end of life.    This memoir focused on their mother-daughter relationship as Michelle grew up and at the end of her mother’s life.  She was able to really understand her mother after she was gone.  It also focused on the difficulties of growing up as an Asian American with a Korean mother and a white father.  It also discussed the wonderful Korean food that Michelle’s mother made and how they connected as a family through food.  They would also explore different restaurants in both American and Korea.  It sounded delightful.

I highly recommend this memoir and can’t say enough good things about it.  I laughed, and I cried reading this book.