2015 Book Reviews

Due to teaching school and traveling to various states, it has taken me four months in the new year to get around to writing my book reviews from last year. Thirty books were read in 2015. I will focus on my top five favorites, followed by a list of the total. Some on the list will have a summary because they were good enough to deem a description, but fell short of making the top five.

Every now and then in a person's life, a book comes along that stirs the soul so deeply, it is remembered long after the final page is turned. To Kill a Mockingbird and Goodnight, Mr. Tom  made my soul-stirring list many years ago; Small Man of Nanataki joined their ranks in early 2015.

I was wandering among the bookshelves at the local library, not looking for anything in particular, when I spied a small book with a blue cover. It was a true story set during World War II, so I added it to my stack to check out. Kiyoshi Watanabe was a Japanese who converted to Christianity as a young man. When war broke out, he became an interpreter at a prisoner of war camp. He witnessed the torture of Allied prisoners; wrestling with loyalty to his country and love for his Savior, Jesus Christ. His story is one of mercy, faith, friendship, courage in the face of extreme cruelty and terror, and the violent loss of his family. Mr. Watanabe's sacrifices, the suffering of the prisoners and civilians, the horrendous acts mankind commits, the power of love and forgiveness to overcome darkness----each page was filled with the message of amazing grace.

I wept throughout the entire book.

The Poet of Tolstoy Park caught my eye at the library because Fairhope is not far from my home in Florida. The author, Sonny Brewer, captures the essence of the coastal south, a region that in many ways is quite different from the rest of the south. The story is finely written, and I paused on more than one occasion to consider a passage or read a sentence aloud to hear the words.

This is a fictional account based on the real life of Henry Stuart. Due to a serious illness, Mr. Stuart was told by a doctor he had a year to live in 1925. Rather than sit at home in Idaho waiting for death, he packed a few belongings and moved to Fairhope, Alabama where the climate would be more temperate, making his death somewhat less painful. He moved 2,259 miles to a state he had never seen in order to die; instead he found life and friendship and purpose where his final months turned in to more than 20 years. Mr. Stuart built by hand a round house out of concrete. It still stands to this day near Fairhope. He lived a life of simplicity, reading books and walking barefoot most days. Mr. Stuart felt like an old friend by the end of the story.

"There is only one thing to know: Walk a path along which you can live your life in concert with others, if not being outright helpful, at least not causing harm. That learned, a life thus lived, allows one to die well."
-Henry Stuart

I found The Reading Promise at a library book sale in Memphis when I was visiting my kindred spirit who doesn't mind me reading aloud while she cooks dinner. It is the memoir of a girl and her father who started a 100-day reading challenge when she was in the fourth grade; it turned in to her father reading aloud to her every night, without fail, until the day she left for college. They read together through a divorce, the ups and downs of  the teenage years, and everything in between. The book reminded me of the times my parents read to me. When I look back on my childhood, many of my fondest memories are of curling up beside my sister as Mom read Little House on the Prairie or a James Herriot story, and of Dad reading Jack and the Beanstalk with different voices for all the characters. I love books for reasons too numerous to list, but the way they bring people together is one of my favorites. In a world of  iPhone screens, television, and technology-induced isolation, books encourage a closeness that is rapidly declining in our society.

When my friends and I are bored, we come up with lists of historical and famous people we would invite to a dinner party. Theodore Roosevelt always makes my list. He led a fascinating life. Alice and Edith reads like an historical novel, chronicling the lives of the Roosevelt family from childhood through the White House. It is well-written, informative, and entertaining.

This book contains facts about every nation on earth. To say it is interesting would be a massive understatement. I didn't even know some of the countries existed. I would call my best friend on the phone and tell her about a country a few times each week. We finished reading it aloud together during Christmas break. The readings were punctuated with many exclamations of, "I never knew that!" and "You have got to be kidding! That is crazy!"

If you love trivia, you will love this book. It also helps to have a fellow book lover for a friend who will not think you are strange for wanting to go up to random strangers and inform them of a newly acquired fact.

1. Small as an Elephant, by Jennifer Richard Jacobson

2. One Came Home, by Amy Timberlake

3. The Watcher, by Joan Hiatt Harlow

4. The Apothecary, by Maile Meloy

5. Small Man of Nanataki: The True Story of a Japanese Who Risked His Life to Provide Comfort for His Enemies, by Liam Nolan

6. Revolution in World Missions, by K.P. Yohannan--I read Mr. Yohannan's book on my way to Romania last June. It was eye-opening and convicting.

7. A Kingdom Strange: The Brief and Tragic History of the Lost Colony of Roanoke, by James Horn

8. Homesick, by Kate Klise

9. Speaking from Among the Bones, by Alan Bradley--#5 of the Flavia de Luce mysteries---I have enjoyed the entire series; dark, yet somehow delightfully funny, with an eleven-year-old chemist/detective.

10. Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek, by Maya Van Wagenen--written by a 15-year-old who decided to follow a 1950s fashion and manners guide while in high school in the 21st century. The book was thought-provoking and funny. It made me sad to read how the author was treated by her peers (bullied, ignored, etc..), but she responded with spunk, grace, and good humor. Popular is her first book, and I think we will see her again in the writing arena. She is talented.

11. The Reading Promise: My Father and the Books We Shared, by Alice Ozma

12. Porch Talk: Stories of Decency, Common Sense, and Other Endangered Species, by Philip Gulley

13. Princess Academy, by Shannon Hale

14. Learning from the Heart: Lessons on Living, Loving, and Listening, by Daniel Gottlieb

15. The Poet of Tolstoy Park, by Sonny Brewer

16. Simplexity: Why Simple Things Become Complex, by Jeffrey Kluger

17. For One More Day, by Mitch Albom

18. Alice and Edith, by Dorothy Clarke Wilson

19. Hard to Believe: The High Cost and Infinite Value of Following Jesus, by John MacArthur

20. Bogwoppit, by Ursula Moray Williams

21. Out of the Depths: An Unforgettable WW II Story of Survival, Courage, and the Sinking of the USS Indianapolis, by David Harrell--This is the true story of Edgar Harrell, a survivor of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis at the end of World War II. It was an honor to meet Mr. Harrell at a World War II reenactment in Tennessee last September.

22. The War that Saved My Life, by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley--This book is youth fiction set during World War II. It is the story of a sister and her younger brother, abused and neglected in London, who are evacuated to the countryside during the blitz. They are placed with a woman who is emotionally distant and working through her own grief. During their time together, all three learn to trust, realizing a family is built whenever people love each other; no matter if they are biological or strangers.

23. The Dragon's Eye, by Dugald A. Steer

24. The Drift House: The First Voyage, by Dale Peck

25. Black Radishes, by Susan Lynn Meyer--This is a fictional account of real events during World War II. The story is set in France and follows the lives of a French Jewish family who are in hiding from the Nazis. The story of Jews in France is an oft-overlooked element of the Holocaust. The book was a fascinating look at the fine line separating Vichy France from the free sector where Jews were somewhat safer.

26. A World of Curiosities: Surprising, Interesting, and Downright Unbelievable Facts from Every Nation on the Planet, by John Oldale

27. Red Letter Revolution: What if Jesus Really Meant What He Said?, by Shane Claiborne--This book made me dig deep, question long-held beliefs, and ask God for wisdom. Your toes will be stepped on. Read it and be challenged.

28. Hiking: A Celebration of the Sport and the World's Best Places to Enjoy It, by Cindy Ross--I read this book during airport layovers on my way to and from New York in December. It was an easy read with several hikes mentioned that I now want to add to my bucket list. I have never been an athletic person and I don't like organized team sports. Hiking is the sport that suits me just fine. It is often a solo endeavor that does not require me to dodge flying objects or bodies. Give me a mountain to climb any day over a football game.

29. Growing Up Amish, by Ira Wagler

30. Southbound, by Susan and Lucy Letcher