Books Read this Year 2024

 I actually thought I had read less books this year. (I read 17 in 2023)

Books by the Number -19 total

Fiction - 10

Nonfiction - 9

January

Fever in the Heartland - review

Trail of the Lost

February

Necessary Lies

Mrs Kennedy and Me

The Personal Librarian

March

The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson

The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd

April

Jimmy Blue Feather

May 

Bones of the Master

June

Class

The Women by Kirsten Hannah

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

July

China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan

Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan

Distance Between Us by Reyna Grande

September

A Woman of Intelligence by Karin Tanabe

October

The Small and The Mighty by Sharon McMahon

November

Reconnected by Carlos Whittaker

December 

James by Percival Everett 

December Reading

 I am linking up with Modern Mrs Darcy's Quick Lit. Check out what everyone else is reading. December had me finishing up a book club book. 

I plan to do a wrap up all the books I read this year next week. I was surprised by the variety.  Book club really helps with that.

James by Percival Everett

This is the telling of the Huck Finn story from Jim's point of view. Mark Twain was an amazing storyteller, and Percival Everett is as well. This is going to be considered a classic and more than a companion book to Huck Finn. This is an easy read with complex layered themes.  I had the chance to virtually join an author talk with Percival Everett.

What I Read November

 I am linking up with Modern Mrs Darcy's Quick Lit. Check out what everyone else is reading.

Reconnected by Carlos Whittaker

Carlos spends 7 weeks screen free.  He spends two of those weeks with Monks and additional two weeks with Amish Sheep Farmers. Carlos even has his brain scanned by Dr Amen before and after. I thought this was really interesting. Carlos talks about noticing things and how our inner GPS is broken. I found the wonder part really interesting especially with screens we can get the answers immediately. We have lost our wonder. Carlos also turned his experience into a documentary. This maybe the kind of read all of us could use in this season of way to much information.

I am a big fan of his instagram loswhit

What I read October

 I am linking up with Modern Mrs Darcy's Quick Lit. Check out what everyone else is reading.

The Small and The Mighty by Sharon McMahon

I have written a lot about this book. I loved all the stories of the unsung American who changed the course of history. I love what a good storyteller Sharon is. She makes history interesting. This is an uplifting read during at a time where we question US politics. Once again, she proves that it wasn't the those who were best equipped (wealthy/smart) who did the next right thing are the ones that changed the course of history. I really didn't want the book to end. Tell me all the stories Sharon! 

I was lucky enough to attend her book tour in Denver. I am so proud of her. You can find her on Instagram  Sharon Says So.

The Small and The Mighty

 

Doesn't everyone get a new released book with fridge filters.

The long wait for the release of Sharon McMahon's book The Small and the Mighty has arrived. It came out last Tuesday. I belong to the Sharon Says So book club. I am so proud of this lady. Sharon is a master storyteller and when you read her book is like listening to one of her workshops.  Sharon makes government and history accessible to all by telling the stories of ordinary people who made a big difference. Hopefully seeing her in Denver tonight on her book tour.

What I read September

 I am linking up with Modern Mrs Darcy's Quick Lit. Checkout what everyone else is reading.

A Woman of Intelligence by Karin Tanabe

Katharina worked as a translator for the newly formed UN. She speaks 4 languages. She was single and carefree. She met a pediatric surgeon and married him. She becomes a mother and feels trapped in her role and unfulfilled. Katharina is asked by the FBI to be an informant. This is the life she craves.

This book is one that was part of Jen Hatmaker's book club. I saw it mentioned on her Instagram. I thought it was a decent read. This would be an excellence book club read. There is a lot to discuss with parenting roles, interracial relationships, expectations for mother's, working mother's. 

What I Read July

 I am linking up with Modern Mrs Darcy's Quick Lit. Check out what everyone else is reading.

I continued with the Crazy Rich Asian Series by Kevin Kwan with Book 2 and Book 3. Watching Crazy Rich Asians on Netflix reignited my interest in the series. I thought they were good reads. My only complaint is there are a few too many characters. I am overall a fan of this series. 

China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan

Rachel Chu is going to finally marry Nicholas Young despite meddling relatives including an overbearing mother. Rachel still doesn't know her real father. 

Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan

Nicholas Young's grandmother, Su Yi, is on her deathbed. Various relatives try to jockey for positions to receive their inheritance. Who will inherit Tyersall Park?

Distance Between Us by Reyna Grande

This is what the book club I belong to is reading. This was a quick compelling read. Reyna is an amazing writer. It reminded me somewhat of the memoir "Educated".  The story follows Reyna's family as some of her family immigrates to the United States, the other side.  Reyna is torn between two parents and two countries. It explains how it breaks her family apart.

What I Read June

 I am linking up to Modern Mrs Darcy. Check out what everyone else is reading. 

Everything I read this month made me cry.  Maybe I just cry easily.

Class by Stephanie Land

This is a follow up to her book Maid.  I think I have a bias. No, I know I have a bias. I would choose work over schooling especially if I had a young child.  I think Stephanie makes a point that most people have that bias.  I understand her choice from this book.  Should low-income people have to make that choice especially if we keep saying that higher paying jobs are made with higher education? Is higher education a right or a privilege? This was a thought-provoking book and Stephanie's story is amazing. I thought her professor said something interesting - quote below.

The Women by Kirsten Hannah

This was a book I was reading for book club. I don't think I have ever read any of her books without a box of Kleenex.  I have several personal connections to this book.  I served in the Army during Desert Storm, but I never saw combat.  One unit I belonged all the male soldiers went into the danger zones and the women were the administrative people who stayed behind.  I would get a lot of you couldn't have possibly served with them etc. A lot of my generation our dad's served in Vietnam.  My Dad served during the Vietnam era. I thought it was a good read.

Some of the comments from our book club discussion included how one person could endure so much trauma and was it exaggeration of the amount of trauma they incurred? We concluded from our discussion it wasn't. It is an eye-opening introduction to PTSD among women servicemembers and to just PTSD in general. A lot of people didn't like all the people coming back from the dead. Maybe that was all a little too convenient.

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

I read this book a while back and after watching the movie again on Netflix I decided to re-read.  It is a really fascinating book. However, there are a lot of characters.  I think watching the movie first is helpful while it isn't quite exactly true to the book it is close enough. The wedding scene in the movie is very magical. This is the first book in the trilogy.  You can't help but fall in love with Rachel and Nick.

old review

What I Read May

 I am linking up with Modern Mrs Darcy's Quick Lit. Check out what everyone else is reading. My reading has slowed down quite a bit but managed to get one book read.

Bones of the Master by George Crane

I found this browsing the library.  Sometimes that works out for me. This is about the Monk Tsung Tsai who escapes the Red Army in Mongolia and now 40 years latter returns with his now American neighbor George Crane, a poet. I know very little of Buddhism or Buddhist Monks, but this is a fascinating story about Tsung Tsai and his return to Mongolia to find the bones of his master. It is a fascinating adventure. George struggles to become more like Tsung Tsai and learn Buddhism. This meme below made me think of George at the beginning of his Buddhism journey. My sister just happened to send me this meme as I finished the book. 

This book isn't probably everyone cup of tea but I like learning about other religions and adventures.

What I Read in April

 I am linking up with Modern Mrs Darcy's Quick Lit. Check out what everyone else is reading.

Jimmy Bluefeather by Kim Heacox

I am reading this as part of a backlist challenge. I loved this book. It is very Pacific Northwest.  It is about a grandson who hurts his leg and his dream of being in the NBA and Grandfather, Keb, who is afraid that his culture is being lost. Keb is part Norwegian and part Tlingit native. It is set in the village of Jinkaat in Southeast Alaska. They build a canoe and sail it to Crystal Bay which is now a protected bay. There is a good bit of family drama and maybe just a few too many characters but a good story. 

What I Read March

 I am linking up to Modern Mrs Darcy's Quick Lit.  Check out what everyone else is reading.

I feel like my reading has been taken up almost completely with my book club book.

Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson

This isn't a book I would typically pick up. I like Isabel Wilkerson's descriptive writing that forces me to slow down for my reading style. I started this during Black History month.  I am learning a lot about something I know too little about. I usually take notes on book club notes on my kindle scribe, but this has forced me to take pen to paper. This book follows 3 people and their various migration routes. This book is a long one at 543 pages.

The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd

This is part of the backlist challenge I am taking part in. This book was published in 2014. It tells the story of the Grimke sisters inspired by Sarah Grimke based loosely on their life stories and the slaves that they grew up with in Charleston, SC. The Grimke sisters were the first female abolition agents and earliest of the feminists. I thought it was an interesting book.

What I Read February

 I am linking up with Modern Mrs Darcy's Quick Lit. Check out what everyone else is reading.

The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

I breezed through this book in almost an afternoon. I technically finished after dinner. It was a great read. The book was about Belle Greene who was the Personal Librarian of J P Morgan. Modern Mrs Darcy Quick Lit November 2023. I thought this was a great read and thought provoking too.

Mrs Kennedy and Me by Clint Hill

This was part of a Back List Challenge for 2012. I enjoyed the stories that Clint Hill, Secret Service Agent, talked about being part of Mrs. Kennedy's protective detail. It was a real look behind the curtain. 

Necessary Lies by Diane Chamberlain

This is a story about a new social worker Jane and her clients the Hart's. The setting is North Carolina. This is during the era of forced sterilization of poor or disabled people.  This story is told well. This is another book for the 2013 Back List Challenge. You can't but help but root for the main characters in this story.  Maybe the ending was tied up a little too neatly.

Booking It 2024 - January

I am linking up to Modern Mrs Darcy's Quick Lit. Check out what everyone else is reading. 

Trail of the Lost by Andrea Lankford

Technically finished this book on 12/29/2023.  My son got me this book for Christmas. I love reading about the PCT, Pacific Crest Trail. This book by Andrea Lankford a retired Park Ranger and her involvement in the search for Kris Fowler, Chris Sylvia, and David O'Sullivan. These are hikers missing from the PCT. This talks about what Andrea and the many volunteers who searched for these three hikers long after the official search. This is both heartbreaking and hopeful. 

NPR article

Fever in the Heartland by Timothy Eagan

This was a Sharon Says So book club read.  It is about Klan and the hold it had on Indiana in the 1920's.  It was a disturbing read for me.  I think it is important to share history even the bad parts of history. This book is researched incredibly well, and the pace of the book kept me reading.  There are a lot of connections with today as well. I am looking forward to discussing this book with book club.

I also read the The Big Burn by Timothy Eagan. That book actually gave me some nightmares about wildfires. I am looking forward to the author talk.