The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House - Kate Andersen Brower

The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House by Kate Andersen Brower
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I read Upstairs at the White House by JB West earlier this year. This was a nice companion read to carry work in the White House into the 21st century. Definitely a different perspective in the writing, a bit more gossipy (which I don't mind), and interesting.

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Pioneer Girl (The Annotated Autobiography) - Laura Ingalls Wilder (Pamela Smith Hill - Editor)

Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography by Laura Ingalls Wilder
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am a long-time Little House fan. Not the show but definitely the books. Since early elementary school (I'm now in my 40's). So a long time. And I've lost track of how many times I've read the original series or how many add on books, adaptations for younger children, etc. I've written.
While it took me what felt like an eternity to read this book, it was absolutely worth it. And, as way of excuse, one of the reasons it took me so long was because the book itself is a rather large format. I couldn't just chuck it in my bag and head out, reading it in the nooks and crannies of my day.
Anyway, enough about me. Wilder wrote Pioneer Girl to be an adult book of growing up in the ever expanding western territories of the United States. It went to several agents and through multiple revisions, but was never actually published. However, Wilder pulled heavily from this memoir text to develop her iconic, historical fiction(ish) stories for children. It was so interesting to see where it all began from.
This annotated version was especially interesting because the abundant annotations added so much understanding, context, and clarification.
Now I'm just going to go back to kicking myself that I decided against the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library a few weeks ago when I was in Iowa City. I was right there on the grounds but didn't know that's where the original manuscript of Pioneer Girl is housed until I read this book.

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All But My Life: A Memoir - Gerda Weissmann Klein

All But My Life: A Memoir by Gerda Weissmann Klein


I was familiar with parts of Klein's story through a documentary I showed my 8th graders each spring when we teamed up with the social studies teacher for a unit on the Holocaust. So it was both interesting and heart breaking to read her story completely.

I am starting to have a hard time rating memoirs because while the stories are usually important, I've found they're not the best written books. And my stars are usually based on both aspects. So I'll just say this one is worth the read.

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Never Give Up Hope: Waging War with Cancer - Craig Davis

Never Give Up Hope: Waging War With Cancer by Craig Davis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The author, Craig Davis, has survived brain cancer not once but three times. This is his story.
In exchange for an ARC, I have promised my honest opinion.
The writing isn’t stellar, but Craig doesn’t claim to be a writer. And I did read an ARC; that I understand has changed drastically between the ARC and final release. So I’m assuming this has improved and that many of the jumps or parts that left me with questions have been corrected.
It is definitely heartfelt and passionate in his belief of God healing him each time. You get a little background on his life, and then Craig steps you through the high and low points of his journey from the initial diagnosis in 2012 to the most recent the summer of 2018. He focuses on God’s fingerprints throughout it all. And I love that. While you’re in the midst of trials, it’s sometimes hard to see Him moving. But hindsight…it shows his handiwork all over the place.
I love Craig’s faith and passion. The hope that he wants to pass along to others who are fighting their own battles – whether they be cancer or something else.
I enjoyed the Facebook posts that were inserted throughout the text to give an “in the moment” look at what was happening.
Definitely a book that’s worth a read. And at just over 100 pages, it’s a quick read at that.

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Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood - Trevor Noah

Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book is a collection of stories from Trevor Noah's growing up under apartheid (and after) in South Africa. I went into this book having no idea who Trevor Noah is (I now know he's a comedian, a pretty successful one) but have heard from others how amazing this book is. So I was disappointed to not enjoy it as much as they all did. I did learn and have my eyes opened to some issues that just weren't on my radar before. But I really disliked the organization of the book as a whole, and I think that affected my appreciation of the content. There really was no rhyme or reason to how the different mini memoirs were organized. So in one section I'd be reading a piece about Trevor's high school, then the next section would jump back to elementary school, then after high school. Which also led to some redundancies.
I would like to meet his mother though. She seems like an amazing woman.

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When Breath Becomes Air - Paul Kalanithi

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book has been on my To Read list for a bit. It pops up in blogs I read and podcasts I listen to fairly regularly. Plus Atul Gawande wrote a blurb for it.
Paul Kalanithi is wrapping up years of medical training as a neurosurgeon when he is diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. This is his story of living through dying. And was so eloquent. His last paragraph of the book (to his daughter) and his wife's epilogue did me in.
3.5 stars for sure.

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This Is Me: Loving the Person You Are Today - Chrissy Metz

This Is Me: Loving the Person You Are Today by Chrissy Metz
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Chrissy Metz is one of the stars of the hit TV series, This is Us. Love the series. Didn't love her book.
I couldn't decide if it was trying to be a self-help book or a memoir (so shelved as both). It probably did a better job being a memoir than self-help, but part definitely had more the self-help feel. Those sections were very trust and confidence in self, if you believe it and speak it and do good, your dreams will come true. While I agree that self-confidence and trusting your gut are good to an extent, this was a bit out there for me.
I did enjoy reading about her path to success in Hollywood.
Triggers: Some language

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The Glass Castle - Jeannette Walls

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

So I had been told going into this that it is either a book you love or you hate. I come down pretty soundly on the "not the book for me" side of things. I almost gave it up several times. But as it was for a book club (and at the prodding of a friend), I pushed through.
The life and environment that Jeannette Walls describes growing up in is so clearly abhorrent. That any of the siblings are functioning adults is nothing short of a miracle. However, Walls writing doesn't do justice to the horror and conflict and neglect of her childhood. The writing style itself just seemed flat and unemotional. I wanted to feel what she felt, but her feelings were so often left out of the equation. I just couldn't connect, and that affected my overall reading and response to the book.

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The Polygamist's Daughter - Anna LeBaron

The Polygamist's Daughter by Anna LeBaron
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I think my empathetic bone is broken. On one level, I realize that Anna's experiences are horrific and her upbringing so damaging. However, on another level, I just didn't feel anything for her. I'm not sure if it's the way it was written. Or the fact I average 5 hours of sleep a night between my 2- and 4-year-old's wakings so my emotions are dead.
I do admire how Anna has overcome all the things in her past to be the strong woman she appears to be today.

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I Am Malala - Malala Yousafzai

I AM MALALA:  The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban – Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb

 Publisher:
  Little, Brown, & Company
Release Date:
  October 8, 2013
Market:
  Secular
Genre:
–Memoir, Education
Length:
–327 pages
My Rating:
   2/5 stars

 About This Book (from Goodreads)

I come from a country that was created at midnight. When I almost died it was just after midday.

When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley in Pakistan, one girl spoke out. Malala Yousafzai refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an education.

On Tuesday, October 9, 2012, when she was fifteen, she almost paid the ultimate price. She was shot in the head at point-blank range while riding the bus home from school, and few expected her to survive.

Instead, Malala's miraculous recovery has taken her on an extraordinary journey from a remote valley in northern Pakistan to the halls of the United Nations in New York. At sixteen, she has become a global symbol of peaceful protest and the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

I Am Malala is the remarkable tale of a family uprooted by global terrorism, of the fight for girls' education, of a father who, himself a school owner, championed and encouraged his daughter to write and attend school, and of brave parents who have a fierce love for their daughter in a society that prizes sons.

I Am Malala will make you believe in the power of one person's voice to inspire change in the world.

CRITIQUE

This book has been on my To Read list for a while.  I was interested to read the story of a girl passionate about education.  What inspired her?  What gives her strength?  And even once I requested the book from my local library, it took me a bit longer to start reading it.  Regardless of which version I requested, the library kept sending me the Young Reader Edition.  Not what I was looking for.  However, in hindsight, I might have enjoyed it better had I read the Young Reader Edition. 

This is a book I probably should have quit considering all of the other books I have stacking up to be read.  It was not at all what I expected.  Where I expected a story about a teen who was an education advocate I found a book filled with Pakistani and Muslim history.  Where I wanted a focus on the person I received a focus on politics and corruption.  The beginning of Part 1 and Part 5 were probably the most personal.  The rest were not.  So the basic premises of the story ended up not being what I was interested in for this read.

Add to that the writing challenges, and I don’t think it is a book I will be recommending any time soon.  All the names and places were confusing.  Especially when she would write “The person’s name is X but I call him Y.”  That occurred regularly, and then you didn’t know which name would pop up in the future.

There was a lot of jumping back and forth from history to present day politics.  The story was missing any sort of smooth flow or running narrative.  Jumping topics occurred regularly.  Additionally, random conversations between Malala and her friends or aside comments would be inserted into the prose that had nothing to do with the current context.

Add to that the verb tense and language issues that probably are just a result of English being a second language made it a confusing book to read. 

Throughout the book I received no real sense of who Malala is as a person.  If you are looking for a memoir, this isn't it.  If you want to learn more about Pakistani history and politics, this is the book for you.

I wanted to love it; I just didn’t.

Wide-Open World: How Volunteering around the Globe Changed One Family's Lives Forever - John Marshall

Publisher:
  Random House
Release Date:
  February 10, 2015
Market:
  Secular
Genre:
–Non-Fiction, Memoir, Travel
Length:
–352 pages
My Rating:
   4/5

 

 

 About This Book (from Goodreads)

Oppressive heat, grueling bus rides, backbreaking work, and one vicious spider monkey . . . Best family vacation ever!
 
John Marshall needed a change. His twenty-year marriage was falling apart, his seventeen-year-old son was about to leave home, and his fourteen-year-old daughter was lost in cyberspace. Desperate to get out of a rut and reconnect with his family, John dreamed of a trip around the world, a chance to leave behind, if only just for a while, routines and responsibilities. He didn’t have the money for resorts or luxury tours, but he did have an idea that would make traveling the globe more affordable and more meaningful than he’d ever imagined: The family would volunteer their time and energy to others in far-flung locales.
 
Wide-Open World is the inspiring true story of the six months that changed the Marshall family forever. Once they’d made the pivotal decision to go, John and his wife, Traca, quit their jobs, pulled their kids out of school, and embarked on a journey that would take them far off the beaten path, and far out of their comfort zones.

Here is the totally engaging, bluntly honest chronicle of the Marshalls’ life-altering adventure from Central America to East Asia. It was no fairy tale. The trip offered little rest, even less relaxation, and virtually no certainty of what was to come. But it did give the Marshalls something far more valuable: a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to conquer personal fears, strengthen family bonds, and find their true selves by helping those in need. In the end, as John discovered, he and his family did not change the world. It was the world that changed them.

Critique

I received this book as an Advanced Reader Copy from NetGalley.  Honestly, when browsing NetGalley the cover looked interesting and the description sealed the deal for my request.  As I’m currently following a blog writer and her family as they travel the globe and have a long-time friend who just set off on a 6-12 month backpacking trip overseas, those things might have played a role as well.

My Expectations about This Book

I didn’t really have any expectations for this book.  And I thoroughly enjoyed what I received as a reader. 

Marshall gives a little background of his family and the interest in making a trip volunteering around the world.  It is enough to get you engaged with the family but not so much that it bogs down.  You as the reader really are off and traveling with them fairly quickly. 

The book is fast-paced and kept my attention throughout.  I enjoyed both the humorous encounters and the more serious moments as the Marshall family volunteered and traveled through Costa Rica, India, and more.  Marshall is an entertaining writer throughout.

I appreciated the epilogue at the end to tie up all the loose ends.  While it all didn’t go as I’d hoped, it is their real life. 

Kudos to the whole family to have the courage to uproot for six months and head into the great unknown.  I would like to be so brave. 

Questionable Content

There is some foul language sprinkled throughout the text. 

Pros

·         Engaging page turner
·         Easy to read
·         Marshall writes in such a way you can picture and feel yourself there

Cons

·         Some foul language
·         I wish it was longer J

Secret Daughter: A Mixed-Race Daughter and the Mother Who Gave Her Away - June Cross

Synopsis from B&N: June Cross was born in 1954 to Norma Booth, a glamorous, aspiring white actress, and James "Stump" Cross, a well-known black comedian. Sent by her mother to be raised by black friends when she was four years old and could no longer pass as white, June was plunged into the pain and confusion of a family divided by race. This is an inspiring testimony to the endurance of love between mother and daughter, a child and her adoptive parents, and the power of community.


I actually came across this book when I was looking for another book of the same title.

I found the perspective on race interesting. I grew up an Air Force brat, in diverse environments and with diverse people surrounding me. So racism is never something I’ve really been able to grasp. I mean, 1954 wasn’t really that long ago…50ish years. Yet mixed-race children had an entirely different upbringing, according to Cross’s book.

I enjoyed the relationship between June and her “adoptive” mom. I think that Aunt Peggy loved her as she was her own. However, June always had her birth mother, Norma, in her life. And Norma had a completely different set of values. I’m sure that added to confusion in young June’s life.

The book doubled back on itself some, which led to confusion. And the prose was tedious to slog through at times.

Have a Little Faith - Mitch Albom

Book club book for August. I’ll admit it…I was not thrilled about this pick. I had read The Five People You Meet in Heaven and had not been as impressed as I felt I should have been from a NYT Bestseller. And it left me feeling a little unsettled.


So I began Have a Little Faith with trepidation. When the first chapter or two didn’t really catch me, I was really worried I might not be able to get through it. Then it picked up. It got my attention. I connected. And I ended up really enjoying it and thinking about my own faith and the faith of others.

This story begins with a request. From a rabbi to a congregation member. From “the Reb” to Mitch. A request for a eulogy. That sets Mitch Albom out on a journey to discover more about Rabbi Lewis. Which becomes a discovery of faith – the rabbi’s, Mitch’s, and others in the world. And, ultimately, Mitch discovers many things about himself.

It was a very satisfying read. Short chapters. Once it got going – it was easy to breeze through…until there was a phrase that grabbed me and caused me to stop and ponder. I enjoyed the contrast between the Jewish faith and other faiths and the concept of building a community. I learned a lot about the Jewish faith (easily done since I knew next to nothing going into it). Was reaffirmed in some of my Christian beliefs. And again felt a longing for true community.

The only thing I disagreed with is the conclusion which eludes to all religious paths leading to God and whatever is good in the hereafter.

Takeaway Quote: “And it hit me, finally, that this was the whole point of my time with the Reb and Henry: not the conclusion, but the search, the study, the journey to belief. You can’t fit the Lord in a box. But you can gather stories, tradition, wisdom, and in time, you needn’t lower the shelf; God is already nearer to thee.”

Three Cups of Tea - Greg Mortenson

Okay, so I will admit up front that I read the “Young Reader’s Edition.” I actually started out reading the regular old adult edition for my book club this month. But I kept getting bogged down in details and rabbit trails and having to look back because I confused the similar names of various mountains and various people – sometimes even across categories. I really wasn’t enjoying it…as much as I had hoped I would because I’m all about education.


I also knew there was no way I’d be able to finish the book before tomorrow night. So last yesterday I picked up the YA one and finished it tonight. Conveniently, the chapters are all named the same in both books. So it was easy to pick up where I had left off in the other version. And I enjoyed it a lot more this way.

Greg Mortenson is definitely a man cut from a different cloth. Adventurous, yes. A little lost and bouncing in his younger days, for sure. But all of those things ultimately led him to discover and pursue his passion. And I have to admire that. He was not afraid of hardship. He was not afraid of hard work or inconvenience. He lived like no other (in his car, in a stinky sublet apartment, etc.) so he could do what he could to make this world a better place. I like that.

While I don’t know that I can jump onto his education is the only way to solve terrorism bandwagon, I can acknowledge that it is a huge step in the right direction.

Definitely a worthwhile read…if you read the juvenile version.

Notes Left Behind - Brooke & Keith Desserich

Elena Desserich wanted to become a teacher. But at 6, a rare form of brain cancer threatens her very survival. This book is the story of her struggle as told through journal enteries written by her parents.


Based on the title and the synopsis I read, I really thought the book would be more about the literal notes that she left behind in their home. It wasn't, even though there were some copies of those notes scattered throughout the book. The synopsis also said that the book was written for Gracie, Elena's younger sister, so that she would be able to remember Elena. I don't really see it accomplishing that goal either as the book more deals with their parents thoughts surrounding Elena, her illness, and coping.

It wasn't realy well-written. But I'm sure that my journal enteries, compiled and published, wouldn't be either.

This book did make me think about how I would handle being in the same situation. Would I do things differently? The same? And how incredibly challenging a terminal diagnosis to one's child would be.

I give kuddos to the Desserichs for being so transparent, but I don't know that this book is a recommended read.