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)
Deelibrarian Reading Log Blog
This is a record of all the books I read or listen to.
Sunday, October 13, 2024
Meditations for Mortals, by Oliver Burkeman
Thursday, October 10, 2024
An Unwitting Alliance by Anneka R. Walker
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)
Wednesday, October 9, 2024
Greenwild: The World Behind the Door by Pari Thomson
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.)
Sunday, October 6, 2024
The Librarian of Boone's Hollow by Kim Vogel Sawyer
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)
Wednesday, October 2, 2024
The Truths We Hold by Kamala Harris
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)
Sunday, September 29, 2024
The Marvellers by Dhonielle Clayton
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)
Monday, September 23, 2024
The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass
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)