Finished: Charlatan, by Pope Brock

Charlatan: America's Most Dangerous Huckster, the Man Who Pursued Him, and the Age of Flimflam by Pope Brock
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

True story: Midwest in the 1920's and '30s. Huckster John R. Brinkley makes millions off his ridiculous goat-gland transplant surgery, which is supposed to restore "youthful vigor" (placebo effect, anyone?). He also ran for governor of Kansas (and narrowly lost), built the most powerful radio station on the planet, from which he advertised his sham surgery and worthless remedies, discovered country music stars ... and left a trail of injured and dead patients in his wake. Brinkley's notoriety soon got the attention of Morris Fishbein, editor of the JAMA, whose reputation as a quack-buster was legendary. His mission became one of exposing and bringing Brinkley to justice. The question wasn't "would Fishbein get his man?," but "how" and "when"?

I forced myself to stay off the Internet while I read this, because I didn't want to find all this out from some bland Wikipedia article, but from Pope Brock's hilarious, riveting storytelling.

Two truisms I was left with:

1) The truth really is stranger than fiction; and
2) There's a sucker born every minute. Still. In post-modern, cynical 2016.

******

New word: expatiated.

Expatiate:  verb

1. speak or write at length or in detail.

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“A Midwife’s Tale” by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812 by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Maine midwife Martha Ballard (1735-1812) kept a diary. She wrote on loose paper with a quill pen and homemade ink … daily … for 27 years! I have a laptop, fast typing skills, modern conveniences … and I’m averaging about one blog post per month this year. Her entries were typically much more brief than mine, though, and she didn’t have photos to mess with. So there.

Author Laurel Thatcher Ulrich spent 8 years studying Martha’s diary, along with numerous other period writings and has put together a very interesting account of New England life, connecting the dots of Martha’s brief entries with the political, social, medical events of the times.

I have to admit, I’ve had this library book checked out for a very long time. I’ve started and stopped it a couple of times, not getting very far past the Introduction and some of chapter one. I thought about returning it a couple of times, but just kept renewing it because I trust the opinion of the friend who recommended it. She also recommended "A Perfect Storm," "In Cold Blood" and "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks," all of which I liked.

A few weeks ago, I picked up "A Midwife’s Tale" yet again, got through the first chapter and part of the second chapter, and things finally clicked. I began to understand the layout of the book and the author’s goal and also started feeling like I was beginning to know and admire Martha Ballard. I read through the rest of the book pretty quickly and even went back and re-read the Introduction twice. This book had an incredible amount of information and insights that Ulrich presented in a rich and entertaining way; she was very deserving of the Pulitzer Prize she was awarded for her work.

Bonus: there is a PBS series based on the book, so, I’m definitely going to see if I can get a copy of that!


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Finished: “The Tale of Beatrix Potter” by Margaret Lane

One of my 2015 goals is to read more biographies. I already have a pretty good "to-read" list started, and first on my list was Beatrix Potter's biography. Here is my Goodreads review:

The Tale of Beatrix Potter: A Biography by Margaret Lane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really, really liked this biography! I knew nothing about Beatrix Potter except that she was the author of several childhood favorites. Margaret Lane told her story in a very engaging, conversational way. As soon as I finished the book, I immediately wanted to see her illustrations again, pictures of she and her family, and the places she lived and visited. And now I want to see the movie based on her life. Very well done!

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“The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot


Very interesting story about a woman whose cancer cells ("HeLa") were grown in culture in the 1950s and have been used in a myriad of ways in science and medicine since then, and all without her family's consent. This is an ambitious book which covers decades and was written over the course of ten years. At times, I got a little lost in the details of the science of genetics and had to push my way through some chapters, but I still enjoyed learning about the unique and difficult story of Henrietta Lacks and her family.

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“The Perfect Storm” by Sebastian Junger

The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea by Sebastian Junger
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Very well-written story that pulled me very quickly. I knew practically nothing about the life of a modern commercial fisherman, so this book was a real education in that way. It gave me a tremendous amount of respect for the work they do and the constant challenges and dangers they face. It also gave me an incredible feeling of awe and respect for the power of the sea. Parts of the book went into more detail about boats and fishing than I cared to know, some of it I couldn't quite understand, but overall, it was a great book that skillfully told the true account of this sad story.

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“In Cold Blood” by Truman Capote

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a difficult, fascinating read. Very well done and made me want to find out more about the people involved, including author Truman Capote. At the same time, it was such a sad, horrible crime against a completely innocent family that I can't read it a second time. That would be the only reason I won't read it again, and why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5. A 5-star rating is for books I'd re-read. I definitely understand why it is a modern classic in the non-fiction novel genre. Masterfully written.

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“Longbourn” by Jo Baker

Longbourn by Jo Baker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow, did I really like this book! For the most part, I am drawn to the classics - books which have stood the test of time. Just a couple of years ago, I read "Pride & Prejudice" for the first time and was an instant Jane Austen fan. Soon after reading that, I became aware of the many spinoffs that have been written through the years, however I was not tempted in the slightest to read any of those types of books. Last fall, a friend sent me a link to a review of "Longbourn," which was published in September of 2013. It was such a glowing review that I couldn't resist trying it out. After waiting about a month for it to become available through the library, I devoured it in less than a week. It was fun to read through the story, looking for peeks of the well-known P&P characters, seen through different eyes. My only issue was that Jo Baker seemed to be a little off in her portrayal of Elizabeth as the timid, unsure mistress of Pemberley. Austen gives us very little insight into Elizabeth once she became Mrs. Darcy at the end of P&P, but the picture we are left with is one of a confident, happy woman in a loving marriage. But overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the book - the ending was practically glorious - and wouldn't hesitate to read it again.

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"All Creatures Great and Small" by James Herriot

Wow. «««««!  I just loved this book! So much that I would rank it in my top 5. Some of the chapters were laugh-out-loud funny (e.g., the calving in Chapter 1 with "Uncle" giving his 2 cents, the Bramleys and their kittens in Chapter 58), and others were incredibly poignant (chapter 45 about John Skipton and his beloved retired work horses really got me). I re-read many sections of this out loud to, well, whoever happened to be nearby when I read something I especially liked.

It's interesting, when I browse through the comments for this book on Goodreads, I frequently see sentiments like this "If you like animals, this is a good book for you," but I really think Herriot's stories show us his warm feelings toward the unique people who owned the animals, rather than the animals themselves.

This was a library book, but it definitely deserves a permanent spot in our personal library. So incredibly wonderful.

“The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert: An English Professor's Journey into Christian Faith” by Rosaria Champagne Butterfield

Read this one in a hurry because I had to get on the library’s waitlist to get it and there are patrons in line after me, so no renewals!  There are some great insights in this book and I already feel like I need to re-read it to absorb it more fully. Specifically enjoyed her reprinting the pastor’s exhortation at she and her husband’s wedding ceremony, which spanned several pages in the book. Great stuff!

The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert: An English Professor's Journey into Christian Faith by Rosaria Champagne Butterfield
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Well, you can't pass up a book with a title like this! This was a very interesting and enlightening book that is sure to generate some emotionally-charged discussions. Initially, the book appealed to me because the author is a Christian wife and homeschooling mom who was an English professor, so I knew I could relate to her on several levels. But, without giving anything away, her past couldn't be more different than mine. She has some challenging ideas about Christian living, witnessing to the lost, and what it means to love our neighbors. Highly recommended!

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Read Aloud: “The Scarlet Pimpernel” by Baroness Emma Orczy

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Emmuska Orczy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A couple of my favorite C.S. Lewis quotes have to do with his thoughts on children's literature:

"No book is really worth reading at age of ten which is not equally (and often far more) worth reading at the age of fifty", and

"...a children's story which is only enjoyed by children is a bad children's story."

I knew when I first read this book a few months ago that our girls would love it, and they did. In fact, they enjoyed this book so much that they had me read it aloud late into the night each time we got a chance to read it (which was definitely sporadic). We worked on it over the course of several weeks. We finally finished it last night at about 12:30 am - the last 3 chapters in about an hour and a half. An interesting aspect of this story is that, from the beginning, the two main characters are a married couple, although certainly not a happily-married couple ... at first. Orczy took great pains to make sure the reader saw how Marguerite's feelings toward her husband could undergo such a complete transformation in such a short period of time.

The girls wanted very much for this to have been a true story. Different ones at different times asked, "Was there really a Scarlet Pimpernel?" I told them that as far as I know, there was not, but there could have been Englishmen who did similar things during the French Revolution.

Now we're looking forward to seeing some screen adaptations of this, and we have several friends who recommend the Jane Seymour version done in the early '80s. I can easily picture her as Marguerite Blakeney. I think Sir Percy would be more difficult to cast.

As an aside, I love how good children's books challenge kids with rich, descriptive vocabulary. Even the older girls learned some new words in this one: "imperturbably" and "anathema" come to mind. I only wish I knew French so I could pronounce all the words properly. A friend from church helped us with some of the basics of French pronunciation. I'm sure when we watch the screen adaptations, my shortcomings in this area will be obvious. :-)

(No pictures of this book being read, since I was the one reading it! :-)

Finshed: "At Home: A Short History of Private Life"

At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Very interesting book! Reading this makes me even more interested to visit some old English manors. It also made me appreciate and more fully understand a lot of the details in the 19th century novels I've been reading in the past year or two. I think Bill Bryson would make a fascinating dinner guest.





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The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis: Volume 3 - Finished!

The Collected Letters of C. S. Lewis, Volume 3: Narnia, Cambridge, and Joy, 1950 - 1963 by C.S. Lewis

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Loved it!



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Now I want to read Vols. 1 and 2!

Finished! "The Wind in the Willows"

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


What a wonderful children's story! Read this version to your kids, with beautiful full-page illustrations. The 12 and 10yos especially loved this story, but the 8 and 6yos liked it, too. I just had to explain some of the more difficult language to them.

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Finished! "Emma"

Emma by Jane Austen


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This one took a little longer to get into than "Pride & Prejudice", but well worth the effort. I was worried I wouldn't like Emma Woodhouse as much as Elizabeth Bennett, but although she is more quirky, she is still very loveable. Fascinating character development and very satisfactory ending.

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Finished! "Black Ships Before Troy"

Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of the Iliad by Rosemary Sutcliff


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I knew this book would be good based on all the recommendations I've read, but I didn't know just *how* good. I started it as a read-aloud to my kids during our Ancient Greece history lessons. I have never read "The Iliad", just knew bits and pieces of the storyline. I have been reading a few chapters each day, but ended up finishing up the book on my own because I was so drawn in by it. Now the hard part will be not giving away more details to the kids while I finish reading it. I really loved it! Some of the parts have been a little too gruesome for the girls, but they are *girls*, after all. ;-)

We also have "The Adventures of Odysseus" by Sutcliff and now I'm expecting great things from that book, too!

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Finished "Pride and Prejudice"!

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Fantastic! I'm a late-comer to Austen; this is the first book of hers I've read. Definitely surpassed my expectations.

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Finished "A Christmas Carol!"

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Finally read through this short story! My girls loved it! We finished it in the car on Christmas morning on the way to Grandma and Grandpa's.

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