Everything I Read in July, 2025

July:

75. Wonder by E. J. Palacio - Well, that was a surprise. I have been aware of this book for many years but I never thought to pick it up until I happened across a copy at the local Goodwill shop, a couple years ago. August Pullman was born with a host of problems and even after many surgeries, his face is quite badly deformed. He's been homeschooled but at 10 his parents have decided it's time for him to go to school. At the new school, his face shocks almost everyone. But, as his fellow students get to know him, Auggie goes from being bullied and only having a few friends to being admired and loved. I laughed, I cried. You can't help but fall in love with the Pullman family. What a great book. 

76. Generation X by Douglas Coupland - I have probably had this book since the 90s (blushing). Published in 1991, it tells the story of 3 friends who have gone to live in California to find themselves, having rejected more lucrative but dull jobs (Andy and Dag) and an annoying, rich, somewhat vapid family life (Claire). This book is an absolute time capsule. MTV and CAD! Stereo consoles, K-cars, and leftover decor from the Sixties! Memories of Space Food Sticks! The most fascinating thing about this book, for me personally, was that my Millenial eldest son has the same complaints as the Gen X characters. Life was so much easier for their parents and they screwed it up for us, Andy thinks. You Boomers and Gen X had it easy and screwed it up for us, says my kid. Some things never change. I enjoyed this book mostly for the blast from the past. 

77. The Great Unexpected by Sharon Creech - Naomi and Lizzie are both orphans living in Blackbird Tree (no state named, but in the US). When a boy named Finn falls out of a tree, both girls go out of their way to try to figure the boy out. Where does he live and where did he come from? As summer break begins, the two are roped into spending time with the elderly, swept up in tragedy, and transported to another country when unexpected connections lead to a huge surprise. This is a book I found while cleaning the shelves (another one!). It's got some issues. It's apparently contemporary, but the clothing descriptions, the way people talk, and the fact that there's a boarding house all make it difficult to tell whether the book is contemporary or historical. And, the connections in the end are wildly implausible. Having said all that, I read The Great Unexpected in an afternoon (something that seldom happens) because I just couldn't put it down. And, I smiled a lot. I'm glad I didn't discard this book based on the unenthusiastic reviews. 

78. Bluets by Maggie Nelson - "Lyric essay or prose poetry" says Wikipedia about the unique writing style of this thin volume of vignettes about or with some connection to the color blue. I listened to the audio while reading the book (a first) and discovered in the process that my eyeball reading and listening ear don't coordinate. I am, by nature, a contemplative reader who latches onto words or sentences or paragraphs, rereading them till I'm ready to move on. Yep, it was a Contemplative Reading Project selection. Eventually, I got tired of backtracking when the two reading methods didn't sync up and just listened. While the author's delivery is flat, I think audio is a great way to read Bluets.What I disliked was all the sexual references. In the book, Nelson says she applied for many grants for this writing project and she described the book as "hedonistic and horny." But, the literary references, the thought-provoking connections to a single color . . . there were a lot of interesting moments. I would have preferred essays so she could have taken some of those thoughts further. There's definitely plenty to contemplate and Buddy's notes were extremely helpful. 

79. Thieves' Dozen by Donald E. Westlake - Long ago, during my mystery-gobbling phase, I read an anthology that contained a story about John Dortmunder, a hapless thief. I've never forgotten it. Westlake had a delightful, comedic touch. I came across Thieves' Dozen (a collection published in 2004) while working on my huge, ongoing book purge and the writing is every bit as entertaining as I remembered. Apparently, this book contains every Dortmunder short story ever written, plus a final one in which all of the characters are basically meant to be the same thieves but they have different names as the author was exploring how name changes made the characters different in his mind. Tremendously fun reading, highly recommended. 

80. Eight of Swords by David Skibbens - The first in the Tarot mystery series, published in 2005, you will not be surprised to hear that I found this during the book purge. I sense a theme, here. Warren was a member of the Weather Underground during the 60s (a socialist terrorist organization) and he's been on the run for 30 years. Now, he's a tarot reader in Berkeley. When a teenage girl asks for a reading and he doesn't warn her of how ominous her reading is, he feels guilty and begins investigating after she's kidnapped. I thought this book was average; I enjoyed it but felt that it tried to be about too many things at once. Still, I'm glad I read Eight of Swords because I'm always here for changing things up a bit. 

81. Then Again, Maybe I Won't by Judy Blume - Tony loves basketball, has some great friends and a paper route, and is starting to notice girls. When his father sells an invention hoping to get extra money to help Tony's big brother, whose wife is expecting, the family is suddenly wealthy and everything changes. They leave their modest neighborhood for a fancy house on Long Island, Grandma is replaced in the kitchen by hired help and takes to her room, and Tony is stuck hanging out with a rich neighbor who is not a person Tony can respect. I really enjoyed Then Again, Maybe I Won't. Tony is a great character. He's annoyed by the wealth and social climbing and knows right from wrong. 

Favorite line: 

The three of us stick together. That way if we have trouble finding the right classrooms we look stupid as a group instead of three individual stupids.

82. Count by Melvin Burgess - A middle grade book found on Hoopla when I was looking for a dystopian book by the same author (unfortunately not available on Hoopla or in the US, for that matter), Count is a very silly book about a boastful boy who decides to count to ten million, can't stop, and becomes a sensation until it all comes crashing down. A clever and fun read. I'm glad my British friend Rebecca led me to this author. 

83. Musical Tables by Billy Collins - Poetry! In this case, Collins focuses on short poems. I wondered, at first, if he was following some particular type of poetic style or meter but nope. He just has a fascination with short poetry and in the author's note, he quoted two very short poems that he found particularly outstanding. There's a very harsh Goodreads review in which the reviewer makes some very good points about why he gave it a single star and I kind of agree with him in some ways. But, I mostly base my opinion of poetry on feelings. Does it resonate in some way? Did I nod or laugh or smile or feel it like a gut punch? I marked a half dozen poems that made me laugh or smile and took a snapshot of one about insomnia, which I can relate to all too well (below) So, Musical Tables was a winner for me. 

84. High Wages by Dorothy Whipple - In 1910, Jane Carter needs a job that pays well and she knows Chadwick's has the best wages, so she applies. As a shop girl in Chadwick's, she helps customers select fabric, ribbon, buttons, and such for dressmaking and home decoration. Jane's boss has a tendency to cheat her out of her commissions and he's not interested in updating his shop to reflect the new, ready-made trends. But, Jane has big ideas. When she's unable to convince her boss to lease a nearby building to open a shop for ready-made clothing and hats, a friend steps in to help. Will Jane be able to make it as a shopkeeper? Jane is a great character. Men have a tendency to try to take advantage of her because she's pretty and innocent, but Jane has strength, determination, and can stand up for herself. Then she falls in love with the wrong man. Her life as a shopgirl and then shop owner is not without challenges but I loved her grit and focus. I adored High Wages. It's definitely my favorite by Whipple, so far. 

85. Walking Words by Eduardo Galeano, illus. by José Francisco Borges - Walking Words is Eduardo Galeano's take on folk tales. I had some particular favorites and some I didn't care for, but overall I enjoyed the book. The block print illustrations are wonderful. A find during my book purge. Yet another book I've had since the 90s. Yikes. Took me long enough. 

86. Take Me With You by Andrea Gibson - I bought a copy of Take Me With You after hearing the author (who was nonbinary and preferred the pronouns they/them) read from the book in a video clip sent by my friend Susan after Gibson's death. The reviews for this book are wild — quite polarized; most either love the book or hate it. It didn't feel like poetry to me, at first; it felt more like reading Hallmark sentiments. I couldn't relate to a lot of it. But, sometimes I laughed, sometimes I got a little teary. I adjusted to the style. I occasionally cringed at confessional bits (never a favorite). Sometimes the writing was profound or pithy, sometimes just a bit of clever wordplay. Most importantly, I feel like Andrea Gibson has helped me to finally understand what it means to be nonbinary. I'm sorry this tender soul has left the Earth. 

87. A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice by Rebecca Connolly - I bought A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice for discussion with one of my online groups. It tells parallel stories that intersect. First, Kate Connolly is a 3rd class passenger from Ireland, traveling on the Titanic to the United States with friends. You get to see what it's like to travel in steerage and the camaraderie between passengers, most of whom were not from the U.S. The other storyline is about Capt. Rostron of the Carpathia, the ship that came steaming to the rescue when they heard that the Titanic was sinking. The first part of the book is slow but when the Titanic begins to sink, the pace picks up with Rostron organizing the rescue and pushing the Carpathia to its limits while Kate is rushing to find a lifebelt and escape the sinking ship. It then becomes a story of how class didn't matter, everyone mixed and even some of the survivors helped others. It's also very focused on trauma and emotion. So . . . the bad. The book is not overly well written. The author has some quirks of language and mannerism that I would expect a good editor to help eliminate. However, I still gave it 4 stars, probably a slightly too-high rating but I liked the different viewpoint of a steerage survivor and the Carpathia captain, having read many books that were mostly told from the Titanic side only. 

88. Sea of Rust by C. Robert Cargill - I read about Sea of Rust when friend Carrie posted an update on Goodreads and immediately added it to my wishlist. Then she encouraged me to read it right away, so I ordered a secondhand copy (which looks good as new, actually). Described as a "post-apocalyptic robot western," it tells the story of Brittle, a Caregiver robot who survived the war between humans and AI (both robots and large databases that have become sentient). Brittle collects and sells parts from dying robots. But, Caregiver parts are becoming scarce. And, when another Caregiver decides to poach Brittle's parts by shooting her, a journey across a desert filled with rusting parts leads to a final shootout in a quest to save the remaining independent robots from CISSUS, a massive Artificial Intelligence mainframe that seeks to turn robots into facets, mindless parts of the whole (much like the Borg of Star Trek: Next Generation). Quite a wild ride, this one. Thanks for the rec, Carrie!

OK, then! This was a pretty terrific month. Of the 14 books I read, 8 were books I've had on my shelves for at least a year, 5 were recent purchases, and 1was checked out via Hoopla. Progress getting through the books I own!

There is thunder and lightning nearby, so I'm not going to dash off to open another window so that I can see how I did on my annual goals, but I did clearly read a Persephone book and plenty from my shelves, so I'm happy. On to August!

©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 June, 2025

June:

62. A Thousand Mornings by Mary Oliver - I've been deliberately saving A Thousand Mornings to read in June so that I'd have at least one poetry book to read, mid-year. I didn't mark any of my favorite poems. Instead, I must have been feeling a little poetry deprived because I pretty much slammed my way through it in a single evening. I try to space out the reading of poetry books but I just love her poetry so much that it's hard to put down a Mary Oliver book, although I do take time to reflect while reading. For the uninitiated, Oliver is much like another favorite poet of mine, Robert Frost, in that her focus is often on nature and she has a delightful sense of humor but is also willing to show her anger at how we treat our world or to describe the rawness of nature. Another wonderful read. I will reread many times, no doubt. 

63. Blubber by Judy Blume - When Linda does a report on whales, she gets the nickname Blubber because she also happens to be a little overweight. Wendy is the gang leader who gave Linda the nickname and who comes up with all the cruel pranks (tripping Linda, pulling her skirt up so the boys see her underwear, making her say something awful before they allow her into a bathroom stall) but narrator Jill goes along with everything until Wendy goes just one step too far. Then, she rebels and Wendy turns the bullying onto her, giving Jill a demeaning nickname and putting her through similar torturous pranks. This is such a sad book. It's mostly about cruelty and it didn't seem to me that anyone learned a lesson at all. The only way I'd consider this book in any way useful is if it was one that adults and children read together so they could discuss the pain of bullying and why it's wrong to go along with it, even if you're not the instigator.  

64. The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy - My copy of The Hunt for Red October originally belonged to my father. I've had it since 1990 and the rest of my immediate family read it long ago but I had not, so I decided to add it to my challenge books for the year. I'm so excited to have finally read it! Parts were edge-of-your-seat, especially the scenes in which the Russian ship is trying to sink the Red October and there's much jockeying about, with characters saying the fun stuff like, "Right full rudder. Ease off on your bow planes," or whatever. It took a while for me to get into the story as I'm not exactly a techie but it's a good book and reading it felt like a little wave toward heaven as it was the one item I stole from my parents' house so I could have something (deliberately without great value) of my father's after he died. We watched the movie after I finished. It still holds up! I think this quote on p. 393 of the book is particularly relevant to our time:

"Mr. Ambassador, any person in the United States, regardless of his nationality or the manner of his arrival, is entitled to the full protection of our law. Our courts have ruled on this many times, and under our law no man or woman may be compelled to do something against his will without due process."

65. When We Were Birds by Ayanna Lloyd Banwo - Darwin is Rastafarian and has taken a vow not to go anywhere near the dead or cut his dreadlocks. So, when the only job he can find is digging graves and he needs to get his dreads out of the way, he is horrified but decides that supporting himself and his mother is more important than their beliefs and he moves to the city to work. Yejide comes from a family in which the women have a strong connection to the dead that's passed down the family line. When Yejide's mother dies, she is next in line to receive the gift. Darwin and Yejide dream of each other and seem destined to meet. But, both have challenges to face. Darwin has noticed strange things at the graveyard and getting caught up in them will put him in danger, while Yejide feels her new connection to the dead is more burden than gift. All this takes place in Trinidad, a new location for me, reading-wise.When We Were Birds is a strange story but I enjoyed it. I read it for group discussion and there was a lot to talk about. The discussion was excellent. I definitely recommend it as a group read. 

66. Cats on Catnip by Andrew Marttila - Cats on Catnip is a book of photographs of cats playing in piles of catnip, eating it, rolling around, looking crazy-eyed or calm. It feels a little weird listing it as a "book read" because the only text is an introduction and the name and age of each cat pictured. Otherwise, it's just a lot of cat photos. But, whatever. Andrew Marttila is married to the "Kitten Lady" and I've followed the two of them for years. I love his photos of cats and had it in the back of my head that I'd like to see the book someday, but not necessarily buy it. Fortunately, I happened across Cats on Catnip while looking for another cat-themed book on Hoopla. I had to do a good bit of screen pinching to get a closer look at each of the cats. A real upper of a book if you love looking at cat photos. Cats on catnip are pretty funny. 

67. Tom Swift and His Rocket Ship by Victor Appleton, II - While going through boxes of books to whittle down my possessions, I found this Tom Swift (the third in the series) in one of the boxes. It was the rocket ship cover that really grabbed my eye. Published in 1954, it tells the story of a race to circumnavigate the Earth in space. Tom Swift is a boy genius who works on a private island with engineers, designers, a cook, a doctor, and others. He and his friend Bud are planning to fly Tom's rocket, soon. But, there's competition and his rivals are willing to do anything to sabotage Tom so that their leader can rule from space. A rollicking adventure, very fast-paced, and also extremely silly. Say, Tom needs a new invention or part? It's ready within days or even hours. The implausibility level is high. There are also Martians communicating with Tom but it's understandable that in the 1950s sci-fi writers knew little about whether there was life in our solar system. Worth enjoying for the adventure but it suffers from the passage of time and the writing is a bit oddly choppy, which also may be a remnant of the era. 

68. Indian Country by Gwendolen Cates - Indian Country is a coffee table book in which the photographer traveled around the United States photographing Native Americans. Gorgeous landscape photos (sometimes presented as two-page spreads, which are breathtaking) are interspersed occasionally between the portraits, along with quotes from some of the people pictured. Most focus on things like community, ancestry/history, spirituality, and nature, as well as the memory of colonization and the fact that genocide and history written by the occupiers have rendered a lot of America's first residents invisible but they're resilient and refuse to be silent. A beautiful and very moving book. I got teary reading about descendants of Wounded Knee survivors holding a ceremony in the memory of their ancestors. 

69. The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen and Blair Lent - Saddest story ever. A little girl who sells matches has a bad day and is afraid to return home without any money to give to her violent father. So, she stays on the street on a freezing night and lights her matches, one after the other, imagining warm things until she runs out of matches and freezes to death. This is another book I found in a box while working on dramatically purging my personal library. It's old and grubby and I brought it home from a library sale intending to use pieces of the illustrations in collage, which I still plan to do. But, I always have to read books before taking them apart. I also can't bear to take a book apart unless it's either a terrible story (this one's obviously a classic so not awful) or in appalling condition. 

70. A Field Guide to Getting Lost by Rebecca Solnit - There's a hilariously accurate review of this book at Goodreads, in which the reviewer says A Field Guide to Getting Lost is like going to a cocktail party where you're stuck talking to an "undeniably smart" person who thinks everything they've done is worth describing in excruciating detail. I agree with that but at the same time, I actually enjoyed this book of essays about many different meanings of becoming lost. Sometimes, I felt like the author started an essay well and then went so deep into the weeds that . . . she lost me. That feels punny but it's accurate. My favorite essay was the most straightforward, about explorers and people who were captured by Indians and how they didn't just become lost; they lost their former selves. Some lost their ability to speak their original language, lost interest in wearing clothing or sleeping on beds. That essay was marvelous. In another, she describes living in the desert and being in love while she was a fledgling writer. But, then she oddly goes way off the tracks. If Solnit had stopped at her personal story, I would have loved it but the change of topic was less a segue than a jolt. At any rate, Solnit kept me busy looking things up online, which is always fun, and I was entertained enough to finish so I rated it 3.5/5. 

71. The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong - The Emperor of Gladness is the story of a young man named Hai, whose family immigrated from Vietnam. At the beginning of the book he's on the verge of suicide when an elderly woman shouts to him. She is Grazina, also an immigrant but from Lithuania who escaped from Hitler and Stalin during WWII. She needs someone to care for her and he needs a place to stay. She has dementia and he helps her keep her pills straight, plays along with her memories when the pills don't work, and gets a job at a restaurant called HomeMarket to pay for their groceries. Hai is addicted to painkillers and lying to his mother about what he's doing. The Emperor of Gladness is the June selection for the Contemplative Reading Project. Even when I was only partway into the book, I felt like I needed to reread it because there's some imagery that I began to slowly became aware of and I'd like to reread to explore that imagery. Buddy is a professor and he picks up on things that I miss, so I always enjoy reading his thoughts, which you can find under the group name "Contemplative Reading Project" on Substack.

Side notes: I enjoyed The Emperor of Gladness, although the topics (depression, drug addiction, dementia) are heavy. Toward the end of the month, I went to a Silent Reading Party at a neighboring county library (where I have friends, including former blogger Brittanie) and one of the people I sat next to for the social part said, "I really want to read what she's reading," pointing at my book. When I told my eldest son about the Silent Reading Party he said, "Wow, you really know how to party, Mom!" Anyway, I highly recommend both the book and Buddy's group. And, I'll try to keep my one-paragraph reviews to one paragraph (hopefully shorter) next month. I notice they're getting way too long. 

72. Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas, a retelling by Cerys Matthews, illust. by Kate Evans - Under Milk Wood is a radio play but this adaptation has turned it into a lively children's book. It's the story of a Welsh town's residents, who rise with the stars and sleep after a hard days' work. The characters are humorously described and colorfully illustrated. What I didn't like was the fact that I could recognize Dylan Thomas's style (since I read his A Child's Christmas in Wales every year) admidst the adapted bits. I wanted more Thomas, less adaptation. But, once I grew accustomed to the author's updated voice, I really enjoyed it. I found that you can find a film version with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton online and I hope to watch that, soon. I'd also like to get my hands on the radio play. 

73. Letters from Rapunzel by Sarah Lewis Holmes - I'm guessing this is a middle grade book but I'm uncertain. A one-sided epistolary, Letters from Rapunzel is not what it sounds or looks like from the title and cover. It's about a girl whose father has been hospitalized with clinical depression. After he left, the girl (who calls herself Rapunzel but is otherwise unnamed till nearly the end) finds a torn-up letter tucked next to the cushion of her father's favorite chair. He's been writing to someone who he says is responsible for his best poetry. Rapunzel writes to this person, hoping they will respond and be helpful in some way. But, nobody replies, so you read the unfolding story of her challenges at school and at home while her father is struggling and "Rapunzel" is stuck in after-school homework sessions. I loved this book. It's light with a fairly heavy topic, cleverly written and with a great ending. 

74. The Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki - A magical café where one can get their astrological signs read and explained shows up only on nights with a full moon. There, customers are served special drinks and desserts by giant cats. The first customer is a screenwriter whose scripts are no longer wanted. When she realizes that her signs indicate that she's doing things wrong, she makes changes to her life. This same pattern continues with other characters, all of whom are tied together as a group that used to walk to school together. Unfortunately, The Full Moon Coffee Shop is not a book I found either magical or entertaining. I thought it boring and disjointed. I read it for my Zoom book group so it will be interesting to see what everyone else thought but it definitely wasn't for me. 

Favorites were Indian Country, The Emperor of Gladness, A Thousand Mornings, Letters from Rapunzel, When We Were Birds, and The Hunt for Red October. 

Update on my yearly goals:

1. Book-buying ban. Let's just update that one with a photo of recent purchases, most for discussion (in the foreground, some bought in May). Not pictured: The Wall by Marlen Haushofer, a total impulse purchase that arrived yesterday. 

2. Read from bedroom stacks: Ditched this goal, but I did manage to read 6 that had been on my stacks for at least a year. Most of the others were discussion books or came from recent library sales. 

3. Read some specific books I've been wanting to read: Success! I finished The Hunt for Red October and I'm very happy to have finally broken through that mental block (dead person's book) in order to read it. After finishing the book, we watched the movie. It has held up brilliantly, in spite of some older technology that will make people who lived through the 80s chuckle. 

4. Read one Persephone book per month: Alas, no, but I have started reading the book I meant to read in May . . . and then June. And, it's very good, so far. 

In other bookish news, I have been doing a major book purge in my home library. Here's part of it (you can click to enbiggen: 

I've boxed those all up neatly, now, and it's only a fraction; I have 12 boxes of books ready to go. They haven't made it out the door but we'll start working on that, soon. You can see we're a little messy initially, then we go back and pack things up neatly before taking them to donate. Some we hope to take to McKay's Used Bookstore but that requires a trip to Tennessee. We shall see. At any rate, I don't know what clicked but I'm basically doing Swedish Death Cleaning, keeping only the books I intend to read or that still hold interest for me. Anything even remotely questionable is going. Biggest surprise: My YA collection. I went through a YA phase a few years after starting the blog and kept all my favorites + a few unread titles. I was shocked at how easily they went to the discard piles. I guess my YA phase has ended, at least for now. I did keep a few favorites but not many. It's wild to look at the shelves and see so many open spaces. 

©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 May, 2025

May:

52. The Ice Monster by David Walliams - Elsie is an orphan in Victorian London living in torturous circumstances in an orphanage. After she escapes, she has nowhere to live but the streets. When a woolly mammoth encased in ice is brought to the Natural History Museum, where she occasionally sleeps in a broom closet to avoid freezing outdoors, Elsie is determined to see it. And, when a mad scientist who lives in the basement figures out how to bring the mammoth back to life, Elsie, the cleaning woman (who is hilarious and my favorite character), and the woolly mammoth are in for a wild adventure. If you can get past the extremely gross first chapter, the rest of the book is very fun. But, this is my second middle grade read by Walliams and he has a tendency toward the disgusting in his humor — not surprising if you've seen his adult comedy, but as a child, parts of his books would have given me nightmares. So, while I enjoyed this story, I will not read any more of Walliams' books. 

53. Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams - I bought Careless People because Mark Zuckerberg didn't want people to read it, which naturally made me curious as to why. The story of the author's time working for Facebook begins when it was a small company and she, as a diplomat from New Zealand who worked at the United Nations, thought it had potential to become a force for good. She wanted Facebook to be able to become involved in the creation of regulations dealing with this new form of social media and felt that would be a perfect job for her. After Wynn-Williams managed to get hired, she found that the company's founder was painfully shy and disinterested in meeting heads of state and other diplomats. But, once he began to see the benefits of knowing people in high places, exploit them, and even become more powerful than they are — relying, as they do, on reelection while he keeps his position — his greed for expansion, lack of empathy, and underhanded ways of fobbing off government regulation and lying in congressional investigations became too much for the author. Written with clarity, lightness, and precision (either she kept extensive notes or has a memory like a vault). The title is aptly based on the quote from The Great Gatsby that begins, "They were careless people, Tom and Daisy. They smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money . . . "

54. Idle Grounds by Krystelle Bamford - At a family gathering, the adults converge on the deck while the children play inside. When the children look out a window and see something inexplicable and spooky in the woods, 3-year-old Abi runs from the room and doesn't return. The children eventually go off to look for her and tell the grown-ups when they're unsuccessful. The adults shrug them off. Mostly told in 1st person plural with the children as the collective "we", the group decides they must find Abi and off they go. But, things go wrong, another child disappears, and they frequently become distracted, frightened, or hurt. Interspersed throughout are chapters about their grandmother "Beezy" and the family history. A book so utterly its own that I'm stunned it's got a fairly low (3.3) rating at Goodreads. I was enchanted, mesmerized, captivated, unsettled, tickled, saddened. There's a tragedy but there's also the humor of little Owen and his eggs (you just have to read it). Creepy, weird, discussable, and a book worth studying, if you ask me. Side note: Idle Grounds is the book I mentioned in April that I ordered because I wanted to read it immediately, if not sooner. I have no earthly idea why. I love the cover and I was interested in the description but I seldom feel so compelled to buy a book now. I felt like the universe was trying to tell me something. A five-star read for me. 

55. The Best of Reader's Digest: Timeless Favorites - I've mentioned before that I'm looking for a specific story from Reader's Digest that was the genesis of my interest in WWII. Well . . . it's not in this collection but I found this and one other "best of" type Reader's Digest book while working at the library sale and there appeared to be some WWII stories, so I figured I would at least enjoy those. I didn't plan to read the entire book. But, it really took me back to my childhood days, when I'd read my mother's Reader's Digests from cover to cover. A little murder and mayhem, a bit of humor, and some tear-jerkers rounded out this collection of stories and essays. My absolute favorites were a story about a couple separated during WWII and reunited by a tablecloth hanging over damaged plaster to cover it for a Christmas service, an essay about what actor Danny Kaye learned about parenthood while traveling to help promote vaccination in other countries, and the story of a Medal of Honor recipient. A very enjoyable read. 

DNF: I haven't started a book and abandoned it for a while but I thought this one's worth mentioning. The Butterfly Lampshade by Aimee Bender is a book about mental illness and it starts with a gripping phone conversation in which a mother calls her sister saying she thinks her daughter "has a bug in her". The sister is 8 1/2 months pregnant, so she sends her husband to fetch 8-year-old Francie and make sure her mother is hospitalized. You can read more about it at Goodreads. When I left her, Francie was 27 and considering a life change while reflecting on two strange things she saw as a child. I was captivated at first, then bored. I kept putting the book down and not wanting to pick it up, so I gave up around p. 70 or so. But, the book has a wide range of reviews/ratings. Some consider it magical. Some found it dull or middling. I liked Bender's writing enough that I'd like to try reading some of her other work. This one just didn't work for me. 

56. Dust by Dusti Bowling - Dust is about a girl named Avalyn who has asthma and nearly died of an asthma attack when she was living in Tulsa, as a toddler. So, her parents moved to a desert town with little wind and surrounded by mountains to avoid dust storms, a place that didn't grow allergens like ragweed. She's now in middle school. When a new boy named Adam arrives at school, dust storms appear at the same time. Avalyn is an empath who can feel someone's emotions by touching them. She knows something is horribly wrong in Adam's life, but not exactly what that is. He's quiet and unwilling to talk about his life, even when they slowly become friends. She's convinced that if she can absorb emotions, Adam has an equal ability to cause dust storms. But, in order to help him, she's going to have to betray his wishes. A story of bullying and sexual abuse, this middle grade book reminds children that it's more important to say something and get help, whether you're being abused or someone you know is, than to keep secrets. I love Dusti Bowling's books; they have heart. Avalyn is a likable character and so are her friends, all of whom are bullied. My only complaint about this book is that Avalyn's preparing for a spelling bee but the lengthy spelling words often aren't defined (a handful are). A glossary would have been a good addition. 

57. Hedy's Journey: The True Story of a Hungarian Girl Fleeing the Holocaust by Michelle Bisson and El Primo Ramón - An excellent true story about the author's mother, who escaped Hungary during WWII. Beginning her journey alone by train after her family had fled ahead of her, Hedy traveled to Austria and then flew to Spain. There, she met up with her family and they managed a number of obstacles on their way to life in the US. The book is written for youngsters as it's a picture book but there's additional information, lots of photos of Hedy and her family, and a glossary. A five-star read, in my opinion, very clearly written and gripping with subdued but lovely illustrations. 

58. Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico - Anna and Tom are Millenials, digital nomads from Southern Europe who have chosen to live in Berlin. There, they do graphic design from home and hang out with a circle of expats. They first move from one apartment to another and then when they settle, occasionally go on working vacations and rent out the apartment. They collect plants because doing so is an in thing. They go to art galleries and farmers' markets with their group. But, they're always searching for something elusive, a kind of perfection that they can never quite grasp. I read Perfection because my elder son gave it 5 stars and told me I should read it. At first, I found it pedestrian and dry. Reading it was like watching grass grow. But, then my Millenial son and I talked about the first half of the book and seeing it through his eyes made me realize there were scenes I enjoyed. I just had to bluster through the prose bits that didn't thrill me. When I finished, we discussed again and I have to say . . . reading and discussing with your grown children is such a joy. We had latched onto many of the same scenes, finding them hilarious in a subtle/understated way. It took me a week to read 115 pages of Perfection but now I can't stop thinking about it.

59. The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love by bell hooks - This month's selection for the Contemplative Reading Project is a book about how patriarchal society does damage to both men and women, how the first feminist movement either overlooked men or treated them with hatred, how we (both men and women) indoctrinate our children into the patriarchy, and what the author proposes to create a healthier society. The most fascinating thing about this book to me was that it's so accurate to what I've seen and experienced that I was noticing the way she describes people talking about the patriarchy/men absolutely everywhere -- in the news, social media, books and movies, even the old letters I've been reading. And, I agree with her about how our societal view of masculinity and how we raise boys needs to change, but I dislike the term "feminist masculinity". There is a growing movement of misogynists/women haters and I think their rage towards women dictates a need to leave feminism out of the terminology. My opinion. An amazing read and one I plan to reread to mark up for future reference. Highly recommended. It would require some major societal buy-in to make change happen so I encourage everyone to read and discuss this book. 

60. Room on the Sea by André Aciman - Room on the Sea begins with a man trying to see what the woman next to him is reading. They've been called up for jury duty and are stuck beside each other, so they chat. Then, they start getting coffee together, lunch, breakfast, taking long walks and chatting about their love of Naples, their frustrations. They are charmed by each other but they're also both married and, yes, both feeling adrift from their partners. The question slowly becomes, "Will they or won't they?" Will they ditch their partners or have an affair? Will they take off to Italy together? A very short novel (or maybe novella; I'm not sure) at 158 pages, I liked the simple, straightforward writing and the banter but the answer to the "Will they or won't they?" question . . . I didn't care for the direction it went and that's obviously a personal preference. Still, I'm glad I read it because it was a light, quick read that gave me a little bit of a brain break. Read for Tiny Book Group on the Fable app. 

61. The Book of Delights by Ross Gay - I really enjoyed Ross Gay's Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude, so when Books & Pie Carrie asked if I'd like her copy of The Book of Delights, I answered with an enthusiastic YES. And, what a delight it turned out to be, a total upper of a book. The Book of Delights is a collection of essays about things that delight the author. One of his biggest delights, which makes frequent appearances, is his love of plants, gardening, and nature. I'm a total tree-hugging, "Protect Our Natural Resources" kind of gal, so those were among my favorites. There were a couple essays I didn't love but so many more that I did that I gave it the full 5 stars. Also, it's worth mentioning that reading The Book of Delights helped me with a writing challenge I've been trying to tackle, so I doubly appreciate getting to read it. 

Update on my yearly goals: 

1. Book-buying ban - Oopsy, this year's ban is sooo not going well. Having said that, I think the only book I bought this month was Room on the Sea and that was for a book group, so it's acceptable. Still, I count 5 books from this month's reads that were recently purchased, which doesn't help with #2.

2. Read from the bedroom stacks - Sigh. Only two books came from the bedroom stacks: Dust by Dusti Bowling and The Ice Monster by David Walliams. Hedy's Journey is a book I found while cleaning a room, so we'll say it also counts since it's one I already owned and the objective is to read books I already own. The Book of Delights was brought to me recently and promptly added to the bedroom stacks but that's cheating. 

3. Read some specific books I've been wanting to read - Not completed, but yes I'm reading one of my planned books, The Hunt for Red October, and it will absolutely be finished by the end of June, so I'll say that's a 1/2-yes on this goal. 

4. Read one Persephone title per month - Ah, darn. Nope. This is the first month I've failed to read a Persephone title and it's solely because I had a DNF and a mid-month slump. The beginning of the month was great. I was rolling! And, then . . . nothing. I just couldn't get myself to read or I'd read a few pages of The Hunt for Red October and then either fall asleep or find myself drifting off, thinking about other things and staring at the ceiling like a cat who appears to have spotted a ghost. 

So, basically, this month was an utter failure when it comes to my annual goals (apart from the 1/2-yes of my planned read of a book I've put off forever), and yet I just don't feel like that matters. I'll move on and keep challenging myself to complete each of these goals as the year progresses. Plus, I read some terrific books and I absolutely do not regret buying the ones I bought. I loved most of them and one provided a break from heavier reads. And, best of all, one of the books resulted in a couple of terrific conversations with my eldest son. That's always a win. I highly recommend reading and discussing books with your grown kids, if you can! 

I didn't read any e-books, this month. Incidentally, that chicken in the top photo was made by my daughter-in-law, who is now selling knitted and crocheted things at festivals and the weekly farmers market. Isn't it cute? 

©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 April, 2025

April:

41. Meditations: On the Monk Who Dwells in Daily Life by Thomas Moore - Way back in the 90s, when I had small children and was happy if I could squeeze in a couple books per month, I remember my mother-in-law told me about reading Thomas Moore's Care of the Soul. Maybe I even have a copy, somewhere. I collected books more than I read them, for years. Meditations is one of those I probably bought in that era. Lordy, I do hold onto books. The "meditations" are more like vignettes about meditation than meditations for the reader, but I still enjoyed this book about what it means to be a monk, what Moore's life was like when he was a Catholic monk living in a monastery and how it had an authoritarian structure, why walks in nature and other things like reading and being silent are ways of caring for the soul, and observations about religion — including how hair is cut, curled, or covered to fit religious strictures. A fascinating little book that I sometimes loved, sometimes didn't fully understand, and which is very thought-provoking. 

42. Cat + Gamer, Vol. 7 by Wataru Nadatani - I was perusing Hoopla when I discovered that the 7th volume of Cat + Gamer has been released. The 5th and 6th volumes were a little disappointing but I thought #7 was back to the fun of earlier releases. Riko plays hide and seek with her cats and finds that one is better at the game than the other. She must solve a mystery when she hears a crash noise and discovers that one of the cats has made a mess (while she's in the midst of playing a mystery game). And, she is surprised to find that her boss is entertained by the cats climbing all over her or zipping by the screen when she begins working remotely. She also has to learn how to concentrate to avoid letting the cats distract her from her work in her new home office. A great entry in this series!

43. Whose Boat is This Boat? by The Staff of the Late Show, Stephen Colbert, Andrew Boneta, and John Henry - I was watching The Late Show when Stephen Colbert talked about this crazy book. It has hardly any words in it so I almost feel like it's ridiculous to note it as a book "read" but I'm adding it for posterity. At any rate, I didn't buy a copy at the time it was released, although I probably should have because the profits went to hurricane victims. Instead, I happened to find a copy when I was working as a volunteer at our local library sale. It made me laugh so I brought it home to show to my husband and I'll undoubtedly re-donate it in May. The words are actual verbatim quotes by the president and I do recall that he asked about a boat that had been washed ashore during a hurricane. Silly, but a fun read that takes about 2 minutes, max. Great for reading to impatient cats. 

44. The Eights by Joanna Miller - Beatrice, Dora, Otto, and Marianne are among the first women allowed to attend Oxford University to obtain a degree in 1920. As they get to know each other, dive into their studies, and learn the strict rules that are meant to keep them from interacting too much with the men of Oxford, secrets are revealed, challenges faced, and yes, there is a little bit of romance and heartbreak. I absolutely loved the friendships, the setting, the challenges each faced as individuals and collectively as women dealing with misogyny, and the historical context (what's genuine and not is described in the author's afterword). Included are a glossary, a map, and a bibliography. An excellent work of historical fiction based on real-life events and favorite, so far in 2025. 

45. Normal Rules Don't Apply: Stories by Kate Atkinson - An interconnected set of short stories that begins with an apocalyptic tale called "The Void", this quirky set of stories are absolutely my kind of storytelling. It took me a while to become aware of the interconnections — sometimes as little as a word or the brief appearance of a character caught my eye — but once you start to see how things are connected, those connections and the through-line become even more fascinating. Jumping back and forth in time, you read the stories of an old man and his dog, an actress who falls for a prince, a man who takes advice from a talking dog, and a queen whose wish for a baby parallels with the story of a family with six children crammed into a vicarage, among others. And, throughout, there are mentions of The Void, a killing event that keeps recurring. But, why is it happening? Darkly humorous and smart storytelling. I found this book in the library sale and snatched it up so fast anyone nearby probably only saw a blur. It's worth keeping for a reread. Next time, I'll go into it knowing the ending and watching for the connections earlier on. 

46. Castle of Water by Dane Huckelbridge - Three passengers and a pilot are en route from Tahiti to a small island in the Pacific when a storm arrives. Only two survive the crash after a lightning strike but they end up on the same uninhabited and isolated island. Barry and Sophie hate each other. Sophie is  French architect grieving the husband lost in the plane crash, and Barry an American who has just left his high-paying job. The island they've landed on is small and has limited food and fresh water. Will Barry and Sophie ever figure out how to get along? And, if they do, will they survive and make it off the island? Will someone come to rescue them or will they have to figure out a way to leave their island home? By far one of the best "stranded on a desert isle" books I've read. The author has a lighthearted touch and I thought the character growth was believable. Tragic but with a beautiful, uplifting ending. 

47. Becoming Dr. Q by Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa - This memoir provides a fascinating look into how one man left difficult circumstances in Mexico, jumped the fence to the US to work in the fields, and eventually became a brain surgeon. Obviously, he's a pretty brilliant man to be able to learn a new language while studying and arrive at Harvard a mere decade after he arrived in the US. But, he's also impressively driven and upbeat and this helped both Dr. Q, as he's known, and his family to survive the long hours of medical school and residency to become one of the country's foremost brain surgeons, teachers, and researchers. At the time of publication, Dr. Q was working at Johns Hopkins (in 2012) and he had a lab for studying and trying to find a cure for brain cancer. I don't know if the lab still exists as he's moved on to Mayo in Florida and mentioned the importance of both NIH grants and the NIH database in his work. An excellent, clearly written book about a remarkable man, acquired for discussion in one of my book groups. 

48. Modern Poetry by Diane Suess - Modern Poetry is one of those volumes of poetry that I've got mixed feelings about. The words that kept coming to me as I was reading were "unflinchingly honest and raw". Friend Buddy calls it "confessional poetry" and that is certainly accurate to the style. I came away from the reading feeling like I understand the poet, her motivations, her frustrations, and some of what life has taught her. But, at times it was a little too raw for me, personally. That's a very individual thing, obviously. In general, her poetry is very accessible, something I appreciated. I particularly liked reading about her visit to the home in which Keats died in Italy and her thoughts about marriage and how she's grown cynical and uninterested in it. I'm glad I read Modern Poetry. It was this month's selection for Buddy's Contemplative Reading Project. 

49. The Wartime Book Club by Kate Thompson - The story of two women on the isle of Jersey during WWII: a librarian and a postal worker. Bea and Grace are the best of friends. Bea works at the post office, as the first female postal worker, and Grace has taken over the job of head librarian since her friend and boss, Ash, was evacuated from the island of Jersey. During the occupation of Jersey, they are involved in small but dangerous acts of defiance against the Nazis. While I didn't consider the writing style all that good (it was a bit wobbly, in my opinion), the characterization was terrific and the story gripping. The pages absolutely flew. So, I ended up loving this book in spite of its flaws. There is quite a bit of extra material at the end of the book that explains which bits are true and where the author took creative license. 

50. Wilfred and Eileen by Jonathan Smith - Wilfred and Eileen meet on his last night at Cambridge. Wilfred is intending to become a surgeon and Eileen is dating his friend, David. I don't want to give anything away but their story is one of long walks and a love that is not considered appropriate by either set of parents. Wilfred goes off to war in 1914 and is severely injured. He's never the same but Eileen is a strong woman and loves him fiercely; and, Wilfred is an energetic, lively, and determined man. Lovely, gut-wrenching, and heartwarming. A wonderful story of love and determination to survive against the odds, based on a true story told to the author by one of his students and researched with the approval and help of Wilfred and Eileen's descendants. 

51. This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone - Blue and Red travel up and down the strands of time, where they are on opposing sides of the time war, altering history for the sake of whatever purpose their leaders prefer. This often means killing characters who originally survived, like stopping the murderers of Caesar and taking the killers out instead of letting Caesar die. The two time travelers cross paths frequently and through notes hidden in ever more obscure places and objects, they will become unexpectedly connected. Read for Tiny Book Group on the Fable app. My thanks to Carrie of Care's Books and Pie, who told me not to worry about the details and instead enjoy the poetry of the book's writing. Yep, that worked. 

While I didn't read as much as I'd hoped (there are two books I was trying to slip in before the end of the month and then . . . sigh . . . I was too tired to read for a couple days) but the quality was pretty high. The Eights, Normal Rules Don't Apply, Castle of Water, The Wartime Book Club, and Wilfred and Eileen were my absolute favorites. Becoming Dr. Q was also excellent and particularly relevant as it's about an immigrant; it was my selection for book group discussion and I chose it because it highlights what we lose by deporting people randomly. It was not long after Dr. Q arrived that President Reagan offered amnesty to people who had entered the country illegally. Had he been rounded up and deported like what's happening today, we would have lost one of the country's most prominent brain surgeons. Everything else was very good (although Whose Boat is This Boat? is just silly). I didn't dislike any of the books I read and didn't have any DNFs, this month. So, I consider it a decent reading month. 

Update on my yearly goals:

1. Book-buying ban - This month was an utter failure. I decided to toss in a few extra books when I bought next month's book for the Contemplative Reading Project (so . . . 4 books purchased, I think?). Add to that the many I brought home from the library sale, which is allowed, and then . . . oh, darn. I saw an ad that had a book in it that I absolutely wanted to read right now, maybe yesterday, plus there was another book that has been driving me crazy with desire and two others I've been planning to eventually buy. So, another 4. Altogether, I brought home more than I can read in a month. However, I have at least 6 boxes of books, 2 bags (one for Kiddo to go through — entirely cookbooks), and a stack that are all ready to go out the door. So, the failure of my book-buying ban is being nicely offset by a good bit of vigorous weeding. 

2. Read from the bedroom stacks - I ditched this goal but still managed to read 3 from the bedroom stacks. Not enough but better than zero. 

3. Read some specific books I've been wanting to read - Nope. But, I've picked one for next month. 

4. Read one Persephone title per month - Success! I almost missed out on this one because the book I chose for April was not calling to me. Finally, I decided I should go back to the library and find a different title, Wilfred and Eileen. Fantastic choice! It's a quick read, which was perfect since I didn't get around to choosing a new title till the end of the month, and it is also a very moving, beautiful story of love and war. 

Not a great month for yearly reading goals but hopefully May will be an improvement. 

©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. 

The Eights by Joanna Miller

Beatrice, Dora, Otto, and Marianne are among the first women allowed to attend Oxford University to obtain a degree, in 1920. Other women have attended but not been allowed to receive degrees and there is still plenty of prejudice against their presence at the university. Their rooms are in the eighth corridor of their building and as they get to know each other, they're quickly labeled "The Eights" because of their lodgings. 

As a tight friendship develops, the women dive into their studies, and learn the strict rules that are meant to keep them from interacting too much with the men of Oxford, secrets are revealed, challenges faced, and yes, there is a little bit of romance and heartbreak. They are slightly older than most matriculating students because they did their part during WWI and each is aware that there are far more women than men of their age living in Great Britain due to the war's deadly annihilation of young men. 

When I started reading The Eights, I had a little difficulty keeping the characters straight in my head because it takes a little time to get to know them. I set the book aside for a few days and then located a notebook in which I wrote mini-bios of each of the women, which helped me separate them in my mind until their personalities became clear. And, then I enjoyed the reading so much that I took my time and just immersed myself in their world. 

I absolutely loved the friendships, the atmosphere, the challenges each faced as individuals and as women dealing with misogyny, and the historical context (what's genuine and not is described in the author's afterword). Included are a glossary, a map, and a bibliography. 

Highly recommended - Definitely one of my favorite reads, so far in 2025. The release date is just a few days away, April 15. An excellent piece of historical fiction based on real-life events, great for fans of historical fiction that's immersive, a great learning experience, and features strong friendships, excellent writing (sometimes I'd stop to reread sentences; I loved the author's unique turn of phrase) with a satisfying ending. I did a lot of googling of buildings to get a good look at the scenery and feel like I've just returned from Oxford, England. I can't wait to see what Joanna Miller writes next. 

I received a copy of The Eights from the publisher, Penguin Random House (thank you!), in exchange for an unbiased review and it's the first review book that I've requested in almost 2 years. Wow, did I choose well! 

©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 March, 2025

March:

29. The Lost Library by Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead - Evan is preparing to graduate from 5th grade    and he's a little nervous about middle school. Mortimer the cat guards the last books from the former Martinville library (which burned many years ago), watching over his library cart. When Al, the assistant librarian, decides to build a Little Free Library with the books from Mortimer's book cart, everything begins to change. Evan takes two books from the LFL home and makes some discoveries that make him realize that there's a mystery afoot. A famous author once checked out a book from the Martinville library, all the books in the Little Free Library were checked in on the same date, and one of the books was checked out by his father Why doesn't his father want to talk about the famous author and the library? Who was the "dear boy" beloved by the librarians who perished in the fire? What's the famous author's real name? And, who is in the mysterious Polaroid photo tucked inside one of the books? Ghosts, books, a cat (never did figure out if the cat was dead or alive, although I lean toward alive) and a mystery. I loved everything about this book. Highly recommended. Thanks to Carl (@steel_droppings on Instagram) for the recommendation. I'm keeping this one for a reread. 

30. Women by Chloé Caldwell - When an unnamed narrator moves from her mother's country house to the big city, she is at first unsure what she will end up doing but then she meets Finn and gets a job in a local library. The narrator believes herself to be bisexual but she falls hard for Finn, a woman who already has a long-term girlfriend, and they begin a torrid affair. Apparently known as a cult classic amongst lesbians, I read this novella with the Tiny Book Club on Fable as an ebook via Hoopla. Y'all know I'm not into spicy scenes — and there are quite a few for such a short book — but what I liked about the book was the emotional upheaval of the narrator as she became obsessed with her lover while knowing that they could never end up together. Also, while there's plenty of talk about what it means to be a gay woman, the story of a tumultuous affair with no chance of becoming a permanent relationship would have worked regardless of the characters' genders; the writing is strong. I may have skimmed a bit of the spice but this novella is a super quick read. 

31. The Ghost Cat by Alex Howard - I bought this book after reading that it was billed as a perfect read for those who enjoyed Before the Coffee Gets Cold and How to Stop Time, both of which I read and enjoyed. I was disappointed with The Ghost Cat. Grimalkin is an old Victorian cat who was rescued by Eilidh, the charlady at 7/7 Marchmont Crescent in Edinburgh. Grimalkin didn't get to live all of his 9 lives, so he's offered the opportunity to return as a ghost and experience those 9 lives or go on to a sort of cat heaven. Grimalkin chooses to live his 9 lives but for most of them he's restricted to the flat at Marchmont Crescent. For 3 of his lives, he may explore. What I liked about The Ghost Cat was that it gives the reader glimpses into the history of a particular building and Edinburgh itself, with occasional historical footnotes. Unfortunately, the book is not cohesive. Each chapter is one cat life, with no real segue between them. There are also some strange anachronisms, like the cat dislikes a man so he deletes his stock purchases on a laptop. I did love the ending, which clearly ties the book to the author's life as a lover of historical buildings, cats, and the final resident in the flat. And, I loved Eilidh (ay-lee) and how her story was wrapped up. But, I repeatedly considered abandoning the book because it felt so jerky and incomplete. 

32. Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa - A reread for one of my book groups, Sweet Bean Paste is about Sentaro, who is stuck working at a Tokyo shop that sells dorayaki (pancakes with sweet bean paste) to pay off debt after being released from prison. The shop is not overly profitable, possibly because he uses pre-made sweet bean paste. Then, one day an elderly woman named Tokue asks for a job. She's been making sweet bean paste for 50 years and maybe she can help. The young schoolgirls who come to the shop love Tokue, her sweet bean paste is much better than the pre-made, and business improves until Tokue's secret is revealed. I don't want to give too much away but the story is moving and bittersweet. It's not entirely a "found family" story but it has the feel of one, in that the three main characters become close as they share their pasts and reveal their secrets. But, the author's note makes it clear the book is about everyone having value, regardless of how long they live or what one accomplishes. I gave it 4 stars the first time I read Sweet Bean Paste and then put my copy on the "good shelves" so I knew exactly where to find it for rereading. This time, I loved the story even more. I knew what was coming but it touched me even more deeply and there were even some tears. Highly recommended. 

33. McSweeney's #70, ed. by Boyle, Eggers, and Yeh - This volume of McSweeney's started out great. I loved the first story, mostly because of one particularly quirky thing that happens which feels like the kind of thing you normally see happen in real life that nobody would believe (highlight to see the details): a woman comes to the main character's apartment, asks to borrow a vacuum cleaner, and then is never heard from again. The second story, "The Serranos" is excellent. And, I loved the series of photos of lava and coral being sent back to Hawaii with apologies to Madame Pele, which I presume is also a fictional piece. The second half went downhill and I actually couldn't finish one of the stories as I had no idea what was going on. There were bits that were funny or interesting and yet . . . what the heck was it? So, in the end this turned out to be an issue I kind of hated, which I don't think the better stories deserved. 

34. A House in the Country by Jocelyn Playfair - My Persephone book choice of the month is a story about a widow who rents rooms to people who are displaced by WWII for various reasons and the characters who are living with her or visiting. Cressida Chance and her son John live on a large country estate in a beautiful Georgian house with gardens, a stable, and a forest nearby. She is generous by nature, a terrific cook, very casual and kind so guests are treated to delicious meals in the kitchen and there are usually beautiful arrangements of flowers around the house. Some of the guests are men who report for duty nearby, one is apparently an Eastern European who escaped the Nazis and had a horrific experience, and at least one has a baby and a husband serving in Africa. This book starts off slowly then picks up around the time Cressida's Aunt Jessie shows up with only a day's warning. There are intermittent reminders of the war — the bombing of a village, people having to slow down their horses to get by the tanks, and the fall of Tobruk, for example, as well as a parallel story about the real owner of the house who is the only survivor of a ship that sank in flames. The title is misleading as it sounds placid but war is all around, even out in the country. It's not surprising that this book is so authentic as it was written in 1943, a year after Tobruk. While I felt like it was a bit too philosophical (lots of long conversations that I found a bit dreary), it is absolutely amazing for the way the author sets the stage and gives you an understanding of how deeply WWII's presence was felt in England. 

35. McSweeney's #77, ed. by Eggers and Yeh - A new favorite issue, shorter than usual but with above average stories. Favorites were "Hell is a Thousand Eyeballs" by Icarus Koh and "Cote de Nuits" by James Kaelan. I also enjoyed the (very creepy) surrealist art, inside and out. The cover is probably one of my all-time favorites. It reflects the quirky interior well. 

36. Mare's War by Tanita S. Davis - Marey Boylen, aka "Mare" and her two granddaughters are driving from California to Alabama for a family reunion. The girls, both teens, don't really want to go. But, as Mare is driving, she tells the story of her time in the 6888th Postal Battalion of the Women's Army Corps for African American women soldiers during WWII. In the 1940s, at 17, Mare's home life is difficult. Her father is dead, her mother is an alcoholic and has a dangerous boyfriend. When her mom's boyfriend attacks her little sister Josephine (who goes by "Feen"), Mare is determined to protect her. Then, when Feen is sent to live with an aunt, Mare decides she has to protect herself. She lies about her age and joins the army, where she learns new skills and makes friends while dealing with challenges like bombs falling nearby and stormy ship rides, cold temperatures and lots of Spam. While I was reading this YA —which is fiction but we all know African Americans were involved in the war effort and then kept from collecting on the promised GI Bill benefits -- the current US Administration was erasing files containing the history of women, blacks, and other minorities. I didn't hear about the erasure of history till I was well into the book but it certainly felt like amazing timing. I really enjoyed this book because so much happens and I like reading different perspectives of WWII. My only problem with it was the use of vernacular, which was entirely necessary because Mare was telling her own story. It just slowed me down a bit. 

37. Deenie by Judy Blume - Deenie is 13, beautiful, and a bit judgmental. Her classmate with excema probably has something worse than she says. Allergies? Pah. The old lady with the hunchback is just gross. And, she can't imagine being singled out to ride on the special bus like the girl who was in an automobile accident. Deenie's mother wants her to be a model. She's the pretty one and her sister Helen is the smart child. So, when Deenie's gym teacher notices something strange about her posture and it turns out she will have to wear a back brace for years, she's bereft. But, now that she's got a deformity of her own, she sees others in a different light. Simple writing but a good story with a great theme about accepting others' flaws. I was most interested in the way the two sisters were labeled (because my parents did the same) and how their relationship changed a bit when Deenie was upset; plus the 7th-grade boy crush took me back to my youth. But I did appreciate the way Deenie came to her senses and realized that people are just people. 

38. My Jasper June by Laurel Snyder - It's summer break and for once, Leah isn't going to camp. Instead, she's stuck at home alone while her parents work. At first, she doesn't know what to do with herself. She wouldn't be in this boat if she hadn't made the biggest mistake of her life. But, nothing has been the same since. Then, she meets Jasper at the local farm. Jasper is a ray of sunshine and Leah wants her to be her friend. But, Jasper has a secret and she's a little evasive about her life. When Leah finds out Jasper's secret and reveals her own pain, a bond is forged. But, Jasper's life is complicated and Leah is unsure what to do to help her new friend. Recommended by Carrie of Care's Books and Pie. Thanks! I loved this story, the way the author interwove two real-life stories from her own experience. And, the ending was surprising and perfect. I read this moving middle grade book as an e-book via Hoopla. It made my eyes leak. 

39. The Way of the Househusband, Vol. 11 by Kousuke Oono - The 11th in this manga series is every bit as entertaining as the earlier volumes with Tatsu and his wife visiting a theme park and running into friends, with whom Tatsu obviously has to compete while the women look on boggle-eyed. In other stories, kitty Gin gets a bath because it's humid and the cat smells musty, Masa gets a new apartment with surprising extras, and the prospect of a fancy steak meal helps Tatsu and his wife get through a difficult day. Loads of fun. I gave it 4 stars but I think I'll go back and switch that to 5/5 because there was nothing at all I disliked (except perhaps the overuse of the word "product"). 

40. Lake Life by David James Poissant - The story of a dysfunctional family coming to terms with their heartbreak and flaws but trying to overcome them with love. The characters are mostly unlikeable, flawed people. But, skillful writing made the more uncomfortable scenes tolerable (for the most part — there was one part I skimmed due to the ick) and the story is compelling. I have a feeling the Starling family will stick with me for a long time. Trigger warning for child death. 

Not a great month, quantity-wise, but certainly an interesting one. Favorites of the month were A House in the Country, The Lost Library, My Jasper June, Sweet Bean Paste, Lake Life, and Mare's War. 

Sweet Bean Paste was my only reread and it's going right back onto the good shelves. My Jasper June was recommended by Carrie of Care's Books and Pie for the #ICT2025 reading challenge (ICT is Wichita; I enjoyed the 2024 challenge, although I didn't succeed at finishing every item but so far so good in 2025). And, while Lake Life was an uncomfortable read, the writing was exceptional and I loved the ending. I read David James Poissant's short stories (some of which are now being made into a film), The Heaven of Animals (link leads to my review), many years ago as an ARC and was mightily impressed so I'm looking forward to future releases by Poissant. 

Challenge-wise, I read only 4 off my targeted stacks and my Persephone book of the month. We recently shifted some books out of the bedroom (um . . . cookbooks; they were cookbooks that had overflowed the kitchen shelves) so I did some major book moving and decided something to the effect of screw this about the dresser piles. I don't like reading from specific piles. I will still attempt to read first from the piles on the dresser and the ones I moved to take the place of the cookbooks that I shifted back into the kitchen area, where we added some new shelves. But, if I don't see anything that calls to me, that's fine. I'll look elsewhere. I let books call to me in 2024 and holes opened up on shelves, books were moved from the floor; it was positive. So, I'm returning to that method and kinda sorta halfway abandoning the stacks-on-the-dresser self-challenge. My personal challenges to read a Persephone book each month and a few titles I've meant to read for ages are ongoing. 

In other news, I'm still enjoying volunteering at my local library's monthly book sales but I skipped working in March. However, our sales are always held at the beginning of the month and I'm scheduled to work, this weekend. Yippee! I've also been taking an online art summit, painting and doing occasional collage, and had a bit of fun at the Pop Shelf Going Out of Business sale. Favorite purchases were the matching melamine platters, plates, and tiny bowls (meant for sauce but we use them to hold any small serving, like nuts or dates) for use on the patio. Biting and stinging things are out, now, but we're supposed to have a brief cool front coming soon so we may sneak in a few more outdoor days before we're stuck inside for the summer. And, our health-challenged old lady kitties (now 14 and 15 years old) are still hanging in there. 

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. 

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.