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.
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