Book reviews

Great book suggestions for you, or for holiday giving 2023

Posted on by Julia Tomiak / 0 Comment

As the year winds down, and the holidays ramp up, you may, like me, be searching for gift ideas. I like to give gifts that are practical yet meaningful, useful and still entertaining. I favor experience over stuff. Books are the perfect gifts, because they satisfy all those requirements. They offer an experience – a mystery, a jump into history, a course in self-improvement- and yet they are something to wrap up and deliver for the holidays. So join me for some great book suggestions for 2023.

My favorite reads from 2023

I’m behind on my Goodreads reading goal for the year. Like, five books behind. I think it’s because I’ve tackled some doozies this year, including Demon Copperhead, the Pulitzer Prize winning novel from Barbara Kingsolver about how the opioid crisis started in my backyard, Appalachia. I followed that up with Dopesick by Beth Macy and am thoroughly horrified about the drug epidemic and watching closely how the Supreme Court will rule in the Sackler Family bankruptcy case.

If you haven’t read Demon Copperhead or know someone who hasn’t, consider giving this book to yourself or that friend. I’m not saying it’s a joy ride. It’s long and hard. But kinda necessary. Like Schindler’s List. And it does have a hopeful ending.

Cover of the novel Demon Copperhead

See my review of Demon Copperhead here…

If you like historical fiction, I recommend:

Book cover Lessons in Chemistry
  • Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. This book got me through my first bout with COVID and is now a mini series on Apple TV. The TV version deviates from book but keeps the spirit of it. I recommend. See my full book review here.
  • The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles (review)
  • The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese

If you like essays, I recommend:

  • The Book of Delights by Ross Gay – he’s so positive! so joyful about daily experiences. See my review.
  • Upstream, selected essays by Mary Oliver

If you like young adult and/or mysteries, I recommend:

  • The Truly Devious series by Maureen Johnson

Other places to find books to give

I love exploring the winners of the Goodreads Choice Awards each December. These are awards given by readers, or real people! They are divided into categories like “Fantasy”, “Memoir,” and “Young Adult” to make searching easy. See the winners for 2023 here:

Goodreads Choice Awards

Goodreads Choice Award Winners for 2023

Time Magazine also has recommendations, via its top 100 reads of 2023.

The 100 Must-Read Books of 2023

Can you add book suggestions?

What books did you enjoy this year? They don’t have to be published this year. Share your suggestions in the comments! Happy shopping!

Thanks for getting nerdy with me!

Book reviews

A great book to prepare your heart for Christmas

Posted on by Julia Tomiak / 0 Comment

As I’ve mentioned multiple times, I have mixed feelings about Christmas. I do NOT think Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, and I do not start celebrating or decorating until Thanksgiving is firmly behind us. But this year, I am happy to report I am less Grinchy and more at peace. Part of it comes from personal healing. Part comes from the fact that my kids are grown and gift giving is easier. They also help with cookie baking and food prep. And yet another part comes from a book I want to recommend. If you are a Christian who celebrates Christmas, and especially if you love holiday music, please consider reading All Is Calm, All is Bright by Ann Marie Stewart during this advent season.

Full disclosure, Ann is my friend, and I previewed All is Calm, All is Bright before it got published late in 2022. Because printing got delayed, it wasn’t released until advent was upon us, and her sales suffered. Publishing is a tricky business. But you shouldn’t buy Ann’s book just because you feel bad for her, or because she’s my friend. Ann’s devotionals offer thoughtful, inspiring ways to keep yourself grounded during the holidays. (I’m also a fan of her devos Preparing My Heart for Advent and Preparing My Heart for Easter.)

What separates All is Calm, All is Bright from other Christmas devotionals

If the title All is Calm, All is Bright turns your mind to “Silent Night,” the reverent carol of the night of Jesus’s birth, then this devo is definitely for you. Ann uses Christmas carols as the context to guide readers through important passages of scripture, from the prophecies of the Old Testament to the Nativity story of the gospels. Her short, easy to read devotionals begin on December 1 and end on January 6, Epiphany. The daily lessons and prayers incorporate Ann’s personal experiences, holiday traditions, songs of the season, and even Christmas movies.

Ann’s focus on the songs of Christmas helped me incorporate their lyrics and melodies into a mindful celebration of the holiday last year. Music provided the medium I needed to hold the truths about the holiday with me even in exhausting, frustrating, or sad situations. All is Calm, All is Bright provides wonderful reflections and prayers for each day that helped me, someone who has trouble embracing the holiday, truly prepare for celebrating the birth of Jesus. I plan to use it again this year to focus my mind on what truly matters during this busy, glittery holiday, and I encourage you to do the same.

All is Calm, All is Bright would also make a wonderful gift or could be used with church groups or Sunday School classes.

Do you have a book you can recommend to help me stay grounded in joy and peace this holiday season?

Other books I’ve recommended at the holidays: (and not all are devotionals!)

Thanks for getting nerdy with me!

Who I Am

Why and how to practice gratitude this Thanksgiving

Posted on by Julia Tomiak / 2 Comments

As the cross country bus pulled away from the state course, the team cranked up a Bluetooth speaker. They didn’t blast “We are the Champions” by Queen, or “Shake It Off ” by Taylor Swift, even though a fair number of Swifties run for the team. Instead, they sung along with gusto to “All I want for Christmas is you” by Mariah Carey.

“We haven’t celebrated Thanksgiving yet!” I shouted to the back of the bus. Even though the history of Thanksgiving is fraught with colonialism, I’m not afraid to champion this holiday. Thanksgiving offers us the important opportunity to pause and practice gratitude. In a world plagued by violence and polarization, we need gratitude much more than another dancing Santa, or, sorry girls, Mariah Carey.

Don’t leap to Christmas without celebrating Thanksgiving

Full disclosure, I have very mixed feelings about Christmas. The holiday dredges up difficult memories for me that include nursing homes and alcoholism. And then there’s the commercialism. My local Walmart has already started bombarding customers with flashing decorations and jingle bell music, even though it’s only late November. As I said recently to a friend, I’m good with the Baby Jesus and lights, but all of the STUFF makes me ill.

Thanksgiving, on the other hand, does not stir up negative emotions for me. The holiday means having all my kids home. Sharing meals and games together. Seeing extended family. No stress about getting everyone gifts or running to concerts, parties, or the store for last minute stocking stuffers. Thanksgiving celebrates something that cannot be bought. (Besides the food.) Thanksgiving honors time together. Making connections. No gifts, just gathering. (See my post on prepping your heart and mind for a positive Thanksgiving.)

Many of us will ponder what we are thankful for as we share a meal this week. Why not turn that moment of thanksgiving into a habit, one you practice each day moving forward? Let’s use this Thanksgiving as a kick off for a regular gratitude practice.

Reasons to embrace gratitude

Gratitude is good for us. According to several articles I read, (see links below), practicing gratitude benefits our physical and mental health in some surprising ways. Plenty of research demonstrates the benefits of regularly gratitude, such as:

  • reduces depression
  • increases self-esteem
  • promotes strong social relationships
  • decreases blood pressure (In a 2021 review of the literature, participants who kept a gratitude journal saw their diastolic blood pressure drop.)
  • improves sleeping (which in turn promotes other healthy behaviors, because when we are well rested, we are more motivated to exercise and make healthy food choices)
  • decreases anxiety – practicing gratitude disrupts the negative thought patterns that make anxiety worse

How to practice gratitude

The research shows that just a little bit of time for gratitude each day can create healthy changes. One of the articles shared how a woman started feeling better by keeping a gratitude jar. Each night before bed, she wrote something she was thankful for on a small slip of paper and dropped it in a mason jar. When she felt down or discouraged, she could look at the jar, maybe even pull out a note, and remember all the good things of her life. I keep a journal, and often in my daily entries, I write about things that went well or goodness I saw in others.

Here are some concrete ways to practice gratitude:

  • keep a gratitude journal, writing daily entries about things that went well in your life
  • keep a gratitude jar
  • write a thank you note to someone you are grateful for; be specific when you tell them what you appreciate about them or your relationship
  • practice a few minutes of prayer or meditation each day, focusing on positive events or people

Scientist suggest linking your gratitude practice to something you already do each day will help you stick with the habit. Think of three things you are thankful for as your laptop boots up. Pray for/ think of someone who has does something nice for you while you brush your teeth. Instead of waking up and immediately running through the day’s to do list, come up with three things you are thankful for as you start your day. (I recently adopted that habit, and it helps me avoid stressful thoughts first thing in the morning.)

Another thing that helps me cultivate gratitude is reading positive, inspirational words from other people. A few books I recommend for that are:

Recommended reading about gratitude

Have I convinced you? Will you use this Thanksgiving to start a gratitude practice? If you already have one, please share what you do each day to stay positive.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanks for getting nerdy with me!

Improving vocabulary

Fly your nerd flag with a fun word: palimpsest

Posted on by Julia Tomiak / 0 Comment
Featured Word Nerd Word: Palimpsest

A few weeks ago, Kai Ryssdal, the co- host of one of my favorite podcasts, Make Me Smart, shared a word new to me. His word nerdy co-host, Kimberly Adams, hadn’t heard it either. Kai mentioned palimpsest and described it as a thin veneer. Curious, I had to learn more. Not only is palimpsest fun to say, its meaning refers to an ancient form of recycling! What’s cooler than that?

According to Merriam-Webster, a palimpsest is a noun referring a piece of parchment or other writing surface that has been used more than once after earlier writing was erased. An old document might have been erased to make space for a new one if parchment or a tablet was hard to find. Palimpsest comes from the Greek palimpsēstos, meaning “scraped again.” For example, De republica, by Roman statesman and orator Cicero, was recovered from a palimpsest in which all layers were not fully removed.

These days, a palimpsest also refers to something layered and complicated. For example, the ruins of an ancient city. Lately, listening to the reporting of the war between Israel and Hamas, I imagine a thick palimpsest of political and religious conflict contributing to the complicated history in this area of the world.

Thanks for getting nerdy with me!

Book reviews

Why you should read The Invisible Life of Addie Larue

Posted on by Julia Tomiak / 1 Comment

Whew! October slipped away from me. I’m busy running a campaign to land the At Large seat on my local school board, and Halloween popped up before I had time to post a book review for spooky season. I don’t read horror, but The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V.E. Schwab weaves a tale of darkness, passion, magic, and shadows, so it’s a great fall read, even though Trick or Treat has passed.

Premise

Book cover for The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V.E. Schwab

In 1714 France, Adeline Larue dreams of independence. But her family is preparing to marry her to a man she does not love. Desperate to find a way to live life on her terms, Adeline makes offerings and calls for help in the forest near her village. A dark god answers her call and promises her freedom, if, when she is finished living life on her terms, he can have her soul. Adeline agrees, and the Darkness, embodied as the handsome dark haired man from Adeline’s fantasies, seals the Faustian deal with a kiss. 

Shortly, Adeline the curse she gained with the deal: she can live without changing, but no one remembers her after she leaves their presence. Except for one man…

What I Liked

The writing is gorgeous. V.E. Schwab paints beautiful, poignant images with her words, and her writing style immediately sucked me in.

Adeline quickly finds herself poor, hungry, and barely able to secure safe shelter. To survive, she must find a way to adapt. She can never make friends or establish relationships because everyone forgets her after she disappears from their site. Her only companion for decades is Luc, the darkness, the God who granted her wish. He visits her regularly, usually on the anniversary of their meeting, to see if she is ready to hand over her soul. She never succumbs. Over the years, her relationship with Luc, her tormentor, her savior, the one who knows her best, deepens, and her hate for him grows into something more complicated.

When she meets a boy in the 21st century who does not forget her, Addie thinks she has finally found happiness. But her affection for him is marred by her worry her love can’t last, and she has good reason, Luc’s has cursed many people with his darkness, not just Addie.

I enjoyed Addie’s character. She shines with determination, emotional strength, and selfless love. The Invisible Life of Addie Larue explores themes of love, identity, and how we choose to define ourselves. It’s a fantasy with real life implications.

What I didn’t like

Addie’s relationship with Luc felt like one of a woman trapped by her abuser, and I didn’t like the blurred lines of love and manipulation. When I turned the last page, I found myself wanting a different outcome for Addie.

Recommendation

If you enjoy a book with a bit of romance and magic, like The Night Circus, you’ll enjoy The Invisible Life of Addie Larue. Happy reading! These early evenings are the perfect time for cozying up with a book.

Have you read Addie Larue or other books by Schwab? What did you think?

Thanks for getting nerdy with me!

Improving vocabulary/Who I Am

Why you should try the new Connections game from the NYT

Posted on by Julia Tomiak / 0 Comment

It’s been a sad and scary week. News out of the Middle East has everyone concerned. So today I’d like to help you focus on something small that you have control over: a new way to exercise your mind with the Connections game.

Daughter and I gave up on Wordle months ago. We agreed it relied more on probability than word or language skills. So we’ve been focusing any brain game time we have on the NYT mini crossword. Short, fun, and yet still stimulating. (I did the regular crossword once while I was stuck in bed with COVID. Whew, that’s a 45 minute time commitment I won’t make on normal days.)

While daughter was home last week for fall break, she showed me the newest game on the NYT site- Connections. I love it! And I thought my fellow word nerds might too

How to play Connections

You can find the game in the “play” section of the NYT website or the mobile app. Upon opening the game, you will see a matrix of 16 words. To play, you select four words that you think are related. Sometimes it can be about their meaning, (ways to conceal something: hide, cover, block, etc. Sometimes it has to do with the letters in the word, like palindromes (e.g. Otto, Hannah, Nan.)

After you submit your four words, the game will let you know if you’ve found an appropriate group. Sometimes it gives you hints like , “one off.” It will label the group for you; you don’t have to submit that par. Usually I find three that fit a group I’ve determined in my head, but not a fourth, and that’s when the flexible thinking has to start. I have to move beyond my first guesses and assumptions and brainstorm other ways these random words might be connected.

Why it’s important

Sure, my favorite color is purple, but that’s not why I like this game. I love it because it encourages creative thinking and imagination beyond quick solutions. It’s a perfect micro practice for asking “what am I missing here?” and “what am I not thinking about?” Lately, I’ve been trying to do that more often IRL, striving to see the connections between people and their opinions and actions, and challenging myself to explore what might not be obvious at first.

We all could use a little practice in making connections. This simple, yet often challenging, word game is good practice for something to generalize to more important situations.

By the way, I also like Spelling Bee.

My mother in law plays a lot of word games, including full sized crosswords. Daughter and I marvel at skills in coming up with words. Nana likes to play these games to keep her mind sharp, and we think she’s doing an awesome job.

What apps/ puzzles do you use to exercise your mind? Please share. (Word nerdy ideas are of course preferred, but we will be open to math based puzzles. 😉 )

Thanks for getting nerdy with me!