Novel based on the true story of the Jane Collective, a group of women who provided abortions in Chicago in the 1970s before Roe v Wade. The story is interesting but the writing is rather flat —in places it reads more like a women‘s health pamphlet than realistic dialogue. Still a pick because the topic and the history are important—especially now.

There‘s a trend at medical schools to seek applicants who have a strong foundation in the arts and humanities. Research shows this creates doctors with greater teamwork and communication skills as well as empathy and tolerance for ambiguity. I think another benefit is that we get memoirs like this one from doctors who write wonderful and sensitive patient stories.

Book 4 ✔️ for #DiseaseofTheMonthBookClub
Prompt: A book by a doctor or a nurse

When the world outside is in chaos, it‘s necessary to retreat for a while and escape into another reality.

I didn‘t keep track of the exact number, but I also have at least 10 more books from the NYT list sitting in my TBR shelves. Now I want to find and read them so I can re-do this checklist. 😄

A friend has been urging me for years to read this, and I finally did. My first thought was “what took me so long??” And then my second was, “I‘m so glad I read it now.” This is a book that will hit you differently depending on where you are in your life when you read it. For me in my 50s, it packed a punch. (Review continues) ⬇

The FICTION bracket had all the action for June! There were 3 novels that could have taken the top spot, and I struggled to crown one. So 2 ended up in the bonus spots to battle each other! After much deliberation, the tagged book got the nod. It was a tough pick. And it was difficult to choose the one to move into the finals. In the end, though, my heart had to go with the Thornton Wilder-Ann Patchett two-fer.

#2024ReadingBrackets

Here‘s my NONFICTION bracket for June. The tagged book was the winner, but only because most of the nonfiction I read this month was merely OK. It won‘t progress to the finals. Hoping for a better July with NF picks.

#2024ReadingBrackets

I waffled on a rating for this — was going to give it a “so-so” but settled on a low pick because there were some parts I liked in the beginning and at the end. However, throughout a large portion of the middle I was simply bored. And when the book is 600 pages long, that‘s a lot of time to not be invested in the story. But I have read worse books by King, so there‘s that.

I enjoy Reichl‘s nonfiction so I thought I‘d give her fiction debut a go. Not sure what she was thinking. This book suffers from a smorgasbord of genres. Is it romance? Historical fiction? Mystery? An epistolary novel? A cookbook? A coming-of-age story? It‘s all over the place. The way one character speaks induces eyeball rolls, and several plot lines strain credibility. What a disappointment.

I alternated between the hardcover and the audiobook for this —because although I don‘t normally like audiobooks, who doesn‘t want to hear Henry Winkler tell his own story? This is a soft pick for me, however. I enjoyed the first few chapters where he talks about his difficult childhood and demanding parents and school challenges, but the later chapters seemed to devolve into rambling musings. At least it was short.

Really enjoyed this time-traveling thriller! Jen is shocked when her teen son commits a murder. Why did he do it? The next day, she wakes up —yesterday. Before the crime. Then several days before, then months, then years. Can she learn things from the past to prevent it from happening? There were twists that I didn‘t see coming —maybe because they‘d already occurred … 🧐 An edge-of-your-seat ride.

I‘m not normally a fan of short stories—just when I get into the plot, it‘s over. But I enjoyed this collection from Towles. I read a different one every day instead of trying to plow straight through. He does a wonderful job of character building. My favorite story was the novella titled “Eve in Hollywood.” I could definitely go for more Evelyn Ross.

I couldn‘t choose just one NONFICTION for May —so I picked two! The tagged book for the May slot, and “The Wide Wide Sea” for the wildcard bonus slot. Which also advances to the quarterfinals by taking out the April winner. This bracket may be the most interesting race of the year!

#2024ReadingBrackets

I think I forgot to post my brackets for April. Oops! And I‘m late with May. Oh, well. Here‘s where my FICTION bracket stands currently. I‘ve got a few good contenders for June already!

#2024ReadingBrackets

Great read. It sucked me in on page 1. My only complaint would be that the ending felt rushed. Now I‘m off to get a copy of “Huck Finn” for a (long overdue) re-read.

Doing this now because I‘ll be traveling tomorrow! #TLT

75/100–and I left off a few that I think maybe I saw but I wasn‘t totally sure? The ‘80s were my decade: high school and college years!

Three faves:
1. Airplane: “I am serious, and don‘t call me Shirley.”
2. Footloose: I had the soundtrack and played it in my car All. The. Time. 😀
3. Good Morning, Vietnam! I mean, ROBIN WILLIAMS. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I‘m not totally sure what I just read. Individually, I enjoyed the stories of Lily, Nick and May and how they each navigated their ways in the world. But the big reveal involving science and genetics left me scratching my head. And the decisions made by several characters seemed contrary to their natures. I was left feeling confused, unsatisfied and wanting more.

Thanks for the tag, @Read4life !

Three college friends and I just got tickets to see Billy Joel and Rod Stewart in September! We‘re all road tripping from both coasts to meet up in Cleveland. 🙂 The best part? My friends haven‘t seen each other since college — 35 years ago! 😳

#WhatsNewWednesday

It‘s history, so you think you already know how the story goes. But Hampton Sides somehow always manages to imbue his nonfiction accounts with suspense and a propulsive narrative that reads like a thriller. This details the third and final voyage of Capt. James Cook, which ended with his death in Hawaii in 1778. What precipitated that violent and tragic encounter on the beach? I couldn‘t put it down.

When you‘re reading your current book and suddenly stumble across the place where you work! 🤯

I had to look up the author‘s bio—yep, she went to Yale. Of course. Lots of references to New Haven locations in here.

When your boss messages and says, “log off at 2 pm and enjoy the holiday weekend!” And by 2:05 you are on the back patio with a book and a cold drink basking in the glorious 79-degrees-with-no-humidity weather. 🥰

Oh, how I love it when a box of books arrives in my mailbox. 😍

Are there a few style issues with this book? Yes. But I appreciate the angle taken, one that focuses on the WOMEN —those who were victimized by The Defendant, those who survived and those who didn‘t. Their stories always deserve to be told, but too often are not. Why is it that things a woman sees and experiences with her own eyes are dismissed as less relevant than something a man says or believes? It‘s infuriating. This book will stay with me.

YES. THIS. So much this.

As a woman in my 50s who has witnessed and experienced decades of misogyny and mansplaining and “there-there-little-lady” pats on the head of condescension and dismissal of our thoughts and feelings and fears, so much of this book resonates with me. And angers me.

I‘m not a fan of the romance genre. But I picked up “Book Lovers” on a whim —and loved it. So I thought, maybe I like romance if it‘s written by Emily Henry? Alas, every other book by her has been just a soft pick for me. I guess it‘s difficult to repeatedly capture lightning in a bottle. 🤷🏻‍♀️ A quick, predictable read. I won‘t remember the plot in a few months, but it was frothy fun while it lasted.

Some reviews complain that nothing happens in this book. But I think that‘s the point. It goes deeper under the surface than just a whodunnit. It‘s about what people think and plan and believe and the actions they may or may not take based on those inner monologues. It‘s about community and your place in it. What is an outsider? Can you can ever fit in if you are one – even if you‘ve lived there your whole life? I couldn‘t put it down.

Excellent account of the months leading up to April 12, 1861, when the first shells were launched by Confederate forces on Fort Sumter and the U.S. Civil War began. Larson draws on diaries and various narratives from both sides to show how they danced warily around each other until the inevitable clash. I was most fascinated by the parts about Lincoln‘s preparations for his arrival into DC for his inauguration.

Every spring I wait for this cherry tree to bloom in our front yard. It puts on a glorious show for about 2-3 weeks. And I think, how lucky are we to live in a world that offers glimpses of beauty like this? 🥰

#notbookrelated

I‘m calling this a pick even though it left me wanting more in ways I can‘t quite articulate. It‘s the story of a family as they struggle to deal with the sudden death of their mother, wife and best friend. The tone of it felt almost dispassionate at times, though —I felt emotionally detached in a way that surprised me, given the subject. A decent read, although I likely won‘t remember the plot in 6 months.

This is a what I‘d call a niche book about an event in U.S. history that‘s been largely forgotten —the attack by French and Indian forces on the village of Deerfield, MA, in 1704. Half the villagers were taken captive and brought to Canada. I‘m a direct descendant of two of them, so this story has personal relevance. From a writing perspective, though, the book is repetitive in parts. I‘d call it a soft pick if esoteric history is your jam.

I think #Clarissa would get them over the top as well. 😄

Written before Roe v. Wade was overturned, this book envisions a U.S. controlled by the religious right. Women who have abortions must have their skin turned red as evidence of their “crime.” As we sat in line at the U.S.-Canadian border today, a chill went down my spine. This page describes the path that the protagonist must take to escape to freedom — directly through the town where we were. It made the horror of this world feel very real. 🥺

Spending the weekend in Montreal. Of course I had to stop into this bookstore located near the campus of McGill University. And buy a book by a Canadian author.

Hubby: “Why do you have a bag full of books? We‘re only going away for a 4-day weekend.”
Me: “I don‘t understand the question.” 🤷🏻‍♀️

I dragged my feet on picking a NONFICTION winner for #2024ReadingBrackets to move on. For March, the clear winner was the tagged book, a true story about police corruption in Baltimore. I first saw the HBO series about the scandal, produced by David Simon (“The Wire”). Once I heard it was based on a book … I flew through it. It was a great read (and TV show). But I keep thinking about Raskin's book, so I had to move that through.

So far I‘ve been late with every single one of my # #2024ReadingBrackets. #Consistency! 😊 For my March FICTION bracket, I went with a two-fer. Before reading “Tom Lake,” I took @dabbe ‘s advice and read “Our Town.” And I loved them both. You don‘t need to read “Our Town” first—but I believe it adds an even richer, deeper dimension to an enjoyable reading experience.

When you work at the polls for your state‘s primary elections and the candidates for both parties are already decided, you‘d better bring a large book. And a fully charged e-reader that‘s loaded with more. Yawn. 🥱

Have library book and full travel mug of tea, will wait 3 hours at car dealership for service. 😖

The irony of this made me laugh. 😄

#weirdwordwednesday
#weirdwords

1. “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption” by Stephen King
2. “Night” by Elie Wiesel
3. “Pale Horse, Pale Rider” by Katherine Ann Porter
And a bonus:
4. “The Bridge of San Luis Rey” by Thornton Wilder

Thanks for the tag, @dabbe !
#ThreeListThursday
#TLT

I have a love ❤️/ meh 😏 relationship with Ann Patchett. (The Dutch House: ❤️; Bel Canto, Commonwealth and State of Wonder: 😏). Add this to the ❤️ pile. I adored this story—how it unfolded, the characters, the plot, everything. Read it! And take @dabbe ‘s advice and read “Our Town” first if you haven‘t already —it definitely adds a richer dimension to the experience.

Book 3 ✔️ for #DiseaseoftheMonthBookClub (prompt: Read a book about the brain)

This is a memoir of Rosen‘s friendship with Michael Laudor, who, despite being diagnosed with schizophrenia, breezed through Yale as an undergrad and law student and was heralded as an example of how people can triumph over the stigma of mental illness—until he killed his girlfriend. It‘s also an examination of how society has failed those with mental illnesses.

I decided to mix it up and use a different template for my NONFICTION reads in #2024ReadingBrackets because why not? 🤷🏻‍♀️ February‘s pick was this detailed biography of baseball legend Ted Williams. And I don‘t have to pick between it and January‘s book by Jamie Raskin, which was also great. Winning! 🏆

I made my #2024ReadingBrackets for February and then forgot to post them. Sheesh. 🙄 For FICTION, my pick was “The Marriage Portrait.” O‘Farrell does a masterful job of creating tension throughout a book whose end we already know from the very beginning. That‘s a talent, for sure. But in the matchup I had to lean towards “Wellness” to move on.

Yesterday a friend called and said, “wanna do breakfast and bookstores tomorrow?” Um, YEAH. 😍 So we drove up to Providence, had brunch in a hipster-y restaurant near Brown University, and browsed through two used bookstores (one of which had a furry, fairly friendly bouncer at the front door. 🐈) Based on my stacks I‘m apparently in a nonfiction state of mind right now. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I regret nothing.

I adore good narrative nonfiction, so picking only 3 is very difficult! So I‘m going to cheat. 😀

1. Tagged
2. “And the Band Played On”
3. “My Own Country: A Doctor‘s Story”
4. “The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl”
5. “Eleni”

@dabbe #ThreeListThursday

Completed my “Chunkster” read for #ChunksterChallenge2024. This biography of Red Sox great Ted Williams is well-written and very readable. A lot about baseball, yes —but also much about Ted‘s childhood, his troubled personal life —and all the gory details you can handle about his head being frozen for posterity. 😳 Definitely recommend, @GinaKButler !

#Nonfiction2024

Book 2 ✔️ for #DiseaseoftheMonthBookClub
(Prompt: Read a book about a virus)

Fascinating look at the scientific research that was being conducted on coronaviruses after the SARS and MERS outbreaks, which enabled scientists to quickly pivot to create a vaccine when COVID-19 spilled over into the human population. A bit technical so I‘m glad I had at least a semester of college-level biology.

There‘s a word for everything! Even a word for things that aren‘t words.

#weirdwordwednesday
#weirdwords
@CBee