Two of the best books I've read this year

Reprinted from the Citizen:

If you’ve been nostalgic for the 1960s after hearing about the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing and the Woodstock concert, this month’s Book Report will bring you right back to that time with two of the best books I've read this summer.

The first book is a memoir by Cheryl Stritzel McCarthy about growing up with her eight siblings in her Catholic family in Iowa of the 1960s and 1970s. Her father’s favorite saying, Many Hands Make Light Work, is the title of this sweet family story. 

Joe Stritzel was a professor of agronomy at Iowa State University. He and his wife, Marcella, and their nine children lived in a big, rambling home near the campus. “Mom radiated calm as powerfully as Dad radiated action,” explains how a family of 11 managed to get through the days in an orderly fashion.

Joe began buying up homes in the neighborhood to fix up and rent to the ever-increasing number of young adults heading to college. He managed to accomplish that by an using inexpensive labor force: his nine children, whom he dubbed “the baseball team.”

While other kids were spending their summers at the lake or playground, the Stritzels were hard at work on the houses. The little ones pulled nails out of wood and stacked it; the older kids tore up carpets, torn down wallpaper and dragged out furniture left behind.

There are so many wonderful scenes in this charming book. The kids like to sing, and Joe thought they were good enough to be on "The Lawrence Welk Show." They had an assembly line going when it came to pick the numerous cherry trees in their backyard. And once, Cheryl babysat for a family that had a lion as a pet — who hung out in the living room with her. That was crazy!

They rarely took a vacation, but one year they all piled into the station wagon and drove from Iowa to Ohio to visit Joe’s family. Mom made sandwiches for the two-day ride, but the highlight was stopping at A&W to get 11 root beers (the little ones got baby root beer mugs) and as a special treat, 11 ice cream cones, all vanilla.

Many Hands Make Light Work will inspire nostalgia for a simpler time. It is a book filled with humor and joy and you’ll find yourself smiling the entire time you’re reading it.

Cara Wall’s debut novel, The Dearly Beloved, is set in the 1960s New York City. Two young ministers — Charles, the son of academics who are perplexed by his choice of career, and James, whose father came home from World War II a broken alcoholic — are hired to be pastors of the historic Third Presbyterian Church in Greenwich Village. 

Charles is a student of scripture and wants to tend to his parishoners’ spiritual needs. James finds that he is drawn to the social justice needs of the people living in the city. He sees poverty and neglect, and believes that the church should be addressing society’s larger problems.

Charles’ wife, Lily, is not religious. Her parents died when she was a teenager, and she lost her faith because of it. She was a good wife to Charles, but she had no interest in being a traditional pastor’s wife or being involved in the church in any way. As society was going through major upheaval in the 1960s, Lily became more involved in women’s issues.

James’ wife, Nan, came from a religious family. Her father was a popular minister and her mother was a traditional pastor’s wife, something that Nan did her best to emulate. Nan became very involved in the church, starting a youth choir, and sat in the front row each Sunday.

Nan wanted to be friends with Lily, but Lily wanted nothing to do with Nan. The other thing Nan wanted was to have children. Lily didn’t particularly care for children. When Lily became pregnant, it caused further friction.

The Dearly Beloved is a moving story about faith, family, friendship and love. Charles loved Lily and respected her choice not to be involved in the church. Nan respected her husband’s choice to be more socially relevant, but she encouraged him not to neglect his own parish.

Both couples are tested by personal challenges over the years, things that could tear apart a marriage and friendship. I found myself involved in their stories, and moved by their circumstances. Wall writes these characters so beautifully, you may not understand their choices, but you will care deeply what happens to them.

If you read

BOOK: Many Hands Make Light Work by Cheryl Stritzel McCarthy

GRADE: A+

PUBLISHER: She Writes Press

COST: Trade paperback, $16.95

LENGTH: 289 pages

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BOOK: The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall

GRADE: A+

PUBLISHER: Simon & Schuster

COST: Hardcover, $26.99

LENGTH: 352 pages

The Friday 5ive- August 9, 2019 Edition

The Friday 5ive is a weekly blog post about five things that caught my attention during the week.
This was a quiet week, I didn't do too much outside the apartment and work at the Book Cellar.

1) We have been watching the Showtime series, The Loudest Voice, about Roger Ailes and the ascension of Fox News. It's based on a series of articles in New York magazine by Gabe Sherman and it is very well done. Russell Crowe is unrecognizable and remarkable as the bullying, bombastic, creepy and paranoid Roger Ailes. He will surely be nominated for an Emmy for this. Siena Miller is also fantastic as his loyal wife Beth, and she is also unrecognizable under the makeup. Naomi Watts portrays Gretchen Carlson, who ultimately took down Ailes when she made audio recordings of his constant harassment (sexual and otherwise).  If you want to know how we got to where we are in American politics, you'll find some answers here. 

2) The new Levain Bakery that opened up recently on the Upper East Side has a terrific mural on a wall in their store that caught my eye. It's got lots of the cool things in our neighborhood, but it is missing the Book Cellar. I'm sure it's just an oversight.

3) Have you heard of Yacht Rock? Apparently it's a new name for late 1970s/early 1980s West Coast soft rock (it used be called AOR- Adult Oriented Rock). I've been taking Jenn Sherman's Yacht Rock rides on Peleton bike and loving it. The Doobie Brothers, Christopher Cross, Loggins and Messina, and Michael McDonald, all the music I listened to while tanning in the backyard in high school. My only problem with the Yacht Rock Ride is that I keep spilling my chardonnay while riding. This is one of Jenn Sherman's Yacht Rock playlists- does it make you nostalgic?

4) This week I worked on our Italy trip some more- here are some of the books I pulled out to prepare. I always like to read fiction set in the places I'm going to visit, as well as travel guides.

5) I finished two books this week- Laurie Gelman's You've Been Volunteered and Cara Wall's debut novel, The Dearly Beloved, which I picked up at the Book Expo.

Gelman's book is a sequel to the hilarious Class Mom, about Jen, an older mom who has two grown daughters born during her wilder rock groupie days, and now has a young son in first grade with her loving husband. She is called upon to be the class mom for her son and her funny and sometimes wildly inappropriate emails to the parents in the class had me in stitches. In the sequel You've Been Volunteered, Jen is back as her son's grade three class mom, and that means the inappropriate emails are back! This time Jen is also asked to coordinate the school safety patrol, which leads to misunderstandings and a little mayhem. I only wish there were more of the class mom emails in this second book, but there are still plenty of laughs in this one too. You can read an excerpt here.

The Dearly Beloved is an emotional, moving book about two couples. Set in 1960's New York City, James is a pastor who wants to address wider social justice issues through his ministry, and his wife Nan is a pastor's daughter who has a very strong faith and wants to be a traditional pastor's wife. She also wants children, but she is finding that more difficult to achieve. Charles is James' co-pastor who wants to be a traditional pastor, helping his flock to understand the word of God, as well as with their personal problems. Charles' wife Lily was orphaned as a young girl and doesn't share Charles' faith in God. She wants to be an academic, and finds herself drawn into the problems of the world at large. This is a beautiful book, about faith, love, family and commitment to oneself and to one's spouse. This book will make you think and break you heart. It's one of the best books of the year.