2019 - 2020 Reading List

• Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher - Had to read this and found it at my new home’s library! She is not a very good writer, or wasn’t at 19 when she did the first Star Wars movie. Much angst. Glad I didn’t buy it.
• Mornings with Rosemary by Libby Page - Loved this tender moving story of Kate, anxious and prone to panic attacks. Her editor sends her to do a story on the Lido, the community outdoor pool and she meets Rosemary, an 87 year old woman who has swam in the Lido her entire life. A large corporation want to purchase the Lido and cement it over for tennis courts and Kate and Rosemary rally to try and save it. Perfectly lovely in every way!
• Mycroft Holmes by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anna Waterhouse - a fun little book about Sherlock's older brother and his powers of observation! A fun romp with romance, a mystery and travel! What more could you want in a summer read?
• Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier - a tale of the great hunter of fossils, Mary Anning as told through a friend, Elizabeth. We see Mary on the beach, searching for the 'curies' to sell to help out the family. Her discovery of the 'crocodile' that set the scientific world on fire, and getting the recognition she deserved, even though she was a woman and a very poor family. Well done! Loved it. I will travel to Lyme Regis one day and walk the beach there to find my own 'curie'.
• The Last Paintings of Sara de Vos by Dominic Smith - I actually really enjoyed this three era tale of the Dutch women painters. I loved the tale of Sara in the 1630's. And how young Ellie paints, the techniques of painting from Sara's time. The intrigue between her and Martin was all right. A good read. Enjoyed it.
• The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes - another tale of the horseback librarians of the Great Depression. Alice was swept out of England by the suave American Bennett and left to flounder in the backwoods of Kentucky. There she meets Margery, and starts to ride horses to deliver books to any and all, anywhere to spread literacy and a love of reading. I think I liked "The Book Woman...." more, but this was still very fine and lovely.
• 96 Miles by J. L. Esplin - This was a great survival/adventure story! After a massive blackout, John and Stewart know they'll be all right, even though their father is gone and they don't know when he'll be back. He was a survivalist and had food, water, anything they might need for six months, so they're set. Until a band of men come and take everything away. Including Stewart's insulin. John thinks they can make it the 96 miles to their friends, walking through the desert with even having to use toilet water. Then they meet Cleverly and her brother Will and realize they have to help them too. Really well done!
• ^Summer Reads 2020^
• Leo Thorsness - Medal of Honor by Michael P. Spradlin - great Hi/Lo book for my reluctant readers that tells the story of Colonel Thorsness and his actions that awarded him the Medal of Honor and also his capture and 6 years of imprisonment in 'Hanoi Hotel'. Thank you for your service. A really good book.
• The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson - So, so, so good. Loved every chapter, even delayed reading at times so I wouldn't finish too soon! A fabulous telling of Churchill's first year as Prime Minister just as the Nazi's begin their war. So, so, so good...
• The Year I Didn't Eat by Samuel Pollen - Max is sure that every bad thing in his life is because of his weight. Either he is too skinny so everyone must think he is lame, or he is fat and really should cut down. The author was anorexic himself at 12 years old and comes to this subject with great insight into what it is like to live in that world. Well done!
• The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson - Flew through this book! Loved it in so many ways! Not only for the book end, but learned about the blue people of Kentucky through Bluet, one of the horseback librarians. An amazing look into that time, the poverty, the racism, the scrabble life a lot of the people lived there. Definitely a great book!
• Out of Darkness, Shining Light by Petina Gappah - Hummm. Did not much care for this. Interesting, but not my cup of tea. The only thing I really liked was that Livingstone's bones did actually make it to England and are interred at Westminster Abbey.
• The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill - my granddaughter was reading this, so I picked up the ebook. Absolutely loved it. Luna was left as a sacrifice to the Witch. Each year, the witch would in actuality, take the left babies to other towns for others to raise. But Luna changes all that as she is fed starlight and then moonlight and the magic wants to take over. The witch decides to raise Luna and keep that magic under wraps until she's old enough to understand. Beautiful writing, amazing story, I loved it all.
• Cog by Greg Van Eekhout - loved this tale of the AI, Cog. Created by a robotics genius, Cog is so close to acting AND thinking like a human, it's a bit scary! When he gets in an accident, he is taken to the home office where they want to access his brain to find out what his creator put in there to make him seem so real. And that's when he decides to exercise bad judgement and have bad experiences and learn things. Well done Cog!
• Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman - I really loved this book! Eleanor has issues. A mother in jail who calls every week and tells Eleanor how disappointing she is. Laughing. But, Eleanor who has definite opinions on everyone and everything is offered a promotion. One day while walking out with Raymond from work, an elderly man collapses, and they come together to help him. It is the beginning of Eleanor dealing with her past, her mummy, and striding into a new life. Loved it!
• The Poison Eaters by Gail Jarrow - loved this history of the FDA and how they worked to keep our food safe! Really well done!
• Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout - not sure how I felt about Olive. A series of stories that in some way have something to do with her and the small Maine town she lives in. I must admit, I like Britt Marie better.
• Restart by Gordon Korman - This is really a well done book. The video I used to promote it was not near as good as the book! Chase falls off the roof, total amnesia. He was a bully. And by the reactions of the students at school, and even his own family, he's not sure he really wants to know. Chase has a chance to restart. Will he?
• Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel - Oh my! Not the book to read during a pandemic! An actor's death ties the people in this book together as the Georgia Flu wipes out 99% of the population. The traveling troupe of players and musicians winds their way along the great lakes bringing Shakespeare and Beethoven as the Traveling Symphony to the small communities that survived. Really well done, but glad I'm done and can move onto something a bit more not in the news right now!
• Warrior Girl by Pauline Chandler - A friend of Joan of Arc goes with her through the battles and is with her at the end. Well done, a nice and different perspective.
• Mornings on Horseback by David McCullough - what a chunky read a bit at a time book! But well done, telling the story of the Roosevelt family, how Teddy grew up and lived until he was 28. If you want great insight into a remarkable man, this one's for you!
• Words on Fire by Jennifer A. Nielsen - A WW2 tale of the book smugglers of Lithuania. Audra's parents are arrested and she is sent fleeing into the forest from the German troops. She heads for a nearby town to a friend of the family and becomes involved with what her parents did, smuggling Lithuanian books over the border so their language and stories won't be lost. Another great JAN story!
• Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens - Loved this! Some of her word pictures on the marshes were so exquisitely lovely. How this young backwater girl became an author and illustrator for the area. Her two boyfriends, the murder. Well done!
• Lady at the OK Corral by Ann Kirschner - it was all right. The life of the woman who attached herself to Wyatt Earp and their life together. Interesting, but not as good as I thought it might be.
• Anne Frank: her life in Words and Pictures by Menro Metselaar - This was so good. I loved all the pictures of the times, the pictures of her diary, very well put together and thought out. Everyone going to Denmark should read this.
• Highfire by Eoin Colfer - What a rousing tale of a dragon and a young boy. OK, so the dragon lives in the back swamps of Louisiana, and the boy has seen a murder by the local cop of the dragon's supplier. This really turned out well, and heck, it's just fun to see a dragon in the modern day!
• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by Jack Thorne - What a great ride for a play! I could imagine the scenes perfectly and really read this because my granddaughter got to go and see this! Loved Harry's son Albus becomes great friends with Scorpius, the son of Draco Malfoy. In trying to fix the death of Cedric during the Triwizard Tournament, they discover that Voldemort had a child, who could it be?
• Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradel - this was an interesting come around book. Eva's mom left her, and her dad loved to cook. He would always be creating something good, then he dies when Eva is just a baby and she becomes a true gourmand. From knowing who grew her tomatoes, to picking corn just an hour before cooking, she built a business and a reputation. All the chapters are different people in her life either current or will be when the book wraps up in the end. Came to love it!
• Goldeline by Jimmy Cajoleas - Goldeline was taken in by a band of rogues after her mother was killed. With her beautiful locks of hair, she could stop any coach so the bandits could steal from it! But she saves a young boy, then becomes responsible for him and the band is discovered and killed by the Preacher who is determined to find Goldeline and other her repentance, or burned as a witch. Really well told!
• Everything Happens for a Reason and other lies I've loved by Kate Bowler - Kate was a true believer and researcher into the prosperity gospel. When she is diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer. She weaves through diagnosis, treatments and friendships that all come together to remind her life is not a series of conquering and moving one, life is only here and now.
• The Ghost Collector by Allison Mills - Loved this story of a girl and her grandmother who use their hair to catch ghosts. It is an old trait, handed down from the Native American blood they share. From noises that could be just ghost mice and cats to having a relationship with a teenage boy in the graveyard, Shelly wants to help the ghosts, either to maintain a life here or to pass on. When her mother dies, Shelly searches everywhere for her ghost. And wonders why she can't find her. Nicely done!
• A Different Sun by Elaine Orr - Emma feels compelled to be a missionary, and when she meets Henry who wants to go set up a missionary post in Africa, she marries him. Set in the slavery times of the south, Emma knows something of African peoples with her friendship of one of the older slaves who came from Africa and is surprised at the connection between this slave and her new environment. Nicely done.
• The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery - Loved this tale of her love of the Octopus! She does so many animals, this was a true stand out as she delved into their lives in the local aquarium and out in the ocean. Loved this book!
• Death in the Air by Kate Dawson - I heard about this from watching The Crown. Five days in London in December of 1952 an inversion hit the city run on low grade coal. Everything halted, the fog too thick to move in, any respiratory conditions were life threatening. It led to the Clean Air Act of 1956. Over 100,000 people were affected, over 6,000 directly killed with some putting the deaths because of the smog at 12,000. During this time, hiding in the smog was a lone man, drifting through and finding women with no ties to anyone, and killing them. Stuffing bodies in the garden, in the walls of his home, under the floor boards. Two killers, one December. Great read, well done!
• Internment by Samira Ahmed - what a fabulous book at a modern day internment, so alike our current situation and yet different. Layla and her parents are listed as Muslims and the current president has them rounded up and sent to an internment camp. Layla has a boyfriend, and he is determined not to let her go. Along with him, a guard at the camp, and social media, the world is shown what is happening and now it's their turn to bring freedom. Great book.
• I've let this go for awhile, and now that the COVID 19 is upon us, and we are no longer at school, I'm catching up.
• The Cottage in the Woods by Katherine Coville - delightful retelling of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. The Vaughn’s are high born bears, one of the ‘Enchanted’ folk and hire a bear governess for their son, Teddy. When some of the humans in town decry the ‘Enchanted’ and Ursula finds out the Vaughn’s are hiding a human girl, the story takes some great twists and turns! I almost forgot they were bears! Lovely!
• The Magician of Lhasa by David Michie - Love his The Dalai Llama’s Cat so picked this up! Tenzin has become a monk just before China invades and helps bring ancient documents out of Tibet. Matt is a quantum scientist who is tops in his field of nanotechnology. He ends up next door to a monk as his world falls apart in California, he’s kicked out of his new directorship, his love pursues another path. And yet, they come together. Well done. Loved the history of the Chinese invasion.
• The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer - I had no idea about Hungarian Jews during WWII. What a testament to that country that they were protected as much as they could until the end. Andras in Paris on a scholarship to be an architect, finds the love of his life then finds he can’t renew his visa and has to go back to Hungary. His ‘work team’ efforts, the trials of keeping his love safe, a true eye opener for me. Book club read.
• The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern - Wowsa! Loved this! An ancient underground library fallen into its last days, the innkeeper and his moon, the pirate and his fate, the honey sea. Poems swirled onto cupcakes, words floating up stories in champagne bubbles, ships sailing down dresses into new stories. Was so glad my husband bought me this for Christmas!! Will be one of my treasured books!
• Chasing Augustus by Kimberly Fusco - Rosie knows the only thing that matters is finding her dog, Augustus. Her mom left, her dad had a stroke and she's trying to live with her grandfather and his rules, that she blatantly wants to disregard because they are all aimed at stopping her from finding her dog. A lovely dog story, made my heart happy.
• A Land of Permanent Goodbyes by Atia Abawi - one of our new books about Syrians and the impact of internal war, the wish for a better life, the horrendous lengths they will go through to get to Europe and possible safety. Hard to read, but we need to.
• I have Lived a Thousand Years by Livia Jackson - What a blessing to have this book and see the war through another set of eyes. Livia ended up in Auschwitz and how she survived is a testament to her will and that she was only there for a year. Even then, she just made it. Well done. A recommend for sure.
• Obsessed by Allison Britz - a good read, though I must admit there was a section I didn’t read because it was driving me crazy! I re-entered the story when she finally gets in to see a counselor to get some help. OCD is not pretty, and really can make you believe things that are not true. She got help, and moved on. Loved the ERP way of handling the compulsions.
• North to Benjamin by Alan Cumyn - I love anything to do with the north, and picked this up! Edgar is once again uprooted by his mother to live in Dawson, Canada. All he knows is that there is a dog, Benjamin that he will get to take care of. When he starts to hear Benjamin talking, and he begins to bark, the stress from his mother’s mental moving is too much and he sets off on a winter’s eve across the frozen river to try and make things right.
• A Wolf Called Wander by Rosanne Parry - Loved this factionalized account of OR-7 who wandered into Oregon, the first wolf sighting in many years and hearing his story told with depth, details in just the right places and the incredible artwork made this a top love for me this year. Definite recommend to students!
• The Baker’s Apprentice by Judith Ryan Hendricks - the sequel to Bread Alone, more of both Mac and Wynter. Mac heads up to Alaska and gets stranded, Wyn has her own troubles at the bakery. Nicely done, but is there another one coming?
• Martin Marten by Brian Doyle - Loved this book! As much as I loved Mink River, this might even be a bit better. I love how he gently brings us into an intimate in the heart way, close to the people who inhabit this particular map of the world. Read it!
• Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein - yes, I read this in Milo’s voice for his parts! A pretty good dog story, I learned some things about racing, and yes, I cried at the end. Just a little.
• Stepsister by Jennifer Donolly - Loved this! How one of the ‘ugly’ stepsisters finds her own true heart that had been manipulated by the Fates and Chance. Most excellent!
• White Bird by R. J. Palacio - a Wonder story. The bully has to do a story on WWII from a member of his family and learns how his grandmother was hidden during the occupation. Graphic novel, very well done.
• Long Flight Home by Alan Hlad - loved this World War II story of the homing pigeons and how they may have helped the war effort. I knew they had used them, but not the extent or the care and training of them. Fascinating. Loved it.
• The Plover by Brian Doyle - wow. what a journey on the Plover into the seas of entangled feelings and lives. Brian has a deft and unusual skill at descriptions. Liked his Mink River better, but we’ll see how Martinj Marten goes for book club.
• Bread Alone by Judith Ryan Hendricks - a woman is ousted by her husband and ends up in Seattle with her best friend. She needs a job and finds a small bakery to put to use her stint in France at a boulangerie. Loved the recipes!
• The Only Road by Alexandra Diaz - a boy and his cousin must leave and get into America, otherwise the local gang will take over their lives.
• How I Became a Ghost by Tim Tingle - the story of a family on the trail of tears. Well done, a real insight into what it was like for the families that had to move.
• Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson - This is the Salem Reads book for this January and I was iffy about reading it, but oh my. What a great book. How to take the chances that sometimes happen, how to live them, how to still be yourself. How to grow. A montage of friends, family, Portland living and most of all, finding the pieces of yourself that give you truly what you want. Lovely.
• Spectacle by Pamela Newkirk - I heard about Ota Benga at the Pika end of summer gathering. Ota came from Africa in 1906 and displayed in the Bronx Zoo as an exhibit. What a sad story of how he was treated, what became of him and how he never returned to Africa. Grateful I got to read this.
• When by Victoria Laurie - this new book club read is a page turner! Maddie sees numbers just above the forehead of everyone she sees. Even in their pictures. They are death dates. When that person will die. When a lady comes for a reading, Maddie notices her son will die that next week, and when he’s found murdered, the FBI look to Maddie. How did she know? How did she plan it? Why? A fabulous thriller! All eight of my copies got checked out!
• Old Baggage by Lissa Evans - our book club read and a look at the suffragette world. Mattie lives to be involved in a changing world, and she wants to be someone helping still propel those changes for the better for women all over. But when she discovers a young girl is actually her dead brother’s daughter, she makes decisions she would not have thought possible for her.
• The Endless Beach by Jenny Colgan - a continuation of The Cafe by the Sea. It was lovely. Sad, but lovely.
• Vincent and Theo by Deborah Heiligman - loved this book about the Van Gogh brothers. The sketches in there from Vincent, the voice, the detail told in vignettes is superb. Loved it.
• Gone to Drift by Diana McCaulay - loved this tale of a boy and his grandfather out in the islands. Grandpa has gone missing, to drift they call it. No one can find him. Lloyd is certain he can find him. He finds new friends, stows away on a Coast Guard boat, all to find the man he admires most. The voice is amazing.
• Driving by Starlight by Anat Deracine - Leena is not your ordinary Arabian girl. Her father is in jail, she wears boys’ clothes so her mother can shop with a ‘male escort’. She’s brilliant and has a best friend. When a new girl arrives, all her world pitches to the side as she navigates who and where she wants to be in this world full of rules. Nicely done, a great insight into our own freedoms and all we should be grateful for.
• Lifeboat 12 by Susan Hood - found amongst family papers, Susan takes this based on a true story tale and fills this novel in verse with all the ups and downs of the children who were sent to Canada to escape the blitz and end up getting torpedoed on the way over. Very well done and a tale that did need to be set out there again.
• The Cafe by the Sea by Jenny Colgan - Loved this tale of a girl who escaped her tiny island off Scotland to become a lawyer. When a wind farm is proposed for her island and a billionaire doesn’t want his view disturbed, she finds she is back home trying to get the locals on his side. Truly lovely. I’d like to live there. It fits a place in my soul at the moment.
• White Rose by Kip Wilson - Loved this novel in verse about the White Rose movement in Nazi Germany. How the students tried to get others to rebel against the regime and how they paid for it. Incredibly touching. Inspiring. To face injustice and take a stand, even if it means death. Were I so brave.
• They Called Us Enemy by George Takei - Wow! Amazing graphic novel of the life of George Takei from when his family was sent to a Japanese internment camp during WWII. All I can say is wow. This is a powerful story of his family and their resilience in the face of unfair prejudice and how they rose above. Again, wow. Read this.
• Rebound by Kwame Alexander - a nice continuation of Crossover. Charlie can’t seem to rebound from his father’s sudden death. He’s stuck, and when his mother sends him to live with his grandparents for the summer, he’s pretty sure she’s made a mistake. But who’s made the mistake? Lovely Kwame novel in verse by a master of prose.
• The Bookshop on the Shore by Jenny Colgan - Zoe needs a break. Living with her son, trying to make ends meet, she has help and finds herself at Loch Ness helping Nina, and a Lord with his three children. In saving her, they all save themselves. Another great fun, good hearted read!
• The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan - a great fun read for camping. Nina loses her job and finds a new pursuit, buying a van and converting it to a mobile bookshop. Loved this book! Then headed into the next one!
• The Names of the Stars by Pete Fromm - Pete is asked to live in the wilderness to watch the hatching of fish eggs to help restore runs in the back country and his take on life and the choices he's made. Loved it and it got picked up out of my Little Free Camping Library and I know whoever got a great read.
• Elizabeth - the Later Years by John Guy - loved this historical treatise on Elizabeth after the Armada. Her life in court, the play of Catholic vs. Protestant. The graph I had to use to figure out all the people in her life and a great quote I'd love to use on a student one day! Well done!
• We Hope for Better Things by Erin Bartels - Three generations of women who become involved with the African American men they interact with. Mary, who relies on George, an escaped slave who was sent to her by her husband as he battled in the Civil War. As her husband is away, she relies on George more and more. Nora meets William at an art exhibition and through the months they fall in love and get married. Nora’s family disowns her and after riots where Nora is threatened, they move to an old house in the country. Elizabeth is working on a story about racism and a fellow finds her to give her box of photos to take to her aunt, Nora. Nora is older and Elizabeth moves in to help out, at the old family home in LaPeer. Fascinating book and look at racism in different times.
• Black Death at the Golden Gate by David K. Randall - interesting story of the plague found in 1900 in San Francisco and the heroic and often ignored steps taken to try and keep it from spreading throughout America. Interesting look at the Marine Hospital Service and their role in keeping disease from other countries from spreading. Sanitation was a huge answer to keeping infection down! There is still plague bacteria out there! Beware!
• Rosewater and Soda Bread by Marsha Mehran - A continuation of Pomegranate Soup, recipes in the back! As life moves on and we learn more about how and why the girls had to flee Iran, we also see them becoming more a part of this quirky Irish community at the foot of Crough Patrick. Lovely. Though I was sad to hear the author has passed away.
• Pomegranate Soup by Marsha Mehran - loved this story of three sisters who escaped from Islamic overthrow and find themselves in a small Irish town where using their Persian skills, open the Babylon Cafe. With their insight into the influences of their ingredients, they turn a town into loving Persian food and find their own place as well. Recipes at the beginning of every chapter!! Wonderful!
• The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce - I have walked the Camino Primitivo in Spain and am planning on doing Hadrian’s Wall, so this book came up. Harold owes a great debt to Queenie, and when he gets a letter that she is dying 500 miles away, he writes her, and at the post box (England!) decides that his walk must be something greater, that she can hold on if she believes he’ll make it. He takes off, his wife wonders what he was thinking, and Harold goes on, in yachting shoes, no phone, but determined to pay his last respects to Queenie. Really lovely.
• Aloha Rodeo by David Wolman and Julian Smith - loved this history of the paniolo cowboys! They were herding and catching cattle long before our Wild West, through lava fields and jungles. I loved hearing the stories and meeting the men on paper who brought order to the wild beasts that were given to Kamehameha I and let to roam free. Truly a great book about amazing people, doing incredible feats with cattle. Loved it. If you like Hawaii, you need to read this book.
• Britt-Marie was Here by Fredrik Backman - loved this book about one of the characters in his other books - Britt-Marie has been left by her husband and applies with a job service. Plastic mugs? Are these people uncivilized? And no coasters? She finds herself running an almost closed down rec center in a town nearly gone and yet her quirky view of what is right, starts to pull the soccer club together, then the town. A really lovely, lovely book.
• Woodsong by Gary Paulsen - I love the north woods and his descriptions of living in Alaska and some of the incidents he encountered there are just good reading.