3jnwelch
"Ada Limon’s below poem is engraved on a panel, in NASA’s Europa Clipper. It is voyaging for 5+ years to investigate Jupiter’s second moon, Europa. Europa appears to have lots of water, which in turn raises the possibility of life.
In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa
Arching under the night sky inky
with black expansiveness, we point
to the planets we know, we
pin quick wishes on stars. From earth,
we read the sky as if it is an unerring book
of the universe, expert and evident.
Still, there are mysteries below our sky:
the whale song, the songbird singing
its call in the bough of a wind-shaken tree.
We are creatures of constant awe,
curious at beauty, at leaf and blossom,
at grief and pleasure, sun and shadow.
And it is not darkness that unites us,
not the cold distance of space, but
the offering of water, each drop of rain,
each rivulet, each pulse, each vein.
O second moon, we, too, are made
of water, of vast and beckoning seas.
We, too, are made of wonders, of great
and ordinary loves, of small invisible worlds,
of a need to call out through the dark.
In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa
Arching under the night sky inky
with black expansiveness, we point
to the planets we know, we
pin quick wishes on stars. From earth,
we read the sky as if it is an unerring book
of the universe, expert and evident.
Still, there are mysteries below our sky:
the whale song, the songbird singing
its call in the bough of a wind-shaken tree.
We are creatures of constant awe,
curious at beauty, at leaf and blossom,
at grief and pleasure, sun and shadow.
And it is not darkness that unites us,
not the cold distance of space, but
the offering of water, each drop of rain,
each rivulet, each pulse, each vein.
O second moon, we, too, are made
of water, of vast and beckoning seas.
We, too, are made of wonders, of great
and ordinary loves, of small invisible worlds,
of a need to call out through the dark.
4jnwelch
The grandlittles Rafa and Fina, Thanksgiving in Chicago. They ran in the neighborhood Turkey Trot.
6jnwelch
2024 Books
January 2024
1. Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman
2. Karibaby Daniel Clarke (Thank you, Richard)*
3. Crude by Pablo Fajardo(Thank you, Mark)*
4. Cosmic Detective by Jeff Lemire*
5. The Mysteries by Bill Watterson*
6. Unfortunately Yours by Tessa Bailey
7. Last Call at the Local by Sarah Grunda Ruiz
8. Holiday in Death by J.D.Robb
9. The Emperor's Soul by Brandon Sanderson (really good)
10. Mother Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon
11. The Door to Door Bookstore by Carsten Henn (charming; thank you, Nancy Quinn)
12. Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood
13. Pym by Matt Johnson (did not like)
14. The Little Books of the Little Brontesby Sara O'Leary (ARC; okay)
15. Glowrushes by Roberto Piumini (lovely Italian fable - good gift book)
16. Secretly Yours by Tessa Bailey
17. Parker Girls by Terry Moore*
18. Strangers in Paradise Ever After by Terry Moore*. I love his Strangers in Paradise books with Francie and Katchoo
February 2024
19. Almost an Elegyby Linda Pastan. A very good poet that I’m just now catching up on.
20. Clementine Two by Tillie Walden* (thanks, Mark). The author is so good that I enjoyed this despite the worn-out Walking Dead context.
21. The Paris Bookseller by Kerri Maher (good novel about Sylvia Beach, James Joyce, and the Shakespeare and Company Bookstore)
22. Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher(Hugo winner; very good fantasy)
23. I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai
24. Lone Wolfby Gregg Hurwitz (Orphan X thriller with interesting AI elements)
25. Wildful by Kengo Kurimoto (beautiful, quiet nature-filled graphic book reminiscent of The Secret Garden)*
26. Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoya Yagisawa. (Beguiling story of a girl who learns to appreciate life while working at her uncle’s bookshop)
27. The Girl from the Other Side 11 by Nagabe*. There’s a melancholy mood to the story and drawings that very much appealed to me. But by the end the story seemed too drawn out.
28. Dirty Thirty by Janet evanovich. At least there’s a major relationship development (finally!)
March 2024
29. Murder in Reproach by Anne Cleeland (good entry in the Acton-Doyle series, with a cliffhanger)
30. Foster by Claire Keegan ( another beautiful book (long short story?) from the author of Small Things Like These).
31. Lunar New Year Love Storyby Gene luan Yang.* Disappointing book from this talented GN author. Twice as long as it needed to be.
32. Babel by R.F. Kuang. Well- crafted anti- colonialism fantasy; I ended up respecting it more than liking it. A writer to watch, for sure.
33. Red Dust by Yoss. An okay sci-fi tale featuring a noir positronic android. The noir aspect was fun. I got lured in by the phrase “noir space opera”. I’m inclined toward both, particularly noir.
34. A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher. A fun fantasy featuring Mona the (humble) Wizard of Baking, by the author of Nettle and Bone.
35. Murder in Reproach by Anne Cleeland
36. Aya The Claws Come Out by Marguerite Abouet*. Interesting graphic slice of life in middle class Ivory Coast. The Aya series is exceptionally popular internationally, and I find the illustrations very appealing
37. Country of the Blind by Andrew Leland. An engaging blend of the author writing about gradually losing his eyesight via retinitis pigmentosa; a history of how blind people have been (mis)treated over time; the effects of disability advocacy; and technological advances in helping blind people.
38. Anita De Monte Laughs Last by Xochitl Gonzalez. Even better than her lauded Olga Dies Dreaming. A novel featuring the obstacles brown (Cuban) women face in the modern art world still dominated by white males and the dangers of falling in love with one. Just my cuppa. What a writer!
39. The Rattle Bag by Seamus Heaney and Ted Hughes. Inspiring poetry anthology from two master poets, full of idiosyncratic choices. Not your father’s anthology. From Ogden Nash to Ferlinghetti toYeats to Wordsworth to Anonymous, lots to enjoy and chew on.
April 2024
40. Sharpe’s Command by Bernard Cornwell. Another fully satisfying Napoleonic era adventure with sharpe and Harper and their band of Rifles, with Sharpe’s wife La Aguja (The Needle) saving their butts at one point. This time Wellington has sent them to destroy a French bridge in Spain, and take over nearby French forts. Exhilarating.
41. Three Inch Teeth by C.J. Box. A grizzly bear appears to be targeting locals in Saddlestring, Wyoming.. How is that possible? And the nemesis of game warden Joe Picket’s family, ex- rodeo star Dallas Cates, has been released from prison without their knowing. Joe needs the help of his dangerous, reclusive friend Nate Romanowski. Another solid outing in this series.
42. Lake of Soul by Ann Leckie. I was surprised to be left feeling pretty meh about this one. The stories were fine, but no great shakes. Unfairly, I thought of what Ray Bradbury did with his short stories in comparison.
43. Wake The Hidden History of Woman Led Slave Revolts by Rebecca Hall.*. The author of this GN RESEARCHED 400 years of slave trad with more than 36,000 slave ships, one in ten of which experienced a slave revolt. Finding any useful history of the revolts, much less womens’ role in them, was an imposing task, often resisted by private archives like the ship insurer Lloyds of London. As a result, Hall often has to extrapolate and imagine the stories. Her work brings home the horror of this era of our history. The illustrations are crude but effective.
44. Watership Down The Graphic Novel by Richard Adams, James Sturm and Joe Sutphin. Superb graphic rendering of the famous book. Beautiful illustrations, and as endearing and exciting as the original. It’s a great way to Visually re-experience the original.*
45. Close to Death by Anthony Horowitz. Another extravagantly fun mystery, maybe his best yet. The author has found a fun groove in which he is a character in these. As an amateur detective helping the professional Hawthorne, he struggles like the reader to recognize the salient clues, and combine them to solve the case. A politically adept Inspector Kahn keeps thinking he’s figured it all out, only to have Hawthorn persuade him otherwise. With the main action taking place among bickering neighbors in the isolated, expensive Riverview Close, this one is premier entertainment.
46. The 6 Voyages of Lone Sloan by the celebrated French graphic artist Philippe Druillet. Baroque space opera with the kind of dramatic, ornate illustrations for which he is renowned. Kind of like watching an earnest, hilarious Saturday afternoon B movie set in outer space.
47. Table for Two by Amor Towles is a superb collection of short stories, the best I’ve read in many a book. The longest last one is a tour de force, featuring the unfathomable, unstoppable Evelyn Brooks treating LA as her own playlot. All the stories have that wonderful quality of carrying you beyond the last sentence, as you imagine what comes next. Best in class, five stars.
48. This is the Honey: Black Contemporary Poets edited by Kwame Alexander. An excellent anthology that is compelling from beginning to end. No top black poet is missed, and my copy (from the library) bristles with post-its marking particularly striking poems. The range and quality of Alexander’s selection is impressive. There are thematic divisions like “The Language of Joy” and “Where I’m From” that beneficially juxtapose different poetic approaches.
May 2024
49. Alison by Lizzy Stewart.* Recommended by Mark. An appealing graphic book that reads like an author memoir. In the beginning Alison is a sedate housewife. An art class leads to an affair with the accomplished artist teacher and the end of her marriage. As she learns to draw and paint, and with the help of her sculptor friend Tessa, she begins to transform into someone with a strong belief in herself and her work. Part of me wishes more of the book was in color, but the black and white illustrations are eye-catching and memorable. The story of her evolution feels quite real.
50. What You Are Looking For is in The Library by Michiko Aoyama.Stories about people who’ve reached an impasse in their lives and somehow find their way ro the Community House Library, with its somewhat mystical librarian, Mrs. Komachi. She talks a bit with each character, prescribes some unexpected reading, and gives each a different felt toy she makes. The characters all learn something critical and resolve their impasses. A clever and heartwarming book. I read somewhere it’s a good pick for those, like me, who liked Before the Coffee Gets Cold, and I agree.
51. I Survived the Battle of D-Day, 1944 by Lauren Tarshis. A surprisingly good graphic retelling of this monumentally historic battle, featuring a French boy helping the French resistance sabotage German weapons. Targeted at 8-12 year olds, this worked well for your cafe owner. I’m going to look for more in this author’s “I Survived” graphic series.
52. Happy Hour by Elissa Bass. Fun romance featuring a menopausal woman and a much younger man.
53. Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley. A good time travel yarn. Didn’t quite reach the heights I had hoped for, but a fun read. Not sure I ever did figure out what the recruiting was all about.
54. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson. A YA mystery in which high schooler Pippa believes kind-hearted Sal must be innocent of his girlfriend’s murder, and she sets out to prove it as a school project. The more she digs, with the help of Sal’s brother Ravi, the more complicated it all becomes. But her persistence pays off. A fun page-turner our daughter recommended.
55. James: A Novel by Percival Everett. Wow, this book is going to win some awards. Beautifully written, it builds on the Huckleberry Finn story, this time from the POV of the slave Jim. Humorous, charming, scathing, exciting, filled with truth. An unsparing depiction of the worst chapter in our racist history, with James as our realistic but far-seeing guide. A new classic.
56. Light It Shoot It by Graham and Chaffee.* Pretty good graphic novel about filming a Hollywood B movie in the ‘70s. Some humorous hardbitten actors and nefarious types involved, along with naive wannabes.
57. What Doesn’t Kill You Makes you Blacker by Damon Young.
58. Marie Howe New and Selected Poems
59. A Great Improvisation by Stacy Schiff.
60. A First Time for Everythingby Dan Santat.*
61.My Favorite Thing is Monsters Book Two by Emil Ferris.*. What an unusual genius this author and graphic artist is. The book continues the story of 10 year old Karen Reyes trying to solve the murder of her neighbor Anka, a Holocaust survivor. There are lots of related stories, many involving her dangerous and connected older brother Deke. Her graphics are so idiosyncratic and fascinating! Like the first book, there is a visit to Chicago’s Art Institute , where she gets to show us how high level her drawing skills can reach. This is brilliant, eccentric (in the best sense) work. And to me there’s a clear indication a third book will be needed. I can’t wait.
62. Midnight Library by Matt Haig.
63. Hockey Girl Loves Drama Boy by Faith Erin Hicks
64. First Frost by Craig Johnson
65. A Secret History by Donna Tartt.
A Secret History was very good, although I wasn’t as affected by it as many others seem to have been. I had one guy tell me he couldn’t get it out of his head, even many years later! The implication was he wished that he could. It was quite the vivid book,as college age youngsters commit murder and labor to stay united and not get caught.
66. Farewell Amethystine by Walter Moseley.
67. The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson
68. Rachel Rising by Terry Moore.*
69. Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff
70. The Bookstore Sisters by Alice Hoffman. A short story/novella about two alienated sisters getting back together and running their late parents’ bookstore after one gets laid up and needs help. Charming; reminded me a bit of a favorite author, Sarah Addison Allen.
71. Bookstore Wedding by Alice Hoffman. A charming follow-up to The Bookstore Sisters. A third one comes out next February. I can imagine these eventually being gathered into a sorta novel.
July 2024
72. 🎩Is Love the Answer by uta Isaki. * A manga about an awkward college girl who learns about the sexual spectrum and asexuality, and begins to have a greater acceptance of herself and others.
73. First Time for Everything by Dan Santat.*
74. Shubeik Lubeik by Deena Mohammed.* The title means “Your Wish Is My Command”. In this Muslim tale, wishes can be bought and sold but, as always, using them is tricky. The Arabic folktale setting is interesting, but I found this graphic work only so-so, and too often a bit of a yawn.
75. The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave. A woman’s new husband disappears, leaving her with his 16 year old rebellious daughter and instructions to “Protect her.” Together they try to find him, while learning that nothing in their lives was what it seemed. I hugely enjoyed this one, racing through the pages. There’s a Jennifer Garner tv movie of it, for after my much better half finishes the book.
76. Fountains of Silence by Tuth Sepetys. Read this one in honor of our late LT friend Anita (FAMestee), from her Favorites list. Sepetys is the author of Salt to the Sea, the outstanding novel about four teenage
refugees in the last year of WWII. This one is set in Franco’s suffering Spain after the war, which has just started encouraging tourism and investment to obtain much needed money. I learned sa lot about this dark period in Spain’s history, and the widely effective relief when Franco finally died and King Jua Carlos began successfully transitioning to a democracy. Today the country is thriving, although the Franco era problem of children being stolen and sold for adoption apparently continues. Here is a stark warning about the tragedies of a dictatorship.it also features a fancy hotel with American tourists, one if whom is a 19 year old talented photographer who falls for a Spanish girl from an impoverished village. As in Salt to the Sea, the reading pace is quick and enjoyable, with short, tight chapters.
77. Friends with Boys by Faith Erin Hicks.* She’s become a go-to GN author for me, but this one is pretty light and slight. A home-schooled girl with older brothers becomes a public school student and has some trouble making friends at first.
78. Winter Lost by Patricia Briggs. Okay but no grest shakes entry in Mercy Thompson coyote shapeshifter series.
79. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami. Even better the second time around. Covering an amazing breadth of storytelling, featuring a fine line (or jello-like wall) between dreams and reality.
80. The Littlest Library by Poppy Alexander. After her beloved grandma dies, a shy self-restricting librarian moves to a coastal England town and buys a lovely, if rundown, cottage. As she begins to meet the village’s inhabitants, her life and heart begin to open up. A relaxing charmer; a cozy without the mystery.
81. Ride On by Faith Erin Hicks.* A solid YA GN story set at a horse-riding stable. The new girl is standoffish after a bad experience at a different stable, but gradually learns to trust the other teens and enjoy their shared fandom of
a space opera tv show.
August 2024
82. The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton. Well-done post-apocalyptic story by the author of Evelyn Hugo.
83. The Au Pair Affair by Tessa Bailey. A steamy story abou Burgess Abraham ( what a name for a pro hockey player) and Tallulah (what a name for anyone) after she’s hired to take care of his 12 year old daughter. Not War and Peace or Lincoln in the Bardo, but a fun way to spend a couple of hours if a lot of hetero sex doesn’t bother you.
84. The Triangle by Ruth Bass. Features a love triangle between mid-thirties Sylvia and two 70-ish men who give her money to help her get by and to maintain her interest. Stanley is a sweet man, but Gino is a thug, with a criminal background. When jealous Gino finds out about Stanley, look out. Frankie the bartender sees it all playing out in front of him, and can’t think of how to help Sylvia and Stanley. Very realistic as we grime along; the author covered crime for her newspaper in an earlier life. Thank goodness for Sylvia’s loyal and sensible friend Patsy, who helps get their canoe through some metaphorical white water. I particularly enjoyed the characters in this one.
85. I Survived the Battle of D-Day 1944 by Lauren Tarshis. * A fast-moving graphic treatment of the WWII Allied invasion of France from the POV of a boy whose mother and teacher both are in the French resistance. I’m heartened that this is a middle grade/YA bestseller, and that lots of young ones are reading this slice of history. It’s part of an”I Survived” series that I like very much.
86. The Rose Code by Kate Quinn. A very good story of three female friends who meet working at Bletchley Park, the famous site of WWII decoders like Alan Turing. Many women worked at BP among the men, breaking German and Italian encoded messages to benefit the Allies in the war. It all was a closely held secret and the information had to be used judiciously so that Hitler’s Axis forces didn’t suspect that their messages were being read. The author does a rewarding job of taking us behind the scenes and into the lives of those involved, with friendships and romances inevitably affected by a violent, uncertain world. Her characters are based on real people, including a traitor betraying them to England’s Russian ally.
87. The Book of Elsewhere by Keanu Reeves and China Mieville. I wanted to like this one but it put up too strong a resistance. A pulseless plodding panegyric on persistence, pursuing a plot pressed too deep into the pedantic to be pried loose from the padding before the persevering peruser pulled the plug. If it were edited down to half its length, this tale of an immortal warrior being studied by scientists while pursued by zealots might’ve been a thought- provoking novella. Instead, I hope the authors had fun together writing it, because reading it was a snooze.
88. All My Bicycles by Powerpaola. A charming graphic memoir consisting of vignettes centered around bicycles she’s owned. Black and white sketches with occasional yellow highlights. Her friendships, romances, musings. Modest and quiet, set in Colombia, Ecuador and Argentina, it cast a lovely spell on me.
89. North Woods by Daniel Mason. A string of stories playing out over time and tethered to a woods and apple orchard in Western Massachusetts. I enjoyed most of it, although a long section involving a schizo-phrenic boy had me yawning. Lovely ending, as a plantologist and woods enthusiast takes stock of what has been and what is. There are ghosts, two of whom are sisters and one of whom finds amorous satisfaction in the afterlife. The man can write, and except for the schizophrenic boy, the stories are novel, engaging and often spiced with a wry humor. I can see why the book and author are praised.
90. Hack Slash Back to School by Zoe Thoroughgood.* The newest entry in a funny, gorey horror series in which Cassie and her slow-thinking but supremely loyal thug Vlad chase after and kill monsters and kiilers. This one is particularly noteworthy because the author is a rising comics star who created the unusual and poignant memoir It’s Lonely at the Centre of the Earth (five stars) and the nearly as highly regarded Impending Blindness of Billie Scott. The art in this one is very good, but the story is convoluted. I’m sure she must be a fan of this series.
91. Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood. A couple of remarkably high sex drives meet amid corporate takeover shenanigans. While on opposite sides, the protagonists can’t resist each other but one in particular keeps trying. The truth behind the shenanigans comes out, and the two realize they have more than sexual attraction.
92. Jane Austen An Illustrated Biography by Zeyna Alkayat.* A slim, conversational biography with modest, charming illustrations. A nice gift for an Austenite.
September 2024
93. The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christoper Murray. An exceptionally well done historical novel. Set in the early 20th century, about Belle da Costa Green, a mixed race woman who passed for white and became the high profile curator for J.P. Morgan’s famous NYC library of ancient books. Part of the job involved meeting the city’s wealthy and elite, often at high society affairs. While concerned every day that her black ancestry would be discovered and her career and life ruined, she decided to hide in plain sight, by wearing colorful high fashion clothing and being vivacious and flirtacious in high society. She figured no one would guess a black woman would be so bold. What a well-researched, pleasurable read, with fascinating comments by the two authors in the end notes.🎶
94. Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut. A solid re-read. Rich man turned poor Malachi Constant gets to travel through time and space to different planets, accompanied by wry and wise narration. It was fun to travel along again with this author.
95. Death at the Sign of the Rook by Kate Atkinson. An enjoyable Jackson Brodie mystery with a deteriorating mansion reluctantly opened to the public, and a Murder Mystery Night, with Jackson surrounded by would-be sleuths. Lots of subtle humor, sometimes rising (descending?) to the level of farce. Reggie even finds a romantic interest.
96. The Iliad translated by Emily Wilson. This was a long term project, a few pages a day, so I can’t say this talented translator made it a page-turner. But I can say that she kept me vividly engaged and that, as she did with The Odyssey, she made this my favorite of the three translations I’ve read. (Fagles and Lombardo were the others). A tip of the hat to Amber for helping me with my questions.
97. Mystery of Locked Rooms by Lindsay Currie. A solid YA adventure story, in which three teen friends, who are good at escape rooms, need to solve a house full of them in order to find a treasure. The “treasure” was left by the original owner, and finding it would mean one of the three’s parents could pay off their in default house and get out of debt. Without that, the three way friendship would be broken as one would be forced to move away. Nothing major, but a fun one recommended by my daughter.
98. Sky Full of Elephants by Cebo Campbell. What a fantastic premise! Due to a mysterious event, all white people in this country die. People of color are left to sort out what to make of the changed world and themselves. The author has no interest in polemics, and the story is driven by the characters and descriptions of the post-event world. Our main character Charlie is a black man sent to prison under racist circumstances, which caused him to miss the growing up of his mixed-race daughter Sidney, whose white mother died in the event. Having been raised happily by whites, Sidney takes a resentful view of the new society and her long-absent father. Traveling to find an aunt, they find themselves in a transforming Mobile, Alabama. The emerging joy and warmth are a treat for the reader, and there is much to educate Charlie and Sidney. I loved the book’s audaciousness, and it is admirably thought-provoking as well as fun to read. Mark and I wondered whether there will be attempts to ban it down South.
99. The New Girl by Cassandra Calin.*. This is a surprisingly good middle grade graphic book about a Romanian immigrant in a French school, who speaks little French and consequently has few friends at the beginning. She also struggles with really bad periods. Over time both situations improve, and I imagine the book is reassuring on both counts.
100. World War II Fight on the Home Front by Kate Hannigan.* Well done graphic novel on what happened in America during rhe war: rationing, scrapping for metal and rubber to be used in making war machines, women and minorities entering the work force while men fought abroad, the internment of Japanese citizens, food shortages. Very informative about a country-changing time period.
101. Passions in Death by J.D. Robb. A solid entry in the long-running Eve Dallas mystery series. A few days before her wedding, a bride at her hen party is garroted. It looks like one of her trusted friends must have done it. With little evidence to go on, Dallas and Peabody have to rely on witness interviews in working their way to the culprit. As always, the ending is satisfying. As always, it’s a pleasure to spend time with Dallas, Peabody, Roarke and all the other characters and their environs created by this author.
October 2024
102. Playground by Richard Powers. In The Overstory he showed us we’re woefully underappreciating the miracle of trees. In this one he shows that we are woefully underappreciating the wonders and beauties of our oceans. Given the predominance, our planet should be called Ocean, not Earth.
One of the four main characters is a marine biologist, and what have gotten to me most strongly are the enchanting underwater scenes. There also are fascinating discussions of the strategic game Go (Chinese from way back) and one character’s development of a massively popular online game called, yup, Playground. Kinda like what Gabrielle Zevin did in Tomorrow, Tomorrow and Tomorrow. Throw in a remote paradisal Pacific Island and just the right amount of conflicted romance, and you’ve got a swell read. So swell I give it 5 stars.
November 2024
104. Vera Bushwack by Sig Burwash. I really liked this oddball graphic novel about a woman determined to build a cabin in the woods and live on her own. With her chainsaw skills she’s able to help a neighbor clear some trees, and a friendship begins. She seems to be a lesbian and he has a girlfriend, and by the end he admires her “whatever she is.” She has flights of fancy about being a strong cowgirl on a horse wielding a chainsaw, with her dog being another horse running alongside her. I guess it’s a story of her finding her power and enjoying it. Some big names like Kate Beaton helped her put this together.*
105. Royal City, Volume 3 by Jeff Lemire. The conclusion of a good trilogy by the author of Essex County. In blue collar Royal City, the drowning death of Tommy haunts his family. Suicide? Murder? They all continue to see him turn up at different ghostly ages and commune with them. In the end we find out what happened and there’s a denouement with Tommy.*
106. The Sentence by Louise Ehrdrich. What a disappointment this one was . My least favorite of this author’s books that I’ve read. I never did warm up to the main character, who let herself be led in too many different directions. As usual with this author, I learned a lot I didn’t know about Native Americans, but that was the only positive. Two stars.
107. The Road A Graphic Novel* by Cormac McCarthy. The black and white drawings well-captures the novel’s grim post-apocalyptic landscape. The adapters also do a fine job of depicting the sweet decent boy in an indecent, survival first environment, and his cautious protective father always ready to be ruthless in his protection. This is a standout adaptation that strongly conveys the melancholy and desperation of the original novel.
108. In Too Deep by Lee and Andrew Child. In some ways a welcome return to form in the Jack Reacher series, after two uneven entries from the newly formed brother collaboration. The pacing and fight scenes are improved. But the characters lack depth and the plot is convoluted. It’s still unclear whether getting Child’s younger brother on board will be a success, but Reacher remains a towering character who I’ll follow.
109. Bluff by Danez Smith. My favorite young poet. Very thoughtful ablut being black, gay and human. But it can be not so easy when you’re an underdog rebel poet who becomes successful: “we wanted to stop being killed & they thanked me for beauty/& pitifully i loved them. i thanked them./ i took the awards & cashed the checks.” Some of their poems, especially the ones experimenting with visual presentation and graphics, went over my head. But even those usually had some brilliant lines that I savored. What a talent.
110. Holy Moly Carry Me by Erika Meitner. A well-regarded poet I had not read. This collection delves into surviving and raising children (one black, one white) in a fractured country, and being Jewish anidst Evangelicals. Sometimes it’s tough to hang on. Considering a Monet painting in “The Clock of the Long Now”:
“. . . he captures the exact moment
the sun struggles to break through
a light snowfall. There’s a path, a fence,
a town, figures hurrying with umbrellas.
Snow takes the edge off of most things
but the sun - its yellow light riveting,
sickly, the opposite of triumphant.”
This is a solid collection, filled with melancholy. It also may have been enough of this poet for me.
December 2024
111. The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami. Five stars. See review below.
112. Pacita Abad edited by Victoria Sung. A 30 year retrospective of this outstanding fabric artist’s work, with scholarly and journalistic commentary. Go see this Filipino-American’s art if you get a chance.
113. Love Everlasting Vol. 1 by Tom King.* A collection of unusual romance stories. Joan Peterson repeatedly falls in love and gets marriage offers, but something odd is going on. And if she says no to the proposal,she gets shot and killed by a mysterious cowboy, only to pop up again in a new romantic situation. . The end of this volume hints at an explanation, but I’ll have to read the next one to find out what the heck is going on.
114. Before We Forget Kindness by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. I loved this warm little charmer. The vignettes from its premise of brief time travel visits feel genuine and deep, particularly the last one about an unfulfilled romance. There are two more books after Before the Coffee Gets Cold and this one. I plan to track them down.
115. I Refused to Be a War Bride by Howard Norman. An ARC. A quirky noir-toned GN that I got a kick out of. Detective Jonathan Levy and art photographer Alexa intend to get married, and banter like Nick and Nora. An elderly woman enlists their help to find her daughter. The scope of the story is modest but well done, as are the drawings. It reminded me a bit of Britten and Brulightly. Howard Norman is the talented author of The Bird Artist.
116. The Bletchley Riddle by Ruth Sepetys (Salt to the Sea) and a partner. Teen siblings Jakob and Liz are invited to help at Bletchley Park during WWII. Both are insightful decoders, although Liz ends up as an among-the-huts messenger due to her age. She is convinced that her mother didn’t die when the Nazis invaded Poland, and is determined to find her. Coded messages that show up indicate that she may be right. Their efforts to help crack the Germans’ Enigma coding machine, to thwart the Nazis plans to invade England, and to find their mother, make for another engrossing story from this top YA author.
117. The Mistletoe Mystery by Nita Prose. A sweet holiday charmer featuring her investigative maid Molly Gray.
118. Chaos Agent by Mark Greaney. This thriller featuring The Gray Man (whom Ryan Gosling played in a recent movie) was okay. A military AI is developed that can run ops without human intervention and, predictably, itsheds all control and becomes a danger to all of us. . This book kept me turning the pages , but had two much detail about nonhuman everything - guns, software, hardware, warehouses, offie buildings. It’s the humans that interest me.
119. Life is Strange Forget-Me-Nots by Zoe Thorogood. In the second Life is Strange GN lesbian couple Alex and Steph have left their hometown and gone on the road with their Manic Pixies band. They soon meet up with a troubled little girl named Lily who has psychic powers and needs their help. She cantake away people’s sad memories, but they then store in her and are overwhelming her. . Their adventures in helping her are a large part of their story, with them temporarily returning to their hometown town at the end. No great shakes, but pretty good. Still a GN author worth watching after her more ground-breaking Loneliness at the Center of the Earth and Impending Blindness of Billie Scott.
120. John the Skeleton* by Triinu Laan. An award-winning children’s book translated from the Estonian. John is a classroom skeleton finally retired to Grandma and Grandpa’s farm. There he becomes part of the family, going on car drives and hanging out on the porch, even scaring away criminals at one point. A quirky, matter of fact story about the joys of a family, including chosen family.
121. Here We Are by Oliver Jeffers. A children’s book about living on Earth featuring his friendly, spontaneous-seeming illustrations. Very appealing. The messages are there is plenty to learn and ask about, and you are never alone.
122. The Gift of Asher Lev by Chaim Potok. What a wondrous, wonderful book. This author understands, and loves, art. Asher Lev is an Orthodox Jew filled to the brim with artistic creativity, which puts him in conflict with his religion, his parents, his family, his community. And yet God has given him a gift: he must draw, he must paint, even though it may offend or confuse others. Returning from his peaceful home in the south of France to Brooklyn for a beloved uncle’s funeral, he is re-immersed in all the conflicts he had seemingly escaped. Meanwhile, his children bond strongly with his parents, and his Holocaust-survivor wife finds joy and friendship in the Hasidic community. He is torn both artistically and emotionally. What a rich world Potok gives us, and what an unforgettable story. I must read more of this author. His follow-up to The Chosen, called The Promise, is next on my list.
January 2024
1. Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman
2. Karibaby Daniel Clarke (Thank you, Richard)*
3. Crude by Pablo Fajardo(Thank you, Mark)*
4. Cosmic Detective by Jeff Lemire*
5. The Mysteries by Bill Watterson*
6. Unfortunately Yours by Tessa Bailey
7. Last Call at the Local by Sarah Grunda Ruiz
8. Holiday in Death by J.D.Robb
9. The Emperor's Soul by Brandon Sanderson (really good)
10. Mother Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon
11. The Door to Door Bookstore by Carsten Henn (charming; thank you, Nancy Quinn)
12. Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood
13. Pym by Matt Johnson (did not like)
14. The Little Books of the Little Brontesby Sara O'Leary (ARC; okay)
15. Glowrushes by Roberto Piumini (lovely Italian fable - good gift book)
16. Secretly Yours by Tessa Bailey
17. Parker Girls by Terry Moore*
18. Strangers in Paradise Ever After by Terry Moore*. I love his Strangers in Paradise books with Francie and Katchoo
February 2024
19. Almost an Elegyby Linda Pastan. A very good poet that I’m just now catching up on.
20. Clementine Two by Tillie Walden* (thanks, Mark). The author is so good that I enjoyed this despite the worn-out Walking Dead context.
21. The Paris Bookseller by Kerri Maher (good novel about Sylvia Beach, James Joyce, and the Shakespeare and Company Bookstore)
22. Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher(Hugo winner; very good fantasy)
23. I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai
24. Lone Wolfby Gregg Hurwitz (Orphan X thriller with interesting AI elements)
25. Wildful by Kengo Kurimoto (beautiful, quiet nature-filled graphic book reminiscent of The Secret Garden)*
26. Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoya Yagisawa. (Beguiling story of a girl who learns to appreciate life while working at her uncle’s bookshop)
27. The Girl from the Other Side 11 by Nagabe*. There’s a melancholy mood to the story and drawings that very much appealed to me. But by the end the story seemed too drawn out.
28. Dirty Thirty by Janet evanovich. At least there’s a major relationship development (finally!)
March 2024
29. Murder in Reproach by Anne Cleeland (good entry in the Acton-Doyle series, with a cliffhanger)
30. Foster by Claire Keegan ( another beautiful book (long short story?) from the author of Small Things Like These).
31. Lunar New Year Love Storyby Gene luan Yang.* Disappointing book from this talented GN author. Twice as long as it needed to be.
32. Babel by R.F. Kuang. Well- crafted anti- colonialism fantasy; I ended up respecting it more than liking it. A writer to watch, for sure.
33. Red Dust by Yoss. An okay sci-fi tale featuring a noir positronic android. The noir aspect was fun. I got lured in by the phrase “noir space opera”. I’m inclined toward both, particularly noir.
34. A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher. A fun fantasy featuring Mona the (humble) Wizard of Baking, by the author of Nettle and Bone.
35. Murder in Reproach by Anne Cleeland
36. Aya The Claws Come Out by Marguerite Abouet*. Interesting graphic slice of life in middle class Ivory Coast. The Aya series is exceptionally popular internationally, and I find the illustrations very appealing
37. Country of the Blind by Andrew Leland. An engaging blend of the author writing about gradually losing his eyesight via retinitis pigmentosa; a history of how blind people have been (mis)treated over time; the effects of disability advocacy; and technological advances in helping blind people.
38. Anita De Monte Laughs Last by Xochitl Gonzalez. Even better than her lauded Olga Dies Dreaming. A novel featuring the obstacles brown (Cuban) women face in the modern art world still dominated by white males and the dangers of falling in love with one. Just my cuppa. What a writer!
39. The Rattle Bag by Seamus Heaney and Ted Hughes. Inspiring poetry anthology from two master poets, full of idiosyncratic choices. Not your father’s anthology. From Ogden Nash to Ferlinghetti toYeats to Wordsworth to Anonymous, lots to enjoy and chew on.
April 2024
40. Sharpe’s Command by Bernard Cornwell. Another fully satisfying Napoleonic era adventure with sharpe and Harper and their band of Rifles, with Sharpe’s wife La Aguja (The Needle) saving their butts at one point. This time Wellington has sent them to destroy a French bridge in Spain, and take over nearby French forts. Exhilarating.
41. Three Inch Teeth by C.J. Box. A grizzly bear appears to be targeting locals in Saddlestring, Wyoming.. How is that possible? And the nemesis of game warden Joe Picket’s family, ex- rodeo star Dallas Cates, has been released from prison without their knowing. Joe needs the help of his dangerous, reclusive friend Nate Romanowski. Another solid outing in this series.
42. Lake of Soul by Ann Leckie. I was surprised to be left feeling pretty meh about this one. The stories were fine, but no great shakes. Unfairly, I thought of what Ray Bradbury did with his short stories in comparison.
43. Wake The Hidden History of Woman Led Slave Revolts by Rebecca Hall.*. The author of this GN RESEARCHED 400 years of slave trad with more than 36,000 slave ships, one in ten of which experienced a slave revolt. Finding any useful history of the revolts, much less womens’ role in them, was an imposing task, often resisted by private archives like the ship insurer Lloyds of London. As a result, Hall often has to extrapolate and imagine the stories. Her work brings home the horror of this era of our history. The illustrations are crude but effective.
44. Watership Down The Graphic Novel by Richard Adams, James Sturm and Joe Sutphin. Superb graphic rendering of the famous book. Beautiful illustrations, and as endearing and exciting as the original. It’s a great way to Visually re-experience the original.*
45. Close to Death by Anthony Horowitz. Another extravagantly fun mystery, maybe his best yet. The author has found a fun groove in which he is a character in these. As an amateur detective helping the professional Hawthorne, he struggles like the reader to recognize the salient clues, and combine them to solve the case. A politically adept Inspector Kahn keeps thinking he’s figured it all out, only to have Hawthorn persuade him otherwise. With the main action taking place among bickering neighbors in the isolated, expensive Riverview Close, this one is premier entertainment.
46. The 6 Voyages of Lone Sloan by the celebrated French graphic artist Philippe Druillet. Baroque space opera with the kind of dramatic, ornate illustrations for which he is renowned. Kind of like watching an earnest, hilarious Saturday afternoon B movie set in outer space.
47. Table for Two by Amor Towles is a superb collection of short stories, the best I’ve read in many a book. The longest last one is a tour de force, featuring the unfathomable, unstoppable Evelyn Brooks treating LA as her own playlot. All the stories have that wonderful quality of carrying you beyond the last sentence, as you imagine what comes next. Best in class, five stars.
48. This is the Honey: Black Contemporary Poets edited by Kwame Alexander. An excellent anthology that is compelling from beginning to end. No top black poet is missed, and my copy (from the library) bristles with post-its marking particularly striking poems. The range and quality of Alexander’s selection is impressive. There are thematic divisions like “The Language of Joy” and “Where I’m From” that beneficially juxtapose different poetic approaches.
May 2024
49. Alison by Lizzy Stewart.* Recommended by Mark. An appealing graphic book that reads like an author memoir. In the beginning Alison is a sedate housewife. An art class leads to an affair with the accomplished artist teacher and the end of her marriage. As she learns to draw and paint, and with the help of her sculptor friend Tessa, she begins to transform into someone with a strong belief in herself and her work. Part of me wishes more of the book was in color, but the black and white illustrations are eye-catching and memorable. The story of her evolution feels quite real.
50. What You Are Looking For is in The Library by Michiko Aoyama.Stories about people who’ve reached an impasse in their lives and somehow find their way ro the Community House Library, with its somewhat mystical librarian, Mrs. Komachi. She talks a bit with each character, prescribes some unexpected reading, and gives each a different felt toy she makes. The characters all learn something critical and resolve their impasses. A clever and heartwarming book. I read somewhere it’s a good pick for those, like me, who liked Before the Coffee Gets Cold, and I agree.
51. I Survived the Battle of D-Day, 1944 by Lauren Tarshis. A surprisingly good graphic retelling of this monumentally historic battle, featuring a French boy helping the French resistance sabotage German weapons. Targeted at 8-12 year olds, this worked well for your cafe owner. I’m going to look for more in this author’s “I Survived” graphic series.
52. Happy Hour by Elissa Bass. Fun romance featuring a menopausal woman and a much younger man.
53. Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley. A good time travel yarn. Didn’t quite reach the heights I had hoped for, but a fun read. Not sure I ever did figure out what the recruiting was all about.
54. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson. A YA mystery in which high schooler Pippa believes kind-hearted Sal must be innocent of his girlfriend’s murder, and she sets out to prove it as a school project. The more she digs, with the help of Sal’s brother Ravi, the more complicated it all becomes. But her persistence pays off. A fun page-turner our daughter recommended.
55. James: A Novel by Percival Everett. Wow, this book is going to win some awards. Beautifully written, it builds on the Huckleberry Finn story, this time from the POV of the slave Jim. Humorous, charming, scathing, exciting, filled with truth. An unsparing depiction of the worst chapter in our racist history, with James as our realistic but far-seeing guide. A new classic.
56. Light It Shoot It by Graham and Chaffee.* Pretty good graphic novel about filming a Hollywood B movie in the ‘70s. Some humorous hardbitten actors and nefarious types involved, along with naive wannabes.
57. What Doesn’t Kill You Makes you Blacker by Damon Young.
58. Marie Howe New and Selected Poems
59. A Great Improvisation by Stacy Schiff.
60. A First Time for Everythingby Dan Santat.*
61.My Favorite Thing is Monsters Book Two by Emil Ferris.*. What an unusual genius this author and graphic artist is. The book continues the story of 10 year old Karen Reyes trying to solve the murder of her neighbor Anka, a Holocaust survivor. There are lots of related stories, many involving her dangerous and connected older brother Deke. Her graphics are so idiosyncratic and fascinating! Like the first book, there is a visit to Chicago’s Art Institute , where she gets to show us how high level her drawing skills can reach. This is brilliant, eccentric (in the best sense) work. And to me there’s a clear indication a third book will be needed. I can’t wait.
62. Midnight Library by Matt Haig.
63. Hockey Girl Loves Drama Boy by Faith Erin Hicks
64. First Frost by Craig Johnson
65. A Secret History by Donna Tartt.
A Secret History was very good, although I wasn’t as affected by it as many others seem to have been. I had one guy tell me he couldn’t get it out of his head, even many years later! The implication was he wished that he could. It was quite the vivid book,
66. Farewell Amethystine by Walter Moseley.
67. The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson
68. Rachel Rising by Terry Moore.*
69. Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff
70. The Bookstore Sisters by Alice Hoffman. A short story/novella about two alienated sisters getting back together and running their late parents’ bookstore after one gets laid up and needs help. Charming; reminded me a bit of a favorite author, Sarah Addison Allen.
71. Bookstore Wedding by Alice Hoffman. A charming follow-up to The Bookstore Sisters. A third one comes out next February. I can imagine these eventually being gathered into a sorta novel.
July 2024
72. 🎩Is Love the Answer by uta Isaki. * A manga about an awkward college girl who learns about the sexual spectrum and asexuality, and begins to have a greater acceptance of herself and others.
73. First Time for Everything by Dan Santat.*
74. Shubeik Lubeik by Deena Mohammed.* The title means “Your Wish Is My Command”. In this Muslim tale, wishes can be bought and sold but, as always, using them is tricky. The Arabic folktale setting is interesting, but I found this graphic work only so-so, and too often a bit of a yawn.
75. The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave. A woman’s new husband disappears, leaving her with his 16 year old rebellious daughter and instructions to “Protect her.” Together they try to find him, while learning that nothing in their lives was what it seemed. I hugely enjoyed this one, racing through the pages. There’s a Jennifer Garner tv movie of it, for after my much better half finishes the book.
76. Fountains of Silence by Tuth Sepetys. Read this one in honor of our late LT friend Anita (FAMestee), from her Favorites list. Sepetys is the author of Salt to the Sea, the outstanding novel about four teenage
refugees in the last year of WWII. This one is set in Franco’s suffering Spain after the war, which has just started encouraging tourism and investment to obtain much needed money. I learned sa lot about this dark period in Spain’s history, and the widely effective relief when Franco finally died and King Jua Carlos began successfully transitioning to a democracy. Today the country is thriving, although the Franco era problem of children being stolen and sold for adoption apparently continues. Here is a stark warning about the tragedies of a dictatorship.it also features a fancy hotel with American tourists, one if whom is a 19 year old talented photographer who falls for a Spanish girl from an impoverished village. As in Salt to the Sea, the reading pace is quick and enjoyable, with short, tight chapters.
77. Friends with Boys by Faith Erin Hicks.* She’s become a go-to GN author for me, but this one is pretty light and slight. A home-schooled girl with older brothers becomes a public school student and has some trouble making friends at first.
78. Winter Lost by Patricia Briggs. Okay but no grest shakes entry in Mercy Thompson coyote shapeshifter series.
79. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami. Even better the second time around. Covering an amazing breadth of storytelling, featuring a fine line (or jello-like wall) between dreams and reality.
80. The Littlest Library by Poppy Alexander. After her beloved grandma dies, a shy self-restricting librarian moves to a coastal England town and buys a lovely, if rundown, cottage. As she begins to meet the village’s inhabitants, her life and heart begin to open up. A relaxing charmer; a cozy without the mystery.
81. Ride On by Faith Erin Hicks.* A solid YA GN story set at a horse-riding stable. The new girl is standoffish after a bad experience at a different stable, but gradually learns to trust the other teens and enjoy their shared fandom of
a space opera tv show.
August 2024
82. The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton. Well-done post-apocalyptic story by the author of Evelyn Hugo.
83. The Au Pair Affair by Tessa Bailey. A steamy story abou Burgess Abraham ( what a name for a pro hockey player) and Tallulah (what a name for anyone) after she’s hired to take care of his 12 year old daughter. Not War and Peace or Lincoln in the Bardo, but a fun way to spend a couple of hours if a lot of hetero sex doesn’t bother you.
84. The Triangle by Ruth Bass. Features a love triangle between mid-thirties Sylvia and two 70-ish men who give her money to help her get by and to maintain her interest. Stanley is a sweet man, but Gino is a thug, with a criminal background. When jealous Gino finds out about Stanley, look out. Frankie the bartender sees it all playing out in front of him, and can’t think of how to help Sylvia and Stanley. Very realistic as we grime along; the author covered crime for her newspaper in an earlier life. Thank goodness for Sylvia’s loyal and sensible friend Patsy, who helps get their canoe through some metaphorical white water. I particularly enjoyed the characters in this one.
85. I Survived the Battle of D-Day 1944 by Lauren Tarshis. * A fast-moving graphic treatment of the WWII Allied invasion of France from the POV of a boy whose mother and teacher both are in the French resistance. I’m heartened that this is a middle grade/YA bestseller, and that lots of young ones are reading this slice of history. It’s part of an”I Survived” series that I like very much.
86. The Rose Code by Kate Quinn. A very good story of three female friends who meet working at Bletchley Park, the famous site of WWII decoders like Alan Turing. Many women worked at BP among the men, breaking German and Italian encoded messages to benefit the Allies in the war. It all was a closely held secret and the information had to be used judiciously so that Hitler’s Axis forces didn’t suspect that their messages were being read. The author does a rewarding job of taking us behind the scenes and into the lives of those involved, with friendships and romances inevitably affected by a violent, uncertain world. Her characters are based on real people, including a traitor betraying them to England’s Russian ally.
87. The Book of Elsewhere by Keanu Reeves and China Mieville. I wanted to like this one but it put up too strong a resistance. A pulseless plodding panegyric on persistence, pursuing a plot pressed too deep into the pedantic to be pried loose from the padding before the persevering peruser pulled the plug. If it were edited down to half its length, this tale of an immortal warrior being studied by scientists while pursued by zealots might’ve been a thought- provoking novella. Instead, I hope the authors had fun together writing it, because reading it was a snooze.
88. All My Bicycles by Powerpaola. A charming graphic memoir consisting of vignettes centered around bicycles she’s owned. Black and white sketches with occasional yellow highlights. Her friendships, romances, musings. Modest and quiet, set in Colombia, Ecuador and Argentina, it cast a lovely spell on me.
89. North Woods by Daniel Mason. A string of stories playing out over time and tethered to a woods and apple orchard in Western Massachusetts. I enjoyed most of it, although a long section involving a schizo-phrenic boy had me yawning. Lovely ending, as a plantologist and woods enthusiast takes stock of what has been and what is. There are ghosts, two of whom are sisters and one of whom finds amorous satisfaction in the afterlife. The man can write, and except for the schizophrenic boy, the stories are novel, engaging and often spiced with a wry humor. I can see why the book and author are praised.
90. Hack Slash Back to School by Zoe Thoroughgood.* The newest entry in a funny, gorey horror series in which Cassie and her slow-thinking but supremely loyal thug Vlad chase after and kill monsters and kiilers. This one is particularly noteworthy because the author is a rising comics star who created the unusual and poignant memoir It’s Lonely at the Centre of the Earth (five stars) and the nearly as highly regarded Impending Blindness of Billie Scott. The art in this one is very good, but the story is convoluted. I’m sure she must be a fan of this series.
91. Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood. A couple of remarkably high sex drives meet amid corporate takeover shenanigans. While on opposite sides, the protagonists can’t resist each other but one in particular keeps trying. The truth behind the shenanigans comes out, and the two realize they have more than sexual attraction.
92. Jane Austen An Illustrated Biography by Zeyna Alkayat.* A slim, conversational biography with modest, charming illustrations. A nice gift for an Austenite.
September 2024
93. The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christoper Murray. An exceptionally well done historical novel. Set in the early 20th century, about Belle da Costa Green, a mixed race woman who passed for white and became the high profile curator for J.P. Morgan’s famous NYC library of ancient books. Part of the job involved meeting the city’s wealthy and elite, often at high society affairs. While concerned every day that her black ancestry would be discovered and her career and life ruined, she decided to hide in plain sight, by wearing colorful high fashion clothing and being vivacious and flirtacious in high society. She figured no one would guess a black woman would be so bold. What a well-researched, pleasurable read, with fascinating comments by the two authors in the end notes.🎶
94. Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut. A solid re-read. Rich man turned poor Malachi Constant gets to travel through time and space to different planets, accompanied by wry and wise narration. It was fun to travel along again with this author.
95. Death at the Sign of the Rook by Kate Atkinson. An enjoyable Jackson Brodie mystery with a deteriorating mansion reluctantly opened to the public, and a Murder Mystery Night, with Jackson surrounded by would-be sleuths. Lots of subtle humor, sometimes rising (descending?) to the level of farce. Reggie even finds a romantic interest.
96. The Iliad translated by Emily Wilson. This was a long term project, a few pages a day, so I can’t say this talented translator made it a page-turner. But I can say that she kept me vividly engaged and that, as she did with The Odyssey, she made this my favorite of the three translations I’ve read. (Fagles and Lombardo were the others). A tip of the hat to Amber for helping me with my questions.
97. Mystery of Locked Rooms by Lindsay Currie. A solid YA adventure story, in which three teen friends, who are good at escape rooms, need to solve a house full of them in order to find a treasure. The “treasure” was left by the original owner, and finding it would mean one of the three’s parents could pay off their in default house and get out of debt. Without that, the three way friendship would be broken as one would be forced to move away. Nothing major, but a fun one recommended by my daughter.
98. Sky Full of Elephants by Cebo Campbell. What a fantastic premise! Due to a mysterious event, all white people in this country die. People of color are left to sort out what to make of the changed world and themselves. The author has no interest in polemics, and the story is driven by the characters and descriptions of the post-event world. Our main character Charlie is a black man sent to prison under racist circumstances, which caused him to miss the growing up of his mixed-race daughter Sidney, whose white mother died in the event. Having been raised happily by whites, Sidney takes a resentful view of the new society and her long-absent father. Traveling to find an aunt, they find themselves in a transforming Mobile, Alabama. The emerging joy and warmth are a treat for the reader, and there is much to educate Charlie and Sidney. I loved the book’s audaciousness, and it is admirably thought-provoking as well as fun to read. Mark and I wondered whether there will be attempts to ban it down South.
99. The New Girl by Cassandra Calin.*. This is a surprisingly good middle grade graphic book about a Romanian immigrant in a French school, who speaks little French and consequently has few friends at the beginning. She also struggles with really bad periods. Over time both situations improve, and I imagine the book is reassuring on both counts.
100. World War II Fight on the Home Front by Kate Hannigan.* Well done graphic novel on what happened in America during rhe war: rationing, scrapping for metal and rubber to be used in making war machines, women and minorities entering the work force while men fought abroad, the internment of Japanese citizens, food shortages. Very informative about a country-changing time period.
101. Passions in Death by J.D. Robb. A solid entry in the long-running Eve Dallas mystery series. A few days before her wedding, a bride at her hen party is garroted. It looks like one of her trusted friends must have done it. With little evidence to go on, Dallas and Peabody have to rely on witness interviews in working their way to the culprit. As always, the ending is satisfying. As always, it’s a pleasure to spend time with Dallas, Peabody, Roarke and all the other characters and their environs created by this author.
October 2024
102. Playground by Richard Powers. In The Overstory he showed us we’re woefully underappreciating the miracle of trees. In this one he shows that we are woefully underappreciating the wonders and beauties of our oceans. Given the predominance, our planet should be called Ocean, not Earth.
One of the four main characters is a marine biologist, and what have gotten to me most strongly are the enchanting underwater scenes. There also are fascinating discussions of the strategic game Go (Chinese from way back) and one character’s development of a massively popular online game called, yup, Playground. Kinda like what Gabrielle Zevin did in Tomorrow, Tomorrow and Tomorrow. Throw in a remote paradisal Pacific Island and just the right amount of conflicted romance, and you’ve got a swell read. So swell I give it 5 stars.
November 2024
104. Vera Bushwack by Sig Burwash. I really liked this oddball graphic novel about a woman determined to build a cabin in the woods and live on her own. With her chainsaw skills she’s able to help a neighbor clear some trees, and a friendship begins. She seems to be a lesbian and he has a girlfriend, and by the end he admires her “whatever she is.” She has flights of fancy about being a strong cowgirl on a horse wielding a chainsaw, with her dog being another horse running alongside her. I guess it’s a story of her finding her power and enjoying it. Some big names like Kate Beaton helped her put this together.*
105. Royal City, Volume 3 by Jeff Lemire. The conclusion of a good trilogy by the author of Essex County. In blue collar Royal City, the drowning death of Tommy haunts his family. Suicide? Murder? They all continue to see him turn up at different ghostly ages and commune with them. In the end we find out what happened and there’s a denouement with Tommy.*
106. The Sentence by Louise Ehrdrich. What a disappointment this one was . My least favorite of this author’s books that I’ve read. I never did warm up to the main character, who let herself be led in too many different directions. As usual with this author, I learned a lot I didn’t know about Native Americans, but that was the only positive. Two stars.
107. The Road A Graphic Novel* by Cormac McCarthy. The black and white drawings well-captures the novel’s grim post-apocalyptic landscape. The adapters also do a fine job of depicting the sweet decent boy in an indecent, survival first environment, and his cautious protective father always ready to be ruthless in his protection. This is a standout adaptation that strongly conveys the melancholy and desperation of the original novel.
108. In Too Deep by Lee and Andrew Child. In some ways a welcome return to form in the Jack Reacher series, after two uneven entries from the newly formed brother collaboration. The pacing and fight scenes are improved. But the characters lack depth and the plot is convoluted. It’s still unclear whether getting Child’s younger brother on board will be a success, but Reacher remains a towering character who I’ll follow.
109. Bluff by Danez Smith. My favorite young poet. Very thoughtful ablut being black, gay and human. But it can be not so easy when you’re an underdog rebel poet who becomes successful: “we wanted to stop being killed & they thanked me for beauty/& pitifully i loved them. i thanked them./ i took the awards & cashed the checks.” Some of their poems, especially the ones experimenting with visual presentation and graphics, went over my head. But even those usually had some brilliant lines that I savored. What a talent.
110. Holy Moly Carry Me by Erika Meitner. A well-regarded poet I had not read. This collection delves into surviving and raising children (one black, one white) in a fractured country, and being Jewish anidst Evangelicals. Sometimes it’s tough to hang on. Considering a Monet painting in “The Clock of the Long Now”:
“. . . he captures the exact moment
the sun struggles to break through
a light snowfall. There’s a path, a fence,
a town, figures hurrying with umbrellas.
Snow takes the edge off of most things
but the sun - its yellow light riveting,
sickly, the opposite of triumphant.”
This is a solid collection, filled with melancholy. It also may have been enough of this poet for me.
December 2024
111. The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami. Five stars. See review below.
112. Pacita Abad edited by Victoria Sung. A 30 year retrospective of this outstanding fabric artist’s work, with scholarly and journalistic commentary. Go see this Filipino-American’s art if you get a chance.
113. Love Everlasting Vol. 1 by Tom King.* A collection of unusual romance stories. Joan Peterson repeatedly falls in love and gets marriage offers, but something odd is going on. And if she says no to the proposal,
114. Before We Forget Kindness by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. I loved this warm little charmer. The vignettes from its premise of brief time travel visits feel genuine and deep, particularly the last one about an unfulfilled romance. There are two more books after Before the Coffee Gets Cold and this one. I plan to track them down.
115. I Refused to Be a War Bride by Howard Norman. An ARC. A quirky noir-toned GN that I got a kick out of. Detective Jonathan Levy and art photographer Alexa intend to get married, and banter like Nick and Nora. An elderly woman enlists their help to find her daughter. The scope of the story is modest but well done, as are the drawings. It reminded me a bit of Britten and Brulightly. Howard Norman is the talented author of The Bird Artist.
116. The Bletchley Riddle by Ruth Sepetys (Salt to the Sea) and a partner. Teen siblings Jakob and Liz are invited to help at Bletchley Park during WWII. Both are insightful decoders, although Liz ends up as an among-the-huts messenger due to her age. She is convinced that her mother didn’t die when the Nazis invaded Poland, and is determined to find her. Coded messages that show up indicate that she may be right. Their efforts to help crack the Germans’ Enigma coding machine, to thwart the Nazis plans to invade England, and to find their mother, make for another engrossing story from this top YA author.
117. The Mistletoe Mystery by Nita Prose. A sweet holiday charmer featuring her investigative maid Molly Gray.
118. Chaos Agent by Mark Greaney. This thriller featuring The Gray Man (whom Ryan Gosling played in a recent movie) was okay. A military AI is developed that can run ops without human intervention and, predictably, it
119. Life is Strange Forget-Me-Nots by Zoe Thorogood. In the second Life is Strange GN lesbian couple Alex and Steph have left their hometown and gone on the road with their Manic Pixies band. They soon meet up with a troubled little girl named Lily who has psychic powers and needs their help. She can
120. John the Skeleton* by Triinu Laan. An award-winning children’s book translated from the Estonian. John is a classroom skeleton finally retired to Grandma and Grandpa’s farm. There he becomes part of the family, going on car drives and hanging out on the porch, even scaring away criminals at one point. A quirky, matter of fact story about the joys of a family, including chosen family.
121. Here We Are by Oliver Jeffers. A children’s book about living on Earth featuring his friendly, spontaneous-seeming illustrations. Very appealing. The messages are there is plenty to learn and ask about, and you are never alone.
122. The Gift of Asher Lev by Chaim Potok. What a wondrous, wonderful book. This author understands, and loves, art. Asher Lev is an Orthodox Jew filled to the brim with artistic creativity, which puts him in conflict with his religion, his parents, his family, his community. And yet God has given him a gift: he must draw, he must paint, even though it may offend or confuse others. Returning from his peaceful home in the south of France to Brooklyn for a beloved uncle’s funeral, he is re-immersed in all the conflicts he had seemingly escaped. Meanwhile, his children bond strongly with his parents, and his Holocaust-survivor wife finds joy and friendship in the Hasidic community. He is torn both artistically and emotionally. What a rich world Potok gives us, and what an unforgettable story. I must read more of this author. His follow-up to The Chosen, called The Promise, is next on my list.
7johnsimpson
Hi Joe, mate. I have starred you and will be sure to visit more often, i am looking forward to a lovely 2025. Hope you had a good holiday celebration and hope Debbi is progressing along nicely. Sending love and hugs to both of you, from both of us, dear friend.
8jnwelch
>7 johnsimpson:. Hello, my friend. We had a good holiday celebration and Debbi is progressing nicely indeed. Look out world when she is fully recovered and sporting a sleek, new racing car heart.
I hope you and Karen and your family are enjoying being together during the holidays. Love and hugs to you all!
I hope you and Karen and your family are enjoying being together during the holidays. Love and hugs to you all!
9PaulCranswick
Dear Joe, I always love seeing the photos that you put up - those grandkids of yours are gorgeous. But, perhaps, I am biased since I have met you both my favourite is that lovely photo of you and Debbi - the love shining clearly and brightly from both of you and it is a joy to behold buddy.
I have only read 6 of your 2024 books, but I did notice that you don't appear to have a Book #103?
I will, of course, drop by regularly during the course of the coming year, God willing.
I have only read 6 of your 2024 books, but I did notice that you don't appear to have a Book #103?
I will, of course, drop by regularly during the course of the coming year, God willing.
11jnwelch
>9 PaulCranswick:. Hiya, Paul. Thank you for those kind words. I’m glad you like that photo of Debbi and me. Becca caught us cracking up about something or other. As you can imagine, living with Debbi is indeed a joy, and this year that is especially appreciated.
Ha! I’d tell you 103 is an unlucky number for me, but I just goofed in omitting it. Bonus points for your keen eye in catching it. Now you’ve got me wondering what 6 books we had in common this year. Can it really be only 6? That surprises me.
I hope God’s willing, and we’ll see a lot of you in ‘25 around these here parts. I look forward to hopping onto your fast-moving thread and maybe catching a glimpse of Little Pip.
Ha! I’d tell you 103 is an unlucky number for me, but I just goofed in omitting it. Bonus points for your keen eye in catching it. Now you’ve got me wondering what 6 books we had in common this year. Can it really be only 6? That surprises me.
I hope God’s willing, and we’ll see a lot of you in ‘25 around these here parts. I look forward to hopping onto your fast-moving thread and maybe catching a glimpse of Little Pip.
12jnwelch
>10 Berly:. Hi Kim! I’m honored to be one of the stars in that lovely collection.
13mckait
>4 jnwelch: Little beauties up there ! Lucky us to have grands, eh?
14drneutron
Welcome back, Joe! Unfortunately, LT’s wiki system is down, but I’ve got you on my list to add to the Threadbook once it’s back up.
17PaulCranswick
>11 jnwelch: I'll put you off tenterhooks, Joe.
The six books you read this year that I have also read before are:
Foster , The Rattle Bag, James, North Woods, The Iliad, Secret History.
I have also read Watership Down and The Road but not the GN versions.
The six books you read this year that I have also read before are:
Foster , The Rattle Bag, James, North Woods, The Iliad, Secret History.
I have also read Watership Down and The Road but not the GN versions.
