July 2024 Reads!

This month was a lovely mix of contemporary fiction, homemaking books, theology, and some of the classics!

Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano

A tale of a boy who is the sole survivor of an airplane crash, and the repercussions that ensue. This was definitely a novel that made me think—what would it be like to lose your whole family and survive? The author captures human relationships very well; she also does a great job examining the reality of survivor's guilt. I loved the relationship between Shay and Edward and how they could support each other in different ways.

Four stars!

Everyday Living: Living a Pure and Simple Life Is Not As Complicated As You Think by Jacqueline Ritz

Great starter guide to natural living! I loved all the helpful tips she offered, as well as the specific resources at the end of the book. I made her recipe for echinacea tea when my little brother had a cold, and it seemed to help.

Four stars!

Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream by David Platt

Excellent book. It really made me think about how I was going to spend my life and how I needed to be willing to sacrifice it all for Christ—my dreams, my ambitions, everything, and if I was uncomfortable with that, maybe it was time to check myself. It offered tangible ways to live less for the "American Dream" and more for what Christ has called me to do: make disciples, whether locally or abroad. I'm sure this book would ruffle a lot of people's feathers, but I enjoyed it and felt challenged by it to re-examine my priorities.

Four stars!

Made From Scratch: Discovering the Pleasures of a Handmade Life by Jenna Woginrich

Here's yet another book about homesteading/handmade life. It was somewhat refreshing to read one from the perspective of a single woman—while I love the ones more family-focused, it's nice to see how homesteading could be done in the place where God has me now. I loved reading the stories she'd write about her experiences homesteading. It really added a taste for the handmade life other than the great tips she offered! Beautiful writing!

Four stars!

Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers by Dane C. Ortlund

Ortlund systematically examines the heart of Jesus, using both Biblical evidence and sources from Puritan tradition to paint a picture of a God who is inclined towards mercy and steadfast love. His writing gently points the reader to a refreshing picture of a God who is both just and also supremely merciful and loving. He mostly discusses Christ, but there are a few chapters about the Holy Spirit and the Father mixed in.

I enjoyed the references to Puritan thought, as I was not as familiar with those sources and appreciated the rich theological background he provided. Bringing in Christian tradition excellently paved the way for an image of God that is often forgotten. While I am not Reformed and disagreed with some of the ways in which he described God's love (or rather lack of love for the non-elect), I understand that he couldn't really escape that bias and he was also deep in Puritan thought, which is, of course, going to be Reformed. But other than that, enjoyable read and another perspective on God's love that inspired me to read some of the early Puritan writers.

Four stars!

For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway

Hemingway develops a story about an American fighting with the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War, showing the brutality on both sides of the war. His matter-of-fact writing style, using both Robert Jordan's experiences and Maria and Pilar's stories, shows the cold reality of the bloody war, demonstrating how destructive it was that countrymen were beheading each other, raping young women, and conducting witch hunts for fascists and socialists alike to cast someone with even the slightest guilt off cliffs. 

The characters were, in typical Hemingway style, rather grey, but realistic. Robert Jordan's analyses of characters such as Pablo or Pilar seem to accurately portray human nature at its best and worse, especially during war. As always, Hemingway's female love interest, Maria, is rather kittenish, falling at the feet of Robert Jordan as if she hadn't been gang-raped a short time before. Well, nobody ever said Hemingway could write women well. 

As this is a Hemingway novel, expect it to end sadly. There's a grim heroic feeling to the ending—to the senselessness of the violence. But perhaps that was the point Hemingway was trying to make: that the violence of the Civil War accomplished little but more violence, and Robert Jordan's useless blowing up of a bridge had the same results as the war they were fighting.

Three stars.

Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne

Jules Verne takes the reader on a journey around the world in a fascinating picture of the globe in the late 1800s, featuring travel by Indian elephant, Japanese clowns, a Western train attack, and more. Phileas Fogg, of many eccentricities, develops from the stereotypical cold British gentleman to a man of honor and courage. 

Reading about the world (or Verne's perspective of the world) in the late 1800s was delightful. I appreciated how Fogg went through a great amount of character development. He may initially seem like a stiff wealthy man, but really he displayed the good old-fashioned gentlemanly honor, as when he rescued Aouda and Passpartout on two separate incidents at risk of his life. Passepartout might have seemed very annoying throughout, due to the countless times he delayed his employer, but ultimately he came out as lovable in his loyalty to Fogg and resistance to Fix's accusations against him. Even Fix, the antagonist (in a way), is painted with grey strokes—Verne recognizes that he was just doing his duty (albeit with much foolishness) and pursuing who he thought was a criminal with more diligence than the average Scotland Yard detective. 

As this book was written over a hundred years ago, naturally there will be stereotypes about the various countries represented in the novel. I found them more amusing than offensive, and I believe Around the World in Eighty Days still aged well despite the assumptions Verne, as a 19th century European, made about other countries. As an American, I especially laughed at his portrayals of my own country, from Mormon zealots to violent political campaigns to money-grubbing sea captains. Overall a fun read and one of Verne's easier books to get into.

Four stars!