Book Nook Cafe discussion

Another year of excellent reading!

2023 Reading Challenge

1. 1970- Button, Button: Uncanny Stories by Richard Matheson 4/5 stars 1/4/2023
2. 1971- Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor 4/5 stars 1/11/2023
3. 1972- All My Friends Are Going to Be Strangers by Larry McMurtry 3.5/5 stars 1/21/2023
4. 1973- Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown 3.5/5 stars 1/25/2023
5. 1974-Lady by Thomas Tryon 5/5 stars 2/14/2023.
6. 1975-Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters 3.5/5 stars 2/6/2023
7.1976- The Great Santini by Pat Conroy 4/5 stars 3/3/2023
8. 1977- The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson 4/5 stars 3/15/2023
9. 1978- For Her Own Good: Two Centuries of the Experts' Advice to Women by Barbara Ehrenreich and Deirdre English 3.5/5 stars 2/27/2023
10. 1979- The Dog of the South by Charles Portis 3.5/5 stars 3/12/2023

11. Geography/Africa - River of the Gods: Genius, Courage and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile by Candice Millard 4/5 stars 3/25/2023
12. Mark Kurlansky Book - Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World by Mark Kurlansky 3.5/5 stars 2/19/2023
13.Peter Heller Book– The River by Peter Heller 4/5 stars 3/26/2023

Cassie Dewell Series
14. The Highway by C.J. Box 4/5 stars 1/5/2023
15. Badlands by C.J. Box 4/5 stars 1/18/2023
16.Paradise Valley by C.J. Box 4/5 stars 2/7/2023
17.The Bitterroots by C.J. Box 4/5 stars 3/30/2023
18. Treasure State by C.J. Box 4/5 stars 4/26/2023

14 Books About Film/Televison
19. Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard by Tom Felton 4/5 stars 1/2//2022
20. Ghostbuster's Daughter: Life with My Dad, Harold Ramis by Violet Ramis Stiel 4/5 stars 1/26/2023
21. Andy and Don: The Making of a Friendship and a Classic American TV Show by Daniel de Visé 4/5 stars 3/6/2023
22. All about Me!: My Remarkable Life in Show Business by Mel Brooks 4/5 stars 3/17/2023
23. The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man: A Memoir by Paul Newman 4/5 stars 4/2/2023
24.Laughing Matters by Larry Gelbart 3/5 stars 4/10/2023
25. You Might Remember Me: The Life and Times of Phil Hartman by Mike Thomas 4/5 stars 7/13/2023
26. We'll Always Have Casablanca: The Legend and Afterlife of Hollywood's Most Beloved Film by Noah Isenberg 4/5 stars 7/24/2023
27. That's Not All Folks! by Mel Blanc 5/5 stars 8/10/2023
28. My Lucky Life in and Out of Show Business by Dick Van Dyke 4/5 stars 9/21/2023
29. We Don't Need Roads: The Making of the Back to the Future Trilogy by Caseen Gaines 4/5 stars 8/28/2023
30.John Hughes: A Life in Film: The Genius Behind Ferris Bueller, The Breakfast Club, Home Alone, and more by Kirk Honeycutt 4/5 stars 9/14/2023
31. Silver Screen Fiend: Learning About Life from an Addiction to Film by Patton Oswalt 3/5 stars 9/28/2023
32. My Word is My Bond by Roger Moore 4/5 stars 10/18/2023

Business
33. Brandwashed by Martin Lindstrom 4/5 stars 5/28/2023
34. Levi Strauss: The Man Who Gave Blue Jeans to the World by Lynn Downey 4/5 stars 6/16/2023
35. Losing My Virginity: How I've Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way
Richard Branson 4/5 stars 10/6/2023
36. Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall by Alexandra Lange 3/5 stars 10/14/2023

37.Fairy Tale- Darling Girl by Liz Michalski 3/5 stars 6/10/2023

Extraordinary Women
38. In on the Joke: The Original Queens of Standup Comedy by Shawn Levy 4/5 stars 2/8/2023
39. Battleship: A Daring Heiress, a Teenage Jockey, and America's Horse by Dorothy Ours 4/5 stars 4/19/2023
40. Finding Me by Viola Davis 4/5 stars 4/23/2023
41. Becoming by Michelle Obama 5/5 stars 5/9/2023
42. A Natural Woman: A Memoir by Carole King 4/5 stars 5/23/2023
43. The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II by Denise Kiernan 4/5 stars 8/18/2023

Animals
44. Last Chain On Billie: How One Extraordinary Elephant Escaped the Big Top by Carol Bradley 4/5 stars 4/18/2023
45. The True Tails of Baker and Taylor: The Library Cats Who Left Their Pawprints on a Small Town . . . and the World by Jan Louch 5/5 stars 5/5/2023
46. The Eighty-Dollar Champion: Snowman, the Horse That Inspired a Nation by Elizabeth Letts 4/5 stars 6/28/2023

Authors
47. Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her by Melanie Rehak 5/5 stars 5/16/2023
48. Born to Be Posthumous: The Eccentric Life and Mysterious Genius of Edward Gorey by Mark Dery 3/5 stars 6/25/2023

Crime
49.Peppermint Twist: The Mob, the Music, and the Most Famous Dance Club of the '60s by Sammi Carter 4/5 stars 7/9/2023
50. The Old Man and the Gun: And Other Tales of True Crime by David Grann 3/5 stars 9/25/2023

Science
51. The Premonition by Michael Lewis 4/5 stars 6/14/2023
52. Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach 4/5 stars 9/7/2023

Love Stories
53. The Confessions of Max Tivoli by
Andrew Sean Greer 4/5 stars 9/17/2023

Books by Pamela Aidan
54. An Assembly Such as This by Pamela Aidan 3/5 stars 7/20/2023
55. Duty and Desire by Pamela Aidan 3.5/5 stars 8/4/2023
56. These Three Remain by Pamela Aidan 4/5 stars 8/22/2023
57.Young Master Darcy: A Lesson in Honour by Pamela Aidan 4/5 stars

58. Ruth Reichl Book -Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir by Ruth Reichl 5/5 stars 1/10/2023
59. Paulette Jiles Book - Lighthouse Island by Paulette Jiles 3/5 stars 5/6/2023
60. Banned Book- Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan 4/5 stars 5/12/2023

Books Off of My Never-Ending Reading List
61. Deliberate Cruelty: Truman Capote, the Millionaire's Wife, and the Murder of the Century by Roseanne Montillo 4/5 stars 4/7/2023
62.Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole by Susan Cain 3/5 stars 5/24/2023
63.The Little Broomstick by Mary Stewart 4/5 stars 5/31/2023
64. Cool Dead People: Obituaries of Real Folks We Wish We'd Met a Little Sooner by Jane O'Boyle 4/5 stars 6/6/2023
65. Edward Gorey: His Book Cover Art and Design 3/5 stars 7/2/2023
66. The Haunted Looking Glass by Edward Gorey 4/5 stars 7/8/2023
67. How Y'all Doing?: Misadventures and Mischief from a Life Well Lived by Leslie Jordan 4/5 stars 7/23/2023
68. The Final Solution by Michael Chabon 3/5 stars 7/27/2023
69.Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig by Jonathan Eig 5/5 stars 8/8/2023
70.Bones: An Alex Delaware Novel by Jonathan Kellerman 4/5 stars 9/2/2023


70/70

If anyone can do it, you can Julie ! I look forward to the many interesting reviews and titles in the coming new year.

You're 2022 challenge was excellent !

I like the way you give yourself more than one opportunity to cover a challenge category. The last one is funny because i fully understand it! I'm glad you shared this now, before the rest of the group suggests ideas for ours.

madrano wrote: "I like the way you give yourself more than one opportunity to cover a challenge category. The last one is funny because i fully understand it! I'm glad you shared this now, before the rest of the g..."

I have so many entertainment books on my TBR list - I knew I needed to add that category!

Makes such sense, Julie. I like that idea.

Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard
Tom Felton
4/5 stars
Tom Felton relates his acting career and the ups and downs of being a child actor, especially being in one of the most popular movie series of all times. Nicely written and very interesting! Books About Film/Television

Well done, on filling in your first book for your challenge, Julie. I really enjoy seeing the books you select as they are often not the ones I typically hear about. Thanks !

And you are off, Julie! The books you share with us are welcome and often new-to-me. Thanks for sharing about them here.

Button, Button: Uncanny Stories
Richard Matheson
4/5 stars
I have always enjoyed Matheson's eerie stories and this one does not disappoint. This book is a compilation of dark short stories, one which became a film and a Twilight episode. Very enjoyable! 1970

Neat, Julie. Matheson is a good sci-fi writer. My favorite could well be considered more Romance than sf, Somewhere In Time.

madrano wrote: "Neat, Julie. Matheson is a good sci-fi writer. My favorite could well be considered more Romance than sf, Somewhere In Time."

I loved that book!

Julie wrote: I have always enjoyed Matheson's eerie stories and this one does not disappoint. This book is a compilation of dark short stories, one which became a film and a Twilight episode. Very enjoyable! 1970
..."

My sister was watching Twilight Zone yesterday. It was the episode titled, Time Enough at Last.

"Time Enough at Last" is the eighth episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.] The episode was adapted from a short story written by Lynn Venable.

"Time Enough at Last" became one of the most famous episodes of the original Twilight Zone. It is "the story of a man who seeks salvation in the rubble of a ruined world", played by Burgess Meredith, who loves books yet is surrounded by those who would prevent him from reading them."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_En...

Julie wrote: "madrano wrote: "Neat, Julie. Matheson is a good sci-fi writer. My favorite could well be considered more Romance than sf, Somewhere In Time."

I loved that book!"

It was such a neat idea. The film Somewhere In Time was based on Matheson's Bid Time Return. Those & Jack Finney's two Time series--Time and Again & From Time to Time mix romance with sci-fi delightfully.

Alias, i think that episode of Twilight Zone must be every reader's favorite. The awful ending! As a kid, pre-teen & ensuing reading years, i loved the ending. How things change. :-)

The Highway
C.J. Box
4/5 stars
Cassie Dewell, investigator, is on the lookout for 2 girls who have disappeared driving on a Montana highway. Can she find them and her ex-partner Cody Hoyt? I really enjoyed this and I look forward to the rest of the series. Cassie Dewell Series Book #1

I've not heard of this series but the Montana setting sounds good. Thanks for the comments, Julie.

madrano wrote: "I've not heard of this series but the Montana setting sounds good. Thanks for the comments, Julie."

Same for me. I've not heard of the series, either, but I would love the Montana setting seeing as how I'd love to go to Montana.

Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir
Ruth Reichl
5/5 stars
I love Ruth Reichl and this book doesn’t disappoint. Ruth relates her life at Gourmet magazine from her beginnings there to when the magazine closed. The funny thing is that I remember when that happened because I was in charge of the magazine department at my library around that time. Gourmet was not the only serial to fold and we have lost a lot of magazines and it continues on as a lot of magazines have reverted to being online only. Reichl is an amazing author and I highly recommend her books! Ruth Reichl Book

I have read and enjoyed two Reichl books--Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise and Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table. Her pleasure in food and sharing about the topic is a pleasure to explore. Thanks for this title. While i didn't subscribe to the magazine, a number of my recipes are from that source. Someone i knew kept sharing her old copies. Yum!

Julie wrote: "
Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir
Ruth Reichl
5/5 stars
I love Ruth Reichl and this book doesn’t disappoin..."

Just the title is intriguing to me!

Julie wrote: and it continues on as a lot of magazines have reverted to being online only..."

I can get many magazines online from my library. However, it's just not the same enjoyable experience as holding a magazine. Magazines were also terrific for subway rides. They were light and easy to carry.

I would purchase magazines but the prices seem way too high. Many are $10 or more an issue ! For that price I rather put the money towards a book.

Same here, Alias.

So would I. And magazines are filled with ads.

Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont
Elizabeth Taylor
4/5 stars
Mrs. Palfrey has decided to move into a senior housing at her age. Her son and daughter live nearby but never seem to come and visit her. Fortunately, she meets a young man named Ludo when she was shopping at Harrods and he starts to visit her. Her friends from the home all seem to think he is her son but she doesn’t dissuade them either way. This was a sweet, sad novel and I enjoyed Taylor’s writing. I would read more of her. 1971

I concur with your comments, Julie, on Mrs. P. I was quite pleased with it. The other Taylor novel i read was Blaming, which was different. Like you, i want to read more but don't make the time.

Julie wrote: "
Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont
Elizabeth Taylor
4/5 stars
Mrs. Palfrey has decided to move into a senior housing at her ..."

I see my library has the eBook. I'm adding it to my TBR list. Thanks !

Badlands
C.J. Box
4/5 stars
Cassie Dewell, investigator is on the job again as the new deputy sheriff in Grimstad, North Dakota. The story surrounds a twelve-year-old named Kyle who is the slow kid and has no friends. One day while riding his bike on newspaper route, he sees a car crash and finds a package on the ground which he takes with him. Unfortunately, the package is filled with drugs and his life is going to be a lot different now and more dangerous as the owners of the package try to find it. I enjoyed this! Cassie Dewell Series - Book #2

Julie wrote: "
Badlands
C.J. Box
4/5 stars
Cassie Dewell, investigator is on the job again as the new deputy sheriff in Grimstad, North Dakota. The st..."

Sounds like a good page turner, Julie !

Julie wrote: "
Badlands
C.J. Box
4/5 stars
Cassie Dewell, investigator is on the job again as the new deputy sheriff in Grimstad, North Dakota. The st..."

I like that this series has Cassie working out of a number of different western states, rather than only one. This one, about North Dakota, calls to me particularly, as i just read a memoir about the state & the story of the author who grew up there, Boys and Oil: Growing Up Gay in a Fractured Land--Taylor Brorby.

Thanks for the series info, Julie.

All My Friends Are Going to Be Strangers
Larry McMurtry
3.5/5 stars
Danny Deck is going to have his first book published but his female relationships are not going as well as he planned. On top of all this turmoil he takes off, leaving Houston to hopefully get his life back on track. Nicely written! 1972

You are certainly sailing right along on your challenge, Julie. It's fun seeing the books you pick for the various years.

Alias Reader wrote: "You are certainly sailing right along on your challenge, Julie. It's fun seeing the books you pick for the various years."

Thanks!

Thanks for keeping us posted, Julie. Despite living in the state, i don't believe i've read any McMurtry novels. My dad, however, really liked the Lonesome Dove books. He came to it via the tv series. For him, Native Texan, the description of the landscape and cowboys rang true.

Nice memory, as Dad didn't read much. Thank you, Julie.

My Dad also loved McMurtry. I can see him in his recliner with a dog-eared paperbacks that he reread from time to time. I loved Lonesome Dove, but on Enjoying your progress!

Rubyfruit Jungle
Rita Mae Brown
3.5/5 stars
This is a coming of age story about Molly Bolt, a young woman adopted by a poor couple, living in the South who vows to go her own way and forge her own path and loves who she wants to without any regard to what her family and friends want for her. I have never read anything by this author but am looking forward to reading more of her and I feel this book though written in 1973 still holds up! 1973

I am not familiar with Rita Mae Brown. When I checked on Amazon she seems to have some very long running mystery series that have a cat on the cover.

One of my friends likes cats and mysteries, so I passed the authors name on to her to checkout. They look to be in the cozy mystery genre. Thanks !

Alias Reader wrote: "I am not familiar with Rita Mae Brown. When I checked on Amazon she seems to have some very long running mystery series that have a cat on the cover.

One of my friends likes cats and mysteries, s..."

This one was not a mystery but a coming of age story but I recommend it. I have not read any of her mysteries but I look forward to reading more of her.

Julie wrote: "
Rubyfruit Jungle
Rita Mae Brown
3.5/5 stars
This is a coming of age story ..."

When this book came out, in the early '70s, it was highly praised and is still well regarded. Years later i heard about the cat mysteries but couldn't believe it was the same author. It was. It is beloved by many, although i haven't read either book.

Therefore, i appreciate your comments, Julie. I do enjoy coming of age stories. Thank you.

Ghostbuster's Daughter: Life with My Dad, Harold Ramis
Violet Ramis Stiel
4/5 stars
This was a very interesting book on the Ramis family and her father Harold Ramis who was probably best known as one of the Ghostbusters but was also involved in writing and directing. She relates her unusual rearing and also talks about her children and partners along with talking about her father’s many films. Film/Television Books

Nice rating. I've not heard of this book but it sounds like a tribute to her family. Thanks for this info, Julie.

It sounds like a nice tribute to her dad. Thanks for sharing.

Crocodile on the Sandbank
Elizabeth Peters
3.5/5 stars
Amelia Peabody, orphaned and who has inherited a fortune takes off on a trip to Cairo and is soon ensconced in a mystery after she meets Evelyn, a young woman who was dumped by her lover. Is there a plot against Evelyn? What is the mystery of a mummy running amok? Does Amelia have the grit to uncover these mysteries? Interesting story!
1975

Neat, Julie. I've read a couple from the series but didn't start at the beginning. Perhaps i should have, as i'm one who hasn't been pleased by what i've read. To be fair, i'm not one for historical mysteries, as in set in those times. I do, however, like mysteries about historic things.

Thanks for the comments.

Paradise Valley
C.J. Box
4/5 stars
Cassie Dewell was working for the sheriff’s department in North Dakota while trying to apprehend the Lizard King, known for his kidnapping and murdering women but things fell apart and she is now on her own. In the meantime, a young man Kyle and his friend take off and are kidnapped by Ron Pergram. His grandma wants Cassie to look for them and so she tries to trail them and return them home. I am enjoying this series! Cassie Dewell Series

Nice review, Julie. You are doing really well with your challenge !

Alias Reader wrote: "Nice review, Julie. You are doing really well with your challenge !"

Thanks!

Julie wrote: "Alias Reader wrote: "Nice review, Julie. You are doing really well with your challenge !"

Thanks!"

Great going, Julie!

Thanks for sharing about this series, Julie. I passed the series/author/character info on to a friend of mine from ND who likes reading stories about the Dakotas.

In on the Joke: The Original Queens of Standup Comedy
Shawn Levy
4/5 stars
Levy relates the fascinating tales of how these female comedians made it into show business. He includes Moms Mabley of the Black vaudeville circuit, Jean Carrol, Minnie Pearl, Sophie Tucker, Phyllis Diller, Elaine May, Totie Fields and Joan Rivers. He goes fairly in depth about their lives and careers. Extraordinary Women