Better Than "Meh"

I have to confess, I haven't had a great reading year. January started out well, so I did a re-cap of some of the books I read that month, but since then, everything I've read has been mostly "meh." Now that it's April, I have a few books I can report on. They're just not rolling in quickly. 

Here are some books I've read since January that are better than "meh:"

Flight Patterns by Karen White

(contemporary, women's lit, Southern)

My rating: ****

Georgia is an expert in fine China. One day a man brings in a piece with a bumble bee pattern on it that looks familiar to Georgia. Her hunt for the history of the piece takes her back home to her estranged sister and her mother who doesn't speak. Of course, there are a bunch of family secrets that unfold, and I want to give them all therapy. Alas, I remain unqualified, and they remain fictional. 

But there are bees. 

And a murder mystery. 

And maybe there's a bit of romance. 

I'd let my grandma read this. 

The Collector's Daughter by Gill Paul

(historical fiction, Egypt)

My rating: ****

This is a fictional exploration of the life of Evelyn Herbert Beauchamp, who was the daughter of the man who funded the efforts to locate and excavate Tutankhamun's tomb in the 1920's. She is said to be the first to enter the womb, and the book plays on the idea that she may have taken some items from the tomb. Was the tomb cursed? 

The book alternates between "fascinating" and "a little slow," but I quite enjoyed reading this piece of non-world-war historical fiction (though it delves briefly into WWI in which Eve's husband served the British Army). 

When I finish a book and immediately take a deep dive into additional reading materials because my curiosity has been stirred, the book has done its job! I've always enjoyed learning about the archeological findings of Ancient Egypt, so this was a fun read (though, again, a little dull in some places). It toys with themes of memory and the ethical question of who has claim to antiquities of ancient origin. 

It's also quite clean, though it does have some mild sexual content involving difficulties consummating a marriage. I would still let my grandma read it, maybe with a word of caution. 

The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson

(historical fiction, African American)

My rating: ****

This book tells the story of two black women in the 1950's. The first is Ruby who falls in love with the son of her white landlord and finds herself pregnant. The second is Eleanor who marries William, who comes from wealth, and then struggles to provide him with a child. Both women have obstacles to fulfilling their dreams and face hard circumstances and decisions brought about by their place in society and their race. 

This is a hard one that will make your heart ache. This isn't one for my grandma. 

Loyalty by Lisa Scottoline

(historical fiction, 1800's, Sicily, mafia)

My review: ****

This is a weird one to review. 

This book takes place in the 1800's in Palermo, Sicily, which I know nothing about. My only reference to Palermo is that it's in one of our frequently played board games (which is where I get all my geographical education - if it's not on one of my board games, I know nothing about it) (Ticket to Ride: Europe, if you're wondering). 

The story involves quite a few characters, and it takes most of the book for those stories to finally come together. I won't list all the characters and their storylines (you can see the book jacket for that), but I will say, some of them are more interesting than others. The story deals with what may have historically been the beginnings of the mafia, wherein things like kidnapping, stealing lemon farms, and forming loyalties took place. There are some moral characters and some immoral characters, and the whole book is just a bit... weird. I had to read it slowly at first to make sure I could orient myself and get a feel for the people and the terminology and the history of Sicily. 

Then when it was over, I missed it. I wanted to spend more time with the characters. However, I feel like if I recommended this book to anyone, they would think, "This is boring, why did Britt think I would like this?"

It's just one of those weird things! I dunno what more to say. 

I'd let my grandma read this, but I don't know if she'd want to!

The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain

(historical fiction, time travel, science fiction)

My rating: ****

Okay, are you ready for a strange synopsis?

Shortly after receiving word that her husband has died in Vietnam, Caroline finds out she is pregnant, and the baby has a heart defect. She then time travels to 2001 to have fetal surgery. There are rules to time travel, of course, so she is unsure whether the baby will be well enough to return to 1970 with her.

Just go with it. 

I'd let my grandma give it a try. 

Unorthodox by Deborah Feldman

(memoir, Hasidic Judaism)

My rating: (no rating because I don't always like to rate memoirs and real-life experiences) 

A few months ago I watched the Netflix adaptation of this book and decided I wanted to read it (I wouldn't recommend it due to sexual content and nudity). The series took a lot of different directions and doesn't follow the book very closely, save for a few key elements. 

I have always been fascinated by Hasidic Judaism (and have enjoyed books like The Ladies Auxiliary by Tova Mirvis and My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok). There are a lot of things I really respect about the practices and rituals of Orthodox Judaism, but there are also a lot of things that trouble me (in particular, things that are demeaning toward women). 

This is a memoir by a woman who chose to leave the religion. 

Let's Talk About Religion and Mental Health by Daniel K. Judd

(psychology, mental health, LDS, spiritual/religious)

My rating: *****

This book discusses some of the basics of mental health and the research regarding religion and mental health. I like that this book offers balance between spiritual practices, medical assistance, and therapy. It doesn't promote spiritual practices as a cure-all for mental illness, in fact, it even acknowledges that sometimes increasing spiritual practices can make a person become more numb (though it doesn't discourage spiritual practices). 

I might do a follow-up post about this book later, so that's all I will say for now.