The Flight: A Monthly Book Sampler (November 2021)
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Hi everyone! Since the fabulous Holly Dowell and I are now alternating months for The Flight, below, I’m sharing my favourites from both October and November.
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin
I’m not entirely sure what to say about this book, other than that you should read. It’s strange and beautiful and utterly engrossing. The premise - a disinherited granddaughter suddenly made heir to the throne in a world where gods are trapped in human form and enslaved to the ruling family - is fascinating and Jemisin does such a great job of exploring it. She manages to build her world without ever making the reader feel like they’re slogging through an infodump. The characters are interesting and complex and Jemisin’s ability to spin a fascinating tale is extraordinary.
The Broken Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin
The second book in the trilogy picks up several years after the events of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms and shows the aftermath of those events. The familiarity with the world makes it slightly less strange than the first book, but only slightly. But that strangeness does not at all detract from the fantastic story. I’ll have my thoughts on the third book for you in a couple months.
The Deadliest Sin by Jeri Westerson
I am so glad that I (inadvertently) broke my rule about never picking up a book from later in a series without first reading everything that comes before it. I haven't read any of the other books in Westerson's Crispin Guest Medieval Noir Mystery series, but I thoroughly enjoyed The Deadliest Sin. It's to Westerson's credit that the final book in the series is entirely accessible to new readers. I loved the mystery - murders at a convent - set against the backdrop of Henry of Lancaster's return to England from exile. The characters are compelling and the setting is rich. I think I'm going to have to go back to the beginning and find out exactly how Crispin and Jack got here.
I can only think of one author other than Jodi Taylor who consistently makes me wheeze or cry with laughter one minute and then has me sobbing the next. The on-going shenanigans of Team 236 (aka Team Weird) continue to entertain, even as the stakes and the danger of their missions increases as they try to keep the timeline (aka the past, present, and future of humanity) from being unraveled. But I believe I’ve previously mentioned my overwhelming tendency to get emotionally attached to fictional characters, yeah? One poor character, who’s only in a couple scenes and not at all involved in the life-threatening dangerous bits, definitely needs to have a couple weeks of stress leave after what his wife and son inadvertently put him through; most of the others deserve a large cup of tea and a nice long rest.
Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry
I had never heard of Wendell Berry until a few years ago. I plead being Canadian. Then, a few years ago, I suddenly started seeing his name everywhere and the vast majority of mentions were about how good his Port William novels are. So I put Jayber Crow and Hannah Coulter on my TBR, but I believe I’ve mentioned that said TBR is as long as I am tall (5’11”), and they weren’t particularly close to the top. I still haven’t read Jayber Crow - I’m planning to get to it next year - but when Sarah Clarkson mentioned that Gracy Olmstead was hosting a Hannah Coulter book club on her Substack, I decided to dive in. I’m so, so glad I did. It’s a gentle, beautiful, deeply moving story. The titular character, as an old woman, looks back on her life and tells its story in all its particular, small glory. There is love and tragedy, community and isolation, and the quiet beauty of faithfulness to a place and a way of life. In addition to Jayber Crow, I’ve put basically everything else Berry has written on my TBR, now.
Wholehearted Faith by Rachel Held Evans with Jeff Chu
This one was hard to listen to. I had already pre-ordered the hardcover when I saw that several of Rachel’s friends had collectively recorded the audiobook, so I ended up getting that, too. Wholehearted Faith, for those who may not know, is the book that Rachel had begun to write prior to her tragic death. Jeff Chu, at the request of Rachel’s husband, Dan, took what Rachel had already written, her notes, and other papers, and finished the manuscript. It’s a powerful book and it breaks my heart that its the last one (at least for adults) that we’ll ever get from Rachel.
Open and Unafraid by W. David O. Taylor
This book is such a beautiful exploration of the book of Psalms. Given that so much of the Western (especially non-mainline) church knows the psalms only sparingly - a line or two here repurposed in a modern worship song, Psalm 23, maybe parts of Psalm 139 - this in-depth examination is a gift. The heights of joy and praise, the depths of lament and imprecation, Taylor lays it all out for his reader and beckons them to enter into this full, all-encompassing depiction of what it means to be a thinking, believing, and perhaps most of all, feeling human. We all lose out when our Christianity shies away from the breadth and depth of all the emotions with which we were created and the psalms show us how to express them to God and to our communities in healthy and ultimately, life-giving ways.
You’re a Miracle (and a Pain in the Ass) by Mike McHargue aka Science Mike
I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect when I picked this one up. I’ve known who Science Mike is for a few years, but I’ve never been a devoted follower of either of the podcasts he (co-)hosted, or even followed him directly on social media. Enough of my friends did that I’d see his stuff regularly and I listened to a live event that he did with my friend, Stephanie Tait, but that’s about it. I ended up really enjoying the book. He does a really impressive job - which should come as no real surprise - of breaking down the science he’s discussing for those of us who don’t read scientific research papers or journals for fun. And his ability to weave that science in and around his own story is something that most people just don’t have. He largely focuses on habits, why we do the things we don’t want to and don’t do the things we do want to, and approaching any kind of change as holistic beings. You’re a Miracle manages to be both helpful in a concrete sense and in the philosophical, how we approach life sense.
I think I first heard about this book before it was published from Joy Clarkson. She’s had Gracy on her podcast a couple times and I’ve enjoyed those conversations. Then I read an excerpt from Uprooted, which was published in the summer 2021 issue of Plough Quarterly. Olmstead is from a small Idaho farming community, but left to go to college and hasn’t returned except to visit family. Uprooted takes a closer look at that community, its history, its present, the outside factors that have so severely influenced and impacted it, and the possibilities of its future. Woven throughout is the story of Olmstead’s family - the names of her grandfather and great-grandfather still opened doors for her to get the interviews she needed to write the book. The book is very well written, hopeful without being naive, and realistic about the current state of small-scale farming in America. I enjoyed reading it and I think that it’s worth reading, if for no other reason than that most of us in the Western world have little to no understanding of where our food comes from and who produces it.
