Everything I Read in February, 2025

February:

16. Fobbit by David Abrams - My first read from the list of books I've been meaning to read for years and not gotten around to, Fobbit is a satire about life on a Forward Operating Base in Iraq. My friend Kookie Michelle said it best: Reminds me of M*A*S*H if every character was like Frank Burns. Pretty much. The main character is stationed in the Public Affairs Office inside Saddam Hussein's former palace, where he writes dispatches about injuries and deaths for the press, which are then whittled down and white-washed by his commanding officers. Bombings, paperwork, sand in everything, heat, and bureaucracy are part of the daily slog. Trigger warning: I would not recommend this book to anyone who has lost someone in a bombing as there's a good bit of gallows humor and some gory descriptions of bombing aftermaths. Otherwise, highly recommended. I enjoyed Fobbit and I'm glad I finally got around to reading it. 

17. Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff - The third and last of the middle grade books I bought after reading about a teacher who was suspended for having the books in her classroom, Too Bright to See is about Bug, whose uncle has died. Living in an already-haunted house and unsure about going into middle grade and how she feels, Bug also realizes that the haunting of her house has changed. Why are things different? Is one of the spirits trying to tell her something? While she questions how she feels about herself, she also tries to unravel what's happening around her. A little slow but a book that tackles some heavy subject matter: grief, life and death, and what it means to be yourself. Yep, lots of LGBTQ content but nothing offensive. I am certain that this book is and has been helpful to many youngsters and I certainly found it helped explain a difficult subject. 

18. Vintage Hughes by Langston Hughes - A collection of Langston Hughes' poetry along with a handful of his short stories, Vintage Hughes is . . . shall we say, impressive? I'm pretty sure I've read some random poems by Hughes, over the years ("Life for me ain't been no crystal stair" is a set of words that rings a bell) but never a collection and I didn't even know he was such a prolific writer beyond the world of poetry. I found his poetry thought-provoking, moving, horrifying (poems about lynchings), poignant, sometimes almost musical, and at times humorous. His short stories were similar in that they describe the Black experience, which was harsh to say the least, but with great respect for his characters. Somewhere out there is a collection of every poem he wrote and I'd like to read it one day. A perfect read for Black History Month. 

19. Dataclysm by Christian Rudder - Dataclysm was published about a decade ago and it's about data compiled from the OKCupid dating site and what it tells us. It's a fascinating book as looking at large chunks of data that people typed about themselves in the privacy of their homes can be pretty revealing. For example, one of the bits of information that intrigued me the most (but didn't actually surprise me) is that males of all ages prefer women in their 20s – it doesn't matter how old the male is in this equation. Women, on the other hand, prefer that the men they date are close to their age. There's a lot of other interesting information and I'm glad I read the book but it was written well before Twitter's demise and functional AI, both of which have thrown us into a different era. The data would likely be much the same, today, but the collection for nefarious purposes without anyone's permission has gone wild. I read Dataclysm for group discussion. 

20. Queen of the Falls by Chris Van Allsburg - A children's picture book about the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel, Queen of the Falls tells the story of Annie. Annie is 62, widowed, and her charm school is no longer making money so she needs to find a new income stream. She comes up with the idea to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel, hoping that she will become famous and make plenty of money from publicity. She has a very strong barrel built to fit her with room for pillows and a way to strap herself in. Annie goes over the falls, surviving with nothing but bruises. But, because she looks like a grandmother rather than a young daredevil, she has no real luck with the publicity and eventually ends up sitting at a table by the falls, selling postcards of herself with the barrel. I knew some of this story because I've been to Niagara Falls but it was interesting to read the details and I love Chris Van Allsburg's art, as well. He's mostly known for his children's fantasy books like Jumanji. 

21. Key Lime Sky by Al Hess - A combination queer romance/sci-fi, Key Lime Sky tells the story of a nonbinary, autistic pie reviewer who sees what he thinks is the explosion of an alien ship as he returns to town from a diner where he tasted and reviewed a particularly watery pie. When he asks around and finds that not only did nobody else see the explosion but they're also acting very strangely, he begins to investigate. When Denver meets Ezra, they investigate together. As things go from bad to worse (alien invasion-wise), romance between Denver and Ezra flourishes and flounders with some spicy M/M scenes. Will Denver and Ezra be able to find the alien causing the town of Muddy Gap to fall apart and its residents to disappear before it's too late? I found the alien storyline fascinating, compelling, and fast-paced but the romance scenes bored me so I started skimming them. I am not into spice regardless of gender or genre. I just preferred the sci-fi storyline. I did love what Denver discovered about friendship in the end and that he was not quite as much of a pariah as he suspected.

22. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. by Judy Blume - I've wanted to read this middle grade classic since the Judy Blume documentary. I've read plenty of her books but even though Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret was written when I was a small child, it was not one I ever read as a youngster and it is not anywhere close to my own experience. Still, it was interesting reading about Margaret, her group of friends, and their concerns. My favorite part was Margaret's exploration of religion for a class report. 

23. Tory Heaven by Marghanita Laski - My Persephone read of the month, Tory Heaven is about a group of 5 people who escaped Singapore during WWII and then became stranded on an island. 5 years later, they're finally rescued and return to England. But, things have changed. The Tories are in power and now everyone is divided by class. James is an A class, the highest and most desirable, who are given bags of money for which they're not required to work. But, they're not allowed to mix with other classes for fear of being downgraded to a lower class. James is completely oblivious to the discomfort of other A class people, including his parents. He likes having everything handed to him on a platter and thinks it's perfectly fine that some of his friends have ended up in abject poverty. But, just when James thinks things are going swimmingly, everything changes again. A fascinating read as this is what a particular class wants right now in the US, to claim all the wealth and rule over everyone else. A very entertaining read with an excellent ending. 

24. Severance by Ling Ma - Candace Chen has been living in New York City for about 6 years when the fever hits. Now, she's traveling to a location in the Chicago area with a group of survivors who "stalk" the homes of the fevered to obtain necessary supplies and then camp out at night. The storyline in Severance goes back and forth in time so you get to know Candace's past as an immigrant from China, her move to New York and how she fell into her job in publishing production, and what happened as the fever spread around the world. As much an immigration story and the tale of how she became a loner who just kept going while the world crumbled around her as a pandemic story, I found this story gripping but ultimately unsatisfying, in the end. And, yet, because it was so hard to put the book down, I gave it an above average rating and I would definitely read more by Ling Ma. Side note: Severance was published before the Covid pandemic and was at times oddly prescient as some elements like masking, trying to hyper-clean to clear away the pathogen (a fungus), Congress shutting down travel from China, etc. were quite accurate to what happened during our real-life pandemic. 

25. Cat + Gamer, Volume 6 by Wataru Nadatani - Very little happens in this particular volume of Cat + Gamer. Soboro and Musubi fight after Soboro gets a bath and Musubi doesn't recognize his little sister's scent. Musubi keeps wanting to go through a door and then come immediately back inside. Riko decides the cats need a bed so they're not always on her lap or hanging out on her gaming table but the cats visualize the point of each cat bed in a different way from their person. It's all very everyday. But, again, I absolutely love this Manga series because of the cat art and the sweetness. I love it when Riko is baffled by her cats but takes the time to figure out what she needs to know about cat behavior. It's all just lovely. This is the last of the e-books available via Hoopla, at the moment, but it appears that there are two more in Japanese so now we wait for the English translations. 

26. Taste by Stanley Tucci - I watched and enjoyed Stanley Tucci's television show about food in Italy and absolutely everyone seemed to be reading Taste around that time. So I put it on my wish list and bought it when I had the chance but then set it aside for a year or two. Finally, I got around to this delightful memoir of Tucci's life and his love of food. If you're one of the few people who still haven't read it, I can tell you that his story is charming, self-deprecating, and even contains a handful of recipes. You don't have to be a foodie to enjoy it. I'm always left a wee bit envious of books written by someone from an Italian family as their family gatherings always sound so fun and the food so fabulous. A really enjoyable read and one I'm going to try to push on my husband, who does the cooking around here. 

27. The Mezzanine by Nicholson Baker - At 135 pages, you'd think when you picked up The Mezzanine that you're about to read something light and quick. Instead, when you open it you'll find that it's a dense, stream of consciousness novel in which the narrator ponders the minutiae of his life — shoestrings, escalators, milk bottles versus cartons, vending machines . . . all on a typical workday during which a shoestring has broken. And, the 135 pages are crammed with words, partly because the regular text is supplanted by a number of large footnotes in tiny print—one of which made me laugh out loud when I realized that it continued for 3 or 4 pages. It took me a bit to understand exactly what this book was about: nothing and everything, how time changes things, the discomfort of certain social interactions at work. It's a bit stunning that something so plotless can be so mesmerizing. Brilliant, hilarious, unique, and ridiculous. Definitely a little gem of a book. 

28. A Winter Book by Tove Jansson - After reading Jansson's The Summer Book of interconnected stories, along with a couple of the Moomin books, I got a copy of A Winter Book expecting more of the same. A Winter Book is described as "30 years of her stories, finally translated and gathered together" and the introduction by Ali Smith is glowing about her "adult stories". So, I was surprised to find that the earliest stories in the collection were written from a child's perspective. I expected a more mature viewpoint. Still, some were very interesting, particularly "The Iceberg," which is so surprising that I think it's best to say nothing at all about it. If you can only pick up the book to read one story, that would be the one I'd suggest. As it turned out, the stories did have a more grown-up sound the farther you read and the ending was particularly fitting, the story of Tove (maybe fictionalized) and her partner leaving their island home because they've become too old to handle island life. Not my favorite but maybe worth keeping. 

I had one DNF, this month: Skim by Mariko and Jillian Tamaki, a graphic novel. I found it too bleak. If I'd held out, maybe it would have eventually improved but I disliked it enough to feel like continuing would be a waste of time. Having said that, it has pretty good ratings so maybe I just wasn't the right audience. 

So, not a terrible month, not a brilliant one but I liked or loved everything I finished. Fobbit, Vintage Hughes, Taste, Tory Heaven, and The Mezzanine were the stand-outs and while I didn't care for the ending of Severance, I've continued to think about it a lot so I consider it one of my favorites of the month. I was thrilled to finally get a chance to read Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, a book I found at the dollar store. Which brings me to the fact that I added Dollar Tree books as an exception to my book-buying ban, figuring I'm just going to turn around and donate them anyway, so they won't add to my "too many books" burden for long. 

As to the rest, I had very minor issues with Too Bright to See but still enjoyed it. Dataclysm was fascinating and I'm looking forward to discussion, Queen of the Falls nicely filled in some blanks about a story with which I was familiar and I love Van Allsburg's art. Cat + Gamer will always be a favorite manga for its art, if not always the stories. Key Lime Sky was gripping when it focused on the alien invasion and I loved the uniqueness of the world building. And, I was impressed by at least the latter half of A Winter Book although some of it wasn't quite what I expected. 

Checking in on my reading goals, Fobbit was one of my goal books for the year so I'm pleased that I finally read it. As mentioned, I've made some tiny adjustments to the book-buying ban but I still plan to keep any exceptions to a minimum. 6 books read were from the targeted bedroom stacks that I hope to read completely by the end of the year, so not bad but I need to work harder at reading down those stacks. I did read one e-book from my collection and one Hoopla e-book. And, I managed to read my one Persephone book for the month.  

All in all, I'm pretty happy with my month but I feel like I need to read harder in March. We did have guests (eldest son and family visited from New Jersey!) so there were a few days that we were so busy deep cleaning and then busy hanging out with family that I didn't get around to reading much when I finally fell into bed. Humorously, we worked particularly hard at cleaning cat fur/dander because our daughter-in-law is allergic to cats but the weather was so blissfully perfect that we spent most of their visit outdoors on the patio and even ate several meals there. 

Onward to March! Happy Reading!

©2025 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos. 

Everything I Read in January, 2025

January:

1. Second Best by David Foenkinos - An ARC I got in 2023 and managed to bury under a pile of books (oopsy), Second Best is the story of Martin, who almost got the role of Harry Potter and found the loss so traumatic that he's been living in the shadow of his "failure", ever since. Will Martin ever figure out how to move on? Translated from the French, very compelling but not brilliant. The ending, however, is perfect. 

2. Angry Weather by Friederike Otto - A total nerdfest of a read, Angry Weather is about how a newish (10-15 years, as I recall) method, attribution of extreme weather events, uses huge amounts of data to model a particular weather event quickly and determine whether or not climate change was a cause or partial cause of the event and to what extent. The objective is to find the answers as quickly as possible in order to get the information out and then go through the peer review and publication process, later. That enables scientists to make the determination about how much impact climate change had on an event a part of the news reports and the decision-making when rebuilding. There's also a bit of history on knowledge and understanding of climate change (which goes back farther than one might think) and the history of how Exxon and others chose to deceive the public about climate change and how successful they were. A fascinating read. 

3. Peace is Every Breath by Thich Nhat Hanh - While Peace is Every Breath didn't end up being my first finished read of the year, I like starting the year with a book by Thich Nhat Hanh to help me get the year off on the right foot, thinking positively. As always, an excellent read that encourages awareness in everything you do, even including some affirmations to read or recite while you're doing various (often mundane) things such as bathing, washing dishes, etc. 

4. Twelve Moons by Mary Oliver - I meant to stretch this one out a bit because Mary Oliver is my second "first of the year" author who helps me start the year mindfully. But, once I got going, I couldn't put the book down. As the title indicates, there are quite a few poems that reference the moon but otherwise it's her usual look at nature: life and death, animals and trees, moss and rivers and mushrooms. My favorites were, unsurprisingly, poems about trees. I particularly loved the poem about a walnut tree that she and her mother were considering selling to help them pay the mortgage when they were stretched thin. But, they let it go and the tree remained. The budget stayed tight but they were happy with their decision. 

5. Cat + Gamer, Volume 5 by Wataru Nadatani - The 5th in this manga series wasn't the best but I still enjoyed it. The first story is about the new kitty, Soboro, getting its first bath. Musubi likes baths and is a little envious that Soboro is getting one. Soboro, however, is not a fan. In another story, Riko is so busy watching the cats and playing with them that she forgets it's her birthday. Fun, as always, and I am besotted with the cat art but this one is a bit less memorable. 

6. Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea by Ashley Herring Blake - Hazel had two mothers, but Mum died in a tragic accident, two years ago. Since then, Hazel, her little sister Peach, and Mama (her other mother) have left their house in California and they've traveled from one rental to another, moving on every few months. Mama doesn't want to talk about Mum and the few bits of Mum-related memorabilia are packed away. When the family rents a house in Maine for the summer and Hazel's mother begins to fall for an old flame, Hazel is beside herself. She just wants to go home, to spend time with Mama talking about Mum, and to stay away from the people who stare at her scars from the same accident that killed Mum. Will a new friend and a mermaid legend help Hazel to deal with her grief? This is the second of the books that got a teacher suspended for having them in her classroom. As with the first I read, The Fabulous Zed Watson, there is LGBTQ+ content and I did find an article saying that's what the objection was to the titles. But, it's mostly about trauma, grief, friendship, and healing and it's a good book. 

7. How the Penguins Saved Veronica by Hazel Prior - Another unputdownable read, this time a novel about a curmudgeonly 86-year-old named Veronica McCreedy. Veronica lives by herself, with a housekeeper and gardener who help out at her large home. She doesn't like people and she's been pondering what to do with her money as she isn't likely to live much longer, healthy as she is. Then, two things happen. Housekeeper Eileen brings out an old box with a padlock that leads her to look for any unknown relatives; and, she starts watching a show about penguins that intrigues her. On a whim, Veronica decides to go to Antarctica to check out the lab where Adélie penguins are studied to see if that's where she should endow her millions of pounds. The scientists try to discourage her, but Veronica is nothing if not determined. I may have stayed up a bit late finishing this one. Loved it and it's the first in a series so I'm looking forward to eventually reading on. 

8. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry - This is a reread and I confess that I had no idea what an allegory was or what the author was trying to say when I read it the first time (long ago). So, I no longer owned a copy and checked the book out via Hoopla. Unfortunately, it was a very bad copy — as in, I think someone probably ran it through an online translator. Seriously, it was so awful I considered giving up but The Little Prince is short and I was at least understanding the point of the story, this time. I do wish I'd managed to read a decent translation but I still don't think this particular novella is for me. However, I am a big fan of Flight to Arras by Saint-Exupéry. 

9. Saplings by Noel Streatfeild - My first selection for a year of reading Persephone books, Saplings is the story of the Wiltshire family. Alex and Lena live in London and have 4 children. At the beginning of the book, the children are on holiday at the seashore with their nanny and governess when their parents show up. Alex tells them he's going to have to send them to the country because war is coming but Lena is a bit of a narcissist and chooses to stay with Alex. Saplings covers the war years entirely, with a death from a direct hit during the Blitz, the anxieties of the children, a move to a new house, a parent who has a nervous breakdown, and finally, the end of WWII. There's an afterword in the Persephone edition about how the author was a bit ahead of her time in her portrayal of the effects of war on children that I thought wrapped the book up nicely. Published in 1945, you really get an excellent perspective on the time period. 

10. Charles & Ray: Designers at Play by James Yang - The story (picture book) of Charles and Ray Eames of Mid-Century Modern design fame, written and illustrated by my high school friend, I chose to read Charles & Ray after reading that Eames House survived the Pacific Palisades fire. It tells about their particular skills and how they worked together through numerous failures, determined to design the perfect, comfortable wooden chair. If you're a fan of Mid-Century Modern, you'll love the illustrations. An afterword by the author says he fictionalized a little bit but the focus is on determination in spite of repeated failure rather than strict biography and in that it certainly succeeds. 

11. McSweeney's #75, Ed. by Eggers, Yeh, and Horowitz - The 75th volume of McSweeney's short stories is designed like an accordion file, each story individually bound with a unique cover, and all are by "new" authors. I didn't like the first two I read and was pretty sure #75 was going to end up being an issue I disliked, in general, but then the tide turned and some of the stories were immersive, if not enjoyable. Overall, a pretty good selection. 

12. The Rainfall Market by You Yeong-Gwang - A translation from the Korean, I read The Rainfall Market for discussion in The Tiny Book Club on the Fable app. Serin has a hard life but when she hears you can change your life if you write a letter and are sent a ticket to the Rainfall Market, which is only open during the rainy season, she decides to try. At the market, a cat named Issha becomes her guide while she seeks to find the perfect life amongst a number of options. But, unbeknownst to her, someone is trying to stop her. A bit weird for my taste but the author's note actually made the book feel more meaningful as it tells about his own struggles, which vaguely mirror those of Serin. 

13. Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude by Ross Gay - OK, you're totally going to be able to tell which poem was my favorite before I even say a word about this volume of poetry, right? It's one about . . . a tree. Of course. In this case, there's a fig tree and a woman is cleaning up beneath it so people don't slip on the ripe fruits that have fallen. The author comes along and she tells him to take as many as he wants to help prevent more work cleaning the pavement. Then, more neighbors arrive and ask him to pluck some figs for them because he's tall. It's not just about a tree. It's about community and a tree that is growing where it shouldn't even be able to but (so much hope and joy in this poem) the tree didn't know it's not in the correct growing zone. Nor did the immigrants who planted it. Beautiful. A wonderful volume of poetry. 

14. Ties by Domenico Starnone - This translation from the Italian is a book I bought after reading author Alex George's glowing recommendation. Ties is about selfishness, fidelity, marriage, family, and — as I believe Erma Bombeck put it — "the ties that bind and gag." Aldo has left to live with another woman and in Book 1 you see the pain from wife Vanda's point of view as she is first hurt, perplexed, then angry and resigned. In Book 2, you read Aldo's perspective on reflection over 30 years later and then in Book 3, that of the now-grown children. A fascinating peek into how each individual responded in the short and long term to an infidelity. The ending was not entirely unexpected but pretty clever, I thought. A solid read.

15. Walter Anderson for Children by the Mississippi State Historical Museum - There may be a few very odd things showing up on my reading list because we've been cleaning our attic and this is one of them. Walter Anderson for Children is technically an activity book but there's plenty of information about the broad variety of mediums he worked in, examples of his line work, watercolors, block prints, and ceramics, etc. The "activity" part comes in filling in open spaces with what the reader has learned. But, my little readers did not fill this in so it's still crisp and clean. Anderson was a Mississippi Gulf Coast artist and I confess that I know about him, have been aware he's important, and paid little attention to him, anyway, probably because I didn't have the time or room for artwork when my children were small. Now, I'm a bit obsessed. His art is fascinating. We may have to take a road trip to his museum on the Coast. 

What a month, eh? Speaking to Americans, here, mostly. I know what's currently happening has worldwide implications but, whoa. 

Anyway, reading-wise, it was a pretty good month. I read two poetry books, a children's picture book, a children's art activity book, an ARC from last year, a spiritual book, a nonfiction about compiling climate data, a volume of short stories, novels old and new (two of them translations), and a middle grade book, in addition to two e-books (pictured below). 

Checking in on the reading goals, I added an exception for banned books or books about things that are being currently banned from government documents as an exception, so a few books walked in the door but I don't plan to add any further exceptions and, apart from the two Hoopla e-books, I read exclusively from my shelves. Go, me! I did also focus on the bedroom stacks, for the most part. The Persephone books are housed in my home library and, yay, that's another goal met. I read my first Persephone book of the year, Saplings. It's a good one. I did not read any of the books I've been putting off and listed as hopeful reads but I started one (Fobbit by David Abrams) and finished it on the 1st of February so you'll see that in next month's wrap-up. 

My absolute favorite was How the Penguins Saved Veronica, but I pretty much loved everything else, as well, apart from The Rainfall Market and The Little Prince. I am definitely an outlier when it comes to The Little Prince but I might have appreciated it more if the copy I checked out was readable. I've never come across a translation as bad as the one I borrowed from Hoopla. It was something. 

Hope everyone is doing OK, having a good reading year, and (Americans) annoying the heck out of your representatives and senators. Hang in there, everybody!

©2025 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos. 

Reading Goals for 2025

Yes, I know January is already half over. Humorously, I have been thinking about my goals for 2025 since early in December, but I didn't bother to write them down then so here we are. In general, I try to go easy on the goals. Usually, I start to forget my goals halfway through the year but it's nice to go back and see what I planned and how that turned out. Anyway, without further ado . . . 

2025 Reading Goals and other bookish plans:

1. Back to the book-buying ban with two exceptions: 

a. Books purchased for group discussion are allowable, although I'll check Hoopla to see if an ebook is available and will check any out that I can. 

b. One Book Outlet order is allowed mid-year if I feel like I need a break from the buying ban. 

I don't know if I mentioned falling off the proverbial book-buying ban wagon, last year. Did I? Well, I lasted till August only buying books for group discussion. When I failed, I failed hard. After I didn't succeed at going back on the ban, I realized I just needed to let go of that goal and my husband even shrugged and said, "You did well." So, that eased my. mind a bit. I think the problem was that I didn't allow myself the possibility of a single order to give myself a break. I needed the break, didn't get it, got stressed, and took that buying break anyway, then kept buying a book here, a book there. Sigh. Better luck in 2025, I hope. Still, I did start to see spaces opening up on shelves in 2024 and that's a huge positive.

2. Read from the bedroom stacks. I have stacks on the dresser (see photo, above) and a couple of floor piles, both in the master bedroom. I've decided to focus on those particular piles of books, this year, as well as the books on my bedside table. But if I decide I want to read something from the floor piles in my home library, that's fine. I won't kick myself. I also did not succeed at reading through the floor piles last year, but I made progress. 

3. Read some specific titles that I keep thinking about and not getting around to reading. Among them:

a. The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy - My dad's copy, which I took (technically "stole" because my mother said, "Don't touch anything!") to have something of his that was not valuable when he died. Side note: this is apparently common? I saw someone on a TV show saying, "I took this when he died. I just needed something of his, something to connect me to him." Whoa. Yeah, that. 

b. Scarlett by Alexandra Ripley - My childhood bestie sent me a copy of this after I read Gone With the Wind but I was tired of Scarlett, the character, and not in the mood to follow up one chunkster with another so I decided to read it later. It's been a couple years. 

c. Fobbit by David Abrams - Ohmygosh, I can't believe I haven't read this. I've been friends with David for years. He writes on Substack, now, but we met through blogging eons ago. I've read his most recent novel and a short story of his that was published in an anthology but for some reason Fobbit just keeps getting carried from room to room and not read. THIS IS THE YEAR. 

4. Read one Persephone book per month. I have quite a nice collection from our years of traveling to London (we haven't returned to the UK since Persephone moved to Bath). Since it's already mid-January, I have succeeded in reading my January Persephone book, which was Saplings by Noel Streatfeild. 

5. Post monthly wrap-ups to the blog. I've been doing this for a couple years now, I think? It works well for me. I have not felt the urge to return to full-time blogging and short reviews satisfy my need to blab about books a little. 

That's it! My reading goal at Goodreads is 100 books but that's pretty much meaningless. It's a minimum goal, not a maximum. Generally, I just try to read as much as I possibly can and I started setting my goal to 100 a few years ago so that I know I'll at least hit the goal mark. Anything read after is gravy but I'm a fairly slow reader so I consider 150 a fantastic year. 

Note on the blog: I still check for messages regularly because I'm here to write up my brief reviews after each book I finish. I also still moderate comments. So, if you leave a comment and it doesn't show up for a couple of days, hang in there. It'll show up and I'll reply eventually, unless you're a spammer. I delete spam/anything with a suspicious link. 

Happy Reading to all!

©2025 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos. 

Books Read in 2024

Everything I read in 2024. I only posted monthly reviews in 2024 so while each book has a link, every book's link for a particular month leads to the same monthly wrap-up. 

January:

1. Owls and Other Fantasies - Mary Oliver

2. The Ghost and Mrs. Muir - R. A. Dick

3. The Unteachables - Gordon Korman

4. The Art of Living - Thich Nhat Hanh 

5. In a Flash - Donna Jo Napoli

6. Cats in Hats - Jo Clark

7. I Hope This Finds You Well - Kate Baer

8. Before Your Memory Fades (Tales from the Café #3) - Toshikazu Kawaguchi

9. Siam - Lily Tuck 

10. A Canticle for Leibowitz - Walter M. Miller, Jr. 

11. Once Upon a Tim - Stuart Gibbs

12. Juliàn is a Mermaid - Jessica Love

13. Silence by Thich Nhat Hanh

14. Shubeik Lubiek - Deena Mohamed

15. The Labyrinth of Doom (Once Upon a Tim #2) - Stuart Gibbs

16. Faraway Places - Tom Spanbauer

February:

17. The Way of the Househusband, Vol. 7 - Kousuke Oono

18. How to be Both - Ali Smith

19. The Lilies of the Field - William E. Barrett 

20. Olive Kitteridge - Elizabeth Strout

21. The Memory Police - Yoko Ogawa

22. Asleep - Banana Yoshimoto

23. The Loved One - Evelyn Waugh

24. Go Tell It on the Mountain - James Baldwin

25. The Wild Robot - Peter Brown

26. You Are Here - Thich Nhat Hanh (reread)

27. Rabbit-Proof Fence - Doris Pilkington

March:

28. The Actual - Saul Bellow

29. The Bodyguard - Katherine Center

30. The Wild Robot Escapes (The Wild Robot #2) - Peter Brown

31. The Valley of Adventure (Adventure series #3) - Enid Blyton

32. Earthlings - Sayaka Murata

33. The Way of the Househusband, Vol. 8 - Kousuke Oono

34. Clara Reads Proust - Stéphane Carlier

35. Fear - Thich Nhat Hanh

36. Spy School: The Graphic Novel - Stuart Gibbs and Anjan Sarkar

37. One-Two - Igor Eliseev

38. Charlie Thorne and the Curse of Cleopatra (Charlie Thorne #3) - Stuart Gibbs

39. Gaffer Samson's Luck - Jill Paton Walsh

40. The Obesity Code - Jason Fung, MD

41. And Yet - Kate Baer

April:

42. Ruby Parker Hits the Small Time - Rowan Coleman

43. I Will Not Die Alone - Dera White and Joe Bennett

44. Mean Spirit - Linda Hogan

45. The Road to Roswell - Connie Willis

46. Moon of the Crusted Snow - Waubgeshig Rice

47. We Rule the Night - Claire Eliza Bartlett

48. Spy X Family, Vol. 11 - Tatsuya Endo

49. The Family Fang - Kevin Wilson

50. The Bookshop - Penelope Lively

May:

51. Killers of the Flower Moon - David Grann

52. The Hopkins Manuscript - R. C. Sherriff

53. Otis and the Kittens - Loren Long

54. Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Little Golden Book - Diane Muldrow

55. Glitch - Laura Martin

56. French Windows - Antoine Laurain

57. Clarice the Brave - Lisa McMann

58. Sipsworth - Simon Van Booy

59. Ordinary People - Judith Guest

60. Arsenic and Old Lace - Joseph Kesselring

61. Pioneer Women: The Lives of Women on the Frontier - Linda Peavy and Ursula Smith

62. Extreme Ownership - Jocko Willink and Leif Babin

63. Vertical Run - Joseph Garber

64. No Better Medicine - Kelly Meister-Yetter

June:

65. 100 Sideways Miles - Andrew Smith

66. Upgrade - Blake Crouch

67. Crazy Brave - Joy Harjo

68. Color of the Sea - John Hamamura

69. Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers - Jesse Q. Sutanto

70. The Way of the Househusband, Vol. 9 - Kousuke Oono

71. Turtles All the Way Down - John Green

72. The Summer Book - Tove Jansson

73. Apartment 713 - Kevin Sylvester

74. Norwegian Wood - Haruki Murakami

75. Moon of the Crusted Snow - Waubgeshig Rice

76. Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name - Vendela Vida

77. The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayamm, translated by Edward Fitzgerald

July:

78. Brat: An 80s Story - Andrew McCarthy

79. Where the Sky Lives - Margaret Dilloway

80. The Woman in the Dunes - Kōbō Abe

81. Anxious People - Fredrik Backman

82. McSweeney's Anthology of Contemporary Literature (74th Edition), Ed. by Claire Boyle

83. The Measure - Nikki Erlick

84. The President's Hat - Antoine Laurain

85. The Watch That Ends the Night - Allan Wolf

86. Earthlings - Richard Kalvar

87. Book Uncle and Me - Uma Krishnaswami

August:

88. The Sea of Adventure (Adventure #4) - Enid Blyton

89. A Quantum Love Story - Mike Chen

90. Black Hearts in Battersea (The Wolves Chronicles #2) - Joan Aiken

91. Wallace the Brave - Will Henry

92. The Truth According to Ember - Danica Nava

93. Nightbirds on Nantucket (The Wolves Chronicles #3) - Joan Aiken

94. The Way of the Househusband, Vol. 10 - Kousuke Oono

95. The Mysteries of Harris Burdick - Chris Van Allsburg

96. Comet in Moominland - Tove Jansson

97. Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet - Thich Nhat Hanh

September:

98. The Love of My Afterlife - Kirsty Greenwood

99. Wool (Silo #1) - Hugh Howey

100. Before We Say Goodbye (Tales from the Cafe #4) - Toshikazu Kawaguchi

101. Three Rivers Rising - Jame Richards

102. Cat + Gamer, Vol. 1 - Wataru Nadatani

103. The Haunting of Maddy Clare - Simone St. James

104. Just a Dream - Chris Van Allsburg

105. Pretty Little London - Sara Santini and Andrea Di Filippo

106. Dark Tales - Shirley Jackson

107. Dial A for Aunties - Jesse Q. Sutanto

October:

108. I'm Glad My Mother Died - Jennette McCurdy

109. Cat + Gamer, Vol. 2 - Wataru Nadatani

110. The Elson Reader, Book Two - William H. Elson and Lura Runkel

111. The Mountain of Adventure (Adventure #5) - Enid Blyton

112. Afterland - Mai Der Vang

113. Antarctica - Claire Keegan

114. Go, Sled! Go! - James Yang

115. Scritch Scratch - Lindsay Currie

116. Of Human Bondage - W. Somerset Maugham

117. Whale Day - Billy Collins 

118. Cat + Gamer, Vol. 3 - Wataru Nadatani

119. Little Witch - Anna Elizabeth Bennett

November:

120. Assistant to the Villain - Hannah Nicole Maehrer

121. Weyward - Emilia Hart

122. Finn Family Moomintroll - Tove Jansson

123. Hanami: You, Me, and 200 Square Feet in Japan - Julia Cejas

124. The Shelterlings - Sarah Beth Durst

125. Termush - Sven Holm

126. Cat + Gamer, Vol. 4 - Wataru Nadatani

127. The Lost Bookshop - Evie Woods

128. Goblin Market - Christina Rossetti

129. Small Bomb at Dimperley - Lissa Evans

130. The Grift of the Magi - Ally Carter 

December:

131. White Cat, Black Dog - Kelly Link

132. The Polar Express - Chris Van Allsburg

133. The Little Reindeer - Nicola Killen

134. Ollie's Ski Trip - Elsa Beskow

135. How the Grinch Stole Christmas - Dr. Suess

136. The Story of the Snow Children - Sibylle von Olfers

137. A Pirate's Night Before Christmas - Philip Yates and Sebastian Serra

138. Sipsworth - Simon Van Booy

139. Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree - Robert E. Barry

140. A Christmas Memory - Truman Capote

141. The Snowman - Raymond Briggs 

142. The Christmas Owl - G. Sterer, E. Kalish, R. Kaulitzki

143. A Child's Christmas in Wales - Dylan Thomas

144. The Night Before Christmas - Clement C. Moore

145. Orbital - Samantha Harvey

146. Five on a Treasure Island (The Famous Five, #1) - Enid Blyton

147. Strongmen - Ruth Ben-Ghiat

148. You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World, ed. by Ada Limon

149. Kids' Short Story Advent Calendar, from Hingston and Olsen

150. The Fabulous Zed Watson - Basil and Kevin Sylvester

©2024 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos. 

Everything I Read in December, 2024

A quick note on my month!

If you've been visiting my blog for a while, you probably know that I reread a pile of children's Christmas books every December. It changes from year to year. Sometimes I sit with a big pile and read one after another. Sometimes I skip some titles and just read a few favorites. Sometimes I stretch the reading out and/or add a couple longer stories like "A Christmas Carol" or a Christmas novel if I feel like it. I've been gradually adding titles to my Christmas pile for years as I've found children's Christmas books help me get into the spirit of the season, even if I'm having a grumpy December. And, in recent years I've also purchased the annual Short Story Advent Calendar from Hingston and Olsen. This year, I chose to read one Christmas or winter story per day (till I ran out) while also reading the Kids' Short Story Advent Calendar, which I bought a year or two ago, and slotting in a bit of regular reading. Because I read so many books this month, I've tried to keep the reviews a bit shorter but fair warning, this is a very long post. 

December:

131. White Cat, Black Dog by Kelly Link - A collection of short stories loosely based on fables, White Cat, Black Dog is one of those books that I have mixed feelings about. I liked the first story, about a young man who is one of three brothers sent on various quests by their father. The wealthy dad says if they fetch him this or that, whoever returns with [whatever] will get the inheritance. But, it's really all a ruse to get them out of the house that leads to another quest, then another. When one of the sons meets a white cat who runs a marijuana farm, he finds himself happy, for once. It only gets weirder after that. The next story I don't recall but I hated it so much that I considered DNF'ing the book. Instead, I let it sit for a couple of weeks and then picked it up and finished. My favorite story was about a man who can only appear when it's snowing and who is saved by a girl who unpicks the embroidered fox on his coat and sets it free. I'm glad I stuck it out for that story. Still, not a book I'll hang onto. 

132. The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg - Last year was the first year I've read this story in spite of the fact that it was published in 1985 and I'm certain it came through the store when I was a bookseller. I remember flipping through but not reading it. Weird. This story of a boy who goes on a train ride to the North Pole, receives the first gift of the season from Santa, then loses the gift immediately has a lovely ending so I've added it to my annual Christmas/winter children's book rotation. The Polar Express is the first of my annual reads for 2024. 

133. The Little Reindeer by Nicola Killen - Another book that was new to me in 2023, The Little Reindeer tells the story of a child who hears jingle bells, goes outside, and hops on a sled to locate the sound. When she finds a collar with bells on it and helps put it back on a reindeer, the reindeer takes her for a ride in the sky and then drops her off at home. While not much happens in this story, the illustrations make it magical. I love the bits of foil and the little windows that allow you to peer through to the following page. A beautiful book. 

134. Ollie's Ski Trip by Elsa Beskow - Ollie gets some new skis and then must wait and wait for enough snow to go skiing. When there's finally a thick blanket of snow, his mother fixes him a sandwich for each pocket and tells him to be home by supper. In the forest, Ollie runs into Jack Frost and Mrs. Thaw, whom Jack chases away till spring. Jack Frost takes Ollie to visit the Winter King. Ollie gets a tour of the castle, meets children who make gifts for Christmas, and has loads of fun playing with them during their work break before getting a ride home. I think the main reason I love this book is that it brings back memories of the blizzard of my childhood that dropped enough snow to build a fort (in Oklahoma). Best. Winter. Ever. I would love to find more books by this author, who is known as the "Swedish Beatrix Potter." 

135. How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Suess - The Grinch cartoon was one of my childhood favorites and I can still recite a good portion of the book. When I read it, I hear the voice of the cartoon narrator in my head. I doubt anyone is unfamiliar with the story but just in case . . . the Grinch hates Christmas. The noise, the singing, the feast. All of it annoys him till one year he gets the brilliant idea to steal all the decorations, the presents, the food of the people down in Whoville. He'll stop Christmas! But, when he finds that Christmas goes on, the villagers perfectly happy without their toys or their feast, his heart grows three sizes and he joins in on the festivities. It's such a wonderful classic. A mean green curmudgeonly guy who learns his lesson! Christmas is joyful even without gifts! I will always love this story. 

136. The Story of the Snow Children by Sibylle von Olfers - When Poppy gets bored after her mother steps out and then she sees snowflakes dancing but they turn out to be snow children, she hops on a sled and goes with them to an ice castle in the woods. There, she meets the queen and princess, joins in on a birthday celebration for the princess, plays with the snow children, and becomes so tired that the queen agrees it's time for her to return home (on a sled pulled by polar bears). Her mother is thrilled to see her. Published in 1905, when there was no such thing as a search and rescue team to comb the woods looking for a missing girl. Funny, this story always strikes me as the tale of a missing child who doesn't know she's missing. I still love it. 

137. A Pirate's Night Before Christmas by Philip Yates and Sebastian Serra - A favorite of mine when I reviewed it many years ago, my husband gave the review copy to someone with a young child as we didn't yet have any grandchildren (I had planned to keep it but, oh well). I've been looking to replace it for years and it's finally available as a board book, so I ordered a copy and yep, it made me smile just as much as I remembered. Instead of Santa, there's Sir Peggedy, who comes up from the ocean in a sleigh driven by seahorses, the story told as a rhyme in pirate language. Loads of fun and I'm so happy to finally own a copy, again. I'll be dragging this one out yearly, for sure. 

138. Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy - When I first read Sipsworth, earlier this year, I found it difficult to get through the first half because in that first half the main character, Helen Cartwright, is deeply sad and just marking time. She's lost her family, moved home to England, and is waiting to die . . . until the day she decides to bring home an aquarium full of garbage put out by the neighbor and discovers a mouse living inside. She wants to get rid of the mouse, at first. It's a rodent, after all. Instead he becomes a companion to her and his presence brings other people into her life. Quietly, everything changes and Helen acquires both a found family and reason to live. The second reading was even better because I knew great things were coming. This time I read it for group discussion, which I highly recommend. There's a terrific Reader's Guide available online. 

139. Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree by Robert E. Barry - If I had to pick one childhood Christmas story to keep, Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree would be at the top of my list. Mr. Willowby is a rich man who gets a magnificent tree but it's a wee bit too tall. In rhyming verse, the book tells the story of the treetop that Mr. Willowby has cut off to keep it from touching the ceiling and bending like a bow. Passed to the upstairs maid, the treetop is too tall for her, too tall for the gardener and the fox and the bear, etc. Its top keeps getting lopped off, growing smaller and smaller till the last little bit ends up in a mouse hole, back in Mr. Willowby's house, right next to the original tree. Utterly delightful. I'll love this book forever. 

140. A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote - One of the two books I absolutely must read every Christmas season, A Christmas Memory tells a story from Capote's childhood, when an elderly relative damaged by a childhood illness ("she is a child") is his best friend. Together each year, they save up their pennies to buy ingredients to make 30 fruitcakes to give and mail away as gifts. They go to the woods to chop down a tree and then make handmade decorations. Then they make each other kites and fly them together. This bittersweet tale ends with Capote being sent off to military school, never to see his beloved friend again. Beautifully told, of course. 

141. The Snowman by Raymond Briggs - Another winter book I missed out on, published in 1978. A little boy goes out in the snow and builds a snowman, returning inside for a warm meal and to fetch various pieces like coal for buttons, an orange for his nose, a hat and scarf. Throughout the night, he watches in the hope that the snowman will come to life and when it does, the boy shows him around his home and then goes on a flying journey with the snowman. But, was it all a dream? I would have been fine with this wordless story being left a fantasy but the dream aspect was good, too. Except, then I had visions of Patrick Duffy in the shower (that's a Dallas reference for the youngsters). 

142. The Christmas Owl by G. Sterer, E. Kalish, and R. Kaulitzki - Subtitled "Based on the True Story of a Little Owl Named Rockefeller", The Christmas Owl tells the story of a tiny owl who became trapped in the tree cut down and taken to New York's Rockefeller Center for Christmas. It begins with the owl noticing the beautiful lights being put up for Christmas and wondering what Christmas is. Then, she becomes trapped in the tree, is found by a worker when the tree is put in place, and is taken to a wildlife rehabilitator, who gets her back to full health and releases her so she can return home to her friends. A sweet story with beautiful illustrations and a nice extra section explaining what wildlife rehabilitators do. 

143. A Child's Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas - The second of my two favorite Christmas reads that I absolutely cannot do Christmas without, A Child's Christmas in Wales is a story of boyhood Christmas mischief with the poetic wording you would expect from a man known for his poetry. A joyful, rambunctious delight full of personalities that reek of a different time and place (uncles relaxing without their collars on, aunts getting into the sherry). I love this book immensely. Recently, a friend took it a bit too literally. When the boys stand around pretending to smoke and then eat their cigarettes in front of a scandalized neighbor, for example, I believe they were pretending with candy cigarettes (sugar fags, which are mentioned by that name later). Wonderful. 

144. The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore - You don't need me to say a thing about this classic, but what I will say is that my sister and I had the most gorgeous copy of The Night Before Christmas I've ever seen (a gift from our aunt and uncle) as small children and I've been looking for something comparable for years, decades even. I found a copy with art by Antonio Javier Caparo that I love. While not as eye-popping as the copy we used to own, the illustrations are as close as I've found to my childhood copy. 

145. Orbital by Samantha Harvey - Not one, not two, but three of my friends are reading Orbital as I type, so I should have plenty of people to discuss with. Orbital is a slice of life story, completely plotless, about 6 astronauts in the International Space Station. While the ISS travels around the Earth 16 times in a day, the author describes their daily lives: the work and rest, their thoughts and dreams, what they see out of the window and how they feel, as well as their reflections on how they came to be astronauts. The view from both the windows and a space walk is particularly vividly described. My only complaint is that I would have liked to follow along in an atlas and I haven't had a world atlas since my last one was drowned when a room flooded in our old house. Pretty amazing writing. Samantha Harvey clearly did her research. 

146. Five on a Treasure Island (The Famous Five, #1) by Enid Blyton - In this first book in the Famous Five series, Dick, Julian, and Anne are sent to stay with their cousin Georgina (who wants to be a boy and goes by "George") and her parents on the coast of England. George's family used to be very wealthy and owned a lot of land, including the nearby island with a ruined castle that's still in their possession. George's father is a writer and doesn't like noise, so the 5th in this group is George's dog, whom she pays a fisherman's boy to keep for her. When the group goes for a visit to the castle ruins and is caught in a massive storm, a wreck from the ocean floor is washed up. The rest is all treasure-hunting adventure and danger, much like what's in the Adventure series by Blyton that I'm still working my way through. Loads of fun.

147. Strongmen by Ruth Ben-Ghiat - My childhood best friend recommended Strongmen to me, a few years ago. It was more up-to-date, then, but it still works as both a historical look at modern authoritarians, how they behave, what causes them to fly into a rage or shut down, and how all of these characteristics have been manifested in the incoming and former President of the United States, whose name I won't bother repeating. Y'all know him. What was particularly interesting to me was the parallels between the President-Elect and two strongmen of the past, in particular. He is closest to Mussolini and Berlusconi. Warning: authoritarians are into torture of all kinds, including sexual torture, "disappearing" people, and are not afraid to have minions kill those who have escaped or been exiled in the nations to which they flee. The part about torture was so miserable that I put the book down for weeks. My favorite part, of course, was reading about how authoritarian regimes end. While some of the strongmen described survived to die natural deaths, the violence they inflicted upon their people was often revisited upon others when they were finally deposed. An excellent book and one that every American really ought to read, right now. It ends at 2021 but is still every bit as relevant. 

148. You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World, ed. by Ada Limón - A broad variety of styles and approaches to the subject matter are included in this anthology of poetry that is loosely based on nature. I ordered a copy to read for my friend Buddy's Contemplative Reading Project and enjoyed it immensely. Some of the poetry went over my head. That's always true. But, most of my favorites had to do with trees, probably because I'm a person who manages to find a favorite tree in every town. I was also deeply moved by the poem by several Hawaiian authors, which was half written in Hawaiian and not translated but clearly an elegy for the lost community members of Lahaina. An excellent volume of poetry, highly recommended. 

149. Kids' Short Story Advent Calendar by Hingston and Olsen - This will be my final short story advent calendar as they're a bit too expensive to buy in retirement. Fortunately, I bought this particular version a couple years ago and meant to read it in parallel with the regular version but decided two advent calendars was one too many, so I saved it. There were some great stories and a variety of well-known and not-known-to-me authors. My absolute favorite was a ghost story told in two parts. 

150. The Fabulous Zed Watson by Basil and Kevin Sylvester - A note first about this book: it was 1 of 4 books in a teacher's classroom that drew complaints from a parent (I don't recall where) and for having the four books available to her students, the teacher was suspended from her job. I bought 3 of the 4 books to check out the content for myself. The Fabulous Zed Watson is about a non-binary tween who is a little obsessed with the mystery of what became of a manuscript that was never published. 4 chapters are available online, along with a poem. When Zed and their neighbor Gabe, Canadians, decide the poem may contain clues that lead to the missing manuscript and Gabe's sister has to go to Arizona to return to school, the 3 go on a road trip in search of clues. So, I guess the problem a parent had with this book was simply the non-binary and gay characters. There is no sexual content, whatsoever. But, Zed does explain a bit what it means to be non-binary and you get a glimpse of their experience with being dead-named and misgendered. For an older person like myself, "they, them, and their" are often confusing because I think of them as plural but in this book the pronouns are used sparingly and don't confuse the individual with the collective, so to speak. Zed is a delightful character whose goofiness rubs off on their companions. A really fun little mystery/road trip/adventure. No teacher deserves to have her job put at risk over this book. 

©2024 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos. 

Everything I Read in November, 2024

November:

120. Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer - Evangelina Sage (aka Evie) is in a bind. She has lost her job, her father is ill and can't work, and her sister is only 10 so Evie must earn their keep. Dazed and frustrated, she wanders into the forest near her village and gets tangled up in a fight between the king's men and the man known locally as the Villain but she isn't easily rattled. Impressed, the Villain offers her a job as his assistant and Evie accepts. At his hidden compound, Evie gets to work and quickly becomes beloved amongst the many employees. When it becomes clear that there's a spy amongst them and he's trying to kill the Villain, Evie sets out to find out who is betraying her boss. This was my online book group's latest selection. The discussion was fun. Everyone enjoyed it and we all pretty much agreed on its flaws and better points. It's the first in a trilogy, apparently, and I haven't decided if I'll read on. The ending was a cliffhanger and I tend to rebel against cliffhanger endings by refusing to keep reading a series. But I liked the story and there's more I hope the author has elaborated upon so . . . maybe? 

121. Weyward by Emilia Hart - Three parallel stories about women in the same family are told in Weyward. In 1619, Altha Weyward is arrested and tried as a witch. Her mother was a healer and Altha has continued the tradition. But, now she stands accused of casting a spell to kill the husband of her former best friend, Grace. In 1942, Violet is kept close to home, knows nothing about her deceased mother because nobody will even speak her name, and hasn't even been to the nearby village. She has a deep connection to insects, birds, and other wildlife. When a cousin comes to visit her home, the Viscount's estate, while on leave from the army, Violet is told that she must be on her absolute best behavior. In present-day London, Kate hastily packs a bag to escape her abusive husband, traveling to Weyward Cottage in Cumbria, which has been left to her by her Aunt Violet. Violet and her brother, Graham (Kate's grandfather) were disinherited by their father, many years ago. But, Kate knows nothing about them and has overcome the pull of nature felt by other women in her family. 

What will happen to the women in their timelines? What is the scandal that led to the disinheritance of Violet and Graham? Will Kate succeed at escaping her violent husband? What will Violet and Kate find out about their unknown history? I loved this book. It's beautifully written, atmospheric, and compelling. My only complaint would be the fact that there are so many awful men. But, we're certainly seeing plenty of hideous behavior from men after our recent election so that's easily dismissed. As I read the book I thought, "This story is every reason women need bodily autonomy." 

122. Finn Family Moomintroll by Tove Jansson - The second in the Moomin series is so much fun I'm having trouble imagining myself passing it on (something that I still need to work on: parting with books I love). A hobgoblin has left his hat on a mountain. When it's found and brought back to Moominhouse, all sorts of wild, magical things begin to happen. Each time something is put inside the hat, the object is transformed, for better or worse. Most fun of all are the clouds that Moomintroll and his friends are able to ride around upon and the jungle that grows in and around Moominhouse, enabling everyone to have adventures inside their home. We are also introduced to Thingumy and Bob, two tiny creatures who have a unique mode of speech and a slight problem with stealing things. So. Much. Fun. I love the sweetness, adventure, and welcoming nature of the Moomins. Anyone who wanders to their home is always given a place to sleep and fed, no questions asked. 

123. Hanami: You, Me, and 200 Square Feet in Japan by Julia Cejas - This graphic memoir, which I checked out via Hoopla as an ebook, is about a Spanish couple who decide to go to Japan for a year. He is a civil engineer who has given up engineering to compose music for gaming. She is an artist and the author of the graphic memoir. She says it's mostly true. The book is about their life in Japan, including difficulty communicating, expense, daily shopping for fresh foods, going to language classes, and the side trips they take to see places outside of their home in Tokyo. I liked the book for the peek into what it's like to live in Japan as a foreigner (the rules for trash and recycling sound particularly tedious). Having been to Japan, I did get a glimpse of some important things like not blowing noses in public (considered extremely rude) and slurping soup (acceptable because it shows you're enjoying your food). I liked the color combination of this book but because it's in pinks and purples, it's very hard to read on a phone and I'd recommend locating a paper version if you find zooming in and out tiresome and have eyes that aren't what they used to be. 

124. The Shelterlings by Sarah Beth Durst - This middle grade book is about a group of animals who live in the Shelter for Rejected Familiars. Each of them has a magical skill but they're all considered useless magic skills. The main character, for example, is a squirrel named Holly who can conjure pastries. Her best friend is an owl who can turn himself to stone and back. Holly is seemingly the glue of the group as she has a very welcoming and sweet personality. While the animals all have a bit of a complex about their rejection, they have a garden and an orchard and they keep house together pretty happily. While Holly is trying to break through to a new resident, a lemur whose skill is finding lost things (and possibly taking them when she shouldn't), former resident Charlie, a beaver, returns from his wanderings. Charlie has arrived with a quest and says everyone will need to help find 7 objects to reset the Moon Mirror that grants magical gifts. While the animals go on adventures to find the objects, Holly notices that something about Charlie has changed. A bit too adorable and sweet for my taste, but I think I would have absolutely loved this book as a child. As an adult, I liked it more the further I read but it's not a book I'd return to. 

125. Termush by Sven Holm - Published in 1967, this post-apocalyptic novel tells the story of a group of people who have survived an apparent nuclear war. Termush is a hotel that they've bought into, knowing that such a disaster was likely. It has its own supplies of food and water, a shelter for when the radiation level becomes dangerous outdoors, security, and a group of people who are sent to explore the nearby towns to see what's left of them and assess the dangers. In spite of what's happened, the residents go about their day without too much stress. The narrator meets a neighbor and they quietly begin to hang out together. Management occasionally disrupts their solitude with announcements or required gatherings. They go outside, but not far. Then, things begin to go wrong. Dead bodies are found on the property and then survivors begin to wander in. Should they be treated by the doctor at Termush or sent packing? What will happen when the number of survivors begins to grow? An unusual post-apocalyptic novel in that most of it is just about life going on for a number of people who had the means to stay safe when most could not. However, things escalate and the tension gradually grows. I read this book for a new book club I joined called the Tiny Book Club on the Fable app. Discussion was unfortunately nonexistent. I am (as of December 1) the only person who has posted my thoughts. 

126. Cat + Gamer 4 by Wataru Nadatani - The 4th in this delightful manga series has Riko getting some surprising advice: get a second cat to keep Musubi company. Riko rushes to an event where kittens are up for adoption and ends up with a second cat whose adoption is on a trial basis to make sure the two kitties get along. She is also given advice about how to introduce the second cat gradually. At first, Musubi is freaked out and hisses at the stranger, but then the kittens get to know each other and begin to play, box each other, sleep together, and create general havoc. Anyone who has two cats who were introduced to their home separately will relate. Mine were brought home a few months apart and fortunately they adapted to each other in much the same way. Riko is adorably besotted and fascinated by the differing personalities of her two kitties. I love this series. Once again, I read the ebook on Hoopla. 

127. The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods - In 1920s England, Opaline flees her home when her older brother tries to force her into an unwanted marriage. In present-day Dublin, Martha has escaped an abusive marriage, found a job, and is hiding out. Henry is in Dublin to search for a missing manuscript and has had an unusual experience with a disappearing bookstore. Or, maybe he was just hallucinating. Opaline's journey takes her to Paris and then to Dublin, where she opens a store and finds that the building seems to be trying to tell her something. Meanwhile, in the present day, Martha's new basement home is doing something magical and Martha is falling for Henry. But, Henry is taken and is only in Dublin for a short time. 

Will Henry and Martha find the missing manuscript and find a way to be together? Is Martha safe in Dublin? Will Opaline's brother find her, again? And, how, in the end, will their stories intersect? 'Cause you know it's going to happen. While that intersection always exists in parallel historical/contemporary fiction, I did keep coming up with theories and then changing them, so The Lost Bookshop kept me guessing. And, it also really sucked me in hard, so I enjoyed it for the fact that I had trouble putting it down. Having said that, I do believe that the story was confusing at times, there were a lot of plot holes, and there was one strand of the story that was not satisfactorily explained. Although, of course, we're talking magical realism so not everything has an explanation. I gave the book 4 stars. I still loved it, flaws and all. 

128. Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti - I've never read Christina Rossetti's poetry before so I decided to start with Goblin Market, which sounded like a good title for fall reading. The title poem is especially fascinating, the craving for fruit and indulgence in it obviously symbolizing greed/gluttony and its consequences. Cool, cool. Other things that jumped out at me were her hyper-religious emphasis on death, rest, looking forward to heaven, and . . . thwarted love or resistance to love? After reading her poetry, I think I understand why Rossetti never married as she seemed to have taken on the mantle of a nun without becoming one, putting God over earthly love. There are plenty of references to nature's bounty, as well. Bottom line: At times I was mesmerized by her descriptions and at other times I just felt like, "Get a grip, lady." Mostly about yearning for death/the afterlife. I really liked "Goblin Market" (the poem) because it reminded me of childhood fairy tales and was so vividly written I'm surprised I didn't have goblin nightmares. 

129. Small Bomb at Dimperley by Lissa Evans - Barbara, Lady Vere-Thisset, has chased down the Dowager Lady Vere-Thisset with a telegram saying the eldest son and inheritor of the Baronetcy of the Vere-Thissets (the original Vere-Thisset having been declared the Woodsman to the King in some far-off century) was killed in action in WWII. The war is over and the Dimperley estate, apart from having a bomb go off in its clover field, is intact. However, the place is really falling apart. The middle son is not able to take up the title because he had brain fever as a child and barely speaks. That leaves 23-year-old Valentine, who is quickly de-mobbed and sent home. Valentine is dyslexic, considered the plain/dull child, and not a businessman. With the help of one of the handful of people who work on the estate, an idea is hatched to try to save Dimperley from being sold for its land and the inhabitants turfed out. Will they succeed? A little romance, at least one exciting scare scene, a lot of gossip from the nearby village, and the interaction of various characters in this book make for yet another delightful and entertaining read by one of my favorite authors. I'm convinced Lissa Evans can do no wrong. I love her sense of humor. Side note: this is a very, very British book. I can usually read British English very well but I found myself wishing I still kept a vocabulary notebook so I could write down all the new words I learned. 

130. The Grift of the Magi by Ally Carter - This ebook (read via Hoopla) is a seasonal novella from the Heist Society series. I haven't read the series but it's been on my radar so when I was looking for a quick Christmas read and happened across The Grift of the Magi, I checked it out immediately. I'm pleased to say that it stands alone fine. Katarina Bishop, her cousin Gabrielle, and most of her family are thieves. Kat steals in the manner of a Robin Hood, finding stolen art to return to its rightful owners. When a Fabergé egg from a series of which there are only 3 in existence is stolen from the charity to which it's been given to auction off, an Interpol Agent asks her to retrieve it to keep from embarrassing the charity by making the search public. It just so happens that the charity was established by the grandmother of Kat's billionaire boyfriend. The hunt will lead Kat and her team around the world. Will Kat's crew be able to locate the missing egg? I can't say much more without giving away plot points but what fun! I am definitely going to look up the first Heist Society book at some point. Not now, though. I only get 3 borrows per month from Hoopla and I've used them all up (for the first time, actually)! Sad face. 

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