Show Us Your Books July 2023

I read 19 books in June. Four of them were re-reads, which is always fun. A lot of people don’t like to re-read, but to me it’s like visiting old friends. Besides that reading is just better when I’m sitting on the porch with a glass of wine and baseball on the radio.

Five Stars

Peach Blossom Spring by Melissa Fu - In 1938 Meilin and Renshu had to flee their home in China. For years they searched for some place to grow roots and finally found it in Taiwan. Eventually they each found stability- Meilin in Taiwan and Renshu in the states. Neither really ever felt safe though until they learned to confront the past. This book was heartbreaking, but in the very best way. You all should read it.

The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese - This audiobook was 31 hours long, and I wish it could have gone for another 31 hours. I loved it so much. It all came together beautifully and I loved the characters. Five stars.

Four Stars

Foster by Claire Keegan - This was a great short story, but I wish I knew more about the families (family?) involved.

The Not-Quite States of America - I read this for a book club, and I wasn’t sure what to expect due to mixed reviews. I ended up enjoying it though I thought some parts were needlessly padded with background information. It seems that this one is better to read than listen from the reviews.

Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid - Yet another book I would have never heard about if not for Litsy challenges! This short book has a lot to say about growing up, the expectations we put on kids, and mother/daughter relationships.

Untangled by Lisa Damour, Ph.D. - This book was excellent. Highly recommend for anyone with a daughter 12 or older.

Our Stories Carried Us Here (Anthology) - A powerful and moving graphic novel anthology about the refugee experience. I‘m going to pass this on to the library at our school’s international academy.

Exiles by Jane Harper - I thought I had figured out the mystery halfway through and I was annoyed that Falk was taking so long to catch up. Then it turned out it was someone I hadn’t suspected at all and I loved the ending.

Three Stars

The Last Word by Taylor Adams - I loved the premise of this book- deranged author goes after lone woman who gave him a one star review on Goodreads. However it seemed to take forever for anything to happen. It was entertaining enough to listen over a busy weekend full of chores though so I’m giving it 3 stars.

Feet in the Clouds by Richard Askwith - Part memoir part history of Fell-Running- aka running up and down mountains in Britain usually in terrible weather. I enjoyed the parts about the author’s pursuits, but wasn‘t as engaged in the historical parts.

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Top 21 of 2021

A few things I learned in my reading life in 2021:

1) I almost never regret taking the time to read a chunkster. I put them off, but they consistently end up on my favorites lists. (Big exception: Les Miserables. I read that for 230+ days straight through the Serial Reader app, and just didn’t like it that much. I should have stopped wasting my time.)

2) Audiobooks aren’t the same as curling up with a book, but they’re where I am right now. My audiobook reading has risen sharply since March 2020. It’s not ideal, but it’s better than nothing.

3) After refusing to buy a kindle for years and years I finally did, and I like it.

4) Cookbooks can make for good reading.

Overall I had a great reading year. Better than I thought actually once I took the time to make this list. Note: these are books I read in 2021, not necessarily published in 2021. Actually very few were published in 2021. I’m a backlist reader mostly. Also I re-read about 26 titles this year, but I left them off this list.

My favorite read of 2021:

Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese - I read this book in March and it’s still with me. It’s sweeping, and beautiful, and so worth the read. It’s the story of orphaned twins growing up in a hospital in Ethiopia, and where their lives take them. If you haven’t read this I highly, highly recommend that you do.

And My Top Twenty Runners Up

I read a lot of great novels, some armchair adventure, a few excellent Jame Austen retellings not set in Britain or the US (it really works), traveled without leaving home by reading and cooking from exotic cookbooks, and realized I don’t dislike poetry after all. Honestly, after I created this image I wanted to hug it. That’s how much I loved these books. They were such a comfort in a year of turmoil.

My kids and I listened to Gone Crazy In Alabama on a long and unexpected drive home from a funeral. I read Brown Girl Dreaming while waiting for my post vaccination fever to go away. The Windsor Knot made me smile during a not entirely welcome holiday season. And so many more just kept me company while drama big and small played out in the background.

Here’s to great books and less drama in 2023. Don’t know if there will be less drama, but 800+ books on my TBR list says there will at least be great books!

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October 2021 Show Us Your Books

September was a great reading month. I read not one but two five star books, got back into the swing of train reading, and devoured the new Louise Penny. So, so satisfying.

Five Stars

The Only Plane In The Sky by Garrett M. Graff - On Sep. 11 I was living just a few miles from the Pentagon and my husband was working at the US Capitol. In the end nothing happened to us personally, but the day was so chaotic and scary that I’ve avoided reading about it since. I decided this year I was ready for it so listened to this audiobook. It was really hard to re-live that day, but in a way really healing to hear everything laid out in chronological order.

We Begin At The End by Chris Whitaker - I absolutely loved this book. Parts of it were so grim, but the characters melted my heart. READ THIS BOOK.

Four Stars

The Guide by Peter Heller - Peter Heller is a must read for me. I loved The River and I loved its follow up The Guide just as much. Poor Jack maybe he should pursue indoor hobbies.

Abigail Adams by Woody Holton - I had a hard time getting into this but ended up really loving it. Abigail Adams was so interesting- part time feminist icon part time mother in law from hell, this book showed all sides. Given the times I was fascinated by the description of John Adams‘ smallpox inoculation and his subsequent confinement. I really recommend this one.

The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny - Another good one from Louise Penny. Set in a post pandemic world someone is using lessons and statistics from the pandemic to forward evil ideas, and Canada is starting to listen.

Who Is Maud Dixon by Alexandra Andrews - This was messed up in the best possible way. Two morally corrupt women take their talents to Morocco and craziness ensues. You have to be in the right mood for something like this which I totally was over Labor Day weekend.

Bride of the Sea by Eman Quotah - I liked this book. Operation Desert Storm from the Saudi perspective was not something I had read about before, and Muneer was the first Arabic man I‘ve read about who believed in restrictions against women but who wasn‘t portrayed as a villain. I wish the author had gone more into the motivations of Saeedah, and the ending was a little bumpy. Overall a good read, and I hope there will be more by this author.

Three Stars

Sovietistan: Travels in Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan by Erika Fatland - This was between a pick and a so-so. I really loved the first half but towards the end she stopped talking about the logistics of traveling in Central Asia and more about the politics and I lost some interest. Overall though it was an interesting introduction to several countries I knew nearly nothing about.

The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman - I don‘t always love magical realism, but the characters in this one grew on me and I liked it more than I expected to.

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September 2021 Show Us Your Books

August was a really good reading month. It helped that I had a week off, and that my family likes to listen to audiobooks in the car.

The other thing that helped? Both of my kids went back to in person school 5 days a week. They went two days each (not the same two days) for about 3 months last year, but now they’re both back at the same time. I have so many mixed feelings about this whole thing, but am also feeling pieces of my brain shift back together that haven’t been fully functional since March 2020. Fingers crossed they stay safe, and they have a semi-normal year. Luckily we live in a city that embraces vaccinations, mask wearing, and social distancing. That’s not a silver bullet I know, but it does make me feel a little less guilty about being happy about completing thoughts, reading on the train, and being able to finish a cup of coffee before it gets cold. Let’s just say I can’t wait to read the book about how caregivers (mostly women) were abandoned and forced to figure things out on their own during the pandemic.

Anyway, back to August reading.

Five Stars

Ramona and Her Mother by Beverly Cleary - These books are just wonderful, and the perfect length for audiobooking in the car. Somehow this is the first time my whole family has listened to one together and we all loved it. These are read by Stockard Channing aka Mrs. Bartlett from West Wing.

Four Stars

Chasing The Thrill by Daniel Barbarisi - Right book at the right time- I picked a book about a modern day treasure hunt that took place in some of the same areas we drove through on our trip last month. It would have been good anyway, but that was the icing on the cake. My 13 year old, my husband, and I all recommend this.

The Arsonists' City by Hala Alyan - This was a good family drama set at various times in Syria, Lebanon, and America. It would have been great if not for all the backstory.

Already Toast by Kate Washington - I thought this book was excellent. It was brutally honest and relatable. A really important read. (See rant above. This isn’t quite what I was looking for, but it was close.)

Long Bright River by Liz Moore - An tale of the opioid crisis with elements of a mystery and thriller thrown in. This book was fabulous.

Three Stars

The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth - Even though I kind of knew what was going on in this twisty book I was excited to keep reading to see just how it would happen.

Girls With Bright Futures by Tracy Dobmeier and Wendy Katzman - A dark but entertaining book about college admissions from the point of view of parents with kids in an elite Washington high school. I read this for a work book club, and we had plenty to discuss!

The Last Time I Saw Paris by Lynn Sheene - Another World War Two book, not that there’s anything wrong with that. I never connected with the main character, but I liked the story.

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Show Us Your Books May 2021

May was an excellent reading month for me- three five star books, a Hemingway binge, and tons of solid reads about all sorts of things. I usually only talk about the highlights here, but this month I’m just going to list them all.

Five Star Reads

World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil I absolutely loved this book of nature essays and accompanying illustrations. Loved it. I read a library copy, and now I need my own copy so I can flag and highlight.

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson This memoir in verse was amazing. What took me so long to read a book by Jacqueline Woodson? (This was also the book I read while I was waiting for my second vaccine side effects to go away, so I will always remember it fondly for that.)

The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng This book has so much: WWII from a non Western perspective, gardening, tea, grief, forgiveness, and so much more. It starts in the highlands of Malaysia where former war prisoner Yun Ling approaches Japanese gardener Arimoto to help her create a garden in memory of her sister who didn‘t survive the war. It‘s a beautiful book and I highly recommend it.

Four Stars

A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway I didn‘t think I liked Hemingway, but I checked this out of the library after watching his PBS special and it‘s quite good, actually.

The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner This was a roller coaster of a story that had me guessing wrong all the way through.

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer I‘ve read this several times, but this was my first time on audio. Other than scandalizing myself during morning car pool after an unfortunate timing of the f word it was just as great as in print. Even though I know what happens I‘m on the edge of my seat every time.

Eat The Buddha by Barbara Demick I have always been aware of the issues in Tibet, but until I read this modern history I had never understood them. This was a fascinating book. I recommend it.

Three Stars

The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner This was a good light read, but wasn‘t total fluff. It reminded me a lot of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi This was a pleasant audiobook set in 1950‘s India. Likable characters with a pleasing ending. I enjoyed it.

Buttermilk Graffiti by Edward Lee I enjoyed this travelogue from a chef who went around the country eating all sorts of delicious food. I did audio but want to find a print copy as a reference for random road trips.

The Lobster Kings Alexi Zentner The characters in this book kind of drove me nuts, but I‘m glad I finished it. It‘s part King Lear and part sea monsters, and is set on an island that sometimes belongs to Canada and sometimes to the US. It has a very unique sense of place.

The Paris Wife by Paula McLain I had to re-read this after reading A Movable Feast. I think I‘m now officially obsessed with 1920‘s Paris.

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REVIEW: Wide-Open World by John Marshall

I have been on a travel writing kick ever since I had a square for it on my Summer Reading Bingo card last year. That must have been how I ran across Wide-Open World by John Marshall. It was a worthy addition to my current reading obsession!

This was a real life book about doing something kind of crazy that was at the same time relatable. It starts with a couple with two teenagers that is drifting apart. Their marriage isn't terrible, but it's not great, and they feel like they're about to lose their kids to facebook and adulthood. They would love to drop it all, and travel for a year, but aren't sure how to swing it. They realize that by leveraging volunteer work they might be able to swing it.

I'll cut to the chase: these are not self righteous, I'm better than you because I help people instead of traveling types. If you're afraid reading this book will make you feel bad about your next trip to the hotel swimming pool don't be. These are people who initially use volunteer work as a way to help them travel, but who end up being changed for the better by it. This book includes the good, the bad, and the ugly, and that's what makes it so likable.

Other armchair travel I've enjoyed:

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