I read a lot. It’s my favorite thing. Always has been.
The publishing company BookBaby recently posted an interesting (REALLY REALLY INTERESTING TO ME!) article about the different reading habits among 5 generations of Americans. (Turns out that although I am in the Boomers, my fiction preferences match the X-ers and nonfiction match the Silents.)
I keep track of most of what I’ve been reading on GoodReads, which I joined (it’s free) in 2013 (WHAT??? TEN YEARS AGO??) It is a great place to learn about books, to see what people you follow are reading and what they think about it. (It also has the unthinking quick rude opinions like much of social media, but you can skip that part.)
You can see how other people rate the books and you can also rate them from one to five stars. Because I know how enormously difficult it is to write a book, much less get it published, I have stopped rating books unless I have very strong reasons to give one star or if I really loved it and give it four or five stars. (I am difficult to please, and the fives are few.)
Here is a list of books that I have rated four or five in the past several months, with links to their descriptions on GoodReads. I don’t think you have to be a member (with yet another dreaded user name and password) in order to see book descriptions.
All of these were library books except for #6.
- We are Called to Rise, Laura McBride. This is a novel with complete and believable characters that grabbed me in the heart. It’s one with individual stories of different people who all get tied together at the end.
- Kinsey and Me: Stories, Sue Grafton. I loved all the Kinsey books, the alphabetic mystery series with the main character you just wanted to hang out with. Sue died before finishing the alphabet, so I was thrilled to find anything at all that reconnected me with my fictional BFF.
- When Your Mother Doesn’t, Jill Kelly. This is another novel that grabbed me in the heart, where you just root for all you are worth for a happy ending. (Read it yourself—I’m not telling!)
- Normal Family: On Truth, Love, and How I Met My 35 Siblings, Crysta Bilton. Memoir is my favorite genre of nonfiction, and this is a strange strange story.
- How to Think, Alan Jacobs. Well written, thought provoking (duh), little glimpses of humor.
- Aging Faithfully, Alice Fryling. This one is deep enough that I had to write notes all throughout and read it twice. I also emailed the author to learn what her number is on the Enneagram (she counsels in this personality typing system) and her age when she wrote it so I could better understand her perspective. She replied!
- The War That Saved My Life, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. This is a kid’s fiction book (Young Adult?) based during WWII in England. It also has a sequel.
- As Bright As Heaven, Susan Meissner. A novel about the flu epidemic of 1918, published in 2018 BEFORE THE CORONA VIRUS! I love Susan Meissner’s novels, almost as much as Maeve Binchy. (Susan is alive and still writing.)
- Caroline: Little House Revisited, Sarah Miller. As a kid, I loved and reread Little House books. They were a guaranteed bookish escape when I couldn’t find anything new in the Ivanhoe Library in the kids section. This book shows another side to the Ingalls family adventures and characters, giving a more complete picture of their story. I gave this book 5 stars (but since the hourglass of my life is more empty than full, won’t be rereading it.)
- The Happiness Equation: Want Nothing + Do Anything = Have Everything, Neil Pasricha. (This is the man who writes the blog 1000 Awesome Things.) He helps to simplify big thoughts, and the book is full of practical charts that he calls “scribbles” which help you figure out things like how to make fewer decisions. I bought it so that I can write inside.
Do you have any book recommendations for me? Do you want to be “friends” on GoodReads? (Hi Donna. 😎)
8 Comments
You knew I’d read this list, didn’t you – ha,ha. So I looked over my spreadsheet of books read this year. I try to get to 25 a year but fell short (again) this year. So many good things to do in this life. I have at least two to recommend to you:
Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus by Lois Tverberg. She is a Jewish theologian – that was a mouthful in just 5 words. I went to a Christian high school and college, so my perspective on the Bible has a slant, which I wanted to broaden. Great pick. She has other books, one of which is waiting on my Kindle.
Circling the Sun by Paula McLain in Audible. I can “share” that with you if you like. Great company while I was hand-cracking my haul of walnuts this November. I have been a fan of Beryl Markham and can tell you when the ghost writer husband stepped in and started writing her books without letting the publisher know who was writing. If you haven’t read West with the Night, start there. Markham’s books are all memoir and beautifully written. If you don’t know Markham, she was the first woman to fly across the Atlantic from England, among many other firsts. (I’ve given WWTN to several teenage girls.) All that to say Circling the Sun turned out to be fiction but I listened to the whole story without discerning the truth. It was read by Katharine McEwan who carried me away into the African plains, through Markham’s childhood, horses, loves and soaring. CTS isn’t for teens but you have good moral boots.
If you get to any of these, let’s have tea! All my best wishes to you and Trail Guy for 2023!
Donna, thank you so much for your excellent book review/response! I will make a note of Lois Tverberg’s book. I have read both of the Beryl Markham books; my main takeaway was learning why zebras don’t make good pets, something I have wondered about. I read over 100 books a year, so don’t retain a ton. It’s a disappointment, but I can’t seem to stop reading/slamming books at an alarming rate of speed. So many books, so much information, so many stories, so many things to learn, so many interesting people. . .
P.S. I thoroughly enjoyed Beryl’s books and had no idea as to a ghost writer, nor did I remember that Circling the Sun was fiction!
I used to be a voracious reader when I was young. I don’t know what happened, but about the only time I sit down and purposely read is when I’m at the cabin and there are no e-distractions available. That’s really a shame, isn’t it?
Currently, on my to-read stack (which may not happen until, oh, June or July), purchased because they came highly recommended are:
The Doubting Believer by Obadiah Sedgwick (written in 1641 but comes highly recommended as just as fresh for today’s Christian)
The Faith of Queen Elizabeth by Dudley Delffs (a Christmas gift)
When Breath Becomes Air by Dr. Paul Kalanithi (diagnosed with lung cancer; what makes life worth living in the face of death)
Dawn at Mineral King Valley by Daniel P. Selmi (no justification needed!)
Sharon, that sounds like a problem with an easy remedy.
About your To Be Read (TBR) stack: I would have a very hard time pushing through anything written in 1641; might be vaguely interested in Queen Elizabeth; I listened to When Breath Becomes Air (very hard because had recently lost my bro-in-law); couldn’t get through Dawn because of too many names and legal things that I couldn’t keep straight. HOWEVER, Trail Guy began it, liked it (but not enough to plow through) and decided to take it up the hill next summer. It will be an excellent reference, except there are a few things that are wrong! (I’ll email you)
I’m assuming (hoping) the 17th Century language has been updated so modern readers can understand (e.g., trying to read Shakespeare in its original dialect, ugh)!
Just curious–Anglicans tend to believe in a works-based salvation, but we’ll see.
A fellow cancer survivor recommended it as an interesting perspective, but yes, it may be a hard read (cf. my mother)
Uh-oh, too many facts and figures make for a hard read. Oh well, at least I supported the MKPS through my purchase!
You might do better with the MK book because you were involved with MK when it took place. I didn’t show up until 1985, although I heard from little friends my whole life, “This is our last summer at the cabin”.
I remember my brother being very upset about the whole “will we still have our cabin by next summer?” uncertainty. I told him that I pretend every summer is our last, and plan my visits accordingly. It was a stressful time, to be sure!
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