Hello and welcome to ex libris (“from the library”), my periodic roundup of book discussion and recommendations. This work will be better with your contributions, so please feel free to chime in below if you’d like!
Titles I read this month:
Big Dumb Eyes, Nate Bargatze. We’ve been fans of Nate’s since the very first episode of his podcast, which, in reality, is not that long. However, given the way he’s blown up over the last two years, it seems like forever. If you’re a fan, you’ll enjoy this quick read, partly because you’ll hear Nate’s voice in your head. I think I enjoyed the story about his dad and roller coasters the most.
In Kiltumper, Niall Williams & Christine Breen. This book is written by a married couple (Niall Williams is the author of recent books Time of the Child and This is Happiness) who love their garden. They live in an area of Ireland that is being populated with wind turbines: a change they wouldn’t object to if the construction weren’t quite so close to their beloved garden. They chronicle the year that the changes come; it’s both happy and sad. I loved this book.
Master Thieves: The Boston Gangsters Who Pulled Off the World's Greatest Art Heist, Stephen Kurkjian. Kurkjian is part of The Boston Globe’s Spotlight Team; you might recognize that title from the film portraying the uncovering of the abuse scandal in the Catholic Church in the greater Boston area. Here he investigates the various theories surrounding the heist at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, a tragic loss valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The case remains unsolved; the frames in the Gardner Museum remain empty; Kurkjian here makes the case that we will probably never see the art again—but I won’t tell you who he thinks is the guilty party.
How to Fly (In Ten Thousand Easy Lessons), Barbara Kingsolver. I know Kingsolver is known for her fiction, but I’ve never read any of it. Instead, I picked up this collection of poetry on a recommendation from another book. To my surprise, I really liked it. One small collection within tells stories of a family trip to Italy to make connections with her mother-in-law’s family roots in the country.
One With My Lord, Sam Allberry. I listened to this on audio (for me, it was available through Hoopla). My husband did the same, and he liked it so much, he immediately listened to it a second time. Allberry states at the end of this book that the doctrine of union with Christ is probably the most defining theological concept of his life. I find his writing both convicting and encouraging, plus he has a delightful sense of humor. I highly recommend this one!
[Our book club is reading War and Peace in 2025! I’m going to bore you with updates all year long. Since it will be my constant companion, it’s only right that it is passed on to you. Here is the translation we’re reading.]
War and Peace update:
No update since the last one! We took a little detour over the summer and worked in some Flannery O’Connor short stories for a change of pace. It was a great idea, plus the food was amazing:
A note on purchase links: I’m a happy supporter of independent bookshops, so the links I provide will almost always go to my affiliate link at bookshop.org. For my local readers, I heartily recommend you buy them through our favorite, Goldberry Books, but you might have a shop closer to you. Of course, you can always find these selections on That Big Website That Ships Quickly, But Not As Quickly as It Used To, and Remember How They Sucked Us All In By Being a Bookstore to Begin With? I’m also a big fan of saving money and patronizing your local library. Happy reading!