Our book club met this morning and I thought you might be interested in how our club operates. We meet once a month for an hour at the local library and everybody tells just a bit about a good book they’ve recently read. I don’t want to hear the whole plot – there would be no reason to read the book then, would there? I would not like to belong to a book club where I was required to read a specific book – books are quite a personal choice and we all like something different.
So are we ready to talk books? Use the comment section to list your best books from the last 3-4 months. Please give the title and author and a few lines about the book. Please don’t go back in time for the “best book you’ve ever read” type of discussion. Let’s keep it current.
I’ve been watching the coverage of the devastating fires in California – it’s impossible to wrap your head around such loss, isn’t it?
Reader photos
Here’s Gracie and Three
And you hardly ever see Pam!
Try to stay warm.
Sure I will be reprimanded for putting this on the wrong post. But the post where you show the inside of your cabinets. I noticed a cat tea cozy, or that’s what it looked like so cute!!! Did you make that?
I just finished the fourth book in Gabrielle Meyer’s Timeless series. I recommend starting with the first book, “When the Day Comes”. The books have a 20 year old female protagonist, and the interesting part is that she is a time crosser. That means that she lives one day in one year, and wakes up the next day in another time, often a hundred years apart. There’s some history, and some religion, and some romance, and I find these light books irresistible. Also, Gabrielle Meyer lives in Minnesota.
Book ideas:
Eleanore of Avignon: A Novel by Elizabeth DeLozier. Dutton, 2024. Historical fiction. Strong, brave medieval woman amidst the plague
After Oz: A Novel by Gordon McAlpine. Crooked Lane Books, 2024. Adult fiction. So what happens after Dorothy gets home from Oz?
LOVE that red star quilt, Mary! Can’t wait to see the blue nine patches to go with it! Keep up the good work!
I liked The Women by Kristen Hannah about women nurses in Vietnam, as a few others comments have mentioned. Also, The Four Winds, also by Kristen Hannah, about the Dust Bowl in TX and OK in the 30’s.
I have just finished The Hunter by Tana French, and really enjoyed it. You should read The Searcher first though, which is also good and provides a lot of the background.
I read real books, from the library or friends, as well as reading e-books on my Kindle borrowed through Libby. I love reading on my Kindle, especially when traveling. So much easier and lighter to take a Kindle instead of several books, even paperbacks.
Sharon – you read all of these in the last 3-4 months? Wow, I guess I’m a slow reader.
I read The Searcher last year, but mentioned it because it’s good to read it before The Hunter. I don’t watch TV, so spend my evenings reading.
Love the cat pictures, the eggs and feather picture with Hazel in the background.
I like the idea of your book club. Not everyone wants to read the same story and having many different ideas and types of books opens your world to new authors and books.
We had snow, sleet, rain today. North of here they got 3-5 inches of snow. Roads were bad from Oklahoma into Texas. Trucks off the roads and traffic backed up everywhere. South of Downtown Dallas traffic was flowing normally. We’re supposed to get more overnight but it’s supposed to start clearing in the afternoon.
I’ve just finished the third in a series about Genghis Khan By Conn Iggulden. There are two more books in the series. It has been a good series about a time in history I don’t know much about. Genghis was a brutal, hard man and the life of the Mongols wasn’t an easy one. They’re not fluffy books but are well written and I have enjoyed them,
I enjoy the books by Fredrik Backman – His Instagram account is hilarious. He has a german shepherd dog and his stories about her are well written and very entertaining. His account is @backmansk
I’m also reading A Piece of My Heart -The Story of 26 American Women Who Served in Vietnam by Keith Walker. I’ve been reading it slowly as it is hard to read – it is emotionally hard to read but very good. It’s a good follow-up for The Women.
On a recent cruise I came across a new book to me by Kirstin Hannah. “The Women”. Interesting read following a US young woman who enlists as a nurse during the Vietnam War.
Wendy P – Vanc. Island
I’ve been a reader all my life and read widely and often — lately I’ve been very fond of memoirs of more-ordinary-than-famous people and cookbooks with stories about the food rather than just lists of ingredients. I usually have several books ongoing — some for fun, some for whatever research project I am involved with, some with regional/Southern interest or history, some for spiritual growth, and some because I like the cover art 😀 I like “real” books — the feel, the smell, the everything — but I read thrillers and mysteries borrowed from the library or downloaded for free from Bookbub almost continuously.
My latest books are:
A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg. She wrote the Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe books. This one is a Christmas story that is set in southern Alabama and a man who visits from Chicago after a startling diagnosis from his doctor. A story of hope and wonder — not depressing at all!
Waymaker by Ann Voskamp. This is kind of a spiritual autobiography of the author, easy to read, and another book that features hope. Maybe that was my unintended theme?
One Wild Bird at a Time: Portraits of Individual Lives by Bernd Heinrich. This description is going to sound dull and of interest only to bird watchers, but that just isn’t true! Bernd Heinrich is a scientist who has written about birds before, and this book is similar in that he shares wonderful insights about birds and bird behavior based on observation. Each chapter features one particular bird, so it’s easy to pick up the book and then put it down and come back for another chapter at a later time. Fascinating!
And just to firmly cement your opinion that I am, uh, unusual / weird / nerdy / fill-in-the-blank LOL, my very favorite books from my Christmas gifts are:
When Southern Women Cook by America’s Test Kitchen; edited by Morgan Bolling. I love this book so much, with its history and lore and recipes from 70 different women writers, that I’m planning to give it as a wedding gift to the two summer weddings that I know of so far 🙂
and the other one is sort of a coffee table book, not necessarily one that you would read cover-to-cover just to see what happens, but one that you browse leisurely and enjoy while dreaming of spring:
The Writer’s Garden: How gardens inspired the world’s great authors by Jackie Bennett
I am presently reading enjoying “The Small and the Mighty” by Sharon McMahon. It is a collection of short non-fiction stories about “twelve unsung Americans who changed the course of history, from the Founding to the Civil Rights Movement. Very interesting – a Christmas gift from my daughter.
Mary, Thank you for posting the photo of Gracie and Three. What sweet buddies. Brrr, we are cold here and we keep getting some lake-effect snow. Due to our location, we also get gray /overcast skies in winter, so it is a treat to see photos of your property with the sun shining. Boy, I wished I lived closer to get some of your fresh eggs. Janice Traverse City area
Blue Skies No Fences by Lynne Cheney…a warm remembrance of growing up in Casper WY in 40’s. Reference material useful for genealogy research.
The Alice Network by Kate Quinn. WW I female spies bridging to post WWII. Names changed but based on actual people.
Nora Roberts .. chasing fire. In view to the current devastating fires in Los Angeles, this is a good read to appreciate the tradedy and learning the firefighting training. I usually read historical fiction which often tie in with countries I have visited, (generally with Libby on my iPad ) chasing fire had a special meaning for me. I drove by the MT facility often, on the way to visit my son. When he passed away a few years ago, his two teen aged sons tried to keep the mini farm going and thanks to the local police, they offered help with the animals when a devastating fire came dangerously close to them. In fact, there was a township near them called Paradise which was destroyed by fire. Our local quilt group in Az. Had a challenge and I came up with Paradise Lost ! Now I’m living in CT and worried about my college friend who lives very near the fires in CA. We have been communicating and staying connected with her watchful eyes and the situation there.
Brenda – just tonight I mentioned Paradise to Rick – we both wonder if the area has recovered and how it’s doing.
Mary, I honestly don’t know how paradise is doing, but I’m sure the citizens are all hard at work rebuilding the town, it’s a lovely place to drive through. Unfortunately, my kids and their mother no longer live there and we now live in the east.
A few of us have been reading quilting books. One that stands out in my mind is “Legacy” – Talulah Gilbert Bottoms by her granddaughter Nancilu Burdick because of this:
https://quiltindex.org//view/?type=page&kid=35-90-56
Talulah spent a good amount of time stitching after 1883 making over 200 quilts by hand as she raised 9 of 12 children, grew corn, spun cotton, and liked chickens.
The Riviera House by Natasha Lester. Stealing art from a Paris gallery during the war. Hops to 2015 and ties to the family and the stolen art.
girl with the peral earring is another like that. excellent
I read Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman in one day. Excellent story about a wannabe reporter. It also a series on Apple TV
So many of these books sound interesting. I too love to read but don’t read as often as I used to. When I was in elementary school our school was across the street from our home, the librarian must have had to make huge changes in the library one summer so she started a reading club. She let students come in the summer and check books out to read. She kept track of how many each student read. I got a badge for reading 50 books that summer. What a wonderful gift she gave the students to enable them to read all summer.
Mary I love the colours of your eggs. Those are the same colours I had when I had chicken, I also had a copper maran so had very very dark brown eggs as well.
You’re so lucky to be getting eggs this time of year, Mary! And I love your rooster feather! My rooster, Thor, lost one of his tail feathers recently. I couldn’t figure out what the big black spot was on the floor of the coop and then realized it was one of his long tail feathers. No eggs for us lately. We did have one every other day for a week or so but since the temperatures have dropped so drastically, we haven’t even had one. Hopefully, once the weather warms up a little, we’ll get a few more. With thirteen hens we should! I’m actually thinking about letting the hens hatch out some eggs in the spring. The prices of eggs is ridiculous and I feel so bad about all of the chickens being slaughtered because of the avian flu. So, so sad. Anyway, stay warm everyone. I’m hoping to read some of the suggested books this winter. Jan in MA
Book I recommend is “The Maid” by Nita Prose. Fiction that draws you in starring quirky Molly who through her work is involved with characters of all different types. Easy and fun read. The author, Nita Prose will be speaking at Iowa Western Community College this evening as part of the Council Bluffs library program. I’m planning to attend and hear more about the author and her writing journey.
I’m reading and loving M.K. Coker’s Dakota Mystery Series. Ms. Coker is from my hometown and she nails what it’s like to live in the rural Dakotas. The main character is a woman who returns to her hometown to complete her sheriff-father’s term after he suffers a stroke. Great character development. The author doesn’t sugarcoat or romanticize life here, either.
The first book in the series is “Dead White”. There are twelve or thirteen books now.
I finished “Remakably Bright Creatures” by Shelby van Pelt and really enjoyed it. I’m currently reading “The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife” by Anna Johnston. This one took me a couple chapters to get into but it’s very good – and funny.
loved it!!
Gracie, Three and Pam are beautiful! 😻 The different shades of eggs- tooo cool. Love the curled feather. I’m sending a couple of pics of Penny and Lucy. They got a cardboard “petique penthouse “ from Chewy for Christmas and are loving it so much. Penny was trying hard to get in it before we had it together. I had an Amazon box come with paper and it is now their “bungalow “ 🤭.
This morning I was remembering how fortunate I was to have parents who encouraged me to read. I was one of six kids and they gave me the gift of being in 2 books clubs where books were mailed to our house. I still have those childhood books and you can imagine my husbands face when I carried in a box of childhood books when we had our first apartment. He grew up with parents who shopped at higher end clothing stores, worked 2 jobs, but never had a book in their house or parents who read to them. He always thanks me even after all these years for introducing him to the love of reading besides what he had to do to barely get through school. Why this was on my mind this morning was I talked to his sister last night who is bored, has the means to travel but won’t, prefers eating out as she doesn’t enjoy cooking, and never took up reading like my husband, her brother, did. One of our favorite outings is to use gift cards given to us for Barnes and Nobles. Get into a good book and you’ll never be bored.
Kathy – being the first child I was read to at length and today I’m a reader. I can’t imagine not reading a book! And when I find one I like I am tempted to read during the day when I should be working. Ha! I, too, belonged to one of those book clubs in elementary school but sadly have none of them today.
Mary, did Scholastic Book Fairs set up at your elementary schools? I loved those few times a year when we’d get the newsprint flyer and order books hoping we’d like them based on the short description.
Thank you for doing this book club. I am always looking for suggestions for the next good book to read. I read every night on my Nook or Kindle before I go to sleep. I know I can check books out of the library for free but this way I can read with the lights out and make the print as large as I want. I do not want to buy paper books and have them accumulate around the house since I am in the process of decluttering everything. I really like historical novels so I will look into some of today’s suggestions.
I love my Nook for the same reasons. You can get so many books for $2.99 and less, even free. Have you heard of Book Bub? When you sign up, you list genres that you are interested in and then every day you get a list of around 8 book suggestions for $2.99 or less. The books are rated and customer reviewed. I have discovered many new authors that way as well as adding to my books from favorite authors. They aren’t often the latest books out, but that’ OK with me.
Ginger – I love actual books in my house but I do have a Kindle which I no longer use because it confuses me. Maybe a Nook is the answer to my fingers hurting so badly while holding a heavy book or a book whose binding is so tight I can’t keep it open. No wonder my hands hurt during the night. I will look into a Nook.
Mary, I have both a Nook and a Kindle and really prefer my Nook because I think it is much more user friendly. However, some books are just not available on Nook and that is when I use my Kindle, which I am now getting more used to, but it has taken some time.
I love to read actual books too. We have tons in our house. I just find my Nook so much more convenient. It lights up so I can read in bed at night without disturbing my husband, I can adjust the size of the print and when we travel, I can take all of my books with me. I don’t know why, but I always feel guilty reading during the day. I’m retired, so why do I feel quilty? I think that’s a perfect hobby for a retiree.. Cold and windy here in NH for the past few days.
I feel guilty reading during the day too! Still working on getting around that.
I read library books on my kindle using the Libby Ap also audio books. They return automatically after 21 days.
I’ve read several good books but one not mentioned is The Last House On The Street by Diane Chamberlain! Thought provoking about in the sixties and getting blacks to vote in the south. Made me think and reflect !
Reading is a great way to enjoy a cool day and of coarse quilting.
Bought some of my first quilt fabric from Mary!
Good morning Mary – I finished an eight book series called “Seven Sisters” by Lucinda Riley at the end of December. It’s about a man who adopts six baby girls and names them after the Seven Sisters of Plaeides star formation. You have to read the books to find out who the seventh sister is. I have to say that this series of books was the most enjoyable read to date.
We took Christmas in yesterday to be spayed – to our surprise Christmas is a boy, not a girl kitten. Everything checked out okay with him. He’s such a sweet, friendly kitten.
Gloria – now there’s a New Years surprise for you! Thanks for the book recommendation
Gloria, I am trying to recall the story about Christmas. Didn’t you lose a cat, and your second cat became depressed over the loss? Did the second cat and Christmas become buddies?
Janice – Boo is a feral cat who came to us on Halloween two years ago. When he finally got tame enough we took him to our vet to be neutered. Boo became best friends with Emmett our Norwegian elkhound. When Emmett went to Rainbow Bridge last spring, Boo became very depressed and followed us everywhere outside. Then during the first week in December my husband was putting wood in our outdoor furnace and he heard crying. Here comes Boo up the hill with a crying kitten beside him. When Gaylen picked up the kitten it was just skin and bones. We named the kitten Christmas.
Gloria – what a great children’s book this would be!!!
Gloria, Thank you for the story of Christmas. Does Boo and Christmas hang out together? Has Christmas helped Boo with the loss of Emmett?
Good morning, Mary. I met you when I picked you up at the airport in MT, as we were guests at Jane Quinn’s Outdoor Quilt Show many years ago. My name was Judith Lester. I remarried a fine gentleman, Houston Firefighter Captain, and am now Judy Pullen. My dear husband of 7 1/2 years passed away 3 years ago. I have enjoyed your newsletters and photos all these years, inspiring and encouraging me to continue serving and making quilts with my heart and wonky hands. I am blessed with two precious rescue dogs, Sadie Sue, a Jack Russell/Border Collie, and recently Miss Muffin, a terrier… Stay warm and well, Judy Pullen and the girls
I love that you knew Mary from so long go, Judy! So sorry for the loss of your husband. It’s good that you have your puppies, Sadie Sue and Miss Muffin to keep you company! So happy that you’ve commented and hope that you will share pictures of your pups and quilts. Jan in MA
Judy, I also had the pleasure of visiting Jane Quinn’s Outdoor Quilt Show … thanks for the memory! A quilting friend and I travelled there with our husbands (and our little dog, of course). The year we were there, they were displaying a Christmas quilt that you could buy patterns (or kits?) for each block (maybe 10-12 blocks). Included with that purchase, was a coordinating Jim Shore Christmas figure. It seemed too expensive for me at the time, but of course now I wish I had gone for it! It was a nice quilt show, in a very lovely setting … a mini Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show!
Judy – I typed up a response to you this morning but don’t see it. Yes, now I remember you and wasn’t Jane’s big quilt show so much fun? I loved it and that makes me wonder what Jane’s doing today. Do you know? Thanks for this nice memory. I’m so sorry you lost your husband but so glad you rescued your pups!!
“The Women” by Kristin Hannah. It is a story about the nurses during the Vietnam War and their struggles when the returned home. Also “The Nightingale” by the same author, about a woman who worked in the underground during WWII, guiding people across the mountains into Spain.
I loved both those books too!
dont forget. “we band of angels” nurses stranded on bataan. non fiction by E. Norman
I liked both of those, too. I have just 20 Pages to go in THE WOMEN! I have a Little Free Library next to our driveway so I just see what comes into it. I have sooo many books to read! I also enjoy Jennifer Chiaverini’s historical novels such as The Spymistress, Mrs Lincoln’s Sisters, and others.
It is very cold here and will continue. I worry about outside pets. Did you see the reporters rescuing the chickens from the fires in CA? Good for them!
Hi Mary, Three and grace look cosy,the first tabby photo reminded me of my first cat Tibby,beautiful and soft fur! I went and got fitted for my c pap machine today, hope for better sleep! Nice sunny day today, tomorrow also hope.Making bread and sweeping the kitchen floor tomorrow, then sewing! Take care everyone, best wishes from Sandy
Hi Sandy. The first kitty is 20 lb Buddy. He is a doll and very soft and furry! The little tuxedo is ours, too, Squeak. Buddy was a stray who was abandoned and he found me. Squeak was 4 weeks old and 20 ounces in the Big Lots parking lot😺😺
I’ve just finished reading “A Man Called Ove” by Frederick Backman. We recently watched “A Man Called Otto”, a US movie version starring Tom Hanks, which was delightful, with a sad/happy ending. There is also a movie of the original Swedish book – worth watching the trailer to discover how to pronounce his name! So I went back to reread the book.
I just finished Sandwich by Catherine Newman, and gave it 5 stars. It’s a story about.the week a family spends in the Martha’s Vineyard cottage where they’ve been going every summer for years. This was so well written! I think any woman of a certain age would find it just as compelling as I did. Highly recommend.
I also read a lot of historical fiction, and can recommend author Margaret Verble for her books about Cherokee women. When Two Feathers Fell From the Sky, and Cherokee America were both wonderful and eye-opening stories.
Honey by Victor Lodato was another great book about a strong woman trying to understand her family and herself as she nears the end of her life.
Your list is my favorite so far – I think I’d like these books! Made note
I just finished Sandwich by Catherine Newman, and gave it 5 stars. It’s a story about.the week a family spends in the Martha’s Vineyard cottage where they’ve been going every summer for years. This was so well written! I think any woman of a certain age would find it just as compelling as I did. Highly recommend.
“covenant of wate”- Abraham Verghese. beautiful writing and weaving of characters (also wrote “cutting for stone”. (both very long books and i am a slow reader, but well worth it)
“forest of vanishing stars” – Kristin Harmel . (and/or her other WW2 novels.) hard subject, great stories. strong women.
“the book woman of troublesome creek”-Kim Michele Richardson. (and her others) delivering books by horseback in the mountains/ first rural librarians
I have recently read By Her Own Design by Piper Huguley. It is about the life of the woman who designed Jackie Kennedy’s wedding dress. Another book I recently read was Crow Mary by Kathleen Grissom. It is a historical fiction book based on the true story of Goes First, a Crow Indian who marries a White trader in 1872. I read a lot of Historical Fiction.
It was so good to see Three and Gracie; they look like good buddies. Pam looked all snuggly in her cardboard box, the best cat bed ever.
Your eggs are beautiful!
I finished putting away the holiday decorations today. I enjoy them but am always ready to restore the house to normal. I am looking forward to being super productive at the sewing machine, since it is snowy and cold outdoors.
Take Care/Stay Warm, 🥰
I read a lot of non-fiction and recently read Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space
Book by Adam Higginbotham. It was thoroughly researched and written so well. It details the lead up and investigation of the 1986 Challenger disaster.