Rules of Civility, by A. Towles

Wow.  This was such a wonderfully-written book. 

A quick summary: Katey and her friend Eve are out one New Year’s Eve and they meet Tinker, a “handsome banker.”  The book is then the story of what happened that year (1938), told from Katey’s point of view.

I really enjoyed this book.  Once I started, I had a very hard time stopping.  As I said, it was very well-written.  The plot is interesting as well – there were certainly twists and turns I was not expecting.  Upon finishing the book, I realize that to me, this was a story of regrets, of thinking about the choices you made and how they affected you.  It was a story of looking back and wondering what could have been.  Though it made me sad, it was a beautiful book, and did a wonderful job of representing these ideas.  Haven’t we all, at some point, looked back and wondered what could have been?

The Lord God Made Them All, by J. Herriot

I love James Herriot!! This is the fourth book in his All Creatures Great and Small series, and it was great.  It had all the elements that made me love the previous three: humor, wisdom, animals,… He’s such a wonderful narrator.  

A quick summary:  Herriot is a country vet in England in the 1930s-1960s.  This fourth book mostly takes place post-WWII.  He shares stories about the different animals he takes care of, about his family, and about his coworkers, Siegfried and Tristan.

In the very first book of the series, we meet James as a young vet applying for a job.  Throughout the books, we see him get established as a vet, become partners with Siegfried, fall in love with and marry Helen, and start a family.  It’s so great to see him through all these stages.  Herriot’s books are one of those few books that make me want to go to this place and meet and hang out with these people.  I totally see myself hanging out with Herriot and Helen, and laughing at Tristan’s shenanigans.  These books are just so good!! 

Book I’ve started reading after this one:  Rules of Civility, by A. Towles.

The Devil in the White City - by E. Larson

I read this book because someone recommended it.  I recently read another book by this author (In the Garden of Beasts), and I enjoyed that one, so I was excited to read this one.

A quick summary: This book talks about the World's Fair in Chicago in the 1890s, focusing on Daniel Burnham, the Fair's main architect, and on H. H. Holmes, a serial killer who lived close to the Fair.

This book was so informative! (I realize this maybe sounds like it was a textbook or something, but it was novel-like and very interesting!)  I enjoyed learning about Burnham and his life, and especially about the whole process of designing and building the Fair.  It was amazing to me how much the Fair actually impacted our current lives.  For example, it resulted in the creation of the Ferris Wheel (we meet George Ferris, its creator).  Also, a lot of products that were tested at the Fair, such as Aunt Jemima and Shredded Wheat, are still in use today.  In addition, Burnham became a "pioneer in modern urban planning," which began with the design of the Fair.

The story about Holmes was also very intriguing (and creepy!).  He was supposedly an incredibly charming man who used his charm to attract young girls (girls who were usually alone and new to the city) and kill them.  It was pretty intense.  He supposedly killed somewhere between 27 and 200 people.  Luckily, he was finally caught.  It took a while to find the necessary evidence, but it was finally found.

Great book!  After reading it, I've run into several other people who also enjoyed it very much and highly recommend it.

The Imperfectionists, by T. Rachman

A quick summary: A group of characters work in a newspaper in Rome. The book is a set of short stories, and each story focuses on a different character.

This was a good book.  I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it.  For some reason, I rarely enjoy short stories, so this may be why I didn’t love this book.  But I did enjoy a lot of the characters, and some of the plots.  Some stories, though, were a bit depressing for me. Depressing may be the wrong word, I think hopeless may be a better word.  Some stories left me with a feeling of hopelessness, not because they were bad but because to me the characters themselves were feeling this way and seemed to be in hopeless situations.  For example, in one story, a woman enters into and continues in a relationship with a somewhat younger man who clearly is just using her.  In another, one friend realizes his friend is not who he thought he was.  In others, people feel stuck in jobs they don’t like.  Most stories seemed to bring me down.

But it was a well-written, interesting book.  I liked that at the end, the author tells you what happened to each of the characters and what they went on to do after each of their short stories ended.  People who enjoy short stories will certainly enjoy The Imperfectionists.

The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything, by J. Martin

Wow, I just loved this book.  I learned so much.  I saw the author in an interview, was intrigued, bought the book, and was not disappointed!

A quick summary:  The book, written by a Jesuit priest, talks about Ignatian spirituality, and how it can help you in different aspects of life: prayer, friendship, decision-making…as the title says, how it can help you in almost everything.

This book was just full of insight and great advice.  Here are some things I learned/liked:

• The examen:  A prayer you can use every day, which consists of the following steps: (1) gratitude, or thanking God for things that occurred during the day, (2) review, or going through the events of your day and recognizing where you felt God’s presence and where you sinned, (3) sorrow, or remembering things for which you are sorry, (4) forgiveness, or asking for God’s forgiveness and when applicable, others’ forgiveness, and (5) grace: ask for God’s grace for the following day.  I’ve started using the examen and think it’s a great way to guide your prayer time.
• “God, an elderly Jesuit once suggested to me, is something like an old carpenter in a small village in Vermont.  If you ask the townspeople where to turn for carpentry work or repairs, they will say, ‘There’s only one person to call.  He does excellent work.  He’s careful, he’s precise, he’s conscientious, he’s creative, he makes sure that everything fits, and he tailors his work exactly to fit your needs.  There’s just one problem: he takes forever!’”  (p.99)  I love this quote.  It reminds me that even when I don’t see things happening, God is at work, and he always knows what he’s doing.  It reminds me that when it seems that we’re not getting those things we really long for, it’s because God is taking his time to make sure we get something good. 
• The presupposition:  This refers to thinking positively of others’ intentions.  Sometimes we see someone act a certain way and immediately jump to conclusions, assuming the others had negative intentions. We should avoid doing this, and when we really don’t understand others’ intentions, we should just ask them instead of jumping to conclusions.
• “Compare and despair”:  Sometimes, it is very easy for us to focus on the negative things about ourselves, or on the things that don’t seem to be going well, and when we look at other people, all we see is how well things seem to be going for them.  We need to remember that we all have good and bad things, things that go well and things that don’t.  We need to remember that we are individuals, and embrace our individuality.
• Steps to becoming yourself: “First, remember that God loves you…Second, realize that God loves you as an individual, not simply in the abstract…Third, accept your desires, skills, and talents as things given to you by God for your happiness and for others…Fourth, avoid the temptation to compare yourself to others and denigrate or undervalue yourself…Fifth, move away from actions that are sinful or that keep you from being compassionate, loving, and free…Sixth, trust that God will help you because God desires for you to become who you are meant to be…Seventh, recognize that the process of becoming the person you are meant to be is a long process and can take time." (p.385)

There’s so much more I loved about this book.  I know this review can't possibly convey how much I truly enjoyed this book and how much I learned, but this is a book I enjoyed so much I hope to read it over and over again.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks – R. Skloot

And I continue with the nonfiction…Seriously, it’s time for some fiction.  But, I have to say, I really enjoyed The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.

 

A quick summary: Henrietta Lacks was around thirty years old when she was diagnosed with cancer.  Without her knowledge or consent, some of her cells were taken by the doctors for research purposes.  Henrietta died, but her cells (now known as HeLa cells) kept on living and multiplying and being used for research.  Her family had no idea this was going on and only found out years later. 

I learned so much from this book.  First of all, I learned about HeLa cells and how they have helped science and humanity.  I learned about the history of informed consent and why it is necessary, and I learned about the debate surrounding tissue/cell research.  But most importantly, I learned about a family trying to understand what happened to their mother, how they were affected, and how everyone found a way to cope.

I think this quote that the author includes right at the beginning of the book was very appropriate: “We must not see any person as an abstraction.  Instead, we must see in every person a universe with its own secrets, with its own treasures, with its own sources of anguish, and with some measure of triumph.” (Elie Wiesel, from The Nazi Doctors and the Nuremberg Code).  Sometimes we think of HeLa cells and their benefits to science and research, and forget that HeLa was Henrietta, an individual, someone with a family that still mourns her.   

This is definitely a book I would recommend!

A Short Guide to a Happy Life, by A. Quindlen

Someone recommended this book a while ago, and because she had such great things to say, I decided to check it out.  This is more of an essay, in my opinion, than it is a book.  It’s a very, very quick read.  In this book/essay, the author basically encourages us to live life.  She says the only thing we, and only we, are ultimately responsible for is how we live our lives.

I agree.  I constantly pray that I may learn to live, really live, instead of just watching as things happen around me.  But I sometimes wonder what, exactly, that means and how you go about really living.  Maybe it’s just being grateful for the daily, small things in life – working, reading, cooking,…Maybe it means we should just go out and do, where it doesn’t necessarily matter what we’re doing or who we’re with (provided, of course, we’re not breaking laws or anything like that), just as long as we’re doing something and trying and learning new things.  Maybe it’s all those things together, and maybe it’s something that hasn’t ever even crossed my mind before.

Maybe living our lives means simply finding out what we’re supposed to do and what we sincerely long to do (the so-called desires of our hearts) and doing it, without worrying too much about others’ opinions.  Interestingly, a few days after reading this book, I found this in, of all places, a fortune cookie: “There is only one success – to be able to live your life in your own way.”  Maybe that’s what it’s about.