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booktalkwithkarla's reviews
1340 reviews
The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
“Child, the past is past, and furthermore it’s different every time I remember it. I’ll tell you about the future, the one you will make.”
This story spans three generations and is full of both loss and joy. I experienced all of the emotions and want readers to go in blind. The reading experience is so rich. This is an epic story of family, love, and faith. I laughed. I cried. I didn’t want it to end. And I can’t wait to read more Verghese. His writing, compassion, and care for characters are all outstanding. He writes both medical technical details and heartfelt emotional connections well. Masterful book!!!
Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity by Peter Attia
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.75
I’m a fan of The Drive with Peter Attia, listening to certain topics and enjoying the passion, expertise, and practical tips shared by Attia and his guests. So I was interested to read his book on longevity - time and quality - and hear him expound (in a real way and not extreme biohacking). I love the title and cover - and the way the book is laid out. I read a physical copy and have a hold for audio copy to hear the additional content at the end.
Attia and his co-author Bill Gifford do an excellent job of delivering medical information with clarity. There is so much I will go back to later (when I need it). The principles of understanding your health metrics and acting early make so much sense to me. Taking responsibility, aligning with good team, and focusing on the areas that have the most impact are some of my takeaways. Using that foundation and my own list for my centenarian decathlon and marginal decade, I know I am better for having read Outlive.
Our book club discussed it and the stories of transformation are awesome. Each chapter offered valuable insights and information. My favorite chapter was the one on mental health. Attila’s vulnerability matched the seriousness of the topic, making the chapter very impactful. Grateful to have this book in the world.
The Comfort Crisis: Embrace Discomfort to Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self by Michael Easter
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Several months ago I started hearing snippets of this book from my husband as he read it and made some changes in his life. Phrases I’d never heard out of his mouth before were suddenly part of the conversation. Rucking equipment arrived at our house, and was opened and used immediately. Then multiple copies of the book came and were being handed out to friends. He had invited me to read it too and my curiosity drove me to move it to the top of the TBR pile.
Michael Easter is a great writer and storyteller. He weaves his story of an Arctic adventure with science, statistics, and other stories, to craft an engaging narrative. His thesis (and the science supports him) is that our modern lives of comfort have drastic health consequences. The organization of the book is excellent - there are many facts and stories - making the book easy to grasp. Beyond grasping the concepts, the illustrations offer many invitations to change. Never does Easter hit you over the head with judgement. The dialogue and conversations he had with laymen and experts was compelling and inspiring.
Like my husband I am sold and looking for ways to create discomfort and build strength and resilience. I won’t be planning an Arctic vacation (trip) anytime soon, but I will consider squatting and chairs without backs, temperature uncontrolled spaces, and other ways to allow my body to heal and thrive. I recommend this book for reading and discussing. Oh, and I have my own rucking vest now.
Good for a Girl: A Woman Running in a Man's World by Lauren Fleshman
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
Running has my heart so books written by or about runners are very interesting to me. I heard about this one while listening to a podcast - picking it up because I love memoir and a quick internet search showed this one is being recognized as award winning in memoir (and especially sports memoir). I wasn’t disappointed by the audio narrated by the author.
Lauren Fleshman shares the raw unvarnished truth of being a female collegiate and professional runner - and its physical, emotional, and relational challenges. Not being an athlete - only an hobbyist runner - I was unaware of the pressures and dangerous practices allowed/encouraged toward young females.
Freshman is articulate and finds the right balance between honoring tradition and pressing forward in new ways. She is a great writer, organizing the book in a way beyond just chronological. The narrative arc is driven by her transition from running for Dad’s approval and her ego to running for her joy and living to make a difference. She is honest about her mistakes and flaws. She puts her energy behind her ideas, so her complaints about the “system” lead to more meaningful action. She rightly acknowledges there is more to do and as a coach and advocate is working for it to be better.
This book was enlightening and educational. I really enjoyed knowing Fleshman’s pain to purpose story, gaining more respect for her and others. I recommend this for females, for runners, and for anyone who values athleticism and making performance arenas healthier for people in all areas including mental and relational. This deserves the attention it is receiving.
Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“Mariel felt ashamed that she’d tried to hide what she viewed as a deficiency. It was the shame that was isolating, not the need for support.”
Alternating between the lives of generations of men and women (mostly the women), this novel is about family, love, loss, choices, and restoration. Set primarily in supper clubs and family restaurants, we get an inside peek at multiple generations of two families - where they merge and diverge. There isn’t a serious topic this novel doesn’t address including marriage, community, love, religion, parenting, death, infertility, and pregnancy loss.
Some parts of the novel resonated deeply with me from experiences I have had (recommend you search for triggers). I was prepared for what happened which helped. J. Ryan Stradal handled those situations with care - so I was able to cry for the characters and myself. Stradal is great at writing real and ordinary lives with creativity and insight. I will recommend this to friends, being sensitive to losses they may have experienced.
“I know I wasn’t a good mother. But I’m here now if you still want one.”
Abraham's Daughter: Healing Trauma from a Childhood in Missions by Joy Smalley
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
In this moving memoir, Joy Smalley tells her story of being a child of missionaries and the ways the system, church, and her parents harmed her. She tells of her own decisions and reasons for placing her children in the same environments, thereby subjecting them to trauma. And she tells of how she learned to name what happened, and find hope, healing, and deep faith.
Smalley writes beautifully using language and organization to tell a complex story in an accessible way. She weaves her adult experiences with childhood experiences and with what we now know about trauma, attachment, and emotions. Smalley’s stories are specific and vibrant, placing us in the scene. Yet they are universal enough to be resonant and real for the reader.
Church leaders, missionaries, and adult children of missionaries may be defensive or hesitant to engage with this book. I pray that they push through and read Joy’s story with open hearts and hands to learn and improve missions work. Support has to go beyond financial and logistic support, and acceptance of people to missions has to consider the impact to entire families.
I’m not involved in missions in any way other than support through prayer and donations. But I am well aware of abuses - direct and indirect - inflicted by Christians leaders and laymen in the name of Christianity. I am also well aware of the harm that can come from childhood neglect, abuse, and assault. Insecure attachments impact how people relate to God and others. This awareness helped me to connect with and experience some healing as Smalley articulated sentiments I have never been able to put into words.
Smalley’s ability to tell her specific story in a relatable way makes this a book for many, even if you didn’t grow up in Mongolia or in a missions family or even in an Evangelical church. Maybe like Smalley (and me), you are an adult who is on a journey of healing - with God, in therapy, and in community. If you are, this is a book for you. Or if you are being called to missions and want to honor your role of parent and spouse, this is the book for you. God gives us all the call to love Him, love people, and make disciples. Sacrificing children is never part of the call. Smalley is brave to tell the truth in a way that is honoring and helpful. I applaud her and this book!
The Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I am a fan of Jane Austen and cozy mysteries, so I figured I would enjoy a novel with both. Claudia Gray delivers in The Murder of Mr. Wickham. It was fun to get reacquainted with characters from some of my favorite classics. Gray also adds a few new characters, since time has passed and the Austen couples now have families. Grays creativity in bringing them together and using the murder mystery to “catch” the reader up was fun. This is the first in a series if you like it.
“Perhaps there is no surer ground for the foundation of a friendship than a shared time of trouble.”
“Trusting providence seemed to lead to trusting people, as well.”
“You knew what pleasure I took in that life…There is no protection against fate. We must build it together, as best we can, in the way that will make us both happy.”
Stealing by Margaret Verble
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
“And I am telling this story because it’s true and took up that morning, and also because I want whoever reads this, if somebody ever does, to understand that most of us, if we don’t have rotten hearts, just do the best we can.”
This fictionalized version of what happened to real children, victims of abuse and discrimination against Indian people, during the 1950s is powerful. Kit is our narrator and alternates between the “after” at her school and the “before” when she is at home with her Daddy, in the wake of the death of her mother. Kit tells the truth in the most moving and genuine way.
I loved knowing the truth and hated that it happened. I especially despised the two hateful men, who hiding behind a false Christianity, harmed Kit with their selfishness, egos, evil desires, and abusive power. It’s disgusting and damaging for people to use the name of Jesus to hurt and shame people, who subsequently turn away from Jesus because of the bad behavior of evil people. I dislike this part of the storyline - even though I know it happens. Shameful.
“…acts like he’s the big Christian example for everyone to follow.”
One scene is so striking - where the child comforts another child who is angry by putting her hand on her arm until the anger goes away. Why can’t adults be the comforters instead of the abusers?
Margaret Verble is a masterful storyteller. Her writing is real and authentic. Just like a child would, Kit (via Verble) goes on a tangent but knows she is on a tangent. It’s just like a human, especially a child, would think and speak. I absolutely loved the writing. Highly recommend this book, with the caveat that the two hateful men do not represent Christians. They are hateful men that stole in significant and harmful ways.
“Because I knew, without anybody having to tell me, that my whole life had been stolen from me, but that it wasn’t over.”
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Barcelona is a fascinating city so when I heard from several people (and MMD book club) about this novel set in Barcelona I was intrigued. Other than recommendations I knew nothing about the plot or characters. It took me awhile to understand and get hooked, then I couldn’t put it down.
The writing is magnificent. The historical and setting details are fabulous (including the walking tour at the end). The characters are vibrant. The plot is compelling, meta, and mysterious. Some of the darker parts caused me to pause yet ultimately I decided they were necessary.
I recommend this book to others - for its story AND writing. Books about books are great and this has to be one of the best. I read on a kindle and made so many highlights. Here are a few.
“One of the pitfalls of childhood is that one doesn’t have to understand something to feel it. By the time the mind is able to comprehend what has happened, the wounds of the heart are already too deep.”
“The words with which a child’s heart is poisoned, through malice or through ignorance, remain branded in his memory, and sooner or later they burn his soul.”
“… this was a story about lonely people, about absence and loss, and that was why I had taken refuge in it, until it became confused with my own life, like someone who has escaped into the pages of a novel, because those whom he needs to love seem nothing more than ghosts, inhabiting the mind of a stranger.”
The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
“But Hazel also knew that stories didn’t belong to anyone. They were everywhere.”
Set in war torn London during World War II and 20 years later, this novel is about story, imagination, family, and love. When Flora, 6 years old, disappears everything changes - especially for her older sister, 15 year old Hazel. I enjoyed reading this story and getting new perspective on the child evacuees (millions) through a few families. I also really like books about books. Some of the negative ways faith and religion were used were a turnoff for me, and will prevent me from recommending this novel to friends.