A Lesson Before Dying

 

This was a great book about friendship. It's about an atheist teacher Grant who befriends a prisoner in jail about to go to the electric chair. Grant teaches at an elementary school. You get the impression he is working beneath himself that he is taking the only opportunity he has in that racist era. He comes across as quite intelligent. I like how his atheism isn't magically transformed by the end like I thought it was going to be. Religion is discussed though especially through the Reverend character. This book was pretty moving and definitely worth a read. 

The Death Notebooks

 

This is basically Anne Sexton talking about God. Cynicism and faith are battled against each other. I found the opening poem "Gods" the best where Anne searches for God and finds him at her house. I've read Anne Sexton's biography by Diane Middlebrook and a couple of Anne's books. I didn't know that Anne Sexton had a religious side. This was a nice surprise. 

Lupercal

 

This was another poetry collection yet again mostly about nature. Ted Hughes is ok, but he hasn't really stood the test of time well. I feel like he was kind of a one trick pony. I'm curious about Birthday Letters but I probably won't read more of him. 

Ted Hughes The Hawk in the Rain

 

I decided to read Ted Hughes' first poetry collection. I already read "Selected Poems" earlier. The best poems from this were in that collection like "The Casualty" and "The Thought Fox." This collection goes between nature and war poems. The war poems are just ok, but his nature poems are where he shines. I think Ted Hughes early period is worth reading. In "Selected Poems" the older he grew the less interesting his poems were. His poems from his youth are more full of ideas and there's more enthusiasm. I might just read "Lupercal", another one of his early poetry collections.  

An Illustrated Treasury of Scottish Folk and Fairy Tales

 

This collection of fairy tales was ok. It involves Scottish creatures like brownies and selkies.  There are also retellings of known fairy tales like Cinderella and Rumpelstiltskin.  I liked the stories that involved the folklore of Scotland more since it was new to me. I don't really know much about their culture. It's nice to learn something new. The illustrations were good too. I like reading mythology or folklore every day. When I hear a reference to a mythological creature on a tv show or movie and I actually know what the show is talking it makes me feel special.    

The Women of Brewster Place

 I love this book about a neighborhood of African American women. The characters are flawed but real, interesting, and likable. I liked the story about Cora Lee, a woman who has babies and doesn't see them as much different as dolls. I also liked the story about the lesbian couple. I'm already reading another book by Gloria Naylor. I love reading African American literature. I have a list I plan to read of them on Amazon. Gloria Naylor is pretty talented. 

The Firekeeper's Daughter

 

This was a pretty good young adult book. It's about a biracial Indian girl who discovers the meth problem in her tribal community. The people involved in the deceit include even people close to her. It's also about her love interest with Jamie who pretends to be a cute hockey star in the beginning. She finds he is actually an agent. At first his interest in her is fake going along with the assignment but then it develops into something. I feel like it ran out of steam by the end. I finished the book pretty quickly. It held my interest throughout. It was entertaining.