According to Goodreads, the most popular book I read--with 539,159 Goodreads readers--was The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. I read it for its ten-year anniversary read-along on the Little, Brown Facebook group. I also read Richard Power's The Overstory with the Read It Now Facebook group sponsored by PBS Newshour and the New York Times Book Review.
It is always exciting when a publisher or author likes my reviews and quotes them in media. I discovered on Indiebound a quote from my review of The Peacock Feast by Lisa Gornick and I received comments from Nicholas Meyer about my review on The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols and from Julie Langsdorf on her novel White Elephant.
NetGalley publishers starred eight of my book reviews including The Vexations by Caitlin Horrocks--who I later discovered had been my son's writing professor!
Books about writers, fiction and nonfiction, always catch my interest. I read biographical fiction novels:
Finding Dorothy by Elizabeth Letts: Mrs. Frank L. Baum and the making of the Wizard of Oz movie
Paris 7 A.M. by Lisa Weiland: poet Elizabeth Bishop's missing weeks in Paris
Love That Moves the Sun by Linda Cardillo: the friendship between Michelangelo and the poetess Vittoria Colonna
The Secrets We Kept by Laura Preston: Boris Pasternak's novel Dr. Zhivago's place in the Cold War and female typists turned spies
Non-fiction books on writers and books including:
Marma and Louisa by Eve LaPlante: Louisa May Alcott's heroic mother
Rilke in Paris: the city's place in the life of Ranier Maria Rilke and the writing of The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge
William Stoner and the Battle for the Inner Life by Steve Almond: the author discusses his understanding and relationship to John William's novel
Ministry of Truth by Dorian Lynskey: George Orwell's novel 1984
Mother of the Brontes by Sharon Wright: about the famous sisters' mother
Jane Austen's Inspiration by Judith Cove: Austen's friendship with Anne Lefroy
There's Something About Darcy by Gabrielle Malcolm: the Austen character's impact throughout the arts
The Story of Charlotte's Web by Michael Sims: E. B. White's inspiration and creation of the childhood classic
These Fevered Days by Martha Ackman: Emily Dickinson's life and works through pivotal moments
Cold Warriors by Duncan Wright: how literature was a weapon during the Cold War
Irving Berlin by James Kaplan: about the iconic Jewish songwriter
Literary Fiction I read includes:
A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler; class, race, and values war "can't happen here" happens there
American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins: the horrendous story behind one refugee family
Eden Mine S. M. Hulse: the roots of violence and the moral decisions we make
The Dutch House by Ann Pratchett: siblings stuck in the past
Perfect Little World by Kevin Wilson: when utopia doesn't work out
Bowlaway by Elizabeth McCracken: a family+a bowling alley=hilarity
The Night of Memory by Linda LeGarde Grover: Ojibwe sisters disappear into foster care until sought out by family
The Parade by Dave Egger: a parable about war and fake peace
Imagine That by Mark Fins: child in 1950s struggles with faith and life
Professor Chandra Follows His Bliss by Rajeev Balasubramanyam: passed over for the Nobel, a professor tries new values and lifestyle
The End of the Ocean by Maya Lunde: dystopian future with climate refugees and water shortage
The Overstory by Richard Powers: a multilayered exploration of the importance of trees to our survival
Rodin's Debutante by Just Ward; a coming-of-age novel set in Chicago. I read this when I learned of Ward's passing in December.
Women's fiction read included:
Chronicles of a Radial Hag by Lorna Landvik: a woman's legacy in a small town
The Words Between Us by Erin Bartles: books, forgiveness, and romance
Things You Save in the Fire by Katherine Center: female firefighter copes with dying mom and sexism in the workplace
Every Note Played by Lisa Genova: ex-wife cares for concert pianist with ALS
Northanger Abbey by Val McDermid: a reimagining of Austen's classic
By the Book by Julia Sonneborn: Persuasion update about second chances
Unforgettable by Soniah Kamal: Pride and Prejudice update set in Pakistan
The Other Bennett Sister by Janice Hadlow, an imagining of Mary Bennett's story
Thrillers and suspense:
The Holdout by Graham Moore: jurists from a headline trial reconvene and one is murdered
Shadow of the Lions by Christopher Swann: man returns to teach at his boarding school and hopes to solve a mystery
Miracle Creek by Angie Kim: trial hopes to determine responsibility for deaths but secrets abound
The Long Call by Anne Cleeves: detective solves a murder mystery in the community that has shunned him
The Dinner by Herman Koch: masterful plotting about a disturbing crime
YA books:
The Patron Saints of Nobody by Randy Ribay: teenager travels to the Philippines to unravel the mystery of his cousin's death
The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen: teenage girl caught in the class division of resort town
Nonfiction:
Father of Lions by Louise Callaghan: Mosul citizens caught in the war try to survive--and protect zoo animals
The Queens of Animation by Nathalia Holt: the women behind Disney
Joe Biden by Jules Witcover: Joe Biden's life and career
Rachel Maddow by Lisa Rogak: first biography of Maddow
Labyrinth of Ice by Buddy Levy: the riveting story of the Greeley expedition to the Arctic
The Winter Army by Maurice Isserman: the 10th Mountain Division in WWII
Falter by Bill McKibben: climate change and humanity's future
Broke by Jodie Adams Kirshner: dysfunctional governance causes housing crisis
Blowout by Rachel Maddow: oil and gas and Putin and politics
We Are the Weather by Jonathan Safran Foer: changing our lifestyle can slow climate change
Archeology from Space by Sarah Parcak: cutting edge technology reveals our place in the world
American is Immigrants by Sara Novic: foreign-born Americans contributions
Threads of Life by Claire Hunter: women and needlework in history and society
Whose Water is it, Anyway by Maude Barlow: communal vs. corporate control of water resources
Songs of America by Jon Meachem and Tim McGraw: history through music
Grace Will Lead Us Home by Jennifer Berry Hawes: victims of church shooting embody forgiveness
Fault Lines by Kevin Kruse: the 1970s roots of a divided America
The Chronicle of Shipwrecked Books by Edward Wilson-Lee: Columbus's son creates largest collection of books
The Death and Life of Aida Hernandez: A Border Story by Aaron Bobrow-Strain: the true story of an immigrant illustrates the consequences of American policy
The Forgotten Hero: Folke Bernadotte, the Swedish Humanitarian Who Rescued 30,000 People from the Nazis by Shelley Emling: Neutrality allows man to manipulate Nazis and rescue Ravensbruck women
Upheaval by Jared Diamond applies psychology to understand nations
Morality and the Environmental Crisis by Roger S. Gottlieb: systematic consideration of human choices and our impact on the environment
The Last Whalers by Doug Bok Clark chronicles a vanishing culture
Camelot's End: Kennedy vs. Carter and the Fight that Broke the Democratic Party by Jon Ward
Thomas Cole's Refrain: The Paintings of Catskill Creek by H. Daniel Peck. Three Sheets to the Wind by Cynthia Barrett: sayings with nautical roots
How to Remove a Brain by David Haviland: stories about the human body
I reviewed three cookbooks!
Amy Cotler's The Secret Garden Cookbook
Wini Moranville's The Little Women Cookbook
Lincoln in the Kitchen by Katherine Eighmey.
I also read The Anti-Diet Cookbook by Christy Harrison
Memoirs:
Family Records by Patrick Modiano: fictionalized memories of WWII Paris
This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay: British OB/GYN doctor's comic and tragic true stories
Mighty Justice by Dovey Johnson Roundtree: African American lawyer's impressive legacy
Educated by Tara Westover: author escapes horrific childhood
Inheritance by Dani Shapiro: DNA test results drive the search for real father
The Sun is a Compass by Caroline Van Hemert: a 4,000-mile journey across Alaska's wilderness
Legacy by Susan Methot: the lasting legacy of removing Indigenous children from families
The World According to Fannie Davis by Bridgett Davis: the numbers racket gives an African American Detroit family a home and education
Greek to Me by Mary Norris: the author's obsession with all things Greek
A Good American Family by David Maraniss: the author tries to understand why his journalist dad was called before the UnAmerican committee
Maid by Stephanie Land unwed mother's struggles to better herself
A Polar Affair by Lloyd Spencer Davis: author discovers suppressed manuscript detailing sex life of penguins
Historical fiction:
I reread A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles: house arrest makes a Former Person the "luckiest man in Moscow"
The Girl in White Gloves by Teri Maher: Grace Kelley's life
The Great Unknown by Peg Kingman: Scientific theories upset Victorian society
Things in Jars by Jess Kidd: eccentric female detective seeks child in Victorian England
Lady Clementine by Marie Benedict: an imagined life of Churchill's wife
The Light After the War by Anita Abriel: WWII refugee Hungarian Jewish women seek a new life
Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain: WPA artist discovers suppressed history in a southern town
Out of Darkness, Shining Light by Petina Gapah: David Livingston's remains are returned to England by African servants
The Doll Factory by Elizabeth McNeal: The Great Exhibition is the backdrop to this Victorian gothic thriller
Lost Roses by Matha Hall Kelley: White Russian refugees helped by New York socialite
The Gown by Jennifer Robson: women craft exquisite wedding dress for Queen Elizabeth
Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner: Detroit Jewish sisters divergent lives
Courting Mr. Lincoln by Louis Bayard: imagines Lincoln and Joshua Speed in love
The Editor by Stephen Rowley: new author mentored by Jackie O.
The Road to Grantchester by James Buncie: Sidney Chamber's WWI experience drives his calling
The Last Romantics by Tara Conklin: family drama explores how love fails us and saves us
The Electric Hotel by Dominic Smith: romance and mystery set in the early French film industry
The Guest Book by Sarah Blake: Racism divides family
Women of the Copper Country by Mary Doria Russell: women endeavoring to unionize, based on historical people and incidents in Calumet, MI
This Tender Land by William Kent Kruger: boys escape boarding school and set on a river journey
Cilka's Journey by Heather Morris: woman survives concentration camp and Siberia, helps others
The Book of Science and Antiquities by Thoman Kenalley: ancient and modern Australian men cope with end of life
We Are All Good People Here by Susan Rebecca Wright: sisters divergent paths into a divided America
Make Me a City by Jonathan Carr: vignettes from the history of Chicago
Amy Stewert's Miss Kopp On the March, Miss Kopp's Midnight Confessions, Lady Cop Makes Trouble, and Kopp Sisters On the March: based on real female detective, series considers women's struggles in early 20th c
If Anyone Should Ask, Tell Them I Died From the Heartbreaking Blues by Philip Coiffari, inspired by his NYC boyhood
I listened to more audiobooks this year.
Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid: band propelled to top the charts unravels
To the Stars Through Difficulties by Romlyn Tilghman: women discover hidden strengths and love
The Secrets We Kept by Laura Prescott: typists turned spies--Olga and Pasternack and Dr. Zhivago--and Cold War intrigue
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This Is Not a Love Song by Brenden Matthew
Maggie Brown & Others by Peter Orner
We Love Anderson Cooper by R. L. Maizes
Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout in which the story of Olive Kitteridge continues
I'd Die For You, the uncollected stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald
Indie authors are gems ready to be discovered and I have been lucky to read quite a few.
Anne Creel Howard's The River Widow (a flood offers a wife an opportunity to escape an abusive husband) and Mercy Road (women ambulance drives in WWI)
Rebecca Rosenberg's historical fiction novels Gold Digger: The Remarkable Baby Doe Tabor and The Secret Life of Mrs. Jack London
Tidal Flats by Cynthia Newberry Martin; a military marriage under stress
The Fourteenth of September by Rita Dragonette; revisits the Vietnam war protests and first draft lottery from a female perspective
Temptation Rag by Elizabeth Hutchinson Bernard; early Ragtime stars
Wickwythe Hall by Judithe Little; WWII and Operation Catapult provides the historical background for this romance
Northward by Chuck Radda; retired PI returns to Alaska to find a missing woman and stumbles upon environmental catastrophe in the making
And the memoirs Redlined by Lisa Graft about her Chicago childhood neighborhood and racial tensions, Two Minus One by Kathryn Taylor about life after marriage, and Lost Without the River by Barbara Hoffbeck Scoblic, recalling her childhood in rural Dakota
I have discovered Bellevue Literary Press and love their books. This year I read:
Feast Day of the Cannibals by Norman Lock, in which Robling and Melville appear, from his American Novel series
Hap and Hazzard at the End of the World by Diane DeSanders; girl survives dysfunctional childhood
Cesare by Jerome Charyn; Jewish orphan in Nazi Germany rises in power while protecting select Jews
The Bear by Andrew Krivak; father and daughter survive in a post-apocalyptic world
The Welsh Fasting Girl by Varley O'Connor
Best of all I was recognized as a top Amazon reviewer--ranked 927!
Our library book club had Skype visits with Wiley Cash to discuss his novel The Last Ballad, Nefertiti Austin on her memoir Motherhood So White, and Amy Stewart on Girl Waits With Gun.
Quilt books I reviewed:
Art Quilts Unfolding, celebrating 50 years of the Studio Art Quilts Association
Blue and White Quilts
Exploring Your Artistic Voice in Contemporary Quilt Art by Sarah Sider
Lynette's Bet-Loved Stitcheries
Autumn Bouquet by Sharon Keightley
Wild Wool and Cotton Quilts by Erica Kaprow
Victoria Findlay Wolfe's Playing With Purpose
Blended Embroidery by Brian Haggard
Why We Quilt by Thomas Knauer
Organic Applique by Kathy Doughty
MODA All-Stars On a Roll
Visioning Human Rights in the New Millennium by Caroline Mazloomi
HERstory Quilts by Susanne Miller-Jones
Hidden Treasures: Quilts from 1600 to 1860 by Lori Lee Triplett
*****
I continued toward my goal of completing quilt tops and quilting existent quilt tops. I'm not getting any younger! Time to clean up the backlog! |
| April Showers Bring May Flowers, hand appliqued and machine quilted |
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| Little Red Riding Hood, hand embroidered and hand quilted |
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| The Bronte Sisters, original quilt, machine quilted |
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| Tweet, hand quilted |
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| Winter Houses, machine quilted pattern by Anne Sutton |
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| unnamed, machine quilted |
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| 1857 Album quilt, hand applique and machine quilted patterns from Gay Boomers |
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| Unnamed, hand quilted |
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| Vintage quilt block, Freedom of Speech, hand quilted |
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| Cluck Cluck, hand appliqued and hand quilted pattern from MODA All-Stars On a Roll |
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| Baskets, hand applique and hand quilted pattern by Anne Sutton |
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| Thicket fabric from Gingiber quilt top |
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| Hospital Sketches quilt top, unfinished patterns from Barbara Brackman |
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| Wizard of Oz quilt top, hand embroidered original designs |
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| I made a table runner for my son and his girlfriend, creating an applique to match the print |
Its been a great year.
