Laura (lauralkeet)'s 2024 Reading Nook - Part 10

Welcome to my thread! I'm Laura, 62, retired and living with my husband Chris in an 18th century farmhouse in northern Virginia with our 9-year-old terrier mix Alys, and 1-year old puppy Ellie. Ellie interrupted our predictable routine of gardening, home projects, reading, and (for me) knitting but she has also brought a lot of joy to our life.

This thread will be all about books, reading, and day-to-day life. I occasionally post about my knitting here, but if you’re so inclined you can see more on my thread in the Needlearts group.

2024 is my sixteenth year in the 75 Book Challenge Group! I can’t imagine a year without bookish discussion with this wonderful community and others who follow my thread. It’s been quite a while since I actually read 75 books in a year, but this group is such an excellent source of book recommendations that my totals don’t really matter. I read mostly contemporary fiction, with the odd classic or memoir thrown in. Last year I added more nonfiction to my reading diet and enjoyed that immensely, so I've continued that trend in 2024.

Books Featured on This Thread
(Go here to see all books read this year)
68. Long Island
69. The Shepherd's Life
70. Last Night at the Lobster
71. Never Too Late
72. The Dead Will Tell

Series Progress

Active series as of October 1 (updated quarterly):


A snapshot of my active series sorted on the "progress" column.

Series completed/current in 2024:
* Harbinder Kaur
* The Cazalet Chronicles
* The Balkan Trilogy + The Levant Trilogy
* Inspector Gamache

Series started in 2024:
* The Cazalet Chronicles
* Hal Challis
* The Balkan Trilogy + The Levant Trilogy

Series abandoned in 2024:
* Anna Pigeon

Currently Reading & On Deck



Service With a Smile | By Any Other Name

We're "recovering" from a busy Thanksgiving in Connecticut. As I mentioned on my previous thread, we really enjoyed being part of a large extended family gathering on Thursday, although all the people and conversation was pretty exhausting. It was nice to be able to spend some quality time with just Julia and Noah. Shortly after we arrived on Wednesday, we met up with them at a brewery and had a nice chat before dinner with Noah's family. On Friday we visited a small town where Noah's parents run a boutique/gift shop and there were lots of other shops to explore, plus another brewery. I'm not a huge beer drinker but this one made their brews on-site and offered flights of small pours for tasting. Our visit concluded with a family dinner at an Italian restaurant, and we left for home Saturday morning after breakfast.

Today is mostly about relaxation although I needed to do some grocery shopping. I'm glad we decorated the tree before we left, it was nice to come home to a house that's kind of ready for Christmas. We're looking forward to our own family gathering then, which will include Kate, Tyler, Julia, and Noah.

I have a few interesting reads planned this month (see >3 lauralkeet:). I started Long Island last night. It picks up about 20 years after the events in Brooklyn, which I hadn't expected. But I'm intrigued!

I'm first! Happy new thread, Laura. I love your tree!

>Beautiful! I especially love the abundance of lights.

OMG! It's December. Lovely Christmas tree. Does it bear a pickle?

Happy new thread, Laura!

Beautiful Christmas tree. And you know I'm thrilled to see my favorite holiday read up in >3 lauralkeet:

:D

I added a little bit of "content" in >4 lauralkeet:. I got sidetracked earlier and completely forgot about that post.

>5 BLBera: Thanks Beth!

>6 laytonwoman3rd: Thank you Linda. The tree is artificial and pre-lit which makes that "look" pretty easy to achieve.

>7 weird_O: Bill, I had to Google that one as I was unfamiliar with the pickle tradition. So, um, nope there's no pickle!

>8 katiekrug: Thanks Katie. I've been looking forward to reading Last Night at the Lobster for quite a while, so I'm excited about it!

>9 lauralkeet: NO PICKLE??!! *is aghast*

Clearly I've been living under a rock, Linda!

Here's a picture of our tree from several years ago (pre-pandemic, when we still went for a real tree). Can you spot the pickle? (I hate for anyone to miss out!)

Happy New Thread, Lura. I'll be waiting to see your thoughts on Last Night at the Lobster. That was my first O'Nan and made me a fan.

Love Late Night at the Lobster, it was one of the first fiction audiobooks I listened to. It is a nice little holiday read.
I don’t put the pickle on until after everyone goes to bed. First to find it the next day (80% of the time it is the youngest, she remembers to look) gets a present, usually a bag of skittles.

Happy new thread, Laura. I love the tree. (I too will be googling the pickle -- D2 mentioned it last year but I still don't know what it's all about). Glad you trip went well --- welcome home!!

Love your trees, Laura and Linda! I'm another who had to google the pickle.

I also loved *Last Night/Lobster*, but I've neglected to find another O'Nan. Maybe I can remedy that if I get some Christmas $.

Glad you're home and that Thanksgiving was such a success. I'll confess that all that extended family time makes me a bit tired just thinking about it.

Happy new thread, Laura.

Happy new one! What a great tree

Happy new thread, Laura

> 2 As ever, I am in awe of your series spreadsheet. Is that a template you got from somewhere?

One Christmas no one could find the pickle, an ornament. In January, we stripped the lights from the tree, removed every ornament, and that stinkin' pickle we could not find. I threw the tree in the pickup and drove it to its final resting place. Several weeks later, I noticed the pickle. In the bed of the pickup.

>12 laytonwoman3rd:, >14 raidergirl3:, >15 RebaRelishesReading:, >16 LizzieD: ,>20 weird_O: Thanks for educating me on the pickle tradition. Reba & Peggy, I'm glad I wasn't the only one unfamiliar with the whole thing. I admit I can be clueless about a lot of popular culture. Bill, your story is a hoot.

>13 dudes22:, >14 raidergirl3: Betty & Elizabeth, I'm excited to read Last Night at the Lobster. I'm picking it up from the library today but saving it for a bit later in the month.

>17 PaulCranswick:, >18 figsfromthistle:, >19 norabelle414: Paul, Anita & Nora, thanks for the new thread wishes.

>19 norabelle414: Nora, the series spreadsheet is my own creation in Google Sheets. I started it several years ago when FictFact shut down. I used conditional formatting to color in each square when a book has been read. At some point I made a copy to share with anyone interested. You can view it at the link below and save a copy if you want to create your own. I haven't tried importing it into other spreadsheet software like Excel, but I imagine that could work.
Series Tracking Spreadsheet MASTER

Happy New Thread, Laura. Glad to hear you enjoyed the film Conclave. I am currently listening to the audiobook and will watch the film soon after.

>3 lauralkeet: I am scheduled to read Redbanks' Pastoral Song this month for the Anita Memorial reads. I will be curious to see what you make of The Shepherd's Life, Laura.

Count me in among the lovers of Last Night at the Lobster :)

Happy new thread, Laura!

>22 msf59: I'll watch your thread for updates, Mark.

>23 alcottacre: Stasia, James Rebanks is a completely new-to-me author. I requested this book when a fellow Fiber Guild member recommended in a recent meeting.

>21 lauralkeet: Wow, that's so impressive! Google Sheets is also what I use for my many many spreadsheets. Thanks for the link!

>25 norabelle414: You're welcome Nora!

Happy new thread Laura!

The pickle ornament is very familiar, though I forget what it's about every few years and the idea of a green ornament boggles me once again.

>24 lauralkeet: I seem to have zipped past the fact that you're reading (or about to) the Rebanks. I read Pastoral Song (or English Pastoral) a couple years ago, and found it to be excellent. I've been meaning to find a copy of The Shepherd's Life (I think lycomayflower might own it) ever since.

>27 quondame: Hi Susan. My "research" into the Christmas pickle (Wikipedia) says it's an American tradition that many believe came from Germany, but that's not actually the case. I like our tree just the way it is so I'm not rushing out to buy a pickle.

>28 laytonwoman3rd: Hi Linda. It's a rare thing when a real life connection leads me to a new author, and that usually works only when I know the recommender has similar reading taste. In this case my interest was piqued solely by the subject matter and I had no idea whether it would be well-written or just okay. I'm thrilled to see the LT endorsement.

The Shepherd's Life is next up for me, after I finish Long Island which, I might add, I'm really enjoying. It helps that I read Brooklyn (and watched the film so recently, because it's still fresh in my mind.

>29 lauralkeet: - I have The Shepherd's Life on my list for next year, so I'll be looking to see what you think.

Happy new thread, Laura!

Hmmm. I like Odell Shepherd's first name anyway; it's my grandfather's, uncle's, cousin's from my great grandmother's adoptive family. Incidentally, I have had no luck at all on Ancestry trying to locate her birth family. Born in 1861, her father was killed in one of the last battles of the Civil War, and her mother died a couple of years later. Their best friends adopted her. I have a last name, but she doesn't show up in census records anywhere. It's even more complicated than that, but I'll leave it alone.

SO --- I'll see about The Shepherd's Life and wish you good reading!

PHOOEY The Touchstone at >30 dudes22: took me to an incorrect book, and I wrote all of that which does not apply. Since I have spent all this time explaining, I'll leave the post since you seem to have a little interest in genealogy, Laura.

>30 dudes22: I'll keep you posted, Betty!

>31 drneutron: Thanks Jim.

>32 LizzieD: Peggy, I had a laugh when I got to PHOOEY. Now I wonder which book it is that Betty plans to read? My sympathy for your Ancestry woes. I've hit many dead ends myself and they are frustrating. Still, Ancestry has helped me build on my dad's significant family tree work pre-internet, when for example he had to visit a town and review their records in person.

>32 LizzieD: - I'm so sorry. I usually check that the link is right before I post. I'll fix it.

>33 lauralkeet: - It's the same one as you're going to read.

ETA: I obviously needed to check my spelling. Yikes!

Oh, Betty. I was phooeying myself not you because I vaguely remembered not having seen Odell when Laura wrote about the author. I don't know that I'll read either book, but doggone Touchstones anyway!

Hi, Laura!

>34 dudes22: No worries, Betty. We've all done the same at one time or another!

>35 LizzieD: Doggone touchstones is right, Peggy. *waves*

Happy new-ish thread, Laura!

>37 EBT1002: Thanks Ellen!

68. Long Island ()

Twenty years have passed since the events in Brooklyn. Eilis and her husband Tony live on Long Island, as does the rest of Tony’s family. The couple now have two teen-aged children. One day, Eilis receives a visit from a stranger who shares information that disrupts her seemingly idyllic family life. Eilis decides she needs to get away to clear her head, and travels to Ireland for the first time in 20 years.

Back in Enniscorthy, Eilis finds her mother unchanged, and she drives Eilis a bit crazy from the beginning. Realizing her home hasn’t been updated in years, Eilis immediately buys new kitchen appliances which her mother insists she doesn’t need, instructing the delivery crew to leave them in their boxes while she “thinks about it.” Meanwhile Eilis reconnects with her best friend Nancy, now a widow, who invites Eilis to her daughter’s wedding in a few weeks’ time. Inevitably, Eilis also runs into Jim Farrell, who once courted Eilis and has never married. Instead of clearing her head, Eilis now faces even more complications.

I loved the structure of this novel, with a narrative that rotates among the central characters such that the reader knows much more than any one of them. It’s just a matter of time before their actions intersect, but when and how will that happen? And how will that affect them individually and together? The story has just as many twists and turns as a well-written mystery, with more of an emotional punch. I loved it.

>39 lauralkeet: - I'm excited to get to this one, Laura, though I think I might re-read Brooklyn first.

>40 katiekrug: Katie, I have no doubt that I enjoyed it so much because Brooklyn was so fresh in my mind, both book and film.

>39 lauralkeet: That's a very compelling review, Laura. I'm sold. I, too, may re-read Brooklyn, although I'm not sure I held on to my copy...

>42 laytonwoman3rd: Might I suggest the library, Linda? Heh.

>43 lauralkeet: *Snort* Why didn't I think of that?

Glad to hear your holiday prep is well underway, Laura.

When we were in Banff in the fall, I finally acquired a pickle ornament for my tree and I'm delighted with it (Banff has a very large store on its main street that is entirely devoted to Christmas decorations).

>45 MickyFine: Hi Micky! I love shops like that, it's been ages since I've been to one. Congratulations on your pickle purchase LOL.

Hi Laura! A very late happy new thread.

Glad your visit ‘up North’ went well, even with the exhausting Thanksgiving day. I’m also glad you got to spend some quiet time with just Julia and Noah.

Christmas Pickle tradition… okay. I’d never heard of it.

Katie got me with a BB ofLast Night at the Lobster in 2021. Still haven’t read it, but just maybe I might dig it out of the box it’s in for a next year read.

I hope you have a great day.

Happy newish thread, Laura. I love the pickle talk. I gave ours to our Grandson, Griffin, who turned 17 on December 7. He has a huge bedroom in the new house in Leawood, Kansas and loves all things Christmas. He also has a big tree of his own so I passed on many of my "fun" ornaments to him when we were in KS for Thanksgiving. He was delighted and I was happy to find a new home for some of my large collection of ornaments.

>68 BLBera: Long Island is on The List to be read soon. Perhaps I will start the new year with a reread of Brooklyn since it's been a few years since I read it.

I am also a fan of Last Night at the Lobster due to Katie's recommendation. In fact, I love anything by Stewart O'Nan. My favorites are the Maxwell trilogy about Emily and Henry.

Hi, Laura. I’m joining Donna in wishing you a Happy Newish Thread. Like her, I’m a fan of Last Night at the Lobster. I hope you’re enjoying that one.

>47 karenmarie: Hi Karen, thanks for all of your well wishes. I'm glad I'm not the only one who was unfamiliar with the pickle tradition.

>48 Donna828: Hi Donna! thanks for stopping by. Katie turned me into a Stewart O'Nan fan, too. I've read all the Emily and Henry books, they're so good!

>49 jnwelch: Hi Joe! Thank you! Last Night at the Lobster is sitting on my nightstand, I need to finish The Shepherd's Life, which I'm really enjoying. Besides the O'Nan, I also have And Then She Fell out from the library and I'm thinking I'll read that before *Lobster*.

>50 lauralkeet: ...And Then She Fell out from the library.... wrote Laura. But...but, was she hurt? A fall on steps, tripping on a doormat, what? Hope she recovers before the holiday

Happy Newish Thread, Laura! Your Christmas Tree looks lovely!

>51 weird_O: Bill, that made me laugh!

>52 vancouverdeb: Thanks Deborah.

>39 lauralkeet: Great review of Long Island. I just finished it yesterday and I also loved it. I also highly recommend the audiobook. It was fantastic.

Sweet Thursday, Laura.

>54 msf59: that's great Mark! Whenever I rave about a book I get nervous that others won't enjoy it as much as I did. I don't want to lead anyone astray, you know? I'm glad Long Island worked so well for you.

Happy Friday everyone! I finished The Shepherd's Life yesterday. We've watched enough farming-related docu-series to know we're not up to the challenges of keeping livestock. But if I weren't already convinced, this book would have done the trick. Much of it is a celebration of the pastoral landscape and farming as a lifestyle, but the parts about keeping sheep in harsh winter conditions and managing the lambing season were sometimes tough to read. I'll gather my thoughts into a review soonish.

Yesterday I also started And Then She Fell. I should have paid more attention to the description and some of the reviews. I think both Katie and Beth enjoyed it, but I quickly realized it's wasn't going to work for me, at least not right now. Heading into the holidays, I'm in the mood for less challenging, cozier stuff.



And so, at long last I'm going to read Last Night at the Lobster! I'm pretty excited about that. And then I think I'll read Never Too Late, the next in Angela Thirkell's Barsetshire books, and probably Service With a Smile, a Blandings Castle novel.

>39 lauralkeet: Like others, I am eager to get to this one, and your review encourages me to reread Brooklyn, which I loved at the time. *sigh* Thank you!

I'm pretty sure that you will be as happy with *Lobster* as the rest of us. In fact, you have enjoyable reading lined up for the holidays. I need to explore more Blandings Castle, having stuck pretty much with Jeeves & Bertie and the Mulliner stories through the years. Speaking of the latter, I hope you are familiar with the black and white *Wodehouse Playhouse*. Sir Plum himself introduced the early - and best - ones. YouTube used to have a wonderful assortment of them, which had mostly disappeared the last time I looked. Some are available on VHS and DVD........... John Alderton and Pauline Collins were perfect in every one. *sigh* You're welcome!

>57 LizzieD: Hi Peggy! *Lobster* is off to a good start. O'Nan almost had me believe it was snowing outside. I'm familiar with the existence of "Wodehouse Playhouse" but I'm not sure we've ever come across it to watch. We loved Alderton and Collins as Thomas and Sarah on Upstairs Downstairs and I always thought it was so sweet that they became a real-life couple.

>56 lauralkeet: - I've not read And Then She Fell so the fault is all Beth's :)

Enjoy your time with Manny at the Lobster!

>59 katiekrug: Ahh sorry Katie! I dug into LT a bit further and see that Vivian posted about it on her thread. It was a Women's Prize nominee and she found it quite deserving of that honor. But the subject matter is difficult and it would probably have been fine at another time of the year.

PSA: It's time to decide on your favorite reads for 2024. I love "books of the year" lists of any kind, and this one is especially fun because it's created by LT members.
https://www.librarything.com/list/46058/Top-Five-Books-of-2024

My Top 5:
Tell Me Everything
Casting Off
Clear
Crook Manifesto
Prophet Song

Add your favorites to the list and watch it grow!

69. The Shepherd’s Life ()

James Rebanks farms sheep in the Lake District, as his father and grandfather did before him. In this biography he takes readers through each season of the year, describing the history of the farm, his life, and the highs and lows of breeding sheep. His love for the landscape is evident, even though it can be inhospitable. Economics have also brought new challenges; unlike his father and grandfather, Rebanks needed to create an additional income stream to support the farm and his family. I most enjoyed Rebanks’ detailed accounts of shepherding during each season such as breeding, lambing, and showing sheep, which were told in parallel with equally interesting developments in his family.

>62 lauralkeet: - My brother has a small farm and has some sheep. This was already in the pile for next month. I'm looking forward to reading it.

>61 lauralkeet: OK, that was the poke I needed. I've added my 5.

>61 lauralkeet: I can't decide on my fifth book!

I like how this list includes books from any year. I see a good number of books I've had on previous lists.

>63 dudes22: I don't think my review did justice to The Shepherd's Life, Betty. I bet you'll enjoy it.

>64 RebaRelishesReading:, >65 raidergirl3: Isn't that list fun? I forgot to mention my top 5 here yesterday, so I just added them to >61 lauralkeet:. I enjoy visiting the list to see how the rank order changes over time, how my picks stack up, and who else has chosen the same books. Elizabeth, I see we both picked Tell Me Everything -- high five!

70. Last Night at the Lobster ()

Manny has managed a Red Lobster restaurant for years, but today is his last day. In fact, it’s the last day for all employees since the parent company decided to close this location. Many have already quit, but Manny managed to assemble a skeleton crew for the day. The restaurant is next to a shopping mall and it’s nearly Christmas, so they would normally be very busy. But a snowstorm threatens, and nobody knows how the day will play out.

As the restaurant opens and they begin lunch service, we get to know Manny and his crew. Manny is dealing with loss and regret, at the restaurant and in his personal life. Some employees have been offered jobs at a nearby Olive Garden, sparking resentment from others. A few bail as the weather gets worse. Manny insists on staying open for dinner, aided by his most loyal staff who rise to the occasion, making their last night together both poignant and memorable.

Stewart O’Nan takes a very subtle approach to character and plot development, infusing this novella with human interest and emotion while still leaving much unsaid. The reading experience is simply lovely.

>61 lauralkeet: Great list. Clear is on my list, and the others are on my WL. I finally got a copy of the new Strout, and I will read that when I am finished with The Grey Wolf, which I am reading now. So, my best of list may change by the end of the year.

>61 lauralkeet: - Good list! I've only read Clear but the other four are all on my radar. My book group will be reading Prophet Song in January, and I'm excited to finally get to it.

>67 lauralkeet: - Glad you enjoyed it :) I just love poor Manny.

>68 BLBera: Thanks Beth. I have a couple interesting library holds but I doubt they'll come in before the end of the year, so I *think* my list is safe. You have some great reading ahead!

>69 katiekrug: Katie, thanks for recommending *Lobster*, it was such a great comfort read. And here's a funny coincidence: Prophet Song was the first book I read this year!

I watched UC while having lunch and OMG. Not sure I've ever seen a blowout like that!

>71 katiekrug: I know, right? Amol mentioned they had the highest score in round 1, and when I checked the results on Wikipedia I saw they also blew out their first opponent by an only slightly smaller margin. It also appears the next episode isn't until Jan 6, 2025. No UC, no F1, what are we to do ?!!

>72 lauralkeet: - LOL. I'll be watching Succession :)

Oh, just bake cookies. My mailbox is available if you can't get rid of them all.

So far behind Laura. Loving the trees (Laura/Linda) the pickle was new to me too.

I loved Last Night at the Lobster, need to get back to O'Nan, I have a couple I haven't yet read.

>61 lauralkeet: Very Nice Top 10 List, Laura. Prophet Song was my top novel of last year. Clear just missed this year's list and I will start Tell Me Everything tomorrow. Yeah, baby!

>62 lauralkeet: This sounds interesting. When I was younger, my parents had a farm with 200 sheep. If I was ever lost he would just have to look around where the sheep were in a circle and I was usually sitting in the middle. They are quite protective and loving animals.

Stopping by to say hi, Laura. I really loved Prophet Song last year.

>73 katiekrug: 😀

>74 weird_O: We have no trouble "getting rid" of cookies around here, Bill. I am currently receiving heavy criticism from my other half for not having baked any yet. But I know that if I do they will disappear fast and there won't be any left for Christmas.

>75 Caroline_McElwee: Katie inspired me to read O'Nan a couple of years ago, Caro. This year I read 3 of his books. I don't know why I didn't discover him earlier, like when these books were first published.

>76 msf59: *high five* Mark! I'm pretty sure you'll love Tell Me Everything.

>77 figsfromthistle: Oh wow Anita, 200 sheep! Based on that I think you'd appreciate The Shepherd's Life.

>78 vancouverdeb: Hi Deborah!! Thanks for stopping by.

71. Never Too Late ()

Like most of Angela Thirkell’s Barsetshire novels, Never Too Late shows a subset of the Barsetshire community living fairly ordinary (albeit privileged) lives, with a couple significant developments driving the plot. In this case, Edith Graham has returned from spending several months in America and is trying to find her footing as a young adult. At the same time, an older woman and her adult son are dealing with their husband/father’s decline. In these novels, young adults usually find romantic bliss, but Edith is a bit too young for marriage; perhaps that will happen in the next book. I found the other storyline more interesting. This is the second book in which Thirkell has written about the end of a life well lived; she expertly handles the gradual but inevitable failure of mind and body, the impact on their loved ones, and the feelings of guilty relief afterwards. These scenes were quite moving and I couldn’t help wondering if, at this point in her career, Thirkell was writing from personal experience. And then she surprised me by setting up a new relationship that I look forward to reading about in the next novel.

Yesterday I was perusing my library account and realized that the next book in the Kate Burkholder series was available at my local branch and decided it was meant to be. I stopped in to pick it up on my way to the supermarket, and will start reading it today.

It's been a busy week getting the house in order for Christmas. The house is clean enough, the guest rooms and bathroom are ready, and I finished my gift wrapping yesterday. I also loaded my grocery cart more than usual in preparation for family, who arrive tonight. Yay!

Sounds like you are all set for Christmas, Laura! Enjoy the family time.

Oh dear!! You've introduced me to two authors I'd never heard of. I'm going to try hard to ignore you (at least for the time being).

Glad your Christmas preparations are coming together and wish you the very happiest of holidays!!

>82 katiekrug: Thanks Katie! I hope you have a great holiday too!

>83 RebaRelishesReading: Do you mean Angela Thirkell and Linda Castillo, Reba? They are two very different authors, that's for sure! I'm going to stop by your thread and see how your holiday preparations are coming along.

This made me think of you.

>85 katiekrug: :)

You must be nearly through the Thirkell books, Laura. I started, read two or three and really enjoyed them. I need to get back to them. Maybe next year.

>85 katiekrug: OMG that's funny, Katie!

>86 BLBera: Hi Beth. Never Too Late is #25 of 29 Barsetshire Books. I had to skip #23 because I couldn't find a copy or at least not one at a reasonable price. I have #s 26 & 27 on my shelves and I'll try to get my hands on the last two books one of these days. Some people are critical of Thirkell's later books and that may be valid, but I've come this far ... *shrug*

>84 lauralkeet: Yes, those were the two I meant.

I think I decided I had whined enough about the holiday on my thread -- as of a couple of days ago all of the decorations are complete. As of yesterday all of the shopping is complete and I believe all of the packages have been delivered to those not near. We're hosting a brunch on the 26th to celebrate Hubby's birthday + Christmas so no cooking a big dinner. All by all, things are pretty much under control. I'm sure the same is true at your house. Enjoy!!

>88 RebaRelishesReading: Hooray for wrapping up the holiday preparations (see what I did there?)

I'll be scarce around here this week since we have family here with us. I'll keep up with the threads but probably won't post much. I hope those who are celebrating enjoy the holidays!

Have a wonderful week and a very merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas, Katie!

>90 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks Reba!

>91 vancouverdeb: Hi Deborah, I think you meant Laura not Katie, but no matter -- thanks for the holiday greeting!

A belated Happy New Thread Laura my dear.

Merry Christmas, Laura. Have a wonderful holiday with the family. I just finished Tell Me Everything. I hated to see it end. I loved being in their collective company.

>93 johnsimpson: Thank you John!

>94 msf59: I know exactly how you feel, Mark. Merry Christmas to you, too!

Nadolig Llawen, Happy Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Thank you Rhian!

72. The Dead Will Tell ()

Kate Burkholder is Chief of Police in Painters Mill, a town in Ohio’s Amish country. Friction between Amish and “English” is at the root of most crimes involving the Amish. The case in this novel is no exception. The prologue alerts readers to an unsolved crime committed 35 years earlier, but it takes a while for the police to link a series of murders to past events. Once the link is made there are still some twists before the murderer is found and brought to justice. Meanwhile, as in every novel there are developments between Kate and Tomasetti, another detective with whom she now lives.

These mysteries can be graphic, but they are well crafted and usually keep me guessing up to the end. In this case, I guessed the perpetrator early on, but couldn’t put all the pieces together to support it and enjoyed the gradual reveal.

I always do a lot of cookie baking over my Thanksgiving break and then freeze the cookies to give to colleagues, neighbors, the postman, etc, but Covid got in the way this year. But with Marina's help I have been able to get it done! We really don't need any of mine around as I usually get a cookie bonanza from students and colleagues at school. But they are nice to have in the freezer for January and beyond!

Winslow and all of us wish you a very happy holidays!

Thinking of you at this time, Laura.

I'm kinda lonely over here....

https://www.librarything.com/ngroups/24622/75-Books-Challenge-for-2025

>99 johnsimpson:, >100 AMQS:, >101 PaulCranswick:, >102 Whisper1: Thanks so much for all the greetings! We still have family with us so I'm not quite ready to resume my normal LT activity. But rest assured, I'll be back!

>103 drneutron: Thanks Jim. I'll be there! I'm planning to create my new thread closer to the end of the year.

Hi Laura! I hope your family visits are going well.

I'm happy to read that you have your family with you and wish you continuing celebration and warmth and love all around! Don't you just love this between-week?