What We've Been Reading Lately - March 2019

Hello friends! It's time to catch up on What We've Been Reading Lately with our friends at Modern Mrs. Darcy. This month's book stack included two books about trees, two memoirs told from faraway lands, and one bookish World War II novel. Three non-fiction, two fiction, and all of them I'd give a thumbs up.

Once We Were Strangers: What Friendship with a Syrian Refugee Taught Me about Loving My Neighbor by Shawn Smucker

A few of my relatives and friends have no problem with a refugee ban. They believe danger lurks in the hearts of these landless, homeless people. I realize, perhaps for the first time, that they might be correct. It is possible that in the midst of 60,000 refugees entering the United States, there could be one bad apple. There could be someone who has been so bent by the pain in their life that they want to seek some kind of revenge.

It is possible.

But should our fear of that one keep us from providing refuge to thousands like Mohammed and his family? Are there enough restrictions or safeguards in the world for us to put in place that will guarantee, 100 percent, that nothing bad will happen to us? Even then, evil already lurks among us, as we have seen so many times before. In the face of this evil, should we not provide refuge for families like Mohammad's?

Should our fear overpower our love?  

If you haven't had the pleasure of a close friendship with a refugee, or if you've ever wrestled to reconcile your desire to keep our country secure with a desire to show mercy to innocent families fleeing violence, then this book is a must read. Shawn Smucker describes in detail his year long befriending of a Syrian refugee family and all that he learned about fear, privilege and cross-cultural friendship.
 

4.5 out of 5 stars

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

If you have time to correspond with me, could you answer several questions? Three, in fact. Why did a roast pig dinner have to be kept a secret? How could a pig cause you to begin a literary society? And most pressing of all, what is a potato peel pie - and why is it included in your society's name?

Yours sincerely,

Juliet Ashton

I feel like the last person in the world to read this sweet epistolary novel recounting how the residents of the Channel Island of Guernsey weathered World War II through the community of their book club. Part love story and part catalog of delightful bookish anecdotes, I struggled somewhat to get into the back and forth of the letter format, but otherwise the story was cozy and charming. If you enjoy World War II novels, a clean love story, or books about books, this one is for you.

3.5 out of 5 stars

When I Was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago

"I'm not afraid...I'm not afraid...I'm not afraid." Every day I walked home from school repeating those words. The broad streets and sidewalks that had impressed me so on the first day we had arrived had become as familiar as the dirt road from Macun to the highway. Only my curiosity about the people who lived behind these walls ended where the facades of the buildings opened into dark hallways or locked doors. Nothing good, I imagined, could be happening inside if so many locks had to be breached to go in or step out.

It was on these tense walks home from school that I decided I had to get out of Brooklyn. Mami had chosen this as our home, and just like every other time we'd moved, I'd had to go along with her because I was a child who had no choice. But I wasn't willing to go along with her on this one.

I picked this book up after reading the New York Times article "52 Books for 52 Places" which provides one book to go with each of Travel magazine's 52 places to go in 2019. While I doubt I'll make it to many (if any) of their destinations, I thought it would be fun to explore the world through their book recommendations.

I definitely have a greater awareness of Puerto Rican culture after reading this gritty memoir of a childhood in rural Puerto Rico that is abruptly interrupted by the author's adolescent move to New York City. Santiago's descriptions of her tumultuous family life were hard to read at times, but ultimately redemptive in a way that fans of Tara Westover's Educated are sure to appreciate.

3 out of 5 stars

Harry's Trees by Jon Cohen

The memorial service for Beth, Harry Crane's wife of fourteen years, was held in the Leiper Friends Meeting House in Waverly, just outside Philadelphia. The large, unadorned room was packed with relatives, friends, neighbors and coworkers. A woman's whisper rose from their midst. "Oh, look at him. Poor Harry." Grief-haunted and pale in his rumpled blue suit, Harry sat in the front row between his imposing older brother, Wolf, and Beth's father, Stan...

Harry stood up. The assembly held its collective breath. Harry was going to speak. He said two words, but in a voice so quiet no one could make them out. He looked at the floor, then at the ceiling, and said them again, "Wait here."

Two hundred people exchanged furtive, puzzled looks.

Harry stepped past Wolf. Wolf gripped Harry's coat sleeve. Harry shook free, stood for a teetering moment, then took off down the center of the aisle. He banged open the meeting house doors, ran down the stone steps and out onto the lawn, accelerating toward some unreachable escape. Wolf, large as a locomotive and huffing steam in the cold air, caught him from behind. They crashed to the frozen ground.

Crushed beneath his brother, Harry felt the relief of obliteration. But he heard himself groan - there would be no escape - and his left eye opened. He blinked and stared at his hand, pinned inches in front of his face. The fingers slowly uncurled and revealed, crumpled and sweaty after five days of clutching it in his fist, a lottery ticket.

"Wait here," he whispered, and saw Beth standing before him, Beth five days ago,  standing on Market Street. 

A book with heavy subject matter yet told in a whimsical way, this story brings together deep sorrow, friendship, a failing library, and a fairy tale. With a little help from a child and her big dreams, the two grief-stricken adults at the center of this book discover that their deepest longings can find fulfillment through adventure, community and the magic of the forest.

4 out of 5 stars

Reforesting Faith: What Trees Teach Us About the Nature of God and His Love for Us by Dr. Matthew Sleeth

Trees grow older, taller, and bigger than anything else on the earth. They have been with us since the beginning of time. We humans owe our very lives to the sap, bark, wood, flowers, and fruit of trees. We are their masters, yet they are our stake in the future.

And trees are beautiful. On the tops of mountains, bending over the sides of rivers, ringing the boreal latitudes, dripping wet with equatorial showers, trees blanket our world.

At night when the air is clear, trees can be seen grouped together at the edge of the forest. Illuminated in silvery moonlight, they appear to have been stopped midsentence. All night long they draw a deep breath, hold it for one count, and then from dawn to dusk exhale life-giving oxygen.

The smell of a pine forest on a hot day, the sound of palms clattering in a tropical breeze, the sight of yellow maple leaves raining down through an autumn sky - these are all evidence of trees giving praise to their Creator.

For those with ears to hear and eyes to see, the enormity of the gift of trees impresses itself upon us anew each day. Only God can make a tree. 

This was a fascinating book, especially having just read Harry's Trees. Dr. Matthew Sleeth traces the presence of trees throughout the Biblical text from Genesis to Revelation. Rich with theological insight, Dr. Sleeth makes a convincing case that God's truth and power are experienced through trees in a way that we have lost in our churches and personal lives. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed Dr. Sleeth's soulful writing and his deep honor for God and His created order. This book is released April 16th and is definitely worth a pre-order if you're looking for a spiritually stimulating read.

5 out of 5 stars

 

I'd love to hear what you've been reading lately. Feel free to chime in down in the comments, and happy reading!