The President is Missing by Bill Clinton and James Patterson

I have read my share of John Grishams and Tom Clancys, but I haven't read much by James Patterson (maybe one or two that I can't remember?). But since this book was going around having been marketed as being written by Bill Clinton, I was a sucker like everyone else and decided to listen to it. It is basically whatever you would expect--a political thriller with an assassin, a cyberterrorism threat, and all sorts of distrust on all sides. The title is misleading, I thought, because it makes you think the president will be, well, missing, but since he's narrating most of the story, the reader always knows where he is. I felt like there didn't seem to be much interesting knowledge that Bill Clinton shared about being president, though. And I wonder if he thinks that President John Duncan is a version of himself--someone trying to do the right thing for the country but who's stuck fighting politics. It seems telling that the book opens with President Duncan in a mock Senate hearing trying him for impeachment (but not for a sex scandal). There were also some kind of preachy parts about "why is our political system so broken? Stop being terrible people!" and a few things that felt like they were being thrown in just to show how current the authors are--a reference to Flint, Michigan, and the president telling the Russian Prime Minister "stay out of our elections." (I felt like that was super annoying.) And it seems like the people that the President is surrounded with are all the smartest, most talented, most tortured, most whatever of anyone ever. He literally goes to get his make-up done by "the most beautiful woman in the world" when he's going in disguise somewhere, who just "happened" to be his wife's college roommate at Harvard.

I was caught up in this story and enjoyed it for its thriller-like aspects, and I was caught off-guard by who the actual traitor was at the end of the story. So that part was great. The pregnant female assassin was pretty fierce too. But there were a lot of holes and I was a little creeped out by the kind-of similarities to Bill Clinton and wondering if that's what he really thinks he was as the President.

Rilla of Ingleside by L. M. Montgomery

I always loved this book, the last in the Anne series, about the Blythe family. It seemed very poignant and bittersweet this time, now reading it as an adult with kids of my own, since it is set in WWI and reading about the Blythe boys going off to war. I love this look at what the time during the war was like in Canada for the women back home, and I love the message that you can survive anything. I loved the coming-of-age development that Rilla went through and how she raised a baby. I teared up several times while reading it and full-on cried at the end when Jem came home and Dog Monday saw him. This is a lot heavier than the previous few books, because of the war storyline, but it feels a lot more real too.

This was such a good series to read for me. I absolutely love it and I will always come back to it.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

I think this may have been the boys' favorite book I've ever read aloud to them. And who WOULDN'T love this book? How could it not capture any kids' imagination? Just the setting alone, of a magnificent, magical chocolate factory, is enough to set any kids' imaginations on fire. Add to that the magical great glass elevator, and the Oompa Loompas, and Charlie being given the chocolate factory at the end--it just doesn't get any better. Even after reading just the first chapter, Graham was already begging me to take them to a chocolate factory. We may have to look up and see if there are any chocolate "factories" around here--but they will definitely be disappointing after Mr. Wonka's chocolate factory.

Rainbow Valley by L. M. Montgomery

This was possibly my favorite of the Anne of Green Gables books when I was younger. I would reach for this one before any of the other ones if I was wanting to read something happy. I think now the first three are my true favorites (because Anne is hardly in this one), but I still feel a lot of love for this book. I like it much more than Anne of Ingleside, because that one feels like a random assortment of stories about her kids, none of them connected or leading to a bigger point. This one is totally about the kids, but it focuses more on their new neighbors, the Merediths, who have moved into the manse nearby, and their friendship with the Blythes and their struggle to grow up. I love that there is an ongoing story with the irrepressible Faith and sweet Una and Jerry and Carl making hilarious mistakes (like going to church with no stockings on! Shocking! Scandalous!) and trying to behave better in order to help their father. I have to say, I can't see why they love their father so much when he completely ignores them and is so caught up in his theological thinking, and I cannot understand him for being so abstracted all the time when his kids are starving for attention. It's pretty neglectful, even though they have a housekeeper taking care of them.

I'm dying now to read Rilla of Ingleside. I've been thinking about it for the last few weeks as I've been reading the last few and I'm so excited. I love that one so much. This whole series has been a breath of fresh air for me and it's been so great for me to read these beloved books.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

I read this back in 2011, when it was relatively new (or when the movie was coming out). But my book club is reading this for February, so I listened to it over the last week. I'll admit that I wasn't overly thrilled about reading this again, because this is a book that everyone has read and everyone knows about from ten years ago when it originally came out. But the minute I started the audiobook again, I was hooked and I couldn't stop listening. The story is so good, and the three main characters--Aibilene, Minnie, and Skeeter--are so well-written and interesting that it's hard not too get invested. The audiobook version of this book is so well-done as well, with three different narrators for each of the women. It was definitely worth a listen and the 18 hours of the audiobook flew by. I forgot how great it is and I'm glad to have read it again. I loved the connection that forges between Skeeter and Aibilene, and how the women start to learn about each other and their similarities, and how they start to slowly make change in their town by just sharing their stories. I really do think that the only way to break down stereotypes, even on an individual level, is by getting to really know someone, and that's what this book is really about.

I'd Rather be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life by Anne Bogel

I've been reading Anne Bogel's book blog Modern Mrs. Darcy for at least five years now, and I've gotten countless book recommendations from her and I feel like I know her. She's thoughtful, deliberate, interested in bookish things, and seems like the type of person I would be friends with in real life. I read her first book about personality types, Reading People, last year, even though I'm not super interested in personality types myself, just because I like her. But I definitely wanted to read this book, with essays about being a reader, because I love books about books. So I bought myself a copy when it was half off on Amazon as a Christmas present for myself, and I read it over a few short hours. It's very short--only twenty essays--but each one made me smile.

I definitely don't think this is a book that would be relatable to everyone, but for someone like me, it's perfect. It's meant for those of us who spend all our extra time reading, who love organizing our bookshelves. I had to laugh because she had a chapter on how to organize your library when you're a reader, and I had literally spent the whole day reorganizing my bookshelves just that morning. She said, "For beautifully styled bookshelves, follow this decorators' rule of thumb: each bookshelf should hold one-third books, one third accessories, and one-third empty space. You're a book lover; you don't have enough shelves to begin with. Ignore the decorators." Haha! And this: "Stay open to possibility; you'll change your system soon enough. Some people play tennis in their spare time. Others knit or scrapbook. You're a reader; your hobby is organizing your bookshelves." Yep! Or those of us who have longed to own a bookstore just because we want to be around books. "I've dreamed of working in a bookstore, or owning a bookstore, or at the very least, of spending enough dollars at a bookstore that its denizens cheer my arrival and greet me by name, since I was a kid." Yep, again. To me, this book felt like someone knew me and understood me. I don't expect my friends to share my total love of reading, because everyone has their own "things." But it was really nice to read this and know I'm not a total eccentric, because sometimes it feels like I am. This was really enjoyable and fun and I could totally see myself reading it again in a few years.

Anne of Ingleside by L. M. Montgomery

I loved, loved this book as a kid, but I had less love for it now. There were some sweet stories that I loved in it--like when Jem got his mother a pearl necklace and thought it was real but was heartbroken to find out that it wasn't. There were so many repetitive stories that kind of were the same about her kids, where they get fooled by someone and believe them (because they're so trusting and sweet) then they get heartbroken to learn that they were lied to. I loved those stories when I was younger, but they started to drag after a while. I wish that this book were more about Anne and not so much about her kids--that's what Rainbow Valley is all about, and I loved that one so much when I was younger too--but I wanted more about Anne as a mom. I also wish it were a little more realistic, because it makes it sound like Anne was always perfect and patient and loving and never laughed when her kids did dumb and hilarious things, except once when she had a "Jonah day" and her kids had never heard her talk so sharply to them before. My kids hear me talk sharply to them every single week. It probably was really easy to be perfectly patient and nice with your kids when you have a LIVE-IN MAID/COOK/NANNY who does all the cooking and cleaning and will watch your kids any time you want to leave the house to go on a date with your husband or on a beautiful walk along the beach by yourself. Sure, if I didn't have to make dinner and had ample time to take care of myself then I might be a lot nicer mom too.

Anyway, I didn't love this one as much as I used to, sadly. I hate when things aren't as wonderful as you remember them, but I guess that's part of growing up. At least the first five held up really well, and I'm pretty sure that Rilla of Ingleside will too.

Bloody Jack by L. A. Meyer

I can't decide if I liked this book or not. I did like the main plotline, about a girl who becomes a ship's boy and hides her true identity to escape her hard street urchin life in London. I loved the details about her life in London and on the ship--it all sounded so hopeless, but Mary/Jacky was so matter-of-fact about it all that it seemed like it wasn't as bad as it really was. It was interesting to learn more about what it really would have been like living on a ship some 200 years ago. I also totally didn't expect the twist towards the end, when Jacky gets marooned after taking a ride on a kite (haha!) and has to fend for herself on an island and then helps to rescue her ship from pirates, and I liked that.

The main thing I didn't like was that the book was way more bawdy and open about sex than I would have thought (I kind of thought this was a middle-grade or YA book--I guess I could see it being YA but it seemed more sexual in a few places than you normally see). There's no actual sex but some talking about it. But I guess that's kind of appropriate for a book about sailors? I didn't really buy the whole romance between Jacky and Jamie, but I'm always skeptical about that anyway.

All that aside, the narration on this audiobook really was fantastic. The narrator was amazing at accents and did an amazing job at Jacky's London street urchin accent. I really enjoyed listening to it and that's half of the reason why I think I might listen to the next one (and, because it's set in a girl's finishing school and any of the bawdy stuff will probably be at a minimum).

Anne's House of Dreams by L. M. Montgomery

I love this story, particularly the characters of Captain Jim and Miss Cornelia Bryant. I can't seem to understand how Anne always ends up living in the most charming, beautiful homes in the vicinity of wherever she is--that's what's always made me feel like Prince Edward Island must be this fairyland on earth. And maybe it was 100 years ago. I hope it's not totally ugly when I go there someday because then I will be so disappointed after reading these amazing descriptions of it. I think one of the most tender parts of this book was Anne's stillborn baby, which always makes me tear up, especially now, after having had babies of my own. I always think how horrible that would be to go through, particularly on your first baby and having to revert back to life being so much less than you expected. It's happy to know that she ends up having six babies of her own.

I love the story of Leslie Moore in this book, but this was the first time reading it where I thought how unlikely the operation was that fixed Dick Moore's memory and set her free. Is that even possible? I definitely do not believe it, haha. But I was glad it happened so the romance of Leslie and Owen could happen.

Anne of Windy Poplars by L. M. Montgomery

This one is not necessarily my favorite of the Anne books, because it's just Anne playing a waiting game for Gilbert as he goes through medical school. But I do love how Montgomery has never met a boring person, and makes up these stories of scrapes and romances and disagreements that Anne finds herself in. There's just something so similar about all of her stories that is fun to read (although after a few of her books in a row you can end up skimming through some of the chapters in this one). The most charming part of this book is the story of little Elizabeth and how she finds her father, and of the widows and Rebecca Dew who Anne lives with for the three years she is a principal of the high school.

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande

This book was really different than I thought it was going to be. For some reason I'd mixed this one and When Breath Becomes Air together and thought they were going to be really similar (probably because the covers are similar). But this was very different--it wasn't a memoir as much as the other one, but it was about how we take care of the elderly and terminally ill in our culture and what we can do better. Basically, he says that doctors and people in our culture don't know how to have hard conversations with their loved ones or patients who are dying to ask them what they really want, and they prioritize safety and living longer more than allowing people to live the way they actually want to and allowing them to take risks to be happy. I loved, loved this perspective and it gave me hope that being old won't be as hard as it looks from the outside. This is one of those books that I think I should buy and save to have as a resource for later, because it was chock full of such good information. I hope I don't forget about it and can read it later when I want it.

Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri

I absolutely loved these stories written by Jhumpa Lahiri. I've wanted to read more of her works for years and years, and I'm happy that I've now read all three of her books that I'd heard of. I felt so invested in all of her characters and stories, particularly the trio of stories at the end of this collection that were all linked about how a boy and a girl met each other when they were young and how they grew up and met each other again. I feel so much more knowledgeable about Indian culture and I feel as though I've lived the life of an immigrant to the United States. I would say more but I listened to this a few weeks ago now, and I'm glad to just be writing about it.