Rain: A Natural and Cultural History (Cynthia Barnett)

Rain: A Natural and Cultural History is a journey of the human experience with regards to nature's single biggest fuel for this planet.  Cynthia Barnett's book takes us through an epochs-long journey of how rain shapes, makes, breaks, and changes our world.  She also focuses on how changing patterns in rain, whether influenced by man or other forces, can change societies as well.

Our experiences with rain, whether too much or a lack thereof, has shaped a large amount of our literary and cultural experiences.  Books like Grapes of Wrath are devoted to the experiences many endured in migrating from the Plains to California in the Dust Bowl era.  Musicians and musical genres have been influenced in large part by climate and rainfall; Barnett discusses the influences of gloomy climates in Seattle and Manchester on the music of New Order, the Smiths, and the Seattle rock scene. In many respects, Barnett artfully weaves through all of the ways that rain shapes our society beyond the mere agricultural and societal impacts on life and property.  Rain shapes the emotional and economic experiences many have.  Barnett also devotes a significant amount of coverage to our own understanding of predicting rain patterns and our attempts to manipulate them, from loud explosions in West Texas in the late 19th century to silver iodide experiments in hurricanes in the 1950s and 1960s.

The author effectively tells the story of how rain is an equal opportunity employer, destroyer, enabler, and disabler combined with being a part of everyone's dialogue regardless of economic standing of location.  We're all impacted by what falls or does not fall from the sky and how too much or too little can change all of our lives.  Barnett devotes some coverage to our changing climate's impact on rain patterns, which is important to note regardless of views of man's influence on the climate.  Rain will continue to have an impact on us going forward and, Barnett argues, will shape our stories, successes, and failures in the generations to come.

MY RATING - 4

The Rumor (Elin Hilderbrand)

I always look forward to Elin Hilderbrand’s new books with great anticipation. Her novels are what I like to call “smart chick lit” and are always set in Nantucket; she writes about life on this island so beautifully that she makes me want to book a one-way trip there.


The Rumor, her latest novel but definitely not her best, kept me turning the pages, but for the most part, I found it filled with clichéd characters doing despicable things. This is the story of two families whose wives, Madeline and Grace, are best friends. Madeline is a prominent author who is suffering from a lingering case of writer’s block, and Grace is a wealthy gardening connoisseur who falls hard for her landscaper. Eddie, a prominent seller of real estate on the island, is Grace’s husband who finds himself in financial turmoil. He seems to be a big believer in desperate times call for desperate measures. And of course to connect the families even more, Madeline’s teenage son Brick and Grace’s daughter Allegra are dating in soap-opera fashion.


Calling The Rumor a soap opera is not a case of overstating anything. With the exception of one or two, the characters are hard to care about, especially since they’re always feeling so sorry for themselves. Not Hilderbrand’s best by any means.


MY RATING - 3

Spinster: Making a Life of One's Own (Kate Bolick)

No matter what generation a child is in, there are certain expectations that are in existence even to this day.  One of those expectations is eventually settling down in some type of relationship, with relationship being the key word.  It's never really discussed that some people might want (and enjoy) being on their own as an individual, without the joint decisions that have to be made and, some would say, tie-downs, that occur as part of a pair.

I don't know what I was expecting when I picked up Kate Bolick's Spinster: Making a Life of One's Own.  But what I got, was part history lesson, part memoir of Bolick's life and spinster "muses" (some of whom weren't even spinsters). Of course, almost everyone has heard of Edna St. Vincent Millay and Edith Wharton, but I have to say, it was interesting to also read about some women I've never even hard of -- Neith Boyce, Maeve Brennan, and the like.

What I did not like at all about Spinster was the high degree of disorganization. Things seemed to be all over the place, like "Oh, we're reading about her again."  The topic Bolick wrote about is an interesting one, and I was hoping to get more documented research about truly wanting and enjoying being alone.  Instead, this book was all over the place, and I just didn't get what Bolick's ultimate goal was.

MY RATING - 2

Those Secrets We Keep (Emily Liebert)

When you’re headed out for a day on the beach, be sure to throw Emily Liebert’s Those Secrets We Keep in your bag next to your towel and sunscreen.  It’s a quick read, making it perfect for a weekend away, and the plot is exactly as the title describes: three friends who are keeping huge, life-altering secrets from each other as well as from their own families.

Sloane, whose sister has just recently passed away from cancer, invites her pal Hillary to her aunt’s house on Lake George for a girls’ weekend.  On their way there, Sloane gets a call from her wild old friend, Georgina, who strangely invites herself along on the trip.  Also at Lake George is Sloane’s ex-flame, Luke, an ultra-rich businessman; Sloane is already feeling bored in her marriage to Eddie, so having Luke there is of course a major temptation.  Hillary and Georgina also have a few secrets of their own.  Why didn’t Georgina contact Sloane after her sister’s death?  What's going on with Hillary and her struggle to have a child?

Besides finding Georgina’s plot and the fact that most everything is wrapped up in a neat little bow slightly implausible, I found Those Secrets We Keep an enjoyable read.  I look forward to reading more from Emily Liebert.

MY RATING - 3

Gilead (Marilynne Robinson)

I've been wanting to read the Pulizer Prize and National Book Critics Circle Award winner Gilead for years, but I never got around to it.  I was excited to finally pick it up, but I'm sorry to say that this is one of those books that I just understand the hype about. At. All.

Reading a simple synopsis of Gilead, you'll probably think that it's going to be a wonderfully inspirational novel. Reverend John Ames, slowly dying from a heart condition, is an elderly pastor who is putting an account of his life into writing for his young son. The inherent problem with Gilead is that it seems like one big stream of consciousness at times, with Ames's rambling going on for pages and pages.  I found myself reading a page and then losing my train of thought, only to find myself a few pages later not knowing what I just read.

Judging by the amount of four- and five-star ratings on Goodreads, my review seems to be in the minority.  But Gilead just didn't stick with me when it was over, and to be absolutely honest, I couldn't wait for it to be done.

MY RATING - 2

The Gracekeepers (Kirsty Logan)

It’s difficult to describe Kirsty Logan’s The Gracekeepers, and to be honest, I’m not even entirely sure what I just finished reading last night.  Treating its elements of fantasy as totally normal while giving the reader a strange sense of foreboding, The Gracekeepers attempts to cross genres, but not all that successfully.

North and her beloved bear are part of a traveling circus, and the circus itself is made up of “damplings,” people who stay on the water. These damplings go from island to island to entertain the “landlockers,” and the relationships of the circus performers are really what make this novel interesting.  Logan is not as successful in telling Callanish’s story; Callanish is a hybrid per se, who lives on the land, but goes out into the water to do “restings” (water burials).  Her chapters seemed to weigh this book down.

Unfortunately, at no time did I really feel invested in The Gracekeepers.  It was difficult to understand exactly what was going on at any given moment, especially when the “gracekeepers” themselves came into the story.  If reading a book feels more like work than it should, I have to give it a lower-than-average rating.

MY RATING - 2

The Dovekeepers (Alice Hoffman)

Profoundly moving, Alice Hoffman's The Dovekeepers is historical fiction but thoroughly researched.  Since it was so long ago, no one can be totally sure of all the facts surrounding the Roman siege on Masada, but Hoffman's novel about one of the most important events in Jewish history is an important read for everyone.

The Dovekeepers tells the tale of four women with separate stories who, against all odds, make it across the desert to escape the Roman persecution in Jerusalem.  Each one is unforgettable and so important to Masada's narrative; how their stories, along with those of the men in their lives, eventually intertwine makes Hoffman's novel multilayered and rich.  What happened at Masada is not a secret, and knowing how these people would eventually take their fates into their own hands is both utterly inspirational and completely heartbreaking.

Hoffman is a responsible teller of this early historical event.  The book never goes overboard with the dramatics, as a novel like this shouldn't. I highly recommend The Dovekeepers for those who want to learn more about Masada's horror.

MY RATING - 4