I don‘t know if I have ever been more relieved to reach the last page of a novel! Truly, if it had not been for the dogged perseverance of @BarkingMadRead and others who offered hashtags that assured me I was not alone in this crazed wasteland of #blahblahblah, I would never—I repeat never—have finished this. Honestly, I enjoyed the last 300 pages more than the first 500–again, a sentence I hope never to write again. My expectations were high…

1) Our Town by Thornton Wilder (Plays count, right? I love this one for many reasons.)
2) Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
3) A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Extraordinary writing justifies repeat visits!

@dabbe #TLT #ThreeListThursday

1) Get a new knee (total knee replacement) on Tuesday and do physical therapy!
2) As a child, I wanted to be an artist, because I liked to draw, AND I wanted to be a teacher, because I enjoyed some of my teachers so very much.
3) If I recover from the knee surgery quickly, I‘d love to attend a friend‘s wedding in June in Illinois.
4) Currently reading Demon Copperhead (also The Brothers Karamazov—one chapter a day!)
@Cupcake12
#MotivationalMonday

1) I just started Demon Copperhead, which is set in contemporary Appalachia (though I‘ve read that it‘s inspired by Dickens‘ David Copperfield, which was set in rural Suffolk in the 1800s).

2) I have been to Hogwarts! Okay, so it was actually Alnwick Castle in northern England, where parts of the Harry Potter movies were filmed.
@Eggs #WondrousWednesday

Extraordinary! This one is going to be on my mind and heart for some time. A brilliantly written, heart-wrenching story.

1️⃣ I have lots of favorite female characters, but today I choose Jo in Little Women.

2️⃣ Today I choose Jean Valjean in Les Misérables.

3️⃣ I just started The Nickel Boys. I expect it will be sad, but I love Colson Whitehead‘s writing.

This was on my TBR list for years, and I finally read it this week. I have mixed feelings about it, but the fact that it‘s based on a true story is absolutely remarkable. As a high school German teacher, I used to have an annual Holocaust reading project, during which students chose a book (fiction or nonfiction books in English) based on events of the Holocaust. At the end of the project we had book club style discussions in small groups…

I just finished this one for my local book club meeting on Monday. It was awfully predictable, but that‘s not always a bad thing, if you‘re in the mood for a comforting kind of read. I haven‘t read other books by this author, but she‘s apparently a big success with many other published titles.

I enjoyed Pillars of the Earth so much and was excited to read this prequel! I enjoyed the characters and plot lines, but for some reason this book didn‘t captivate me as much as Pillars did. Actually, I felt the same way about the two sequels as well. All in all, still a very enjoyable read!

What a good read this was! I enjoy Maeve Binchy‘s stories, where good people often find each other in unexpected ways at a time when kindness is most needed.

What a year of interesting reading! My life is richer for it, to be sure. Here‘s to another year of good books!

I received three books for Christmas! I had requested the books by Kingsolver and Follett, but Jesus at the Movies was a surprise gift from my brother who is a friend of the author. This title is not showing up on the Litsy list, but the author‘s earlier book Letterboxed is there and was referenced in this book. At a mere 99 pages, I was able to finish it quickly and found it to be a mini Masters class on film with some references to Christianity.

It didn‘t take me long to get into this imagined backstory of Jacob Marley, whose ghost visits Ebenezer Scrooge in Dickens‘ classic, A Christmas Carol, and to find myself fully invested in the development of the relationship of these two men. A clever and illuminating revelation as to the many reasons why Marley was doomed, as well as an elaboration on the love story between young Scrooge and Belle—and more! Recommended!

#tlt @dabbe
1: Germany ??
2: Switzerland ??
3: Austria ??
Ah—to be in German speaking countries for the holidays!
?Today I went to the Christkindlmarkt (Christmas market) in Atlanta for the first time and got a little dose of German Christmas spirit, as I was reminded of my Christmas market experience in Nürnberg, Germany many years ago!

Settling down to start Marley with a cup of tea! Will the author enhance my devotion to Dickens‘ A Christmas Carol with this book? Or will I toss this into the trash, vowing not to fall again for a retelling of a beloved story from another character‘s perspective?

I‘m really excited to start reading Wellness by Nathan Hill! Nate was a student in my German classes during his high school years in the late 1990s. His first book, The Nix, came out seven years ago and was a bestseller for some time. This time around, Oprah has selected his new book for her latest recommendation!

I read one of award-winning Tananarive Due‘s older books, The Good House, to become familiar with her writing before attending this event. It was frightful! The new book, The Reformatory, sounds amazing. It‘s nominated for best Horror Novel of 2023 on GoodReads.

In anticipation of a talk by author Tananarive Due at a nearby library soon, I ordered The Good House (copyright 2003) through inter-library loan, and it finally came in! I wanted to find out more about this author and try one of her books before going to the upcoming book talk, which actually is promoting a brand new book, The Reformatory. So far, I am 80 pages into The Good House, and it‘s quite well written and suspenseful!

I have had this on my shelf for some years, and today felt like the right time to start it! Only one chapter in, and I like it so far!

1. I had many favorites, but the first one that popped to mind is The Boxcar Children.
2. A favorite memory of my mom is learning to embroider with her. We worked on many projects together.
3. The last time I was ecstatic was when my offer on a house was accepted! I moved a short time later and have lived in that house now for almost 6 months.

This is my first read-along on Litsy, and I am glad to find that I am keeping up so far! Just finished chapters 21-22 for today. It really is helpful to keep pace and check in on comments as I go, thanks especially to @BarkingMadRead ! Thank you, @Bklover for the recommendations!

Starting this one for the fiction book club at my local library (Gwinnett County Public Library—Mountain Park in Lilburn, GA). The in-person book club, which meets monthly, has been a nice way to meet people in this community that I just moved to in April.
Several of the members especially like reading books chosen for Reese‘s Book Club, as this one was.

(Just learning my way around Litsy as a newbie but figured out how to post a picture and make a comment!)
During the 7 hour power outage at my house today (due to a car hitting a utility pole!), I spent part of that time making progress on my book!