Tag: reading

April Reads (inMay!)

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Just getting blog housework done so I can get back on track here! I read 11 books in April.

4 nonfiction, 3 fiction, 1 YA, 1 middle school, 2 quickies

5 Star Reads

Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America by Heather Cox Richardson. I started reading Heather Cox Richardson’s daily posts a few years ago. As a history professor she can give historical context to what’s happening politically. She is a must read if you want to understand the state of the country. This goes for both sides of the aisle. Her perspective may not be yours, but truth doesn’t take sides, and it shines through.

“The key to the rise of authoritarians, they explained, is their use of language and false history.”

So many people are being misled right now with blatant attacks on truth. Scary times are ahead if enough people don’t wake up to what’s happening. Highly recommend.

The Promise of a New Day: A Book of Daily Meditations. Do you read daily meditation/inspirational books/journals? I love them! I’ve been reading this classic for awhile and was a little sad to come to the end. Not religious but sometimes spiritual, it was a positive way to start the day. Originally published in the 80’s these thoughts are still relevant to lives today. This came though our book sale donations and I’m so happy I brought it home.

All My Friends Are Dead. A link to a little bit of the book I put on IG. This is such a cute book. If you see it, make sure to pick it up and take a few minutes to read through it. I guarantee at least one chuckle.

4 Star Reads

How Reading Changed my Life by Anna Quindlen. This is  is one of those lovely books to sit down with for an hour in a comfy chair with a cup of tea. I love her stories of growing up being a reader and what books meant to her. By reading this it somehow put to words my own feelings regarding books and the home we make for ourselves in them. It’s only 84 pages.

The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly. Jason and I have loved the Lincoln Lawyer series on Netflix so I thought I’d give the first book in the long series a try. As usual, Michael Connelly is a master.

Courtroom drama ✔️
Family issues ✔️
Innocent man in jail ✔️
Life or death situations ✔️

I really liked it and will most likely continue the series when I get my hands on book 2. Have you watched the series or the movie with Matthew McConaughey?

Galatea by Madeline Miller. This little gift book is a 56 page novella that would go well with a collection or look great on a shelf or table. Based on Ovid’s Pygmalion myth.

Pygmalion creates a real woman from a marble statue he sculpted himself.
Told from the woman’s perspective this was a liberated take the unnamed statue and the distasteful man who created her. I thought it was everything a grown-up myth should be.

Jackpot by Nic Stone. I’m a new Nic Stone fan. Rico Danger spends her days working to keep her family afloat and attending a high school where she feels alienated for being so poor. When the gas station she works at sells a winning lottery ticket she decides to try and find the lady who bought it. Enter Zan Macklin, son in a wealthy family with lots of expectations. They two go on this lottery ticket hunt together, growing close in the process.

Things I loved…Rico and Zan were cute together. I liked seeing his crush on her wear her shields down a bit. I liked Rico making friends. Pretty much I loved it all until…

Things I didn’t like…the end! No. Just no. And that’s all I’m going to say about it.

The Thursday Murder Club. Four residents in a retirement village form a club to solve old cold cases that the police couldn’t. There was a LOT going on in this book. I listened to it and did occasionally get lost, but I’d rather have that problem than there being too little to focus on. I thought the ‘pushing eighty’ club was brilliant and loved each of the members. I’m undecided about continuing on. Have you read it? Yea or nay?

3 1/2 Stars

The Amateur Marriage by Anne Tyler. I picked up one from Anne Tyler I hadn’t read since she’s one of those authors I love. Her stories are always about real relationships with all of the ups and downs.

We meet Michael and Pauline right before Michael is shipped off to war in 1941. The marriage was a rocky one, but three kids in they’d found a rhythm. They even held it together when their daughter ran away. It wasn’t until they were older that the bond crumbled.

I was a little bored for a while and almost gave this one up, but there was just enough there for me to keep going and I’m glad I did. It’s a solid family saga.

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion. This is a memoir of the year after author Joan Didion’s died. The night he died their daughter was spreading in the hospital ICU. Can you imagine? There were some insightful thoughts in this National Book Award Winner. I think it would be a good recommendation for anyone going through their own grief journey.

Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko. Alcatraz Island. If you’ve ever visited you know its isolation. You also know that there were many families that lived there to support the prison. Can you imagine living on an island with the worst of the worst?

It’s 1935 and Moose has just moved there with his parents and sister. He finds some friends, but his life is very much affected by his sister, who in today’s world would be diagnosed with moderate autism. Since both of his parent’s work Moose is often in charge of his sister. It’s not always easy to put her needs first, but then his friends become hers.

This is a middle school or younger book and the beginning of a trilogy. I think this is a great book for any kid who has a sibling with autism or another disability. I think it would help them feel seen. And who wouldn’t think it would be cool to live among the convicts?

January Reads

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I’ve read 10 books this month. Four were mystery/thrillers, three romances, two non-fiction, and one fiction. Well on my way to my 100 goal for the year. Most amazingly, I’ve actually shared my thoughts about each of them here this month!

My favorite

This will not hit the same for everyone. I’ve read some of the issues people have had with it, BUT it did so much right! The disappearance of the father is what keeps this first person narrative moving along, but there are so many other things happening. Mia, the narrator, gives neurospicy vibes, which I love, but it’s her non-speaking younger brother with Angleman Syndrome that brings accurate representation to all kinds of families. There are studies about happiness and a biracial element too. You will be rooting for a happy ending for this family. my review here

Good Stuff

In my quest to read more current nonfiction this year, I picked this up at the library. It’s written by a woman diagnosed with autism as an adult and she shares some of the current thinking on the front lines of the neurodivergent. The numbers are abysmal. If you are neurodivergent your chance of having a job are so low it makes this mama want to cry. Also, the life expectancy is in the 30s. 30s! Something needs to change. my review here

This is the 4th and final book in a historical romance series set in London. The series revolves around three friends who bond over their love of riding. This last one, may have been my favorite because it was about two people finding comfort in each other. The hero was in a wheelchair and the heroine started going gray as a child so her desirability was low. A sweet romance. my review here

While the last romance was more about feelings, this one was a bit more on the physical attraction, enemies to lovers side. I had issues with some of it, but I really liked that this got messy and still managed a happily ever after. my review here

This was my first book of the year and it was a twisty fun thriller. A woman who lies for a living gets played. my review here

I love Anita Shreve and am working my way through her backlist. Her writing mesmerizes me 🙂 In this one a widow and a divorcee is staying with a family on Cape Cod to tutor the teen daughter. There are also two brothers, a caring father, and hateful mother. my review here

If you need a restart or a jolt to your daily life, this is a nice place to start. Meditation and mindfulness are the themes, but there are also studies and ways to look at the world and the people in it. Buddhism based, but good for anyone who wants to be more connected. my review here

These were okay

I didn’t realize this was the third in a series when I started it, but wish I had so I could have started with the first one. It was fine as a standalone, but probably would have been better if I’d read the first two. my review here

Kleypas is one of my favorite historical romance authors. This was the first book in the Wallflowers series, and as a first book it was fine. I didn’t particularly care that much for the heroine, but her other friends might prove more interesting. my review here

I didn’t care that much for it before the recent plane crash, but now it makes it almost impossible to talk about. A plane crashes into the ocean. You can read my review from a few weeks ago here.

2024 Book Favorites!

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I read 164 books this year, a total of 45,312 pages. On Goodreads my average rating was 4.1.

The longest book was The Running Grave by Robert Galbraith at 950 pages.

I read 49 books as a judge for the first round of the Cybils Awards. I switched from nonfiction to middle school fiction this year. So many great books!

To keep this short I’m letting my Top Ten stand for themselves.

My favorite books of 2024…

Fiction- The Guncle by Steven Rowley

Historical Fiction- The Women by Kristin Hannah

Romance- Funny Story by Emily Henry

Historical Romance- Then Came You and Dreaming of You, companion books by Lisa Kleypas

Thriller/Mystery- Listen For the Lie by Amy Tintera

Fantasy- A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J Maas

Young Adult- Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon

Middle School- Tig by Heather Smith

Middle School nonfiction graphic novel- The Miracle Seed by Martin Lemelman

Nonfiction- The Places That Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times by Pema Chodron

Do We have any in common? What was your favorite in 2024 that I should add to my list in 2025?

2024 Romances

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I read 20 modern romances this year. My friend Karen @cover.to.bookcover runs a monthly online romance book club so at least handful were from that. I have my ongoing faves and new authors too.

YA Romance

I will read anything Nicola Yoon writes. Everything, Everything was great. Ali Hazelwood is another author I’ve enjoyed over the last few years and Check & Mate felt older than most teen books. Still a girl owning the chess circuit was pretty cool.

My Romance Go Tos

My old faithfuls came through for me this year. Funny Story by Emily Henry was, by far, my favorite romance of the year. If you don’t like romances, give this a try and tell me what you think. Katherine Center and Susan Elizabeth Phillips both had new books I loved. I read two Ashley Poston and I really liked The Seven Year Slip. Kristan Higgins has some fantastic backlist romances and I love both of the Gideon’s Cove books I read. Jasmine Guillory is a newer fave and I really liked By the Book, I guess a take on Beauty and the Beast but it didn’t quite read that way for me. Still good!

New To Me

And I read these authors for the first time and I’m already excited about reading more from them in 2025…Christina Lauren, Denise Williams, Mariana Zapata, and Tessa Bailey.

I read more, but I’ve mentioned the best ones.

What’s the last romance you read?

October Reads

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Better late than never? October reads minus two. 12 middle school fiction titles for Cybils, 1 fiction, 1 nonfiction. Some of these middle school titles are so good! 

Fiction

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix. 4/5 stars, Horror, 419 pages, 2023

My one adult fiction book this month was perfect for the spooky season. Louise goes back to Charleston after her parents died and finds her relationship with her brother as rocky as ever and the house they grew up in full of the creepy puppets she remembered. But the longer she’s there more memories and secrets come to life.

Are puppets creepy? YES! Are they more creepy when they’re haunted? Again, YES!

No Death, No Fear by Thich Nhat Hanh. 4.5/5 stars, 208 pages, 2002

Thich Nhat Hanh and I had the same birthday. Maybe that’s why his books connect with me so much. He was a Buddhist monk from the age of 16 and involved himself in engaged Buddhism to speak out against social issues. For his efforts to help end the war in Vietnam, where he was born and then exiled, Martin Luther King Jr. nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize.

He wrote over 100 books, for me this is book 11 I think. His books on mindfulness will be an asset to anyone who reads them.

This book, No Death, No Fear: Comforting Wisdom for Life, focuses on how to look at death and even how to ease the passing of those you love. This has been a part of my morning reading the past few months and I finally finished it today. Powerful and thoughtful.

“We think of our body as our self or belonging to our self. We think of our body as me or mine. But if you look deeply, you see that your body is also the body of your ancestors, of your parents, of your children, and of their children.”

“If you live without awareness it is the same as being dead.”

Middle School Fiction for first round of Cybils reading.

My favorites

Rise of the Spider by Michael Spradlin. If there is ever the perfect book to read at the exact right time, this is one. This is the first of a series and should be read in middle school history classes everywhere.

How did Hitler rise to power? Who are the people that followed him and spread hate and violence? This tells the story of 11 year old Rolf whose brother joins the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, otherwise known as Hitler Youth. Hitler isn’t in power, yet, but he is collecting people more loyal to him than to their country. The next book is titled Threat of the Spider.

This book is only 138 pages and I have at least 12 pages marked with notes and tags. Read your history to avoid repeating it.

Coyote Lost and Found by Dan Gemeinhart. My notes have these descriptive words.. charmingly enchanting, found family, unconventional, quest, mature. This book is deals with grief head on since it focuses on finding a book where her mother wrote where she wanted to be scattered. I fell in love with all of these people and I think you will too. 278 pages.

The Wrong Way Home by Kate O’Shaughnessy. A girl and her mother escape a cult, only the girl doesn’t realize that’s what it was and wants to go back. Heartbreakingly good.

The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry by Anna Rose Johnson. My notes have these descriptive words…tries so hard, loss, so much beautiful energy, imagination, belief in traditions, hero. Lucy is sent to live on a tiny island with a family who mans the lighthouse. Grief is fresh, but it’s about learning to move on and fit it with new family. 172 pages

Carter Avery’s Tricky Fourth Grade Year by Rob Buyea. My notes have these descriptive words…ADHD, special teacher, first friendships, self advocacy, feeling left out. Carter and his sister live with their grandma and the parents died when they were young, so that’s not the focus, but it’s there. 344 pages

These others were really good too

The Mystery of Locked Rooms by Lindsay Currie. Three friends try to go into an old fun house to find treasure. Sure to thrill any escape room enthusiast.

Painting the Game by Patricia MacLachlan. A sweet story of a young girl trying to become a baseball player just like her minor league pitching dad. It has a rural throwback feel with a big ending. 134 pages

The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin. Two storylines, one of Jakob who works at Bletchley to crack the Nazi’s Enigma cipher and one of his little sister Lizzie who believes her mother is still alive and is trying to stay off a boat to America so she can prove it. There was lots of adventure and mystery along with some legit wartime scariness. 392 pages.

The Misfits by Lisa Yee and Dan Santant. Kids with powers at a school being trained together in teams. If a kid likes superheroes, they’ll like this, the first of series.

Safiyyah’s War by Hiba Noor Khan. The story of young Safiyyah who loves the library and whose father is in charge of the Grand Mosque of Paris who joins the Nazi Resistance and saves hundreds of Jewish people. So much love for books in this one. 329 pages

Amil and the After by Veera Hiranandani. 1948 India after Amil’s family had to move from the new Pakistan to Bombay. Shows the hardship of moving to a new place.

Faker by Gordon Korman. His dad is a conman and his sister is his competition to become his number two. What happens when Trey finally wants to put down some roots? This was my first Gordon Korman and I’m not sure he’s for me.

September Reads

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It was a good, not remarkable, reading month. A total of 12 books, but half of those were kids.

4.5 Stars

The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren I will be adding more Christina Lauren books to my TBR list. Fun and sexy with a bonafide hot multi millionaire as a fake husband. Sign me up (just don’t tell Jason). Did I totally buy the Cinderella-like transformation? No, but it was still fun.

The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center Charlie is a very successful screenwriter who has just written his first romcom. Emma is a Texas girl caring for her father round the clock while teaching writing classes at a local community college. They have something in common, their agent.

Emma goes to LA to help Charlie rewrite and ends up staying in his house. This brought a memory of By the Book that I read this summer that had an editor living with a writer to help write a book. I liked both books so this is a scenario that works for me. I didn’t always get Emma, but I really liked Charlie and the story hit all of the happily-ever-after requirements.

Finally Heard by Kelly Yang– late elementary/early middle school fiction about the downside of social media

Ava Lin Best Friend by Vicky Fang– elementary age book about the exuberant first grader Ava.

3.5-4 Stars

A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J Maas

5th book in the A Court of Thorns and Roses series. (technically book #4)

What a fun ride this series is. Adventure, love, magic, lots of magic, death, battles, friendship, family, wings, winnowing, and a large cast of characters. This last one was from only two perspectives, Nesta and Cassian. I know after 751 pages I’m supposed to like Nesta, but I’m still not her biggest fan.  I don’t dislike her but she’s got a lot of sharp edges that are willfully sharpened to slice. She did have a nice story progression in this one, but every few chapters she kept finding new miraculous powers and it seemed a bit much.

Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz– review here.

Happy Place by Emily Henry The six friends meet once a year in Maine for a week at the cottage, but this year will be the last since the cottage has been sold. Harriet and Wyn are there, pretending to still be engaged, even though they broke up six months ago.

There’s more than just a broken romance. Friends who are family can break your heart just as easily and a week spent nursing lies and resentment can cause fireworks.

I’ve now read all five Emily Henry books. The few that I haven’t loved as much (still loved though) have had something in the end that felt unfinished. This felt a little rushed with some issues that needed more attention in the end, but I will still read everything she writes because she’s just that good.

Greatest Inspirational Quotes by Dr Joe Tichio– I enjoyed reading a few of these quotes each morning. Old and new favorites.

Buffalo Dreamer by Violet Duncan – elementary/middle school fiction about the residential schools that separated native families.

Bibsy Cross and the Bad Apple by Liz Garton Scanlon– elementary fiction told in verse, beginning of a new series

3 stars

Giant Island by Jane Yolen and Doug Keith This is a sweet picture book. Isn’t the cover great?! Two siblings go with their grandpa and his dog to an island for fishing and exploring. They found out why it was called Giant Island. The pictures of the giant/island were so fun. And I loved the detail of the end pages. The ones in front showing the islands and the ones in back showing those same islands with their giants showing. Kids will love comparing the two.

The Wish Library: The Vanishing Friend by Christine Evans– book 5 in this elementary fiction series about kids who found a series of libraries that grants wishes.

This Week – Books, books, and more books!

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This has been a very bookish week. It started with a Friends of the Library beard meeting. If you aren’t involved with your library Friends group (or they don’t have one) I encourage to check it out. We hosted our annual meeting event on Thursday night, a family poetry jam and it was so much fun.

On Wednesday I volunteered at the Cleveland Kids Book Bank with friends. A great nonprofit that takes used books in good condition and distributes them to the Cleveland area to schools or organizations that would like to send books home with kids who might not otherwise own books. We spent a few hours sorting.

I’ve been to library almost every day doing some prepping for our upcoming big fall book sale next week. After I get done with this post I’ll emailing all of the volunteers reminding them of their shifts. I have always loved library book sales and love coordinating these big ones. It takes a village for sure.

This week has been particularly bookish!

Posts you may have missed over the last few weeks…

Book vs. Movie – It Ends With Us

August Reads

Movies and Shows – July/August

Books I’ve finished in the last few weeks…

The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren. 4.25/5 stars. romance, 352 pages, 2024

I will be adding more Christina Lauren books to my TBR list. Fun and sexy with a bonafide hot multi millionaire as a fake husband. Sign me up (just don’t tell Jason). Did I totally buy the Cinderella-like transformation? No, but it was still fun.

Happy Place by Emily Henry. 4/5 stars, romance, 400 pages, 2023

The six friends meet once a year in Maine for a week at the cottage, but this year will be the last since the cottage has been sold. Harriet and Wyn are there, pretending to still be engaged, even though they broke up six months ago.

There’s more than just a broken romance. Friends who are family can break your heart just as easily and a week spent nursing lies and resentment can cause fireworks.

I’ve now read all five Emily Henry books. The few that I haven’t loved as much (still loved though) have had something in the end that felt unfinished. This felt a little rushed with some issues that needed more attention in the end, but I will still read everything she writes because she’s just that good.

A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J Maas, 3.75/5 stars, fantasy, 757 pages, 2021

5th book in the A Court of Thorns and Roses series. (technically book #4)

What a fun ride this series is. Adventure, love, magic, lots of magic, death, battles, friendship, family, wings, winnowing, and a large cast of characters. This last one was from only two perspectives, Nesta and Cassian. I know after 751 pages I’m supposed to like Nesta, but I’m still not her biggest fan 🤷🏻‍♀️ I don’t dislike her but she’s got a lot of sharp edges that are willfully sharpened to slice. She did have a nice story progression in this one, but every few chapters she kept finding new miraculous powers and it seemed a bit much.

On the Screen…

We watched the 6 episode miniseries on Netflix. The Perfect Couple was a frilly, fun whodunit. Great cast and a beautiful Nantucket setting.

We watched season 1 of The Boys on Amazon. What a crazy, messed up ride this show is! Superheroes among us, only idolized and accepted without a check on their powers.

Plans for the weekend

We’re headed to the Guardians baseball game this afternoon. The last time I attended a game they were still the Indians so I’m excited!

What are you up to today?

Posting on the Sunday Salon.

Wrapping Up My June Reading

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June has been a good reading month, 6 fiction books, 2 nonfiction, and 10 picture books. I’ll do another post about the the 74 books I’ve read so far in a few days, but let’s get to my favorites of the month.

Favorites

I already wrote a post about this being on my favorites list here. This was a reread for me.

I posted about this too. One of my favorites authors and series.

Posted my thoughts on this one here. Inspiring women.

Better Than Chocolate: 50 Proven Ways to Feel Happier by Siimon Reynolds and Jenny Kostecki, 4.25 stars, Self Help, 112 pages, 2005

Don’t worry, be happy! Everyone could use some tips on how to increase the happiness in their lives and this fun book is just the thing. I loved it and have a few new tips and resources to check out. The illustrations and short entries make it perfect for daily reflection time. They cover the obvious (excercise, laugh, be grateful, turn of screens) and the unexpected (develop discipline, understand buddhist theory, get in flow, seek internal goals).

Grace Hopper: Queen of Computer Code by Laurie Wallmark & Katy Wu. 4.5 stars, nonfiction picture book, 48 pages, 2017.

She was such an inspiration! Joining the Navy at 37 and retiring at 80, there probably won’t be another like her. Answers the question of why we call it a computer ‘bug’

Without Separation: Prejudice, Segregation, and the Case of Roberto Alvarez by Larry Dane Brimner & Maya Gonzalez. 4.25 stars, 40 pages, nonfiction picture book, 40 pages, 2021.

It’s about the 1931 case Roberto Alvarez v. The Board of Trustees of the Lemon Grove School District. I loved the story and the art and the 6 pages of photos and extra information at the end.

I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsberg Makes Her Mark by Debbie Levy and Elizabeth Baddeley. 4.25 stars, nonfiction picture book, 40 pages, 2016.

It starts with Ruth’s mother wanting more for her daughter and ends with her friendship with Antonin Scalia and showed everything she did in between to make this country one that treats women more fairly.

Also Good

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James. 4 stars, Spooky thriller, 327 pages, 2020.

There is a creepy, sinister, and forgotten feeling you get when reading about Fell, NY and The Sun Down Hotel. There are ghosts, killers, and missing and murdered girls. The book is a whole vibe.

One storyline is about Viv in 1982 and the second is about her niece Carly in 2017. Lots of parallels and mystery that will keep you reading. There are even a few boys! It didn’t love this one at first, but it didn’t take me long to be hooked.

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt. 4 stars, fiction, 360 pages, 2020

I saw it all over my feeds, my husband told me I had to read it, my book club read it (I missed that month), and it’s STILL taken me over a year to read it. A talking octopus wasn’t really calling to me. But, dang, if I didn’t fall for that eight armed smarty, Marcellus!

Alternating, but connected, storylines about several struggling humans and one bored cephalopod make this a sweet, healing debut novel. Did I love Marcellus? Of course! Did I read through the other parts to get to Marcellus? Yes! Did I like the rest of story? After reading all of the parts I did indeed like the book, BUT it didn’t quite live up to the hype for me. The small mysteries kept the plot moving along.

Finlay Donovan is Killing It by Elle Cosimano. 3.75 stars, mystery/thriller, 355 pages, 2021

I had a hard time getting into this one, but as it went on and I embraced the ridiculousness of a divorced mom with so little money her electric gets shut off becoming an inadvertent killer for hire. It ended up being fun, although I’m unlikely to continue with the series.

Understanding Sam and Asperger Syndrome by Calarabelle van Niekerk & Liezl Venter. 4.25 stars, fiction picture book, 48 pages, 2008.

 The colorful illustrations brought this story about Sam to life. This talks about so many aspects of being on the autism spectrum, but all to highlight Sam. I loved this one and it starts before he even gets diagnosed with tips for neurotypical kids in the back.

Peace by Baptiste Paul, Miranda Paul & Esteli Meza. 4 stars, fiction picture book, 40 pages, 2021.

efinitely for the younger child. I loved these gorgeous illustrations so much! So many great things showing what peace is, like pronouncing your friend’s name correctly and giving far more than you take. The last page talked about how war and violence around the world affects wildlife and nature. A wonderful discussion starter.

I am an Aspie Girl: A book for young girls with autism spectrum conditions by Danuta Bulhak-Paterson & Teresa Ferguson. 3.5 stars. nonfiction picture book, 32 pages, 2015.

Good information for a younger girl to help understand her autism diagnosis.

She’s Not Sorry by Mary Kubica. 3.5 stars, Thriller, 330 pages, 2024

I took nurse Meaghan on a few walks this week and followed her story of caring for a coma patient while being concerned about Chicago’s serial attacker. I had a hard time connecting with Meghan and so the book was only okay for me. I liked the few twists in the second half of the book, but the end fell a little flat.

These were okay

Papa’s Mechanical Fish by Candace Fleming & Boris Kulikov. Fictional picture book about the man who made the first submarine.

Yetta the Trickster by Andrew Griffing Zimmerman and Harold Berson. Four trickster stories for younger kids.

Not for me, but maybe just right for you!

Summer Story: Brambly Hedge by Jill Barklem, fiction picture book for young children.

The Big Book of Butts by Eva Manzano and Emilio Urberuaga, silly nonfiction picture book.

Favorite Book – The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

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The Shadow of the Wind. 5/5 stars, Historical Thriller, 487 pages, 2005

This is a place of mystery, Daniel, a sanctuary.  Every book, every volume you see here, has a soul.  The soul of the person who wrote it and of those who read it and lived and dreamed with it.  Every time a book changes hands, every time someone runs his eyes down its pages, its spirit grows and strengthens….When a library disappears, or a bookshop closes down, when a book is consigned to oblivion, those of us who know this place, its guardians, make sure that it gets here.  In this place, books no longer remembered by anyone, books that are lost in time, live forever, waiting for the day when they will reach a new reader’s hands.  In the shop we buy and sell them, but in truth books have no owner.  Every book you see here has been somebody’s best friend.  Now they have only us, Daniel.  Do you think you’ll be able to keep such a secret?” (p 5)

This is my review from when I first read this in 2010…

This is a book for book lovers just in case you couldn’t tell from the passage above. In 1945, Daniel is just a boy when his father takes him to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books hidden in the back streets of Barcelona and when his obsession with the mysterious author, Julian Carax begins.  Daniel chose The Shadow of Wind to take home and he soon began to search out other Carax titles.  Only there weren’t any.  Someone had been destroying them all one by one.  Daniel was sixteen when he began to search out the books in earnest and he was aided in his quest by the cagey and charming Fermin.

I couldn’t help but fall in love with Daniel and Fermin and I was drawn into the mess they got themselves into when they started asking questions about Carax.  Why were so many people trying to keep the truth hidden?  And who were the good guys?  The characters they meet along the way heightened the suspense and I loved them all (well, I loved their addition to the story!).

I have the attention span of a gnat these days, but this book kept me reading every spare moment I had, even if it was only a few minutes at a time.  I loved the drama, the mystery, the love, the Spanish setting, the wide cast of characters, and the love and respect of books shown in the story.  This book has a little bit of everything and I loved it.  Since I’m rating this a 5 it is obviously one of my favorites this year!

I’ve spent the last week listening to the audio and much of what I loved the first time was still there. The atmosphere, the characters, the stories, the mystery, and the absolute devotion to the written word all combine to make this a great read. I liked experiencing the book a second time and think the reading the words on the page is the way to go with this one. I’m keeping the book on my favorites list for now as I try to work through what belongs there and why, but I’m not sure it will stay.

“Books are mirrors – you only see in them what you already have inside you.”

“In the shop we buy and sell them, but in truth books have no owner. Every book you see here has been somebody’s best friend.”

Top 100 Fiction Books list

Favorite Author – Susan Elizabeth Phillips

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I attended Avon’s KissCon in 2016 when it came to a library near me and was able hang out and drink wine with one of my first romance crushes, Susan Elizabeth Phillips. She is just as sparkly and quick as you might expect if you read her books I’m not sure when I read my first SEP romance, but it had to be in the 1990s.

I’ve read all of her books.  They are fast, fun, sassy, and usually feature spunky heroines and alpha male heroes. She infuses her stories with larger than life characters, lots of humor, and real romantic sparks. I don’t read a lot of contemporary romances, but I make the exception for Phillips and am never disappointed.

Some of these I read so long ago, before blogging, and I’m not going to try and give my thoughts on them. Just know that the early ones I loved enough to continue to buy all of her books when they come out.

Wynette, Texas series

Fancy Pants

Lady Be Good.

Glitter Baby.

First Lady.

What I Did for Love. Georgie and Bram hated each other, but a few drugged drinks, a marriage certificate, and a sleazy paparazzi forced them to come to terms with each other, literally.  Georgie could not endure another scandalous marriage so soon after Lance, so she made a deal with the devil.  Bram would stay married  to Georgie for a hefty fee and use her to gain respectability. My thoughts here.

Call Me Irresistable. Lucy, daughter of the former President of the United States, is preparing to walk down the aisle to marry Mr. Perfect, Ted Beaudine ,when her best friend, Meg voices doubts about the marriage.  Lucy takes them to heart and walks out on Ted at the church.  Meg is blamed by everyone and is asked to stay in the small Texas town for a few days to see if Lucy returns.  But not only is Meg completely broke and cut off from her family, she is also stranded in the town when everyone blames her for the heartbreak of their mayor, Ted.   My thoughts here.

The Great Escape. Lucy Jorik’s story has been told by Phillips in First Lady and last year’s Call Me Irresistable.  This time around she gets her own book.  What happened when she walked out of her wedding to the perfect man and jumped on the back of a stranger’s motorcycle?  It’s not easy for the daughter of the first woman President of the United States to disappear, but with Panda’s help she manages to do just that. My thoughts here.

Chicago Stars series

It Had To Be You

Heaven, Texas.

Nobody’s Baby But Mine.

Dream a Little Dream.

This Heart of Mine.

Match Me If You Can.

Natural Born Charmer.

First Star I See Tonight. Coop, a recently retired pro football player is being followed by a  fledgling private investigator.  When he calls her on it she uses her humor and wit to power through all the way to a new job.  Sparks, fly, of course, and there’s plenty of hot sex to keep them panting after each other. My thoughts here.

When Stars Collide.

Simply the Best. Rory is a gifted chocolate maker who makes questionable decisions and her prickly relationship with her younger brother, the quarterback of the Stars. When a neighbor is murdered she must join forces with Brett, her brother’s agent, to keep him out of jail. This book made me want to go to a chocolate shop and try all of the flavors!

Stand Alones

Hot Shot was published in 1991 and I read it then. It was enough to make me a fast fan.

Honey Moon was published in 1993 and I remember loving it, but I’m not going to say more unless I reread it.

Kiss An Angel was published in 1996.

Just Imagine was published in 1984.

I read Breathing Room and according to Good Reads only gave it 3 stars.

Ain’t She Sweet is one of her higher rated ones on Good Reads.

Heroes Are My Weakness. The book opens with our heroine, Annie, having a conversation with her multitude of puppets as she drives to her secluded cabin in the middle of a snowstorm.  It’s those puppets that kept me from investing fully in Annie from the beginning.  She grew on me but the absurdity of the puppets (and their continued butting into the story) turned me off.  My thoughts here.

Dance Away with Me. Tess and Ian are a great couple and their love story was very satisfying, but there was a lot of loss along the way. The book felt very 2020 even though I know it wasn’t written this year. My thoughts here.