SALLY LOU'S REVISED THREAD -- Replaces Sally Lou simplifies her thread

It did not take me long to realize that I didn't like the way my initial thread was going to work. Thus, I'm going back to my more traditional thread. Once again, I will be recording my reading by months, but also listing the titles under the appropriate categories.

This year I am not hosting any months for CATs or KITs.

I will only do one BingoDOG card this year. In the past, I have usually started a second one (and usually finished it except for 2023).

As an elderly woman, I would like to have a relaxing year.

January reading:

1. (1) Why We Love Baseball: A History in 50 Moments by Joe Posnanski -- finished reading Jan. 8th -- 3.5 stars
2. (2) Necessary Trouble: Growing Up at Midcentury by Drew Gilpin Faust -- BingoDOG -- finished reading Jan. 12th -- 4 stars
3. (3) Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning by Liz Cheney -- BingoDOG -- finished reading Jan. 20th -- 4 stars
4. (4) Onlookers: Stories by Ann Beattie -- finished reading Jan. 23rd -- 3rd BingoDOG title -- 2.5 stars
5. (5) The Breach: The Untold Story of the Investigation into January 6th by Denver Riggleman (with Hunter Walker) -- 4th BingoDOG title -- finished reading Jan. 27th) -- 3 stars
6. (6) Susanna and Alice: Quaker Rebels: The Story of Susanna Parry and her cousin, Alice Paul by Leslie Mulford Denis —finished reading Jan. 29th — 5th BingoDog title -- 3.5 stars

Also, our family is dealing with an ill relative.

DNF: A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage. This is the monthly reading for one of our CCRC's book groups, but I just could not get interested in the book. I just read the introduction, chapter 1, and 13 p. of chapter 11 about coca-cola.

February reading:

7. (7) The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields -- Colonnades Monday book club (Feb.) -- finished reading Feb. 4th -- 3 stars
8. (8) Horse by Geraldine Brooks —Northside Book Group and BingoDOG — finished reading Feb. 10th -- 4.5 stars
9. (9) I Take Thee, Serenity by Daisy Newman -- pleasure and BingoDOG -- finished reading Feb. 16th -- 5 stars
10. (10) Walking With the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement by John Lewis -- CalendarCAT and BingoDOG -- finished reading Feb. 26th -- 5 stars
11. Big by Vashti Harrison -- AwardCAT (Caldecott) -- picture book -- read Feb. 27th.

March reading:

1. (11) Little House in the Ozarks: A Laura Ingalls Wilder Sampler: The Rediscovered Writings of Laura Ingalls Wilder, edited by Stephen W. Hines.
2. (12) Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland -- BingoDOG and JMRL community read -- finished reading Mar. 18th.
3. (13) An Uncommon Woman: The Life of Lydia Hamiton Smith by Mark Kelley -- CalendarCAT (Women's History Month -- finished reading Mar. 21st -- 3 stars
4. (14) Marmee by Sarah Miller -- CalendarCAT (Women's History Month) -- finished reading March 31st -- 4.5 stars

Short stories:
1. "An Elderly Lady Begins to Remember her Past" in An Elderly Lady Must Not be Crossed by Helene Tursten --read Mar. 26th
2. "Little Maud Sets a Trap" in An Elderly Lady Must Not be Crossed by Helene Tursten --read Mar. 26th
3. "The Truth about Charlotte" in An Elderly Lady Must Not be Crossed by Helene Tursten --read Mar. 26th

April reading:

1. (15) Plain: a Memoir of Mennonite Girlhood by Mary Alice Hostetter -- finished rereading Apr. 6th for Charlottesville Friends Meeting Big Read -- 4.5 stars (did not change from previous reading)
2. (16) To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee -- OLLI class -- finished rereading April 9th -- 5 stars
3. (17) The Women by Kristin Hannah -- finished reading April 14 - BingoDOG-- 5 stars
4. (18) Kindred - Octavia Butler (tradition of slave narrative) -- BingoDOG, Northside Library Book Group -- finished reading Apr. 17th -- 2 stars
5. (19) Enough by Cassidy Hutchinson -- finished reading Apr. 18th -- 3.5 stars
6. (20) Climate Justice: Hope, Resilience, and the Fight for a Sustainable Future by Mary Robinson with Caitriona Palmer -- finished reading on Earth Day 2024 (Apr. 22nd) -- 4 stars
7. (21) Medgar & Myrlie: Medgar Evers and the Love Story that Awakened America by Joy-Ann Reid -- finished reading April. 26th -- 4 stars

May reading:

1. (22) In Farleigh Field by Rhys Bowen -- BingoDOG and read for Julia (ROOTs challenge) -- finished reading May 3rd -- 3 stars
2. (23) Maiden Voyages: Magnificent Ocean Liners and the Women Who Traveled and Worked Aboard Them by Sian Evans -- BingoDOG -- finished reading May 10th -- 3 stars.
3. (24) An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s by Doris Kearns Goodwin -- finished reading May 22nd -- 5 stars.
4. (25) Why To Kill a Mockingbird Matters: What Harper Lee's Book and the Iconic American Film Mean to Us Today by Tom Santopietro -- finished reading May 23rd -- 4 stars
5. (26) Mrs. Rowe's Restaurant Cookbook: A Lifetime of Recipes from the Shenandoah Valley by Mollie Cox Bryan --finished reading May 24th -- 4 stars
6. (27) Cassandra at the Wedding by Dorothy Baker -- BingoDOG -- finished reading May 25th -- 3 stars
7. (28) March Sisters: On Life, Death, and Little Women by Kate Bolick, Jenny Zhang, Carmen Maria Machado, and Jane Smiley -- finished reading May 27th -- 4 stars.

DNF The Upstairs Delicatessen by Dwight Garner -- a library book which I was reading for the food or cooking square in BingoDOG, but found another book I would rather read: Mrs. Rowe's Restaurant Cookbook: A Lifetime of Recipes from the Shenandoah Valley by Mollie Cox Bryan

June reading:

1. (29) Reading Lolita in Tehran: a Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi -- Northside Library Book Club -- finished reading June 10th -- 3 stars.
2. A Strange Life: Selected Essays of Louisa May Alcott, edited by Liz Rosenberg, preface by Jane Smiley -- read first half of book, did not reread Hospital Sketches which I read last year.
3. (30) In Sunshine or in Shadow by Rhys Brown and Clare Broyles -- finished reading June 14th -- 3 stars
4. (31) The Comfort of Ghosts by Jacqueline Winspear -- last Maisie Dobbs novel -- finished reading June 17th -- 4 stars
5. (32) On Juneteenth by Annette Gordon-Reed (reread, Juneteenth) -- 4.5 stars
6. (33) Feline Fatale by Rita Mae Brown -- finished reading June 20th -- 3 stars
7. (34) The Mountain View Murder by Patick Kelly -- first in series, Wintergreen mystery -- finished reading June 22nd -- 4 stars
8. (35) The Overlook Murder by Patrick Kelly -- second in series, Wintergreen mystery -- finished reading June 24th -- 3 stars
9. (36) A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe by Mark Dawidziak -- BingoDOG -- finished reading June 25th -- 2.5 stars
10. (37) Murder in White by Patrick Kelly, the third Wintergreen mystery -- finished reading June 27th
11. (38) Murder at Dawn by Patrick Kelly, the fourth Wintergreen mystery -- finished reading June 28th -- 4 stars

read some from The Palace Papers by Tina Brown

July reading:

1. (39) They Were Good Germans Once: My Jewish Emigre Family: A Memoir by Evelyn Toynton --Early Reviewers -- finished July 2 -- 4 stars
2. (40) A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson -- Colonnades Monday Book Group -- finished reading July 7th -- 4.5 stars
3. (41) The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon -- Colonnades Wednesday Book Group and BingoDOG-- finished reading July 12th -- 3.5 stars
4. (42) Windfall: The Prairie Woman Who Lost Her Way and the Great-Granddaughter Who Found Her by Erika Bolstad -- finished reading July 15th -- 3 stars
5. (43) The First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray -- finished reading July 20th -- 4.5 stars
6. (44) Pets and the City: True Tales of a Manhattan House Call Veterinarian by Dr. Amy Attas -- finished reading July 27th -- 4.5 stars
7. (45) In the Pines: A Lynching, a Lie, a Reckoning by Grace Elizabeth Hale -- finished reading July 29th -- 5 stars

August reading:

1. (46) Out of the Clear Blue Sky by Kristan Higgins -- Northside Book Group -- finished reading Aug. 1st -- 4 stars
2. (47) Scattering Ashes: A Memoir of Letting Go by Joan Z. Rough --finished reading Aug. 4th -- 4 stars
3. (48) Tom Lake by Ann Patchett -- Colonnades Monday book club -- finished reading Aug. 9th -- 3 stars
4. (49) Nature Sings by Marlene Tidwell (poems, read for LT Early Reviewers) -- finished reading Aug. 15th (?)-- 3 stars
5. (50) The Truths We Hold: An American Journey by Kamala Harris -- finished reading Aug. 24th -- 4.5 stars
6. (51) The Art of Power by Nancy Pelosi. — finished reading Aug. 30th — 4.5 stars

Read columns collected into The Great American Sports Page edited by John Schulian:
Shirley Povich: "Iron Horse 'Breaks' as Athletic Great Meets His Honor" (1939) about Lou Gehrig and "Larsen Pitches 1st Perfect Game in Series History" (1956)
Wendell Smith (black journalist who covered Jackie Robinson his first year in major leagues seen in movie 42); "It Was a Great Day in Jersey" (1946)
Dick Young: "Obit on the Dodgers" (1957) about Dodgers moving to California; "Hutch" about last season an ill Fred Hutchinson played for the Cincinnati Reds (1964)
Kim Murray: "As White as the Ku Klux Klan (1969) about Masters Gulf Tournament; "If You're Expecting One-Liners" (1979) miscellaneous; "All-Time Greatest Name" (1980) about Van Lingle Mungo.
Wells Twombly: "Super Hero" (1973) about Roberto Clemente
Bill Nack: "First a Hush, Then Awe'' (1973) about Secretariat (longer than usual column)
Diane K. Shah: "Oh, No! Not Another Boring Interview with Steve Carlton" (1983)
Thomas Boswell: "Something to Shout About" (1982) about important game between Baltimore Orioles and Milwaukee Brewers; "Nicklaus a Master Again" (1986) and "The Rocket's Descent" (2007) about Roger Clemens use of drugs
Tony Kornheiser: "Jackson's Lonely World" about Reggie Jackson's not feeling that he fit in (and getting his due in baseball)
Richard Hoffer: "Retton Vaults Padst Szabo to Win Gold Metal" (1984) about Mary Lou Retton in 1984 Olympics (a West Virginian)
Mike Downey: "He May Be PLaying in year 2131" about Cal Ripken ((series of short letters by Cal)
Jane Leavy: "The Man Baseball Forgot Plays the Hand He's Dealt (1983) about Mickey Mantle.
Sally Jenkins: "George Huguely, Ben Roethlisberger, Lawrence Taylor: Male Athletes Encouraged to Do the Wrong Thing" (2010)
Each of the columns is approximately 3 pages long except about Secretariat (which is approximately twice that long).

September reading:

1. (52) So Late in the Day: Stories of Women and Men by Claire Keegan -- finished reading Sept. 1st -- 3 stars (since did not like last of the 3 stories)
2. (53) Five-Dog Epiphany: a Memoir : How a Quintet of Badass Bichons Retrieved Our Joy by Marianne Leone -- LT Early Reviewers -- finished Sept. 7th -- 3 stars
3. (54) Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan -- OLLI class -- finished reading Sept. 8th
4. (55) Foster by Claire Keegan -- OLLI class -- finished reading Sept. 10th and read Sept. 20th (read twice for OLLI class, once before the movie and once in the afternoon after the movie))
5. (56) A Room with a View by E.M. Forster -- Northside Book Group -- finished reading Sept. 17th
6. (57) Nathan Coulter by Wendell Berry -- finished reading Sept. 24th

Plays read for OLLI One Act Play class:
1. "A Matter of Husbands" by Ferene Molnar; translated by Benjamin Glazer (1st class, Sept. 11)
2. "Echo" by Joseph T. Shipley (1st class, Sept. 11)
3. "Overtones" by Alice Gersenberg (2nd class, Sept. 18)
4. "Trifles" by Susan Glaspell (2nd class, Sept. 18)
5. "A Dollar" by David Pinski, translated by Isaac Goldberg (3rd class, Sept. 25th)
6. "Mine Eyes Have Seen" by Alice Dunbar-Nelson (3rd class, Sept. 25th)

October reading:

1. (58) Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History by Erik Larson -- HistoryCAT -- finished reading October 6th -- 3.5 stars.
2. (59) First Friends: The Powerful, Unsung (and Unelected) People Who Shaped Our Presidents by Gary Ginsberg -- finished reading Oct. 8th -- 4 stars
3. (60) Fatal Remedies by Donna Leon -- OLLI mysteries class -- finished reading Oct. 22 -- 2.5 stars
4. (61) Antarctica by Claire Keegan -- short stories -- finished reading Oct. 22nd -- 3 stars
5. (62) Inspector Singh Investigates: A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder by Shamini Flint -- OLLI mysteries class -- finished reading Oct. 28th -- 2.5 stars

Read most of First Ladies: Presidential Historians on the Lives of 45 Iconic American Women edited by Susan Swain -- finished reading Oct. 19th -- 4 stars

DNF: Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane (Northside Library Group, Boston school integration problems)

November reading:

1. (63) All the Sinners Bleed by S. A. Cosby -- Northside Library book group -- finished reading Nov. 15th -- 3 stars
2. (64) Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink -- PrizeCAT (Newbery prize) finished rereading Nov. 17th -- 4 stars
3. (65) Winter Run by Robert Ashcom -- Colonnades Wednesday book group -- finished reading Nov. 19th -- 3 stars
4. (66) The Barn: The Secret History of a Murder in Mississippi by Wright Thompsom -- finished reading Nov. 23rd -- 3 stars

Possible books:
Living shoreborn by Barry Mears
(RandomCAT -- written in first person)
The colors of April edited by Quan Manh Ha and Cab Tran (LT review books)
James by Percival Everett (Colonnades Monday book group)

DNF: Bruno, Chief of Police by Martin Walker (on vacation, then watched election returns, skipped class)

December reading:

1. (67) American Woman: The Transformation of the Modern First Lady from Hillary Clinton to Jill Biden by Katie Rogers -- finished reading Dec. 8th -- 3 stars
2. (68) 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 -- 3.5 stars
3. (69) Garth Williams, American Illustrator: A Life by Elizabeth K. Wallace and James D. Wallace -- finished reading Dec. 22nd -- 4 stars.

BingoDOG



I'm limiting myself to only one card.

Finished BingoDog card Sunday, August 4th.

BingoDOG reading:

1. Featuring twins: Cassandra at the Wedding by Dorothy Baker -- finished reading May 25th -- 22nd book read -- 3 stars -- 5th and 6th Bingo (top row across, diagonal from top left to bottom right)
2. Epistolary or diary: Susanna and Alice: Quaker Rebels by Leslie Mulford Denis —Finished reading Jan. 29th—5th book read -- 3.5 stars
3. Featuring water: Maiden Voyages: Magnificent Ocean Liners and the Women Who Traveled and Worked Aboard Them by Sian Evans -- finished reading May 10th (20th book read) -- 3 stars.
4. Written in another cultural tradition: Kindred - Octavia Butler (tradition of slave narrative) -- finished reading Apr. 17th (16th BingoDOG book read) -- 2 stars
5. Best seller: Horse by Geraldine Brooks — finished reading Feb. 10th —7th book read— 4.5 stars
6. Specific knowledge: Marmee by Sarah Miller -- finished reading Mar. 31st --13th book read -- 4.5 stars
7. Person's name in title: Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland -- finished reading Mar. 18th -- 11th book read -- 4.0
8. Ugly cover: A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe by Mark Dawidziak -- finished reading June 25th -- 23rd BingoDOG title read --2.5 stars. --- 8th and 9th Bingos: middle vertical row and 2nd row down horizontal row
9. Less than 100 copies in LT: Scattering Ashes: A Memoir of Letting Go --finished reading Aug. 4th -- 25th and final book read -- 4 stars -- 11th and 12th Bingoes -- 2nd row down and 4th vertical row.
10. Big or little in title: Big by Vashti Harrison -- read Feb. 27th -- 10th book read
11. Paper based item in plot: The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon (diary) -- finished reading July 12th --24th BingoDOG title read -- 3.5 stars -- 10th Bingo -- 1st vertical row
12. Food or Cooking: Mrs. Rowe's Restaurant Cookbook: A Lifetime of Recipes from the Shenandoah Valley by Mollie Cox Bryan --finished reading May 24th -- 21st BingoDOG title read -- 5th Bingo (second vertical row from left) -- 4 stars
13. Read a CAT: An Uncommon Woman: The Life of Lydia Hamiton Smith by Mark Kelley -- March CalendarCAT (women's history) -- finished reading Mar. 21st -- 12th BingoDOG book -- 3 stars
14. Author 65 or older: Necessary Trouble: Growing Up at Midcentury by Drew Gilpin Faust -- finished reading Jan. 12th -- 1st BingoDOG title read -- 4 stars.
15. Short story collections: Onlookers: Stories by Ann Beattie -- finished reading Jan. 23rd -- 3rd BingoDOG title -- 2.5 stars -- 3rd row down and right column when changed from less than 100 titles (7/4/24)
16. POC author: Walking With the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement by John Lewis -- finished reading Feb. 26th --9th BingoDOG title read-- 5 stars
17. Three word title: In Farleigh Field by Rhys Bowen --finished reading May 3rd -- 19th BingoDOG title -- 3rd and 4th Bingos (4th row down and diagonal lower left to upper right) -- 3 stars
18. Book from LT similar library: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (KatyNora's library) -- finished rereading April 9th -- 14th BingoDOG title -- 5 stars
19. Set in a city: Enough by Cassidy Hutchinson -- finished reading Apr. 18th -- 17th BingoDOG title -- 3.5 stars -- 1st BINGO (4th vertical column from left) Washington, DC
20. Warriors: Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning by Liz Cheney (consider Cheney a political warrior) -- finished reading Jan. 20th -- 2nd BingoDOG title read -- 4 stars
21. Reread a favorite book: I Take Thee, Serenity by Daisy Newman -- finished reading Feb. 16 --8th BingoDOG title read -- 5 stars
22. Friendship: The Women by Kristin Hannah -- finished reading April 14 -- 15th BingoDOG title read -- 5 stars
23. Set in multiple countries: The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields -- Colonnades Monday book club (Feb.) -- finished reading Feb. 4th -- 6th BingoDOG title read -- 3 stars
24. Only title and author on cover: The Breach: The Untold Story of the Investigation into January 6th by Denver Riggleman (with Hunter Walker) -- 4th BingoDOG title -- finished reading Jan. 27th) -- 3 stars
25. Publication year ending in 24: Medgar & Myrlie: Medgar Evers and the Love Story that Awakened America by Joy-Ann Reid -- finished reading April. 26th -- 18th BingoDOG title read -- 2nd Bingo (bottom row across) -- 4 stars

CAT reading:

February CalendarCAT: Walking With the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement by John Lewis -- finished reading February 26th -- 5 stars -- Black History month

February AwardsCAT (award from own country): Big by Vashti Harrison --Caldecott Award -- read Feb. 27th

March CalendarCAT: An Uncommon Woman: The Life of Lydia Hamiton Smith by Mark Kelley -- (women's history) -- finished reading Mar. 21st -- 3 stars

April CalendarCAT: Climate Justice: Hope, Resilience, and the Fight for a Sustainable Future by Mary Robinson with Caitriona Palmer -- finished reading on (Earth Day 2024) -- 4 stars

October HistoryCAT (disasters): Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History by Erik Larson -- finished reading Oct. 6th -- 3.5 stars.

November PrizeCAT (children's literature): Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink -- (Newbery award) finished rereading Nov. 17th -- 4 stars

KIT reading:

March AlphaKIT (R): Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland.

April AlphaKIT (O) Kindred by Octavia E. Butler.

June AlphaKIT (B): In Sunshine or in Shadow by -- Rhys Bowen and Clare Broyles.

Assigned reading (bookclubs, classes, early reviewers, etc.):

1. Necessary Trouble: Growing Up at Midcentury by Drew Gilpin Faust -- Colonnades Wednesday book club -- finished reading Jan. 12th -- 4 stars
2. The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields -- Colonnades Monday book club (Feb.) -- finished reading Feb. 4th -- 3 stars
3. Horse by Geraldine Brooks —Northside Book Group and BingoDOG — finished reading Feb. 10th
4. Walking With the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement by John Lewis -- Colonnades Wednesday book group-- finished reading Feb. 26th -- 5 stars
5. Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland for Northside Book Group and JMRL community read -- finished Mar. 18 -- 4 stars.
6. Plain: a Memoir of Mennonite Girlhood by Mary Alice Hostetter -- finished rereading Apr. 6th for Charlottesville Friends Meeting Big Read -- 4.5 stars (did not change from previous reading)
7. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee -- OLLI class -- finished rereading April 9th -- 5 stars
8. Kindred - Octavia Butler (tradition of slave narrative) -- Northside Library Book Group -- finished reading Apr. 17th -- 2 stars
9. Climate Justice: Hope, Resilience, and the Fight for a Sustainable Future by Mary Robinson with Caitriona Palmer -- finished reading on Earth Day 2024 and for Colonnades Wednesday Book Group -- 4 stars
10. Reading Lolita in Tehran: a Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi -- Northside Library Book Club -- finished reading June 10th -- 3 stars.
11. They Were Good Germans Once: My Jewish Emigre Family: A Memoir by Evelyn Toynton --Early Reviewers -- finished July 2 -- 4 stars.
12. A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson -- Colonnades Monday Book Group -- finished reading July 7th -- 4.5 stars
13. The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon -- Colonnades Wednesday Book Group -- finished reading July 12th -- 3.5 stars
14. Out of the Clear Blue Sky by Kristan Higgins -- Northside Book Group -- finished reading Aug. 1st -- 4 stars
15. Tom Lake by Ann Patchett -- Colonnades Monday book club -- finished reading Aug. 9th -- 3 stars
16. Nature Sings by Marlene Tidwell (poems, read for LT Early Reviewers) -- finished reading Aug. 15th (?)-- 3 stars
17. Five-Dog Epiphany: a Memoir : How a Quintet of Badass Bichons Retrieved Our Joy by Marianne Leone -- LT Early Reviewers -- finished Sept. 7th
17. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan -- OLLI class -- finished reading Sept. 8th. -- 4 stars
18. A Room with a View by E.M. Forster -- Northside Book Group -- finished reading Sept. 17th -- 3 stars
19. Fatal Remedies by Donna Leon -- OLLI mysteries class -- finished reading Oct. 22 -- 2.5 stars
20. Inspector Singh Investigates: A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder by Shamini Flint -- OLLI mysteries class -- finished reading Oct. 28th -- 2.5 stars
21. All the Sinners Bleed by S. A. Cosby -- Northside Library book group -- finished reading Nov. 15th -- 3 stars
22. Winter Run by Robert Ashcom -- Colonnades Wednesday book group -- finished reading Nov. 19th -- 3 stars
23. 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 -- 3.5 stars

Short reads (short stories, essays, etc. for which I do not read the whole collection):
1. "An Elderly Lady Begins to Remember her Past" in An Elderly Lady Must Not be Crossed by Helene Tursten --read Mar. 26th
2. "Little Maud Sets a Trap" in An Elderly Lady Must Not be Crossed by Helene Tursten --read Mar. 26th
3. "The Truth about Charlotte" in An Elderly Lady Must Not be Crossed by Helene Tursten --read Mar. 26th

Memoirs, autobiographies, and biographies:
1. Necessary Trouble: Growing Up at Midcentury by Drew Gilpin Faust -- finished reading Jan. 12th -- 4 stars
2. Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning by Liz Cheney -- finished reading Jan. 20th -- 4 stars
3. The Breach: The Untold Story of the Investigation into January 6th by Denver Riggleman -- memoir concerning investigation of Jan. 6, 2021 -- finished reading Jan. 26th -- 3 stars.
4. Susanna and Alice: Quaker Rebels: The Story of Susanna Parry and her cousin, Alice Paul by Leslie Mulford Denis
5. Walking With the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement by John Lewis -- finished reading Feb. 26th -- 5 stars
6. An Uncommon Woman: The Life of Lydia Hamilton Smith by Mark Kelley -- finished reading Mar. 21st -- 3 stars
7. Plain: a Memoir of Mennonite Girlhood by Mary Alice Hostetter -- finished rereading Apr. 6th for Charlottesville Friends Meeting Big Read -- 4.5 stars (did not change from previous reading)
8.Enough by Cassidy Hutchinson -- finished reading Apr. 18th -- 3.5 stars
9. Medgar & Myrlie: Medgar Evers and the Love Story that Awakened America by Joy-Ann Reid -- finished reading April. 26th -- 4 stars
10. An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s by Doris Kearns Goodwin -- finished reading May 22nd -- 4.5 stars.
11. Reading Lolita in Tehran: a Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi -- Northside Library Book Club -- finished reading June 10th -- 3 stars.
12. They Were Good Germans Once: My Jewish Emigre Family: A Memoir by Evelyn Toynton --Early Reviewers -- finished reading July 2nd.
13. A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson -- Colonnades Monday Book Group -- finished reading July 7th -- 4.5 stars
14. Windfall: The Prairie Woman Who Lost Her Way and the Great-Granddaughter Who Found Her by Erika Bolstad -- finished reading July 15th -- 3 stars
15. Pets and the City: True Tales of a Manhattan House Call Veterinarian by Dr. Amy Attas -- finished reading July 27th -- 4.5 stars
16. In the Pines: A Lynching, a Lie, a Reckoning by Grace Elizabeth Hale -- finished reading July 29th -- 5 stars
17. Scattering Ashes: A Memoir of Letting Go by Joan Z. Rough --finished reading Aug. 4th -- 4 stars
18. The Truths We Hold: An American Journey by Kamala Harris -- finished reading Aug. 24th -- 4.5 stars
19. The Art of Power by Nancy Pelosi —- finished reading August 30th —4.5 stars
20. Five-Dog Epiphany: a Memoir : How a Quintet of Badass Bichons Retrieved Our Joy by Marianne Leone -- LT Early Reviewers -- finished Sept. 7th -- 3 stars
21. First Friends: The Powerful, Unsung (and Unelected) People Who Shaped Our Presidents by Gary Ginsberg -- finished reading Oct. 8th -- 4 stars
22. 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 -- 3.5 stars.
23. Garth Williams, American Illustrator: A Life by Elizabeth K. Wallace and James D. Wallace -- 2024 birthday gift -- finished reading Dec. 22nd -- 4 stars.

Welcome to my revised thread.

I totally agree that we elderly ladies should first and foremost have a relaxing reading year. Good luck and I've moved my star to this thread.

>21 DeltaQueen50: Thanks.

Enjoy your relaxed reading year! We elderly ladies need to look out for ourselves.

Enjoying your reading year is the primary focus! In the past, I, too, have had to revise my set up and usually always just return to what I refer to as simple.

Good luck with your reading in 2024.

The first book I read this year is Why We Love Baseball: A History in 50 Moments by Joe Posnanski. John and I received it as a joint Christmas present this past Christmas. I particularly enjoyed reading about players I had watched (mostly in the 70s and 80s) or I was otherwise familiar with.

(Although they are about different sports, I did not enjoy this book nearly as much as the author's Paterno)

3.5 stars

Good idea to make it fit your life and reading style. Enjoy your reading year!

>26 sallylou61: I've always been a fan of Paterno's philosophies, so I'm going to put this one on my WL

The Paterno book was published at the time of the scandal following the firing of Paterno as coach. I think that it was a very balanced account.

For a book club at our retirement home, I read 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.

4 stars

For the Warriors or mercenaries square of BingoDOG I read Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning by Liz Cheney who I consider a political warrior. Ms. Cheney was concerned with about Trump's efforts to challenge the election results from the time even before the election, and his wide spread lies about winning the election. She urged Republicans in Congress and the Executive branch to agree that Biden had won the election. She became a hard working member/leader of the January 6th Committee even though she knew that it would probably mean her defeat in the 2022 Congressional election. She stressed the duty of government workers to respect and abide with the Constitution; something that Trump and his cronies were not doing.

4 stars

For the less than 100 people square of BingoDOG I read Onlookers: Stories by Ann Beattie, which 28 members have and was published in July 2023. This is a collection or unmemorable stories concerning Charlottesville around the time of the AltRight uprising. Very disappointed in it.

2.5 stars

For the only title and author on BingoDOG square I read 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.

3 stars

>31 sallylou61: From the outside, it's incomprehensible that the Republicans could get rid of a politician with integrity and support a man who encouraged an insurrection. Wishing you fortitude, and hoping that democracy will win.

I read The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields 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.

3 stars

I just finished rereading Horse by Geraldine Brooks for one of my book clubs. It 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.

4.5 stars this time

I read Walking With the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement by John Lewis for one of my book clubs. It is a memoir of his
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.

I just read one of this year's Caldecott Award winners, Big by Vashti Harrison, which features a young black girl who was happy when she was small but is bullied when she gets big. It is based on the author's personal experience. I'm using it for the big/little square in BingoDOG.

I just finished reading 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.

4 stars

For one of my book clubs (and as part of our area community read) I read Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland, a novel based on a story of her 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.

4 stars

Yesterday I finished reading An Uncommon Woman: The Life of Lydia Hamiton Smith by Mark Kelley for women's history month for the current CalendarCAT. This is the story of a light skinned Negro woman who was a companion of Senator Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania. The true relationship between the Senator and Lydia Smith is not known. Lydia Smith kept house for the Senator, which included entertaining his colleagues and friends. She also raised his nephews and her own two sons. During his last years of illness, she nursed him. She was also a smart businesswomen who owned a number of properties. I feel that the book spent too much time and paper concerning problems with Senator Stevens' will and how much and what he intended to leave her after his death.

3 stars

I enjoyed reading Marmee by Sarah Miller, which tells the story of Little Women from Marmee's point of view. However, I felt that Beth's death was spread out too long and came at the very end of this story, much later than in Little Women.

4.5 stars

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 is 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.)

Lots of interesting reading since I visited here last! Especially Horse, Walking With The Wind and Plain: A Memoir of Mennonite Girlhood. I added the latter to my audible wish list, which is already very long, but I might get to it one day.

>44 MissBrangwen: Thanks. I'm really behind in reporting my reading.

For a 3 session OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Course) I have reread on of my favorite books, To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee. Last week we started discussing the book, today we watched the movie, and next week we will compare the movie to the book.
Although the movie is excellent, it leaves out some important scenes from the book, in my opinion.

OLLI is a program of adult education classes connected with a number of universities (and colleges?) in the United States. Our OLLI is part of the University of Virginia.

5 stars

For pleasure and the friendship square of BingoDOG, I read The Women by Kristin Hannah. This excellent story is divided into two sections: serving in the Vietnam War, and experiences back home after the war. The women are three nurses who served together at Vietnam: Frankie, Barb, and Ethel. The doctors and nurses serving in the war had a camaraderie with each other. After coming home, Frankie had trouble adjusting to life. She lacked family support; her father, who was proud of his son who had been killed in the war, pretended that Frankie had been in Europe studying art! Barb and Ethel are very supportive of Frankie, coming to her aid when the situation gets tough. Finally her father realizes Frankie's worth when he and his wife go visit the Vietnam memorial in Washington, DC.

5 stars

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.

Time travel in specific and science fiction in general is not a genre I enjoy reading.

2 stars

I have finished reading Enough by Cassidy Hutchinson. This is a book which I started, lay aside thinking I would not finish it, and ended up reading the whole book. My difficulty with this book is that it is naturally, because of the author's experience, very political about a party and individuals whom I do not support -- in fact, am very opposed to. One of the aspects which really struck me was the way Ms. Hutchinson, a woman in her mid-20s, could boss people around, especially in relation to seeing the President or his chief assistant.

Although I do not agree with the book, I feel that it is not badly written.

3.5 stars

For CalendarCAT (Earthday) and one of my book groups, I just finished reading Climate Justice: Hope, Resilience, and the Fight for a Sustainable Future by Mary Robinson with Caitriona Palmer. In this short (144 pages of text) book Ms. Robinson, a former president of Ireland and member of several groups concerned with climate change, tells many stories how climate change is especially damaging to economically poor groups of people global wide. Most but not all of the leaders discussed dealing with climate change in their communities were women, often poor women. Wealthier nations are responsible for much of the climate change damage, and some, the United States especially, particularly during Trump's presidency, are not doing their share to combat it. This book was published in 2018, and predicts how serious climate change will be in the early 2020s, a time which has now passed.

4 stars

I recently read Medgar & Myrlie: Medgar Evers and the Love Story that Awakened America by Joy-Ann Reid. This book tells the story of Medgar and his wife, Myrlie, from the time they met at Alcorn A&M College (after Medgar had served in the army in WWII) thru the aftermath of Medgar's assassination. Myrlie and their children moved to California after the assassination to a place where Myrlie felt safer. However, Myrlie kept coming back to Mississippi to follow what was occurring concerning Bryon De La Beckwith, Medgar's killer. (He was tried twice in 1964 resulting in hung juries and finally convicted in 1994.) Myrlie lived a difficult life prior to Medgar's murder because she feared that the murder would happen.

4 stars

Laura, a member of the ROOTs reading challenge passed away earlier this year. The group is reading various books on her to read list in her memory. Although I did not know her, I read In Farleigh Field by Rhys Bowen.
I really enjoy Ms. Bowen's Molly Murphy series. In Farleigh Field is a standalone novel taking place during World War II, mainly in England with a few scenes in Paris. I did not particularly enjoy this novel which I felt had too many characters and was too convoluted.

3 stars

For the featuring water BingoDOG square, I read the disappointing Maiden Voyages: Magnificent Ocean Liners and the Women Who Traveled and Worked Aboard Them by Sian Evans. The title is a misnomer; relatively few of the voyages described are maiden voyages. Ms. Evans presents a history of sailing on ocean liners from pre World War I (such as the Titanic) until the end of ships being the most popular form of trans-Atlantic travel in the 1950s when airplanes replaced them. She does describe the work lives of women on ships, primarily stewardesses. However, part of Ms. Evans focus is on female travelers, both very rich women in first class and the poor women and their families, usually traveling to the United States or Canada to try to improve their lives.

3 stars

I've read An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Her husband Richard (Dick) Goodwin was very involved politically in the '60s, first working for John K. Kennedy and later for Lyndon B. Johnson, primarily as a speech writer for both of them during their presidencies. He kept numerous files during this service. Doris Kearns Goodwin, then Doris Kearns, worked for Johnson during his presidency, mainly after Dick stopped working for him. Following LBJ's presidency, Doris worked for him in Austin, going through his papers. LBJ confided a lot in Doris; after his death, she wrote her first book, Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream about his administration. Kearns and Goodwin were married 42 years, and did not agree on the presidencies of Kennedy and Johnson. Goodwin favored Kennedy and Kearns Goodwin Johnson. During the last years of Dick Goodwin's life, they went through Goodwin's numerous files together with the idea of writing a book about the 1960s. During this time, they each came to better appreciate the president they did not think so highly of. An Unfinished Love Story is about the history of the 1960s in which they both were active. Goodwin's career during that time is discussed in much greater detail than Kearns Goodwin's. He was about a decade older and much more active during the whole time span.

4.5 stars

Last month I took a short adult education course on To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, both the novel and the movie. On the last day of class, Why To Kill a Mockingbird Matters: What Harper Lee's Book and the Iconic American Film Mean to Us Today by Tom Santopietro was quoted from. I have just read this book. It dwells more on the movie than the book, going into detail about the film, the actors and actresses, and what was left in and left out. It tells what happened to the actors in their lives after the film. Both the book and the film have remained very popular, and unfortunately, many of the same problems about race and class remain with us today.

4 stars

For the Food or cooking BingoDOG square, I read 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 the dish.

4 stars

For the featuring twins BingoDOG square, I read Cassandra at the Wedding by Dorothy Baker. Cassandra and Judith are identical twins. Cassandra is a graduate student at Berkeley, and Judith is living in New York. They both go home to their father's ranch for Judith's wedding to a doctor from Connecticut. Cassandra does not want Judith to get married and tries to prevent the wedding. When Judith goes to the airport to pick up her fiance, Jack, Cassandra overdoses. The rest of the story is about Jack's treating Cassandra for her overdose and the wedding. The book is divided into three sections; the first an third told from Cassandra's point of view, and the middle one from Judith's.

3 stars

For my book club, I've just finished reading 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 in than in discussing the books.

3 stars

For pleasure I read In Sunshine or in Shadow by Rhys Brown and Clare Broyles, the most recent (2024) Molly Murphy Mystery. I didn't enjoy this nearly as much as the other Molly Murphy mysteries I have read. Although Molly ended up solving the murder, she was not believed by the police who were working on the case. The wrong "suspect," who Molly believed was innocent, was almost taken away to jail until Molly's husband, Daniel, appears on the scene.

3 stars

I have finished reading The Comfort of Ghosts, the last Maisie Dobbs novel in which Jacqueline Winspear brought back, at least briefly, all the characters from the earlier novels. Maisie also discovered a secret about her first husband who was killed in an airplane accident during the war.

4 stars

Yesterday, Juneteenth, I reread On Juneteenth by Annette Gordon-Reed. This is an excellent book which gives a history of eastern Texas with special emphasis on Black history as experienced by Ms. Gordon-Reed's family over the generations in addition to telling the significance of celebrating Juneteenth. These personal stories were very interesting. Ms. Gordon-Reed also pointed out that Texas is a very large state geographically, and living in the eastern or western parts of it are very different. The cowboys that are often associated with Texas are in western Texas. Ms. Gordon-Reed wrote about different categories of people who have lived in Texas including Native Americans.

Although this is a book of essays, it contains so much rich history that an index would have been useful.

4.5 stars

I've just finished reading Feline Fatale, the most recent Mrs. Murphy Mystery, by Rita Mae Brown and her cat, Sneaky Pie Brown. I'm really glad that this novel took place entirely in the present. There was no skipping back and forth between the present time and the 18th century as in many of the recent Mrs. Murphy Mystery books. Much of this novel is set in Richmond since the plot features members of the Virginia House of Delegates in addition to the regular characters who appear in novel after novel. Morse code, which I could have done without, figures heavily in the plot. In my opinion, this is one of the less interesting Mrs. Murphy mysteries.

3 stars

Earlier this month I bid on and won a series of four mysteries, The Wintergreen Mysteries by Patrick Kelly. I had never heard of this author, but Wintergreen Resort is a mountain retreat relatively near to where I live, and I wanted to support the theatre which was sponsoring the auction. It turns out that this is a series of police procedural mysteries, a type of mystery which I normally do not read. I just finished reading the first book in the series, The Mountain View Murder which I enjoyed. An elderly man who takes daily very early morning walks is hit and killed by a hit and run driver. Bill O'Shea, a retired detective who wants to stay retired, agrees to be a consultant, but ends up taking a major role in solving the crime which includes many possible suspects. Bill, who is unarmed, keeps the police on the small local police force, from shooting the main suspect.

I meant to say, on the back cover is the statement: "Clean read: no graphic violence, sex, or strong language." I've never seen this on the cover of a book!

4 stars

I just finished reading The Overlook Murder, the second in the Wintergreen Mysteries by Patrick Kelly. This was another police procedural, again featuring Bill O'Shea. I did not like this mystery nearly as well as the first. A big problem was that O'Shea himself was a suspect for a while. However, since the Wintergreen police force did not have a trained detective, Bill was pulled into the case before long. Once again a wrong person was the main suspect for too long a time.

3 stars

For the ugly cover square of BingoDOG, I read A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe by Mark Dawidziak. In my opinion this was a poorly organized book, in which the chapters did not follow in chronological order. Mr. Dawidziak discussed the opinions of many people, both concerning the writings of Poe, and covering his life and death.

2.5 stars

I just finished reading the third book in the Wintergreen Mystery series by Patrick Kelly, Murder in White. Drones played a huge role in this police procedural, once again featuring Bill O'Shea. Again there were many suspects. In this story the investigators had to go to Charlottesville a number of times. In the earlier books, they stayed pretty much in the Wintergreen community.

So far, all of the mysteries have been quite different although they feature the same police detective.

4 stars

I have read the fourth (and final at this time) book in the Wintergreen Mystery series by Patrick Kelly, Murder at Dawn.
In this mystery Lily Wolf, a woman who had been at Wintergreen for several months and had become the lover of the Kim Wiley, owner of a small restaurant/wine store, is discovered dead with a knife, belonging to Kim. Much evidence points to Kim as the killer, and she is put in prison. However, police detective Bill O'Shea does not believe that Kim is guilty, and the Wintergreen police force looks for evidence of whom the real murderer might be. That individual tries unsuccessfully to kill Bill also. At the end the murderer confesses.

4 stars

I read They Were Good Germans Once by Evelyn Toynton for the LT Early Reviewers. 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.

4 stars

For my book club which meets tomorrow (Mon., July 8th) I read 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.

4.5 stars

For one of my book clubs I've read The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon. This book is a fictional account of 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.

3.5 stars

In the bookstore, I was intrigued by the cover of Windfall: The Prairie Woman Who Lost Her Way and the Great-Granddaughter Who Found Her by Erika Bolstad. Shortly before she died, Erika's mother was notified that she had inherited a piece of land in North Dakota from her grandmother who had died many years before. Erika decided to try to find the land. This is the story of her finding the land, but also searching to find out as much as possible about her great-grandmother who had spent most of her life in an insane institution. It is also a history of the oil industry, particularly in North Dakota. The land in question had oil under it, which might or might not eventually be drilled. The book is really focused on Erika's personal life, including her efforts to have a baby.

3 stars

For pleasure I read The First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray, a novel about the interracial friendship between Eleanor Roosevelt and Mary McLeod Bethune, both of whom were reformers who together worked to improve living conditions for Negroes in many aspects of life. Most of the story is set during FDR's presidency; Eleanor tries to push her husband into hiring more Negroes in important governmental positions and advocating for laws to provide more equality in various aspects of life.

This book is by the same two authors who wrote The Personal Librarian.

4.5 stars

I've read another book for pleasure, Pets and the City: True Tales of a Manhattan House Call Veterinarian by Dr. Amy Attas. I enjoyed reading this book about a big city veterinarian -- the first such book I have read. (Other books about veterinarians hasv been rural vets.) Dr. Attas shows a lot of compassion for her animal patients although some of the owners can be a trial; Dr. Attas is definitely concerned about the welfare of the animals she treats. Occasionally she mentions the name of a celebrity whose pet she treats but that is not often. Often she only uses the first name of an owner although she calls the pets by their names. She repeats a few of the stories in different contexts.

4.5 stars

I have read In the Pines: A Lynching, a Lie, a Reckoning by Grace Elizabeth Hale, an account of a killing of a black man, Versie Johnson, by the author's grandfather, Sheriff Oury Berry, in 1947. When she was young, Ms. Hale had heard untrue stories from her family about Versie Johnson. However, Ms. Hale is a historian specializing in white supremacy, and when she actually investigated the story using sources from the time, she discovered that her grandfather had actually lynched Versie. Ms. Hale describes the history of lynching in the Jefferson Davis County, and tells as much as she could find out about Versie Johnson and his family. Although she found out some information about them prior to the lynching, she was unable to determine where they went afterwards.

5 stars

>74 sallylou61: I think I will take a BB for this one. It sounds like an interesting read.

>75 lowelibrary: I think it was a courageous book to write -- and very timely with all the hate going on in our country now.

For a book club I've just read Out of the Clear Blue Sky by Kristan Higgins, which 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.
It will be interesting to see what the other members of the book club think about it; our leader had not read it.

4 stars

I have finished reading Scattering Ashes: A Memoir of Letting Go by Joan Z. Rough, a resident in our retirement community for the under 100 copies square. This was a sad story about the author's years coping with and taking care of her difficult mother.

4 stars

For a book group meeting earlier this week I read Tom Lake by Ann Patchett. It 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.

3 stars

For LT Early Reviewers, I read a short, unpaged collection of poems: Nature Sings by Marlene Tidwell. 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.

I have just finished reading 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).

4.5 stars

Nancy Pelosi describes her work as Speaker of the House in The Art of Power. This book is arranged by topic and then chronologically within the topic. Ms. Pelosi feels honored to have represented San Francisco during her whole House career. She has worked with the aim of helping children.
She also talks about the vicious attack against her husband in their home.

4.5 stars

I've read So Late in the Day: Stories of Women and Men by Claire Keegan. Each of the three stories describes an interaction between a woman and a man. "So Late in the Day" features a couple who plan to get married until the woman realizes that the man has unrealistic expectations of her; "The Long and Painful Death" is about a woman who visits the Heinrich Boll house for writers but is disturbed by a man who watches her bath naked; and "Antarctica" features a woman who leaves home supposedly to shop but becomes involved sexually with a man with disastrous results.

The only story which I really liked was the first one.

3 stars

For LT Early reviewers I read Five-Dog Epiphany: a Memoir : How a Quintet of Badass Bichons Retrieved Our Joy 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.

3 stars

For an adult education class, I've read 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.

4 stars

For the same adult education class I read Foster by Claire Keegan. This 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.

4 stars

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.

3 stars

>87 sallylou61: I'm sorry it didn't work better for you and your book club, as it's one of my favorite books! But oh well, different strokes. :)

>88 christina_reads: As you said, different people like different books.

For pleasure I read 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.

4 stars

For HistoryCAT (disasters) I read Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History by Erik Larson. The first part of the book gave a history of meteorology in the early 20th century, talking about what direction and intensity storms such as hurricanes would likely take. The description of the hurricane striking Galveston, Texas, in September 1900 and the destruction and lives lost was much more interesting. It is called Isaac's storm since the resident meteorologist, Isaac Cline, failed to predict the intensity and the direction of the storm.

3.5 stars

I've finished reading 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).

4 stars

For an adult education mysteries course I read Fatal Remedies by Donna Leon. 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.

2.5 stars

I just looked up an earlier book I read by this author for a class with the same instructor and discovered I had rated that book a 2.5 stars also.

I've finished reading Claire Keegan's Antarctica, a collection of short stories. I was disappointed in this book; I felt as a whole the stories were unmemorable. However, this was Keegan's first short story collection to be published. I really enjoyed her novellas, especially Foster.

3 stars for Antarctica.

For an adult education mysteries reading class I read Inspector Singh Investigates: A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder by Shamini Flint. I withdrew after the class discussion; had difficulty understanding the cultures involved; instructor even had to research them.

2.5 stars

I just finished reading All the Sinners Bleed by S. A. Cosby for the Northside Library book group, a couple of days after our meeting. 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.

3 stars

I've finished rereading Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink for the November PrizeCAT (Newbery prize). It is a story of Caddie Woodlawn and her family growing up in Wisconsin in 1864/65. With her father's approval Caddie is allowed to live an active life playing with her brothers (and younger sister) instead of keeping house with her mother and older sister until near the end of the book. I remember discussing it many years ago with other readers; we were sorry with the way the book ended.

4 stars

I read Winter Run by Robert Ashcom for a book club assignment in our retirement community. It 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.

3 stars

I've read The Barn: The Secret History of a Murder in Mississippi by Wright Thompson. Unfortunately, this was a very scattered book; it did not follow chronological order. It seemed more a history of life in rural Mississippi than of a murder. The author tells of the importance of a particular barn in which Emmett Till was killed. He also names the nine people who he thinks were in the barn that day. Carolyn Bryant, the woman Emmett whistled at was not in the barn. A big error of Emmett was to touch Carolyn's hand when she handed him a piece of candy he was buying.
Wright Thompson, the author, grew up in the area, but was not born until over 20 years after Till was murdered. He records his family's probable knowledge of it.
The book includes bibliographical references and index but no pictures.

3 stars

Last month I took an OLLI adult education course about First Ladies. I just finished reading American Woman: The Transformation of the Modern First Lady from Hillary Clinton to Jill Biden by Katie Rogers (for which I did not find a
touchstone). The title is very misleading; unfortunately the book is primarily about Jill Biden including her whole married life to Joe Biden. I would much have preferred reading a reasonable amount about all the first ladies between Hillary Clinton and Jill Biden.

3 stars

I just finished reading Farmhouse on the Edge of Town: Stories from a Bed & Breakfast in the Mountains of Western Maine by Lew-Ellyn Hughes for LT Early Reviewers. 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.

I've just finished reading Garth Williams, American Illustrator: A Life by Elizabeth K. Wallace and James D. Wallace. Although I knew of him as the illustrator of the Laura Ingalls Wilder books, he also illustrated Stuart Little and Charlotte's Web by E. B. White and had a working relationship with Margaret Wise Brown until her death. He also wrote and/or illustrated some of his own books and those of other authors. His work included some of the Golden Books. At various times Mr. Williams lived in Europe (where he had his training in art although it was not to be a book illustrator), United States, and Mexico (where he lived many years and died there). He was married four times, and kept in touch with his daughters.

4 stars