Books/September 2022

My favourite book of the month

Little Town on the Prairie

Laura Ingalls Wilder

Laura and her family are now settled in De Smet and Laura finds herself venturing into town more for work and school. Although nervous at first about interacting with new people, Laura learns to hold her own among her peers, and it's lovely to see her grow into herself more in this book. The townspeople also engage in a variety of town events including spelling bees and musical performances, most of which I found charming. The idea of building a town from scratch isn't something I have engaged with much, so I was grateful to have the opportunity to do so with this book. 

(Note: Little Town on the Prairie includes the most overt and (in my opinion) distressing instance of racism in the whole Little House series. I don't think that should put anyone off reading it and/or reading it to their children, but I would think carefully about how to discuss it with kids.) 

These Happy Golden Years
Laura Ingalls Wilder

In this second-to-last instalment of the Little House series, Laura begins her teaching career. Having observed her recitation at a local town event, a school examiner grants Laura a teacher's certificate just before her sixteenth birthday. Laura begins teaching almost immediately at a school well beyond De Smet. Although it's heartbreaking for Laura to be so far from her family, it does give a certain eligible bachelor the chance to be gallant and squire her back and forth between home and school each weekend... I loved watching Laura blossom into womanhood and look forward to a future forged on her own alongside Almanzo. 

The First Four Years

Laura Ingalls Wilder 

The tone of this book is markedly different to its predecessors and its introduction explains why. The book is in draft form and was published posthumously in 1971. Although lacking some of the sparkle of the edited volumes, I valued Laura's brutal honesty about the trials of agricultural life. She and Almanzo have discussions about whether farming is a sustainable and desirable lifestyle, while weathering storms and embracing hardship with their usual gusto. As the last official book Little House series, I think this book provides a 'grown-up' perspective on the frontier life and was a fitting conclusion to Laura and Manly's story. 

Back to the Prairie

Melissa Gilbert

Rounding out my three months of Little House content was this lovely memoir penned by none other than the TV Laura Ingalls herself: Melissa Gilbert. Melissa chronicles her and her husband's decision to purchase a fixer-upper "little house" in the Catskills and slowly turn it into a home. They wind up spending the early days of the pandemic there and, despite encountering challenges, thrive in their isolated little home. The similarities between Gilbert's voice in the series and on the audiobook really lent to putting me in a Little House Frame of mind and I thoroughly enjoyed picturing Laura, all grown up, traipsing around her garden with her chickens. 

Nickel and Dimed

Barbara Ehrenreich

I finally got around to reading this Barbara Ehrenreich classic in the week that she sadly died. I've loved what little I've previously read of her work (Living With a Wild God), and was excited to dive into her in-depth journalistic experiment in which she undertook low-paying jobs in various US states to see whether it was possible to eke out a living on them. Spoiler alert: it was not. At every point, Ehrenreich finds herself confronted by seemingly insurmountable challenges, none of which can be solved by the pittance she is paid, and indignity marks almost every job she takes. Her portrayal of the people she works with is deeply humanising and powerful, and I closed the book having many of my assumptions challenged, with a renewed commitment to the idea that all workers are deserving of dignity. 

Anne of Avonlea

L. M. Montgomery

What can I say? It was time to return to Avonlea for a little bit and this trip back to Prince Edward Island was even more delightful than usual. On the cusp of my own teaching career, I found Anne's early adventures in teaching all the more endearing, and looked forward to hopefully shaping my own students in many of the same ways she does. I also really needed all of the physical descriptions of nature that the Anne books typically provide. As I am currently sitting through a very wet spring, it was lovely to experience the varied hues of Prince Edward Island along with Anne. 

Taste

Stanley Tucci

Taste was my second audiobook of the month and one that left me feeling very hungry anytime I drove anywhere. Stanley Tucci is an avid eater and cook, with a lifetime obsession for food that began in childhood. He chronicles growing up in an Italian household in which his mother was an excellent cook, moving to Italy for a year in his adolescence, and for subsequent trips later on, and cooking for his family during the pandemic. Each chapter contains mouth-watering descriptions of food, with recipes strewn throughout. I will say that at times Tucci came off as being a little too aware of his charms, which was off-putting, but overall I still enjoyed the book. 

Reservoir 13

Jon MacGregor

I have had Reservoir 13 on my to-read list ever since I heard Jon MacGregor interviewed on an episode of Literary Friction years ago. When I found a copy in an op-shop a few months ago, I grabbed it and waited for the chance to dive in. That chance came this month and all I can say is that this book was not what I was expecting, in the best way. The story opens with a shocking event - a teenage girl goes missing in a small town and the community is left reeling. Time passes, and life goes on in the village: people leave and arrive, seasons change, annual celebrations are observed. All the while, you are left wondering what happened to the girl, and well, I won't say anything further on that front. I loved the quiet power of this book and how much it dignified all aspects of communal life - it was absolutely beautiful. 

Quiet

Susan Cain

This book made such an impact on me, but, true to its name, in such a quiet way that I almost forgot to include it on this list! I have been meaning to read Susan Cain's book for years, and finally picked it up on the cusp of turning 26. All I can say is, if you are an introvert and have ever felt bad about the fact, read this book. I kept putting it down, slightly teary, and thinking, it's not just me. I simultaneously felt seen and vindicated by all the incredible research Cain shares in this book. I, too, have felt pressure to be an extrovert in almost every area of my life, and particularly when that pressure has come from family or close friends, it's been very painful. Cain shows that not only is being an introvert okay, it can be incredibly helpful in every area of life, from relationships to career. If you're reading this as an extrovert and feeling slightly nervous, rest assured that there is no extrovert-bashing in Quiet, and I came away from it grateful for people who sit at all locations on the introvert-extrovert spectrum. Basically, whether you're an introvert or extrovert or somewhere in between, I think you should read this book. 

Huia Come Home

Jay Ruka

This was our book club pick for the month and a very eye-opening look at the history of Christianity in New Zealand. Jay Ruka is Māori himself, and has gone on a journey to more deeply explore his roots, particularly as they relate to both his indigenous and Christian identities. I was floored by some of the stories he recounted of how Christianity spread among Māori iwi (tribes) after the gospel was translated into te reo Māori (the Māori language). I was also grieved when reading about, as was the case in so many places, how missionaries did not uphold Māori rights and dignity in so many ways. Although there were things Ruka advocated that I disagreed with, I nonetheless appreciated his insights and depth of research into the complicated history of the gospel in Aotearoa. 

Culture Making 

Andy Crouch

This was my favourite book of the month and one that I have slowly been making my way through for several months now. I first encountered Andy Crouch on a podcast (shocker!) and was so impressed by the depth and clarity of his thinking that I immediately went hunting for his books. Culture Making is an incredible treatise on what Christians' relationship to culture should be. Crouch convincingly argues that we shouldn't primarily critique or consume culture (although there is space for both of those things, sometimes) but rather cultivate and create culture. I took copious notes throughout and felt convicted in the best way about what my posture towards culture should be. I want to be a culture maker, as that is who I was created to be.