Picked this up at Homestead National Monument in Nebraska. It‘s about a black homesteading family in South Dakota. Terrific.

A friend gave me this book, which I would likely have chosen. It was excellent—such an interesting part of history with the British Raj orphans. Lovely.

Her novellas are amazing. I loved this one more than Small Things like These, which was terrific. The girl who goes to the country to stay with relatives, the secrets, the dead son, the impoverished parents with too many kids, all the things unsaid. What a talent.

Not the right moment. Ireland, small town, electrification. It didn‘t grab me.

Charming story about an octopus bringing a woman and her grandson together. I cried and couldn‘t put it down.

Just delightful. I am not a huge short story fan but relished each of these. One of my favorite authors.

Beautiful memoir of moving to Minnesota and embracing the food and culture. Beautiful book.

Picked this up on a whim and loved her journey. Lovely to know that others are so connected to their cats. 🐈

Terrific. Unusual and — who knew there was so much literature and culture in gaming?! — compelling. Worth the hype.

I skimmed this because of course I am no good at slow. Good ideas here — allow twice as much time for projects as you think you need because you actually need that long.

Love this author. I knew next to nothing about the Vietnam War (thank you US education) and not only learned a lot, but also about a wholly unreported part of the effort. Couldn‘t put it down.

Terrific.

Tried this before an upcoming trip to France. The personal story is lovely but I couldn‘t get into the specific history of all that animal-based French food. Not the right moment for me.

So interesting—the Anti-Rent War in the northeast, radical rural movements, so incredibly timeless. Really enjoyed it. Also love that I discovered this book at Milkweed Books in Minneapolis. Also the gorgeous cover by Joan Nelson!

Delightful book—second time I‘ve read it! Book barge, Paris, regret, love story. France😍

Marcelo brought me this book from Ireland. I blew through it in Italy in 2 days. Wish this kind of obsessive, self-annihilating relationship were unknown to me and to all women but the book was spot on. Loved it and couldn‘t wait for her to get to the other side of it.

Great ending. Chona, the grocery store, Pottstown, Dodo the deaf boy, more. Great characters.

This was on my list for years and it was good, but ??? I guess it‘s the moral of the story: count your blessings. Try not to have so many regrets, help others.

Easy read

I always wanted to read this but now I remember I mostly like fiction.

Re-read this for the 50th anniversary. Still a page-turner. Those kids had it coming. Be nice.

It was good, as predicted. But too long. Couldn‘t this story have been told in 400 pages rather than 715? Enjoyed learning more about leprosy and the Communist movement in India.

This was a quick and fun read, but not quite sure about the sci-fi sister in the trunk. I enjoyed it but wouldn‘t pass it on.

Wow just finished this 600+ page wonder and still absorbing all the relationships and … the ending!?! Captivating, going to be an amazing movie. Imelda, Dickie, Frank, the garage, the secrets. Great.

Another terrific book by Naomi Alderman. Tech billionaires leaving the rest of us behind. Great surprise ending. Can‘t wait for her next one.

Another book about the Kentucky Packhorse Library of the WPA! A young British woman marries into a KY coal family. It‘s awful of course but she finds her people with the librarians. Sad for it to end.

This was an amazing book. Reads like a thriller even though you know the good guys win. So many villains. Loved it. P 111
He presents as a man at home within himself, whose waters run deep but whose surface is no less real.

Really captivating, what is up with Barbara? And Walter, her shithead German(?) husband? Surprises/unpeeling all the way to the end and then - bam -it‘s done. Still thinking about it. Is Barbara dying? The disabled secret child? Was Walter Russian too? Is Barbara? Who is Bernd‘s father? Ugh the Germans. Maybe I should read it again!

So interesting and memorable. Blue-skinned people of Kentucky, Kentucky Pack horse library of the 1930s—not that long ago and yet another world. Loved it.

Memorable story about abject poverty and impact of the pandemic in the poorest of countries. Fair warning for climate change—people will do anything when they are desperate. Still not nearly as good as The Art of Hearing Heartbeats.

A worthy set-up to the Hunger Games, and leaves us ready for a sequel.

Another lovely installation by Elizabeth Strout. I love the pandemic-timeliness, the love story of Lucy and William, all the recurring Maine characters.

Borrowed this from Mom-historical fiction about the Martin Handcart Company, a group of zealous European Mormon immigrants. Disastrous. Memorable.

So fun and timely. Really clever, loved the science and the wonderfully smart dog (6:30). Of course it‘s going to tv.

Terrific. Shockingly, the MoFos are dying, the result of their screen addiction. Mother Nature always wins. Told by a crow (ST), this is one of the best books I‘ve read in 2023.

All that I expected. What a great author. Loved it!

A beautiful story about two French priests in New Mexico. Beautiful.

Wow. Unforgettable. I read these books snd they‘re sort of dystopian and then it‘s just like Fox News and the crazy nationalist xenophobia stuff. Her best book by far. Also a nice ode to poets!

What a read, what a talent, by the author of Women Talking. Funny, clever, memorable story of a girl who‘s been suspended from school and her grandmother and their trip to California. Loved it. Must read everything by this author.

Fun read, in the spirit of “Where the crawdads Sing” about growing up poor and persecuted in North Carolina .

P4: The last 40 years on the land were revolutionary and disrupted all that had gone before for thousands of years—a radical and ill-thought-through experiment that was conducted on our fields.

This was terrific. Finally got me to try vegan yogurt and it‘s terrific. 66 BILLION farm animals slaughtered each year.

The depravity of the Nazis and frankly, in this book also the Poles who enabled them, still shocks. Would that we had advanced as humans. Never forget.

Spectacular. So many things to know about horse racing and the slaves who built the industry, and were then forced out of it in emancipation. Also, a true story about the horse Lexington. A masterpiece.

Didn‘t realize this was a collection of her essays. She‘s a terrific writer and I enjoy them in the Times, but not so interested in a book of previously published work.

Foster care, opioids, then a big political message at the end about hillbillies and the extraction economy. I thought it might be too much of a downer but it was laugh out loud funny sometimes (Jesus Christ on a stick) and almost exhilarating at the end. Glorious.

Gorgeous. Georgia after the Civil War, two freed brothers, gay soldiers…completely unexpected and a beautiful story.

Funnier than when I read it in college. What a classic.
Vardaman: My mother is a fish.

Another lovely and pointed story about rural Kentucky and a bachelor barber who makes a life. Is there time to read everything by Wendell Berry?

I loved this book. It was less about the extractive nature of the Plains than I imagined, but his story was compelling. “The American West is the playground for the country‘s obsession with exploitation and destruction, with most extractive economies near Native American reservations…Violent people who mimic the violence done to the land.”