March 2018 Reading Round-Up

Left to Tell by Immaculee Ilibagiza

This was pretty difficult to read through. A lot of gruesome details of the Rwanda genocide. My heart ached for her and her people. I can't imagine living through the horror that she did. What amazed me was her devotion to God and her ability to forgive. It reminded me a lot of 'The Hiding Place'. I would just recommend you to read something 'lighter' in between as it's pretty heavy throughout.

"When we are no longer able to change a situation-we are challenged to change ourselves." Viktor Frankl

"So I resolved to pray during every waking moment, beginning as soon as my eyes opened at 4 or 5 A.M. My first prayer was always to thank God that the pastor's home had been built so it could shelter us during the genocide. Then I thanked Him for having the architect design the house with an extra bathroom, and for prompting the pastor to buy a wardrobe of exactly the right dimensions to conceal our hiding place." pg 84

"I knew that my bond with God would transcend the bathroom, the war, and the holocaust...it was a bond I now knew would transcend life itself." pg 107

Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover

See my review here. And if you do read the book, I think it's helpful to read one of her brother's review of it on Amazon.  

Secrets of a Charmed Life by Susan Meissner

This book falls under the genre of beachy, fast reads. The pacing of the story was such that you could read it in a day. It was about the London Blitz during WWII. It's focused on two sisters who get forced to evacuate London and what happens when they try to come back and the consequences that lead to that. Definitely kept me on my toes. I didn't love the last 1/3 of the book as much. It didn't grip me like the rest of it but still a fun read if you're looking for something fast.

A Tangled Mercy

This has a bit of Kate Morton style to it which I really like: the back and forth between time periods and how characters are weaved together in this story. It's about a woman who is on a mission to discover more about her mother and her mother's passion of 1822 revolution involving Tom Russell and slavery.

Again, I like the style of writing and some of the themes are timely for us today but I felt there were some loose ends that didn't get tied up. Or I just felt by the end that something was missing.

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

I'm just going to give myself a high-five for finishing this 600 page beast in a month! Apparently it was interesting enough to read it in a relatively short amount of time. This is a story that centers around the Hamilton and Trask families. But to me, it was mostly about the Trasks. The idea of the book is give it a theme like Cain and Abel. Thus the names, Caleb and Adam, Caleb and Aron were main characters, each set brothers.

I came away finding this book really interesting but I'm not sure if it's one I would read again or beg people to read it. I do wish I had someone to discuss it with because it definitely would have made it more interesting and I would find some more things to appreciate about it. But I felt like there were some unnecessary characters or plot lines (like a majority of the Hamiltons...what am I missing here?) But maybe that's just me.

I was really drawn to the character Caleb and even though he was supposedly the "evil" brother, I related to his humaness a lot more than "pure" Aron.

And then there is something really creepy about having a woman, and in this case, the mother, as the villain.

I can see why this one is a classic.

Miller's Valley by Anna Quindlen

I actually read this one in two sittings-about 250 pages and engaging enough to keep reading. This is one of those that feels like the author's memoir but it's really just the narrator's story from young childhood to adulthood and the ups and downs of life. I guess this would be considered a 'quiet' book if that's more your thing. I liked it well enough but it's not one that I'm gushing to recommend.