The Books of 2026: 18-20

 18. The Joy of Snacking - Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell. Graphic Memoir. Campbell, who wrote another graphic memoir about her true crime obsession called Murder Book, now explores her quirky relationship with food. She really doesn't care for meals; snacks are her thing. She writes/illustrates her prejudice towards certain foods. For example, jelly is a non-starter for many reasons, including the word jelly itself. There are also her bouts with disordered eating, and she gets into a long-term relationship with a foodie, of all things. The book ends on a triumphant note -- she faces her fears and tries stand-up comedy, and her father introduces her to Heirloom Tomato Toast, from tomatoes he grew himself. Since Campbell pairs her experiences with different snacks, I'm going to pair The Joy of Snacking with one of my favorite snacks, popcorn with pickled jalapeno slices.

19. The Living is Easy - Dorothy West. Novel. Unlikeable characters are decidedly not a recent phenomenon. Cleo Judson is overbearing and manipulative to all who love her. She reminds me of Becky Sharp, with her scheming and social climbing. She also has an insatiable need to recreate her family of origin, and one by one, she plucks her sisters from their husbands and their native south. I was fascinated by Cleo, but the other characters seemed flat, except for her husband, Mr. Judson. My heart broke for him.

20. Sipsworth - Simon van Booy. Novel. Audiobook. A lonely older (80s?) woman named Helen rescues and befriends a mouse, and goes through extraordinary measures to restore the mouse, who she dubs Sipsworth, to full health. In doing so, she begins to make friends, and her past, illustrious career is revealed. Cute book. I admit that I was charmed, and I don't even like mice! Read this one for book group.

The Books of 2026: 15-17

 Here I go again, on my own...at least, I hope so.

15. Alias Grace - Margaret Atwood. Novel. Audiobook. Based on an actual murder case in 19th century Canada. This is now my favorite Atwood novel.

16. Bloody Crimes - James L. Swanson. Nonfiction. Audiobook. A study of two presidents: Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis. Deals simultaneously with Lincoln's assassination and the circus that was his corpse's lengthy train trip to his final resting place, and Davis, fleeing the defeated Confederacy to save his life. Swanson compares and contrasts the two men, who were almost exact contemporaries. Richard Thomas narrated the audiobook, and did a masterful job.

17. Anxietyland - Gemma Correll. Graphic Memoir. Gemma Correll has had anxiety since she was very young, and dealt with it in all its guises. In this memoir, she likens the disorder to being in an amusement park. I found myself nodding in recognition at several intervals. I love her artwork.

A.I. has just reared its ugly head. This summing-up is going to take longer than I thought, but I'm not sticking around to play and possibly lose the post. So I'll stop here.

The Books of 2026: 11-14

OK, I just lost the post part way through, so if this is a little terse, I don't mean to be. I'm just trying to get done before A.I. and Blogger strike again. Bastards.

11. King of Ashes - S.A. Cosby. Novel. Brutal, violent, gritty. Enjoy seems like the wrong word, but I couldn't tear myself away until the last page. Read this for book group, and many of the members didn't like situations served up so viscerally. My son, who also found King of Ashes compelling, thought the author was influenced by The Godfather. He was drawn into the Cosby universe, and went on to read his whole canon.

12. Razorblade Tears - S.A. Cosby. Novel. Out of the two S.A. Cosby novels I've read so far, this is my favorite. Two fathers, ex-convicts, team up to get revenge for their murdered sons. I soon discovered that one of the fathers, Ike, makes a cameo appearance in King of Ashes. Although Razorblade Tears is just as gritty and violent, it has humor and a sentimental streak that seems organic and not at all contrived.

13. Circle of Days - Ken Follett. Novel. Audiobook. This novel, about the building of Stonehenge, takes place in the good old days BCE. I really enjoyed how Follett researched and developed how tribes of people lived in the pre-Christian era. Reading about how people had to reckon out concepts like engineering and counting time and distance engaged my nerdy brain. However, once Stonehenge is completed (?), and the bad guys are defeated, the writing gets a little lazy until the ending about 100 pages later. But because of Follett's devotion to world-building, I harbor great affection for this novel.

14. True Grit - Charles Portis. Novel. This was a re-read, done for book group. My favorite novel, no contest. Mattie Ross, the remorseless 14-year-old, who seeks to avenge her father's death, is my favorite heroine of all time.  True Grit just gets better and better with each reading. This time, I read it savoring the perfection of the language.

Well, I was going to go to book #20, but the two aforementioned villains are doing their hell dance on this post. If I see the suggestion "Help you write?" ONE MORE TIME, I will scream. And no thanks to choosing emojis, although I have an idea or two about just where you can stick them.  I can't believe it's become such a struggle to type up a simple blog post. I'll gather up the shards of my patience and work on this list again soon.

The Books of 2026 1-10

 Testing, testing...is this thing still on???

I came here tonight, hunting for movie lists. Hoping to start a journal of movies watched, but all I could find were bookworm-flavored movies. Tasty, but not complete. I'll use what I can.

After reading past entries, I got all homesick and nostalgic for my blog, so I'm going to list some of what I've been reading in 2026. Here are the first ten:

1. The Emperor of Gladness -Ocean Vuong. Fiction. Beautiful in a weird, gritty, aching way. People clinging to survival and still managing to be decent and kind to each other. My favorite parts were when the main character interacted with his coworkers at a fast food place.

2. King Sorrow -Joe Hill. Fiction. Audiobook. I never realized that I had such a great attraction to Dark Academia.

3. And Then There Were None -Agatha Christie. Fiction. Audiobook. I resisted reading Christie for years, but then it became a book group selection, and you know how that goes. I enjoyed it, but I don't see myself going on with Dame Agatha.

Four. (my number keys have their good days and bad days) Boom Town -Sam Anderson. Nonfiction. This is a history of Oklahoma City, and in alternating chapters, the book follows the fortunes and growing pains of OKC's first professional team, the Oklahoma City Thunder. And there's The Flaming Lips. It's lively. I wish I had my own copy.

Five. (I don't understand. It worked earlier this week!) Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe -Fannie Flagg. Fiction. Audiobook. The assignment in book group was to read a Fannie Flagg novel. It felt like the author was trying too hard to impress the reader with her Southern wit and wisdom. Look, another quirky character! Let me slap my knee. Again.

6. (whew) The Devil at His Elbow -Valerie Bauerlein. Nonfiction, True Crime. This is about the Alex Murdaugh case. What a slimeball. I can't believe he's getting a new trial. This account of his misdeeds is riveting reading.

7. Poops and Farts: The Bottom Line -Stepanka Sekaninova. Picture book. I wish that I could say it was a real stinker, but it was intelligent and informative, even for those of us who have been out of diapers for more than half a century.

8. The Wide, Wide Sea -Hampton Sides. Nonfiction. Audiobook. The last couple of voyages of Captain James Cook. I was surprised about how much ground, so to speak, that he and his crew covered.

9. His Majesty's Dragon -Naomi Novik. Fiction. Book group selection. Fantasy. Dragons during the Napoleonic Wars. So much fun. I didn't expect to become beguiled, especially by the relationship between the title dragon and his trainer.

10. Circle of Friends -Maeve Binchy. Fiction. The assignment in book group was to read a Maeve Binchy novel. I fell into this one the way you fall into fleecy pajamas, then onto a comfortable sofa on a cold winter night. With a mug of cocoa. So relaxing. I felt like I'd been to a spa for the weekend.

Next up: 11-20. The goal is a modest fifty-two for the year.

The Books of 2025

 

Ooof. Another long break from blogging. Missed fall, my birthday, Christmas and New Year. You'll notice that the cookie cake above does NOT say: "Happy Birthday, Bloggergirl."

 Of course, I have justifications, like: What came first? Reading or blogging? And: Blogging is passe. Ken Jennings said so, right on Jeopardy! Also: AI is a pain in the butt, always inserting itself and asking if it can help me write. No thanks, AI. Now get lost. Go jump in a lake of your own making.

Here are the books I finished in 2025. It's not a stellar reading year, but I had fun. Even if I wasn't blogging about it.

I put a * by my favorites:

1. A Really Good Day: How Microdosing Made a Mega Difference in My Mood, My Marriage, and My Life. (nonfiction) - Ayelet Waldman - Audiobook. Finished 1.2.25.

2. Be Ready When the Luck Happens. (memoir) -Ina Garten-  1.5.25.

3. Long Island. (novel) -Colm Toibin-  1.6.25.*

4. Giovanni's Room (novel) -James Baldwin- 1.11.25 *

5. Burning Bright (novel) -Tracy Chevalier -  Audiobook, 1.20.25

6. Who is Cynthia Erivo? (nonfiction) -Crystal Hubbard- 1.26.25

7. Waiter Rant (nonfiction) -"The Waiter" AKA Steve Dublanica - 2.4.25

8. Who is Ariana Grande? (nonfiction) - Kirsten Anderson- 2.7.25

9. The Man Who Lived Underground (novella) -Richard Wright- 2.9.25

10. Carrie (novel) - Stephen King - 2.18.25 *

11. The Only One Left (novel) -Riley Sager- 2.18.25

12. The Autobiography of Mark Twain Vol. I -(autobiography) -Mark Twain- Audiobook. 2.26.25

13. Animal Dreams (novel) -Barbara Kingsolver- 2.28.25

14. Who Was Shirley Chisholm? (nonfiction) -Crystal Hubbard- 3.14.25

15. The Poppy War (novel) - R.F. Kuang- 3.27.25 *

16. The Autobiography of Mark Twain Vol. II (autobiography) -Mark Twain- Audiobook. 4.1.25

17. Mary McLeod Bethune (nonfiction) -Sandra Donovan- 4.4.25

18.The Constant Rabbit (novel) -Jasper Fforde- 4.17.25 *

19. The Autobiography of Mark Twain Vol. III (autobiography) -Mark Twain.. Audiobook. 4.24.25

20. Three Days in June (novel) -Anne Tyler- 4.27.25 *

21. What Was the Renaissance? (nonfiction) -Roberta Edwards- 5.1.25

22. Who Is Carol Burnett? (nonfiction) -David Stabler- 5.4.25

23. Woe (graphic novel) -Lucy Knisley- 5.18.25 *

24. Severance (novel) - Ling Ma- 5.28.25

25. A Promised Land (memoir) -Barack Obama- Audiobook. 6.4.25 *

26. Jane Austen's Bookshelf (nonfiction) -Rebecca Romney- 6.17.25 *

27. The Dog Stars (novel) -Peter Heller- 6.24.25

28. Born to Run (memoir) -Bruce Springsteen- Audiobook. 7.3.25

29. James (novel) -Percival Everett- 7.7.25 *

30. Spent ("comic novel") -Alison Bechdel- 7.9.25

31. The Matriarch (biography) -Susan Page- 7.11.25

32. Honey, Baby, Mine (memoir) -Laura Dern and Diane Ladd- Audiobook. 7.18.25

33. Who Is Willie Nelson? (nonfiction) -David Stabler- 7.21.25 *

34. A Marriage at Sea (nonfiction) -Sophie Elmhirst- 7.27.25 *

35. Who Is Caitlin Clark? (nonfiction) -Meri-Jo Borzilleri- 7.28.25

36. Original Sin (nonfiction) -Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson- 8.11.25

37. The Magicians (novel) -Lev Grossman- Audiobook. 8.12.25 *

38. What Do We Know About The Lost Colony of Roanoke? (nonfiction) -Emma Carlson Berne. 8.18.25

39. The Lioness (novel) -Chris Bohjalian- Audiobook. 8.28.25 *

40. Shoes Off, Please (picture book) -Helena Ku Rhee and Myo Yim- 8.28.25

41. Becoming Real: The True Story of The Velveteen Rabbit (picture book) -Molly Golden- 8.28.25

42. Walking Toward Peace (picture book) -Kathleen Krull- 8.28.25

43. The Aviator and The Showman (nonfiction) -Laurie Gwen Shapiro- 9.8.25 *

44. Never Flinch (novel) -Stephen King- Audiobook. 9.18,25 *

45. The Light Pirate (novel) -Lily Brooks-Dalton- Audiobook. 9.24.25

46. Who Was Wilma Mankiller? (nonfiction) -Andrea Page- 10.6.25 *

47. I Am Legend (novel) -Richard Matheson- Audiobook. 10.18.25

48. All the Way to the River (memoir) -Elizabeth Gilbert- 10.21.25

49. Katabasis (novel) -R.F. Kuang- Audiobook. 10.27.25 *

50. Cooked (nonfiction) -Michael Pollan- 11.4.25 *

51. The Lake of Lost Girls (novel) -Katherine Greene- 11.11.25

52. A Free Life (novel) -Ha Jin- Audiobook. 11.22.25

53. How to Lose Your Mother (memoir) -Molly Jong-Fast- 11.25.25 *

54. Margo's Got Money Troubles (novel) -Rufi Thorpe- 11.27.25 *

55. Who Was Vincent van Gogh? (nonfiction) -Paula K. Manzanero- 12.1.25

56. Go Set a Watchman (novel) -Harper Lee- 12.5.25

57. Remarkably Bright Creatures (novel) -Shelby van Pelt- Audiobook. 12.6.25 *

58. Who Was Katherine Johnson? (nonfiction) -Sheila P. Moses- 12.7.25

59. Passport (graphic memoir) -Sophia Glock- 12.10.25

60. Who Is Beyonce? (nonfiction) -Kirsti Jewel- 12.14.25

That Month That Was August In 2025

 Sometimes, you just run out of ideas for blog post titles.

Here's what I read in August:

1. Original Sin -- Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson. Nonfiction. Apparently, President Joe Biden had been struggling with cognitive issues for some time, and his inner circle worked diligently to conceal this so Biden could be a two-term president. Nobody -- family, friends, colleagues, media --  comes off very well in this report. I felt like I needed a shower after I read this book.

2. The Magicians - Lev Grossman. Novel. Audiobook. Sometimes a book will surprise you, and you'll be smitten. It's like Hogworts and Narnia, except with young adults, so that layer of wonder and sanitizing is stripped away, and it's hilarious. Sometimes it feels like a piss-take, but I don't mind at all. Recognizing all the tropes and seeing how the students react is all part of the fun. Don't know if I'll get to all the books in the trilogy, but it's a pleasant goal to contemplate.

3. What Do We Know About The Lost Colony of Roanoke? - Emma Carlson Berne. Nonfiction. History's mysteries.

4. The Lioness - Chris Bohjalian. Novel. Audiobook. In this historical fiction novel, Hollywood superstar Katie Barstow decides to spend part of her honeymoon on a safari in Africa. It's 1964, and not a great time to vacation there. Katie has brought along an entourage of friends and family, and they get kidnapped by Russians. The chapters are framed by blurbs and sappy excerpts from The Hollywood Reporter or Screen Confidential about the character whose POV is about to be presented, then the current dilemma, the kidnapping, seen from the point of view of different characters. Then a backstory that leads up to the trip is presented. Speaking of frames, an older woman narrates about her role in this long-ago disaster adventure, but we don't know her identity until much later. I was drawn in by the story, but there were so many anachronisms of speech that I would become distracted. Bohjalian must have the same editor, (or not-editor) as Kristin Hannah. It's a small criticism, though, and it won't stop me from seeking out more Chris Bohjalian novels.

5. Shoes Off, Please - Helena Ku Rhee. Juvenile picture book. Very flat affect. It feels as if it was written by AI.

6. Becoming Real: The True Story of The Velveteen Rabbit - Molly Golden. Juvenile picture book. I love how this biography of the author of The Velveteen Rabbit was presented! Margery Williams' life story, full of sorrow and struggle and travel is interspersed with quotes from her most famous work. At the end of the book, the author gives suggestions on activities that parents and children can do with their own favorite stuffed animals or toys. I found myself pulled back into childhood and memories of my beloved stuffed pink dog, Karen Ann.

7. Walking Toward Peace: The True Story of a Brave Woman Called Peace Pilgrim - Kathleen Krull. Juvenile picture book.  An inspiring portrait of a well-to-do woman who decided one day that the material world was lacking, and she went on to devote her life to crossing the country on foot to promote peace. This was well before Instagram and other social media, so she was truly a pioneer.

Oh My July

 

July was such a good reading month. I feel as if I got my reading mojo back. It never stays gone, but when it's gone, it feels permanently gone. But it's here, making itself at home and putting its feet up on the coffee table. Whew.

I caught COVID during the 4th of July weekend, which was unpleasant at first, but as I improved, paid off in reading dividends. I was able to plow through my half-read stack while half-sitting up in bed, as Waverly remained close by and basked in the heat of my elevated temperature.

1. Born To Run -Bruce Springsteen. Memoir. Audiobook. Much more rumination than I was expecting from The Boss. He's thoughtful. Thought-Full. Enjoyed his narration of the memoir.

2. James - Percival Everett. Novel. Smart, sly, funny, and subversive. Since I have read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, it was interesting to see where the two narratives meet and diverge. I am sure that Mark Twain would heartily recommend this novel. Read this one for the new, no-name book group.

3. Spent - Alison Bechdel. "Comic Novel". A fictional version of Bechdel and her partner live "off the grid" near an idyllic small town in Vermont where their lives intertwine with characters from Dykes To Watch Out For. Now I want to go back and read the whole DTWOF series and get better acquainted with everyone.

4. The Matriarch - Susan Page. Nonfiction. A serviceable biography of Barbara Bush. It's written in a sort of a gossipy style. Good interviews with Barbara Bush and her immediate family and her many friends. My main irritation with the book concerns the biographer: Somehow, Susan Page could not keep herself out of it! I'm of the school that biographers should be like the proverbial fly on the wall. This would involve some use of the passive voice, but so what? It's not all bad, and exists for situations like this one. Read this one for the 3 R's book group. The theme for the month was to pick a first lady and read a book about her.

5. Honey, Baby, Mine - Laura Dern and Diane Ladd. Memoir. Audiobook. A few years ago, Diane Ladd was unwittingly exposed to dangerous pesticides that jeopardized her lung capacity. Doctors told Diane and her daughter, Laura Dern, that Diane didn't have much time, but one doctor said that if Laura could get Diane up and walking, that would improve her breathing, so the two began a series of walks which also became conversations about their lives. Dern recorded the conversations, but listening to the audiobook, I wasn't sure if these were the actual original conversations, or re-creations, because at times, Dern in particular, sounds especially neat and pat. Not to mention that they are both accomplished actors. I'm happy that Dern got her mother walking and talking, and I'm pleased that Ladd got well. I enjoyed all the theatre and Hollywood name-dropping and gossip, but the whole package feels so contrived. I'm thinking in particular of an argument they have towards the end of the book. In addition, I could have lived without the introduction by Reese Witherspoon.

6. Who is Willie Nelson? - David Stabler. Nonfiction. A damn good entry in the Who Was...? series. I enjoyed reading about Willie's early life and his lengthy struggle for success. Also, the author doesn't shy away from Willie's marijuana use, his battles with the IRS, and an extramarital affair that produced a daughter. My only (minor) gripe is that I would have liked to have seen a brief discussion of how Willie developed his distinctive singing style.

7. A Marriage at Sea - Sophie Elmhirst. Nonfiction. In 1973, an English couple, Maurice and Maralyn Bailey were sailing to New Zealand when their boat was smashed by an injured whale. The Baileys had sold their house and built this boat to follow their dreams of adventure. After the encounter with the whale, the boat sank quickly, and the Baileys were soon adrift in a rubber raft with a dinghy attached and a meager supply of food. Their ordeal went on for 118 days, until they were spotted and rescued by a Korean fishing vessel. A year later, they published their account, 117 Days Adrift. (It was actually 118 days, but early reports got the amount of time wrong.) Journalist Sophie Elmhirst, writing in beautiful and restrained prose, covers their ordeal in A Marriage at Sea, but also goes back to the couple's beginnings, when shy, introverted Maurice met outgoing, extroverted Maralyn, and they somehow clicked. Elmhirst also discusses the couple's sudden celebrity after their rescue, their return to sailing. The book comes full circle, and again, it is beautifully composed, and breathtaking in its empathy and insights. It's wonderful and my favorite read for July. 

8. Who is Caitlin Clark? -Meri-Jo Borzilleri. Nonfiction. This is one of the 50-pagers in the Who Was...? series, and admittedly, there's not much to say about WNBA star Caitlin Clark, since she's still at the beginning of her career. Reading her origin story was time well spent, and now I won't be so jaw-droppingly ignorant when I see her name in sports news.

In book-related news, I followed the story about Dan Pelzer with great interest. Columbus, Ohio native Pelzer died recently at the age of 92, and left behind a reading log that began back in 1962, and it looks like it went on at least until 2023. .Also, nearly every book Dan logged was checked out from the Ohio Public Library system. His daughter, Marci, posted the100+-page list at what-dan-read.com One of the branches in the Columbus library system has a display of books from Dan's list. In his obituary, it says something to the effect of "in lieu of flowers, go out and read a real page-turner." The more I read about Dan, the more I wish I could have met him.

Do you log your reading? If so, how long have you done so? I've been at it regularly since 1993. (I have a list from 1990, and an incomplete list from 1991.) I love looking back at what I've read, and what others have read. If you haven't started a reading log, please consider doing so. They literally are the stories of our lives.

Half a Year Away: Where I Was, What I Read, and What I Wore

 I really didn't mean to take such a long, long, long break. No excuses. Just caught in a gentle drift. Now I'm back. Not ready to be a not-blogger yet.

Where I was: Home, work, book group(s), an overnight trip to Springfield. Also, on my phone too much.

What I wore: The usual stuff. Haven't found a white Emily Dickinson dress that suits me.

What I read: 27 books. Not a huge amount, but some of them were chunksters.

1. A Really Good Day: How Microdosing Made a Mega Difference in My Mood, My Marriage, and My Life. (nonfiction) - Ayelet Waldman. Audiobook.

2. Be Ready When the Luck Happens. (memoir) - Ina Garten. (I thought Garten's memoir would really resonate with me, but something fell flat, like an unsuccessful souffle.)

3. Long Island. (novel) - Colm Toibin. (enjoyable Edith Wharton vibes!)

4. Giovanni's Room. (novel) -James Baldwin. (so glad I finally read this book!)

5. Burning Bright (novel) - Tracy Chevalier. Audiobook.

6. Who Is Cynthia Erivo? (nonfiction) - Crystal Hubbard.

7. Waiter Rant. (nonfiction) "The Waiter".

8. Who Is Ariana Grande? (nonfiction) -Kirsten Anderson.

9. The Man Who Lived Underground. (novella) - Richard Wright.

10. Carrie. (novel) - Stephen King. (Intro by Margaret Atwood!)

11. The Only One Left (novel) -Riley Sager. (read for the first meeting of my very newest book group.)

12. The Autobiography of Mark Twain Vol I. (nonfiction) - Mark Twain. Audiobook.

13. Animal Dreams. (novel) - Barbara Kingsolver. (read this one for my other book group. I adore and revere Barbara Kingsolver, just not this book, and one of the other members got huffy at my saying so.)

14. Who Was Shirley Chisholm? (nonfiction) - Crystal Hubbard.

15. The Poppy War. (novel) R.F. Kuang. (new book group; it has no name. The more I read of Kuang, the more impressed I become.)

16. The Autobiography of Mark Twain Vol. 2. (nonfiction) - Mark Twain. Audiobook.

17. Mary McLeod Bethune. (nonfiction) - Sandra Donovan.

18. The Constant Rabbit. (novel) - Jasper Fforde. (read this one for new, no-name book group)

19. The Autobiography of Mark Twain Vol. 3 (nonfiction) - Mark Twain. Audiobook.

20. Three Days in June. (novel) - Anne Tyler. (Anne Tyler was interviewed on a Sunday morning talk show. I nearly swooned from happiness.)

21. What Was The Renaissance? (nonfiction) - Roberta Edwards.

22. Who is Carol Burnett? (nonfiction) - David Stabler.

23. Woe. (graphic novel) Lucy Knisley. (Linney! You're my new favorite cartoon cat!)

24. Severance. (novel) - Ling Ma. (new no-name book group read. It's an immigrant experience novel! It's a dystopian, apocalyptic tale! It's a zombie story! Who says you can't have it all? Not Ling Ma!)

25. A Promised Land. (memoir) - Barack Obama. Audiobook. (wise, wry, reflective. can't wait for volume 2.)

26. Jane Austen's Bookshelf. (nonfiction) - Rebecca Romney. (favorite book so far this year. It woke up the extreme bookloving part of myself and made me realize that I wanted to keep blogging. Read it, please!)

27. The Dog Stars. (novel) - Peter Heller. (read for new no-name book group. Not my favorite. Author is a travel writer who channeled Hemingway and Cormac McCarthy and came up wanting. Also: clunky sex scenes.)

I was going to tidy this post, but I've almost lost it twice, so off it goes to meet the orange Publish button.

Eat, Sleep, Read: Bookish Resolutions for 2025

 

I can't decide if I should keep my resolutions manageable this year, or let this be a twelvemonth that I swing for the fences. 

Maybe a mixture of the two:

1. Read 64 books (Update: I read 60)

2. Continue with my new book group (Update: My new book group got absorbed into a bigger book group. It's lively and vibrant. Aaaand! I joined a second book group, a new one just getting started. It's growing beautifully, and it's making me read outside my comfort zone, which is enjoyable.)

3. Fiercely patronize my local bookstore Bazoo Books   (Update: YES)

and 

devotedly haunt my newest and most favorite library, James C. Kirkpatrick Library at the University of Central Missouri (Update: Check!)

4. Keep up my reading journal -- the one where I record all of my supposedly deep thinky-thoughts about what I've read daily, weekly, etc. (Update: haha. I do get lofty at the beginning of the year, don't I?  Not very thinky-thoughty at all!)

5. Bigger, better bookshelf. My whole damn home library all along one wall of the living room. (Update: Still thinking this one out.)

6. A sofa upholstered in emerald green velvet (Update: Same tattered gray sofa, thank you, cats.)

7. Less phone, more book (Update: Still a work in progress. In fact, it's the only resolution I made this year)

2024 Nonfiction

* = Wow

1. Being Henry: The Fonz and Beyond - Henry Winkler *

2. Bonnie and Clyde: The Making of a Legend -Karen Blumenthal  (audiobook)

3. Who was Salvador Dali? - Paula Menzanero

4. Child Star - Shirley Temple Black

5. Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing - Matthew Perry *

6. What is the Story of Romeo and Juliet? - Max Bisantz

7. Granny Smith is NOT an Apple - Sharon Glen Fortson

8. I Must Be Dreaming - Roz Chast *

9. Class - Stephanie Land *

10. Who is Taylor Swift? - Kirsten Anderson

11. Knife - Salman Rushdie *

12. What were the Shark Attacks of 1916? - Nico Medina

13. What was the Great Molasses Flood of 1919? - Kirsten Anderson *

14. Cocktails with George and Martha: Movies, Marriage, and the Making of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? - Philip Gefter

15. It Ended Badly: 13 of  the Worst Breakups in History - Jennifer Wright *

16. Rx - Rachel Lindsay

17. The Road to Oz - Kathleen Krull *

18. Lost Boy: The Story of the Man who Created Peter Pan - Jane Yolen *

19. Who Gets the Drumstick? - Helen Beardsley

20. Who is Michael Phelps? - Micah Hecht 

21. Random Family - Adrian Nicole LeBlanc *

22. Mornings on Horseback - David McCullough * (audiobook)

23. Bibliophile - Jane Mount *

24. Loving Sylvia Plath - Emily van Duyne *

25. Who is Billie Jean King? - Sarah Fabiny

26. Who is Lin-Manuel Miranda? - Elijah Ray-David Matos

27. American Isis: The Life and Art of Sylvia Plath - Carl Rollyson

28. Sociopath: A Memoir - Patric Gagne

29. Who is Travis Kelce? - Ellen LeBrecque

30. What is the Story of Smokey the Bear? - Steve Korte

31. World of Glass: The Art of Dale Chihuly - Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan *

32. A Woman's View: How Hollywood Spoke to Women 1930-1960 - Jeanine Basinger *

33. The Autistic Brain: Thinking Across the Spectrum - Temple Grandin * (audiobook)

34. Cher: The Memoir, Part One - Cher *

35. Fire Lover - Joseph Wambaugh

36. Animals Make Us Human - Temple Grandin * (audiobook)

2024 Fiction

* = Favorites

  

1.  The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion - Fannie Flagg (audiobook)

2. The Witches of Worm - Zilpha Keatley Snyder

3. Eligible - Curtis Sittenfeld (audiobook)

4. Where the Crawdads Sing - Delia Owens

5. Lilac Girls - Martha Hall Kelly * (audiobook)

6. Akin - Emma Donoghue

7. The Vaster Wilds - Lauren Groff

8. The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen, age 83 1/4 - "Hendrik Groen" * (audiobook)

9. The Guest - Emma Cline *

10. Crazy Rich Asians - Kevin Kwan * (audiobook)

11. Emma - Jane Austen * (audiobook)

12 The Sunne in Splendour - Sharon Kay Penman *

13. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kesey (audiobook)

14. Come and Get It - Kiley Reid (audiobook)

15. When Christ and His Saints Slept - Sharon Kay Penman *

16. Such a Fun Age - Kiley Reid * (audiobook)

17. The Overstory - Richard Powers * (audiobook)

18. Miss Kopp Investigates - Amy Stewart * (audiobook)

19. Kopp Sisters on the March - Amy Stewart

20. Dear Miss Kopp - Amy Stewart

21. Dear Hanna - Zoje Stage *

22. The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love - Oscar Hijuelos (audiobook)

23. Lady Oracle - Margaret Atwood * (audiobook)

24. Time and Chance - Sharon Kay Penman *

25. A King's Ransom - Sharon Kay Penman * (audiobook)

26. Leave Her to Heaven - Ben Ames Williams

27. The Postman Always Rings Twice - James M. Cain *

Reading My Age: 2024 Stats

 Once upon a time (maybe 8 or 9 years ago?) I was struggling to figure out a reading goal for the year. I had tried for 100, and come up short and frustrated. Then I saw or heard about someone reading the same amount of books as their age, and it was such an elegant solution that I've adopted and used it ever since. Most years I exceed the goal, but this year, I barely made it, and I know why: Too much phone. Can I fix this? Can I manage my addiction? Neuroplasticity is a wonderful thing. Stay tuned.

Here are a few stats from my reading year:

Books read: 63

Fiction:27

Nonfiction: 36

Audiobooks: 18

Graphic novels: 3

Library books: 50

My books: 12

Gift: 1

First book of 2024: Being Henry: The Fonz and Beyond - Henry Winkler (memoir)

Last book of 2024: Animals Make Us Human - Temple Grandin (nonfiction)

Longest book: The Sunne in Splendour - Sharon Kay Penman (novel) 936 pages

Shortest book: Granny Smith is NOT an Apple! - Sharon Glen Fortson (picture book) 32 pages

Funniest book: Crazy Rich Asians - Kevin Kwan (novel) and I Must Be Dreaming - Roz Chast (graphic novel)

Saddest book: Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing - Matthew Perry (memoir)

Most helpful book: Animals Make Us Human - Temple Grandin (nonfiction)

Bridge books (started in 2024, will finish in 2025: One of Ours - Willa Cather (novel), Be Ready When the Luck Happens - Ina Garten (memoir), and A Really Good Day -Ayelet Waldman (nonfiction)

DNF I don't think I DNF'd anything this year. I wanted to, but I didn't, which brings me to the next category...

Give me back my time: Where the Crawdads Sing - Delia Owens (novel), Sociopath - Patric Gagne (memoir), and Leave Her to Heaven - Ben Ames Williams (novel). In the case of the two novels, watch the movies instead.

Smooth Bookworm Moves: 

1. Discovering Sharon Kay Penman's books

2. Discovering Temple Grandin's works

3. Finishing the Kopp Sisters series

4. Quitting lame-o book group 

5. Finding new book group where organic discussion is prized 

6. Joining university library -- so vast and delightfully niche-y at the same time.

Next up: The fiction I read in 2024

Putting 2024 to Bed: December Reading

What about that December, eh? I have a confession: I didn't think that I would make my goal (63 books), so I sneaked in a short favorite, The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain. I'm  so unashamed for manipulating the results. Gasp. Next thing you know, I'll be wearing an ankle bracelet like the femme fatale in Double Indemnity.

Here's my brief December list of reads:

1. The Postman Always Rings Twice - James M. Cain. Novel. I never get tired of this book. Noir at its best. From the title to the last line, it's a delicious, dark treat.

2. Cher: The Memoir, Part One - Cher. Memoir. This first volume follows Cher from her origins up to her 30s, as she is trying to break into acting, and finding some resistance. I love her conversational style. Can't wait for Part Two!

3. Fire Lover - Joseph Wambaugh. Nonfiction. True Crime. John Orr was a brilliant and respected arson investigator in Glendale, California. But guess what? He was simultaneously a serial arsonist, committing crimes all over the state. I was interested in this book because of the stark duality of John Orr, and also because true crime is so satisfying. Law enforcement starts with merely jigsaw pieces of clues, and they slowly and methodically put the puzzle together then build their case, hoping that a jury will concur with their finding and serve up justice. All of that was present in Fire Lover, but I do not care for Wambaugh's style, which gets in the way of the story he is trying to tell. His asides are not edgy, nor incisive, nor funny. They're just static. He's most effective when he stops his verbal swaggering and merely reports the facts of a case.

4. Animals Make Us Human: Creating The Best Life for Animals - Temple Grandin. Nonfiction. Grandin, who has worked with animals in one way or another during her long career, structures this informative and entertaining book around the emotions of animals, particularly the "blue-ribbon" emotions as identified by neuroscientist Dr. Jaak Panksepp: SEEKING (throughout the book, the emotions are written in all caps, in the style of Panksepp) RAGE, FEAR, PANIC, LUST, CARE, and PLAY. Grandin focuses mainly on the first four, using examples from her own experience and research. SEEKING is a pleasurable emotion, and needs to be satisfied or animals will suffer abnormal brain development, which is exhibited by continuous repetitive behaviors usually seen in animals in captivity but not in their wildlife counterparts. Grandin is adamant that their environment can be modified to benefit their mental health. She discusses dogs, cats, horses, cows, pigs, chickens, and other animals. Grandin is insightful, intelligent, and caring. This was one of my favorite reads of 2024.

By now, we're a couple of days into the new year, and I'm more than ready to get nerdy with my bookworm stats in the next post.

 

I Remember November

 Since this post is a little late, it's going to have that hurried feel. Once I recall my reading adventures in November, then it'll be time to recount December's reads, then do a look back at 2024. I set my goal at 63, and I'm just barely going to make it to that number. I know exactly why, and I'll fix it in 2025.

Nonfiction November was fun, and here are the four books I read:

World of Glass: The Art of Dale Chihuly - Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan. Nonfiction. One of the most enjoyable parts of my trip to Seattle in 2019 was a visit to Chihuly's museum. This book, from the juvenile shelf, traces Dale Chihuly's life and career as a glassblower. Stunning photographs and great interviews with Chihuly and his co-creators. In the picture above, my son is standing against the leg of what I think of as a big red bug.

A King's Ransom - Sharon Kay Penman. Novel.  Audiobook. The final book in Penman's Plantagenet series. This covers Richard the Lionheart's final years, from his departure from The Holy Land, to his capture and imprisonment in Germany, and his last years in France, trying to protect his vast territory from the French king, I'm reading this series all out of order. Next up is book #3, The Devil's Brood, and then I'll wrap things up with #4, Lionheart. While Penman's storytelling is riveting and unmatched, just as entertaining are the afterwards to her books, in which she scrupulously explains what she found in research and what she was compelled to invent. She writes with such rigor, like an accountant looking for a penny, or like the lawyer she once was, preparing a brief. 2024 brought me a lot of reading riches, and at the top of the list is Sharon Kay Penman.

A Woman's View: How Hollywood Spoke to Women 1930-1960 - Jeanine Basinger. Nonfiction,  In this 1993 volume of movie history, Basinger looks at "Women's Pictures", which are films featuring a strong female character who can be good, selfless and noble or bad, selfish, and nasty. Basinger critically appraises how the films are put together and how the script always seem to have a message or moral for the female audience. For example, a successful career woman can't seem to have it all, meaning love and marriage. No, she must give up everything for love, or she's a failure. Things like that. When Basinger finds an exception to the rule, she gleefully pounces on it. I got a lot of ideas for classic movies to watch this winter.

The Autistic Brain: Thinking Across the Spectrum - Temple Grandin. Nonfiction, Audiobook. When Temple Grandin as a very young child was diagnosed as autistic in the late 1940s, knowledge about the condition was in its infancy, and fated to go through some serious missteps, like the belief that autism is psychological, and that it was the "fault" of cold, uncaring parents, particularly mothers. In the decades since, researchers have come to realize that it's more about the brain. As technology has also advanced, Grandin, a scientist, has gamely and cheerfully taken part in several brain scans, measuring them against so-called "normal" brains. In a huge paradigm shift for the field, she cites a researcher in Quebec who challenged other researchers to not frame differences as deficits, but instead assets. Grandin ends the book by challenging parents to study their autistic child from early on to determine where their strengths lie, and prepare them for a career that fits these strengths, instead of letting them drift along defined solely by the label of autistic. Grandin is an admirable blend of idealistic and common sense. She's my new favorite author, and I'm already halfway through her book Animals Make Us Human.

In book group land:  For December, our topic is Willa Cather. I'm going to re-read Paul's Case, one of her short stories, watch the 1980 PBS version starring Eric Roberts as Paul, and read One of Ours.

October's Tiny List

The list is tiny, but two of these three were chunky tomes.

 1. What is the Story of Smokey the Bear? -Steve Korte-  Nonfiction. A laborious look at a long-lived American icon.

2. Time and Chance -Sharon Kay Penman- Novel. The second installment in the Plantagenet series covers the early days of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine's marriage as well as his bromance then fractured relationship with Thomas Becket as Becket moved from being Lord Chancellor to, at Henry's urging, Archbishop of Canterbury. The job switch backfired on Henry because instead of having a yes man in the church, Becket had a conversion and began to take his religious role seriously. Again, impeccable research combined with spellbinding storytelling. It's a huge cast of characters and Penman brings them all to life. Next up: The Devil's Brood, which covers the lives of Henry and Eleanor's children as well as Eleanor and Henry's growing disillusionment with one another.

3. Leave Her to Heaven -Ben Ames Williams- Novel. A bloated and overlong soapy novel from 1944 about a writer who marries a woman with severe issues concerning boundaries. Hollywood improved on the material a couple of years later with a movie of the same name. Watch that instead. It's a noir in Technicolor!  Gene Tierney is beautiful and icy and merciless, stealing the whole film from the rest of the cast until Vincent Price enters and steals it from Tierney, picking splinters of the scenery he's chewed from his teeth as he strides away.

In other news:

Still loving my book group. At the last meeting, we reported on historical fiction we had read. I talked up Sharon Kay Penman's Plantagenet series. Other books mentioned were Quiet Dell by Jayne Anne Phillips, Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker, and Sipsworth by Simon van Booy. I promptly put all of them on my TBR. For the next meeting, November 15, we will be discussing nonfiction we have been reading, and thinking up new names for the book group for a fresh reset after declaring independence from the original library program.

I'm really glad that the topic is nonfiction, because I'm doing a Nonfiction November. Here's what's on my nonfiction stack:

1. A Woman's View: How Hollywood Spoke to Women, 1930-1960. Jeanine Basinger.

2. The Noble Hustle. Colson Whitehead.

3. The Farm. Richard Rhodes.

4. Supercomminicators. Charles Duhigg.

5. Fire Lover. Joseph Wambaugh.

And finally...

Dreaming in Literature: The Weird Philip Roth Dream: 

Philip Roth came back to life and wrote a new novel. My first reaction was anxiety, because in dream-logic, I was compelled to read his book, like it or not. After picking it up and paging through, I felt better because the protagonist was female and the book was stream-of-consciousness like Ducks, Newburyport, and the main character constantly had earworms. At that point, I honestly wanted to read Roth's novel and remember feeling very tender and indulgent towards him.

September, 2024: In The Books!

 

Ten books in September! I can hardly believe it. I may make my goal of 63 books this year after all.

1. Dear Miss Kopp - Amy Stewart. Novel. This wasn't my favorite of the Kopp Sisters series, but I was glad to see unsung-but-just-as-intrepid sister Norma solving a case in World War I France. Pleased with myself for finally finishing the series. I introduced Constance, Norma and Fleurette to my new book group, and they seemed intrigued.

2. Dear Hanna - Zoje Stage. Novel. Darkly hilarious thriller. The follow-up to Stage's debut, Baby Teeth. So satisfying. I couldn't wait to read it. Now I wish I'd saved it to savor as an October read.

3. Loving Sylvia Plath: A Reclamation - Emily Van Duyne. Nonfiction. Plath scholar Van Duyne uses the latest information from letters Sylvia Plath wrote to her psychiatrist in the last months of her life, in which she confides that she had been the victim of domestic violence. Van Duyne convincingly builds the case that Ted Hughes destroyed Sylvia Plath in all ways, then, as the executor of her literary estate, set out to make her over in the image that suited him best, (which was a creepy sad-girl mythology that was meant to take the focus off of his own horribleness) while also destroying or losing her two unpublished novels and the last volume of her journals. The woman he left Plath for, Assia Wevill, also killed herself and her 4 year old daughter by Hughes, and he silenced her story, burying their ashes in an unmarked grave and forbidding anyone in his circle as well as Plath biographers from talking about her. He mythologizes Wevill as well as the dark temptress who took him from his happy home. "Hating Ted Hughes" would have been an apt title for this book as well. I know I did.

4. The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love - Oscar Hijuelos. Novel. Audiobook. I enjoyed the pulsating, jazzy rhythms of the prose, but for a book chock-full of sex, it wasn't that sexy. I watched the movie version as well. It looked great, the music was hot and so was Antonio Banderas, but it just didn't add up.

5. Who Is Billie Jean King? - Sarah Fabiny, Nonfiction. Billie Jean King was the first athlete I remember admiring. I enjoyed reading this for nostalgic reasons.

6. Who Is Lin-Manuel Miranda? - Elijah Rey-David Matos. Nonfiction. Many of the new books in the Who Was...? series seem to be getting more and more workmanlike, stolid and plodding. Lin-Manuel Miranda gave the world Hamilton. He deserves a better biography, and so do the readers.

7. American Isis: The Life and Art of Sylvia Plath - Carl Rollyson. Nonfiction. In the late 1950s, Sylvia Plath had a dream that she met Marilyn Monroe and Monroe became a confidant of sorts, offering advice and giving Sylvia a great manicure. While recounting Plath's life, Rollyson uses the dream as a springboard to constantly compare the two women, and by extension, their husbands, Ted Hughes and Arthur Miller. Rollyson has a fluid, efficient style that I enjoyed reading, but the Monroe comparisons jarred the narrative.

8. Sociopath: A Memoir - Patric Gagne, Ph.D. Nonfiction. I really didn't like this book at all. The nuanced conversations about sociopathy were too many and too long. In other places, the book was irritatingly vague. The writing style was thin, unsubstantial and belabored. It often felt like it was padded to make the book a conventional volume length. Maybe it's unreasonable, but I had expectations that a memoir called "Sociopath" would be somewhat more piercing.

9. Who Is Travis Kelce? -Ellen Labrecque. Nonfiction. What's not to like? He's a Kansas City Chief. He's Taylor's boyfriend. I may try the podcast that he does with his brother Jason.

10. Lady Oracle - Margaret Atwood. Novel. Audiobook. 1970s Atwood, pre-dystopian. Sharply comic.

BOOK GROUP UPDATE:

I love my new group. This is the format I have been craving. We had such a great time talking about historical fiction in September, that we're going to continue talking about it at the October meeting. I got lots of inspiration for my infinite TBR.

...And August, 2024

 Here's what I read in August:

1. Miss Kopp Investigates (novel) -Amy Stewart. The Great War is over, and the sisters are back home. The Miss Kopp in this book is Fleurette. She is recovering from a lengthy illness, and can't go back onstage. She finds work posing as "the other woman" in divorce cases. (Back then, there was no such thing as no-fault divorce. Someone had to accuse somebody of something, usually adultery or mental cruelty.) During such a case, Fleurette happens onto a fraud scheme and proves every bit as capable of detective work as her older sisters. Great ending to the Kopp Sisters series, if  it is indeed the end. I never stop hoping that Amy Stewart just hit pause.

2. Random Family (nonfiction) -Adrian Nicole LeBlanc. This book has been on my radar for years, and recently came to my attention again when The New York Times put it on their 100 Best Books this century. It's an ethnography. LeBlanc followed two young Puerto Rican women, Jessica and Coco, as well as their extended family, including their partners, George and Cesar, who are in prison for drugs and murder. I admire LeBlanc's ability to portray her subjects without judgement, and the scrupulous way she completely wrote herself out of the narrative. This is often hard to read, but it's worth it. A good choice by NYT.

3. Mornings on Horseback (biography) -David McCullough. Teddy Roosevelt is an iconic figure and a colorful personality that is recognizable to this day. But what and who made Theodore Roosevelt into that person? David McCullough explores Roosevelt and his siblings' early lives as well as providing fully realized portraits of his mother and father. One of the best biographies I've ever read. Highly recommended.

4. Kopp Sisters on the March (novel) -Amy Stewart. In the early  days of WWI, Constance, Norma and Fleurette are at an army camp for women. At first, the camp is a weak and tepid excuse for preparing women to participate in the war effort. Constance's background as a "lady deputy" stands her in good stead when she has to step in and serve as matron of the camp. Meanwhile, Norma is trying to get her carrier pigeon program off the ground, so to speak, and Fleurette is arranging for entertainment to keep up everyone's morale. They are also all puzzling over one of their bunkmates, "Roxy", who isn't exactly what she seems to be. Her story is told in alternate chapters, based on an actual person and case.

5. Bibliophile (nonfiction) -Jane Mount. Everything your little bookworm heart could desire is in this exquisite book: Book lists, thoughtfully divided up by genre and sometimes subgenre, lists of beautiful bookstores and stunning libraries, fun facts about authors, and it's all illustrated in gorgeous color! I must have a copy of Bibliophile for my home library. A lot of hard work and heart went into the making of this book and it shows. And glows.

Book Group News:

My new book group, The Three R's, broke off from the library program and are now meeting independently, although still at the library. A quick explanation: When the group was part of the library program, they were required to meet in the Storytime room, which ironically, has terrible acoustics. The members asked if they could move to the conference room. The program director said they couldn't, but that if they declared independence, they could reserve the conference room for meetings. So that's what happened. 

I couldn't make the last meeting, in which the topic was to read a book in which a character goes to a foreign country to live. For this month's meeting on September 20, the topic is to read an example of historical fiction. I'm going to introduce the members to the Kopp Sisters.

I wanted to tell you about my strange Philip Roth dream, but I'm going to quit while I'm ahead. I've already lost this post once, and AI has offered twice to show me how to write properly. No doubt that you can imagine what I said in reply.

July's Reading Adventure

I was almost done with this post, and I lost it. The UNDO button was unsympathetic to my plight the third time my post disappeared. I guess it's because I kept ignoring AI's offers to "help [me] write".

In the interest of getting this done ahead of the sword of Damocles that all of a sudden lurks in this computer, I'm going to just hit the high notes.

New book group: Loved it. Love the format. This is my tribe. They seem to be in some sort of transition, though. Stay tuned.

Books read this month: 3. A meager number. I'm going to have to keep a daily reading diary to see what I'm actually doing.

1. Such a Fun Age -Kiley Reid. Novel. Audiobook.

2. Who Is Michael Phelps? - Micah Hecht. Nonfiction.

3. The Overstory - Richard Powers. Novel. Audiobook.

OK. I'm going to hit Publish now, so we've at least covered this much.

I Can't Help Myself: The Book Group Chronicles

Yeah, yeah. I know what I said. Words like "no more book group". Words like "free to read what I like into eternity". 

Mmmm, words. So delicious. I'm eating them now.

Because: Guess what? I found another book group and I'm going to give it a whirl.

This time, it could work, it could really, really work. (Why do I suddenly feel like Elizabeth Taylor embarking on another marriage?)

Here's how the book group is set up: First, someone (I don't know who! The Powers That Be? The Book Gods? Nancy Pearl?) chooses an author or a genre. Then, the gentle reader/scruffy bookworm goes in search of a book that fits the parameters. Finally, a month later, GR/SB shows up to book group, and each individual presents the book they chose.

Example: This month is "Edith Wharton (Again)". (Presumably, someone in this group has a hell of a girl crush on Edith Wharton, if it's "again".  Can't wait to find out who.) But anyway! Edith Wharton! I'm a fan. Which book should I choose? Should I just go with something I've already read or strike out and read something fresh, something new to me? I can't go wrong; Wharton is always satisfactory. A little depressing, yes, but nobody does it better, to quote Carly Simon.

As you can see, I'm already in love with this book group format. No more turning pages with one hand and holding my nose with the other. Even better: Since the group meets around lunchtime, we can bring our lunches! In my previous book group, NO FOOD OR DRINK ALLOWED. I always thought it was a shame; I'm not one of those wispy, ethereal bookworms. Sometimes in books, characters eat, and when they eat, I get damned hungry. So yeah: Lunch!

This all takes place July 19. Stay tuned.

*

In other news, the bookgroupless me read 7 books in June:

 1. It Ended Badly: 13 of the Worst Breakups in History -Jennifer Wright- Nonfiction. If you're suffering from a bad breakup, or you know someone who has just had one, or if you've ever had one, you need to read this book. Jennifer Wright, covering ground from Nero to Norman Mailer will put it all in perspective for you. Your rotten ex-partner couldn't possibly be worse than Henry VIII (killing two wives) or Norman Mailer (attempted murder, laughed off). There is also a great rebound story: Effie Gray's husband, John Ruskin, was horrified by her naked and completely normal form and refused to have sex with her. She rebounded years later with a painter friend of Ruskin's and the happy couple went on to have several children. Edith Wharton's in here, too. After an unhappy and mostly unintimate marriage, she finally found a journalist who made her toes curl. Unfortunately, he was a jerk. Speaking of jerks, Lord Byron was of that variety, but his lover, Lady Caroline Lamb, stalked him unmercifully and even sent a bloody tuft of pubic hair in one of her many, many, many letters. And there was poor Oscar Wilde, going to jail because of his affair with Lord Alfred Douglas, only to have Alfred abandon him, then write self-serving crap about everything. Read it, and you'll either say, yeah, I don't have it so bad, or you'll have someone historical to compare your scummy ex-lover to, and your friends will be impressed.

2. Come and Get It - Kiley Reid - Novel. Audiobook. Agatha, a well-known author of nonfiction books signs on for a year as an author-in-residence at the University of Arkansas. Millie is a senior and a Resident Advisor at one of the dorms. Agatha starts out interviewing students about how they feel about weddings for her new book, but suddenly her focus shifts to how these same young women talk about money. After accidentally overhearing a conversation, Agatha compromises Millie's position as an RA  and her own as writer-in-residence by paying Millie to let her sit in Millie's room and eavesdrop with a tape recorder running. This novel is long on character, seemingly short on plot, but rich in awkward situations. I liked Come and Get It well enough to seek out Reid's debut novel Such A Fun Age. Nicole Lewis narrates both audiobooks and her gift for voices and accents is superb.

3. Rx -Rachel Lindsay- Graphic Memoir. Rachel was diagnosed as bipolar as a young adult, and she must stay on medication to stabilize her condition. That means that her jobs must include health insurance. She gets a good job in advertising, but finds herself developing ads for an antidepressant drug. As she becomes both the target audience and the targeter, she starts to destabilize and soon requires hospitalization. As soon as she's "better", she's expected to hop right back into this twisted cycle again, and that's when she takes a step back and scrutinizes the situation. Read this, it's good.

.IV. The Road to Oz - Kathleen Krull - Biography, picture book. L. Frank Baum was an imaginative, daydreaming child who retained those same qualities as an adult. He failed at business repeatedly, but never ran out of ideas for his next creative endeavor. Author Kathleen Krull follows Baum through his checkered careers, showing the various inspirations for what finally catapulted him into literary legend. She did a great job of bringing Baum's quirky personality to life on the page, but she would also insert these parenthetical asides that seemed to be the equivalent of eye-rolling, and that was so jarring and annoying.

V. When Christ and His Saints Slept - Sharon Kay Penman - Novel. Book 1 of 5 in Penman's Plantagenant saga. In this volume, Stephen and Maude battle for England's throne. Stephen seems to be a weak king, but the English aren't about to accept a woman ruler. Historical fiction that feels so fresh and alive. I'm working on the second book in the series now, which follows the fortunes of Maude's son Henry II and his queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine. 

6. Lost Boy -Jane Yolen- Biography, picture book. This biography of J.M. Barrie, author of Peter Pan was exquisite. Jane Yolen related anecdotes about Barrie's life and tied in quotes from his work.

7. Who Gets the Drumstick? -Helen Beardsley - Memoir. This memoir has an alternate title, Yours, Mine, and Ours. Two movies under that name were based on Beardsley's experience of suddenly becoming a widow with eight children and almost as suddenly, meeting and falling in love with a widower with ten children, marrying him, then having two more children. It's a charming little book with a quirky story sincerely told, but the first part gave me weird vibes. Beardsley's first husband, a Navy pilot was killed when the plane he was flying crashed. At the time, she was six months pregnant with their eighth child. After the child is born, a well-meaning nurse and her own sister seem hell-bent on pushing Helen to forget her former life and make a new one with the children, and her sister pushes her into moving from Washington to California, then immediately into dating. One of these dates leads to the father of ten, Frank Beardsley, also a Navy man. He and Helen get married fairly quickly. Here's the timeline: The first husband dies in July of 1960. Frank and Helen get married in September of 1961. There are light and humorous anecdotes throughout the book and no one could deny the strong human-interest appeal, but it feels as if there is more conceal than reveal. Everything's a little too good to be true. In spite of my reservations, I did enjoy this book.

May, 2024: Quit Book Group. Don't Care.

o

Bookworms work in mysterious ways, and one day last month, I woke up and decided that I didn't want to be in book group anymore. I didn't like that itchy feeling of having to read a book that I really didn't want to read. A book in which I didn't even want to crack the cover, not even the teeniest bit, and I damn well didn't want to sit and talk about it, nor did I want to answer inane questions about (cardboard) character motivation.

Regrets? Sadness? None so far. Instead, I have a feeling of buoyancy. I can read anything I want FOREVER.

 If I were to return to book groupdom, I would want to be in one of those new silent book clubs in which people sit around reading to themselves, then at the end of the meeting, they go around and share brief details and impressions of what they've been reading. If I liked the look of their book, I could quickly borrow it and make a note of the title, author, and some keywords that led to my attraction. So yes, I've had some pleasantly hazy reveries about this sort of book grouping, but I can't figure out why I am picturing all of us in semi-formal clothing!

...

In other news, I decided that I wanted to belong to all the libraries in the area, so I started patronizing the university library ten miles down the road. Wandering around in the stacks which seem to stretch for miles is both relaxing and exhilarating. Even better, it's free! I don't have to pay a fee to check out materials. Contrast this with an earlier attempt to join a community college library in a nearby town: 

1. No, you can't join. You don't live in our preferred counties.

2. No, you can't pay a fee to join. We just don't want your other-county ass.

3. Even if you were eligible, you still couldn't have access to all the available materials, because you aren't a student.

I know, of course, that this library has its reasons, rules, and regulations, but this Fuck You gift-wrapped in a Fuck Off stung a bit. I felt ashamed and unwashed. I felt like a bumpkin; how dare I inquire, how dare I try to walk my stinky feet through its shining portal? I slunk away, but regained my equanimity within a day: I'm not the bumpkin! They're the bumpkins! 

Everything is fine now. I joined the university library, and it's free and they sent me an email welcoming me, and you know what else? They could fit all of Bumpkin Library on one of their many floors! So there.

...

Finally, I'm going to talk about my May reading:

1. What Were the Shark Attacks of 1916? -Nico Medina. Nonfiction. These attacks are what the bestseller Jaws was based on. It seems so strange that just barely a century ago, people and even scientists knew so little about sharks.

2. What Was  the Great Molasses Flood of 1919? -Kirsten Anderson. Nonfiction. My jaw dropped so many times reading about this preventable disaster. I know that companies can be inept and unscrupulous, but this was really blatant.

3. Emma -Jane Austen. Novel. Back last century, when I took that Jane Austen class and read six novels in six weeks, I had the sense in my bruised brain at the end that Emma was my favorite of the novels. I've been going back and rereading, and so far, I'm not wrong. There's only Mansfield Park left, and that was the one I ranked at the bottom. I'm not in a tearing hurry to read it. But Emma! What a treat! Audiobook.

IV. (for some reason, the numeral four isn't working on this keyboard) The Sunne In Splendour -Sharon Kay Penman. Novel. Rich and rewarding historical fiction about Richard III and The Wars of the Roses. I've got a stack of Penman novels that should take me to the end of the year.

V. (hmm, this is interesting.) One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest -Ken Kesey. Novel. While I appreciated the novel, this is one of those cases in which the movie was better. McMurphy as a Christ-figure was too heavy-handed. Audiobook.

6. Cocktails with George and Martha: Movies, Marriage, and the Making of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? -Philip Gefter. This book seemed like one of those long New Yorker articles padded into book-length. Although it was repetitive, I enjoyed the backstage drama involved with the making of the movie, and at the end, Gefter's look at other movies about marriage that were influenced in one way or another by Who's Afraid...? I followed up this read with my own viewing of the 1966 movie, and relished it more armed with the insider knowledge and trivia Gefter's book provided.

...

Other stuff.

What I'm working on now: 

It Ended Badly: 13 of the Worst Breakups in History - Jennifer Wright. Nonfiction.

When Christ and His Saints Slept (Book 1 of the Plantagenet Saga) -Sharon Kay Penman. Novel.

Come and Get It -Kiley Reid. Novel. Audiobook.

Wishlist: The Alienist -Caleb Carr. Novel.