May was a great reading month! I read these 9 plus a picture book. That brings my 2024 total to 57.
❤️
The Women by Kristin Hannah. Historical fiction about the women nurses that served in the Vietnam War. 480 pages, 2024
Hook, Line, and Sinker by Tessa Bailey. Romance between a king crab fisherman and movie director’s assistant with a nod to the comfort of music. 353 pages, 2023
Nat Turner by Kyle Baker. Nonfiction graphic novel about Turner and the slave rebellion of 1831. 213 pages, 2006
⭐️
The Secret Place (541 pages, 2014) and Broken Harbor (450 pages, 2012) by Tana French. Books 4 & 5 in the Dublin Murder Squad mystery series.
Toxic Prey by John Sandford. Latest thriller in the Lucas Davenport series that also features his daughter Letty who has her own series. 400 pages, 2024
👍🏻
Kissing Kosher by Jean Meltzer. A romance set in a Jewish bakery in Brooklyn. Learned a lot about Jewish traditions and living with a chronic illness. 432 pages, 2023
🤷🏻♀️
How To Walk Away by Katherine Center. Fiction set in the aftermath of a plane crash that leaves one half of a couple without a scratch and the other partially paralyzed. This has been my least favorite of hers so far. 302 pages, 2018
And a fun picture book too…
I Want to Be a Vase by Julio Torres. This is so colorful it demands to be reads. A delightful book about accepting people for whoever or whatever they want to be.
April was the slowest reading month for me in at least 4 years! I read 8 books with two clear favorites, a few I really liked, and a couple that were just okay.
Things Past Telling by Sheila Williams. Our book club pick this month. A fresh take on the harrowing and horrific journey of the people stolen from their homes and brought to America as slaves. 4 stars!
I hate missing too many Sunday updates. When I get too behind I keep putting it off, making the update a bigger project, vastly increasing the probability that it won’t get done at all. This happen to anyone else? So, it’s not Sunday, but I’ve got 30 minutes so we’re doing a quick book /movie update. Too busy to try and give a life update too so we’ll save that for next time.
Maddy is turning 18 and her life is confined to her home because of an immunodeficiency disease. She’s never had any kind of normal existence and it’s not until a new family moves in next door that this is a problem. Soon, her books are not enough and Olly becomes her hope.
A book about risk and bravery and finding your person.
I loved this book, just as I loved Nicola Yoon’s The Sun is Also a Star. Everything Everything was her debut and I’m only sad it’s taken me so long to read it. I’ll read anything she writes.
Richard, a renown concert pianist, and Karina, a pianist who put her career on hold, are divorced. It wasn’t amicable, but they do share a daughter now in her 20s. Richard is diagnosed with ALS and in that instant his whole life changes. These changes are not limited to Richard and Karina finds herself making a surprising life change because of it.
I loved Still Alice by Lisa Genova. That book tackled early onset Alzheimer’s just as this one shows ALS bringing down someone in their prime. This book is detailed and heavy and shows that forgiveness shouldn’t wait. I was moved to tears by it. I’ll read anything she writes.
I picked this up because of that gorgeous cover and this slight book didn’t disappoint. There are no words, just 25 beautiful illustrations showing a young boy sneaking away from a funeral. It will touch your heart. I highly recommend for children going through the grief process.
Our book group liked (not loved) this one and it had some great discussion points. It’s about the closeness of the four Padavano sisters. What can drive a wedge between the sisters? At what point is forgiveness and moving on the only real option? How many great loves does each person get? Do we ever really get past our relationships with our parents?
It was a little slow, but still worth reading, especially if you like family sagas spanning decades.
What a hoot! Lucy is an early 19th century debutante who is approached by Lady Violet Travesty about joining a vampire cult. Just as she’s about to go over to the dark side, Lord Byron, in very dramatic fashion, saves her and whisks away to his magic castle on his psychic eagle Napoleon. They are soon joined by Sham to make a team of very inept vampire hunters.
It’s very funny, especially the first half. It gets a tad bogged down by the end with a meandering plot, but overall a fun graphic novel. I enjoyed my hour or so with this silly trio.
I LOVE Susanna Kearsley! Her books are such comfort reads. I’ll be doing a post on her soon, so I won’t belabor my thoughts on this one. If she hadn’t written it I would have given up on it before the halfway point. There was a nice twist at the end that was a reward for making it that far, but it wasn’t nearly enough.
Gage and I read this together after having read and loved Frindle by the same author. Jack was a hard character to root for, at least at first. He’s in middle school and he’s embarrassed that his dad is the school janitor. He plans a nasty trick for his dad, but pays the price and it better for it.
As a side note, when I was in elementary school my grandpa was the school janitor and I got to say hi to him every day as I left to get on the bus to go home and as he got ready to clean the school after everyone went home. It’s a bond that I’ll always treasure. I was too young to be embarrassed and as I grew older it never once occurred to me to want to hide that fact from anyone. He worked as a janitor for the schools his whole life.
Movies watched
Saltburn was buzzy for awhile and when Jason and I sat down to watch it, we can see why. It seems normal, normal, eh, oh, definitely not normal, the end. If you like strange movies, this is for you! I do like strange and appreciated it.
Set It Up kept getting recommended to me by Netflix so I finally broke down and watched it. It was a cuter than expected rom-com with a fun cast. If Netflix is also recommending it to you I’d say give it a go!
The Hunt is pure political drivel meets ridiculous violence. I have no excuse for watching it, except that Jason and I were watching it in bed and making fun. Jason fell asleep and I, regrettably, made it til the bitter end.
Have you read or watched any of these? Which ones?
Gage earned his purple belt in tae kwon do this week, a proud moment for me. He complains about having to go twice a week, but on Tuesday right before class he said he thought there was a belt test this week and he wanted to make sure he did it. While the notice was late, his taking the initiative was new. Jason and I don’t go in to his classes, so unless he tells us we have no idea what goes on there and with ADHD it’s a struggle for him to remember sometimes. So progress being made all around.
An English Bride in Scotland by Lynsay Sands. 3.5 stars, historical romance, 346 pages, 2013. This has a common enough plot, a Scottish laird must marry an English woman. There is a sweet heroine and kind hero and a bit of a mystery that provided a worthy bad guy to spice things up. Although there was also spice in the bedroom…and barn…and by the river… This was the first in a series I’m looking forward to reading more.
The Art of Sinning by Sabrina Jeffries. 3 stars, historical fiction, 400 pages, 2015. This English historical has an American artist in London wanting to use Lady Yvette as his muse. She’s more than willing. It’s spicy and there’s plenty of character setup for the next 4 books in the series. It was good, but I’m not sure I care enough to seek the rest out.
I don’t know why I’m on a romance bender, but I refuse to feel bad about it.
10 books read so far this year.
Currently Reading
Movies
Anyone But You, 2023. I had a morning to myself this week with no commitments and decided to go to the theater and watch something I couldn’t imagine my friends or husband wanting to see. I love romcoms and this one was solid. There was LOTS of skin. Have you ever gone to the movies by yourself? It’s been years since I’ve done this.I was the only one in the theater and that was pretty cool.
Love at First Sight, 2023. Every time I logged into Netflix it recommended this movie to me so when I woke up too early on Saturday and didn’t want to get out of bed I watched it. It’s a cute one about fate and finding someone to hold your hand through the tough times. I loved the growth of both characters and the quirkiness of the storytelling.
Streaming
I’ve read all of Harlan Coben’s books and have seen all of the adaptations. This was one of the better ones. As with all of Coben’s thrillers, twists abound and all is not as it seems. Eight episodes.
Plans for the Weekend
Well, it’s after 10 so the weekend is almost over, but I do have to take a breakfast casserole and 2 dozen muffins to Gage’s school for a special teachers breakfast in the morning and although the muffins are baked I still need to prep the casserole for morning. I best get to it!
I only read 20 books this month, and a weird range of reads too.
I read 9 picture books, 7 fiction, 2 non-fiction. My favorite being
Wombats are Pretty Weird: A (Not So) Serious Guide by Abi Cushman. There are characters (Gage loved the snake) that will appeal to the littles in your life and just enough information to make those littles smarter! The back pages had photos and facts about the different types of wombats and the page on their cube shaped poop is fun for all.
I managed 5 romances, 2 modern, 2 historical, and 1 teen. My favorite being
The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood. Ladies in STEM unite! So much fun! If you have a thing for smart men, are inspired by intelligent women, and love some spice then this is the romance for you! It wasn’t without issues, but reading it felt like I was sitting down to eat a big bowl of M&Ms for dinner. I can’t wait to read more by this author.
I also read 6 non-fiction, 2 photography books, 1 health, 1 inspirational journal, 1 graphic biography, and 1 cartoon collection. Two favorites from this group were
Humans of New York by Brandon Stanton. I’m sure most of you have seen Humans of New York online. Brandon Stanton started taking photos of people in various cities along with a caption or story and his blog gained traction. By the time his camera found the humanity and exuberant essence of NYC, people were paying attention. And still are. This book was originally published in 2013. I loved every bit of it. The people, the quick story, the quote, the photos.
Interspersed amongst the rest is the story of Steve Martin and Harry Bliss, told in comic style, and how they came to put together this book. My favorite is when they were checking each other for ticks. It’s a great 20-30 minute read, sure to make you chuckle.
I’d never heard of Stephanie St. Claire, a Black woman from the Caribbean who ran the Harlem numbers in the 1920s and 30s. This was not a woman’s game and she did it at the same time and in the same city Lucky Luciano was running the mob.
There are flashbacks to her Martinique childhood where you can see what made her the powerhouse she became. This shows the racism of the day and also the way that powerful men thought they could control her through violence and sex.
I loved the two pages about the Harlem Renaissance and the two pages on the famous players in the story. And can we talk about the arresting cover? Gorgeous. A 155 page graphic biography.
Firefighter Cassie had closed herself off emotionally until one weak moment changed her life. From Austin to Boston, hero to ‘the girl’, and never been kissed to cherished forever, Cassie’s story hit all the sweet spots. A fun and thoughtful read. I loved Cassie’s confidence in herself and getting a feel for life at the fire station.
The Lady Risks All by Stephanie Laurens. Stephanie Laurens was a new author for me and I really liked the unconventional characters, unique circumstances,and very real dangerous mystery of this one. At over 450+ pages i really got to know the characters and why in the 1820s a Duke could not just become owner of gambling houses without sacrifices being made.
My Indigo World: A True Story of the Color Blue by Rosa Chang. For the older elementary or even early middle schooler. Chang shares her memory of all things blue and there is so much great information. It’s all over the place, jumping from her first trip to the blue ocean to growing indigo to Korean history, but in the best possible way.
A few months ago I read Anatomy: A Love Story and liked the young adult book. This is the sequel. In the first book Hazel found a way to make me her surgeon dreams come true in 1800s Edinburgh, but saw her love hanged by a mob.
In Immortality, after being imprisoned for helping a woman who had aborted her pregnancy, she is ordered to London to treat Princess Charlotte, the heir to the throne. She’s invited to the elusive Companions to the Death club, where she learns more about the tincture offering everlasting life. This tincture, which she had given to her love Jack, proves to be the real deal.
So, I liked it well enough for the crazy that it was. It’s brings the story that began in Anatomy to a nice end. Although, I’m speaking as an older woman here, I question her big life decision. And some endings are mind boggling, like that of Marie-Anne.
Patchwork by Matt de la Pena and Corinna Luyken. When you were a kid what did you think your life woud look like when you gre up? Sometimes you can see the seeds of who you will be, but sometimes your life will take a different direction.
Wilde Child by Eloisa James. I’ve read and enjoyed Eloisa James and her historical romances before, but this ended up being just okay for me. It’s the 8th in a series that I haven’t read and, to be blunt, I just got tired of hearing about Thaddeus’s cock (a word frequently used). A lady who wanted to be an actress, a big no no back then, and a future Duke who loved her adventurous spirit was a good story. Even the shared parental difficulties were engaging. Once the spicy scenes started they didn’t stop. So, if lots of spicy is your scene then this might be for you.
Faces of Cleveland by Laura Wimbels. This book, unlike HONY, is a collection of portraits of Clevelanders with just their name and occupation. At the beginning she has several locals tell how they know the author and what it is that makes Cleveland special. This is not a comprehensive collection in any way, but it’s always nice to celebrate the good things and people of this fine city. Although I’m a suburbanite, I can be downtown in 20 minutes and love this place I’ve called home for 23 years.
Today we finish up our time in Mexico. Last week we studied the country as a whole and this week we concentrated on what’s going on at the US-Mexico border and its history. These are a few of the books we liked this week.
I’ve been so out of sync this summer that I’ve neglected talking about books that should have been mentioned. I’m hoping to get back on track in the next few weeks, but Jason just threw a mini-vacation to NYC for the two of us into the mix, so don’t hold me to that 🙂
How fun is it when you know the author of a book before said author writes the book? I’m lucky enough to know Minerva Pendleton, aka someone I know whose name is not really Minerva, and they are fabulous people.
Verity Wheelwright lives a life of luxury but boredom. She is the only daughter to the widowed Lord Wheelwright, and he keeps her in his manor on New Lutetia, where she meets with tutors to learn classical literature and music. Verity craves adventure and often escapes to the pages of livre rouge—cheap, paperback books with crimson covers that contain sordid tales of lust and adventure. When New Lutetia is invaded by the infamous airship pirate Cavalier Eli Callahan, Verity is forced to make a choice. She can run and hide, or surrender herself in exchange for the safety of her city, but at what cost?
Verity is a pampered lady who longs for more excitement in her sheltered life. One day that excitement arrives on her doorstep with the arrival of pirates who whisk her away aboard their airship. Can she trust the captain of the ship, the renowned Eli Callahan, to keep her safe while awaiting the ransom? Does she even want to be kept safe?
I really liked Verity, Eli and his first mate Screw. There were even some spicy bits if you like that sort of thing in your romance (and who doesn’t?).
This was a short read, only 85 pages, and my only complaint was that I wanted more.
This ARC was sent to me months ago and forgotten about and misplaced by no fault of its own. The premise of a daughter who isn’t the norm being shipped off appealed to me. It felt personal.
After nearly two hundred years of housing retardants, as they were once known, the Beechwood Institute is closing the doors on its dark history, and the complicated task of reassigning residents has begun. Ella Jules, having arrived at Beechwood at the tender age of eight, must now rely on the state to decide her future. Ella’s aging parents have requested that she be returned to her childhood home, much to the distress of Ella’s siblings, but more so to Lynetta, her beloved caretaker who has been by her side for decades. The five adult Jules children, haunted by their early memories of their sister, and each dealing with the trauma of her banishment in their own flawed way, are converging on the family home, arriving from the far corners of the country—secrets in tow—to talk some sense into their aging parents and get to the root of this inexplicable change of heart. from Goodreads
Precious Jules is the story of a family. The Jules family is picture perfect, but one of the children has live at Beechwood Institute since she was 8. Now the parents want her back and the girl’s caretaker says no. The rest of the kids, all five of them, come home to convince their parents to leave their sister with the caretaker.
It’s a great examination of what’s good for the family isn’t always the best thing for any one of the individuals. The secret guilt, the alternate realities, the vilifying, and the eventual acceptance make for some thought provoking stuff.
There were a lot of characters. My biggest problem was keeping track of all of the characters and their past and present stories. It was a lot. I think there were 10 characters who each had a chapter from their point of view. I wish there had been less so that I could have been drawn into the story a bit more.
❤️ The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage. I always like sharing these kinds of stories with Gage so I can see his complete shock that anyone would think it’s okay to tell people who they can and can’t marry. We ARE making progress. ❤️
PBS did a short story on the author and the making of the book and I highly recommend watching it online. Gage and I watched it and even if some of it went over his head it let us start from a meaningful place before we even opened the book.
In 1938 Nicholas Winton was supposed to go on a ski vacation, but instead went to Prague, where the people were scared of a Nazi invasion. He set up shop and managed to evacuate 669 children to England. Once the war started he became an ambulance driver for the war effort and never told anyone about the children. Only after his wife found his notes tucked away in the attic many years later did the world find out what he’d done.
This book is fantastic, but be prepared if reading with younger kids that when Vera went home after the war her parents and cousins had died in concentration camps. This month we’ve been spending a few minutes in the morning talking about whatever national day it is, National Learn Your Name in Morse Code Day, National Popcorn Day, National Thesaurus Day…and when I can I get a related picture book, like these!
The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus is a great book. The illustrations are fabulous and the story of how Roget wrote the original thesaurus. A fun book for list makers like me!
Samuel Morse That’s Who was great too, but not quite as beautiful and Pop, Pop, Popcorn was a fun, easy book explaining corn from when it gets planted all the way to when you eat a piece of popcorn.Gage’s weekend homework this year has been reading me books from the Desmond Cole Ghost Patrol series. These are 3-5. I admit that I’m looking forward to #6 this weekend 👻
This fun series is told is first person by Andres, the newish kid in Kersville, who is afraid of many, many things. His next door neighbor turned best friend, Desmond, loves all things otherworldly. I love the relationship between these two elementary aged boys.
The mysteries are cute and the illustrations are fantastic. Perfect for early chapter book reading. Always 10 chapters, 122 pages with pictures on every page. Prepare to be spooked 💀
It’s been a great week for picture books! I read the 7 picture book finalists for this year’s Cybils Awards, but since I’m a judge I can’t give my thoughts until the winner is announced. Check them out here.
Loved
Of Thee I Sing by Barack Obama, illustrated by Loren Long. 40 pages, pub. 2010
Obama writes about the traits of his daughters (and all Americans) based on those who have come before us. Qualities like the strength found in Helen Keller and the pride in America found in George Washington. He also featured ten others. Beautiful illustrations too. This is not a political book, but an American one.
In the 1700’s Benjamin Banneker built a clock with a bell (called a striking bell) to sit on a mantle using only his own drawings and a knife (the bell he purchased). Perfectly shows that ingenuity is just as important as good schooling and money.
How to mark the anniversary of January 6 in our homeschooling day? By spending over an hour studying fake news, who spreads it and the damage it causes, like January 6 when it almost derailed the foundation of our government.
This book was excellent. It’s short, but up to date with social media dangers and real examples of the harm it does to the world as a whole. A great current resource for worthwhile discussion.
Good
Mambo Mucho Mambo! by Dean Robbins, illustrated by Eddie Velesquez. 40 pages, published by 2021
This book tells the story of how the multicultural mambo came to be in New York City. It showcased each of the cultures in their parts of the city beautifully. Great for showing different cultures coming together to make something new.
Stacy's Books 