Review: In Every Heartbeat

by Kim Vogel Sawyer

given that i am not usually a fan of historical fiction, it surprised me how much i liked In Every Heartbeat.

three orphans, friends since childhood, leave the school that has meant both home and family to them to go to college together, each with their own dreams. Libby's desire is to become a journalist and travel the world making a difference. Pete feels called into the ministry. Bennett wants nothing more than to join a fraternity, to find a place where he belongs. but the attempt to reconcile the plans of the future clashes with the unresolved issues of the past, and ends up pushing these friends to the boundaries of friendship, as well as the edge of what they believe they can cope with.

even though the book has 300+ pages, i fairly flew through it, reading it in about three nights. with believable characters, each carrying their own private scars and issues from their abandonment, both towards God and others, you find yourself wanting Pete, Libby and Bennett to succeed and resolve all that holds them back.

all in all, it was a good book, and i recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical fiction.

Book has been provided courtesy of Thomas Nelson and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Permission To Speak Freely

It all started with a simple question posted on her blog. "What is one thing you feel you can't say in the church?" And with this one question, Anne Jackson not only opened up a floodgate of responses from around the world, but also had the beginning of what would become Permission To Speak Freely: Essays and Art on Fear, Confession, and Grace.

It's no secret that I read a lot of books, but the truth is that there are very few that I don't want to end, and even fewer of those fall in the non-fiction category, but this is definitely one of those precious few.

With snapshots of her own story woven throughout the book, Ms. Jackson takes her readers, like friends, into her life, giving us the benefit of lessons she's learned. From the far too prevalent role that fear plays when we walk through the doors of a church, to the power of confession, to facing down the shame that so many of us carry alone, Anne's voice rings out loudly the truth that none of us is as alone as we may feel we are. My favorite chapter, would have to be 'The Gift of Going Second', something so simple and yet so powerful, it amazed me, and filled me with new resolve.

The book itself is a thing of beauty. Filled with artistic answers to Anne's original question, some of the confessions are heartbreaking, while others left me with no other words than a whispered, 'me too'.

Permission To Speak Freely is, in my estimation, a must-read. Whether you've spent the majority of the Sundays in your life in a pew, or if you've never actually sat in one, the clear message of grace is one that we all need.

Book has been provided courtesy of Thomas Nelson and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available now at your favourite bookseller.

Comfort Food

after telling my summer reading group about all the books i've been reading about food and cooking, a friend in the group asked if i had read Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs yet. it was already on my bookshelf, as i had bought it on one of our trips to St. Jacobs. when i told her that i hadn't gotten to it yet, she suggested that it would fit nicely in with my theme.

so i picked it up on the weekend... and finished it night before last.

and Jenn was right. it fit right in with my current theme. filled with family, friends, food, love and all the drama that comes with it, Comfort Food was a pleasant diversion from the exceedingly hot summer days that we've had around here. the characters were mostly believable, and charming each in their own way, even if some of the transformations that occurred in their lives seemed a bit forced and unbelievable. but i was willing to overlook that, mostly because the story on the whole was delightful.

Ms. Jacobs is also the author of The Friday Night Knitting Club, another one i picked up in St. Jacobs, but have not yet read. given that yarn is not something i even want to touch in the midst of this hot, humid weather, i think i'll save that one until fall!

* * * * *

Currently reading: Bird by Bird {Anne Lamott}, Patisseries of Paris {Jamie Cahill} and The Elegance of the Hedgehog {Muriel Barbery}

review: The Death & Life of Charlie St. Cloud

i keep being delightfully and immensely surprised by fiction that i probably wouldn't have otherwise picked up!

first with The School of Essential Ingredients, that i wrote about in my last post, which i couldn't put down, to this one, The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud, which had everything going for it to indicate that i would never read it in a million years. the previews for the movie coming out this friday made the movie look like a Nicholas Sparks novel, and while many drool over Mr. Sparks work, i am, shall we say, less than impressed by both his books and the movies that get based on them.

but what rescued this from the 'never' pile for me was the title of the book. if you look quickly, you might not even catch that the words death and life are in the order they are in. {another black mark for the movie is that they shortened the title to just Charlie St. Cloud... why?!} but the order of death and life intrigued me, so on Sunday night, i found the book on Kobobooks.com, and downloaded it to my eReader.

given that i was tired, i figured i'd read a few pages before i fell asleep, but by the time i managed to turn the light out, i had gotten nine chapters in and the last thing i wanted to do was stop reading. right from the very first page the book captivated me. and as i finished the last ten chapters last night, i was almost giddy at the Cecelia Ahern-like twist that Mr. Sherwood so skillfully weaved into the story. {if you don't know of my great and passionate love of all things written by Cecelia Ahern, you may may read a bit about my love here, and also know that her If You Could See Me Now is one of my top three fiction EVER! if you haven't yet read it, stop what you are doing, yes, stop reading this, and go here to buy it now.}

about the movie, given how perfectly brilliant the book has been, not to mention what i've seen of the previews, i'm not sure if the movie is for me. to be honest, i'm not even sure that a movie could compare to the brilliance of the book, especially one the appears to veer as far from the actual story as this one does.

so it seems i am two for two in the 'fiction i cannot put down category'. do you have anything you can recommend to make it three for three?

hungry?

recently, i've noticed a theme to my reading, one i haven't seen before. usually the 'steaks' in my reading schedule have more to do with genres than topics. for a while i was reading only biographies. sometimes fiction, or even young adult fiction.

but this one is different.

the theme of my reading lately has inadvertently been all about food.

it started with Paris Sweets, a cookbook that Ang got me last year, that is so incredibly perfect, there are hardly words. while it is a cookbook, each recipe is preceded by Dorie Greenspan's thoughts and experiences on the Paris patisserie that inspired the recipe. reading this book is like having Ms. Greenspan take you on the very best kind of tour of the city of lights... one that includes all things baked and buttery.

from there, i picked up Molly Wizenberg's A Homemade Life, which i have not finished yet, but for the very best of reasons. this book of essays, all accompanied by a recipe, is like a visiting friend, the kind that you just don't want to leave. you don't want the visit to end. and for this very reason, i am purposely reading my way through it very, very slowly.

shortly after i started A Homemade Life, on a recent trip to michigan, i picked up the book I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti at Target. i had heard of the book in a review i read, so knew that it would be enjoyable. Giulia Melucci takes her readers on a memoir of her love life, the men she has loved, lost and cooked for. while i have no intention of emulating Ms. Melucci's love life, i have already used more than one recipe found in her book, and let me say that i am a great fan. it has also put in me the desire to do more cooking for friends.

and lastly, the book i just finished moments ago, The School of Essential Ingredients, by Erica Bauermeister. this one took me by surprise. Ang lent it to me when i was visiting her last month, and i picked it up on Friday night, and was delighted the way only the best fiction can do. it is so good, i even stopped reading at the last chapter last night, simply because i wanted to save some of the magic for today. The School of Essential Ingredients is a beautiful tale of participants in a cooking class, and how their past experiences brought them together to the class, and how the mixing of the ingredients of their own lives ends up creating something beautiful. i can tell that this is one that i will definitely need to get for myself, as i will definitely want to read it again!

well, that brings me up to date. The School of Essential Ingredients is book number 36 for this year, which makes me exactly only one book behind in my plan to read 75 books this year. according to the schedule, today i should have finished book 37, but hey, at one point i was seven books behind, so what difference does one make?!

as usual, i am wondering what you are reading. do you have a recommendation that will surprise me the way this last one did?

what i'm reading...

Murder on the Ile Saint-Louis {Cara Black}
i love this series of murder mysteries all set in my very favorite city. if i cannot be in Paris, these books, each set in a different area of the city are a good substitute. this one, set on the Ile Saint-Louis, is special to me, as i have spent a good amount of time on this little island in the middle of the Seine, and have even dreamed of one day calling one of the apartments here my home.

A Homemade Life {Molly Wizenberg}
this series of essays and recipes is perfect summer reading. the author writes beautifully of her home life, and the way her family, especially her father, has shaped her into the person she is today. the author writes of one of my favorite blogs, Orangette, and checking out her blog will help you understand how very much a treat the book is. this is one that i will be very sad to see end, so i am reading it purposely slow.

The Liturgical Year {Joan Chittister}
this is one that i started a while ago, but it got shelved for some reason that i cannot remember. but i am excited to pick it back up, and get going on it again.

what are you reading?

review: Plan B by Pete Wilson

Plan B by Pete Wilson is a book that at some point or another, we are all going to need. the subtitle "what do you do when God doesn't show up the way you thought he would?" pretty much sums up why. regardless of what the moment we are currently in holds, there will come another moment when something happens and it feels like all the air has been sucked out of life, and we are left wondering what on earth just happened.

a cancer diagnosis.

you spouse wants out.

your job ends without notice.

a loved one dies.

or any other of the myriad of ways that our daily lives can be instantly tossed into a blender and no longer seem recognizable.

Pete Wilson's book is preparation of sorts, for these times.

in each chapter, he uses not only personal examples, but also biblical ones of lives turned upside down and fully in need of a Plan B. Job, Joseph, even Jesus' mother Mary {among others} all have situations in their lives where what they had originally planned didn't work out, and a new reality was born. how they handled the change, the situation, and their response to God are the focus of these chapters, and help the reader understand how we, when faced with similar situations, need to respond.

as someone who has her own control issues, worries more than she wants, and is far more driven by fear than she would like, this book spoke to me on many levels.

trouble comes, on many levels, usually when you least expect it. of this we have no control. but what we can control are our actions and reactions when we need to abandon Plan A for what comes next. Plan B is excellent hope and wisdom to help us do just that.



Book has been provided courtesy of Thomas Nelson and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available May 2010 at your favourite bookseller.