This was a cover pick but delivered so much more. A lot to unpack here. I love slice of life stories which teach me how others see and feel aspects of society. Only child and a Yale educated Chinese immigrant marries Yale educated White American from Tennessee. Very current book. It‘s a study on family dynamics, racism, behavior, maturity, white privilege, and the Chinese immigrant experience.

Soft Pick. Engaging, but didn‘t wow me. Wasn‘t wowed by narrator, either. Too much deception by main character annoyed me.

5🩷 This Book! I absolutely LOVED the narrator for Marcellus! What a great story with good characters and of course, an octopus extraordinaire❤️ I took the physical copy out of the library also to jot a few things down. Was not aware that Octopuses had 3 hearts!!! Also had never heard of the wooden carved Swedish Dala horses!
#Washington(state of). I love when a book is so heart warming and teaches me things.

Another epic story from Cary‘s Davies in under 200 pages. I had never heard of the clearances of Scotland. The removal of people from land that they lived on for generations. This was an intimate story of a sole inhabitant of an island and a Reverend who was sent to take him off the island. #Scotland

How I loved this book! You can‘t help but love a Vampire in therapy.. Interwoven sections have different characters but are all linked by Prof Edward Weyland. Vampire Extraordinaire. Loved him. Pub date 1980. This is first edition copy from my library. I would‘ve contacted the author enthusiastically but she passed in 2023. I loved her creativity👌🏽

LOVED this book!! Part One runs from her childhood till a solo Vegas show 1979-1982….Take Me Home. Really fun memoir! Can‘t wait for parte deux!

Wow, this was a multifaceted gem of a book. It‘s so hard to describe, it‘s nuanced, extremely descriptive, spans 1973-2025. A bit haunting. In one day a family of four gets torn apart. There are unanswered questions. Starts out slow and convoluted, but eventually it flows. I enjoyed it. Would make a great book club pick.

Wow, for 149 pages, this book packs a punch. A man leaves his 10 year old daughter to go on a questionable quest. The journey that ensues is interesting but there are some terrifying moments for his daughter. I loved the character Old Woman From A Distance.

WOW!! I loved this book! Irish immigrant experience, Brooklyn experience. Spanned from turn of the 20th century to I‘m guessing around 1940. the love story was frustrating at times, but unique, for sure. Very good family saga. Pub date 1958. It‘s a Betty Smith year! #Brooklyn

Strong Pick. Great personal finance book. Loved the audiobook, narrated by Prof Scott Galloway himself.

The protagonist Margy was sweet. Grew up in a strained household, emotionally and financially, tries to find happiness in marriage. Another slice of life type of novel with characters who are just trying to do the best they can with what life has given them. Margy is different, you know she will persevere and eventually be happy. #Brooklyn

Pub 1963, slice of life in a young married couple‘s life set in a Mid West College town between 1927-1929. The husband is a law student and the wife is a budding author. It seems a bit autobiographical to me. Such a sweet small town story.

It‘s evident the author did thorough research on Bridgewater and Dalio. Toxic CEO and Founder, toxic work environment. I have never shook my head at what I was reading so much in my life…people selling their souls and self dignity for the almighty buck.

I enjoyed it. An older woman on YT considered it one of her favorite police procedurals, so I gave it a try. This husband and wife writing team wrote a number of these types of books. #SwedishAuthors, #Budapest. I really liked the setting. This may be the first book I‘ve ever read set in Budapest (well, most of it was set there).

Loved it!! Sweet book about two HS boys who are quite opposite; one closed down and the other very open and honest but both very good souls. #MexicanAmerican #Texas

Really enjoyed this story of Andy and his daughter, Charlie fleeing from “the shop”, a government agency that conducted tests using a drug in the late 60s on Andy and his wife, Vicky. Each obtained different abilities like telekinesis, mind domination, and pyrokinesis. Definitely worth the read! #psionic abilities

@AvidReader25 Thought you may like this😀

Really good as an audiobook. Interesting topics. Enjoyable and increases understanding of fellow humans.
“Planning like a pessimist, dreaming like an optimist.”

Quick read. Cute story about a mystical pop up coffee shop run by planetary cats.

I ended up LOVING this book. Yes, it‘s bleak, but it‘s a lesson in humanity and free will. I‘m still taking notes bc the writing is wonderful and I love the philosophizing that goes on by the narrator. Steinbeck did have a degree in I believe English lit and Philosophy from Stanford and it shows. So happy I read it.

Bleak book with pops of levity. I‘m sticking with it because of lines like this (spoken from Lee to Samuel) “There are no ugly questions except those clothed in condescension.” That is something I‘ve felt but never thought of the words to put the feeling to. Steinbeck won me with that line.

I started listening to this audiobook on 3/26/24 and finished tonight. I had to wait for holds, I was reading other books in between, but it has been a constant companion. I watched some of her films, and I enjoyed the experience thoroughly. What an accomplished woman and an inspiration. I‘m a bit melancholy I finished it. I learned so much and I appreciate her much more now than ever. Highly recommend!

Man, I am going to have separation anxiety from finishing this series. I LOVED it and it spanned the whole summer, and the first week of fall for me. So many interesting characters in addition to the regular gang. Charlie Goodnight was in every book and I always got a kick out of him. Final book in publication order, second book in chronological order. I love you Larry McMurtry, for giving me an epic Western adventure. 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

Interesting, quick read. #IrishAustralianauthor, #Vermont

Pub date 1958. Never read it before now. Adorable. Truth be told, I read it bc Hobonichi has a Paddington collection and I was curious about the book. And a fun finding was the author has my birthday!! He passed in 2017 at a ripe old age of 91. So happy I finally read it!

My goodness I loved this book!! So varied and interesting. I‘m so happy I didn‘t stop reading at Lonesome Dove. On to Comanche Moon!!

So sweet. Love Ferdinand. He just wanted peace.
Perfect children‘s book. Pub 1936

Sequel to Lonesome Dove…fantastic. It comes in under Lonesome Dove, but I would say this is a must read if you loved LD. As soon as I can get to the library, I‘m getting the first prequel, Dead Man‘s Walk. #Texas #Mexico #BigBookSummerChallenge. McMurtry does women well and they are given the credit they deserve. Love his characters, love his story telling. This book was hugged, just not quite as much, but it‘s worthy.

I‘m am so happy I lived long enough to read this book. It would‘ve been a shame to die without this experience. This book gets 10 hugs and kisses out of 10. Epic saga and adventure. McMurtry does not disappoint. #Texas, #Arkansas, #Kansas, #Nebraska #Wyoming, #Montana
Captain Augustus McCrea may be my favorite literary character of all time, but I love Captain Call too. #BigBookSummerChallenge

I‘m only 1/2 way through this gorgeous book and I already have cowboy swagger….lol….Good God, I can‘t believe I didn‘t read this in the 90s when I was cowboy obsessed. This has been a wonderful experience thus far and I expect this to be one of my favorite books of all time. This is definitely the year of McMurtry for me! Gus McCrea and Captain Call❤️

This book was SO much fun. If you‘re a teacher, journaler, artist, writer, or looking for any interdisciplinary course content, this is the book. She has her students drawing, reading, writing, remembering poems and creating their own books in composition books. It‘s just wonderful!

Another fun read from Riley Sager. A House with a history of tragedies, a book claiming that it was haunted and a mystery. #Vermont.

I had never heard of the do nothing rental person on Twitter/iInstagram, so I was intrigued. He doesn‘t charge anything, but his transportation costs(if a meal is involved, they pay) He then writes about experience on line. Most of the requests are quite calm. One person requested to have him bid her goodbye at a train station as she left Tokyo for good but didn‘t want a friend there bc it would be too emotional. She just wanted someone there.

#WhatsNewWednesday…..I‘m only about 10% into this audiobook and loving it…what‘s new is, once again, I‘m experiencing book synchronicity…Barbra just mentioned I‘ll Cry Tomorrow…the memoir written by Lillian Roth. I didn‘t know she was in a play with her. I loved that book and read it about a year and a half ago.

Epic family saga set in Las Vegas. Time period 1923-1978. First of a trilogy. I wholeheartedly enjoyed it. I‘ve never read Fern Michaels before. Good female characters. #LasVegas Pub date: 1996

Short synopsis: A man that does the right thing. He had learned that from someone who did the right thing for him. I had never heard of Ireland‘s Mother and Baby homes and Magdalen laundries. Claire Keegan does it again. At 114 pages, this packs a punch (116 with Note on the Text).
#Ireland. Good December read…I‘m a little late.

Desert Rose Book 2. The books starts out with a tragic revelation for Harmony. Harmony‘s sisters fly to Las Vegas to be with her and her 5 year old son, Eddie. The title serves as a double entendre..which I thought was interesting. A Road trip to NY ensues and all kinds of crazy happens in the midst of deep grief. I loved both books. McMurtry is highly readable and crafts a great yarn, he reminds of of Stephen King in that way.

Three Short Stories in this collection. The title story, The Long and Painful Death, and Antarctica. Not a feel good book but Keegan manages to give a big story in a concise manner. I liked Foster much, much more. Still interesting and a good read. #Ireland

The protagonist, Harmony, is a single mom showgirl working at the Stardust in Vegas. The characters in this book range from sweet (Harmony) to real creeps and everything in between. Book was written in 1983, the sequel, The Late Child, published 12 years later in 1995. Im picking up sequel bc I want to see how this plays out. #Vegas

I loved this short story collection! Each story (there are 5) is interconnected by a librarian who matches books with what she thinks will inspire the person…this book taught me about the craft of felting. I had never heard of felting before!
It‘s just so much fun and there‘s a list of the books mentioned in the back. Translated by Alison Watts. #Japan

92 page novella - a snapshot of a 4th grader‘s world and his crush on a woman at the market who sells sandwiches. Adorable, heartfelt. #Japan translated by Louise Heal Kawai

One of the most unique books I‘ve ever read. At first I was bored to tears, yet the premise kept me hanging on…once an event happened, I was intrigued. I‘m not going into more detail than that. I will say one thing: what if you knew nothing of your past but being in a cage with 39 women…you were a child and had no reference for anything they spoke about…how would that form you as a human?
If you are into character more than plot, read this.

👌🏽This book was SO much fun….harrowing, confusing, then it all clicked…such a great “get out of a reading slump” book. Fun ride…lots of fun film and music references…set in 1991.

Novella- sweet, concise,with an open ended ending (if that makes sense). My edition was 92 pages. A little girl is sent off from her family (who have little resources and a lot of kids) to a relative‘s home for the summer. She flourishes in their care. Impactful in its simplicity.#Ireland

Fourth installment of Before The Coffee Gets Cold. I enjoyed it. I would like to re-read all of them at one point, straight through. Pretty sure my favorite was the third, Before Your Memory Fades.

I LOVED this book!! It was such a great snapshot in time. Set in Hong Kong between 1949 and 1950. The writing was superb…one warning…it was probably me but it took me so long to get through. That being said, I enjoyed it. It gives a really balanced look at how “New” China came into power and how the Missionaries had to leave for Formosa (Taiwan) and HK. Looked at the issues of colonialism. Plus, an affair which was not embraced…he was married.

@TheSpineView #Two4Tuesday
1. Yes!!! In fact, every car I‘ve owned my whole life has been a Stick….Corolla, Celica, Corolla. It‘s so much fun!
2. Christine….luckily, I read this in 2023. Not sure I could name another book with a car featured. I can think of plenty of movies!!

Wow!! What a ride!! The friction between brother and sister drove me crazy at first, but then things started to make sense. Dolls, puppets, imaginary dog, complete craziness put together as a fetching story!! I love Grady Hendrix. This is the third book I‘ve read by him and it was quite the yarn!!!
#Charleston Fun Read!

The premise was very interesting. I‘m in minority here with So-So rating, but I couldn‘t wait for it to end….I think it just could‘ve been edited down a bit and the characters annoyed me. It lacked “heart” to me, or it may just be me at this time. I‘m not sure…it followed a book I really enjoyed, which was published in the 90s and I think that may have played into it. Maybe it was just too cold and futuristic for me.

Lonely CPA eats at restaurant and frequently sees same woman dining alone. He‘s interested, tries to talk to her, but she‘s shut down. One day she stops showing up altogether, and he investigates and finds that she has committed suicide. He seeks the “why” and he seeks out possible family to claim her. #California #Nevada