WHAT I'M READING V. 49

1. The Gospel Comes with a House Key by Rosario Butterfield

Several people mentioned this book to me, and it seems like many in my church were reading this book this past year. I don't agree with everything she says, and I ended up going down a wormhole of googling her in the middle of reading this to watch interviews and articles, but her writing is beautiful and her point that vulnerability is the key to true and lasting relationships, which is really the point of it all, is one that I do agree with. Her story and the way she is able to live it out is specific to her, so I don't think this can be taken prescriptively for all to apply to their own lives, but it is insight into how one person who believes wholeheartedly in the gospel message applies it to her own.

2. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

This is one that I am sure I read when I was younger, but going through it again (on audiobook) this time, it felt so fresh and wonderful!  I loved this book. The writing, the story, the characters - all of it. This is one I will definitely reread again and again in the future, and hopefully one day discuss with my girls, too.

3. Essentialism by Greg McKeown

I heard this one referred to often, especially on blogs and podcasts pertaining to minimalism and simplifying one's life. I tried to start it a couple of times, but then the library hold would expire and take it away, and then I would put it back on the waitlist. This last time, I stuck with it and it was marvelous. Such a thoughtful and important understanding of simplifying, not just for the sake of less, but for the sake of essentials.  It presses you to ask yourself questions, to look inward and determine what your own essentials are, and if you are scheduling and living your life accordingly.  This is another one to reread in the future.

4. The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan

This book was a fun and breezy read about a woman who decides to live out her dream of owning a bookshop in the form of a van full of books that she drives around recommending and selling. I can’t resist books about people who love books (similarly, I can’t resist any movie about dance, especially one where main character gets their longing to dance fulfilled and of course, dance-offs), so I would have read this regardless, plus it is set in beautiful Scottish countryside and has Mr. Darcy-esque romance, but it started to feel a little flat when I realized a happily-ever romance was going to be a big part of the finale. While overall it was a little fluffy (and I don’t mind occasional fluff!), it was a very enjoyable read, but my favorite part of the book was the author’s forward, “A Message to Readers” which provides descriptions about her favorite places to read.

MAKING PASTA

One of my most favorite pasta recipes of all time is Ottolenghi's Saffron Tagliatelle with Spiced Butter. My friend Elizabeth introduced me to it a few years ago, and I made it recently to my great joy and delight (but didn't document with a photo, alas). And while making that recipe, which calls for making fresh tagliatelle, I remembered how easy it is to make pasta from scratch and resolved to do more of it, to practice and get real comfortable with it, and maybe one day a pasta maker will even be a part of the picture.

I actually can't remember the recipe I used to make this version photographed here, but I do remember they said to try making the dough in a food processor, and I also used half regular flour and half semolina flour.  After mixing and kneading, I let it rest for about half an hour before rolling out and cutting, and then boiled it in water for 2-3 minutes.  I tossed it with pesto and we had it for lunch that day outside on our picnic bench.  It was good, not exactly what I was going for - I'm looking for a chewier dough (I think the trick may be to hang it to dry for a couple of hours after cutting?) but - but Logan loved it and had several bowls.  I'm going to try again, with this method and really simple recipe and have the girls do it with me too. I'll experiment but having one batch of dough rest for a while, and another one do the same thing but also hang the noodles to dry and see if I can tell a difference.  I'll likely report back!

WHAT I'M READING V. 48

1. I'm Still Here by Austin Channing Brown

This one caught my by surprise. I mistakenly thought the author was a man and also had a certain expectation about what this book would be about based on the title.  Brown is an honest and gracious voice, and she talks about the nuances of identity under the influence of race and faith (and both matters, she would argue) and the staggering and difficult to explain microaggressions (especially in the church).  I really appreciated the specificity and clarity of writing and think it is a book everyone should read.

2.  Gratitude by Oliver Sachs

This was a very short audiobook, just about an hour long, and it seems to be reflections by Oliver Sachs during the end of his life. I have been a fan of Oliver Sachs ever since I heard him on Radiolab, and have always appreciated his thoughtful observations and ability to communicate complex things in a accessible way.  In a way, it was like listening to a podcast length audio of journal entries, one that I was pleased to be privy to.


3. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

Wow, that was a doozy of a book. I knew very little about the book except that it is where the phrase "catch-22" comes from, that it's long, and that it's considered a significant twentieth century novel. I soon learned that it's a work of satirical fiction - almost absurdist fiction - set during WWII, following the life of experiences of Yossarian, an air force bombadier.  It's very bizarre (sometimes confusingly so), really funny at parts, almost slapstick at other parts, and baffling during most parts. It could be argued that its stance is anti-war, but it's probably more accurate to say that Heller is more interested in things like distortion of logic and justice within the context of war, as well as a feeling of powerlessness within bureaucracy.  And then ultimately, he contrasts these themes with glimmers of personal integrity and the desire to live. 

4.  Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead

I didn't realize until about halfway through this book that this is the same author that wrote the recent "Underground Railroad" (2016) that we read together in book club. "Sag Harbor" is completely different - it's a memoir-style, coming of age story where we are privy to the inner monologue of a teenager during the summer of 1985. The tone of this one is relaxed, playful, full of 1980s pop culture references, but also specific enough that it took time for me to get immersed in the rhythm of it. Once I did, it was extra interesting to me because you learn how Benji (the narrator) spends the summer in Sag Harbor, a section in the Hamptons, where his parents own a a summer home, along with many other black families who are doctors and lawyers in Manhattan. Many of the memoir-style novels about the black narrative have to do with the cycle of poverty, imprisonment, and outward struggle, but this one stands out in that, while fully aware of the black-self-as-perceived-as-others, it also isn't his entire identity. It's all a part of his identity - the fact his parents are wealthy and that he's black (he mentions how when he walks to school in his private school uniform in Manhattan, he gets asked if he's the son of a diplomat), knowledgeable about rap and hip-hop (to fit in with his black friends), but also a self-proclaimed dork that plays Dungeons and Dragons and loves the Smiths, etc. American stories need to recognize and include the distinctions since diverse voices is what makes up the fabric of America, but it also shouldn't focus on those labels as the sole identity without taking time to listen to their specific stories.