Meditations for Mortals, by Oliver Burkeman

In this self-help book Burkeman writes short chapters meant to be read one each day for four weeks.  Each one gives suggestions, quotes, and perspective about how to let go of toxic perfectionism and unrealistic expectations, and embrace natural limitations in order to live a fuller life.  Burkeman suggests that the reader follow generous promptings, pay attention to their own needs, finish the projects they start, prioritize things that fulfill their "life task," and reject the notion that all important things are difficult. He advises the reader to recognize when things really are too hard and impractical and to accept defeat with good grace. The goal of the book is to help the reader remove anxiety and stress due to worrying too much about things we can't control or do, and spend time on things that bring more joy and meaning.

This is a good choice to hand to the person in your life who wears busyness and stress like a badge of honor. Burkeman has a lot of good advice and the book is written in an accessible tone and length.  I didn't read the book as it was intended, i.e. a chapter a day for four weeks, but I still feel like I got something out of it.  That being said, when I started to write this review just a few days after finishing the book, I had a hard time remembering the specific topics he covered--so not super memorable. A lot of the principles he promotes have similarities to American Buddhist ideas of non-striving and being present but he doesn't use that terminology at all. This has much more of a "put your feet up and sit a spell" vibe. I think it is a message needed in current American society. (2024, 208)

An Unwitting Alliance by Anneka R. Walker

The Matchmaking Mamas are at it again.  This time they have arranged a marriage between teasing Tom (Lord) Harwood and Cassandra Vail, the oldest daughter in a family of many children and dwindling funds. Both victims of the matriarchal mechanatons resist being forced into matrimony...at first.  But as they spend more time together they find more to admire in each other.  Tom is working with the Rebels to try to reform a deplorable workhouse. Cassandra is trying to support her family as her mother struggles through a difficult and dangerous pregnancy. Will their struggles bring them together, or tear them apart?

This is the second in the Matchmaking Mamas series and is very like the first.  Walker strikes a good balance between humor, drama, and romance. Tom can be a little annoying at times, but that makes his moments of sweetness even more appealing. I liked how Cassandra, at the end, is so emotionally overloaded she hardly knows what to do with herself.  I remember that stage in my own courtship. This is not Pulitzer prise level writing, but I am looking forward to the next installment in the series which is coming out later this month. (2023, 272 p)

Greenwild: The World Behind the Door by Pari Thomson

 Daisy Thistledown is happy with her life following her exuberant mother around the world chasing the next big news story. Daisy adores her mother, and is never happier than when at her side, so she is very concerned when her mother decides to put her in a boarding school for a short time while she goes after a story in the Amazon River basin.  Daisy hates the school and when her mother doesn't return by the end of term, she senses something has gone wrong. She goes to a garden her mother and she always went to together, and there finds a magic door into another world. She soon discovers that this new world which is a botanical paradise, is connected to her family, but is also in danger. She teams up with other children her age and together they try to figure out which of the adults is the traitor trying to bring an end to all they love. 

The "through the magic door" is a pretty common trope for middle grade fantasy, but this book does it better than most.  It is clearly a "save the environment" book, but the author really does seem to have a genuine connection to and love of nature that shines through in her writing.  It is almost worth reading for the nature descriptions and world building alone. Daisy, and even the secondary characters, are fully developed, interestingly flawed, and show good character development through the course of the story. The plot twists are a little predictable to me who have read literally hundreds of middle grade fantasies, but I didn't ever get bored and will probably read the next in the series. (2023, 333p.)

The Librarian of Boone's Hollow by Kim Vogel Sawyer

 Addie Cowherd is doing well in college and looking forward to her senior year.  Then she discovers that her father has lost his job and she will have to quit school and find work to  help her parents out of their financial bind. She takes a job as a packhorse librarian to a backwards mining community in the hills of Kentucky.  It is very different from the city where she grew up and the townspeople are suspicious of the newcomer. Emmett Tharp went to the same college as Addie, but grew up in the small mining town.  He has graduated and is looking for work but at the height of the depression there is not much work to be found. They end up working together, and strike up a friendship, but not everyone is happy with their city ways and budding romance. Will the community prejudice and superstition put an end to all they are trying to do to make life better for everyone.

I thought this was going to be a sappy romance, but it turned out to be more about overcoming ignorance in an impoverished community than it was about their romance.  I have read several books about the packhorse librarians now.  The Giver of Stars was a bit more gritty, but really well written. The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek is still probably my favorite.  This one isn't bad, though, and quite clean.  The writing is not spectacular, but just fine, and the plot is interesting. The romance between Addie and Emmett is understated, but it is still a romance, and they are both really likeable characters. If you are interested in the topic and are looking for something inoffensive, this is a good choice. (2020, 368p)

The Truths We Hold by Kamala Harris

Kamala Harris was born in October 1964 (12 days before me) in California.  Her mom was a cancer researcher and her dad was a Standford professor.  Pretty early in life, her dad was out of the picture and she was mostly raised by her mother. She grew up in a community with a strong black pride culture, and developed a strong drive to right the wrongs of the world.  This desire lead her to become a district attorney.  As she progressed in her career she kept coming up against bigger and bigger problems.  In response she kept seeking and obtaining higher and higher office, from district attorney, to California Attorney General, to state Senator. The issues that she highlights in the book are sexual abuse and exploitation, urban revitalization, the mortgage collapse of 2008, immigration, and others. In each chapter she includes an anecdote from her life related to the topic, efforts she made to fight for justice, and editorializing on her moral convictions related to the topic. 

Kamala Harris wrote this book when she was considering a run for president.  It is about 1/4 autobiography and 3/4 campaign tract. As we now know, she was not successful in her presidential bid, but did well enough to be elected as Vice President under Joe Biden. Now, of course, she is the Democratic nominee for President. This book made me think a lot and understand why some people have reservations about Ms Harris becoming President. She is definitely a crusader, and has a lot of grit and drive, but her focus has always been on the downtrodden minority. That is very admirable and I came away from the book feeling like she is a woman who really does care about helping the marginalized parts of society. The thing that gave me pause is that she is so eager to help this group or that group, she doesn't stop to consider where all the money for per proposed programs is going to come from. She also seems to take a strong arm approach to forcing changes through the system.  Will that approach work with Congress? Does she understand how to use diplomacy and compromise?  I couldn't help but wonder how this book might be different if she were writing it now.  What has she learned in four years working as the VP with Joe Biden?  Full disclosure: I still plan on voting for her in November, and consider her as a better choice than the alternative. It will be interesting to see how and what she does if she becomes President next January. (368 p. 2020)

The Marvellers by Dhonielle Clayton

 Ella Durand comes from a long line of Conjurors, magical folk who can gain access to the underworld.  They have been excluded from interacting with Marvellers, magical people who gain their power from the stars.  Ella's father is the foremost "High Stepper" among the Conjurors, and arranges for Ella to be the first Conjuror to be admitted to the Marveller school, the Arcanum Institute.  She is very excited to go, but is met with more prejudice and fear than she was expecting. She manages to make two friends who are also misfits, Brigit, and Jason, but they all become concerned when their favorite teacher who is sympathetic to Conjurors, Masterji Thatker goes missing. Meanwhile a prisoner escapes from magic prison, and threatens all the Marveller world.  Can Ella defy prejudice and become the hero the Marvellers need?

This is an interesting book.  Ella is a cross between Ruby Bridges and Harry Potter. There are a lot of the now very familiar magic school tropes; the two best friends, the wise teacher mentor, the rumors of the rising force of evil etc.  There is also a lot in there about being the first to cross the lines of segregation and the cruelty of child to child prejudice. There is also lot of southern black folk tale references in the book, which reminded me of Disney's The Princess and the Frog which my husband and I watched recently. I generally liked the book, but I thought it was too long and the pacing was a bit slow.  It could have used a 25% edit. Ella is also a little too perfect.  She is facing hard stuff, but she, herself, doesn't have many (or any) personality flaws. Brigit, with her grumpy disdain for the Marvellers, is a more interesting character than Ella. That was one of the strengths of the Harry Potter books. Harry was not at all perfect. In the first book he isn't the top student, and got stuck looking at the Mirror of Erised every night because he is messed up about his parents.  It is hard to write a flawed character that is still endearing but when a writer can manage it, the book is better. There are two more in the series, and I might read them, or I might not. (416 p. 2022)

The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass

 A little free library appears in the middle of the town overnight.  Evan looks at the books, and is astonished to find his father's name on the check out lists of many of them.  They were clearly from the Martinville Library that burned down many years previous, but what did his father have to do with that?  As Evan and his friend dig into the mystery, the Ghosts of the Martinville History House are starting to fade. AL and the yellow cat try everything they can think of, but in the end, it may be Evan who can solve the mystery and save the spirit of the library.

What a sweet little story!  It was like an ode to the power of libraries to bring people together.  I loved that Evan has a functional family and a true friend in Rafe. The mice and the cat are adorable too.  It is so rarely that you find a book that is truly wholesome, and also engaging. It would be interesting to know how the two authors collaborated. I wonder if one author wrote the Evan chapters, and the other wrote the chapters about the residents of the History House. I could feel the style of Ms Stead, but I am not as familiar with Ms Mass. (224 p. 2023)