booktalkwithkarla's reviews
1337 reviews

Here One Moment’s opening scenes are of an airplane full of people dealing with travel delays that are common and relatable, then eventually the plane takes off and everyone relaxes. Until a stranger begins walking from the front of the plane to the back, pointing at each person in turn saying the cause and age of their eventual death. The novel alternates in telling the story of Cherry, the stranger, and several of the passengers, including the aftermath of the plane ride. 

Liane Moriarty wrote this to explore death, mystery, humanity, and relationships. She did a phenomenal job of making me care and turn the pages quickly. She uses Cheetos chapters and I couldn’t get enough. I won’t soon forget Cherry or Sue or Paula, or Ethan or Eve (I could go on). 

The premise is a great place to take off from and the execution is outstanding. I felt emotional and curious and satisfied. I highly recommend this book - it gets better with each page. 

This book was recommended as part of a class I enrolled in a few years ago. I read half of it during the class and then set it aside for a time, always intending to finish it. I’m glad I did. There are many concepts in every chapter that are beneficial personally and professionally, the stories are appropriate and helpful in understanding the points the author makes and the midlife journey (approximately 40-55 but unique for each person). Anyone at any age wanting to live authentically could benefit from this content. 

Kathleen A. Brehony has a PhD in clinical psychology and a Jungian- oriented psychotherapist. She is an expert in her field and also personally experiences the midlife passage she writes about. The book is well researched and also highly readable. 

I have many takeaways for myself (and clients) and a better understanding of the complicated feelings people experience around loss, limits, potential, and meaning when they reach a certain age. I am so glad I read this and will keep it close at hand because it is so helpful and practical. This book is for people who haven’t “felt like themselves for a long time” and what to live with intention, fully awake mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. 

This excellent book on the heart of Christ was recommended to me by my pastor and friend Jason. I was afraid of it for years but finally picked it up - and, of course, the timing was perfect - and answered why I was afraid. I started with the kindle version but ended reading a hardcover and listening to audio, in tandem. It worked well for me to fully appreciate and receive the beautiful words written. 

Dane Ortlund pens this magnificent work. He outlines his objective and plan in the introduction and exceeds both with clarity and beauty. Ortlund considers both the Old and the New Testament as he looks at the heart of Christ from different angles. It’s impossible to choose favorite chapters or segments because each is phenomenal and hits profoundly. Don’t miss a word. And keep on hand so you can (like I will) pick it up for encouraging words. I believe I will read the Bible (“…one long attempt to deconstruct our natural vision of who God actually is”) differently now. And for sure my relationship with Jesus is changed as I get to know his heart. 

Reading this book allowed me to experience the heart of Christ in new ways. A deeper knowing is possible and Ortlund, using scripture and Puritan writers’ insights (just one of them write 6,000+ pages), plus the Spirit, as only the Spirit can, helped me to experience Christ’s deep love for me. This book invites the reader to marry what we know about Christ with who we feel Christ is - entirely based on what the Bible says. I highly recommend this book for Christians and regret waiting so long to pick it up. 

Sipsworth is precious and a very satisfying read. I had heard good things about it from several sources and they were spot on. Helen is in her eighties and lonely. Until her curiosity and memories lead her to an abandoned fish tank at her neighbor’s trash. Day by day her life changes. 

Simon Van Booy writes an endearing tale of loneliness, loss, grief, companionship, community, and love. I loved the chapters and sections organized by day of the week. Very clever details throughout the book. 

What I loved most were the connections Helen makes and the way we discover her story and past through her memories and desire to help. This is a delightful story and quick read. 

I read the hardcover a few months ago but when the audio came up in my library feed I knew I wanted to hear it narrated by Riley Keough and Julia Roberts, with excerpts of Lisa Marie Presley’s audio recordings. The audio did not disappoint and in fact I preferred it for the reading experience (5 from 4.5 rating). You probably want both for the photos in the hardcover.

This is such a powerful, vulnerable, and true story of motherhood, pain, addiction, and grief. It’s hard to hear so much pain and laid beautiful to see so much love. Keough honors her mother well and as a mom I appreciate the grace and forgiveness that runs through her telling. It’s beautiful! 

I share a birthday with Elvis Presley so I have always been curious about his family. I recommend this memoir - whether to satisfy curiosity about this family or to steep in realities about the human condition. It’s all here and real. 

“People… are still left with questions about how they could have brought themselves to do such awful deeds.”

Calvin Trillin is a renowned journalist. In Killings he delivers stories about deaths and the people behind the crime. This is the first of his work I’ve read. Some of my favorites from this collection are stories of humanity and how there is no escape from working through problems instead of just taking a life. Trillin’s subtle humor shows up mostly in the beginning and ending of each story showing that killing never makes the situation easier and only points to the desperation of people. 

Three of my favorites are The Father-son Operation (choosing work over relationship leads to sin and we all need connection), Rumors Around Town (communities need talk to understand how murder happens), and Covering the Cops (about Edna Buchanan, a reporter in Miami who has covered thousands of murders).  I liked Trillin’s writing and will read more of his work. 

An illustrated narrative about the life of architect Antoni Gaudi, this book begins with his birth in 1852 and continues to his death in 1926, focused on his career as he kept his personal life private. The many  political and cultural influences of his native Spain as well as his health, temperament, and family business combine to create the designer Gaudi. His identity as Catalan and his workaholic nature produced amazing creations (first commission was in 1878), gaining the attention of Barcelona’s bourgeoisie. Gaudi’s designs included buildings, landscapes, and furniture. He decorated the interiors of churches and convent chapels, and designed monumental street-lamps. Geometry and nature figure prominently in his work. It is fascinating to see all Gaudi accomplished, especially after traveling to Spain multiple times and seeing his work. “Gaudi regarded churches as being the most representative buildings of a people…” so it is fitting that he played such a key role in Sagrada Familia. 

Maria Antoinette Crippa curated this collection. After an overview of Gaudi’s life and influences, she shows some of his key projects describing them, adding floor plans, photos, and historical details. At the end Crippa gives a summary timeline of Gaudi’s life and work. 

While visiting Spain in September 2024, I toured El Capricho finished in 1885. In the gift shop I saw this book and ordered it to read when I returned home. El Capricho is magnificent. No photos (although beautiful) do it justice. Yet having this coffee table book is a joy and inspiration.

“We move from crisis to crisis, merely trading one problem for another…”

Written in 1962, this book by Rachel Carson is a classic. I am utterly shocked that all of the information about the dangers of chemicals to the human body have been known for 80+ years. Yet nothing substantial has been done to eradicate the spraying, consumer products, and food programs with chemicals, causing unnecessary disease and death.

The contrast between Carson‘s beautiful writing and the devastating words in the facts she shares throughout the book awed and enraged me. Carson is articulate, clear, and passionate. She very thoroughly stated the heartbreaking situation. The little that has been done to resolve the situation is embarrassing. What’s worse is that the chemical spraying does little to solve the insect problem, in some cases resulting in an increase in the number of insects. Or often killing off most of the ecosystem, not just the intended target. Or in other instances, making a poor bargain by getting a worse problem with a different insect. In all cases, the animals and humans downstream are damaged directly or indirectly by the chemicals. Not to mention the costs to Americans is by now in the billions, the programs an utter failure. Throughout the book, there are countless examples of absurd and ineffective strategies employed. Economic entomologists go where the money is so at the time of writing only 2% were working to develop natural controls, the other 98% were engaged in research in chemical insecticides. 

I want everyone to read this book - not because it’s fun, but because it’s important. The content is dense (although readable) and comprehensive. It went down best for me by reading tandem (the audio and the paper copy). The book has beautiful illustrations on each chapter page. Let’s do something (lots of somethings) for our families and future generations. 

Twenty-two year old Olivia is missing and seasoned detective Julia knows how this will go down. Until it doesn’t and the journey comes too close to home. 

Gillian McAllister creates much suspense. I had to know what happened and read this novel over a few days. McAllister brings real life, relationships, morality, and motherhood to the pages - all topics I can’t get enough of. This was surprising and tense. I liked it and recommend it.  

Here are 4 of the 42 passages I highlighted:

“…not quite enough to kill her passion for this: solving things, piecing them together, helping people, and inching ever closer to that most elusive of things: the truth.”

“ABC: Assume nothing, Believe nothing, Challenge everything. One of the most important rules of being a detective.”

“That’s the thing when you feel something emotionally. When you notice body language. When you know it, but you can’t prove.”

“This is what people don’t tell you about having a child: so quickly, so fast you almost miss it, they become a full, sentient, adult being. And this is when they need the most help, need the sacrifices.”

While traveling Christmas 2024, our family saw the play of the same title in London. It was such a grand experience that I wanted to read Agatha Christie’s. I was pleasantly surprised that many of the lines were verbatim and the plot/story/ending were the same. This was one time where the live performance outshone the book. I truly enjoyed the intensity, plot, talent and execution. No wonder Agatha Christie is considered a master.