A Few Reads of 2024

Books of 2024. In the last year, I read almost half as many books as I usually do. As I consider why, I can see that I was too overcommitted, and for relaxing I turned to stories via the animated screen rather than the book. My-one-word for the year was “reset,” but it seems I didn’t live into that word enough.

I continue to enjoy audiobooks, although I can’t seem to retain the content of deep non-fiction books through listening, so I tend to leave audiobooks for novels and memoirs. I especially appreciate memoirs narrated by the author, and books narrated by wonderful actors such as Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks (two by Ann Patchett, for instance).

This year I give you a memoir by a contemporary Christian writer, some deep but accessible theology, a modern classic novel, and two fun novels.

A Compelling Memoir

It Wasn’t Roaring, It Was Weeping by Lisa-Jo Baker

What a book! In this memoir Lisa-Jo weaves together her life on two continents – her native South African and her adopted United States – with depth, yearning, pain, learning and ultimately love. A central part of her story is the early death of her mother coupled with the way her father parented her. She’s unstinting in her descriptions of the pain of that relationship, but she also shares their redemptive journey, which will give hope to any reader who has suffered from painful parental relationships. There is hope of healing.

I loved how she wove in the various native languages into her prose, which shines with truth, beauty, and meaning. This book is a labor of love, with the craftsmanship evident in the writing. A deserving 5 stars.

Deep but Accessible Theology

A Crazy, Holy Grace The Healing Power of Pain and Memory by Frederick Buechner

I so so appreciated listening to this series of essays, some more powerful than others. The ones on grace and pain and suffering and God’s love I will listen to again while jotting down notes – this is my bane as a visual, not auditory, learner! I was captured by one of his stories about his eldest daughter suffering from an illness that nearly killed her, and how he receive an unexpected visit from a friend who flew more than eight hundred miles in the hopes of finding find him at home. Frederick was indeed home, and their time together was transformative. An example of embodied love. As Frederick reflected later, “I was moved to the very soles of my feet by that experience, and so was he…” It was “a blessed event, a holy event.”

A Modern Classic Novel

The Blessing by Nancy Mitford

A novel by Nancy Mitford that I hadn’t read before… I picked up a used copy at one of the Tattered Cover bookstores in Colorado (not THE one in Denver, but still, a fun experience) and it felt right to read it after we left Paris and landed in the south of France (as it’s set in both locales and in England).

It’s very Nancy Mitford, which is of course what I wanted, but that means it’s a product of its time and I wasn’t going to judge it on modern standards. Full of fun and quips and characters I was rooting for. A perfect holiday read.

Two Fun Novels

Tom Lake by Ann Patchell

Oh I enjoyed listening to this novel, narrated by Meryl Streep. She brought such life and joy to the story. Having holidayed in Michigan in recent years, I enjoyed picturing the cherry trees and the family who was harvesting them during the pandemic, forced together in a time of social distancing.

The story is a looking back by the mother as she recalls her acting career and what brought her to Michigan and the life of a cherry farmer. Her love for her husband and their three grown daughters is evident. Fully enjoyable. I didn’t want it to end.

The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose

I was excited for this follow up to her first novel with Molly the Maid, who loves working at the posh hotel after her grandmother died, and who solved a mystery killing. This one was another light mystery that she solved in her inimitable way. Fully enjoyable listen.

Please read and buy my books! And if you do, please write a review on Goodreads or Amazon or some other online source. And please support your books-and mortar bookstore. They are havens of fabulousness that won’t survive if we only buy online.