A Prayer in Spring
Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers today;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.
Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.
And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,
And off a blossom in mid air stands still.
For this is love and nothing else is love,
The which it is reserved for God above
To sanctify to what far ends He will,
But which it only needs that we fulfill.
~Robert Frost
How to Be A Victorian, by Ruth Goodman – I’ve been feeling more sparks of interest in the Victorians than I usually do, and this fascinating and fun non-fiction look into a Victorian day definitely hit the spot. I love histories that focus on the quotidian, like Jane Austen’s England or The Time Traveler’s Guide to Medieval England, and this was a good example. Starting with rising from bed and working all the way through every ritual of the day, Goodman gives attention to every social class and walk of life, and leaves no large issue or trivial matter undiscussed. History nerds, don’t miss this one.
Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir of One of the Original Code Talkers of WWII, by Chester Nez – Another historical non-fiction pick. I’ve been fascinated by the Navajo Code Talkers and their role in winning World War II for a long time, and even more so after visiting the International Spy Museum and hearing the code for myself. It’s such a fascinating, thrilling story and I loved reading Nez’s life story and about his war experiences. I was amazed at how readily he and the other Code Talkers volunteered, and how deeply they cherished their country, even after the U.S. government had put them and their families through terrible tragedies. (Nez witnessed the massacring of his family’s livestock, which wiped out generations of wealth and became one of the great tragedies of the Navajo people.) Truly, they are American heroes.
The Hopefuls, by Jennifer Close – It’s 2009, Barack Obama has just become President of the United States, and Beth has just moved to Washington, D.C. from New York with her husband Matt, a native Marylander who has taken a job in the White House Counsel’s office. Beth struggles to find her way inside the Beltway but feels a fish out of water – until she and Matt meet Jimmy and Ashleigh. Jimmy works for the White House, too, and Ashleigh and Beth become fast friends. But as Jimmy rises through the political ranks, jealousies threaten the friendship in several ways. So – I liked this. One of my pet peeves is D.C. novels that get D.C. details wrong – this didn’t do that. You can tell that the author lives in D.C. and actually knows the city. (In fact, she teaches writing at GW, where I went to law school.) But the characters sort of frustrated me. Jimmy seemed like a slimeball, Matt got obsessed with work (and a little bit with Jimmy), and Beth just seemed very passive. I felt sorriest for Ashleigh. I could tell (spoiler alert) that something was going to happen between Jimmy and Beth when the author started painting Ashleigh as an insipid gossip, which seemed clearly designed to turn the reader to Beth’s side. That line doesn’t really work on me; I just ended the book feeling that Ashleigh was the only adult in the room – and that certainly wasn’t how I started it.
American Born Chinese, by Gene Luen Yang – After reading Yang’s Boxers and Saints duology, and loving it, I was very interested to pick up more of his work. American Born Chinese follows three characters – the Monkey King, Jin, and Danny – until their stories intersect in a bit of magical realism… or maybe just magic. It was a fun and quick read, and I can imagine that Yang’s work must mean a lot to young readers from Asian-American families, looking for representation in literature and graphic novels.
Hidden Figures, by Margot Lee Shetterly – Until Hidden Figures came out, I, like most people – I believe – had never heard the story of the black women who worked as “computers” at NASA’s Langley facility, or of their amazing contributions to the World War II victory and to the fledgling space program. It was a fascinating history of a group of unsung heroes – heroines, as a matter of fact – and their fights to be recognized as equals in the workplace, to be given the proper accolades for their work, and to advance on the career ladder as white men simply expected to do. It was wonderful, I loved every second, and now I want to see the movie.
Princess Elizabeth’s Spy (Maggie Hope #2), by Susan Elia MacNeal – Maggie Hope, erstwhile secretary to Mr. Churchill, has basically flunked out of spy school because she’s physically wimpy. Not to worry, because MI-5 has a special job for her (which won’t require her to run or jump over fences or climb walls). Maggie is placed at Windsor Castle where she is posing as maths tutor to young Princess Elizabeth, after the spy agency receives intelligence that she might be the target of a kidnapping plot. I am really enjoying this series and watching Maggie grow in her skills and confidence.
Middlemarch, by George Eliot – I have been listening to the audiobook version of Middlemarch, on and off, since last summer – and I finally finished it! I read the print version a few years ago and was blown away by George Eliot’s intricate world and her breathing characters, and all that shines through on audio as well – thanks in no small part to Juliet Stevenson’s perfect narration. Stevenson really amplified all the best things about the book; I found Mr Brooke a comic delight, Mary Garth an absolute joy, Dorothea a heroine, and Celia surprisingly funny. At 35 hours, the audiobook was a major commitment, but as with the print version I found I sunk into it and looked forward to my listening sessions as a return to what is now a beloved place.
Emily Climbs (Emily #2), by L.M. Montgomery – I’m still loving contributing to the #ReadingEmily hashtag on Twitter, and reading several new blogs I’ve found through the best readalong ever (thanks again, 
Chronicle of a Death Foretold, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez – I picked this very slim volume up for the Book Riot Challenge of 2017 (read a book with a Central or South American setting, by a Central or South American author) and I found it engaging and well-written, but not quite up to the standard of One Hundred Years of Solitude. It probably still isn’t, but I revised my opinion when I read some critical commentary suggesting that it was an allegory of Jesus and the Passion – I’m a bit dense about religious themes in literature; I can follow them if someone tells me they’re there, but I rarely spot them myself – and after I discovered that, I appreciated the story much more. At only 120 pages, it’s a very short time commitment and definitely worth the read.
The More of Less, by Joshua Becker – As part of my ongoing effort to right-size my life (a very slow process indeed) I have been seeking out writings from self-identified minimalists, and Becker is a great example. I read his book, Simplify, to start off the year, and have made my way through his blog archives. The More of Less, I listened to on audio, read by the author, and I found it useful and enjoyable. Becker shares more practical tips than he does in Simplify or on his blog, and I found the book to be a good mix of those tips, more general inspiration, and Becker’s own minimalist story. I think I’m going to have to chart my own minimalist path, but I do like Becker’s laid-back approach and his realistic acknowledgement of the challenges of being a minimalist with kids in the house.
covered in flour 