The Flight: A Monthly Book Sampler (September 2019)
Andrea Humphries, our resident bibliophile (and a board member), writes a monthly post about what she’s learned from the books she’s reading. Today, she’s here with what she learned in September:
September was a little slower than August, but I still got to read lots of books. Here’s what I thought of the best ones.
I'd been looking forward to reading Unlocking Key Biblical Words since co-author, Abby Perry, first mentioned it a couple years ago, while it was being developed. It didn't disappoint. Buck Anderson does a really great job of walking the reader through key biblical words, what they mean, and why they’re so important to understand. As a language nerd, I really appreciated the emphasis put on how the words are used in a non-theological context and how that helps us determine the meaning. The discussion of the issues with English transliterations of Hebrew and Greek words was also really good. Each chapter has a title page with relevant hymn, pop song, and scripture quotes, which I thought was a great touch. This is such an accessible, practical book. I'll definitely be recommending it to friends, especially those who are newer Christians, because I think it'll be incredibly helpful to them.
I was lucky enough to read advanced copies of the latest books from two of my current favourite novelists, Andrea Penrose and Anna Lee Huber. I’ve mentioned them both before for the other series they write.
I read Murder at Kensington Palace more or less in one sitting on a lazy Saturday. I loved the character development, not just for Wrexford and Sloane (although that was very satisfying), but also for the cast of secondary characters. I didn't quite enjoy the mystery in this entry as much as in the previous books, but the conclusion was very well done. As always, Penrose offers a fascinating glimpse at the state of science and scientific inquiry at a time when so many new discoveries were being made. I'm already sad that I have to wait at least a year for the next book in the series.
Penny for Your Secrets is the third Verity Kent Mystery and I'm still trying to decide how I feel about Verity and Sidney Kent. They're intriguing, but I'm not sure I actually like them. That being said, I did enjoy this latest installment in the series. I really like Huber's writing style and I think she does a very good job of conveying the social instability that followed WWI in Britain. I also appreciate her treatment of the PTSD and other mental health issues WWI veterans suffered from after the horrors of the trenches, as well as the struggles of their families to understand and find a way to help them. I look forward to seeing how the plot lines that began in this novel develop in the next one.
A couple months ago, I raved about Caitlin Doughty’s second book, From Here to Eternity, and this month, I’m here to tell you that her latest release, Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?: Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death, is absolutely fantastic. Her answers to these questions from kids were as delightful as I expected them to be. It was hilarious and educational and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Plus, it's added such fabulous phrases as "corpse onesie" and "pumpkin spice mummy" to my vocabulary. Doughty manages to treat death with both the seriousness it deserves and a quirky sense of humour that is incredibly engaging. Like with her other books, I listened to the audiobook because her narration is just fabulous.
Depending on what corners of the internet you frequent, you may have already seen 85 different things about James Clear’s Atomic Habits. It came out in October 2018 and I’ve seen blogger after author after influencer raving about it. I finally got around to reading it in September and while it wasn’t exactly mind-blowing (though that may be because I’ve subscribed to Clear’s newsletter on and off), it’s a solid, helpful, practical guide to building habits and the power of incremental change and improvement. If you’ve read Charles Duhigg’s The Power of Habit, this is probably right up your alley.
Another audiobook I listened to was Embers: One Ojibway’s Meditations by Richard Wagamese. Here’s the official description, “In this carefully curated selection of everyday reflections, Richard Wagamese finds lessons in both the mundane and sublime as he muses on the universe, drawing inspiration from working in the bush—sawing and cutting and stacking wood for winter as well as the smudge ceremony to bring him closer to the Creator.” I so appreciated the insight and wisdom Wagamese shared. It was a really lovely, peaceful book to listen to.
I’m still working on Vivian Shaw’s latest Dr. Greta Helsing novel and I’ve taken a bit of a break from Jodi Taylor’s The Chronicles of St. Mary’s to listen to some other audiobooks, including Agatha Christie’s Hickory Dickory Dock, about which I’ll have more to say next month.
