The Air You Breathe: a book review

The Air You Breathe

by Frances de Pontes Peebles

Published August 21, 2018

Riverhead Books

I feel like I want to cry from the beauty and rawness of these characters. The book was longer than my personal preference. However, the writing was breathtaking.

The push and pull between Graca and Dores as they move from 1930s Brazil to 1940s Hollywood is fun to experience.

The characters and settings are rich. The language was stunning in places. There were certain paragraphs and sentences I stopped to re-read.

Disclaimer: I purchased this book with my own money through Book of the Month Club.

The Minority Experience: a book review

The Minority Experience: Navigating Emotional and Organizational Realities

by Adrian Pei

Publish date: September 4, 2018

InterVarsity Press

The Minority Experience: Navigating Emotional and Organizational Realities is a new entry into the own voices discussions of race, particularly as they relate to organizations' employees.

The first section of the book discusses Pei’s experiences as Asian American and also offers examples of those of other persons of color.

The second section offers ideas for how to approach topics of race and pain within an organization. Pei’s background is in ministry and the corporate world, but the concepts are applicable to many industries, organizations, and groups.

Unless this is a completely new topic for readers, there isn’t anything particularly revelatory in this book. However, it is a good addition to the own voices books about social justice, and it is somewhat new due to the Asian American perspective. We need perspectives from all different people of color to round out our knowledge and our libraries.

Disclaimer: I received an advance-read copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I used Amazon affiliate links in this post. Should you choose to buy something through those links, you will not pay any extra, but they will send me a small fee, which I will likely add to my book fund. Thank you. Please see my Book Review Disclaimer for more information.

Sheets: a graphic novel review

Sheets

by Brenna Thummler

Published August 28, 2018

Publisher: Lion Forge

Sheets is a graphic novel about a girl named Marjorie whose mother has died and father rarely leaves his room. Marjorie runs her parents’ laundry business after school. It is struggling and a sneaky man is trying to take the building from them to start a yoga resort.

Meanwhile, a ghost named Wendell is having trouble adjusting to the Land of Ghosts and begins to visit the laundry at night where he builds blanket forts and otherwise messes up the store. He attempts to help Marjorie, but things don’t go as planned.

This story was so creative and fun. The Land of Ghosts comes with its own rules and reckoning, and Wendell prefers the world of humans.

We also get to see how Marjorie deals with having to be the business owner and deal with normal school drama in the wake of her mother’s death.

Wendell’s story provides levity against the gravity of Marjorie’s. I definitely recommend this book for adults and young adults.

Disclaimer: I received an advance-read copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I used Amazon affiliate links in this post. Should you choose to buy something through those links, you will not pay any extra, but they will send me a small fee, which I will likely add to my book fund. Thank you. Please see my Book Review Disclaimer for more information.

Convenience Store Woman: a book review

Convenience Store Woman

Written by Sayaka Murata; translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori

Released in English Language June 12, 2018

Grove Press

 I first heard about Convenience Store Woman on the What Should I Read Next? podcast episode 133 where Anne Bogel sold it for me. I knew I had to put it on my list.

The novel, originally published in Japan, follows Keiko who isn’t sure how social interactions are supposed to work and finds joy working in a convenience store for a long period of time. She likes that the employee training manual tells her exactly what to say and she is able to anticipate the needs of the day. She finds comfort and value in a job that her family, and perhaps society at large, don’t see as a proper adult job.

This book is so tiny! Both in length and physical dimensions. For as short as it was (176 pages), I thought I would breeze through in one or two sittings. Instead, I read a few pages at a time over the course of a week. Even a few days past finishing it, I’m honestly not sure what I thought of it. I laughed at a few parts. It was weird. I had fun seeing Keiko try to understand and function in the world around her.

There is also an underlying study of laziness vs. contentment, which is interesting to unpack.

Overall, I think it’s worth a read. It doesn’t need to be at the top of your list, but if you stumble across it, give it a go.

Disclaimer: I picked up this book from my local library. I used Amazon affiliate links in this post. Should you choose to buy something through those links, you will not pay any extra, but they will send me a small fee, which I will likely add to my book fund. Thank you. Please see my Book Review Disclaimer for more information.

Inspired: a book review

Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again

by Rachel Held Evans

Released June 12, 2018

Published by Thomas Nelson

Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again is Rachel Held Evans’s attempt to get readers to fall in love with the Bible, despite the tough stories within it.

The introduction pulled me in right away as Evans weaves her own fairy tale of a girl in love with a book and describes the wondrous stories she found in the Bible, until she was older and realized there were many stories that left God seeming more like a villain than a hero.

What I appreciated about this book is that Evans doesn’t shy away from the harder parts of the Bible that deal with war, slavery, rape, and other difficult topics. She doesn’t sweep those under the rug in a blind “The Bible is perfect” way. In fact, she talks about how some of these points caused her to deeply question faith and Christianity.


Ultimately, Evans is still making the case for Christianity and learning from the Bible, but she approaches text as a collection of letters, poetry, and prose -- as a wide literary canon that can be studied. For example, she describes how the story of Jonah and the whale employs fanciful literary conventions to make its point, and she says that it is okay not to view the story as a literal history.

Having heard plenty of literal interpretations without room for questioning, I appreciated Inspired for its ability to question and reframe these stories. It’s worth a read for Christians and questioners.

Disclaimer: I received an advance-read copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I used Amazon affiliate links in this post. Should you choose to buy something through those links, you will not pay any extra, but they will send me a small fee, which I will likely add to my book fund. Thank you. Please see my Book Review Disclaimer for more information.

Thank and Grow Rich: a book review

Thank & Grow Rich: A 30-Day Experiment in Shameless Gratitude and Unabashed Joy

by Pam Grout

Released August 30, 2016

Published by Hay House

As the title suggests, Thank & Grow Rich is about cultivating gratitude. Certainly this isn’t a new idea, but it is a good book.

Author Pam Grout uses a fun tone to deliver her message. Whereas some gratitude books approach the topic with reverence, Thank and Grow Rich refers to its concepts as "party tricks" and presents the ideas in a way that seem fun and inviting, rather than just another thing to list off in your journal every day. It is this tone that kept me reading and set it apart from other self-help books on the same topic.

Yet, it isn’t overly fluffy either. Grout provides some really great ideas. One that I liked, in particular, was to start each day thinking your preferred variation of, “Something amazing will happen today.” This attitude sets you up to notice the good throughout the day.

Overall, this is a fun read and should be welcome on the shelves of self-improvement readers. It could also be a fun gift for fellow readers.

Disclaimer: I received an advance-read copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I used Amazon affiliate links in this post. Should you choose to buy something through those links, you will not pay any extra, but they will send me a small fee, which I will likely add to my book fund. Thank you. Please see my Book Review Disclaimer for more information.

Healing Our Broken Humanity: a book review

Healing Our Broken Humanity: Practices for Revitalizing the Church and Renewing the World

by Grace Ji-Sun Kim and Graham Hill

Release: August 28, 2018

InterVarsity Press

Healing Our Broken Humanity aims to focus Christianity on social justice issues.

The authors argue that the church needs to heal and become whole, because the world is watching. “We need a new narrative and a new way of telling our stories of God in our lives,” they write. Rather than expecting others to adapt to the church, the authors posit the church should adapt with fresh practices and that race relations may be a good place to start.

They say that Christians first passion must be for Jesus, then they can respond with passion to other issues like politics, race, gender, and others. They also argue that pastors should address racism and sexim as sins, because they are abuses of power.

The ideas presented in this book are very good and relevant for our present society. The authors are very good about providing specific examples from the real world, as well as citing scripture to support their writing. I truly believe social justice concepts are vital for modern Christianity, so I recommend it for religious readers.

Although this book claims to be for clergy and laypersons alike, the academic tone will probably lend itself better to the former. This would be a great book for small groups or ministries working on discernment and vision for their churches. Discussions and activities are suggested throughout.

Disclaimer: I received an advance-read copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry: a book review

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry: A Novel

by Gabrielle Zevin

Released April 1, 2014

Algonquin Books

Oh, this book! I heard so many good things about it on various book podcasts. It is mentioned somewhat frequently by guests on the What Should I Read Next? podcast (my favorite). A few months back, I purchased a copy at my local chain bookstore, but it had been sitting in my TBR pile (that’s, to-be-read pile) ever since. Saturday night I decided to start reading, and I finished Monday morning.

This novel follows A.J. Fikry, a widowed bookstore owner with very specific reading tastes -- literary fiction only, no postmortem narrators, no YA, etc. -- whose prized antique book goes missing just before a baby appears in his shop with a note from the mother.

The characters, particularly Fikry, are well thought out, each with their own distinct personalities. The storytelling is delightful, both humorous and full of emotion.

I highly recommend The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry. In fact, I can’t recommend it enough. This was such a great reading experience.

Disclaimer: I purchased this book with my own money at Barnes & Noble.

Bow First, Ask Questions Later: a book review

Bow First, Ask Questions Later: Ordination, Love, and Monastic Zen in Japan

by Gesshin Claire Greenwood

Released May 8, 2018

Wisdom Publications

Bow First, Ask Questions Later is a memoir by Gesshin Claire Greenwood, a white woman from San Francisco, who ordained as a Zen monk in Japan at the age of 24 years. She talks about her experiences in the monastery, as a student, as a teacher, as a questioner. And she does so with openness and humor.

Simply running down the table of contents was fun, and yes, the book is named for one such chapter. It implied that I would be brought on a spiritual journey and would laugh along the way.

I loved this book. I loved learning about Greenwood’s experiences, but even more I loved her exploration of faith, trust, surrender, and what enlightenment really means. I especially love that she was able to approach all of this with humor. She takes her practice very seriously, but not herself.

She opened up about some of her experience with depression and ways she attempted to deal with it. She talked about the differences in different countries’ monasteries. She talked about how wearing the robes made her feel in different situations. She even talked about sex.

Greenwood is also a great questioner. She questions Buddhism and practice in a way that shows the depth of how much she wants to understand it all at a core level.

This book is smart and funny, which makes for a very engaging read.

Disclaimer: I received an advance-read copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I used Amazon affiliate links in this post. Should you choose to buy something through those links, you will not pay any extra, but they will send me a small fee, which I will likely add to my book fund. Thank you. Please see my Book Review Disclaimer for more information.

The Summer Wives: a book review

The Summer Wives: A Novel

Beatriz Williams

Released July 10, 2018

Published by William Morrow

The Summer Wives is a novel that follows a few characters over the course of several summers decades apart on an island in New England. It is a study of relationships, of the working class year-rounders vs. the wealthy summer families. It is about loss, love, family, friendship, and secrets.

The story moves between three summers in the 1930s, 1950s, and 1960s to weave together a history of the island’s inhabitants. There are scandals, but the people keep these to themselves, unwilling to share with outsiders, because even if there is a crime, it is their crime.

I selected this book as my July Book of the Month pick. I had just returned from a weekend in Newport, Rhode Island where I had toured some of the famed mansions -- the quaint 37,000-square foot summer homes. For me, it brought the story to life. I could picture the lighthouse, the summer parties, the hidden beach, the cliffs of the island in the novel.

This is a wonderful summer read. Take it to the beach or to your porch on these sticky summer nights, and immerse yourself in The Summer Wives.

Disclaimer: I purchased this book with my own money through Book of the Month Club.

SELF-ish: A Transgender Awakening: a book review

SELF-ish: A Transgender Awakening

by Chloe Schwenke

Released May 4, 2018

Red Hen Press

SELF-ish: A Transgender Awakening is an open look at how transitioning from a man to woman affected Chloe Schwenke in all areas of her life.

Schwenke covers a lot of ground in this memoir. She shares her own journey of navigating her identity, of therapy sessions with both helpful and unhelpful therapists. She shares her own questions of what it means to transition to the gender she identifies with and it what it would mean not to. She discusses coming out as transgender to her father, siblings, wife, children, friends, and colleagues, and how it affected those relationships.

As such, the reader gets to see how her family changed with the news. Was it possible to stay married? What is her new parental identity now that she is no longer “father?” Is she “mother” or something else? Does she make that determination or do her children decide?

In the professional realm, we see how Schwenke approached her human resources representative, the email she sent to her colleagues to announce that beginning Monday, Stephen would no longer be showing up and Chloe would be. There were follow-up discussions with colleagues who wanted to learn more, as well as follow-up discussions with management who ultimately fired her. Then the new job search.

Schwenke also explores what it means to be part of the womanhood and her fears of not being accepted. As she develops experiences of being accepted by women, she wonders what it means to be a grown woman who does not have the experience of girlhood.

She also talks about the transition period during which she had not yet undergone surgery, but was presenting herself as a woman. During that time she traveled out of the country with a passport that still listed her gender as male, which caused quite a delay in Turkish customs. Later, she expresses her appreciation of being welcomed to Africa as Chloe after previously working there as Stephen.

There are so many nuanced aspects to the stories of transgender experience, far beyond those that cisgender people might think about. I appreciated so much that this book covered so much and answered questions I didn’t even know to ask.

Readers who love well-told memoir and those who want to gain a deeper understanding of transgender experience -- whether cisgender or transgender themselves -- will get a lot from this book. It covers everything with the perfect combination of frankness and emotion.

Disclaimer: I received an advance-read copy of this book via Edelweiss+ in exchange for an honest review.

Essential Oils for Mindfulness and Meditation: a book review

Essential Oils for Mindfulness and Meditation: Relax, Replenish, and Rejuvenate>

by Heather Dawn Godfrey

Scheduled for release on November 6, 2018

Healing Arts Press

Essential Oils for Mindfulness and Meditation: Relax, Replenish, and Rejuvenate> is a great resource for those who want to deepen their understanding of aromatherapy and the use of essential oils in general, but particularly as a way to enhance mindfulness.

The book begins with a high-level discussion of mindfulness, then moves onto a thorough exploration of essential oils and how to use them as part of your mindfulness practice. This means that you don’t have to have background knowledge about mindfulness, meditation, or essential oils before coming to this book. You get to learn it all in one place.

Godfrey approaches the material academically. She cites numerous studies and references to back her claims. She explores essential oils from a variety of directions to include the history of their use, the science of scent, and the practical application of how to use them. She talks about how to choose them, how to store them, proper dosages, dilution, and so on. In addition to standard prose, the book includes photographs, tables, and diagrams to make the information easy to understand. The book even includes a section about complementary wellness techniques in which Godfrey touches on exercise and nutrition.

I enjoyed reading this book. First of all, it is pretty. There is something to be said for a book that sparks peaceful excitement just by looking at its pages. The information is organized well, and I learned a lot. For example, I didn’t realize until I read this book how prevalent the mention of essential oils is in spiritual and historical texts. It is a practice that has been going on in some form for a very long time. I learned that adding essential oils to my bath mixed with a carrier oil is preferred to reduce the risk for drying and irritation over my current method of adding the drops “neat.”

This book is great for people who want to expand their own techniques at home, as well as for those who offer services to clients -- particularly meditation instructors, Reiki practitioners, yoga instructors, and other mindfulness practitioners.

Disclaimer: I received an advance-read copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.