February 2025

from: The Story of Miss Moppet

 

 

 

I didn't plan it but somehow I ended up reading a bunch (six) books with titles starting with "The Last..." or, in one case, "Last..." plus "Mr. Flood's last...." Most of them were pretty good so I purposely picked up another one to read next month--John Irving's Last Night in Twisted River.  I also  have The Last Ballad by Wiley Cash to read next month. Will this become a thing?

 

None of the "last" books were the best books I read (though most got 3 stars). The first four book listed below were my best (4 star) fiction reads. All four of the nonfiction were worthwhile reads. Looking forward to Josephine Baker's memoir next month. 

Fiction:

Good Dirt by Wilkerson, Charmaine

Time of the Child by Williams, Niall

Isola by Goodman, Allegra

Homeseeking by Chen, Karissa

 

The Last Murder at the End of the World by Turton, Stuart  

The Last Bookstore on Earth by Braun-Arnold, Lily 

Last Twilight in Paris by Jenoff, Pam

The Last Book Party by Dukess, Karen  

The Last Train to Key West (The Perez Family, #3) by Cleeton, Chanel

Nothing in the book indicates that this part of a series. It definitely stands alone.  

The Last Heir to Blackwood Library by Fox, Hester

Mr. Flood's Last Resort by Kidd, Jess 

Not my cuppa...but parts were very good so I'll try more from this author

 

The Music Shop by Joyce, Rachel

About listeners

Musical Chairs by Poeppel, Amy

About music makers 

Loving Donovan by McFadden, Bernice L.

Three Days in June by Tyler, Anne

The Story of Miss Moppet by Potter, Beatrix

 

Nonfiction:

Freedom: Memoirs 1954-2021 by Merkel, Angela with contributor author Baumann, Beate, author. translated from the German by Tetley-Paul, Alice; Searle, Jamie Lee; Heinrich, Jo; Jones, Lucy Renner; Martin, Ruth; Howe, Sharon; Whiteside, Shaun; and Pare, Simon.

Code Noir: Afro-Caribbean Stories and Recipes by Lewis, Lelani

Gorgeous photos, helpful info about ingredients, and loads of recipes I'll probably never try but might order in a restaurant now that I know what they are.

Black in Blues: How a Color Tells the Story of My People by Perry, Imani

In Open Contempt: Confronting White Supremacy in Art and Public Space by Weathersby Jr., Irvin

Not what I expected but well worth the read. This is a very personal (almost a memoir) look at monuments and art in public spaces.

 

Online:

In Each, Every Direction by Martin Piñol

The Last Straw by Vámos, Miklos; translated from the Hungarian by Bori, Ági 

 

January 2025

 

 

A good reading month with lots of variety. Also some nice cover art so I chose three that I thought were especially relevant to the book content.

Fiction:

Going Home by Lamont, Tom

Young orphan boy is unexpectedly put in the care of a single thirty year old man.

All That Is Solid Melts Into Air by McKeon, Darragh 

Chernobyl 

Glassworks by Wolfgang-Smith, Olivia

Apartment Women by Gu, Byeong-mo; translated from the Korean by Kim, Chi-Young

Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder by Mayne, Kerryn
The Estate by Jost, Sarah

Mrs. Quinn's Rise to Fame by Ford, Olivia 

Baking competition

Beyond Summerland by Lecoat, Jenny  

Jersey immediately post WW2. Some dark themes of collaboration, black marketing, and other crimes.

The Narrowboat Summer by Youngson, Anne

 

The Bishop’s Villa by Naspini, Sacha; translated from the Italian by Botsford, Clarissa

Italy, WW2

Rosarita by Desai, Anita 

The Three Lives of Cate Kay by Fagan, Kate
The Minuscule Mansion of Myra Malone by Burges, Audrey   

I See You Everywhere by Glass, Julia   

The Humble Lover by White, Edmund

 

The House with Twelve Rooms: stories by Christova, Stefani

Bulgaria

Contents:  Mrs. Ripley's Exit -- She Believes Me...She Believes Me Not... -- The Coffin with the Eleven-Year-Old Myself -- Richard and Julia -- Suzie Wants to Know the Truth -- Anna's Hair -- Paraskeva's Ghost -- The House With Twelve Rooms.

 

Nonfiction: 

Urban Forests: A Natural History of Trees and People in the American Cityscape by Jonnes, Jill
Sisters in Science by Campbell, Olivia
Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking: A Memoir of Food and Longing by Bremzen, Anya von

 Online: 
Pickled by Sebauer, Johanna translated from the German by Banks, Lillian M. and Sayne, Aaron

December 2024

A good month for reading but not for making notes. Not in the mood to pick a cover either. Maybe I'll come back to edit this psge.

Fiction:

The Secret Keeper by Morton, Kate 

The Once and Future Witches by Harrow, Alix E. 

Rental House by Wang, Weike 

Four Souls by Erdrich, Louise 

The Phoenix Ballroom by Hogan, Ruth 

The Decent Proposal by Donovan, Kemper 

Aliss at the Fire by Fosse, Jon; translated from the Norwegian by Searls, Damion

Brightly Shining by Rishøi, Ingvild H.; translated from the Norwegian by Waight, Caroline

Cutting for Stone by Verghese, Abraham

The Question of Red by Pamuntjak, Laksmi

The Lost Boy of Santa Chionia by Grames, Juliet

The Murders in Great Diddling (Berit Gardner #1) by Bivald, Katarina

The Lake House by Morton, Kate

Maud's House by Roberts, Sherry

The Greenhouse by Ólafsdóttir, Auður Ava 

Territory of Light by Tsushima, Yūko; translated from the Japanese by Harcouty, Geraldine

Poetry:

Mojave Ghost by Gander, Forrest

Nonfiction:

Forged In Fire: Stories of Wartime Japan by Montibon, Rita Tomoko

Cue the Sun!: The Invention of Reality TV by Nussbaum, Emily

When Women Ran Fifth Avenue: Glamour and Power at the Dawn of American Fashion by Satow, Julie

In France Profound: The Long History of a House, a Mountain Town, and a People by Allman, T.D.

Extinct: A Compendium of Obsolete Objects edited by Penner, Barbara

 

November 2024

 

Several  mysteries this month and what a variety of settings and investigators! A  pony in New York (and LA and points inbetween).  Teddy bears in Japan. A Vietnamese women in Paris searching for the man who may be her father. Three generations of women seeking their roots in a Cornwall garden. Treasure searchers in Nova Scotia. A teenage girl tracking down her stolen bear (live, not plush) in New Brunswick. And true (unsolved) crime in the Galápagos. 

Fiction:

Elevator in Sài Gòn by Thuận; translated from the Vietnamese by Nguỹên An Lý

Wonderful! Wandering the streets of Paris. Very like Modiano. Wish I could get more by her.

Playground by Powers, Richard 

Confusing at times but very good.

Blue Light Hours by Dantas Lobato, Bruna 

A quiet gem. A Brazillian mother and daughter try to stay connected while the daughter is at college in the US.

Our Evenings by Hollinghurst, Alan 

Really liked this, though it's not my favorite of his works.

The Forgotten Garden by Morton, Kate

This has everything: family secrets, mystery, a search, romance, artists, a writer, jumping back and forth in time in place, twists and turns. I loved it!

Pearly Everlasting by Armstrong, Tammy 

A girl and her bear in turn of the century (1800s/1900) New Brunswick. I  waver between three and four stars...

Small World by Evison, Jonathan 

Four families cross paths in the 19th Century and then three generations later in the 21st Century. Irish immigrants,  a Miwok Indian, a fugitive slave, and a Chinese prospector are the forebears. Their descendents are a train engineer, a battered wife running from her marriage, a single mom and her basketball playing son, and a woman who is trying to simplyflify her life. The are all headed to Seattle on a northbound train which has an accident....

The Evolution of the Gospelettes by Oberhausen, Tammy 

A family of gospel singers gets mixed up with a shady evangelist and his mega TV church.

The Boxcar Librarian by Labuskes, Brianna 

Advance Review Copy via Goodreads.  Three women and heir stories come together in 1920s & 1930s Montana.

Friends in Napa by Marikar, Sheila Yasmin

Rich couple who have just purchased a winery invite old college friends for a lavish weekend celebration. Mayhem ensues.

Don’t Forget to Write by Confino, Sara Goodman 

A pleasant bit of fluff, not at all deep coming of age (20 year old sheltered Jewish girl).. Set in the summer of 1960 in a New Jersey resort town.

Pony Confidential by Lynch, Christina

A mostly fun read but maybe could have been a little tighter. The pony had too many adventures,

The Treasure Hunters Club by Ryan, Tom

Another fun mystery, this one set in a seaside village in Nova Scotia.

The Story of the Forest by Grant, Linda 

Family story of Jewish Latvian immigrants in Liverpool. Time period: about 1913-2000.

Ophelia's Voyage to Japan by Clise, Michele Durkson 

Stuffed bears have an adventure.

Dogs and Monsters: Stories by Haddon, Mark 

I didn't much care for these. I'm tired of retellings of classics.

Contents: The mother's story -- The bunker -- My old school -- D.O.G.Z. -- The wilderness -- The temptation of St Anthony -- The quiet limit of the world -- St Bride's Bay.

Nonfiction:

The Position of Spoons: And Other Intimacies by Levy, Deborah 

Essays on women's writing and art plus other subjects.

The Forbidden Garden: The Botanists of Besieged Leningrad and Their Impossible Choice by Parkin, Simon 

Eden Undone: A True Story of Sex, Murder, and Utopia at the Dawn of World War II by Kahler, Abbott 

True crime on Isla Floreana in the Galápagos. 

The Friday Afternoon Club: A Family Memoir by Dunne, Griffin 

Sub title is a little misleading since almost everyone in the family was dead when Griffen Dunne published this gossipy book. Most of the people whose names he dropped are also gone so there's not many left who can challenge the reliability of his narration.

The Wall of Life: Pictures and Stories from This Marvelous Lifetime by Maclaine, Shirley 

Everybody was wonderful and (mostly) photogenic too. Gee.

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Bechdel, Alison 

Memoir of a troubled childhood in small town Pennsylvania funeral business.

A Gentleman from Japan: The Untold  Story of an Incredible Journey from Asia to Queen Elizabeth’s Court by Lockley, Thomas 

This might have made a good article in a history magazine but there is not enough information about Christopher (the title figure) to make a full length book, There is a lot of historical background and much "Christopher might have seen..."  or "Christopher must have thought..." and a lot of made up conversatuions and scenarios. It was rather boring.

Online:

Tibet & Nepal: Painted & described  by  Landor, Arnold Henry Savage.  (Published January 1905)

On Project Gutenberg. I've been reading this off and on all year. It's best taken in small doses. 

Santa Maria by Gurba, Myriam

"A youthful obsession with Dorothea Lange’s Migrant Mother turns to frustration over how its subject, Florence Owens Thompson, an Indigenous woman, has been misperceived."

The Science of Fighting Our Nightmares by Cassels, Pat

Whose döner kebab? Why the beloved late-night snack is at the centre of a meat-fuelled food fight by Ute Junker, Ute

October 2024

So I went to the library to pick up my holds and do a bit of browsing. I found this in the fiction shelves and it looked interesting so I put  it in my stack. I checked out a number of books, loaded them in my tote bag and headed home with a deli stop on the way. When I got home there was a message from the library. It seems I had left this book on the counter. Did I want them to hold it for me or should the check it in and reshelve it? I told them to reshelve it.

Next time I was in the library I remembered to check it out again and remembered to actually take it home. Which is a good sign as it turned out to be about a woman in the early stages of dementia who is having memory problems. So now I wonder if the librarians knew the subject matter and wondered about the memory status of their elderly patron (me). 

I enjoyed the book and also many others in this month's list.  Found a new (to me) author, Katie Kitamura, whose writing I very much liked. Happily the library has more by her. I also enjoyed some mildly creepy stuff because - October.

October is also my birthday month and of course my daughters gave me books! Forged In Fire: Stories of Wartime Japan by Montibon, Rita Tomoko and Amanat: Women’s Writing from Kazakhstan by Batayeva, Zaure. I also purchased a few hard to find ones for myself. Plus I won some ARCs so my TBR list is, well, just where it should be. Long.

And I'm liking my carry-over-to next month read: Richard Powers' Playland.

Fiction:

Suite Française by Némirovsky, Irène; translated from the French by Smith, Sandra

Life in German occupied France in WW2. Excellent. 

The Mighty Red by Erdrich, Louise 

Super good novel set in Red River Valley sugar beet farming area of North Dakota.

Intimacies by Kitamura, Katie 

An interpretor for the International Court of Justice is searching for a meaningful life.

A Separation by Kitamura, Katie 

A woman goes to Greece to confront her etsranged husband but he has disappeared.

Polostan (Bomb Light, #1) by Stephenson, Neal

Haven't read any Stephenson since Snow Crash (1992)  and decided to give this a try.  It's good enough to look forward the numbers 2 & 3.  Maybe I should go back and fill in my Stephenson gaps.

Takaoka's Travels by Shibusawa, Tatsuhiko; translated from the Japanese by Boyd, David 

Strange creatures, strange adventures in the Ninth Century as a prince/monk and his three companions (two monks and a girl disguised as a boy) travel Southeast Asia. I got bored. 

The Fortunes of Jaded Women by Huynh, Carolyn

A sprawling, squabling family of Vietnamese women in Orange County's Little Saigon come to terms with a each other and their family's curse and the fun romp.

The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern by Loigman, Lynda Cohen

An eighty year old retires to Boca Raton only to find the man who deserted her sixty years ago is living in the same retirement community. Silly, sentimental fun as they renew their friendship.

The Mistletoe Mystery (Molly the Maid, #2.5) by Prose, Nita 

Not a who done it, but a sweet Christmas story.

The Night We Lost Him by Dave, Laura 

Meh.

Last House by Shattuck, Jessica 

A "family saga" reaching from 1953 to 2026 told in 325 pages. A "end of the world" retreat house in Vermont is supposedly refuge from the cares of mankind. We get a lot about the restoration of the Shah of Iran, a lot about the protests of the sixties, and absolutely nothing about 2001. And where was this family in 2020?

One Puzzling Afternoon by Critchley, Emily 

Aging woman tries to solve the long ago disappearance of a schoolmate.

The Hitchcock Hotel by Wrobel, Stephanie

A creepy hotel...

The Haunting of Velkwood by Kiste, Gwendolyn

A creepy suburban street...

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow 

A creepy house in a rural town...

The Hundred Waters by Acampora, Lauren 

An arty, but creepy, triangle.

A Sunny Place for Shady People by Enríquez, Mariana; translated from the Spanish by McDowell, Megan

A disappointing collection. Tried so hard to be macabre that the stories were lost.

Contents: My sad dead -- A sunny place for shady people -- Face of disgrace -- Julie -- Night birds -- Metamorphosis -- Hyena hymns --   Different colors made of tears -- The suffering woman -- The refrigerator cemetery -- A local artist -- Black eyes.

Your Utopia by Chung, Bora; translated from the Korean by Hur, Anton 

Enjoyable SciFi short stories involving robots and programmed machines--one is from the POV of a car, another is narrated by an elevator....

Contents: The Center for Immortality Research -- The end of the voyage -- A very ordinary marriage -- Maria, gratia plena -- Your utopia -- A song for sleep -- Seed -- To meet her -- Author's note: the act of mourning. 

There is a Rio Grande in heaven : stories by Reyes, Ruben, Jr.

Hit and miss collection. I didn't care for it.

Contents: An alternate history of El Salvador or perhaps the world -- He eats his own -- Try again -- An alternate history of El Salvador or perhaps the world -- The myth of the self-made man -- Quier Perrear! and other catastrophes -- An alternate history of El Salvador or perhaps the world -- My abuela, the puppet -- The Salvadoran slice of Mars -- An alternate history of El Salvador or perhaps the world -- Variations on your migrant life -- An alternate history of El Salvador or perhaps the world. 

Mixed genre Anthology:

Relations: An Anthology of African and Diaspora Voices edited by Brew-Hammond, Nana Ekua

Includes essays, poetry, and short stories. I read most of it but skipped a few stories and essays.

Contents: Introduction -- Nanyuman / by Ayesha Harruna Attah -- So long and Fuji-san / by Mogolodi Bond -- Body is more than a landfill and less than all that I am / by Sarah Uheida -- To the woman who accused me of breastfeeding the madman's child and by any other name / by Phillippa Yaa de Villiers -- Ezouga and post mortem / by Bahia Mahmud H. Awah -- Daughter of a bedouin chief / by Miral al-Tahawy --   God's plan / by Boakyewaa Glover -- Her sweetie, her sugarcane / by Natasha Omokhodion-Kalulu Banda -- Krifé / by Chiké Frankie Edozien -- Queens and sleeping beauty (of Borehamwood) and waterstones and ode to a discarded face mask and denouement/ by Dami Ajayi -- Finding Descartes / by Reem Gaafar -- Fulbright / by Rémy Ngamije -- Dirty money / by Kim Coleman Foote-- Kilmonger doctrine of color and humanity / by Joe Robert Cole-- Churai / by Fatima Camara -- [Coolitude: ce balisier-mirador] / by Khal Torabully -- This tangible thing / by Yejide Kilanko -- In a yellow dress with red flowers / by Lillian Akampurira Aujo -- A honey-headed child / by Nana Nyarko Boateng -- Napoleao / by Conceiçāo Lima -- Atat / by Arao Ameny -- Sontem and Ne na'a mpurí haalo and en la puerta primavera / by Recaredo Silebo Boturu -- Lagos wives club / by Vanessa Walters -- I am lost! / by Richard Ali a Muti K -- Poor men have too much ego / by Edwige-Renée Dro -- Sundays in Nairobi / by Jacquelynn Kerubo -- Mbuya Baines / by Makananka Mavengere -- Swagger stick man of June fifteen / by Chuma Nwokolo -- Heart of the father / by Enuma Okoro -- Trophy / by Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond -- Célebrons la culture / by Salma Khalil -- Word maker. / by Ayi Renaud Dossavi-Alipoeh.

Nonfiction:

Other Rivers: A Chinese Education by Hessler, Peter 

Knitting Yarns: Writers on Knitting by Hood, Ann 

Essays on the joys (and pitfalls) of learning to knit, knitting, and teaching knitting.

Contents: Knitting pattern: "Banks" fingerless mittens / Helen Bingham -- The pretend knitter / Elizabeth Berg -- The perfect gift / Lan Samantha Chang -- Blood, root, knit, purl / Andre Dubus III -- To knit a knot, or not : a beginner's yarn / John Dufresne -- Home ec / Hope Edelman -- Knitting pattern: "Bingham" cabled head wrap / Helen Bingham -- Soft, warm, and fuzzy / Janice Eidus -- Looped yarn / Martha Frankel -- Teaching a child to knit / Sue Grafton -- Knitting in Kathmandu / Jessi Hempel -- Ten things I learned from knitting / Ann Hood -- Knitting pattern: "Bowden" coffee cozies / Helen Bingham -- Judite / Kaylie Jones -- Where to begin / Barbara Kingsolver -- The one-year marriage / Jennifer Lauck -- Knitting a family / Anne D. LeClaire -- Knitting : epic fail / Marianne Leone -- I bought this pattern book last spring / Elinor Lipman -- Knitting pattern: "Ashworth" ruffled slipper socks / Helen Bin(qham -- The supernatural power of knitting / Alison Lurie -- Straw into gold / Joyce Maynard -- Failing better / Bernadette Murphy -- How knitting saved my life. Twice. / Ann Patchett -- The clothes make the dog / Taylor M. Polites -- Knitting pattern: Clovis's perfect-fit sweater / Taylor M. Polites -- High-strung knitter / Elissa Schappell -- Knitted goods : notes from a nervous non-knitter / Elizabeth Searle -- What are you making? / Ann Shayne -- Crafty critters / Suzanne Strempek Shea -- Found objects / Anita Shreve -- Why bother? / Jane Smiley -- Knitting pattern: "Fisher" lacy wrap / Helen Bingham. 

Online:

Early June by by Flora Qian  (in Asia Literary Review, No. 32, Winter 2016)

and I add a journal to my TBE (to be explored).

Brightly, Brightly a short story by Latham, Kathleen (in The Ilanot Review, Parents: Prose Edition, Spring, 2024.)

another journal for the TBE.

Farmland by Conway, Elizabeth (in New Flash Fiction Review, Issue 33, May 15, 2024)

and yet another journal TBE...