RAE’S READS

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This year (2025) finds me with 53 years of teaching “under my belt.” I have taught all levels from pre-K “(library lady” or “book lady”–volunteer) to juniors, seniors, and graduate students enrolled in my Advanced Writing class at the university where I have just completed 34 years. My first paying teaching job was junior high, and I spent 13 years with ages 12-13, the “difficult years.” I had some of the “funnest” experiences with this age group. When I was no longer the “young, fun teacher,” I taught in an elementary school setting before sixth graders went on to junior high, teaching language arts blocs, an assignment that was a “dream-fit” for me. After completing graduate school in my 40s, I went on to community college, then university teaching. This past fall I accepted a part-time teaching job at Apogee Gulf Coast Schools in its first year at the Alvin campus. After my Better Half died n 2022, I achieved a lifelong dream: opening a bookstore of my own, Rae’s Reads. A year later, I sold the house we had lived in for 47 years and moved into the bookstore. My goal is to circulate and repurpose books. Just as teaching is “in my blood,” so is a passion for reading, writing, libraries, and everything bookish. This blog will be open to anyone who loves books, promotes literacy and wants to “come out and play.”

  • VANISHING GRACE: WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE GOOD NEWS? A Review

    This 2014 publication by my second favorite inspirational author (second to Max Lucado), borrowed from our church library, was one of four books the author, Phillip Yancey, wrote about the “endangered state” of Grace.  In this book he asks Christians some vital questions:  Why do so many people dislike Christians? Why does the church stir up such negative feelings? Why has the church lost its respect, influence, and reputation in today’s world?  In doing so, he infers that the answers lie in actions and attitudes we as Christians hold which cause these questions even to be asked. Max Lucado states that this book is “worth reading,” and BONO, a leading activist recommends it as well.

    It deals with how artists, activists, and pilgrims are “expressing their faith in ways that disarm even the most cynical critics.” Section one, “A World Athirst” specifies how to reclaim the Good News. Section three poses the question, “Is It Really Good News?”, dealing with “The God Question,” “The Human Question,” and “The Social Question.” These two sections alone make the book a worthwhile read.  Yancey deals as well with the ticklish issue of Christians and politics.

    In Vanishing Grace, Yancey reminds all Christians that Hebrews 12:15 admonishes us to, “See to it that no one misses the grace of God…” This book will help the thoughtful, caring Christian to do just that in an acceptable manner.

  • Sunday (Evening Post)

    This week has been filled with trips to the mall to visit and walk the mall with a friend from Las Vegas, and going four days in a row (each day a larger percentage off) to an estate sale down the road where we purchased a bedside table in anticipation of visitors from Boston in June and a roll-top desk as an early anniversary present to each other. We also brought some smaller items none of which we needed, but all  nice additions to our house and lifestyles.  Because of the unusual busyness, I did very little reading.

    I finished Vanishing Grace by Phillip Yancey, borrowed from the church library, which I returned this morning.  A review follows soon.

    I am continuing to read The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas which deals with a white on black shooting and is so interesting that I am halfway to three fourths of the way through.

    I started an old book, Tender Mercies by Taylor Caldwell that a friend brought to donate to my LFL when she attended a book party, and I am wondering why I haven’t heard of it before? It is old-fashioned, but wonderful.

    I have been cooking this week: Greek lemon-roasted golden potatoes, spaghetti and meatballs, roast beef in the crockpot, and fresh green beans and new potatoes from a friend’s garden.  We are eating well.

    It is hot on the Gulf Coast of Texas, hitting 90 degrees, at least, each day with 0ver 85 to 90 percent humidity.  Whew! With washing clothes, taking extra showers, and watering the plants, I dread seeing my water bill!

    The Powerful Women Readers’ “Hen Party” is next Sunday, so I have another busy week ahead, shopping and cleaning in anticipation of that. I have read and prepared book talks on all three “assigned” books, but this get together will focus on food, fellowship and fun.

  • Communion Sunday

    I was 12 years old, old enough to know better. My cousin Betty Lou and I were allowed to sit together during church as long as we remained in line of sight of our parents, and didn’t whisper, giggle, or pass notes. This particular Sunday was communion, what we Baptists called the “Lord’s Supper”, and was served from a table with the words, “This do in remembrance of Me” carved on it.  We never knew what communion was going to look like from one First Sunday to the next. The Welches’ grape juice in the little cups  was a standard, but the bread was never the  same shape twice. Once, the bread was white paper-thin wafers with a cross and other symbols embossed on it. Shades of Episcopalia!  I thought I was supposed to lick the back of it and stick it on my dress like a visitor’s button. This particular Sunday we had little squares of white bread cut into crouton size.

    Another difference in our communion was that one did not go up front to get it. Instead, the juice and bread was passed from row to row by the deacons, much like the offering plate. We silently congratulated ourselves on our superiority as we waited for the prayer to end before we put our empty cups in the receptacles on the pew ahead of us. All around us, we could hear the click of ignorant adults returning their cups before the minister had finished the prayer.

    I was slightly distracted when the deacon approached our row with the bread.  Betty Lou had bent  down to get her bulletin out of her Bible which was under the pew in front of us. Taking two “croutons,” one for each of us, I silently passed the tray to the lady next to her across Bet’s back.  All of a sudden she straightened up whacking the tray.  Little crumbs of bread went flying everywhere!  Time stood still.  Then a veritable snowfall of the bread descended upon us.

    It was then that the giggling started.  Tiny explosions of laughter spurted from our tightly closed lips likes bursts of steam from a locomotive. Squeezing my eyes shut to stop the tears, I felt a tug on my sleeve. My cousin, overcome with laughter herself, could only point at the lady next to her.  The lady had bread in her hair!

    We could feel our parents approaching, worse, much worse than the wrath of God. They snatched us up and made us sit with them for over a month until they could trust us again. I still think of that communion Sunday whenever I take the Lord’s Supper, and I am sure God doesn’t mind if a smile slips out when I remember my cousin, Betty Lou and our communion misadventures.

  • MANY WATERS by Madeline L’Engle: A Review

    Published in 1986       Takes place sometime after the Wrinkle in Time Trilogy

    Sandy and Dennys Murry, twin brothers of Meg and Calvin Wallace Murry (from A Wrinkle in Time) are the “dull,” “ordinary” ones in the family until they interrupt their physicist dad’s computer experiment.  Then, they are in trouble, not just with their dad, but in cosmos-changing trouble.  Many waters were coming soon to the dessert oasis where they “landed”, and stories their mother told them as small children from the Bible, as well as many mythologies and folktales of a world-wide flood come rushing to their minds.

    Unknown to them, their dad was experimenting with time travel, and the Genesis (from the Bible) people’s reaction to them, as well as their reaction to the people of “this other place” is the premise for the story.  Unicorns, mammoths (miniature size ones), seraphims, and nephils all appear in this book. Both boys, young teens, fall for the same girl, Yalith, and for the first time, the twins do not tell each other “everything.” Will they get themselves home in time to avoid the “many waters?”/The Great Flood? Will they get home, period? L’Engle’s philosophy shines through as the boys engage in conflicts both on a personal level and on a universal level.

    The writing, plot, and characterization are brilliant. This is one of my favorite authors whether she is writing YA novels, memoirs and philosophy, or anything. I highly recommend this book.

  • THE EDUCATION OF DIXIE DUPREE: A Review

    Donna Everhart’s debut novel, available in large print, like any novel about childhood abuse, is hard to read.  This one is even more so because it is told from the child’s point of view.  From the opening of the story, we know that Dixie’s Uncle Ray is in jail.  As the plot unfolds, Eleven year old Dixie’s “spidey sense” that something is just “not right,” alerts the reader to expect the worst.  Dixie and her brother, AJ, already have a rough life living with a depressed  mother who has anger issues and a father who drinks to escape. Set in Alabama in 1969, Dixie struggles with the need to lie to cover for her mother and to keep the other girls at school from labeling her family as “white trash.” She becomes a deliberate and accomplished tale-teller, resorting to lies even when they aren’t necessary. When she tries to tell AJ and later her mother what Uncle Ray has done, no one will believe her.  Seldom have I met a heroine so young with such spirit and courage.

    This is a difficult book to read as it peels away layers of family secrets leading to the eventual harsh ending.  There is a ray of hope at the end, one thing I require of any book I read before I will say it is a good book.  This is not an enjoyable book but one that book clubs and individuals might take on to open thoughts or discussions about a very serious problem.

     

  • THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN: A Review

    Published in 2007 by author Sherman Alexie, this YA novel was our Third Tuesday Book Club selection for the month of May.  The group’s discussion is tomorrow night. Other than some pretty rough language (but then that’s the way some teenagers talk), the book was a good read.  It was funny, sad, heartbreaking, uplifting–all at one time. The author is also a cartoonist and a poet, and the story is filled with insightful cartoons and poetic expressions in places.  It is the story of a boy who overcomes poverty, a medical condition from birth, fear, and loneliness as he comes of age.

    The story is well told, and characters range from stereotypes to unique individuals. Arnold Spirit (his Reardon School name) aka Junior (his reservation name) is a protagonist who puts his “raw emotion” out there for the reader to experience. Rowdy, his best friend since earliest childhood is his protector and confidant, which makes his refusal to go off the reservation to the “white school” with Junior/Arnold and his hate directed towards him all the worse. Gordy is his new, nerdy friend at the white Reardon high school, and Penelope, the gorgeous white girl becomes Junior/Arnold’s girlfriend.  The clash between the characters is more than troubling to the protagonist. His family, a alcoholic but loving father, a smart mother, and a spiritual, tolerant grandmother round out the cast of characters.

    The novel gives insights into Native American folklore and superstition as well as “Reservation Philosophy” and thought. For a boy born with hydro-encephalitis and who has “been to 42 funerals by the time he is fourteen,” there is a lot to overcome. The humor is typically adolescent male humor and raunchy at times, but not to the point of offending.

    I do not know if I would recommend this book to a younger teenager, but a young adult with his/her “head on straight” might really enjoy this book. It will be interesting to hear what older adults thought of it tomorrow night.

  • Sunday (Evening) Post

    Happy Mother’s Day.  Although I am not a mother, I had a lovely Mother’s Day Weekend. Saturday my husband and I visited Half-Price Books in Houston and I purchased $30 worth of bargains for my Little Free Library.  While in the same strip shopping center, we went to a consignment store specializing in furniture and accessories, and my husband bought me a lovely basket/vase which I was able to put dried flowers/weeds from a disassembled floral arrangement in, something I’ve wanted to do for a while now.  The clerk at the store said, “Tell me you’re a mother, and you’ll get a twenty percent discount.”  I informed her I was not a mother, but I thought I deserved a discount for being honest.  My Better Half chimed in that I was the only mother our cat, Lena, had ever known, and the kind salesperson came through with the discount!  She made my day. We finished up at Eduardo’s Mexican Kitchen for lunch, thus freeing me from cooking , not only the rest of the day but also for lunch today, thanks to warmed up leftovers.

    This morning we cleaned up and moved furniture around in our guest  bedroom, anticipating summer visitors.  It looks so much larger and roomier, and My Better Half hung two pictures on the wall and in the hallway to accommodate the changes we made.  Now to the local Alvin furniture store, Cox’s, for an end table and maybe  a new sofa and loveseat at their Memorial Day Sale.  I told you it was a good weekend, didn’t I?

    We worked in the yard again this first full week off from school, planting flowering hawthorne, another hibiscus, a knock-out rosebush, and a lipstick plant in a pot.  Also, our Easter Lillies, hastily stuck in the ground last Easter, are in full bloom for Mother’s Day.  They also have multiplied, so we may have further blooms for Father’s Day, or at least for next spring.

    Finished this week: Many Waters by Madeline Engle…great as a part of a series or as a stand alone. (To be reviewed soon) and the very first issue of a delightful magazine, Magnolia Journal, “inspiration for life and home.” As a charter subscriber I was very interested in receiving this magazine, skimmed it ooooohing and aaaaahing when it first arrived, then going back and reading with enjoyment every word. Joanna and Chip Gaines, editor-in-chief and editor-at-large, respectively, are responsible for this excellent piece of readability.

    Continuing to read: Have not quite finished today’s edition of The Houston Chronicle, my Sunday afternoon reading material; Who Is Human? a science fiction novel by Gary Pegoda; Beyond Human Nature by Printz; and Phillip Yancey, an excellent inspirational writer who is fast becoming my second favorite inspirational writer (next to Max Lucado) has hooked me on his Vanishing Grace:Whatever Happened to the Good News? 

    Started this week: The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas.

    I have done a great deal of reading, a chapter here a chapter there, and am probably going to end up with several books to review, all at the same time.

    I’ve done little cooking besides warming up from food cooked last week and leftovers I’ve dubbed “Cowboy Stew” which has leftover lean hamburger patties from a lunch and anything in the refrigerator in the way of leftover vegetables that weren’t “spoken for.”  We’ve had it twice, once rolled up in flour tortillas and once over leftover rice from Eduardo’s. Believe it or not, it was most enjoyable.  A friend brought homemade Louisiana gumbo and a scrumptious dessert…more than we could possible eat ourselves, so we were privileged to share with a neighbor for her Mother’s Day.

    As I said, it has been a good Mother’s Day weekend.

  • TAG: I’m It Again!

    My friend James has tagged me to answer the tag that has gone through many bloggers, and without giving credit to anyone, here are my answers:

    1.  Choose one word that would describe you as a reader.  Like my friend, James, I am an “eclectic” reader.  I’ll try anything.
    2. What is the first book that made you fall in love with reading?  When I was six, my British grandmother gave me copies of a British alphabet book (which prepared me for school that year) and The Adventures of Nicholas Thomas, a very mischievous British cat who was always getting into trouble.  My mother read it to me until I could read it alone.  I will never forget the pair of Siamese cats who tricked Nicholas into doing the things he got in trouble for, then sat at the tea table saying, “Just bread and butter, purrlease “.  Poor Nicholas loved cakes and scones and cream and was silly enough to ask for them. The book was large, well illustrated, and had many chapters/adventures (or should I say misadventures?)
    3. Hardback or paperback?  Anything.  I’m not picky.
    4. How has reading shaped your identity? I have always found escape from problems, the busy world, and life in general in reading.  I have always been far more adventuresome in my reading life than in real life.  I have been so many places and had so many experiences vicariously–all through reading; so, I guess I am what I read.
    5. What book do you read when you want to be comforted?  The Psalms of the Bible–any version.
    6. Who influenced you to be a reader?  Both parents, my first grade teacher, Mrs. Lovern, and our local branch librarian in Norfolk, Virginia.
    7. Describe your dream reading lounge.  Anywhere in my castle, my house.  There are books “going” in every room almost.
    8. What book has changed the way you see the world? Most recently, The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
    9. What defines your life as a reader?  James said it best, “Where Jay meets happiness.” I paraphrase, “Where Rae meets happiness.”  Thanks James for letting me steal again!

    10.  What are your favorite quotes?  My motto to teach by is from Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life, “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.

    Now, whoever is reading this, Tag, you’re it! Respond to the same ten questions, either on your blog or in the comment section of this post.  There’s room! Please do not judge mistakes but consider them hugs!

    Rae

  • MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA: A Review

    This 1997 novel, on the NY Times Best Seller List for over a year, gives the perfect women’s point of view on a Japanese women’s institution, surprisingly written by a man, Arthur Golden. It was researched very thoroughly and is a PWR selection for this quarter.  It is sexy, expressed in a most polite Japanese way, and described by reviews of its day as “astonishing,” “breathtaking,” a “literary sensation”, “seductive,” and “an exotic fable.”  If it isn’t considered a classic, it should be.

    The novel recounts the story of Sayrui, a fictional famous geisha, probably a composite of several famous geisha of Japan’s past. Born in a tiny, poor, fishing village, Chiyo ( her first name as a servant in the geisha house she is sold to by her father)/ Sayrui’s life reflects the difference between the life of a geisha and the life of a prostitute. Hatsumomo, a famous geisha of the same house is her nemesis, insanely jealous and revengeful motivated by feelings of jealousy, fear, insecurity, and mean-spiritedness. Chiyo’s only friend, Pumpkin, eventually betrays Chiyo/Sayrui, making Mamha’s job as Sayrui’s mentor/”Big Sister” all the harder.

    Of course it is a romance, but much much more than that.  There is a well-described picture of Japanese life both before and after the WWII bombings. Sayrui’s life goes from rags to riches to rags again to…I’ll let you read the end of the story. The underlying theme of the book deals with how a woman’s life and destiny depended on a man. It is a worthwhile investment of your precious reading time that will keep you turning pages into the wee hours.

  • Tuesday Teaser

    Tuesday Teaser is a bookish meme from The Purple Booker.  The idea is to open a book you are reading at random, copy a couple of sentences and “tease” other readers into reading the same book.

    Mine today is from a book selected for this quarter by PWR.  It is by Madeline Engle, author of scientific science fiction, and the selection begins near the beginning of the book where the twins, Sandy and Dennys, enter their Phd dad’s laboratory where a computer program dealing with time travel is in progress.  They think they may have “disturbed something”,

    “Stupid.  We were stupid, mucking around with an experiment-in-progress… we should have stopped to think…Dispite the intense heat Dennys shivered…’Shade’ croaked Dennys.  Do I see a palm tree?”

    Soon in this time-travel novel involving the same tesseract theory from A Wrinkle in Time, but this time computer generated, Many Waters has Sandy and Dennys relieved they are somewhere on planet earth.  The relief is not for long, however, as they meet Japeth and his son Noah, who both communicate with El who tells them they are living in the “end times”.  As they begin to piece together the Bible stories their mother read to them along with Greek myths, American Indian mythology and other stories which predicted a world-wide flood, they can only hope the way to return to their own world will come to them soon.