Simple & Free by Jen Hatmaker

Posted on March 24, 2021 by Carol Early Cooney

Dear Fellow Readers,

I know that most people think of January 1st as the day to make changes in their lives. During the pandemic, lots of people found the need to do some cleaning out and/or took the time to learn something new.

Some of us just existed. And that is fine too.

So far in this new year, I have been doing a lot of reading about eating and nutrition. It has been interesting and overwhelming. Funny, I haven’t read anything that tells me that I should eat steaks and butter. Why is that?

Seven years ago, Jen Hatmaker decided that she needed to make some changes. To accomplish this, she decided that for seven months during one year she would try to make changes in her families lives. She also had a group of friends that would support her during this time by either joining in or modifying the program for themselves.

The book about their experiences came out seven years ago. Now that time has passed, she is publishing an update of the first book with comments from where she is today.

“It is simply an imperfect social experiment to help us find God in an overcrowded, overindulged, overscheduled life. And it did.”

So, here is the thing. I really don’t know much about the face of the Southern Baptist Church. A more honest description would be that I don’t know much about Christian churches. If you didn’t catch this previously, I do not normally read “Christian books”. Why I decided to read this one is a bit of a mystery but there was something in the description that caught my attention. Okay, not that I got the book free for review (which I did) but I am behind in my reading so there had to be something there to catch my attention. Anyway…

The seven areas that are covered in the book are Food, Clothes, Possessions, Media, Waste, Spending, Stress. In the months that she tackles each topic, she picks seven things to keep and use but is prohibited more than those seven items. For example, during the Food month, she eats only chicken, eggs, whole-wheat bread, sweet potatoes, spinach, avocados, and apples. During the month about clothes, she picks 7 items of clothing that she will wear for the month.

I found the book interesting. It reaffirms a lot of my reading about our place in this world and how we should be better stewards of our surroundings. I felt that the tone of the book is friendly and easy to identify with. Okay, I did skip over some of the Bible lessons which seemed to get lengthier as the book went on.

I think one of the things that I liked is that she was learning while she was going. It is certainly easier to learn from someone who is just learning themselves and is enthusiastic than some of the dry books out of the subjects.

Yes, I would recommend this book. I would say that you should go in with your eyes open as to what the book is about. You may or may not be interested in the subject matter. I was interested in what she did and how it went.

Not being part of the Christian Church scene, I had never heard of Jen Hatmaker before. Also, she had a show on HGTV which must have been on after I cut the cord. She also indicates that she has had some problems with traditional Christianity prior to the first publishing of the book and in the intervening years. It is hinted that part of her problems with the Church come from her support of the LGBTQ community. I liked her writing and approach to the issues. Her openness improved the book in my estimation.

Thanks for reading.

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The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein

Posted on March 16, 2021 by Carol Early Cooney

Dear Fellow Reader,

It is said that that line from an Emily Dickenson poem that is a hymn of praise for the human spirit’s capacity for hope. The bird comes and sings no matter what and we humans hope for a better day despite our problems.

And Spring seems to do that for us. We look out and see the snow just about gone and we start thinking about warmer weather and our chance to get outside. Despite the snow that then arrives, we still have that hope for Spring.

So, it is with thoughts of daffodils that I finished The Color of Law. It was probably a good thing that I was thinking of hopefulness because I certainly would not have gotten that from the book.

I am not a student of history. It is fairly embarrassing how little history I have retained over the years. While I would feel guilty about this in relation to some books, I do not feel bad this time.

Because The Color of Law is about the history that we don’t admit to. It is our shameful past that is there to show us what we have done.

“The Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America” is the subtitle for the book.

The Color of Law is about the laws and policies by the U. S. Government that held black and brown people down through the history of this country. I sat most of the time with my mouth open. I can’t believe the policies that existed – even in my lifetime.

Things I didn’t know

  1.  FHA loans were only for white people. (Until like the 1960s) There was not a mortgage underwriting program for black people.
  2. The GI Bill was not given equitably for all soldiers – black returning soldiers did not get money for college – only for trade schools. And they couldn’t buy a house.
  3. Unions would not allow black members in any of the higher paying jobs.
  4. The pervasive U. S. Government attitude was that black people could not live with white people. That property values would be damaged. In fact, when there was a “white flight”, the property values were escalated because slumlords went in and bought the property for re-sale at higher prices to rip off the black people.

There are many other things but these stood out to me.

All of this history is hidden. You don’t see it in history books and it is not discussed. I would argue that unless we admit to this historical racism that we can not move away from it. History books don’t even necessarily say that slavery was bad.

I urge you to take the time to read this book. I will tell you that I only read 5 – 10 pages a day because I was so shocked by what I read. I would never have dreamed that people in power would enact policies like the ones outlined in this book. In discussing this with a friend, the comment was made that we think black people should “pull themselves up by their bootstraps” but we took the bootstraps away.

Also, it is an interesting time to be reading this book when voter suppression measures are working their way through so many state legislatures right now.

It is not an easy read. It is tough to recognize the damage that has been done but it is necessary. If hidden, our past will always haunt us.

I have hope that we can recognize our issues and work to resolve them. Please take the time to read this book.

Thanks for reading!

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Pianos and Flowers: Brief Encounter of the Romantic Kind by Alexander McCall Smith

Posted on February 23, 2021 by Carol Early Cooney

Dear Fellow Reader,

Do you read any of the series by Alexander McCall Smith? He has a very popular mystery series, The #1 Ladies Detective Agency. I have never been a fan of those for some reason. I have enjoyed the Isabel Dalhousie books and for a while, I liked the 44 Scotland Street books. And those series barely scratch the surface of the books he has published. Phew!

I happened to notice recently that he had a book come out in January. I went on to my library site and reserved a copy right away. While I have found his books a bit uneven, I still always have hope that I will love the next one I pick up. When I read the introduction, I had great hope for this new book.

Pianos and Flowers is the name of the new book. It seems that Alexander McCall Smith was asked by The Sunday Times to write some short stories for the paper. To accomplish this, he requested that the newspaper send him some old photographs. He then took the photographs and made-up stories to go with the photos. The book is comprised of 14 stories based on the photos. (Yes, the photos are included.)

I was excited when I read about the book. I thought it sounded like it would be fun. I really like the idea. It sounds challenging and entertaining. The book is fairly short;the fourteen stories are covered in 179 pages. The first few stories are the longest. And I enjoyed those first few.

But overall, I was disappointed. I do wonder if part of the problem is cultural. That maybe his British stories just didn’t have the appeal here. I truly wanted to like it but found myself just racing to finish and not in a good way.

This is a book that you might feel differently about than I did. I think it holds such creative promise. I also like that so many of Alexander McCall Smith’s books are serialized in the paper before they become books. I think it makes me think of Charles Dickens and I wish that we had that in our newspapers here. As much as I want to tell you to hurry out and get this book, I think you can read the rest of your TBR (to be read) pile first.

Thanks for reading.

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The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

Posted on February 17, 2021 by Carol Early Cooney

Dear Fellow Reader,

It is February, bitterly cold and there is more snow out the window than I can believe. We have had snow since January and there is no sign of it melting any time soon. It is high enough that the deer are having a hard time getting into the yard. The rim of the yard is high with plowed snow. While the season started off mild, it is going strong now.

It is the perfect weather to sit and read in front of the fireplace. What else can you do? Just get cozy and relax. Don’t forget the blankets!

And this week we have an older book that I found for you to think about reading. For those of you who are keeping track (exactly none of you, I assume) I have still not started reading the stack of books in the living room that I swear I am going to read this year. I have taken one book off the stack and will get to it in the next week. I’m sure I will. There are just so many books to read!

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie is the first book in a series. The main character is Flavia de Luce. She is the youngest daughter in the family and has a passion for Chemistry. Due to an ancestor’s passion for chemistry, there is a fully equipped laboratory in the family home. As the book opens, Flavia is bound and tied up and placed in a locked closet. It seems that she irritates her older sisters to no end, and this is how they though they would settle the score. Flavia escapes soon enough and goes down to dinner with her father. Flavia’s mother, an explorer, was killed when Flavia was a year old and Flavia’s father is still in mourning. He allows his daughters to explore options that they find interesting. Thus, Flavia’s experiments and her vast knowledge of poisons.

One afternoon, Flavia was about to get in trouble with her father when a dead bird is found at the back door with a stamp stuck through its beak. The sight affects Flavia’s father more than she would expect and she wonders why. Then that evening, she wakes and thinks she hears voices. She goes downstairs to find that her father is arguing in his office with a stranger. Even more intriguing to Flavia is that she finds that stranger about to die in the cucumber garden early the next morning. The man says the word “Vale” and then dies. Flavia takes it on herself to solve this mystery. While the local detective is nice enough, she feels she can take care of this herself. She’ll let him know when the time comes for someone to be arrested.

There are 10 books in this series. While it is a bit outlandish to think that an 11-year-old could think and do everything involved in the story, it is a fine tale. You need to accept that this is a dysfunctional family in England. There are lots of quirks.

Overall, it was entertaining. While I do not try and guess “who done it” when I read mysteries, I did know who the murderer was, but the tale unfolded with more than I expected. And I do love finding a new series!

Thanks for reading!

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It Had to Be You by Georgia Clark

Posted on February 9, 2021 by Carol Early Cooney

Dear Fellow Reader,

I’ve been reading a lot of non-fiction works and as usual when that happens, I have to skip back over to a “popcorn” fiction book. Just a light snack of a book. The kind of book that keeps your mind occupied but moves quickly. A lovely little break to let your mind re-set.

Luckily, I had just the thing waiting for me. I had a book to review – you know the books that I am given in exchange for my fair and unbiased review. So I picked it up and read it.

Before I get to that, I have a question for you. I have gotten to the point that I have a negative reaction when I look at the summary of a book or a piece of promo for a book and they tell me that it is like this or that author or is reminiscent of a movie. I never seem to agree with whoever makes these comparisons. I find it a bit of a turn off. I am not sure that I would want my book compared to someone else’s book. How do you feel about that? Do you pay any attention to it?

Part of what brings this to mind, is that in the promo for this week’s book, the book was compared to the movie Love Actually. I thought that was a bit odd. How often is a book compared to a movie? The exact quote was “in a joyous Love Actually – style braided narrative. Hmmm.

It Had to Be You starts off by introducing us to Liv Goldenhorn. Liv is a wedding planner. She and her husband have a wedding planning company. Liv is at a wedding where everything is going wrong. Horribly wrong. And her husband is no where to be found. He was supposed to fly back to New York from Kentucky, and he isn’t back yet. With things going from bad to worse (think bride insisted on lavender for the winter wedding and the scent of the lavender, which was intensified due to the heaters had woken up a bee’s nest. And then the bride gets stung on the lip.) Liv gets a phone call. Her husband has died in Kentucky. Liv is shell shocked. But that is not the end of unpleasant surprises for her.

Through the story, we meet the woman who Liv’s husband left his half of the business to, two bandmates who frequently work for Liv, florists who are Liv’s friends and they work her weddings, and a world-traveling server who will work for Liv’s caterers. The stories about each of these people spin around the story of Liv and her wedding planning company.

So, I guess if you really wanted to compare it, you could compare it to a Love Actually web of characters. The thing that I fear with books with multiple character lines is that you won’t know who you are reading about when the next chapter starts. I did not have that problem with this book at all. It was very clear who was who. Okay, sometimes I read to fast and I wasn’t clear about the ethnicity of two of the characters but it doesn’t truly matter.

I did enjoy the book. Here is the rub if you wanted to rush out and get it – it will be published on May 4, 2021. Yes, I know. But I am in the position of needing to review it while I remember it or waiting 3 months and trying to remember it. I have opted for telling you about it in advance. Write it down in your calendar for May 4. I will try and remind you about the book when it is being published. (I’ll mark my calendar.) 

I hope you are doing well and finding lots of great books to read.

Thanks for reading!

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