Welcome to #OpenBook. I'm joining up with Carolyn Astfalk who hosts an #OpenBook Linkup on CatholicMom.com.
Here's what I've been reading this past month. The
dates indicate when I finished the books. Thanks for
stopping by!
4-5-25 The Franklin Stove: An Unintended American Revolution - Joyce E. Chaplin - Chaplin explores how the Franklin stove changed history. I had never really thought about what a revolution it was to have reliable heating in one's home. She also discusses the impact on the environment. This was somewhere between an academic book and popular history, but it definitely had some dry parts (I didn't read every word of this one).
4-6-25 Pets on the Couch- Nicholas Dodman, DVM -
Dr. Dodman explores the behavior of animals and how they can often be treated using similar medicines to those used with humans. We and our animals have a lot in common!
4-9-25 Joan of Arc - Josephine Poole, Illustrated by Angela Barrett - This is a new reprint of a picture book originally published in 1998 about the famous French saint, whose feast day is May 30th. The pre-Raphaelite style images add a great deal to the informative text. It ends with her being burnt at the stake and I wish there was a bit more info on how she ultimately became a saint, but it is a good way to introduce children to her remarkable life.
4-9-25 I Want You to Be Happy: Finding Peace and Abundance in Everyday Life - Pope Francis - This is a collection of short reflections by Pope Francis on the theme of happiness and where we can find true happiness in life. Many of the passages are directed to young people, encouraging them to dream, to love, and to make commitments. For all of us, true happiness is found in loving God and loving our neighbor and doing what God wants for us. While some of it is repetitive, this is a great book to just open to a random page and read some inspiring words when you need to be reminded that true happiness isn't found in the things of this world. [4/21/25 - edited to add: It is even more poignant in light of Pope Francis' death. Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon him.]
4-16-25 No Stone Unturned - Janelle Hovde - This is a suspense-filled Regency romance set in 1811 England about a young woman trying to be taken seriously as an archeologist and the lord whose land she wants to excavate. It soon turns out that there are other people who want to dig up secrets from the past and both the young woman and the lord are in danger. (Read for a book review publication.)
4-16-25 The Unteachables - Gordon Korman - This book aimed at kids ages 8-12 was recommended by Carolyn Astfalk on last month's Open Book, and I really enjoyed it (despite being far beyond the target age range). It features a burnt-out teacher, wrongly implicated in a cheating scandal many years before, and a group of eighth-grade students everyone has written off. The story is told from many perspectives, including the teacher and several of the students so you don't spend too much time in any one person's head, but you somehow start to care about and root for all of them.
4-20-25 The Lending Library - Aliza Fogelson - I wanted to love this book about a woman who opens a library in her home after her local public library shuts down to be cleaned of asbestos. It had a lot going on. The main character, Do, is in her early thirties, but none of the women in her family have been able to have children after age thirty-five so her biological clock is ticking. She falls in love, but her intended doesn't want children right away. When her friend, who is a single mother, dies suddenly, she leaves a baby in need of adoption, but Do doesn't have the funds or the ability to care for him, even though it becomes an obsession to do so. In the process, she doesn't devote the time she needs to the library, which had become a safe haven to so many. I suppose it was a story about trying to do too much. I read through the whole thing, but it left me feeling a bit meh. It has premarital sex (nothing graphic) and takes the Lord's name in vain a few times.
4-27-25 Rethinking Rescue: Dog Lady and the Story of America's Forgotten People and Pets - Carol Mithers - One of the things I have reflected on in the past couple of months since getting my new rescue dog is how expensive it is to have a dog. In fact, that was one of the reasons I got a new dog. I wasn't sure that I really wanted to have the responsibility of caring for another dog after my old faithful friend died, but I knew there are a lot of dogs out there that need homes. While I'm not one of those people who has it in them to care for a whole household of dogs, I can care for one, and so I am. But why is that the case? And what does it mean that pet ownership should only be a privilege for those of means? This book was difficult to read. There are a lot of sad stories in it involving both people and animals, but poor people and unhoused people also love their animals. That bond is real, and both the people and the animals benefit from the relationship. This book offers no easy answers, but the problem is real. It definitely will make you think about the injustice in the world.
5-1-25
Riverside Park - David Cecchi - I enjoy learning about local history. This was a fascinating look at Riverside Park, an amusement park in Agawam, MA, that was ultimately bought out by Six Flags and became Six Flags New England. The book offers lots of pictures and stories about days gone by. It was interesting to see how the park changed over the years.
5-5-25
When the Road Comes Around - Katie Powner - This is an inspirational novel about redemption told from the perspectives of a twenty-four-year-old man, who has been a screw-up most of his life and is now trying to parent his baby daughter on his own; a forty-eight-year-old woman of deep faith, struggling with rheumatoid arthritis and trying to be the one who helps everyone she meets; and her twenty-year-old son, who is intellectually challenged but desperately wants some independence. The author does a wonderful job of character development and getting inside each of the character's heads. The ending left me unsatisfied, however. I wanted more info on what happens to each of them, and I don't think this is part of a series. (Read for a book review publication)
Since spring of 2019, I have been making my
way through the Great Books Curriculum of Thomas Aquinas College (I'm
currently working on the readings for junior year).
4-16-25 An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Vol. II - John Locke - I read the second volume of Locke's attempt to explore how we come to know and understand. This volume focused on the significance of words, knowledge by proofs and demonstrations, how we come to know about God, and the boundaries between faith and reason.
4-30-25 Second Treatise of Government - John Locke - I continued my reading of John Locke's works with this discussion of political theory. Locke's ideas contributed to the founding of the United States. He was against the divine right of kings. He discusses how societies and governments are formed, the various types of governments, and how governments can be abolished.
My fourteen-year-old daughter and I read the following book this month:5-1-25
Tree, Table, Book - Lois Lowry - This is a tale of two Sophies who are best friends - one is eleven and the other is eighty-eight. The older one is suffering from cognitive decline and her son wants to put her in assisted living. The younger one doesn't want to lose her best friend and is out to prove her older friend is fine. In the process, the older one will tell her three stories from her life. This is a touching story of friendship that has no easy answers for the challenges of life but offers a lot to think about.
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