We finished Term 2 for school this month so that dominates my list of what I read in February.
Dee Brown, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee One of Ben’s books for Ambleside Year 10. This book tells the story of how the Indians lost the American plains, tribe by tribe, ending with the battle at Wounded Knee. It’s written from the Indian perspective. As in, the white people scalp the Indians, but the Indians never scalp the white people. I think Crazy Horse by Mari Sandoz gives a more even-handed portrayal of this period in history and will likely sub that for this book with Joe and Caroline.
Thomas Hardy, Far from the Madding Crowd One of Ben’s books for Ambleside Year 10. I had never read this before, but enjoyed it immensely.
Joseph Conrad, Lord Jim One of Ben’s books for Ambleside Year 10. I read Heart of Darkness when was a teen (on my own time) and have fond memories of it. This one sounded good, but I just never got into it. Perhaps at some point I will re-read it and develop more of an appreciation for it.
George Eliot, Silas Marner One of Ben’s books for Ambleside Year 10. Another classic I had never read but truly enjoyed.
Willa Cather, Death Comes for the Archbishop One of Ben’s books for Ambleside Year 10. I read this before we went to Arizona last year but enjoyed reading it again with Ben as he studied this period in history.
Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Lost Prince One of Joe’s books for Ambleside Year 7. This was a favorite of mine several years ago, and I loved it ever so much once again. A youth lives with his father and falls into this group of ragged boys practicing the art of war with hopes of freeing a beloved country. I won’t spoil it for you, but the book is filled with adventures as their game becomes more real than they ever imagined.
G.A. Henty, In Freedom’s Cause: A Story of Wallace and Bruce One of Joe’s books for Ambleside Year 7. Well-written historical fiction, especially fun for boys who love stories of battles and conquests. Wallace and Bruce fought the English in the Scottish war for independence.
Karina Yan Glaser, The Vanderbeekers and the Hidden Garden Read aloud with the kids. Not as good as the first book in the series, but still better than a lot of books out there for this age group.
Jean Merrill, The Pushcart War Read aloud with the kids. A very fun story about pushcarts vs trucks in New York City.
William Trevor, Felicia’s Journey Guardian selection for January. A young Irish woman gets pregnant and leaves to find the soldier and father of her baby with whom she believes she is in love. The details he gave her that seemed so believable turn out to be completely unreliable as she searches the English countryside for him. The people she meets who help her in her search range from well-meaning to downright creepy. A good read if you’re looking for something a little different but not too far from the beaten path.
Orhan Pamuk, Snow Former Guardian selection – the book someone mentioned in another book group that led to my discovery of the Guardian book club and the many books I have enjoyed there. An exiled poet returns to a city in Turkey to report on a series of suicides by girls forbidden to wear head scarves. Easy to read yet very apocalyptic in nature, Pamuk’s work provides a fascinating portrait of Islamic culture. Definitely a challenging read but so worth it.
Dani Shapiro, Still Writing: The Pleasures and Perils of a Creative Life I’ve read (and loved) a couple of Shapiro’s memoirs so this has been on my list of must-reads. It was every bit as good as I hoped it would be.
Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love Well Read Mom book club selection for February. The edition I read was broken down into daily selections of less than five minutes each, which was a good thing because I never would have made it through it otherwise. Touted as the first book ever written in English by a woman, it contains the reflections and musings of a late medieval religious woman.
Ruth Reicht, Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir Some have said they didn’t like this book because they weren’t elite restaurant conniseurs. I knew of Gourmet magazine but I never purchased a copy (I’m not into eating gourmet food, sadly). That said, I loved this memoir because it told the story of how she got the gig as editor of Gourmet, what it was like working there, and how it all went down. If you enjoy career stories, this is a good one. No preaching leadership skills or anything – just the realities of working for a prestigious company and all that goes with it. Five stars.
J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye My third read of this work and definitely the best. I mean, I loved it each time. But the Close Reads podcast read and discussed it, and I loved it ever so much more after hearing their thoughts on it. Truly a great book.
William Shakespeare, The Winter’s Tale The Literary Life podcast read this book at the beginning of the year, and I did it with the kids as part of school. The podcast discussion really helped my understanding of this play. Once I got into the play, I remembered highlights from reading Lamb’s summaries of Shakespeare plays. It seemed like a tragedy but turns out to be a comedy. I still like Shakespeares histories best.