Blogging for Books: Lincoln in the World

I took a lot of history classes in college. They always involved a textbook of some kind and then a bunch of other books the professor deemed important. I always wondered what it would be like to be a professor and get to choose the books that those broke college students "had" to buy.  Did you read your college textbooks?  I didn't.  I had the best of intentions.  I always bought the books. I rarely read them. Taking good notes on the lectures, I found, was the key to success.

All of this to say that Lincoln in the World read like one of those books a history professor would tell you to read, but you never actually got around to reading it. I'm a certified social studies teacher in two states, and  I fancy myself as someone who knows a lot about American history. I liked the movie Lincoln.  And I know a lot about William Seward after my time spent teaching Alaska history.  And one of the very first non-fiction books I ever remember reading was about Lincoln, when I was about 6.  Also, I read that Lincoln/vampire book and actually really liked it.

But I didn't get into this book.  It was full of information, yes, but wasn't pleasure-reading in any way. It was kind of a compilation of other authors' books on Lincoln instead of one person's opinion on how Lincoln helped to make the U.S. a world power.  In my personal opinion, there is nothing more boring than studying foreign policy.  The only interesting foreign policy I've ever come across was the build-up to World War II.  I just have this picture in my head of the U.S. being very isolated during its first 200 years.  You don't hear a lot of foreign policy between the Revolutionary War and World War I.  Weren't we busy with other things?  Going to war with ourselves and Reconstruction and all that.  While 19th century American history is interesting (hello, Little House on the Prairie), this book wasn't to me.

I didn't make it through the book.  I skipped a couple of chapters here and there and...sorry, Blogging for Books.  I wanted to like it.  I just didn't.

Blogging for Books: The Expats

My second Blogging for Books book was The Expats by Chris Pavone.  This one arrived on time, and was a much more enjoyable read than The 13th Gift.  

Goodreads says…

First, I don't know if I really agree with that summary.  I think the book had much more to it than what it's marketing itself toward.

-There were elements of this book that reminded me of Homeland.  Kate is like a more stable Carrie.  Or maybe a Jessica Chastain in Zero Dark Thirty. 

-This is one of those stories that does not tell you everything at once.

-I really liked learning about Kate's former life and what she did in D.C.  

-I liked that Kate was capable.  I didn't worry about her getting attacked by the agents that were on their tail.  I didn't worry about her not being able to handle the situations she could potentially get herself into.  She wasn't some "please rescue me" heroine.  She took care of herself.

-It was written with present-day flash-forwards interspersed every few chapters.  It could be tough to keep straight, but it did encourage me to pay attention.  Also, the font switched back and forth so that was helpful.

-Along the same lines, the chapters were short and broken up into 1, 2, or 3 page segments.  I liked that the action kept moving and I often wanted to keep reading just to get back to the previous scene.  It did float through different times over a 2 year period.  Once in awhile it would flashback to 4 or 5 years ago.  Again, I liked this but some people might not.  

-This book didn't get fantastic reviews on Goodreads, but I really enjoyed it, so I'm telling you that if you trust me and share my tastes, you should read it.  If you're a friend of Blogging for Books, snatch it up next.  

-I liked the ending.  I thought there was a good amount of twists and turns and draw-your-own-conclusion-before-I-tell-you writing.  I honestly don't want to tell you too much about it because it'll give away details that make a difference.

-I would give The Expats an A- on my scale and I gave it 4 stars on Goodreads.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for the purposes of this review, but all opinions are my own.

Blogging for Books: The 13th Gift

When I heard about Blogging for Books, I realized it fit in nicely with my reading goal for the year.  Rounding out the year with a Christmas book sounded ideal also, because I usually try to read a holiday-related story in December.

There was a bit of a snafu in the ordering/shipping/receiving process.  This book took over a month to arrive.  My intent was to have it posted as a review early in December so you all could read it if you were in the mood for a Christmas story.  However, arrive it did, and I read it on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so I suppose it worked out alright in the end.

The 13th Gift is A True Story of a Christmas Miracle by Joanne Huist Smith.  In it, she draws from her journals and remembrances of the Christmas after she lost her husband, Rick, in 1999.  She has just become a single mother of 3 children and is struggling to make it through the holiday season.  An anonymous gift giver starts leaving presents on her family's doorstep, one each day, leading up to Christmas.

From Random House:

After the unexpected death of her husband, Joanne Huist Smith had no idea how she would keep herself together and be strong for her three children--especially with the holiday season approaching. But 12 days before Christmas, presents begin appearing on her doorstep with notes from their "True Friends." As the Smiths came together to solve the mystery of who the gifts were from, they began to thaw out from their grief and come together again as a family. This true story about the power of random acts of kindness will warm the heart, a beautiful reminder of the miracles of Christmas and the gift of family during the holiday season.

What did I think of the story?  I enjoyed it.  It was a nice reminder to keep the true meaning of Christmas in the Christmas season.  It was definitely one of those "you should read it but it might make you feel a little down" kind of stories.  Like a movie on the Hallmark channel.  Nothing wrong with that, but you need to be in the right frame of mind, I think.

I very much enjoyed that fact that it was true story.  That made it easy to identify with and sympathize with the author and her family.  I like that it was memoir-based and it would probably be extra special to her children and grandchildren because it chronicles such a difficult time for the family.

It wasn't the best Christmas story I've read, as some of the writing was more journalistic than literary (given that the author's a reporter) and it read as being very clinical, and "detached" is the word I came across a few times on Goodreads when I was reading other reviews of this book.  But I will say that the beginning of the book pulled me in and I read five chapters before I even looked up.  However, after that, it did become a little monotonous and the ending wasn't anything jaw-dropping or spectacular.  And, I swear to you, I read the last two chapters twice and I only *think* I know what the 13th gift actually is.  Implied endings are hard.  Unless of course, I missed it in my cough-syrup induced fog (which is quite possible).

Anyway.  If you are a fan of the real-life-inspired Christmas movies that are on the Hallmark Channel this time of year, you will probably be a fan of this book.  I rated it as 3 stars on Goodreads.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review, but all opinions are, of course, my own.  I do appreciate the opportunity to add this book to my repertoire for the year!