The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

87% Quacky Ideas.

13% Good ideas. Sort by category, not room.  Have only one spot for items. Cleaning products in one spot. Personal hygiene stocks in one spot. Designated storage spot for each child and their belongings.

Here's a taste of the crap: Socks should not be knotted. They need to rest and recover when they are not doing their job on your feet.

Shouldn't have bought this one...That's what library loans are for. I re-gifted this one to my mom. Wonder if she'll like it?...Not counting on it!

Give your Socks a Break?...Give ME a Break!!!

The Girl on the Train

Read it in November.

Enjoyed it...

Will write more about it soon...

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain

One of my bookclub selections, this book was not something that I would naturally gravitate towards. I read it over the summer as it was our September meeting's read.

This book was written by a self proclaimed introvert and it was written to make other introverts feel good about themselves. The author claims to sight all sorts of scientific studies that demonstrate the worth and strength of introverts, but her argument is a deeply flawed.  Time and time again, the author uses anecdotal examples in her argument that quiet people are not valued by today's society, and that their contributions are ignored, and neglected.

This novel is like a mini-pity party for introverts. The author claims that extroverts are more prone to alcoholism, infidelity, and dishonesty. She claims that extroverts lack self-discipline and focus.

I thought it was a novel that was written to make quiet people feel good about being quiet. Unfortunately, the author seems to enjoy putting extroverts down in the process.

It was simplistic and tiring. The reviews on Goodreads are surprisingly good...I guess all the introverts of the world came out in droves for this one!  Good luck if you want to read it!!!   

Holy Crow...I'm back!!!

It's been a challenging year. I haven't read near as much as I like to, but that's because my focus hasn't been great.

We sold and moved house earlier this year, and throughout that process, I had a hard time relaxing enough to actually concentrate and read. As a result, I haven't read many books and I neglected my blog during this down time.

Needless to say, I'm back in the swing of things now. I have started reading again, and I'm making an effort to get back to blogging. The original reason for this blog was to document my reading. I have always found that if I don't make note of my reading, I forget what I have read, and sometimes even end up reading the same book twice!

I'm going to post a few updates to mark the books that I have read since March. Sadly I can't remember them all, but it's a stab at it!

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

Just what the doctor ordered: Easy and soothing. Garth Stein has created a fictional novel that is written from the perspective of the family dog, Enzo.

Recommended and lent to me by my friend Anna D.B., she said it was an enjoyable easy read. After the struggle presented by Infidel, I welcomed the break.

Here's a quick summary from Wikipedia:

The novel follows the story of Denny Swift, a race car driver and customer representative in a high-end Seattle auto dealership, and his dog Enzo, who believes in the Mongolian legend that a dog who is prepared will be reincarnated in his next life as a human.^[2] Enzo sets out to prepare, with The Seattle Times calling his journey "a struggle to hone his humanness, to make sense of the good, the bad and the unthinkable."^[3]

Enzo spends most of his days watching and learning from television, gleaning what he can about his owner's greatest passion, race car driving — and relating it to life. Enzo eventually plays a key role in Denny's child-custody battle with his in-laws, and distills his observations of the human condition in the mantra "that which you manifest is before you." Enzo helps Denny throughout his life, through his ups and downs.

Garth Stein in his racing garb.

 This is a great picture of the author who was a champion race car driver until he crashed his car racing in the rain.

I really enjoyed this novel. It's well written and makes for smooth reading. It pulls at the heart strings without being too sentimental.

After reading this book, I found myself paying closer attention to my own dog, and wondering if he's trying to tell me things. Enzo the narrator of this novel spends a lot of time listening, understanding and trying to help his owner navigate the challenges of his life.

Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Autobiography by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

I have resolved--along with my friend Lea Anne--that I will read each monthly book that our book club selects, regardless of whether I enjoy the selection. This month's read of Infidel was a challenge in many ways, and I struggled to complete it for a variety of reasons.

A brief summary of this autobiography from Wikipedia:

Hirsi Ali writes about her youth in Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and Kenya; about her flight to the Netherlands where she applied for political asylum, her university experience in Leiden, her work for the Labour Party, her transfer to the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy, her election to Parliament, and the murder of Theo van Gogh, with whom she made the film Submission. The book ends with a discussion of the controversy regarding her application for asylum and status of her citizenship.

I have read many autobiographies and I have to say that this was one of least enjoyable. It was a tough read for many reasons:

1. The narrative had little direction and as the reader, I found myself floundering between the author's life torments. It is a basic blow by blow, and the reader is left being dragged from trauma to trauma.

2. There were endless characters and it was tough to keep track of every cousin, aunt, distant relative. It would have been good to have a family tree to keep track.

3. A seemingly endless string of abusive women. Grandmother is a nightmare, mother is no better. Clearly Ali and her sister are abused. (Her brother is no better).

4. Wild generalizations about Muslims and Islam. Ali dismisses all Muslims as either repressed (females) or dominating repressors (males). It's troubling to me that she makes such broad statements and expects the reader to accept these statements as the truth. I found this very troubling, and I hope that other readers also challenge Ali's agenda on this assertion.

5. Ali suggests that the attempt by the West to accommodate Muslims by allowing specialized schools for Muslim children is detrimental to Western ideals.

I gained some insights and raised more questions for me:

1. I found that I questioned my lack of knowledge on this subject. Why have I never learned about any religion?
2. Where do I turn to learn more about Islam and the Muslim way of life, so that I can understand current events more thoroughly?
3. How can we, as a caring and functional society, learn to accommodate a wide variety of religions without dominating or being dominated.
4. Is there a role for middle aged women like me to help build bridges between different religious groups? (I think women must play a central role in this issue).

Those are my thoughts, and maybe because these issues have been raised by Ali's book, I would suggest that it's worth reading. 

Here's a Challenge!

So reading can't compete with Social Media and On-Line Entertainment? Hmmm...

No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency: African Sleuthing

The first novel in a series of  15

Just finished this light novel that's been on my bookshelf for some time. Here's a short description courtesy of Wikipedia:

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency is a series of novels by Scottish author Alexander McCall Smith. The agency is located in Gaborone, capital of Botswana. Its founder is a Motswana woman, Mma Precious Ramotswe, who features as the stories' protagonist and main detective. The episodic novels are as much about the adventures and foibles of different characters as they are about solving mysteries. The series belongs to the subgenre of anthropological detective fiction, in which the culture of its characters plays a major role in the story. Mma Ramotswe always has multiple small cases to pursue, with only a few involving crime and even fewer involving violence. This deemphasizes sensationalism and focuses on detective fiction being morality tales.

A few of the light weight crimes included finding missing (and suspected wayward) husbands, following a teen daughter who is suspected by her father of dating boys, figuring out why a local doctor is not working up to par (turns out he has an identical twin brother who fills in for him on the odd day).

The novels have been made into a TV series

The novel is series of little mysteries that she pursues and gently solves. There is no violence, or huge conflict. Mma Ramotswe takes her time and easily sorts out the truth from deception. It is an easy read and provides a little insight into the culture of Botswana.

I would suggest that this is a good book to have sitting on your cottage bookshelf. Can be read by anyone and put down without trouble when it's time for a swim or the fish are biting! I'm not going to read the other 14 in the series, but I'm sure others enjoy them for their gentle charm. 

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

The Goldfinch--The Painting that is used
as the novel's central theme 

If I could only take 3 books with me to a deserted island for a one year stint, one of those books would surely be The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. This novel is not to be missed, and is so rich with detail and plot, that it could be re-read and enjoyed anew many, many times over.


Here's a summary by Goodreads:

It begins with a boy. Theo Decker, a thirteen-year-old New Yorker, miraculously survives an accident that kills his mother. Abandoned by his father, Theo is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. Bewildered by his strange new home on Park Avenue, disturbed by schoolmates who don't know how to talk to him, and tormented above all by his unbearable longing for his mother, he clings to one thing that reminds him of her: a small, mysteriously captivating painting that ultimately draws Theo into the underworld of art.
As an adult, Theo moves silkily between the drawing rooms of the rich and the dusty labyrinth of an antiques store where he works. He is alienated and in love-and at the center of a narrowing, ever more dangerous circle.

Here is the author speaking about her novel:

Notice in the painting above: The goldfinch sits on a perch and is trapped by a delicate but undeniable chain on his right claw. The Goldfinch somehow is able to chain Theo Decker throughout his life also. Loved it. It's winding and  fraught with tension. The characters are well developed and the settings are so well drawn that you can almost smell and taste them. The writing is beautiful, and insightful. It is memorable and certainly one that I recommend.