Mary Anne’s Comments (group member since Jul 14, 2018)

Mary Anne’s comments from the The Reading Challenge Group group.

Links to my challenges

Last update: 7/3/2025

52 book club: 32 books https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

3 7 8 10 14 16 17 20 23 27 29 31 37 38 42 44 46 47 49 50

2025 Detailed Stats

Last updated: 7/3/2025

Major Goals
Total Books Read: 36 (goal 80) 4 behind schedule
From Physical TBR: 4 (goal 5-10)
Classics: 7 (goal 5-10)
New Releases: 2 (goal 10)

Other Stats
Format
Hardcover: 14
Audio: 8
Digital: 8
Paperback/softcover: 6

Genre
Classic or Modern Classic (written after WWII but at least 30 years old)(F or NF): 7
Mystery-Thriller-Suspense: 2
Historical Fiction: 5
Contemporary Fiction: 9
Fantasy/Science Fiction: 3
Memoir/Biography: 4
History (non-fiction): 1
Psychology/Self-help/Religion: 2
Other Fiction: 3
Other Non-Fiction: 0

Size of Book
Tiny (less than 100 pages):
Small (100-299 pages): 15
Medium (300-400 pages): 9
Chunkster (401-599 pages): 9
Doorstopper (600+ pages): 3

Source
Library: 29
Already Own: 4
Gift:
Purchased: 1
Spotify: 1
Free: 1

Recommendation Source
1000 Books to Read (Mustich book): 4
Modern Mrs. Darcy Book Club/What Should I Read Next podcast: 9
Published reviews (NYT, NPR, Statesman, Kirkus) or other online rec: 11
Friends/Family: 2
Award winner (Pulitzer, Booker, etc.): 1
Favorite author: 5
Reading Challenges: 3
Other or unknown: 2

Author Nationality
Anonymous:
United States: 20
United Kingdom: 5
Canada: 1
Australia: 2
Dominican Republic: 1
France:
Germany:
Ireland: 2
Italy:
Russia:
Scotland: 1
Sweden: 1
Ukraine: 1
Zimbabwe: 1
Japan:
Kenya:
Nigeria: 1
(will add other countries as I go...)

Rating
★★★★★: 9
★★★★: 19
★★★: 8
★★: 0
★: 0

Type or Style
Novel: 28
Novella: 1
Poetry:
Play:
Short Stories or Essays: 2
Comic/Graphic:
Anthology:
Nonfiction: 4

Other Random Stats
Female authors: 19
From my list of top 12 books to read this year: 6
Meant to read in 2024: 5
In 52 Book Club Challenge: 32

Books read by month:

Last updated 7/3/2025
Total read: 36

January (8)


February (5)


March (6)


April (5)


May (7)


June (5)


July ( )


August ( )

What I'm reading currently

as of 7/3/2025


Next up:


Others on hold at library:


On physical TBR (any format - audio, digital, hardcover, paperback):


DNF (but may come back to this year)

Goals for 2025

1) Read 80 books
2) Read 12 high priority books (chosen out of GR TBR)
3) Read at least one book for each decade that I've been alive - 1950's through to 2020's
4) Read one book from each of the last 5 years (2020-2024)
5) Read books in honor of my parents who would have been 100 in 2025 and were very avid readers. I selected books from the 1920's, 1930's, 1940's and 1950's, plus one specificallly for my dad and one for my mother.
6) Read at least 10 new releases.
7) Read 5-10 classics.
8) Read 60 books off my lifetime challenge shelf in GR.
9) Read 6 books from Mustich 1000 Books to read before you die.
10) Complete 52 Book Club Challenge.
11) Complete the alphabet challenge using author last name.

My goal for 2025 is 80 books. I've made a list 36 books I'd "really like to read" and we see how well I do at sticking to that list. I'm also going to try the 52 Book Club's challenge and I plan to do the Alphabet Challenge using author last name. I'm sure I will add more challenges as the year goes on!

Wrapping up my 2024 reading year! Overall It was a great reading experience (Grade A+!). I met almost all of my goals, read tons of great books, learned a lot, and I'm looking forward to another fun reading year in 2025.

10 thoughts on my reading...

1) I achieved my reading challenge goal of reading 84 books - finished with 85! My original "really want to read" list had 88 books on it and I read 53 of them. I did read 19 new releases that weren't on that original list - couldn't resist! :-)

2) My average rating for the year was 4 stars - 80% of my books were 4 or 5 stars. I had fifteen 5-star books. Maybe I'm an easy grader, but I chalk this up to sticking to a carefully curated list that is based on recommendations that I trust.

3) I participated the following challenges in this group: the genre challenges (not necessarily in the specific months), the Alphabet and Anti-Alphabet, Chunksters, Mount TBR, Audio books, Featherweights, Rainbow. Completed most - other than Mount TBR - only read 15 books I already owned.

4) 65% of the books I read were from the library; only 13% were purchased during the year - mostly audio as I subscribe to libro.fm.

5) I read 61 fiction books - top genres were historical fiction (15), classics (13), mystery/suspense/thriller (11), and contemporary fiction (10). The other 12 were split across romance, sci/fi, fantasy. I read 24 nonfiction books - top genres were memoir/biography (9), psychology/philosophy/religion (8), history (5). The other 2 were business and humor.

6) My best book of the year was James by Percival Everett - great writing, unique retelling of Huck Finn. Will now read more books by him.

7) Top 5 fiction books were James, Crossing to Safety, The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, Catch-22, Everyone Brave is Forgiven.


8) Top 5 non-fiction books were Path to Power, the Bible, Somehow: Thoughts on Love, Big Wonderful Thing: A History of Texas, and The Light of the World.


9) Reading the Bible all the way through was a big commitment and accomplishment - proud of my perseverance and I learned so much.

10) My best bookish experience of the year was attending the Texas Book Festival. So great to see many great authors in intimate settings and be around people who are reading!

On to reading 80 more great books in 2025!

Books 80-85

Book 80: Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave
Historical Fiction, 12/24/2024, Audio, 13 hrs. Published in 2016. I read based on recommendation from Modern Mrs. Darcy book club. This one will definitely make you cry. Set in London primarily during the bombing of the city by the Nazis. Primarily about 4 young people: Mary North, Hilda (her best friend), Tom and Alistair. And then Simon, Alistair's friend and fellow captain in the Army. All 4 are badly injured in some way, but mentally they all struggle thru except Tom who is killed instantly. First Mary is in love with Tom, and would have married him if he hadn't been killed. But her true love is Alistair. Rating 5 stars.

Book 81: Advent for Exiles: 25 Devotions to Awaken Gospel Hope in Every Longing Heart by Caroline Cobb
Nonfiction/Religion, 12/25/2024, Hardcover, 240 pages. Published in 2024. I read because my daughter recommended iut to me for December. Perfect devotions for where I am in life now. Excellent biblical references to the original exile from Eden, then the exile to Egypt and to Babylon. And we as Christians are in exile now waiting on Jesus' second coming. Love her songs that accompany the book. Overall it made me think and I love how she connected Old and New Testament verses. Rating 5 stars.

Book 82: Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake by Anna Quindlen
Nonfiction/Memoir, 12/26/2024, Hardcover, 182 pages. Published in 2012. I read because I have enjoyed other books by Quindlen. This did not disappoint. :-) Written when she was 60 or 61, this collection of essays really spoke to me. I really related to her thoughts on marriage, work, daughters/sons, grandkids, aging, etc. Now I need to read all of her books. :-) Rating 5 stars.

Book 83: Through the Bible (devotional book by Texas Baptists
Nonfiction/Religion, 12/30/2024, Softcover, 384 pages. Published 2011. I read it because it was my mother's. Made me think of her and Daddy a lot; interesting to see the different pastors and lay people who contributed. I liked that it was "straight thru" the Bible instead of chronological; and I liked that it had OT and NT each day, plus special readings for Advent/Christmas. My parents would be proud of me for reading the Bible completely over the course of 2024. Rating 4 stars.

Book 84: The Holy Bible (English Standard Version)
Classic, 12/30/2024, Softcover, 1387 pages. Proud of this accomplishment. Amazing that I read the Bible almost every single day this year - maybe missed 1 or 2 days, but quickly caught up the next day. I will go back and read many books in depth. Good to discover new verses, remember many verses from my youth, and learn the correct books for some of the verses I thought I knew. Rating 5 stars.

Book 85: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Modern Classic, 12/31/2024, Hardcover, 418 pages. Published originally in 1974 - I read the 25th anniversary version with some new info from the author. Glad I read this classic. But it was a long slog - hard to read all the discourse about ancient Greeks, reason, quality, romanticism, classical philosophy, etc. Plus comparing it to the "art" of maintaining a motorcycle, while basically a travelogue about a motorcycle trip between a son and a father, with two friends in the American west. Was it a memoir, a philosophy book, or a novel??? Strange, interesting, amazing. Not sure how I feel about it. Happy it was my last book of the year. Rating 4 stars.

Books 70-79

Book 70: The Wedding People by Alison Espach
Romance/contemporary fiction, 11/5/2024, Hardcover, 384 pages, Published in 2024. I read because it was a highly acclaimed new release. Quick read - funny, charming, makes you think, tender. Phoebe goes from suicidal to best friend of the bride when she is the lone person in the hotel not invited to the wedding. Great journey of how she gets her life back - so much to love here. Rating 4 stars.

Book 71: What You are Getting Wrong About Appalachia by Elizabeth Catte
Nonfiction/History, 11/5/2024, Paperback, 150 pages, Published in 2018. I read it because I bought it in Asheville, NC in 2019 as a "staff pick" in Malaprops as it was a "rebuttal" to J.D. Vance's Hillbilly Elegy. I finally decided to read it this year due to the election and Vance being on the ticket. I must say it painted a much more diverse and complex picture of Appalachia, and I believe much more accurate and real. Rating 4 stars.

Book 72: Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
Fiction/Science Fiction, 11/12/2024, Hardcover, 303 pages, Published in 2021. I read it because I like everything I've read by Ishiguro - his stories are so well written and so unique and interesting. Set in an unknown future society in London, where AFs (artificial friends) are purchased by parents to help children with many things. Klara becomes Josie's AF because Josie has a rare disease and is not expected to live long - her older sister has already succumbed to the disease. She is technically there to help watch Josie and monitor her movements so her parents can respond quickly if she is tired. However the mother is also trying to create an AF that is exactly like Josie, by training Klara to know her very intimately. Also Klara is trying to use her relationship with the Sun (it powers AFs) to somehow cure Josie. A great exploration of the human heart and true love. Rating 4.5 stars.

Book 73: Undelivered: The Never-Heard Speeches That Would Have Rewritten History by Jeff Nussbaum
Nonfiction/History, 11/18/2024, Hardcover, 384 pages, Published in 2022. I read it because it was recommended by Anne Bogel on What Should I Read Next? podcast in 2023. Very interesting to see situations where speeches were written but never given due to changes in circumstances, external events, change in mind, or death. Some that were included: Hilary Clinton's victory speech, Nixon's refusal to resign, Edward VIII's refusal to abdicate, DD Eisenhower's apology for failed D-Day invasion, Condoleeza Rice's remarks on foreign policy scheduled for Sept 11, 2001, Best Picture remarks for Moonlight when wrong winner was initially announced, Kennedy's remarks scheduled at the Dallas Trade Mart (where his motorcade was headed when he was shot). Well-researched, well-written, lots to think about if things had happened differently. Rating 4 stars.

Book 74: The Magician's Assistant by Ann Patchett
Fiction/Contemporary, 11/29/2024, Digital, 357 pages, published in 1997. I read it because I love Ann Patchett - this was one of her earlier books. Intriguing story about a woman and her "husband", the Magician, who was actually gay. It was more of a love triangle between her and his partner and him, that was actually extremely supportive of each other. The partner died of AIDS. He had never told her the true story of his family, so she reconnects with them after his death. Great found family story plus much heartache. Rating 4 stars.

Book 75: Worst Case Scenario by T.J. Newman
Fiction/Thriller, 11/21/2024, Hardcover, 336 pages, published in 2024. I read it based on review in the Austin paper in August 2024. What a rollercoaster! Large jet plane crashes into nuclear power plant in small town, Wateka, Minnesota. The fire chief and the plant leader are working to fix the issues with a young woman who is the national emergency rep (and is advising the US President on consequences of different options). She is also former girl friend of the plant leader. There are all kinds of family crises including saving a 5-year boy from van with his dead parents as it is trapped in jet plane fire on a bridge. Ultimately they save almost everyone and minimize the radioactivity issues. Lots of solid characters, story/plot a little unbelievable, but a fun quick read - humor amid the tragedy. Rating 3.5 stars.

Book 76: The Moment of Lift by Melinda Gates
Nonfiction/Memoir, 11/30/2024, Hardcover, 273 pages, published in 2019. I read it based on recommendation from Goodreads back in 2019, been meaning to read for a few years. Very inspiring and educational about her life/opportunities, and how she found her way to give back to the world, when much had been given to her. Made me want to volunteer for non-profits that support single mothers, literacy programs, pre-natal counseling, etc. Anything that serves women with a need. Rating 4 stars.

Book 77: The Last Castle by Denise Kiernan
History, 12/9/2024, Hardcover, 307 pages. Published in 2017. I read it because Asheville, NC is one of my favorite places, and I was intrigued by the story of Biltmore. This was a very good history of how George Vanderbilt had the original idea for a home and began buying up land in the area. He ultimately built the house/castle, developed the village nearby and planted the spectacular grounds. I didn't realize how much charitable work the Vanderbilts did in the area, and what an impact they had on national forests as Pisgah National Forest (part of their land) becaume the first one. Rating 3.5 stars.

Book 78: The Briar Club by Kate Quinn
Historical Fiction, 12/18/2024, Hardcover, 432 pages. Published in 2024. I read it because I have enjoyed everything I've read by Kate Quinn! This is the story of women living in a boarding house in the 1950's in Washington DC. Great characters, interesting back stories that connect in various ways. Russian spy who has defected, women running from issues at home, Polish woman who avoided Hitler but lost her art to unscrupulous people taking advantage of people escaping the Nazi's, a member of a professional women's baseball team, a wicked land-lady and her two adorable kids. Also a mobster turned good, a young mother struggling while husband is an Army doctor in Korea, a young mother being beaten by a senator's son plus being a closet lesbian lover of one of the women in the house. PLUS the house itself narrates short chapters in the present - after two brutal murders -- and the rest of the story is told via flashback. Rating 4 stars.

Book 79: Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Modern Classic, 12/19/2024, Paperback, 453 pages. Published in 1961. I read it based on the 1000 Books to Read Book by James Mustich, and because it's a classic I had never read. Wow - can't believe I had never read this. So funny, so poignant, you feel like you are in Italy with these airmen -- you feel the stress of flying crazy missions, you feel the horror of war, and the funniest of Catch-22 situations. Will read again or maybe others in the series? -- can't get enough of Yossarian, the chaplain, Nurse Duckett, the various generals and colonels, Milo, etc. Certainly MASH (the TV show) was influenced by this novel.

Books 60-69 (shortening these posts because I'm running out of time)

Book 60: American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Fantasy/Sci-Fi, 9/16/2024, Digital, 560 pages, published in 2001. I read it because it was recommended by the NY Times Book Review as one of the best of his books to start with. Long, winding story. Great characters - read the last half much quicker than the first half. Great story of the old gods fighting the new gods. Makes you think about what "gods" you look to. Rating: 4 stars.

Book 61: The Life Impossible by Matt Haig
Contemporary Fiction with a little magical realism, 9/20/2024, audio, 10 hrs/42 minutes, published in 2024. I read it because I enjoyed his book The Midnight Library. Really enjoyed this story of La Presencia -- magic light in the ocean near Ibiza. Excellent characters, fun dialogue. a good mysterious plot. Took a bit to get going. Not sure it needed the letter-writing premise between 72-year old Grace Winters - retired math teacher and Maurice her student. Grace is left a run-down house on Ibiza by a long lost friend and goes there to find out what happened to her friend. She ends up coming to terms with her own past (child dying, husband dying, her regrets) before solving what happened to her friend, and also preventing an evil developer from building a hotel and displacing animals, etc. on the island. Rating 4 stars.

Book 62: I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
Modern Classic, 9/29/2024, Digital, 401 pages, published in 1948. I read it because it was recommended by James Mustich in 1000 Books to Read. Great story - such funny, interesting characters. Very YA/children's but with a few adult themes. It really reminds me of Jane Austen for some of the dialogue and some of the confusion/misunderstandings that arise between the characters. Rating 4.5 stars.

Book 63: Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie
Mystery/Thriller, 9/30/2024, Digital, 198 pages, published in 1959. I read it because it was originally published in my birth year, plus I'm an Agatha Christie fan. Agatha Christie never disappoints. Entertaining characters, lots of seeds dropped as well as red herrings along the way. Set in a posh girl's school in London... many things are not as they seem, but Poirot figures it out brilliantly. Rating 4 stars.

Book 64: Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage: Stories by Alice Munro
Contemporary fiction, 10/12/2024, Digital, 345 pages, published in 2001. Read it because it was short stories, been on my list a long time, plus she's a Canadian author (trying to read more non-US authors), and she won the Pulitzer Prize. Lovely short stories about marriages and friendship. Love her writing - need to read more of her books. Rating 4 stars.

Book 65: The Path to Power by Robert Caro
Non-fiction Biography/History, 10/22/2024, Hardcover, 882 pages, published in 1982. Another book I read because it is on the 1000 Books to Read list. Wow - amazing details of Lyndon Johnson's life. So many stories, so much insider knowledge. Now I have to read the next 3 books of the series. Rating 5 stars.

Book 66: The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis
Historical fiction, 10/22/2024, Paperback, 243 pages, published in 1983. Read it because I needed a "Q" book for the Alphabet Challenge! I thought it was much better than the TV show (came out in 2020). Orphan becomes a chess prodigy, then is adopted, and ultimately on her own. Love how she reconnected with Jolene to get her out of the alcohol and pills. Beating all the Russian grandmasters was amazing. And getting the help from her friend Benny to finish the last game was outstanding! Rating 4 stars.

Book 67: Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng
Contemporary fiction, 10/26/2024, Paperback, 352 pages, published in 2022. I read it because it was recommended by NYT Book Review and my cousin Cathy Z. gave it to us. Interesting story about Bird and his mother, the power of words, discrimination, pushing back on privilege. Brave journey of Bird to find his mother with cryptic cues from her letter to him. He finds her, and reunites with his friend Sadie, and his mother's friend Domi (or Duchess). Ng is a great storyteller. Didn't like this one as much as some of her others but the last half I just couldn't put it down. Rating 3.5 stars.

Book 68: This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger
Historical fiction, 10/29/2024, Audio, 14 hrs/19 min, published in 2019. I read because it was recommended by multiple friends. Loved this so much -- Grapes of Wrath meets Huck Finn and/or Lincoln Highway. The 4 orphaned vagabonds go on quite the adventure to find "family" when they have it with them all along. So much happens: murder, con-men/women, love, kindness, snake bite, Indian burial grounds, floods, Hoovervilles, difficult childbirth, near-death experiences, child abuse, embezzlement, brothels. Great characters, great plot. Rating 5 stars.

Book 69: The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw
Contemporary fiction, 11/2/2024, Audio, 4 hrs/6 min, published in 2020. I read it because it has been on my list for awhile and it was recommended in 2024 as a great audio book on the What Should I Read Next podcast. Wow - steamy!!! But gosh this was 9 great short stories about black women of 4 different generations, finding themselves, finding love, finding family, just being. A couple of the stories have some crossover characters (I think) but mostly just funny and poignant and a very quick read/listen. Rating 4 stars.

Book 59: Table for Two: Fictions

Author: Amor Towles
Date Read: 9/13/2024
Genre: Fiction - Short Stories
Format: Digital
Setting: New York, California
Number of Pages (or Hours): 13 hrs, 23 min
My Rating: 4
Why I Read: Love Amor Towles and trying to read different styles of writing like short stories

What lovely stories! Amor knows how to write lovely characters. Loved the novella in the middle of it -- surely he could have made it into a novel by itself. Also I listened on audio which was very good, but a little tricky to follow what was a story vs the novella.

Book 58: Malas

Author: Marcela Fuentes
Date Read: 8/31/2024
Genre: Fiction - Historical
Format: Digital
Setting: Laredo, TX
Number of Pages (or Hours): 384
My Rating: 4
Why I Read: NPR Book of the Day podcast from June 2024. Intrigued by setting on the border of Texas, and sounded like a great debut!

Intriguing story of Lulu and Pilar. Lulu is a 15-year-old daughter feuding with her Dad (Jules) and grandmother Romi about her quincenara, living on the Texas border with roots in Mexican and Tejano. She loves Selena and playing music secretly with her band. Pilar is her grandmother's best friend who returns mysteriously when Romi dies - but Lulu doesn't understand why the rest of her family hates Pilar when she was one of Romi's "comadres" - love that name for women friends. Great characters and relationships; excellent dialogue. Excellent debut novel, and a beautiful cover!

Book 57: A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23

Author: W. Phillip Keller
Date Read: 8/26/2024
Genre: Nonfiction - Religion
Format: Paperback
Number of Pages (or Hours): 173
My Rating: 4
Why I Read: My daughter gave it to me this summer, and it paired nicely with reading the Bible all the way through, and reading Psalm 23.

Lovely insight into Psalm 23, based on the shepherd's tasks to keep sheep safe, and how the behavior of sheep affected some of the words. Will definitely think about this as I read the 23rd psalm in the future. May read other books by the author.

Book 56: Gilgamesh: A New English Version

Author: Stephen Mitchell (original writer is unknown)
Date Read: 8/23/2024
Genre: Fiction - Classic
Format: Audio
Setting: Mesopotamia
Number of Pages (or Hours): 4.5 hours
My Rating: 4
Why I Read: To go along with Reading Genesis because it references it multiple times, and it's been on my list for a long time.

Widely known as the oldest book. Discovered in the 1800's, in cuneiform from 1200 B.C. The story has some similarities to the Bible - Gilgamesh is a king similar to David and Solomon, with characteristics like Samson. Literature's first "bromance" between Gilgamesh and Enkidu, as they go on many crazy adventures and slay gods in the forest, etc. It also includes a flood story that Marilynne Robinson compared to Noah in Genesis, in the previous book I read (Reading Genesis). Enjoyed this modern version (not a direct translation from cuneiform, but based on one of the early translations) - the notes and details that were half of the book provided much needed insight and understanding.

Book 55: Reading Genesis

Author: Marilynne Robinson
Date Read: 8/21/2024
Genre: Non-Fiction, Religion
Format: Digital
Number of Pages (or Hours): 353
My Rating: 3.5
Why I Read: I've enjoyed Robinson's fiction writing, and I was intrigued from a theological perspective.

I think she set out to prove God as a loving God. I was enlightened by the different thoughts she went thru, but the book could have been better edited. It is really just one long stream of consciousness chapter. Glad I read it, but it should have been a little easier with better editing.

Book 54: The Wind-up Bird Chronicle

Author: Haruki Murakami
Date Read: 8/19/2024
Genre: Fiction - Fantasy, Modern Classic
Format: Digital
Setting: Tokyo
Number of Pages (or Hours): 607
My Rating: 3.5
Why I Read: I picked it for my special decade challenge - written in the year my daughter was born. Also I thought I had read another book by him, but it was a different Japanese author.

This book was many things: beautiful writing, confusing, weird, strange, odd, fantastical, long, meandering, frustrating... A marriage gone wrong, weird family, strange actions, awkward people and names (Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Malta, Creta, etc.), magical realism. I will try another of his books just because the beautiful descriptions and writing may be worth it -- but will try a shorter book.

Book 53: A Death in Cornwall (Gabriel Allon, #24)

Author: Daniel Silva
Date Read: 8/6/2024
Genre: Fiction - Mystery/Thriller
Format: Hardcover
Setting: London, Wales, Corsica, Switzerland, Venice
Number of Pages (or Hours): 432
My Rating: 4
Why I Read: I love this series and read the newest one each year

Another great Gabriel Allon! Thought this one was very good with the art fraud, and the conspiracy behind ultra-elites and money-laundering. Good characters, multiple mysteries/murders solved.

Book 52: 1984

Author: George Orwell
Date Read: 8/6/2024
Genre: Fiction - Classic
Format: Paperback
Setting: future London
Number of Pages (or Hours): 328
My Rating: 5
Why I Read: A re-read; plus it is on my personal decade challenge to read a book relating to special years in my life - I married in 1984!

So dark, so depressing. But amazing writing. Should definitely continue to be required reading for high school/ college age kids. And so many vibes that match what is going on now -- but he wrote it in 1949! Now I need to re-read Animal Farm...

Book 51: The Vacationers

Author: Emma Straub
Date Read: 8/5/2024
Genre: Fiction - Contemporary
Format: Audio
Setting: Majorca
Number of Pages (or Hours): 6 hrs, 39 min
My Rating: 3
Why I Read: I really liked This Time Tomorrow by her last year; also it fits "V" in my alphabet challenge

This was a family saga, usually the kind of dysfunctional family that I really like. The Post family is on vacation in Majorca, at a house. Family matriarch and patriarch, Franny and Jim, have a marriage crisis; the oldest child is dating someone 10+ years older; their daughter is about to go to college and wants to lose her virginity; Franny's best friend Charles is there with his husband Warren and they are wanting to adopt a baby. Much craziness ensues as everyone is lying to someone, and trying to find comfort in something. It was a little too "romance-y" for me in that everything is mostly happy in the end.

Book 50: Southern Man (Penn Cage, #7)

Author: Greg Iles
Date Read: 7/30/2024
Genre: Fiction - Mystery/Thriller
Format: Hardcover
Setting: Natchez and Bienville, MS
Number of Pages (or Hours): 966
My Rating: 4
Why I Read: Really like Greg Iles, and started this series years ago - and this is a new release in 2024. Borrowing it from my mother-in-law.

Read the previous two in this series earlier this year so easy to continue -- but still another huge book. Our hero, Penn Cage is a lawyer and author. His daughter is grown now and a lawyer. He is dealing with several health challenges. As usual there are tons of great characters, and lots of different thread to the story. Mostly racial tension and some political stuff in this one, as well as the local Ku Klux Klan guys, crazy sheriffs, new love interest, etc. Warning -- all the books in the series are very long (500-800 pages), but they have short chapters and a propulsive plot, so they are hard to put down. Another solid read!