Let's start with the plus more of this post because I know some of you are not into reading and don't care about my book review. So first and foremost......we have quite a phenomena this year - Valentine's Day and Lent are on the SAME day!!!! For those of you who give up chocolate for Lent.....well consume all you can today and tomorrow. I know it's a tough gig but I feel like you are up to it.
For those of you who are not plagued by chocolate, you can take the next couple of days to think about what you want to give up OR what you might want to add.
Here are some ideas:
- donate/throw away 40 things in 40 days
- no eating after dinner
-no soda, sweets, coffee or whatever your vice is (if you can't completely give up, you could reduce)
- Pay 3 compliments each day
- go meatless for a couple of meals per week
- pray for enemies
- limit social media
- establish a phone free time
- don't compare yourself to others
- no snooze buttons
- incorporate a nap on Saturday or Sunday
- don't salt your dinner plate
- take the stairs
-turn off car radio and pray instead
-collect all your change and donate at the end of forty days
I will talk later about my focus this Lent. But now let's get to the book review.....you know you could also commit to reading say 30 minutes a day......that would be great Lent goal.
This was a good book month for me. I liked them all and LOVED two of them. Here are the books I read in January and what I thought of them
The Lilac Bouquet by Carolyn Brown is a sweet, easy little read. Basically, a young girl loves a boy her family disapproves of and his family disapproves of her. The reason for both families not buying in is a 60 year old secret. The process of working through all of this is a bit predictable but it is a sweet little story all the same.
America's First Daughter is the story of Thomas Jefferson's eldest daughter. Well if you like history you will love this from page one. Honestly, history makes me a little sleepy so it took me until about chapter 3 to really get into it. I had to get the characters down, understand who I was dealing with and adjust to the dialogue and cadence of the writing. But once I got into it I couldn't wait to read what was next. I wasn't sleepy at all. The majority of the book is told from the daughter's perspective so it is a lot about the relationships, the ups and downs of life and the hardships.....oh the hardships. Listen, I have often wondered about being born at a different time. I mean there are several things about this era that I don't feel I would have done well with.....slavery, outhouses, smallpox......those are kind of obvious and a given. But one of the most enlightening things was the lack of rights for women.....shew nelly that was a doozie for sure. And I laughed at the things we say about politics and how bad and cut throat it all feels right now. Well turns out things may not be that different now than they were then. This is a long read. A really long read. But it was worth it and I recommend it.
Necessary Lies was great. I was into it from page one. It is another book set in the south about 55 years ago. So, yes there's a lot of racial stuff but there is so much more. This book tells the story of a couple of families who live and work on a tobacco farm, the social workers who serve them and a very controversial program that really happened called eugenics where various groups of people were sterilized often without their consent or knowledge. It is very interesting....disturbing and interesting. There are twists and turns and unseen and unpredictable in this book. I hated some of the characters and then found out I loved them. I loved some of the characters and then ended up hating them. That, my friends, is some good writing. If someone asked you what group you would never want to be a part of in America some of you may answer a particular race, some a particular gender, some a particular age group. After reading this book your answer may very well change to the simple category of poor. Poor of every race, gender and age group suffer in this story.....you can judge for yourself how much that still applies in our day and time.
Hope you are enjoying some good reads too. By the way, the new Madison Library is open. It is just down the street from the old one. They have a quiet reading room with a fireplace and a couple of nice study rooms. I love the new design and honestly just walking around among the stacks of books was great. I got myself a new physical card. They were just looking me up in the computer every time. But now I have my new card in my wallet and can't wait to use it.
See you at the library.....I'll be by the fireplace.
Make it a great week!
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