Category: Non-Fiction

{Book Review}

The Magnolia Story

By Chip & Joanna Gaines
with Mark Dagostino

In this short little book, we readers get a peak into the lives of the stars of HGTV’s hit show Fixer Upper, Chip and Joanna Gaines. The Magnolia Story tells of how the two met, got their start in business, and their struggles to make a career for themselves.

Review: I’m a pretty big HGTV fan, but I’m very picky about the shows that I watch. Part of drew me to Fixer Upper isn’t just the design style that I love, but the sweet, natural costars, Chip and Joanna Gaines. On the show, the two have an easy-going banter. They portray a strong love of life, family, and their work. I found the couple immediately likable.

Everything that drew me to the pair on television was just as apparent in The Magnolia Story. The short book (under 200-pages) is set up to show the dialog between the two (each has a different font that carries through the book). The book is really Chip and Joanna telling the story of their lives, interjecting to add commentary, a forgotten thought, or their own perspective. As I read it, I could hear the two speaking in my head, in that very natural way you see on television.

The book focuses not on the Fixer Upper show so much as the pair’s beginnings – how they met, their courtship, and their start in the house-buying/house-flipping/restoration/home design/home decor businesses. Yes, multiple businesses. So many that I didn’t bother to count. The pair encountered countless challenges but persevered through hard work, commitment to each other, their work and their community, and their faith.

And those are really the 3 themes that carry through the book that are perhaps underplayed on the show. The pair have a strong commitment to family and community. They work incredibly hard in what they love, to be successful and so that they don’t let others down. And finally, they have an unshakable Christian faith, a belief that they’re following God’s plan, and that God is taking care of them.

For fans of Fixer Upper, The Magnolia Story is a must-read. It’s the story of Chip and Jo, in their own words. It shows two people who stay true to themselves and their beliefs. I walked away from the book, with a new appreciation for Chip and Jo and the work they’ve done. They are genuinely good people who work hard, which makes me like them and their hit show all the more.

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{Book Review}

In the Kingdom of Ice:

The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette

By Hampton Sides

Emerging from the Civil War in the late 1800s, the new United States was eager to prove itself on the international stage. In an effort to show its military might, its power as a player on the international stage, but in a peaceful way – supported by citizens in both the north and the south – the U.S. entered the quest to discover the North Pole and the “open polar sea.”

In 1879, Captain George Washington De Long and a crew of roughly 30 men set sail from California for the Arctic. A Navy expedition funded by The New York Herald newspaper owner James Gordon Bennett, the crew expected to reach the North Pole and return within 3 years, perhaps discovering (and claiming for the U.S.) a new island or two along the way. De Long did discover a few islands on the expedition, but he never made it to the North Pole. Instead, after being ice-locked for what felt like an eternity, he and the crew were forced to abandon the sinking Jeannette and make their way through ice and water – on whaling boats they had to carry over the ice – south to Siberia, and then on to a Siberian village where they could finally seek help. This book is the story of all of this, and more.

Review/Recommendation: I picked up this book on a whim, after seeing it while standing in line at the grocery store. I had read Ghost Soldiers by Hampton Sides years ago, and still remember what a wonderful book it was. That memory set the bar pretty high for In the Kingdom of Ice, and the book did not disappoint.

The story behind this book was fascinating. Unlike the description on the back of the book – which would have you believe the book was almost exclusively about De Long’s journey from shipwreck to Siberia – the book detailed De Long’s entire expedition, beginning long before he stepped foot on the Jeannette. It begins with the origins of De Long’s obsession with Arctic exploration and the myth of the ice-locked open Arctic sea, and then details his research into the Arctic, his efforts to get the journey approved and funded, the search for a suitable ship and crew, and the journey the Jeannette took from the East coast to the West, where it would finally begin its voyage to the Arctic. It concludes with the crew’s slow retreat from it’s northern most position, back down to Siberia, after abandoning ship.

Despite the huge amount of research Sides undoubtedly conducted in the writing of the book, In the Kingdom of Ice is both engaging and interesting. Sides does a wonderful job weaving the facts into the personal stories of De Long and the other crew members, showing their humanity and their bravery in the process. While the focus was De Long, the reader was treated to a snapshot of almost everyone one of the crew members, each one a hero of the expedition in their own way.

I can’t recommend this book enough.

{Book Review}

License to Pawn:

Deals, Steals, and My Life at the Gold & Silver

By Rick Harrison with Tim Keown

License to Pawn details the story of the Harrison family and the creation of the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop in Las Vegas.

The reader is given a glimpse into Rick Harrison’s upbringing, tenacity and life behind the scenes of the show. There is a chapter by each of other three main characters – Old Man (Rick’s father), Big Hoss (Rick’s son), and (family friend) Chum. The reader learns about Old Man’s work ethic, Big Hoss’s troubled youth, and Chum’s real personality, not the goofy guy we see on Pawn Stars.

Recommendation/Review: If you’re a fan of the hit reality show Pawn Stars, then I think you’ll find License to Pawn a fascinating read.

For me, the book made the characters on the show more relate-able and likable. It’s not that they weren’t relate-able before I read the book, but I have a newer appreciation for the men who faced some intense challenges to get to where they are today – a childhood filled of epileptic seizures, financial hardships, drugs… but the men persevered through stubbornness, determination, and ingenuity. I particularly enjoyed the stories Rick told of scouring shops and markets for decent knockoff purses and jeans with his parents – capitalizing on whatever fad was going on at the moment, in order to make a little extra money.

I’ll admit it – I’ve never actually stepped into a pawn shop. I have no idea what one is like, apart from the show, so I found Rick Harrison’s insight into the pawn industry incredibly interesting. It never occurred to me that all transactions that take place are downloaded to Homeland Security or that a pawn transaction is actually confidential. It’s crazy to hear about the contradictory or slightly bizzare laws. For instance, pawn shops can buy and sell pre-1898 guns that can shoot bullets produced today, but they can’t sell more modern guns. Both can kill, but age classifies one as an antique, and therefore acceptable to sell at a pawn shop (and no need to file all of the paperwork that would be required for a modern gun).

This book is worth a read for anyone who enjoys the show or history. I’ve got my husband to thank for my enjoyment of this book (as well as of the television show). I definitely have a new respect for the Harrison family after reading their story.

Grade: A-

Book Review:

MWF Seeking BFF: My Year Long Search For A New Best Friend

By Rachel Bertsche

After finishing school, Rachel Bertsche moves to Chicago with her new husband to start a life together. She has friends, many through her husband, but she can’t call any of them her best friend.That is, there isn’t one woman that she would ask to go out at a moment’s notice. None of them are confidants, with whom she can vent about her husband, talk about her family, etc. Only her childhood BFFs fit those roles, and they live a plane ride away.

In this situation, Bertsche decides to embark on a year-long quest to find a best friend in Chicago. She goes on 52 girl-dates with women she meets – some acquaintances, some blind girl-dates set up by friends, and some complete strangers met through social networking sites, classes, and an essay she publishes. MWF Seeking BFF chronicles her journey to finding close friendships in Chicago, and during this quest, her realization that the meaning of a “best friend” is no longer the same as when she was a child.

Review & Recommendation: When this book was chosen for my book club, I was looking forward to reading it. It sounded like something light but interesting. However, I was disappointed in the book. Interspersed with Bertsche’s story of her 52 dates are antidotes from her research on friendship. Not only did it make it difficult to become engaged in her story, but it made her sound a bit desperate and pitiful. I think many of us, myself included, who moved to a new place after graduating college can relate to Bertsche’s situation – it’s hard to meet new people and develop those friendships into relationships that would qualify as BFFs. I can relate. I can. Following college, I moved to a new state where I knew nobody. It took me  well over a year to get to know the people that are now some of my best friends. But for me, Bertsche’s research – which was brought up multiple times throughout the book – seemed to be used to justify her search and to remind the reader that she was in fact doing something that would make her happier and healthier. Every time this research was mentioned, I felt like Bertsche’s insecurities were shining through and that she was justifying and rejustifying her quest to the reader. For me, it significantly detracked from her story.

That being said, it was interesting of how her Bertsche’s ideas of a best friend evolved over the course of her year long quest. She came to realize that a new BFF wouldn’t be the same ones she’s had since grade school. This new friend could be a little older or younger than her, or at a different point in their life (single or married, with kids or not). It’s definitely a change from what one might feel if they were still in school.

I don’t think MWF Seeking BFF is for everyone, but I think that woman in Bertsche’s situation, or who have ever been in her situation, would enjoy the book and relate well to Bertsche’s search. However, I do think it could have been better written and better organized so as not to detrack from the story and to display Bertsche in a better light.

Grade: B-