I closed my eyes and walked down an aisle at the library. A book called to me. I love occasionally finding books this way. This memoir is what I consider to be the real story of what the result was of the Vietnam War. Trussoni‘s father was a ‘tunnel rat‘, entering tunnels to find the enemy or POW‘s. Ultimately, this experience and his divorce broke him. Trussoni spends her childhood/teen years with him even after her mother & siblings move 🔽

“If you had the bad luck to be from Ireland, it felt, you had to suck it up and never have sex or else have the baby.”

You could also include 21 states in the U.S. where this now applies as well.

I‘m sitting at Safelite getting a new windshield with a bunch of very quiet people. Thankfully they don‘t have a tv on. Suddenly I noticed that both my book and my sweatshirt have the same logo. A bit of overkill? If I‘m lucky the folks will think I work at Galaxy. 😊

❤️ I‘m still buzzing from the total eclipse, watching videos of the darkness & people‘s delight. It was amazing.
❤️ I‘m astonished and so grateful it was a blue sky day for the eclipse - so rare in Vermont in April.
❤️ The Boston Celtics are in the first round of the playoffs.
❤️ The Boston Bruins are in the first round of the playoffs.
❤️ Charley, my granddaughter, can‘t walk yet at 15 months but you should see her ride her bike!
#5JoysFriday

Did I really mean to read a book about F. Scott Fitzgerald‘s last few years and Zelda‘s hospitalization? No. But I did want to read an O‘Nan story. Somehow the author kept my interest through his writing style, even as the book began to lag. Not necessarily O‘Nan‘s fault - I mean how many times can you make it interesting that Fitzgerald fell off the wagon yet again? Would I recommend the book? Probably not. But I enjoyed O‘Nan‘s effort.

After reading @suvata ‘s review, I happened to see this at the library. Her enthusiasm inspired me. Albom is generally hit or miss for me and over time I‘ve tended to stay away. However, I really enjoyed this one. The structure and pace of the story was great. A boat blows up, there are 11 survivors in a life raft. One of them says they are the Lord. Of course it‘s about faith because that‘s Albom‘s jam, but I thought the story was well done.

My daughter-in-law‘s mother knows how much I love Anne‘s writing and sent me this book. I‘ve read her books ever since she wrote Operating Instructions (a brilliant book if you haven‘t read it) and I go to hear her speak whenever she‘s close by.

The author is many things: a medical biochemist, a botanist, & an author just to name a few. This book, part memoir & part call to action, was what I needed right now. Overcoming her lonely childhood, thankfully living in the summers with relatives who taught her the essential Celtic wisdom of nature and its gifts, to her eventually creating her own vision of Eden by collecting nearly extinct trees from all over the world, this woman is amazing.

In Vermont we are still buzzing from this event. The total eclipse was so beyond anything I could have imagined. The cold, the darkness, the stars, the return of light. Strangers embracing strangers. Grandchildren running wild in the darkness and screaming that it was the best day of their lives. It happened in my backyard and it was sunny (unheard of!) I see why people chase this experience. It has affected me deeply. 💕💕

I‘d never read a Tana French book & @DavidDiamond suggested reading this one before reading her new book. Two great things about it: 1. French was born in Burlington, Vermont (love that fact) & 2. This was set in Ireland and the language and descriptions of Ireland were so good! A retired cop moves to Ireland and ends up, of course, having to find a missing person. I grew to really care for all of the characters and look forward to reading more.

Considering I had 18 inches of snow yesterday and an earthquake rocked my house today enough to make me feel as if I were on a boat, this quote hit home.

Taken at 6:30 am & it‘s still snowing at 4 pm. Power on & off all day. Funny how my mood improves the minute power is restored. A week after reading Day, here is what I remember: a character is living in Iceland & Cunningham‘s description of the cold & the climate is so accurate it puts you right smack dab in that location. I‘ve never been there but I know what the sound & smells are like at -20C. The book is fine, but that part was my favorite.

Up to 20 inches of snow projected to fall over the next few days. I have a multitude of books and magazines to entertain myself with when I‘m not shoveling. This is one book I‘ll be dipping in and out of.

I‘ve written 3 reviews and deleted them. I‘m so angry and want to point fingers at one state in the US that seems particularly heartless - looking at you, Texas - but I‘m sure the fate of foster kids is abysmal everywhere. This is a look at racism in fostering choices and a system that cannot see its way to help families rather than destroy them. It‘s a book worth reading but it‘s a tough one.

All for $1 at the library sale. Some great authors. Now I need to stop going to the library so I can actually read some of my own books.

This was not the outcome I expected from the Tournament of Books. https://www.tournamentofbooks.com/2024/championship-blackouts-v-heaven-earth-gro...

(A random photo of a dove outside one of my windows. I love them and it always feels very special to have them visit.)

After finishing Pet I just had to read more by Chidgey. This fictional novel, thoroughly researched, involves a German administration officer at Buchenwald, his wife & child, a prisoner of the camp, and, randomly, an account from townsfolk. The events going on in the camp are written in such a way as to slowly numb you because, of course, what‘s happening couldn‘t actually be happening. It‘s a tough one to read but masterful in how it‘s written.

I‘m listening to the very disturbing tagged book while also reading a book about Buchenwald concentration camp. Suddenly I had had enough. Too much pain. So I drove an hour to see my granddaughter, Charley. I‘m so close to the end of each book that I‘ll finish them tomorrow but today I was fortunate to play with a sweet little girl and count my blessings.

At first I thought the author included too much information but as I reflect on it I think it was all necessary and added to the book. Divers find a German U-boat in the deep section of the sea. Only accomplished divers can go that deep to explore. Over time, it becomes the mission of two divers to determine which U-boat this is. The dangers involved in exploring the vessel to find the identification of the boat are enormous. Their mission to 🔽

I ran away from home with a former medic in the Green Berets stationed in Vietnam. He was eight years older than me and came home with a heroin habit. The Vietnam War was a nightly nightmare for him that heroin just barely alleviated. This book brought up a lot of memories for me. While it provides a lot of info to those unaware of the history, the romances within it were far fetched and drew me away from what the story could have been.

Covid arrives and the author decides to make a sweater from scratch. From shearing the sheep, spinning and dyeing the wool, and making the sweater. I enjoyed her humor and the particular items she chose to go into depth on, especially color and the origin of particular colors (from bugs). The last quarter of the book got a bit bogged down, but overall I enjoyed it.

February reads. I wish every book could make me speedread like I did with Pet, I love Niall Williams‘ writing (History of the Rain), and Edith Wharton‘s The Mother‘s Recompense was incredibly engaging.

A beautiful teacher comes to town & a class of 12 year olds are enthralled. All of the students want to please her and be the teacher‘s pet. When items of the students begin to be stolen, the story takes off. We follow our main character, still grieving the death of a parent, as she navigates the hierarchy within a teenage world & the manipulative world of an adult. It‘s a page turner I could not put down. Already grabbed another by this author.

So apparently I‘ve abandoned the many books on my shelves and overindulged at the library. The pressure is now on to read them all before their due date. And I have a week coming up that is filled with elections, registering voters, and alphabetizing returning absentee ballots. Yeehaw!

My time spent reading Taylor‘s book included comparing it to the exhaustive study done by Homestead. That‘s not really fair. Taylor‘s book is short and informative. For those who don‘t know of Cather‘s works or her life it‘s a great intro. I appreciated the way he reviewed each book & tied it to her personal experiences. The best part of reading this was hearing my mother‘s voice again, telling me stories of Willa and Edith, my mother‘s aunt. 💕

This book started as a great idea. Studying the mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr., James Baldwin, and Malcolm X is a great idea. Behind every great man is a great woman, right? However, I think Tubbs took on more than she could deliver. A pet peeve was that she referred to each woman only by their first name. I spent 3/4s of the audiobook trying to remember which mother she was referring to. 🤦🏻‍♀️ I learned a few things but knew a lot already.

“In April 1990, a fictional library in a Richard Brautigan novel became a real place in Burlington. The Brautigan Library only accepted unpublished books. As the national media spread the news of the library's existence, unpublished manuscripts began arriving from all over North America. The library had visitors from as far away as Los Angeles & London who came to Burlington to experience it. Over 100 local volunteers kept the library running.” 🔽

Grann knows how to tell a complex story in a way that compels you to keep turning the pages. Much like the story of the Endurance‘s struggles, the Wager‘s journey in the 1700‘s highlights just how difficult a journey by boat could be. I‘m often left wondering how I would do in a situation like this: a raging sea, climbing up masts to lower the sails in the middle of snow squalls, starving, & dealing with a murderous mutiny. I‘d give up early on.

I‘m confused. Little random snippets from his diary. He complains about making a movie but I have no idea which movie he‘s talking about. And while I imagine he wouldn‘t have published his own diaries, I do wish he had narrated this book. I‘ll go for another hour but so far it‘s disappointing.

Not book related, except for the fact that my book reading was limited a bit by my spending time/babysitting this sweetie. My 5th grandchild, Charley Jane, had her first birthday. 💕💕

It is so gray here that you can‘t tell that‘s a lovely red fox staring at me as I approached. I‘m fairly picky about audiobooks & usually don‘t like fiction on audio, but this story was great & the audio kept my attention. An elderly woman mourning the death of her son 30 years ago, a young man searching for his father, & an octopus who is delightful. An enjoyable read that kept me occupied on my hour-long drive to City Hall to work on elections.

Lucinda Williams has worked her butt off writing songs and playing guitar since she was 12. Growing up, her mother had serious mental health issues. Meanwhile, her father, a poet, held literary parties with famous authors. Her family moved constantly. In this memoir, Williams takes us through her career, explains the background of many of her songs, and shares stories of her many love/flirty interests. The print version includes photos.

A Russian conscript trying to flee from his duties and a woman leaving a man behind meet on a train. Can the soldier escape his fate with her help? This is a very short book and like @Bookboss I‘m not sure why I‘ve heard so much about it. It was a pick because of the tension provided at the end but otherwise it was just okay.

This is the second book I‘ve read by Williams & I just can‘t say how much I appreciate his writing. While this novel definitely has a plot and characters I grew to adore, it is the writing, the turn of phrase, the truths that so resonated for me that made this special. There is a brief lull where I wondered where we were going and why, but it didn‘t matter ultimately. It‘s a meandering, extremely Irish, tale - one I was delighted to sit with.

The #whartonbuddyread group selected this for February but due to work schedules & Hoopla I jumped right into it. Written a century ago this felt so current. Kate, who left her husband & young daughter behind is called to return to live with her grown daughter. Kate‘s panic as she finds who her daughter intends to marry jumps off the page. Does she reveal secrets or save her daughter from the pain of knowing. This was well written and relatable.

I have lived with this feeling for years!

My great-grandparents to the US came from Ireland. Is that why I love the writing of Williams so much? Ireland is in my blood and each line of this book feels perfectly attuned to what I need in an Irish story. It meanders & digresses. I don‘t understand how Williams writes the way he does. It‘s so potent & creative and funny and surprising. I‘m moving very slowly through the book which just demonstrates the amount of respect I have for him.

@JenniferEgnor wrote a review of this book and posted several entries and I can‘t top them. So check those out. I‘m not a novice to this subject matter. I‘ve done the type of caregiving she recommends when someone is dying. What this book does so well is remind us that dying will happen and you really do need to prepare, for yourself and your family. She outlines pitfalls and possibilities. I‘m going to purchase the paper version to refer back to.

If you‘re a mom and it‘s the first day of school for your little one, you know this feeling.

This made me laugh out loud. It seems pretty accurate. I‘m really enjoying this book. Each paragraph has a sentence that‘s so unexpected.

This one was fun to listen to and the audio is really the way to go with it. It‘s perfect for a long drive or cleaning. Considering how many drugs Rogen admittedly does, it amazes me that he is as successful as he is at writing and producing movies. I was able to get it from Libby - definitely a borrow, not a buy.

This fairly short book of essays about the author‘s time living during a war in Croatia and then living in Amsterdam and the United States is taking me a good deal of time to get through. Her experiences, reflections, and sentences require that I stop and take in some very sad truths about how those of us lucky enough to feel “safe” view the brutality of occupation/war from such an emotional distance. Written in 1993, it‘s all so accurate today.

(This book is written by Keegan, not by Rowling, as you can see on the cover.) These short stories are pure Keegan & of course the writing is beautiful. However, maybe because it feels like the 120th day of no sunshine in VT, these stories all felt so sad. Then I realized all of Keegan‘s stories are sad. I‘m a sucker for sad stories usually but this time it was harder for me to recover from her world of complicated & depressed Irish men & women.

Near the beginning of this book I discovered that the author also wrote The Man Who Can Move Clouds (a great read) and I was delighted to know I was in good hands. This author is a “must read” for me. This book is a novelized rendering of life as she knew it while living and eventually fleeing Colombia. It is the time of Pablo Escobar and kidnappings and fear. Chula, a 7 year old, tells us the stories from that time. It‘s very moving.

I can‘t possibly review this book adequately in the space allotted here. Alberta, a pastor‘s son and very familiar with church teachings, travels the U.S. and brings us an in-depth analysis of what the mega churches and evangelicals are preaching. It‘s fascinating, infuriating, frightening. He also outlines what some leaders are trying to do to return their churchgoers to the teachings of Jesus. Please check it out. I would suggest the audiobook.

This is what my #Bookspin read will be for January. It‘s been on my shelf for years. It sounds like a bit of a dark read but I‘m ready for it.

@TheAromaofBooks

I read this book for #NunLitQuarterly and all I can say is Thank You! to @jlhammar for bringing this one into my world. I raced through it. I can imagine devout Catholics may squirm through parts of it. The story is rich, with nuns doing good works while priests carry on and abuse their power. Dillon does not hold back in her honest portrayal of what nuns face in their calling. I was not expecting to be so riveted.

From the #TOB24 long list. I listened to it, which always dulls a story down for me.

A multi-generational story of the Yukon Gold Rush and the resulting riches. The story had both too much detail and not enough, if that makes sense. Two storylines to follow, with one of them being completely unnecessary.

Keegan has a way of getting inside a setting and a feeling so quickly. It‘s really astonishing. A very small book filled with three stories that convey so much. I loved it.

Photo is of the extraordinary hot chocolates my daughter-in-law made last night after a day of ice skating at a local resort. Always fun as a local to hang with the rich tourists and see how the other half lives.

This was a low pick for me. Considering how many people had this on their best of ‘23 lists I expected a bit more. Can‘t quite put a finger on my discontent but it‘s not one I‘ll be recommending to friends.