I met my goal in August and have some great reads to share.
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
I read this for the Fountain of Carrots book club. It’s absolutely delightful. I already am wanting to re-read it so I can unpack new layers of meaning. I loved it so much that I was unable to stick to the book club schedule and finished way ahead. Also, it’s short! A sampling: “The Beauty of the House is immeasurable; its Kindness infinite.”
Rainbow Valley by L.M Montgomery
This is the book I’ve read the fewest times of all the Anne books. This may be only the third time, and I found myself liking it better but still wishing it focused more on Anne’s family and less on the Meredith children, even though enjoyed reading about them.
Stumbling into Grace: How We Meet God in Tiny Works of Mercy by Mary Pezzulo
Mary is one of my favorite bloggers–I share her writing on my page all the time. This is an amazing and personal explanation of the Works of Mercy, with practical and empathetic takes on how you can practice them: “I have learned so much about what it’s like to be poor, sick, and lonely that I have something to tell other people, so that we as Christians can help one another. God didn’t want me abused, but he has used my journey to help me tell other people about what it’s like so it’s not so hard and isolating for them. I couldn’t have done that before.”
The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune
This was our in-person book club choice for August and I enjoyed it very much. I found myself wanting to know about the backstory and hoping for more in this universe. I will say the tone is a little strange. It reads like YA fantasy but the protagonist is middle-aged. Also some bits are over the top–like the hilarious pronouncements of the six-year-old Antichrist, but that adds to the fun. At bottom, it’s a sweet, affirming book–though it has its own controversy.
Rilla of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery
This was the month I finished the Anne books and now I will have to decide what my next comfort read will be. This book is often tragic, moving, and hard to read, but it’s also a lovely coming of age story and a great history lesson of what it was like on the Canadian home front during World War I.
The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. DuBois
I’d been working my way through this slim yet dense volume for several months. Always lyrical, often informative, especially about the time just after the Civil War, this was a new perspective for someone whose only previous knowledge of those days comes from Gone with the Wind. DuBois often quotes lyrics of the songs of his people, about which he writes:
“Through all the sorrow of the Sorrow Songs there breathes a hope–a faith in the ultimate justice of things. The minor cadences of despair change often to triumph and calm confidence. Sometimes it is faith in life, sometimes a faith in death, sometimes assurance of boundless justice in some fair world beyond. But whichever it is, the meaning is always clear: that sometime, somewhere, men will judge men by their souls and not by their skins. Is such a hope justified? Do the Sorrow Songs ring true?”
As usual, I’m linking up at An Open Book. Check out more great reads there!
