July and August Book Reviews

"Morning Sun" 1913, by Harold Knight (English, 1874-1961)

 The Awakening of Miss Prim by Natalia Sanmartin Fenollera ★★★★★

I absolutely adored this book from cover to cover. There were so many layers to it that made it delightful, entertaining, and also inspiring. First off, the story is sweet, clean, and filled with lovable (and often humorous) characters. Miss Prim is the protagonist and we meet her when she's on her way to a job interview as a personal librarian for a man in a quant little village that seems like it's stuck in the past. Well, that is not so far from the truth. Everyone in the village is there on purpose to escape from the trappings of modern life, such as busyness and the need to succeed. Miss Prim slowly uncovers the insight and wisdom of the quirky residents of San Ireneo and is confronted with her own modernity, pride, and obsession with being prim and proper to a fault. The man who hires her teaches his nephews and nieces, along with kids from the village, in a classical method, quoting Virgil in Latin to his young pupils when Miss Prim first meets him. I've been learning about classical education along my journey of implementing Charlotte Mason philosophies and home education in our home, so the ways he was teaching them was interesting to see and also inspiring as well (plenty of time in the classics, but even more time outdoors to let those stories come to life through their imaginative play). The philosophical debates, particularly between Miss Prim and her employer about his Catholic faith, were really intriguing. The author herself is well-read and steeping in the classical world, so it just seeped onto the pages through the characters in such a beautiful way. It was a smart book, in the sense that there was so fluff about it. Every word was intentional, every scene had a purpose in showing what the village of San Ireneo was all about. There were so many quotes I wrote down in my journal because I wanted to remember the wise words. I wish the ending was more drawn out because I didn't want it to end and I wanted to know more about her "awakening", but I guess I will just need to read it all over again very soon because I am not ready to leave that idyllic town of San Ireneo. 

Content rating: G

The Cook's Book: Recipes for Keeps & Essential Techniques to Master Everyday Cooking by Bri McKoy ★★★★★

What a fun cook book! Not only delicious-looking recipes, but an awesome resource for tips and tricks around the kitchen. I learned so much. I first borrowed it from the library, but quickly realized I wanted my own copy and with my birthday a few days off, quickly added it to my wishlist. I've made a few of the recipes so far and have been trying some of the tricks, such as testing out the stove burners to see which part of your pan is the hottest (to help decrease burning), testing the oven while cooking bacon to see if your oven runs hotter than normal, and how to slice an onion so the slices aren't moving all over the place. This is a great resource for a home cook that wants to level up their game and learn new things. From becoming more in tune with your five senses while cooking, to deglazing pans to liven up your sauces, to flavor layering, cooking methods of meat, and wine pairing, this book really has so much. Bri's explanations are non-pretentious and easy to understand; no cooking school certificate required. Her humor and overall passion for cooking comes out, making this book a fun way to bring a pep in your step in the kitchen. 

Content rating: G

The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot ★★★★☆

At nearly twenty-one hours as an audiobook, this classic novel, published in 1860, spanned around fifteen-ish years of a young girl named Maggie and her older brother, Tom.  I loved the Eliot's Middlemarch and felt ready for another of her tomes. It was a long, but satisfying read, though I was often frustrated with the decisions of both main characters since they were both so extreme in some ways.  In my opinion, Maggie represents the heart while her brother represents the mind. Maggie is passionate, impulsive, and driven by her desires. She tries to control them by veering to the other extreme, asceticism, ignoring anything delightful for a short season, but eventually returns to being headstrong and driven by passion. She tries to still have a level head as she is older, but you see her struggle with her passion always fighting to win. Tom on the other hand, feels keenly the duty of the firstborn, the son who feels obligated to repay his father's enormous debts. Duty, responsibility, and self-control are his badges of honor and he pridefully clings to them to the detriment of his relationship with his sister. He doesn't understand her and throughout their lives, looks down on her folly and impulsiveness. It was interesting to see how two sides of us, our hearts and mind, have such detrimental effects when separated from one another and followed to the extreme. A balance of being logical and following your desires is ideal, but each of these characters clung to one and ran with it until they ended up making hurtful decisions that fractured their relationship as well as the relationships around them. There were a lot of great characters in the book, some spicy drama, and some Victorian humor as well. Though it felt slow for the first half, the action really picked up later. I enjoyed it and am looking forward to reading more of Eliot's novels in the future. 

Content rating: G 

Classics Club:  65/75. See my whole list HERE

For the Family's Sake: The Value of Home in Everyday Life by Susan Schaeffer Macauley ★★★★☆

I read Susan's book on the Charlotte Mason education philosophy, called For the Children's Sake, several years ago and then re-read it within a year, and I think I want to re-read it again soon. So, I was curious what Susan wrote about in this similarly titled book written later in her life. Daughter of Francis and Edith Schaeffer (I love Edith's The Art of Homemaking), she grew up in a beautiful community in Switzerland where her family invited people into their home to dive into God's Word and learn to live it out. Later, she and her husband, Ranald were commissioned to England to start another branch of this vibrant community, L'Abri. Over the years, they looked into Charlotte Mason's teachings on education and adopted them for their home education, while also cultivating a life-giving and welcoming home environment in the many different buildings they called home. In this book, Susan deep dives into what home is, how everyone in the home (and those who visit it) can be blessed by your home, and so many topics relating to creating an atmosphere in your home that honors God and people. Published in 1999, I am amazed at how relatable it still felt. A lot of writers have since dug into these topics a lot since that time, so some of it felt repetitive to me, which is no fault of Susan's, just a reminder that I read a lot of books about the value of home (like Habits of a Sacred Home by Jennifer Pepito and Domestic Monastary by Ronald Rolheiser). For example, she warned against the dangers of too much screen time; twenty-five years later, this is still a hot topic and one that needs to be evaluated by each family. She praises the benefits of time in nature and gave great suggestions to making it fun for kids. Now there are many books on the same topic with updated information for our changing times (my favorite is Ginny Yurich's 1000 Hours Podcast and book, Until the Streetlights Come On). So while I didn't get a ton of new information, I did still appreciate her opinion and how many of her suggestions could still be applied two decades later.  As an older mom now with grandkids, as well as with her interesting upbringing and influential family, I had plenty to learn from her. The ways she was able to build a home atmosphere amidst the busyness of a ministry was inspiring. I enjoyed it overall, but it didn't leave quite the same mark on me as her first book.

Content rating: G 

The London House by Katherine Reay (audiobook) ★★★★☆

A dual-timeline historical novel by an author I have enjoyed in the past. This is her first historical novel and I think it was a smooth transition from her contemporary novels. Caroline Payne's family has a hidden secret that has brought shame and distance between them. Now after an old college guy friend approaches her about it, she has the chance to figure out the truth and set her family free from regrets and pain. Switching to the WWII timeline, Catherine's grandma and her twin sister (also named Catherine) are pen pals, one in London and the other in Paris and other European cities. Catherine (the WWII one) goes missing and everyone assumes she has run off with a Nazi, but what really happened? Well, that's the mystery you're in for as you read the pages. I enjoyed it overall, though it didn't stand out for me as a favorite WWII novel. I think I prefer books that stay in one timeline. All the Light We Cannot See, for example, was all in the WWII timeline (albeit, there were three different narrators/perspectives switching between chapters), but I think there is more depth and character development when there's only one timeline. Maybe that's just my preference. Either way, I liked it well enough and will definitely read more of her newer historical novels. She's writes clean fiction, without sex or profanity, so I can trust I am not jumping into a book that will make me feel uncomfortable recommending or enjoying, so I can easily grab one of her books without really knowing what the plot is. 

Content rating: PG