Show Us Your Books January 2022

Happy new reading year. This year has started with more chaos for me, but I also have a ton of optimism about this coming year. Don’t ask me why. I just feel like we’ve been through this for two years now, and we’re going to start getting good at it eventually. I hope you all have a happy and healthy New Year filled with great reads.

Four Star Reads

We Never Asked For Wings by Vanessa Diffenbaugh - This is the second Diffenbaugh book I‘ve read and I really like what she does with her characters. I read this story about a struggling family in Washington state all in one day.

Seek You by Kristen Radtke - An examination of what loneliness looks like in America told through graphic format. A fitting to read for this time of year.

The Windsor Knot by SJ Bennett - The perfect antidote to a week that felt like a month. Queen Elizabeth solves crimes with grace and perfect etiquette.

Dear America by Jose Antonio Vargas - This book is an excellent and personal look at immigration issues in the US. I‘m really glad I read it.

Three Stars

Tomorrow Will Be Better by Betty Smith - My last book of 2021 had a very fitting title. A melancholy book about a young woman trying to make her way in Brooklyn. It‘s very well written but kind of a bummer.

Blood Hollow by William Kent Krueger - This book from the Cork O‘Connor mystery series is a wild ride that starts with a murder on New Year‘s Eve. Another good addition to a series I really like.

Brick Lane by Monica Ali - I enjoyed this book about Bangladeshi immigrants in London. It had some rough spots to be sure, but overall a good internal novel if you like that sort of thing (and I do.)

Road Out Of Winter by Alison Stine - This chilling dystopian novel was perfect for early morning reading while huddled under a blanket. How would you survive if winter never ended?

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Food and Lit: the Philippines

December’s country for #FoodandLit was the Philippines. December wasn’t a great month for trying new recipes. The holidays plus my busiest few weeks at work just don’t give me a lot of spare time or days to experiment. I did find a great cookbook at the library though (The Food and Cooking of Indonesia and the Philippines), and tried a delicious mango and lime drink.

I didn’t read a book set in the Philippines, but I did devour Dear America by Jose Antonio Vargas. This book brought the immigration process to life like no other book I’ve ever read. This should be required reading.

I’m excited to continue #FoodandLit in 2022. Next up is Egypt!

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Top 21 of 2021

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

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

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

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

4) Cookbooks can make for good reading.

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

My favorite read of 2021:

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

And My Top Twenty Runners Up

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

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

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

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Food And Lit for Thanksgiving: Mexico

I used the 2021 Food And Lit challenge as inspiration when I planned our Thanksgiving dinner. Our country for November was Mexico, and I love Mexican food, so this wasn’t much of a challenge for me.

For inspiration I checked two cookbooks out of the library:

I think it was my favorite Thanksgiving meal ever. The main event was still the turkey, but we used an adobo rub. For sides we enjoyed street corn and pickled onions along with traditional sides. For dessert we had tres leches cake and meringue cookies. Yum, I wish I could go back in time and eat that again!

For the Lit portion of the challenge I read Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. This one had strong Northanger Abbey vibes and I loved it!

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Show Us Your Books December 2021

In November most of my reading focused on the Nonfiction November challenge, but I did manage to read some fiction too. Here are the highlights.

Five Stars

11/22/63 by Stephen King - This is the third or fourth time I‘ve read this chunkster and I really just am amazed every time. I prefer the print to the audiobook, but audio works when my hands are busy.

Why I Wake Early by Mary Oliver - Mary Oliver‘s poetry soothes my heart, and I was so glad to curl up with this last month. She was just so good.

Four Stars

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia - This book was WILD and I loved every minute it.

November Road by Lou Berney - Great historical fiction set around the time of the Kennedy Assassination. I loved the characters in this one.

Three Stars

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon - Now that I‘m done reading this I kind of feel like I need to start again so that I understand what‘s going on. Overall a pick, but I need a closer read.

Hope Never Dies by Andrew Shaffer - This was dumb and silly in all the best ways. I really enjoyed it.

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Non-Fiction November

Of all the challenges I do each year #NonfictionNovember is one of my favorites. It’s low key and casual, and keeps my brain awake during a season where all I really want to do is sleep. Here’s what I read for the challenge this year.

Four Star Reads

A Promised Land by Barack Obama - The audiobook was great. I appreciated the care and deliberation President Obama seemed to put into each decision he outlined in the book. To be honest after everything we‘ve been through since March 2020 I was kind of nostalgic for some of the crises he talked about here. I can‘t wait for volume 2.

The Five by Hallie Rubenhold - A in depth look at Jack The Ripper’s victims. This was such a fascinating book. I really appreciated how it gave voice to the previously voiceless.

The Third Pole by Mark Synnott - I really enjoyed this memoir of a 2019 Everest climb combined with the history of the Mallory/Irvine climb post WWI. If you like Everest books this one is worth the read even if it seems like you‘ve read enough books about Mallory.

Dead Mountain by Donnie Eichar - This is a great book that not enough people know about. It‘s about a group of students who died in the Ural Mountains in Russia in the 1950‘s. Recommend for fans of Serial and Into Thin Air.

The New Wild West by Blaire Briody - During the oil boom years in Williston, ND Blaire Briody immersed herself in the everyday lives of oil workers and their families. This was a great book.

Three Stars

Big Girls Don't Cry by Rebecca Traister - This book brought me right back to the 2008 election and all of the mess that went down against women in the US election. I would love to see an update.

Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell - I had it on my mental to-do list to learn more about the history of Hawaii this year, and this was an entertaining way to do it.

Midnight In The Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt - I‘m not even sure what I just read, but I enjoyed it, and I really want to travel to Savannah. This was billed as true crime. If even half of it is true it‘s a great story.

The Misfit Economy by Alexa Clay and Kyra Maya Phillips - This book examines how modern day Pirates and hackers operate, and the lessons we can learn from them. It was a quick read with some interesting parts, but I wish it had more substance.

Litsy A to Z Challenge Results

It’s that time of the year when I either finish the millions of challenges I signed up for last December or realize I’m going to fail miserably. I’m happy to say for the second year in a row I finished the A to Z challenge on Litsy.

This is a fun and easy challenge because for the most part it works out when you read a lot of books. There are several tracks, but I simply aim to read a book starting with each letter of the alphabet. At then end though I had to search for books beginning with ‘K’ and ‘X’ so I’m going to share my list here for anyone else in a similar predicament.

Note: I know these challenges aren’t for everyone, but I love them. This isn’t meant to make anyone feel like I think you should be doing more with your reading life. It’s just one of the ways I track my reading and try to get my TBR down to a manageable level.

A - The Awakened Kingdom by N.K. Jemisin

B - Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

C - The Cold Millions by Jess Walter

D - Dolly Parton, Songteller by Dolly Parton

E- Even As We Breathe by Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle

F- The Farm by Tom Rob Smith

G- Gone Crazy in Alabama by Rita Williams-Garcia

H- The House In The Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune

I - The Impossible First by Colin O’Brady

J- The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner

K - The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

L- Leave The World Behind by Rumaan Alam

M- Mollie Garfield in the White House by Ruth S. B. Geis

N- Naked and Marooned by Ed Stafford

O- Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

P- The Pearl That Broke Its Shell by Nadia Hashimi

Q- The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee

R- The Resisters by Gish Jen

S- Sleeping Giants by Sylvian Neuvel

T- The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E Harrow

U- Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey

V- Vietnamese Food Any Day by Andrea Nguyen

W- What Unites Us by Dan Rather

X- X by Sue Grafton

Y- The Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg

Z- Z by Therese Fowler

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Show Us Your Books November 2021

October was a good solid reading month. Nothing blew me away, but I was completely entertained by everything I read.

Four Stars

Where The Rhythm Takes You by Sarah Dass - I absolutely loved this retelling of Jane Austen‘s Persuasion set in Tobago. It was a perfect mix of homage to a classic and modern themes. The narrator was excellent as well.

State of Terror by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny - This was an enjoyable mystery/thriller with all sorts of twists and turns. There were several times when the fact that it was written by Hillary Clinton with all her inside knowledge took me out of the story, but overall I enjoyed the ride. I LOVED the cameos from Three Pines (Louise Penny’s mystery series.)

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab - From what I‘ve heard about this book I was nervous I wouldn‘t like it, but the story really worked for me. I think if I said more it would spoil it, but I do recommend this one.

Three Stars

The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict - This book was good. You think it‘s one thing and then you get to the end and realize it‘s something else. Recommend.

Faithful Place by Tana French - This was my favorite of the series so far. The characters were so flawed but you could relate to them.

A Star For Mrs. Blake by April Smith - Historical fiction about the gold star mothers who went to see their sons‘ graves in France between the world wars. Likable characters living a subject I didn’t know much about.

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Food And Lit: Zambia

October’s Food and Lit country was Zambia. This one was a challenge, but I ended up finding a delicious okra and green bean stir fry that I happily ate for lunch all last week. This recipe will be a repeat.

I also read Scribbling The Cat by Alexandra Fuller. I had such mixed feelings about this book. It’s a non-fiction account from when Alexandra visited her parents in Zambia and met K, a troubled African soldier. Parts were poignant, parts were delightfully daffy, parts were gruesome, and other parts just went on forever. I’m not sorry I read it, but I’m not sure I’d recommend it either.

Next month we visit Mexico.

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October 2021 Show Us Your Books

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

Five Stars

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

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

Four Stars

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

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

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

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

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

Three Stars

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

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

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Food And Lit: Guatemala

September was Guatemala month for Food And Lit. If you’re looking to read a book about recent Guatemalan history you must read Caminar. Heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time, it’s a middle grade novel told in verse. I read it and then began a campaign to get my son to read it.

Guatemala is known for its coffee and chocolate so of course I had to treat myself. I also made Kak’ik for dinner one night. Really good!

Next month we’re in Zambia!

It's October!

I am so excited for reading this October. I have a whole stack of mysteries, horror, and thrillers all set to go. But first I am re-listening to Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner. The examination of adult friendships fits my dark nights just turned the heat on for the first time mood.

September 2021 Show Us Your Books

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

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

Anyway, back to August reading.

Five Stars

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

Four Stars

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

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

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

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

Three Stars

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

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

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

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Food And Lit: Pakistan

August’s Food And Lit country was Pakistan. There were a ton of books I wanted to read (and will get to some day.) Finally I settled on Unmarriageable by Soniah Kamal on audiobook. It’s a modern Pride and Prejudice set in Pakistan. I thought the restraints and rules of Pakistani society really worked in a comparison to Jane Austen’s time. The narrator was great too!

For food I had a little bit of trouble, but luckily Unmarriageable helped me out- the family loved tomato rice, so I made that. I had never spent so much time making rice, but it was oh so worth it. Delicious. I happily ate leftovers all week long.

This month we’re on to Guatemala. Yum!

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Jane Austen

This week I finished Persuasion by Jane Austen, and finished the project I started with a group on Litsy to read all of her works in the order they were written. It was glorious. If you’ve never started a project like this with a favorite author I highly recommend it. It was very eye opening to see how her writing changed over time even as themes and characters repeated. I’m going to miss Jane, but I have dozens of rewrites, continuations, and non fiction studies to read over the next few months.

Les Miserables and the Serieal Reader App

I can’t believe I read the whole thing…

Thanks to Serial Reader I was able to reach my long held goal of reading Les Miserables. I first tried in print, but the book was so big I couldn’t carry it on the metro or read it in bed. Next I tried audio but it didn’t hold my attention. Finally someone told me about Serial Reader, and for 233 days I got 8-15 minute chunks of this classic sent to me by app, and eventually I finished the whole book!

(Truth be told I didn’t like the book that much, but I’m glad I read it.)

I will definitely go this way again if I decide to take on another classic chunkster!

August 2021 Show Us Your Books

July was a month of decent but not great books. I’m hoping that this month will give me a knock my socks off, wow oh wow, amazing summer read. Fingers crossed.

Four Star Reads

If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin - This book was so well written. I loved how Baldwin showed us things with words rather than telling us. The story itself was really sad. I can’t believe we haven’t fixed this yet.

Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler - I really liked this novelization of Zelda Fitzgerald’s house. It was more sympathetic than other books I’ve read about her, and it gave a whole other side to the story.

Way Out There by J.R. Harris - Loved the memories of a lifetime of backcountry backpacking. Really loved that he works in market research (as do I.) Recommend if you like armchair hiking.

A Gentleman In Moscow by Amor Towles - This was my 4th time trying to read this, and I even thought about bailing again. Then I got to the end, and wow, I want to read it again.

Three Stars

The Sisters Weiss by Naomi Ragen - I enjoyed this novel about Ultra Orthodox sisters growing up in Brooklyn in the 1950’s and the turns their lives took.

Rough Magic by Lara Prior-Palmer - A true adventure story about a horse race across Mongolia. I’ll forgive the author a little immaturity and weirdness since she was only 18 at the time.

Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane - This was a really sad book, but it was told with empathy. Good on audio.

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang - I don’t usually read romance, but it’s summer so I gave this a try. Happy to say I thought it was super cute, and I will read more by this author.

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Cooking And Reading From Morocco

Last month’s #FoodAndLit challenge was Morocco. I thought I would love Moroccan food, but didn’t really, sorry. But! My kids loved it.

I started with herb and yogurt spread from the cookbook Mourad: New Moroccan by Mourad Lahlou. I tried it once on a sandwich and the next day spread on crackers with honey. I just didn’t like it. It contained both cucumbers and nutmeg, and I think that combination wasn’t my favorite.

Next I made briouats and kefta from Jamie Oliver’s Food Escapes. My kids LOVED this meal, but again I was turned off by the savory foods with nutmeg in them thing. I did love the harissa and yogurt though. Harissa is going to become a go-to condiment for me.

While all this cooking was going on I read The Caliph’s House by Tahir Shah. This was a light memoir about a family that buys and restores a house in Casablanca. It was billed as a Moroccan Under The Tuscan Sun which is fair I think.

Next month we’re on to Pakistan!

I Haven't Read A Book In Two Years, What Should I Read Next?

I was looking at my analytics the other day, and I was thrilled to see that someone had found me by searching the phrase I Haven't Read A Book In Two Years, What Should I Read Next? Searcher, I hope you found an answer!

Ever since then I was imagining having a conversation with this person over a cup of tea trying to talk them into a stack of my favorite books. Would I send them home with Devotions by Mary Oliver since short approachable poetry might lend a sense of accomplishment or with something that they could immerse themselves in like Stephen King’s 11/22/63? Or maybe something more popular like The Martian by Andy Weir or A Man Called Ove by Frederik Backman would be better.

The possibilities are almost endless. What would you recommend?

Show Us Your Books July 2021

Is anyone else reading more now than ever because you know your quarantine time is coming to an end? It looks like my office is opening back up in the fall and the kids will be going back to school, and I am appreciating my cocoon time in a way that I couldn’t before when it seemed like I would be trapped here forever. I don’t know. Life is strange. Anyway, June was another very prolific reading month, and the pools opened so I got to go back to my favorite hobby- poolside reading. My son asked me if I get a pool pass just so I’ll have a nice place to read. PRETTY MUCH.

Four Star Reads

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell - Grief through Shakespeare‘s wife‘s eyes. This was an incredible book.

The Gunslinger by Stephen King - One of my goals this summer is to re-read the first three books of the Dark Tower series. I just finished the first and this is one of those books that‘s better the second time through because you know what happens with the rest of the series. “Go then. There are other worlds than these.”

Backpack by Emily Barr - Tansy decides to take a year off after the death of her mother to backpack in Asia. Everything is great until a serial killer starts killing people who look like her, and leaving them with her belongings.

The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline - Compelling historical fiction about women sent to Australia as convicts.

No One's Home by D. M. Pulley - A great summer ghost story with a satisfying ending. Recommend. (Right now this is free on Kindle for Prime members if you’re interested.)

All Adults Here by Emma Straub - I liked this family saga more than I thought I would. Straub somehow made the characters likable even as they messed up over and over.

Three Star Reads

People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry - I liked this romance meets armchair travel. Perfect summer fun.

The Cookbook Club by Beth Harbison - This wasn‘t earth shattering groundbreaking Literature, but it was a nice happy story I read in a day.

Aunty Lee's Delights by Ovidia Yu - This murder mystery set in Singapore was a ton of fun. I can‘t wait to read the rest of the series.

One Life by Megan Rapino - I picked this audiobook because my daughter is really getting into soccer and I wanted to understand it better. I still don‘t understand what offsides is, but I liked Megan.

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