Sally Lou's reading in 2024

This year I'm lowering my number of ROOTs to be read. I will count as ROOTs any book I owned on December 31, 2023, plus "assigned" books such as those for book clubs (and LT ER if I read any of those).



1. Necessary Trouble: Growing Up at Midcentury by Drew Gilpin Faust -- Colonnades Wednesday Book Club -- finished reading Jan. 12th.
2. The Breach: The Untold Story of the Investigation into January 6th by Denver Riggleman (with Hunter Walker) -- bought in Jan. 2023 -- finished reading Jan. 27th.
3. The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields -- Colonnades Monday book club (Feb.) -- finished reading Feb. 4th.
4. Horse by Geraldine Brooks --anniversary gift in 2023 and Northside Library book club 2024 -- finished (re)reading Feb. 10
5. Walking With the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement by John Lewis -- Colonnades Wednesday Book Group -- finished reading Feb. 26th.
6. Little House in the Ozarks by Laura Ingalls Wilder, edited by Stephen W. Hines -- had before joined LT in Nov. 2007 -- finished reading Mar. 4th.
7. Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland for Northside Library book club -- free from library -- finished reading Mar. 18th
8. Plain: a Memoir of Mennonite Girlhood by Mary Alice Hostetter. -- bought last year after hearing author speak --
finished rereading Apr. 6th.
9. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee -- reread of a favorite book, read for an OLLI class -- finished reading Apr. 9th.
10. Kindred - Octavia Butler -- Northside Library Book Group -- finished reading Apr. 17th.
11. Mrs. Rowe's Restaurant Cookbook: A Lifetime of Recipes from the Shenandoah Valley by Mollie Cox Bryan --had since before I joined LT in Nov. 2007, Probably bought in 2006 -- finished reading May 24th (although had looked at a lot of the pictures, etc. previously).
12. Reading Lolita in Tehran: a Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi -- Northside Library Book Club -- finished reading June 10th.
13. They Were Good Germans Once: My Jewish Emigre Family: A Memoir by Evelyn Toynton --Early Reviewers -- finished reading July 2nd.
14. A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson -- Colonnades Monday Book Group -- finished reading July 7th
15. The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon -- Colonnades Wednesday Book Group -- finished reading July 12th
16. Out of the Clear Blue Sky by Kristan Higgins -- Northside Book Group -- finished reading Aug. 1st.
17. Tom Lake by Ann Patchett -- Colonnades Monday book group -- finished reading Aug. 9th
18. Nature Sings by Marlene Tidwell -- LT Early Reviewers -- finished reading around Aug. 15th.
19. The Truths We Hold: An American Journey by Kamala Harris -- purchased in Feb. 2021 -- finished reading Aug. 24th
20. Five-Dog Epiphany: a Memoir : How a Quintet of Badass Bichons Retrieved Our Joy by Marianne Leone -- LT Early Reviewers -- finished reading Sept. 7th.
21. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan -- OLLI class -- finished reading Sept. 8th
22. Foster by Claire Keegan -- OLLI class -- finished reading Sept. 10th
23. A Room with a View by E.M. Forster -- Northside Book Group -- finished reading Sept. 17th
24. Nathan Coulter by Wendell Berry -- purchased July 2023 -- finished reading Sept. 24th
25. First Friends: The Powerful, Unsung (and Unelected) People Who Shaped Our Presidents by Gary Ginsberg -- received as anniversary gift in 2023 -- finished reading Oct. 8th.
26. Fatal Remedies by Donna Leon -- OLLI mysteries class -- finished reading Oct. 22.
27. Inspector Singh Investigates: A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder by Shamini Flint -- OLLI mysteries class -- finished reading Oct. 28th.
28. All the Sinners Bleed by S. A. Cosby --Northside Book Group -- finished reading Nov. 15.
29. Winter Run by Robert Ashcom -- Colonnades Wednesday book group -- finished reading Nov. 19th.
30. Farmhouse on the Edge of Town: Stories from a Bed & Breakfast in the Mountains of Western Maine by Lew-Ellyn Hughes -- LT Early Reviewers -- finished reading Dec. 12th.

Happy ROOTing this year, and good luck with your goal!

Hi Sally Lou, Happy new year and Happy ROOTing. Go get them!

Welcome back! Good idea to include assigned books in the total. Have a great year!

Welcome back!

Good to see you again! Good luck for your 2024 reading.

Happy ROOTing and reading!

>2 mstrust:, >3 connie53:, >4 rabbitprincess:, >5 cyderry:, >6 Jackie_K: >7 MissWatson:. Thanks.

First ROOT in January out of goal of 24: Necessary Trouble: Growing Up at Midcentury by Drew Gilpin Faust.

This book is much more substantial than it sounds because of Drew's activism. Although she was raised in rural Virginia, she was sent out of state to school. She was continually looking for her place in life. As a teenager she became involved in the civil rights struggle, the protests against the Vietnam War, and life at Bryn Maur (over such things as whether students had to wear skirts!). Ms. Faust wrote this autobiography over half a century after these events occurred.

2nd ROOT in January out of goal of 24: The Breach: The Untold Story of the Investigation into January 6th by Denver Riggleman.

This is an early book published re Jan. 6th. Mr. Riggleman worked for Jan. 6th Committee, but was not a committee member. He was investing what happened prior to the beginning of the Committee. Mr. Riggleman's book covers a lot about the mechanics of examining the breach. It names names but not those who had not testified before the Committee. I did not find this book as interesting as Liz Cheney's account in Oath and Honor which I read earlier this month (not a ROOT).

So, I found your thread, Allison. I hope it's on top now.

And I hope you are feeling better and it's not a severe heart problem.

First book in February and third overall (out of 24): The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields
I read this for a book club at my retirement community. Unfortunately, I was in the hospital when the club met to discuss it. This is the story of a fictional woman, Daisy, from her birth to her death. Although it won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1995, I found it very unmemorable. The story is set primarily in Canada (Manitoba) and the United States (Indiana) although Daisy's father-in-law goes back to the Orkney Islands from which he came to Canada as a young man. I was amazed at how decrepit Ms. Shields portrayed Daisy in her 80s.

2nd ROOT in February and fourth out of 24: Horse by Geraldine Brooks.
This is a skillfully written historical fiction book about Lexington (formerly Darley) a famous 19th century racehorse who had a relatively brief career racing before he became blind, and then became a breeder of many horses, including many racehorses. The story describes life, particularly in the pre-Civil War South, in which Negroes (the term at that time) could not own horses or be jockeys in races but were depended upon to take care of the horses. It describes the bond between Jarret, the horse's enslaved groom and the horse; Jarret was the person Lexington trusted. Both Jarret and Lexington are sold from the farm where they lived to another slaveowner who took them to another trainer who treated Jarret particularly cruelly and would not let him take care of. the horse. This was before the owner brought both Jarret and Lexington from Kentucky to Louisiana to run on a racetrack he owned. Jarret also helped Thomas J. Scott, a painter, by preparing his palette, holding the horse still, etc.

The story of the living horse is interspersed with the 20th/21st story of discovering the history of the horse. Its skeleton was given to the Smithsonian as well as two of Scott's paintings (one of which became missing). Researchers including skeleton specialists and an art history doctoral student are trying to find out how the skeleton should be pieced together, why the horse became blind, etc. through the use of pictures. Theo, the doctoral student, wants to write his dissertation on Scott's paintings.

Throughout the book, racial relations play an important part. In addition to Jarret's relation with the horse, a young white girl/woman from his first plantation tries to have unapproved relations with him. Theo, the 21st century graduate student is black and works with/has relations with a white professional at the Smithsonian.

>11 connie53:. Thanks, Connie. I'm out of the hospital, and feeling much better. I had a heart catheterization on Monday (yesterday -- seems much longer ago than that), which fortunately went very well. I really appreciate how you make it a point to look at and comment on people's threads. Best wishes as you deal with your unfortunate marital situation. Glad you have your children and grandchildren so near.

>14 sallylou61:, Thanks, Allison. I just enjoy my daily route along all threads with new entries.

>12 sallylou61: I remember it as a quiet novel which honoured a quiet life. It probably stuck in my mind because parts of it are in Ottawa, my hometown, and I could picture exactly what kind of neighbourhood and house she lived in.

Wishing you a speedy recovery!

3rd ROOT for February and 5th out of 24: Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement by John Lewis (with Michaed D'Orso.

A Memoir of John Lewis's activism from a very young age through his first year in Congress (very briefly). He continued being active in the civil rights movement in spite of being beaten and being put in jail.

1st ROOT in March and 6th out of 24: Little House in the Ozarks: A Laura Ingalls Wilder Sampler: The Rediscovered Writings of Laura Ingalls Wilder, edited by Stephen W. Hines.
Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote numerous articles for farm journals, giving advice to farm women, before writing the Little House books for children. This collection of articles, many of which were written around the time of WW1, gives a good picture of Laura as an adult; she placed great value on being a partner with her husband, participating in running the farm well, and the value of being honest and kind to people.

2nd ROOT in March and 7th out of 24: Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland,
This is a novel based on a story of the author's ancestors. Florence Adler, a 19-year-old girl who is training to swim the English Channel, drowns in the Atlantic Ocean in the first chapter of the book. This event is treated as a family secret, keeping the news away from Florence's older sister, Fanny, who is confined in a hospital while waiting the birth of a child. Fanny's infant son had died a year earlier. Anna, an Italian young woman who is the daughter of Mr. Adler's former fiancee, is living with the family. The story, which ends after Fanny's daughter is born, shows how keeping the secret impacts the family and some close friends, including Florence's swimming coach.

>19 sallylou61: I have this book on my relatively short TBR list. I've been looking forward to it.

1st ROOT for April and 8th out of 24: Plain: a Memoir of Mennonite Girlhood by Mary Alice Hostetter.

I reread this book for our Charlottesville Friends Meeting Big Read, to be discussed tomorrow, April 7th. I first read it last year after Mary Alice gave a reading from it at a local bookstore.

Mary Alice grew up in a large Mennonite family (the tenth of twelve children) on a farm at the edge of Lancaster County. Mary Alice's parents were strict; she was not allowed to dance or go to the movies, and the family did not have television. The whole family worked on the farm. Mary Alice was exposed to a much larger environment when she left for college, and especially when she accepted her first teaching position in the Greater Philadelphia area. She constantly tried new things.

The final section of the book pertains to her finding her sexual identity (as a lesbian) in her 50s. A particularly moving experience occurs when one of her brothers tells to their father that he gay, and Mary Alice's admitting to their father that she is also when their father wonders about her. By then their mother has died.

In practically the whole book Mary Alice is searching for who she is and what she should make of her life. She constantly comes through as a very intelligent person.

(I am calling the author by her first name, following the custom of Friends {Quakers}. This is a show of friendliness, equality and respect.)

>21 sallylou61: That sounds interesting, Allison.

Second ROOT for April and 9th out of 24: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

I reread this book for an adult education class in which we both read the book and watched the movie. Although the movie was excellent, it had to leave out certain parts of the book. Both of Atticus's siblings were cut which was disappointing to me. I feel that the scenes with Atticus's brother, the doctor, and Scout were particularly interesting; how Atticus told his brother to tell children the truth about difficult situations.

Third ROOT in April and 10th out of 24: Kindred by Octavia E. Butler.

For a book club and the written in another cultural tradition square of BingoDOG, I read Kindred by Octavia E. Butler. This book was written in the slave narrative tradition. It is a time travel book with the main character Dana (a black woman) and Kevin (her white husband) traveling back and forth from their Los Angeles home in 1776 (the bicentennial year) to a plantation in Maryland in the time of slavery. When she was a slave in the Maryland, Dana is treated like a slave. Going back, Dana meets some of her ancestors.

First ROOT in May and 11th out or 24: Mrs. Rowe's Restaurant Cookbook: A Lifetime of Recipes from the Shenandoah Valley by Mollie Cox Bryan.

This is more than just a cookbook; it is also a biography of Mrs. Rowe who ran Rowe's Restaurant in Stanton for many years. After her death, the restaurant stayed in her family with her son's running it. Above each recipe, there is some commentary about it.

>24 sallylou61: I have good memories about this book, Allison. I might read that for my RL Challenge.

First ROOT for May and 12th out of 24: Reading Lolita in Tehran: a Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi.
A dedicated teacher, Azar Nafisi, held a weekly seminar for seven female students in her home to discuss "the relation between fiction and reality" (p. 6). The students came from different backgrounds. Although they discussed some Persian authors, this course focused on Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Daisy Miller by Henry James, and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Most of the memoir is focused on life in Iran the 1990s, especially as it pertained to women. The women in Ms. Nafisi's class were able to take off their outer, government-required garments. In addition to discussing literature, they talked about their own lives. Much of the book is devoted more to describing life than in discussing the books.

First ROOT for July and 13th out of 24: They Were Good Germans Once by Evelyn Toynton.
This book was especially strong about the relatives whom Ms. Toynton personally knew: her parents and her Uncle Hans each of whom have a chapter devoted to them. Much of the rest of the book described people and arrangements during WWII, which was before the author was born.

This review is based on the advance reader copy; the dedication and acknowledgments were not included.

Second ROOT for July and 14th out of 24: A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson.

In this book Mr. Bryson describes the hike he and his friend, Stephen Katz, took on the Appalachian Trial starting in early March 1996. Mr. Bryson's book contains many adventures, which he tells humorously. Mr. Bryson was a faster hiker than Mr. Katz, and often had to wait for him to catch up. Also, to Mr. Bryson's dismay, Mr. Katz threw out a lot of food and some pots and pans needed for cooking because he did not want to carry such a heavy load. Besides describing the hike, Mr. Bryson gives a considerable amount of information about the AP (Appalachian Trail) including its history and features.

>29 sallylou61: I remember enjoying this one, especially Bryson's honesty about the challenges of hiking such a long trail. A lot of neat historical info too!

>30 Cecilturtle: I agree.

Third ROOT for July and 15th out of 24: The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon.
This book is a fictional account based on the life of Martha Ballard, a midwife in Maine in the late 18th century. It is also a murder mystery. Martha Ballard kept a dated diary; Ms. Lawhon follows this practice in the novel.

First ROOT for August and 16th out of 24: Out of the Clear Blue Sky by Kristan Higgins

The book, which I read for a book group, features unsavory characters: a man who leaves his wife for another woman (although I don't know why either woman would be attracted to him); a woman who is a helicopter parent to her son who had just gone away to college and who cannot adjust to her husband's leaving her; and a woman who grew up poor, lied about her background to her first husband (who was very rich and died leaving her a rich widow), and who wants to buy her way into Cape Cod society.

The book was interesting although I did not like any of the main characters.

Second ROOT for August and 17th out of 24: Tom Lake by Ann Patchett.

The book went back and forth between stories of two different times: one when the parents were young and involved in the theater at Tom Lake and the other when their three adult daughters were home at the Nelson residence on a cherry farm. The Nelson residence was mentioned in the earlier story when actors visited there and featured in the later one. The daughters were trying to find out about their mother's involvement with a famous actor who had acted in the theater. They were told about it in pieces.

Third ROOT for August and 18th out of 24: Nature Sings by Marlene Tidwell.
I read this short, unpaged collection of poems for LT Early Reviewers. Ms. Tidwell created a beautiful book with lovely photographs of nature. However, the poems do not read smoothly; the rhythm does not flow, particularly near the end of the poems.

Fourth ROOT for August and 19th out of 24: The Truths We Hold: An American Journey by Kamala Harris.
This book was originally published in 2019, and feels very much like a campaign book; Harris was one of many Democrats who campaigned unsuccessfully for President in 2019/2020. She tells about her upbringing but spends most of the book telling about her views on particular problems and her actions concerning them including housing, marriage rights for gays, immigration including the Trump Administration's cruel practice of separating young children from their mothers, medical care and the drug industry, the cost of living, and intelligence work (for security).

First ROOT in September and 20th out of 24: Five-Dog Epiphany by Marianne Leone
This appears to be a therapy book for its author, Marianne Leone, who had lost her handicapped son to death. The first of the five dogs was one she and her husband had given their son because he wanted a dog. The son died before the dog did. However, after the dog's death, she and her husband got two more dogs, bichons, who had been born in a puppy mill. Most of the book features these two dogs. Later the couple got two more bichons. Ms. Leone kept saying that she herself was damaged, and that they adopted damaged dogs.

Second ROOT in September and 21st out of 24: Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
In it a man and his wife disagree about helping girls who work in a laundry in a nunnery; in the end, the husband rescues one of the girls and is on his way home with her. The story ends there, without our finding out what happens when he gets home.

Also, the man does not know who his father is, and gets a clue, but is unable to talk to the man who might be his father.

3rd ROOT for September and 22nd out of 24: Foster by Claire Keegan
Foster by Claire Keegan is the story of a young girl who is taken by her father to live for the summer with a couple who she does not know who have lost a son to death. The couple take her home in the fall before school starts, but she races down the driveway as they leave. She apparently wants to go back with them instead of living at home where she will need to help out with her numerous younger siblings. The story is unclear about what happens then.

Hi Allison. Almost reached your goal or perhaps you did read two more in the last week.
Very nice job!

Hi Connie,
Thanks for stopping by. You are so good about that.
I'm still one away from my goal. I've read A Room with a View by E.M. Forster for a book group, but have not yet written about it. I'm taking an adult class reading one act plays which our instructor sends to us through email. Also, I'm taking a class reading the Irish author, Claire Keegan. I've listed the books for that class above.

Fourth ROOT in September and 23rd out of 24: A Room with a View by E. M. Forster.

For a book club I read A Room with a View by E. M. Forster, which was listed by the publisher as a classic. It features Lucy Honeychurch who is in Italy, chaperoned by a female cousin, in the first part of the novel. In the second and last part, they are back in England. Lucy is trying to break out of the strict structure of English society early in the twentieth century; the book was first published in 1908. The participants in our book group agreed that the story is dated. Some of us had trouble understanding why it is still a classic.

Fifth ROOT in September and 24th out of 24: Nathan Coulter by Wendell Berry.
This novel is the coming of age story of Nathan which occurs when Nathan witnesses the death of his grandpa at the end of the novel. The novel is about family living on a farm in Kentucky following the death of Nathan's mother. The community gets together to put out the fire when the Coulter's barn burns down. There is conflict between Nathan and his older brother, Tom.

First ROOT for October and 25th total (goal was 24): First Friends: The Powerful, Unsung (and Unelected) People Who Shaped Our Presidents by Gary Ginsberg.
This is the story of friends of nine presidents, and the influence they had on the president. Included are: Thomas Jefferson and James Madison (both of whom were elected); Franklin Pierce and Nathaniel Hawthorne; Abraham Lincoln and Joshua Speed; Woodrow Wilson and Colonel House; FDR and Daisy Suckley (the only woman); Harry Truman and Eddie Jacobson; Jack Kennedy and David Ormsby-Gore (the only foreigner); Richard Nixon and Bebe Rebozo; and Bill Clinton and Vernon Jordan (the only black man).

>44 sallylou61: Congratulations on reaching your goal!

Congrats, Allison. Very good job.

Thanks Cecilturtle and Connie.

I'll be interested to see how far I surpass it.

Second ROOT for October and 26th total (goal was 24): Fatal Remedies by Donna Leon.
I read this mystery for an adult education class. Although we had an interesting discussion in class today, I did not enjoy reading this book. The first crime, breaking the window of a tourist agency which sold tours going to countries to molest young girls/women, was committed by the wife of the senior detective of the police in Venice. Although he does not get involved with the investigation until after a murder occurs, I did not approve of the detective working on a case in any way involving his wife.

Third ROOT for October and 27th total (Goal was 24): Inspector Singh Investigates: A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder by Shamini Flint.
I withdrew this book after our class discussion; had difficulty understanding the cultures involved; instructor even had to research them.

Ah 3 books past your goal and 2 more months for reading even more.

First ROOT for November and 28th total (Goal was 24): All the Sinners Bleed by S. A. Cosby.
I read this for our local library book club. This is a very complex murder mystery book featuring Titus Crown, a black sheriff in a fictitious Virginia county. The county supposedly not had many murders for many years, which turns out not to be true. Some employees of the local school system have killed and buried seven black children.

Second ROOT for November and 29th total (Goal was 24): Winter Run by Robert Ashcom.
I read this for a book club assignment in our retirement community. Mr. Ashcom lives in our community and attended our club meeting. The book includes stories about a boy growing up in the rural part of Albemarle County, Virginia, during the 1940s and particularly 1950s although the author claims in is not autobiographical. I thought that the stories were okay but nothing special.
(I live in Albemarle County but not the community where Mr. Ashcom grew up.)

First ROOT in December and 30th total (Goal was 24): Farmhouse on the Edge of Town: Stories from a Bed & Breakfast in the Mountains of Western Maine by Lew-Ellyn Hughes.

This is a pleasant story about living in the mountains near a small town in Western Maine. Ms. Hughes bought a farmhouse which she had fixed up to be a bed and breakfast, which she ran for fifteen years. She wrote about her experiences living there, running the B&B and tending to her garden. She cooked the food for her business and grew most of the vegetables. She had a fence put up to keep the deer from eating from her garden; this did not keep away smaller animals. Ms. Hughes wrote the account in short chapters. By fifteen years, she had several grandchildren, and decided to sell the B&B so that she could spend more time with her family.

Contains black and white photographs.