What I Read in 2016--Book Club Selections

It's been so long since I've posted, let's see if I still remember how!  :)

In no particular order, here are my reviews from book club this year.
(What I read outside of book club will be coming soon.)

* Waste of time.  No redemptive value.
** Not my cup of tea.  But that's just my opinion.
*** It was okay.  Not my favorite, but it might be yours.
**** I really liked it.   Would highly recommend it.
***** Not to be missed!  Put it at the top of your list.

GIVE THEM TRUTH by Starr Meade
*****
This is a book for parents and ministry workers who want to instruct their children in sound theology, but that description seems too simplistic.  This book, for me, was almost devotional.  I took scores of notes, not just because I wanted to use them later, but because rehearsing truth for my own soul usually involves physically putting pen to paper.  If you're into gospel-soaked Reformed theology, this one's for you.

ROSEMARY--THE HIDDEN KENNEDY DAUGHTER by Kate Clifford Larsa
**
I really wanted to like this book, and in fact liked parts of it, but found the writing horribly lacking.  It was an interesting portrait of the Kennedy's home life and a sad telling of the few options available to those with mental difficulties at that time in our country.   Add in the social stigma of mental illness, an absent father, a mother who "checked out", and the barbaric practice of lobotomy, and it was an all around depressing read.

BOMB: THE RACE TO BUILD--AND STEAL--THE WORLD'S MOST DANGEROUS WEAPON by Steve Sheinkin
*****
This book, slated as young adult non-fiction, packs quite the punch and completely fits the bill for adults too.  The perfect combo of WWII history, espionage, and science that reads like a novel.  Our entire book club (12 ladies) loved it!

THE SWEETNESS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PIE (Flavia de Luce series, #1) by Alan Bradley
****
You either love the protagonist or find her annoying and bratty.  I happened to find her and this book delightful and at moments laugh-out-loud funny.  It's a British mystery that is clean, witty, and kept me guessing until the end.  I plan to read the rest of the series.

I CAPTURE THE CASTLE by Dodie Smith
***
I liked parts of it.  The "problem" was that I read 3 books in a row that all were British, coming-of-age novels and they all had an emotionally absent father.  After awhile, unless there was something that made it stand out, it got boring.

THE WRIGHT BROTHERS by David McCullough
*****
Who knew that Wilbur and Orville had a sister?!  And that she was so instrumental in her brother's lives?  I found this book completely fascinating and transporting, back to an era of discovery and ingenuity.  I purchased a copy for my own library.  McCullough's writing is first class.

NICKLE AND DIMED: ON NOT GETTING BY IN AMERICA by Barbara Ehrenreich
*
The premise of this book was great, but the delivery was oh so lacking.  Ehrenreich's writing gives off this egotistical vibe that makes her "experiment" of going undercover among the working class completely off-putting.  The book would have been completely different if she had made the people she encountered the focus instead of herself.

ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE by Anthony Doer
*****
I read this in 2015 but was happy to read it again for book club.  Books are so much better when you can discuss them with friends!  :)  This WWII novel, set in a French seaside town, offers a picture of wartime from the viewpoint of two teenagers; one a German boy serving in the military and the other a French girl who is blind.  Doer's writing is lush and sensory.  A stand out among the myriad of WWII novels.  Don't let the length dissuade you--some "chapters" are only a page long.

LIFE WITHOUT LIMITS by Nick Vujicic
**
I heartily affirm much of what Nick has to say and I am thankful for his testimony of faith.  I have seen clips online of him sharing his story and have heard short segments of the same on the radio.  I just don't think he's a great writer.  The book read like he took all of those little snippets and crammed them together in no particular order.  I also found his "you can do it if you put your mind to it" and other similar cliches frustrating.

GARLIC AND SAPPHIRES by Ruth Reichl
****
Fancy pants New York Times food critic goes to Big Apple restaurants in disguise to see how the service measures up when she's "nobody".  For a foodie this was a feast and there were recipes to boot.  This book also offered perspective on how outer appearance can influence our self-opinion and behavior.

HOUSE OF THIEVES by Charles Belfoure
*
The premise of the book sounded promising but I can't recommend it.  Set in New York City in 1886, a respectable architect finds himself in an unwanted position.  His son's gambling debt to a notorious gang must be paid or else.  Robbing his former clients using his blueprints is the proposed solution.   I'm not opposed to reading of depravity, but it has to be redemptive in some way.  This book celebrated it and thus was just ick.