Title: The Spirituality of Imperfection: Storytelling and the Search For Meaning

Author: Ernest Kurtz and Katherine Ketcham

Pages/Format: 243/Paperback

What I Thought: Someone recommended this book to me about 4 years ago, and it’s taken me several years to get through it.  I loved the stories and quotes scattered throughout the book.  It was hard to get into, because the book is fairly dry, and read like a textbook at times.

A.A. and the 12 Steps/Traditions are mentioned throughout the book; at times, I felt like it was more like the spirituality of A.A., not the spirituality of imperfection.  Kurtz, according to the author biography at the back of the book, has written several books about A.A., which would explain the focus on A.A., as well as the bias towards A.A..  I don’t have anything against A.A., but I felt like it was focused on too much.

I did find the book interesting, though, since it’s about how accepting imperfection is the 1st step towards spirituality, and how there’s meaning and joy within suffering. 

I did like how the authors connected the stories to both imperfection and spirituality, and also how the stories illustrated the story of spirituality and imperfection.  I also liked the organization of the book, which is divided into 3 sections- the roots of spirituality, how spirituality and A.A. are really connected, and how spirituality is beneficial. 

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 because the quotes and stories were the only redeeming factor of the book.  Everything could have been said more succinctly, and it was redundant at times, especially towards the end.  While I did like the stories, they did start to sound the same about halfway through.

Title: Northanger Abbey

Author: Jane Austen

Pages/Format: 236/paperback

What I Thought: Now that I’ve read Northanger Abbey, Mansfield Park is the only Jane Austen book I haven’t read. 

Northanger Abbey is about 17-year-old Catherine Morland.  She visits Bath, England for the 1st time with the Allens, who are her neighbors.  She is invited to stay at Northanger Abbey by General Tilney; she’s friends with his daughter Eleanor, and his son, Henry is Catherine’s love interest. 

Northanger Abbey is probably my least favorite of Jane Austen’s novels.  I liked it, but found myself bored while reading it.  It did take me a couple times to really enjoy Pride and Prejudice, which is one of my absolute favorite books, so I’m willing to give Northanger Abbey another chance.  However, I did like Volume 2, which takes place in Northanger Abbey much better than Volume 1. 

Catherine does mature throughout the novel, as she learns that life does not always resemble fiction, and that things are not always what they appear to be.  A great example of this is when her friend Isabella gets engaged to Catherine’s brother James.  The engagement gets broken off when it comes out that Isabella was flirting with another man.  Over the course of the novel, she learns that she doesn’t need to rely on others, and it’s okay to be independent. 

I did like Catherine, who lived her life as though she were a heroine in the Gothic novels that she loved to read.  She’s very imaginative, which is something that worked well for her; at the same time, it wasn’t something that was shown very often.  

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.  While not my favorite Jane Austen novel, and while I was slightly bored reading it, it was still a good read, and I found certain parts of it kept me on the edge of my seat.

Title: The Bell Jar

Author: Sylvia Plath

Pages/Format: 244/Paperback

What I Thought: I really liked it, and I could definitely relate to Esther Greenwood’s descent into depression.  The Bell Jar is about Esther Greenwood, who had an internship in New York City, but finds herself becoming more and depressed, until she ends up in a mental hospital.

I thought it was a realistic portrayal of what it’s like to live with depression, and I found myself thinking about my own experiences and struggles with depression.  I also really liked the imagery that Plath used, as well as her writing style.

While it was sometimes hard to follow, I was willing overlook it.  Sometimes your thoughts are all over the place, and they certainly aren’t rational at times.  It was also hard to get into, but over time, I found myself wrapped up in the book.

The feelings of going under and feeling trapped are all too familiar, and it’s a struggle to cope with it; at the same time, you find ways to move, and ways to make the pain go away. 

The Bell Jar is apparently semi-autobiographical, and I can certainly understand writing a fictionalized account of your life.  Since this is the only work of Plath’s I’ve read, and since I don’t know much about Sylvia Plath, I can’t really say for sure.  But going off of the fact that she did kill herself by sticking her head in an oven, and struggled with depression, I’d say that certain elements of her life did end up in The Bell Jar.  Sometimes writing about what’s going on can be very cathartic. 

Rating: 4 out of 5.  It’s not the most amazing book I’ve ever read, but I certainly knew what Esther was going through, and how even the most mundane tasks can be difficult.

Title: Anne of Avonlea

Author: L.M. Montgomery

Pages/Format: 276/e-book

What I Thought: Anne of Avonlea is the 2nd book in the Anne of Green Gables series.  I liked it slightly better than Anne of Green Gables- Anne is more mature in Anne of Avonlea, but still manages to get herself into some trouble.  She still has a vivid imagination and is still talkative, although she’s not nearly as talkative or imaginative as she was in the 1st book. 

She is now a teacher at the same school she used to go to, and there are a new cast of characters.  There are Davy and Dora Keith, who Marilla adopts after their mother dies, and their new neighbor, Mr. Harrison.

I did like the Avonlea Village Improvement Society (or AVIS) which Anne herself had organized.  There were questionable results at the start of AVIS, mainly when the town hall was painted blue instead of green.  After the mix-up, AVIS flourished because the town blamed the Pye family, who had been given the job of painting the hall.     

Having liked Anne of Avonlea so much, I can’t wait to read the 3rd book in the series, since the novel ends with Anne going off to college. 

Rating: 4 out of 5.  I loved it, and I can’t wait to see what sort of adventures Anne gets herself into.

Title: A Tree Grows In Brooklyn

Author: Betty Smith

Pages/Format: 493/Paperback

What I Thought: For some reason, I thought I had read this book, but as I started reading, I realized I had never read it before. 

It’s somewhat hard to summarize A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, but it’s pretty much a coming-of-age story.  It follows Francie Nolan as she grows up in Brooklyn with her mom (Katie), dad (Johnny) and brother (Neely).

I loved seeing Francie grow up- she had a lot to deal with, and her family clearly struggled to make ends meet.  Poverty and alcoholism are present throughout the book, and yet the Nolans perservere and rise above all of the problems they have.  I felt like I was growing up with Francie as she worked several jobs, had her heart-broken and took college courses.  I nearly started crying when I read the end- I wonder what happened to Francie and her family.  I wished it were just a little longer, because I enjoyed it so much.

I think one of my favorite parts of the whole book was when Francie’s English teacher talked to her about some of her essays and how writing about poverty and alcoholism was sordid, and that people acknowledged bad things existed, but no one wrote about it. 

Rating: I give it a 5 out of 5.  It was a great book, and one I can’t wait to read again.  It was definitely worth buying.

Title: Jamba Juice Power

Author: Kirk Perron, with Stan Dembecki

Pages/Format: 222/Hardcover

What I Thought: It’s an interesting book: part recipes, part history 0f Jamba Juice, part nutrition and part lifestyle guide. 

The really brief history of Jamba Juice was really interesting, and I would have liked to see a more detailed history.  However, that can be resolved by googling Jamba Juice.

I could have done without the nutrition section, most of which I already knew, and is common sense.  I did like how how he put it on a basic level.  I also didn’t care for the details on their different boosts, and what goes into the boosts.

There’s a 21-day guide to being more healthy.  The reasoning behind 21 days (according to Perron) is that 21 days is how long it takes to form a habit, so by the end of 3 weeks, the reader should be well on their way to a better mind and body.  However, all of the advice is very practical and easy to work into your daily life.

The smoothie and juice recipes were my favorite part, because who doesn’t love a good smoothie?  However, a lot of the smoothies had over 500 calories, with one clocking in at an astounding 880 calories!  I don’t know about anyone else, but when I think smoothies, I think healthy and good for you.  The fact that frozen yogurt/sherbert is used in a lot of the smoothies are the likely culprit behind it, and could probably be substituted with something else.  Assuming you’re eating 2,000 calories a day, you’re drinking drinking anywhere from 25% to nearly 50% of your calorie intake for the day.  Knowing that, I’d probably drink these particular smoothies every once in a while, and not everyday.  I don’t count calories or anything, but I’d rather not drink 25% of calories, even if it has fruit in it. 

I also liked the juice section, which thankfully had a lot less calories then a lot of the smoothies, although I wished it had been a little longer.  Again, that’s something I can probably google. 

There’s also a glossary, which I could have done without, but it’s probably good for those who want to know what the different terms mean.  There’s a resource section as well- although I have no idea how accurate it is now, since I’ve had the book for a few years.  All the government websites (the CDC, NIH, etc) are up-to-date but some of the others, I’m not so sure about.  And there is a recommended product page, which is nice if you’re in the market for a blender and/or juicer.

Rating: I give it a 3 out of 5.  It’s more of a lifestyle book as opposed to smoothies and juice.  I was expecting it be more Jamba Juice, although I’ve only been to Jamba Juice a few times, and it’s been a while since I’ve stopped by.  I was expecting a lot more smoothies, and more of the history of Jamba Juice.  I was slightly disappointed with the smoothies, but still yummy.