The London House by Katherine Reay, book review

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The London House by Katherine Reay
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Read this because you're an intelligent (probably) woman who seeks to enrich her life through good stories, good characters, and Truth. It's a story of reconciliation, hope, mercy, rebuking long-held survivor guilt, and openness to learning that we don't always know the whole story and we can't always see the whole picture.

Put this at the top of your TBR pile. This author knows how to get you involved in the character's hearts and minds while telling a good story and keeping you invested in the plot. I've read everything she's published and I practically have an alarm set for when she might soon publish a new one.

Micro-Summary:
After a tantalizing sneak peek into a mysterious scene in occupied Paris, we jump forward to modern day America. We first meet Caroline who comes from a family marinating in sadness, shattered by an embarrassing secret that was buried during World War II and a somewhat recent tragic death. Even more than 75 years later the assumed Truth still seems to rot under the surface.

The story gives us the perspective in the 21st century as well as point of views from the 1930s and 1940s. I personally love the switching back and forth of those different eras, it's one of my favorite trends and literature right now.

Why it's great:
Clearly an immense amount of research was done. I have at least a dozen notes in my Kindle encouraging me to look up a different Schiaparelli dresses and events reported in the book. I remember seeing an Instagram post where she got to go to London just weeks before the pandemic shut down began to do research for this book. Yes, that is when I decided I was going to keep checking to see when it became available!

There's an element of this book that only struck me a few weeks after finishing the book that is quite niche and important in this era of our culture where masculinity and femininity seem to be at odds. The male characters embody masculinity in the truest sense of the word (positive and negative) and the female characters live all the best (and the worst manifestations of) characteristics of femininity. In the end, they show the strengths of how we are created. We see how one can use gifts given to us to help others rather than focusing so much on gaining power and recognition.

Something I have read the author share is that many of her novels grow out of different specific C.S. Lewis books. I'm not positive which one this is, but she does mention a talk he gave on the BBC called, "Right and Wrong -- A Clue to the Meaning of the Universe." That title gives you a peek into the lessons you might learn from this book. I don't consider this chick-lit. There is intelligent philosophy weaved throughout.

I received a digital advance copy of this book. All words and opinions are my own.

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Home for Christmas: Stories for Young and Old, book review

This post may contain affiliate links, which help me support my art habit, Liz Lenzi Art. Home for Christmas: Stories for Young and Old by Elizabeth Goudge
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Though I'm unfamiliar with some of these writers, I'm delighted to get to know them in this book! There is something so cozy about a book of short stories, especially with themes of Christmas and the values that traditionally come with them.

This is a book for old souls or for those who hope to develop the old souls in your own children. Most of the stories aren't explicitly focused on Christ's birth, but they're stories with Truth as their guide.

I'm still working my way through the stories, seeing as I'm writing this in August, slowly approaching them like a wise ten year old who takes his or her time to eat the Christmas candy. I can't wait to make some of these stories part of our tradition.

I received a digital advance copy of this book. All words and opinions are my own.

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St. Dymphna's Playbook, by Tommy Tighe

This post may contain affiliate links, which help me support my art habit, Liz Lenzi Art. St. Dymphna’s Playbook: A Catholic Guide to Finding Mental and Emotional Well-Being by Tommy Tighe
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Often we feel steeped in fear, loneliness, feelings of exile, depression, or other mental illness from the evil one. It's not a romantic poem in a few short stanzas when it's a part of your daily life. This book is exactly what it sounds like: a playbook. Instructions for finding your way for a myriad of illnesses plaguing you or your loved ones.

I liken the book to a faithful complement to the DSM. Rather than cold descriptions, you have occasional anecdotes and real, spiritually practical solutions. The solutions are rooted in faith, prayer, scripture, and hope. Mental illness is real and it can feel like a dark room into which you've been dropped. But through the Church and scripture God reminds us our feelings aren't reliable.

If you or someone you love are struggling with anything related to mental illness (depression, anhedonia, irritability, fatigue, hopelessness, anxiety, self-consciousness, OCD, scrupulosity, trauma, relationship struggles of all kinds, grief, and more), pick up this book as a guideline to lead you out of the darkness and a way to figure out how to turn on the light.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

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The vestments are rose colored, no longer the glasses

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We've reached the halfway point of Lent 2021 and in my own Linton tradition, I have finally come to the place of preparation to begin Lent.

Yesterday's rose-colored vestments marked the middle of our Lenten journey and after trying and trying and trying during Lent this year, I have finally made some headway in my spiritual journey and I almost wish that Lent was twice as long. I still have the endurance to build and the efforts to make in order to see the the fruits by the end. 

Disclaimer: Lent is not a diet! And perhaps for the first time I am finally not treating it like a diet, though my spiritual woes tend to be in the food world.

I have an addictive personality, though I keep it pretty tame on the outside with as many efforts as I can. However, over the years I have been engaged in what I'll call a binge eating disorder and then binge learning and then a binge dieting. I finally come to conclusion that I should have been asking God for help this entire time instead of trying to do it all by myself. He has a vested interest in me succeeding over my food addictions as they are in obstacle for me to Him.

It is hard to find a Catholic book that addresses this and I think it's because Protestants cherry pick scripture verses to apply to their lives. Maybe that's not fair. But I want to make sure I maintain a Catholic perspective which includes the fact that Jesus himself gave himself as food for us. Therefore food is such a glorious gift from God.

I've been reading a couple of books that have been helping me and they're all written by Protestants, so I have to make sure I'm praying about the truth as I read them. I feel good about recommending Dr Michael Brown's Breaking the Stronghold of Food. 

With the one exception of a time when his wife Nancy refers to Jesus' Last Supper and His final words of "it is finished," (oh how I wish I could send them a few Scott Hahn books), the rest is applicable to our lives as future saints. The major lesson that I've learned from it is that God is more powerful than any of my obsessive food thoughts and he wants me to be free of them.

Top 7 read aloud books for babies to 24 months

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Worried that your baby is too busy climbing around and sticking everything in his or her mouth to actually foster a love of reading. Be not afraid!!

My (currently 22 month old) girl was always busy doing EVERYTHING except for sitting and reading with me. As a teacher, this was a source of anxiety and depression for me. Can you not just SIT with me and LEARN WONDERFUL JOY FROM THIS STINKING BOOK?!?!

It got better.

Blessedly, a few months ago something clicked and she was fully-fledged in a language building schema (learn more about what I mean by that by reading my Montessori posts). Suddenly she was getting all of her exercising running to and from her book shelves. We were devouring books, reading each one two and three times in a row (okay, so more like ten times in a row) and I was starting to feel like my brain had been strength training. I can officially boast to having memorized eleven children's books.

These have been her top seven favorites and the ones that pulled her into her language building frenzy. There are so many beloved children's books, so please tell me your favorites in the comments.

Books you must have on your shelf for your baby and young toddler

1. Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle - It has a great rhythm, filled with all of those farm animals we expect them to know (even though they only regularly interact with dogs and cats), and teaches to be good to one another even when others aren't considerate to us.
2. Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt - Perhaps this is an Irish or UK classic and not American (yet), but this was the breakthrough book that taught my girly that she can engage with the books we read.
3. Dr Seuss' ABC - Duh. How else can you watch an ostrich oil and orange owl?
4. Little Owl's Night by Divya Srinivasan - I adore the illustrations in this book and I enjoy that it's a book about nocturnal animals. The rhythm is perfect for preparing for bed and cute Little Owl is so full of joy about his life in the forest.
5. 10 Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle - We have the paper version and the board book version. One of the reasons this became a favorite is because the last page of the paper version includes an electronic button for making the 10th little rubber duck squeak alongside his new duck family. This book touches on cardinal directions, other forms of directions, sea animals, manufacturing (ha), ordinal numbers, and loneliness.
6. Hail Mary by Maïte Roche - It's a fabulous size for little hands without becoming a teether (does anyone else's child chew on and swallow pieces of tiny books -- maybe she's loved books longer than I give her credit, she's just digesting them instead of reading them) and the illustrations are gorgeous. This book allows her to participate in praying the Hail Mary, as the whole book is simply the prayer accompanied by pictures.
7. Trains Go by Steve Light- I have a railfan on my hands. i had to look up a word to describe one who is obsessed with trains. She has this boys' set of PJs that she calls her "choo choos" and has almost literally worn them at some point every single day for the last two weeks. It'll be a blue day when they no longer fit her. Anyway, this book came from the library and uses onomatopoeia to illustrate the sounds of the different variety of train noises. #noteverytrainsayschoochoo #apparently

Island living: how your decisions are not independent of others

A guy I worked with as a teenage lifeguard once told me his philosophy for red lights. I was yet to earn my learner's permit, so I was all ears.

"If the person in front of me goes through the yellow or red light, then I'm going through the yellow or red light." 

Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash

Even as a green fifteen-year-old, this logic made no sense to me. If everyone else in the platoon (marrying a civil engineer affords me new roadway vocabulary) follow that same protocol, no one would ever stop. There would be a perpetual line of cars going through until a gap was created.

Your decisions are not your personal decisions.

Most of the time. You don't make decisions independent of every other person. All of your decisions affect other people. Especially if you're a Trinitarian-ish-ly baptized Christian who is given the titles Priest, Prophet and King. We're called to do our best.

Our feelings about what we want do not justify decisions that hurt others.

Yes, there is always mercy, especially when we ask for it with our open hearts.

Thank God, but let's remember that these traffic signals are there to guide us (not KILL ALL FUN IN ALL OF THE WORLD AND KEEP A MAN DOWN).

What's your yellow/red light philosophy?

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The 21: A Journey Into the Land of Coptic Martyrs, book review

The 21: A Journey Into the Land of Coptic Martyrs by Martin Mosebach
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Firstly, read this book to gain insight from a man seeking Truth about 21 men who showed such devotion to Jesus that they died speaking to Him at the hands of their murderers. Secondly, read this book because you'll learn more about the Coptic religious men and women in Egypt and the potential for terror that their faith steeps in on a daily basis. Thirdly, read this because it will change you from within and make you see that we, too, need to embrace the courage that God calls us to live.

I cannot believe this book was translated from German in to English. That fact, merged with the gorgeous prose of a nonfiction text, earned the five stars.

However, beyond the technical beauty of the book, there is the journey of a man in awe of the faith of other men. The book teaches while also preaching. It is a testament to what we were called to be: firstly: disciples, secondly: prophets, and thirdly: teachers. The author manages to show, not tell, that order of our faith. He does so through his journey researching the example of these men who lived, that.

Highly recommended.

I received this book for free from NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for a fair and honest review.

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The Complete Food Substitutions Handbook, book review

The Complete Food Substitutions Handbook: Including Options for Low-Sugar, Low-Fat, Low-Salt, Gluten-Free, Lactose-Free, and Vegan by Jean B. MacLeod
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

You might need this on your shelf.

When cooking, either under time constraints that leave no room for another trip to the store, or with diet requirements, figuring out substitutions for items in a recipe can halt the process. You can go to Google or Pinterest, but we all know that leads you down a zero world problem rabbit hope of distraction and doubt whether or not to believe some food blogger.

This author has done her research (see multiple page bibliography) and provides multiple, measured substitutions for hundreds of food items. The book is simple: alphabetical order of ingredients with volumes of substitutions for those items. You'll read the names of foods you never knew existed.

The text doesn't identify which substitutions provide the vegan, low sugar, dairy free, etc option. One needs to know which of the substitutions from the list fulfills one's requirements.

Simple, but possibly an invaluable kitchen resource.

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