Reading is not the Challenge: 2026

Tuesday, March 31, 2026

March 2026

Birthday book in a not-so-plain brown wrapper.

It was a winner!

Fiction:

The Bells of Bruges by Rodenbach, Georges; translated from the French by Mitchell, Mike

Kin by Jones, Tayari

Excellent!
When the Cranes Fly South by Ridzén, Lisa; translated from the Swedish by Menzies, Alice

Super end-of-life story.

A Far-Flung Life by Stedman, M.L.

I really liked this multi generation novel set in Western Australia.

Wake Now in the Fire: A Graphic Novel by Dapier, Jarrett; illustrated by Dungo, A.J.

A graphic novel about the banning of a graphic novel.

The Seven O'Clock Club Ireland, Amelia

Group therapy with a twist. I didn't see that coming!

Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests by Whittle, K.J.

Another twisty one, This group is not in therapy but maybe they ought to be.

The Singer's Gun by Mandel, Emily St. John

Very good.

All the World Can Hold by Yun, Jung

A cruise from Boston to Bermuda during the week following 9/11/2001. Told from three POVs: a has been TV actor on a cast reunion gig; a Korean family observing the mother's 70th birthday; and a grad student with a bad roommate situation.

Hot Air by Dermansky, Marcy

Goofy, farce-like weekend involving a bunch of wanna bes - wanna be mom, wanna be-writer, wanna be rich, etc. An engaging plot that could have been better executed. Gave it a dubious 2 stars.

Holler, Child: Stories by Watkins, LaToya

Nice collection.
Contents: The Mother - Cutting Horse - Tipping - Moving the Animal - Vigil - Dog Person - Holler, Child - Sweat - Paternal - Everything's Fine - Time After.
Good Evening, Mrs Craven: The Wartime Stories... by Panter-Downes, Mollie
A collection of 21 stories of the English home front; originally published in The New Yorker between September 1939 through December 1944.

The Last Letter of Rachel Ellsworth by O'Neal, Barbara

Unlikely travel companions - a 25 year old athlete and a 50 something newly divorced women - both dealing with grief.

Last Christmas in Paris by Gaynor, Hazel and Webb, Heather

WW2love story.

Lanternfly by Emma Copley Eisenberg

Nonfiction:

Leaving Home: A Memoir in Full Colour by Haddon, Mark

Boring.

Provence, 1970: M.F.K. Fisher, Julia Child, James Beard, and the Reinvention of American Taste by
Barr, Luke

London War Notes, 1939-1945 by Panter-Downes, Mollie

Saturday, February 28, 2026

February 2026

February was a very cold (and snowy) month. Perfect for a comfy chair and a book or two. And I read a book or two, or three, or....

As usual a mixed bag. Some were good, some meh, some excellent, A few (less than usual) rejects which I'm not bothering to list.

There are two entries in my personal prompt "books with the word 'last' in the title." This has now been going for a year and I see no end.

Fiction:

Departure by Barnes, Julian

Really liked this one

The Old Fire by Dusapin, Elisa Shua; translated from the French by Higgins, Aneesa Abbas

Excellent!

The Infamous Gilberts by Tomaski, Angela

A good read about a seriously dysfunctional family.

Meredith, Alone by Alexander, Claire

It's been over three years since Meredith left her house.

Murder Will Out by Breedlove, Jennifer K.

Not just murder; ghosts too. Nice debut mystery.

What a Way to Go by Mackie, Bella

What a fun romp!

A Family Matter by Lynch, Claire

Dual time line (1982-2022) Family breaks up in 1982 when wife leaves husband for a woman. Husband gains custody of their only child (a three year old girl) because of wife's lesbian relationship.

We Run the Tides by Vida, Vendela

So-so coming of age, San Francisco, 1980s,

Listen by Bronwasser, Sacha; translated from the Dutch by Colmer, David

An awful use of the second person narrative style.

The Land in Winter by Miller, Andrew

Not bad, but I wish I'd skipped this one.

In the Shadow of the Greenbrier by Matchar, Emily

Another one I wish I'd skipped. Not bad, but...not good. meh

Fireflies in Winter by Shearer, Eleanor

This historical novel about Jamaican Maroons in Nova Scotia should have been interesting but I was bored.

Her Last Breath by Adams, Taylor

A well paced thriller with as many twists and turns as the cave it is set in.

Her Last Flight by Williams, Beatriz

An OK read.

Nonfiction:

Turtle Island: Foods and Traditions of the Indigenous Peoples of North America by Sherman, Sean

In addition to the information about food and the recipes there is historical and geographical background. An excellent resource.

Cocina Puerto Rico: Recipes from My Abuela’s Kitchen to Yours by Castro, Mia

Another beautiful cookbook.

The Greek House: The Story of a Painter's Love Affair with the Island of Sifnos by Brechneff, Christian

I really enjoyed this.

Talkies by Eddie Cantor; Illustrated by L. T. Holton

Essay in Redbook (magazine) February 1930.

Saturday, January 31, 2026

January 2026

One of my October birthday gifts. I loved it!

A really good reading month - or should I say "months" as it took me over two months to read one of my gifts. Fortunately it isn't something that has to be read straight through and I was able to set it aside now and then to read some library books. Most of them were very good.

Non-fiction was a mix. The two WW2 (one from the ETO and one from the PTO) were both very good. Strata was disappointing.

Fiction:

The Crimson Petal and the White by Faber, Michel

900 marvelous pages

Cursed Daughters by Braithwaite, Oyinkan

Multi-generational tale of a Nigerian family.

The Book of I by Greig, David

"I" doesn't refer to the first person singular, it refers to the Isle of Iona. A place I tried to visit years ago but could only view across a narrow strip of extremely rough water. (The ferryman refused to make the crossing.)
The Weekend Crashers by Brenner, Jamie

Are the guys crashing the knitters' retreat, or are the women crashing the bachelor party? Whichever, high-jinks ensue.
The Rest of Our Lives by Markovits, Benjamin

An impromptu road trip by an ailing man.
The City in Glass by Vo, Nghi

Back in November I wondered if I might start a new theme - Books with "city" in the title. So I picked out a few. I decided not to vigorously pursue the theme, but I glad I considered it because it led me to this great story!
Beasts of the Sea by Turpeinen, Iida; translated from the Finnish by Hackston, David

A fine fictional account of Bearing sea explorations the led to the discovery of Steller’s sea cow..

Is This a Cry for Help? by Austin, Emily

A librarian's struggle with mental illness...
The Last Language by duBois, Jennifer

Meh. Maybe, after a year, it's time to let the "Books with 'last' in the title fade out. I seem to be rejecting or reluctantly reading a lot of them. (see February 2025 post.) No, I'll stick with it since there are five of them on my holds list!

Heart Lamp: Selected Stories by Mushtaq, Banu; translated from the Kannada by Bhasthi, Deepa

A disappointing collection. Maybe something is missing in the translation? It seemed like I was reading the same story over and over.

Contents: Stone slabs for Shaista Mahal - Fire rain - Black cobras - A decision of the heart - Red lungi - Heart lamp - High-heeled shoe - Soft whispers - A taste of heaven - The shroud - The Arabic teacher and Gobi Manchuri - Be a woman once, oh lord!

Nonfiction:

Matisse at War: Art and Resistance in Nazi-Occupied France by Gorham, Christopher C.

Midnight in Broad Daylight: A Japanese American Family Caught Between Two Worlds by Sakamoto, Pamela Rotner

Veteran Who Served for Both Japanese and US Forces Turns 100 by Damask, Kevin

Serendipity. I ran across this news story shortly after I finished reading Midnight in Broad Daylight.

Strata: Stories from Deep Time by Poppick, Laura

This really should have some visuals: photos, charts, timelines, etc. And I don't care what everyone she interview was wearing or how long their hair is.

Ladies' old-fashioned shoes by Greig, T. Watson

Love these shoes!