Karen’s Comments (group member since Dec 11, 2021)

Karen’s comments from the On The Same Page group.

LOL. It's a good problem to have, I think.

Alondra, Sorry that I missed your note. Thanks so much for your words of encouragement. It's been a challenging contest for me this year. Most of the books I selected (by choice) are not easy, light reads. I still have a few hefty books to get to before the end of the year.

I know we have talked about this before - when is it ok to start thinking about the books to read for next year's challenge? :)

Love these books!!

Bill, This is such an interesting question. There are so many authors I like. I am consciously trying to read all of the following:

- Virginia's Woolf's fiction and essays. I don't think I will read all of her published diaries. For the past year, I have been reading one of her diaries. I find it interesting, but very time-consuming. I also have a few biographies about her life that I want to read.

- Margaret Atwood - fiction, short stories, poetry, essays. I don't know how many I haven't read yet, but she has written a lot of things in her lifetime.

- Barbara Kingsolver - fiction, poetry, essays. I am close to completing her collection of works.

- Ann Patchett - fiction, essays - I think there are 6 or seven books I haven't read.

- Toni Morrison - fiction and essays

I would love to read all of Ursula Le Guin's writing and all of Alice Walker's writing, but my list is getting out of control.

Thanks, Jackie! Bel Canto has been sitting on my shelf for awhile. I am finally going to read it in 2025. Can't wait!

yay! I finished my 12th book (The Last Romantics) and it was one of my favorite reads of the year. I am carrying over the backup books that I didn't finish this year as motivation to read them next year.

Alissa wrote: "Another vote here for Bel Canto, it was wonderful!"

Thanks, Alissa. Some books are always on my list and I just don't get
to them. I am hoping to read all of Ann Patchett's books.

Thanks, Ann!

Thanks! It has truly been an all-year effort. At the beginning of the year, I had plans to zip through these books and move on, but it just didn't happen.

thanks, Bill!

I finally read The Imaginary Girlfriend, John Irving's memoir, and I know what the title means. Finally! I have one more of the original 12 to read and 9 days to do it. Fingers crossed.

Plays
1. August: Osage County by Tracy Letts, finished 7/8/25, 5 stars
2.

Poetry
1. The Path to Kindness: Poems of Connection and Joy edited by James Crews, finished 3/22/25, 5 stars
2. A Thousand Mornings: Poems by Mary Oliver, finished 5/4/25, 5 stars

Epistolary Novels
1. On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong, finished 4/19/25, 5 stars
2. The Pull of the Moon by Elizabeth Berg, finished 6/13/25, 5 stars

Short Stories
1. Our Strangers: Stories by Lydia Davis, finished on 2/4/25, 3*s
2. Liberation Day by George Saunders, finished on 7/21/25, 3 stars
3. Old Crimes: and Other Stories by Jill McCorkle, finished 9/2/2025, 4 stars

Essays
1. Call Them by Their True Names: American Crises by Rebecca Solnit, finished 1/20/25, 5*
2. The Unreality of Memory: And Other Essays by Elisa Gabbert, finished 4/14/25, 4*
3. Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, finished 6/24/25, 5 stars

Hi Lea,

I read The Ministry of Time a few months ago. I gave it 5 stars and voted for it. I don't read a lot of sci-fi, but I do like time travel and historical fiction. This book has a little of both.

The rest of your books look amazing. I hope you love them all. Happy reading!

Lea wrote: "Oh, I loved Bel Canto also. I've also read Before We Say Goodbye, The Pull of the Moon, and The Marriage of Opposites. So many other interesting books on your list - I can't wait to see what you th..."

Lea,

Thanks. I am hoping these will all be great. Most of these authors are my very favorites! Happy reading to you, too!

Bill wrote: "I have read other books by both Atwood and Munro. I hope you enjoy your selections. Happy reading, Karen"

Thanks, Bill. Happy reading!

Alondra wrote: "Goodness, you have Bel Canto on your list. I really, really loved that story. I know it is a love it or hate it with reviewers, but I really loved it.

Good luck and happy reading!"

Thanks, Alondra. I am hoping to love it. I love Ann Patchett's writing and Bel Canto is one of her books that I just haven't read yet.

Theme - Authors I have read before; books are already on my shelf; no excuse to not read them

1. Sisterland by Curtis Sittenfeld - finished on 2/17/25, 4 stars
2. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett finished on 3/30/25, 5 stars
3. Old Crimes: and Other Stories by Jill McCorkle - finished on 9/2/25, 4 stars
4. Paint it Black by Janet Fitch, finished on 8/28/2025, 5 stars
5. Blonde by Joyce Carol Oates
6. The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert, finished on 7/26/25, 4 stars
7. The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood
8. Before We Say Goodbye by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
9. Something Rising by Haven Kimmel finished on 5/30/25, 4.5 stars
10. The Pull of the Moon by Elizabeth Berg, finished on 6/13/25, 5 stars
11. Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage: Stories by Alice Munro
12. Who Will Run the Frog Hospital? by Lorrie Moore finished on 7/5/25, 4 stars

+4
13. The Truth According to Us by Annie Barrows
14. The Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman - finished 1/12/25, 4 stars
15. The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks
16. High Tide in Tucson: Essays from Now or Never by Barbara Kingsolver

Karen L.'s 2025 Non-fiction challenge

I will read at least 15 non-fiction books in 2025

18/18

1. Call Them by Their True Names: American Crises by Rebecca Solnit, finished 1/20/25, 5*
2. One Word That Will Change Your Life by Jon Gordon, finished 1/20/25, 2*
3. Do You Still Talk to Grandma?: When the Problematic People in Our Lives Are the Ones We Love by Brit Barron, finished 2/8/25, 3*
4. The Path to Kindness: Poems of Connection and Joy, edited by James Crews, finished 3/22/25, 5 stars
5. The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins, finished 3/31/25, 4 stars
6. The Unreality of Memory: And Other Essays by Elisa Gabbert, finished 4/14/25, 4 stars
7. Think You'll Be Happy: Moving Through Grief with Grit, Grace, and Gratitude by Nicole Avant, finished 4/22/25, 3.5 stars
8. A Thousand Mornings: Poems by Mary Oliver, finished 5/4/25, 5 stars
9. Book Love by Debbie Tung, finished 5/11/25, 5 stars
10. The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion, finished 5/13/2025, 5 stars
11. The Energy Clock: 3 Simple Steps to Create a Life Full of ENERGY ― and Live Your Best Every Day by Molly Fletcher, finished 5/16/25, 4 stars
12. Ten Steps to Nanette by Hannah Gadsby, finished 5/23/25, 5 stars
13. The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music by Dave Grohl, finished 6/8/25, 4 stars
14. Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, finished 6/24/25, 5 stars
15. 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff, finished 7/3/25, 5 stars
16. When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors, finished 8/6/25, 5 stars (re-read)
17. They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, finished 8/11/25, 4 stars
18. From Ted to Tom: The Illustrated Envelopes of Edward Gorey, finished 8/25/25, 5 stars

For months, I have been plotting and planning my 12 + 4 challenge for 2025. It never occurred to me to have 2. LOL! Good thinking, Bill!

Madeline wrote: "My choices:

Madeline and the Gypsies


[book:The Librarian of Basra: A Tru..."

I can't believe Charlotte's Web is a banned book. It's one of my all-time favorite books from childhood. I remember it as the first book that made me cry. I will try to read it this week.

After I read the banned books on my TBR, I will donate them to the little free library closest to my house.