Everything She Didn't Say

by Jane Kirkpatrick
Carver County Library paperback 333 pages
genre: Christian historical fiction

Although this book wasn't nearly as engaging as other titles I've read by this author, I certainly marked plenty of pages! Based on the real-life travels and memoirs of Carrie Adell Strahorn and Robert Strahorn, the "story" at times felt like more of a travelogue. Book club is in less than an hour, so I'm just going to put some quick notes here.

Page 22: "I often longed for where I'd been and where I wasn't. It was a lesson of living I hadn't yet learned about, finding the blessings of each moment." Though I get sick of people talking about "living in the moment," I need this lesson as well . . . I'm too often in a hurry to cross things off my list. Finding the blessings of each moment resonates for me.

Page 58: "My old pattern of memorizing Scripture came in handy, and I repeated a psalm as a mantra: 'Be still and know that I am God.' I saw it as a promise that God would have our backs rather than as a chastisement to be quiet."

Page 78: When Robert has trouble catching his breath after moving a trunk, I thought that he was surely going to die soon. This was at least his third illness and I just didn't think he was going to last very long!

Page 83: When she is telling her sister about the Chinese who "lay rail lines, dig in mines, cook, do laundry, sleep in colonies separate from others, and they send all their money home to family." This truthful depiction of Chinese labor is historically accurate and it makes me sad how they were treated when their labor was no longer wanted.

Page 86 and 90: When she finds out that Robert had mumps when he was young and was probably infertile . . . what a gut-punch! And he never told her about it, even though she wanted children. And when she confronted him about it, his excuses / explanations were pathetic and self-serving. Ugh!

Page 113: Might be my favorite part! "The effect of a compliment seasoning hard, dreary days was something I could give and vowed to do that more. Kindness. To notice small moments of service, even asking for a woman's name, brought joy out of proportion to the simple act. We all want to be known."

Page 117: "I overheard one of them refer to me once as 'bossy' and I'm not. I just knew what others should be doing." Hahaha! This made me laugh out loud.

Page 139: "'I'm not jesting. We all hear voices inside. Things Mama told us when we were little that remind us of some action to take in the present. Husbands tell us things we let stew inside our heads and hearts, even when they aren't present. It's not always for the best." There's some truth in this! I am trying to be better about listening to the Holy Spirit - my favorite little voice!

Page 154: "A bit of a stuffy title, but then a title is meant to tell a reader what's inside and it surely did that. I do think it's why I love to read novels, though, because the titles are meant to intrigue, perhaps be a double entendre." I'm always looking for the book title connection within the text of the novel. I love this!

Page 186: ". . . it's how we respond to the broken tracks that matters, because there will always be brokenness. It's what we do with the punches we take, the heart-stopping moments, those are the knives that carve out who we are." I love the author's language here!

Page 187: "Fear's an elixir that feeds anxiety and drains common sense." One of the few things that Robert said that I liked . . .

Page 227: "Women have a way of knowing what another needs. Some of us struggle with receiving kindness."

General observation: I love the dogs! And using "B-flat" to indicate "down" is genius, especially for a music lover.

Page 313: Her observations on the impact of Manifest Destiny also make me sad . . . history is full of grandeur and pain. I do love that chapter 36 is titled "What She Didn't Say" . . . and the connection she made in the author's note about her sister sticking with the cheery news and omitting the difficulties.

Page 329: In the author's notes, she points out that his wife of fifty years merited three sentences in his life's memoir. Then she goes on to write "Robert remarried a year after Carrie's death in 1925 and in that same memoir wrote twenty-six pages about his second wife and their two years of travel in Europe." What a jerk!

Hidden Figures

by Margot Lee Shetterly
Scott County Library paperback 265 pages
genre: non-fiction, history

I have to admit, this book would probably not have crossed my radar if it hadn't been for the amazing movie made based on this. I absolutely love the movie! Reading this, I see some of the places where Hollywood skewed the truth to tell a story . . . but I still love the movie! The author did a fantastic job of researching the history and tying in the racial aspects (in the people's lives, at NASA, in the South, in the United States vs. the rest of the world . . . ) with the technological aspects (human computers, mathematicians, engineers, teachers, airplanes, rockets, IBM, etc.). The book was perhaps a bit too techie for me, but I'm glad I read it and I'm even more glad that Lee Shetterly researched and wrote it!

Window Treatments

I was impressed by the wealth of books in the Scott County Library system! I looked through all of these for window treatment ideas, but have decided on a different strategy for the specific project I was considering. I may want to come back to some of these for future use, though!

The Sunset Big Book of Window Treatments was delightful for visual options! Subtitled "More than 1,000 ways to dress up your windows," it really shows a lot of styles, colors, designs, etc. It's a visual feast!

The Complete Photo Guide to Window Treatments, edited by Linda Neubauer, is fantastic for DIY directions! I copied a few pages for Roman Shades, which I might try making for a window up at the lake. If I were planning to buy any of the titles I looked at, it would be this one.

Sunset's Simply Window Treatments: All you need to know to make curtains, shades, and swags was a close second. I copied the roman shades pages from this one, also, but the directions and illustrations were not quite as clear and straightforward.

Fish in a Tree

by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
NPMS Mrs. Weiers' copy paperback 272 pages
genre: YA realistic fiction

I had read a small section of this a while back when I subbed in Mrs. Bowers' room. Then I saw it on Mrs. Weiers' desk Monday and started reading it from the beginning. Well . . . I borrowed it today and finished it! What a lovely book!

Sixth grader Ally Nickerson is really good at drawing and figuring things out, but she struggles to read. She is teased by some of the mean girls at school (mostly Shay) and gets in trouble a lot. When her teacher goes on maternity leave and Mr. Daniels shows up, Ally's world is changed! I wish all teachers were like Mr. Daniels!

Page 63 - "I'm not perfect, but at least I'm not mean. And then my heart sinks, because I realize that I just was. I guess I did it because I was lonely. Now I know that there are worse things than being lonely."

Page 106-7 - The scene where Ally tells Albert and Keisha how she got on Shay's bad side . . . too funny!

Page 142 - "I'd rather be in charge of teaching cats to play hockey."

Page 158 - "'You are smart, Ally. And you are going to learn to read.' A chill runs through my whole body. I don't have any choice but to believe him, because I can't go another day thinking things will be like this forever."

Page 184 - "And I think of words. The power they have. How they can be waved around like a wand - sometimes for good, like how Mr. Daniels uses them. How he makes kids like me and Oliver feel better about ourselves. And how words can also be used for bad. To hurt."

Page 273-4 Her "Dear Readers" note at the end . . . I love it as much as the book! Ally is a wonderful protagonist who cares deeply about her family and her new friends. This book is as much about celebrating the best in humanity as it is about learning to read.

The above was written 3/17/2019. On 1/13/2020, I finished listening to the audio version, read by Kathleen McInerney. The skeptic in me doesn't think a student could make it all the way to sixth grade without an educator realizing she has dyslexia and cannot read, but the realist in me knows that students who move a lot often get lost in the shuffle. Also, some kids come up with excellent coping mechanisms that deceive the adults about what's really going on. This is a wonderful book, especially Ally and her brother Travis, their love for their parents and their grandpa, the "Silver Dollar" and "Wooden Nickel" days, . . . .  

 

In April 2021, I read it *again* while subbing at New Prague High School. The media specialist had bought it for some of her students with learning challenges. I had time, so read it a third time! Hunt is such an amazingly talented author. I cried as I finished this book! I love Ally Nickerson, her teacher, and her love for her brother. I love the impact their grandpa had on them. I love this book! 

8.18.2023 - Yes, I really do like this book a lot. I listened while at work (Libby app). Kathleen McInerney does a wonderful job. Kudos to Hunt for writing such an incredible book.

An Unsuitable Job for a Woman

by P.D. James
Scott County Library audiobook 8 CDs
read by Penelope Dellaporta
genre: detective mystery

Cordelia Gray is a young private detective. Initially, I thought the story was set earlier, but soon realized that the young Mark Callendar was born in the 1950s.


What I liked:

• clues, in classic whodunnit style
• the mysteries!
• not knowing who the murderer was for most of the story . . . in fact, I had lots of theories, but they all proved wrong!
• the interesting characters . . . I could almost picture the cast if it were an Agatha Christie mystery!
• the details in the story
• the reader's voice - Dellaporta is so talented! I would pick an audiobook just to hear her!

What I disliked:

• who the murderer was . . . and what actually happened. Yuk.
• what Cordelia decided to do in the climactic scene . . . I just found her decision to be disappointing, even though I understand her motivation for doing so 

I'm not sure if I'll read more Cordelia Gray mysteries. I really liked her for most of the book. She's a strong character.