One Book Week, But it was a Looooong One 🪄🧙‍♂️😵

 

        In reading a series, I find myself comparing one against the other. Which is the best? Which is my least favorite? I feel differently about the books this time around.

SPOILERS AHEAD

    Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling feels different from the series' previous books. Harry is an angry teen, and his problems and concerns are more mature. The dangers are more significant, and the difficulties more complex. In past readings of the series, I enjoyed book five less than the others. Harry loses his optimism, becoming cynical and angry. Considering what he's faced, it feels authentic.

    As I read through the series this time, I realized that each book ends with the death of a character. In book one, it is Professor Quirrell; in book two, it is Tom Riddle's diary--not a person--but definitely a character; in book three, it's Buckbeak; in book four, it's Cedric Diggery; and in book five it's Sirius Black. There are many more deaths to come. 

    I've read criticism of Rowling's choice to have characters die in a young adult series. For me, it gives the series gravitas and tension as the possibility of the death of a beloved character exists. A mark of good writing to me is causing me to care about a character. I remember reading Sounder by William H. Armstrong and Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls and being devasted by the dogs' deaths. I didn't regret reading them; I still remember them fifty years later. Children's books can be a way to talk about life's painful events before they happen and can be a source of solace. 

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🧘‍♀️ A Famous Travel Book and🫙One of the Weirdest Books I've Read

 

    The first stop in my book club's journey of reading travel writers is Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I listened to the audiobook read by Elizabeth Gilbert. Her writing is humorous and insightful. She likes to delve into her motivations. If you are uptight and repressed, it can get uncomfortable. So I was uncomfortable. 

    I find people either love this book or hate this book. I fall in between. I like how she tames her inner critical voices by addressing them directly and reasoning with them. 

    I had some beliefs challenged by her understanding of spirituality and God. There is a common metaphor for religion. Several blind men are brought to an elephant; each feels a different part and thinks he understands what an elephant is. One feels the trunk and proclaims the elephant is like a hose. One feels a leg and thinks the elephant is like a tree. The point of the story is they are all wrong. Someone wiser and more knowledgeable is needed to reveal the whole elephant. It feels like Elizabeth Gilbert believes she sees the elephant. I find her story vacillates between humility and I-know-better. It can be annoying because it feels disingenuous. 

    Still, she tells an engaging story of her adventures.

🍝🪷🏝️ 🧘‍♀️

If you're interested, here is a website that talks about Elephant illustration:

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/trevin-wax/3-ways-the-blind-men-and-the-elephant-story-backfires/

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    I like a weird book, and Things in Jars by Jess Kidd is one of the strangest I've ever read. It is difficult to categorize. It contains historical fiction, suspense, mystery, fantasy, and horror. The main character, Bridie Devine, is an Irish immigrant to Victorian London who works as a female private detective. The book moves between Bridie solving her current case of a missing child and gradually revealing Bridie's childhood. I like Bridie because she is unconventional, and fiercely fights for the abused and exploited. Even though Things in Jars is teeming with fantastical characters, it feels authentic. She is helped by the ghost of a boxer and her seven-foot-tall housemaid. The story can be gruesome, with detailed discussions of dead bodies, surgeries, and autopsies. I found it fast-paced and riveting. 

🧜‍♀️👻🫙🐌💧

🍁🇨🇦 Canadian Mystery, Facing Anxiety 😬, and Juicy, Literary Family Drama 🌊🐳

 

   At its heart, Every City is Every Other City by John McFetridge is a missing-person story. Gordon Stuart is a Canadian whose primary job is as a movie location scout. When that season ebbs, he works as a private detective for a security firm called OBC. Gordon doesn't like to get involved in the action, but circumstances force a change. I found this book quirky, but enjoyable. Its flavor is deeply Canadian. (If I had a bent toward poor metaphors, I might say as Canadian as maple syrup and ice hockey--thank goodness I'm not!) I found the book engaging. I liked the main character and learned about the life of a location scout, the city of Toronto, and the suicide rates of Canadian men of a certain age. 

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    It took me a while to read The Anxiety Opportunity: How Worry is the Doorway to Your Best Self by Curtis Chang. I heard him interviewed on The Allender Center Podcast and found his ideas intriguing. Chang is someone who has anxiety. He was a church pastor in San Francisco, but had to resign because of crippling anxiety. I also have anxiety and have read many books and articles aimed at anxious Christians. Most advice boils down to this: stop being anxious and trust in God more. The try-harder-do-better approach hasn't worked for me and, in fact, contributes to my anxiety. Chang's perspective is that anxiety can lead to deeper faith and trust. He gives practical advice like getting out in nature, eating and sleeping well, and talking with a therapist. He urges the reader to have the courage to face the roots of anxiety in their lives and also to understand God is not disappointed in them. I think I will always be an anxious soul, and instead of beating myself up, I want to pivot to the question of what my anxiety is showing me. Chang's encouraging book helped me consider what my anxiety can do for me and know God is with me. 

😬😳😰🥺🫨

    Little Monsters by Adrienne Brodeur is well-written literary fiction about a perfect-looking family with secrets living on Cape Cod. It contains thoughtful images and language with complex, somewhat unbalanced people. The mental state of the main characters gives the book an edgy suspense. Little Monsters made me think about the roles of men and women, art, the ocean, whales, and Cape Cod. Brodeur is an experienced, talented writer that I want to read more of.

🌊🐳🐋⛵️

🏞️ Travel Writing (the First of Many) and Two Harry Potter Books!🪄🪄

 

   My book club's theme for this year is travel writing. Leave Only Footprints: My Acadia-to_Zion Journey through America's Nation Parks by Conor Knighton. I picked this book to listen to on a car trip with my DH. As someone who has visited several national parks (Yellowstone, Yosemite, and the Grand Canyon), I enjoyed "revisiting" them through the narration. Conor Knighton (http://www.conorknighton.com/) is a television news reporter who experienced a devasting breakup. He decided to travel for a year, visiting National Parks and reporting occasionally on the CBS Morning News. I thought the book would be, and this park is fantastic for this, and this park is excellent for that and was surprised in a good way. He organizes the parks topically: Sunrise, Water, Mystery, Diversity, Food, etc. I learned new things and have parks I want to visit, like the Great Sand Dunes, perhaps the quietest place in America. 

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    Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, by J.K. Rowling, is the favorite in the series of a friend of mine, Gabriel Soll. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5.Harry_Potter_and_the_Prisoner_of_Azkaban?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=f4Wh4OPJOO&rank=1#SocialReviews  

It sparked the question in me: which HP is my favorite? I can see why Gabe likes this one. As the third in the series, I'm familiar with the characters and the main problem of Voldemort's desire to kill Harry and rule the world. In this book, the three friends still feel innocent of larger evil at work. Rowling writes well in both the present story and the meta-story. She grows her characters up from ten to twelve years old. The magical world she's created is believable and fascinating. 

    As an organizer, I wonder if she uses spreadsheets to keep track of everyone? Did she use software? Did she hire someone to help with consistency? 

    Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire takes a darker turn. A fellow student dies, and the evil forces gain strength. This book reveals much about Voldemort's earlier reign and how terrible and terrified everyone felt. Hagrid reassures Harry that they will be okay as long as they have Dumbledore. I like the values that Rowland points Harry toward--loyalty, friendship, and courage. Good stuff!

🪄🧙‍♀️🧙‍♂️🏆🐍🚂