lindapanzo's 2024 reading

Welcome to my 2024 reading thread!!

I'm back for my 16th year in the 75 books group (my first one was in 2009). Despite generally lower books read totals during the pandemic, I bounced back in 2022 and read 107 and, in 2023, I read 109 books.

In 2024, besides the Net Galley books and mysteries I usually read, I'm hoping to get back to reading more non-mystery fiction, as well as nonfiction. As usual, I'd like to make a big dent in my print TBR piles.

BOOKS READ IN JUNE

56. Death by Chocolate Raspberry Scone by Sarah Graves--finished on 6/1/24
57. A Cyclist's Guide to Crime & Croissants by Ann Claire--finished on 6/5/24
58. Murder at the Merton Library by Andrea Penrose--finished on 6/8/24
59. Through the Eyes of a Young Physician Assistant by Sean Conroy--finished on 6/9/24
60. Sticks and Scones by Ellie Alexander-finished on 6/13/24
61. My Day with the Cup by Jim Lang--finished on 6/14/24

BOOKS READ IN MAY

46. Fatal First Edition by Jenn McKinlay--finished on 5/1/24
47. The Last Hope by Susan Elia MacNeal--finished on 5/4/24
48. Murder Most French by Colleen Cambridge--finished on 5/8/24
49. An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s by Doris Kearns Goodwin--finished on 5/10/24
50. Brie Careful What You Wish For by Linda Reilly--finished on 5/13/24
51. Table for Two: Fictions by Amor Towles--finished on 5/16/24
52. Village Politics Can Be Murder by Jeanne M. Dams--finished on 5/19/24
53. The Last List of Mabel Beaumont by Laura Pearson--finished on 5/22/24
54. The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson--finished on 5/26/24
55. Trouble Is Brewing by Vicki Delany--finished on 5/29/24

BOOKS READ IN APRIL

35. Comiskey Park's Last World Series: A History of the 1959 Chicago White Sox by Charles N. Billington--finished on 4/2/24
36. No Parm No Foul by Linda Reilly--finished on 4/6/24
37. An Offer for a Spinster by Dorothy Sheldon--finished on 4/7/24
38. I Never Did Like Politics: How Fiorello La Guardia Became America's Mayor, and Why He Still Matters by Terry Golway--finished on 4/11/24
39. Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust by Mindy Quigley--finished on 4/12/24
40. Cut & Thirst by Margaret Atwood--finished on 4/13/24
41. The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians by James Patterson--finished on 4/16/24
42. The Underground Library by Jennifer Ryan--finished on 4/20/24
43. The Last Word by Gerri Lewis--finished on 4/21/24
44. Season of Shattered Dreams by Eric Vickrey--finished on 4/23/24
45. Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto--finished on 4/27/24

BOOKS READ IN MARCH

22. Baseball's Great Expectations by Patrick Montgomery--finished on 3/1/24
23. Up to No Gouda by Linda Reilly--finished on 3/3/24
24. Easter Basket Murder by Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis and Barbara Ross--finished on 3/5/24
25. Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer by Steven Millhauser--finished on 3/8/24
26. The Socialite's Guide to Murder by S.K. Golden--finished on 3/10/24
27. Matagorda by Louis L'Amour--finished on 3/12/24
28. The Darling Dahlias and the Naked Ladies by Susan Wittig Albert--finished on 3/16/24
29. Chicago Poems by Carl Sandburg--finished on 3/17/24
30. Walk through Fire: The Train Disaster that Changed America by Yasmine Ali--finished on 3/18/24
31. Patchwork Quilt Murder by Leslie Meier--finished on 3/20/24
32. Murder in the Tea Leaves by Laura Childs--finished on 3/23/24
33. The Socialite's Guide to Death and Dating by S.K. Golden--finished on 3/26/24
34. Save Me a Seat!: A Life with Movies by Rick Winston--finished on 3/28/24

BOOKS READ IN FEBRUARY

11. Cold Crematorium: Reporting from the Land of Auschwitz by József Debreczeni--finished on 2/1/24
12. Last Night by Luanne Rice--finished on 2/2/24
13. The Red-Headed League by Arthur Conan Doyle--finished on 2/3/24
14. Rhythm and Clues by Olivia Blacke--finished on 2/6/24
15. Navy Husband by Debbie Macomber--finished on 2/7/24
16. A Smoking Bun by Ellie Alexander--finished on 2/9/24
17. The Solace of Open Spaces by Gretel Ehrlich--finished on 2/13/24
18. Random in Death by J.D. Robb--finished on 2/17/24
19. The Upstairs Delicatessen: On Eating, Reading, Reading About Eating, and Eating While Reading by Dwight Garner--finished on 2/19/24
20. Whistle-Stop Politics: Campaign Trains and the Reporters Who Covered Them by Edward Segal--finished on 2/22/24
21. Murder at the Blarney Bash by Darci Hannah--finished on 2/25/24

BOOKS READ IN JANUARY

1. Three Days in January by Bret Baier--finished on 1/1/24
2. The Cardinals Way by Howard Megdal--finished on 1/5/24
3. Six Feet Deep Dish by Mindy Quigley--finished on 1/8/24
4. The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride--finished on 1/14/24
5. Ill-Fated Fortune by Jennifer J. Chow--finished on 1/15/24
6. The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree by Susan Wittig Albert--finished on 1/19/24
7. Crook o' Lune by E.C.R. Lorac--finished on 1/23/24
8. The Real Doctor Will See You Shortly: A Physician's First Year by Matt McCarthy--finished on 1/24/24
9. The Stranger in the Library by Eva Gates--finished on 1/27/24
10. Run to Win: My Packers Life from Lombardi to Canton by Jerry Kramer--finished on 1/30/24

Welcome back, Linda!

Starred of course!!

It's nice to be back and hoping to have another great reading year. On New Year's Eve, I'm well into Bret Baier's book, Three Days in January about President Eisenhower and his transition to JFK. Really enjoying it and I was pleased to find that he's got a few other Three Days books, including Three Days at the Brink about "FDR's daring gamble to win WW2," as well as Three Days in Moscow about Reagan and the fall of the Soviet empire.

One early year activity every year is deciding which Thingaversary books I want to get and holding off on using those Christmas book gift cards til mid January.

Amazingly, to me at least, on January 13th, I'll have my 15th Thingaversary.

Happy New Year, Linda! I hope to see you around more in 2024. I have missed you. Next year will also be my 16th year. Crazy, right?

>6 lindapanzo: I think March 30 is my 17th! We've both been around here a long time.

>8 thornton37814: I had a snow day from work that day, I think. Was just looking for an online place to keep track of the books I've read (going way. way back). The conversations etc of LT were a very pleasant bonus.

I filled out the LT Top 5 Books of the Year

For 2023, my top 5 books were:

1. The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson
2. Horse by Geraldine Brooks
3. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
4. The Opera Sisters by Marianne Monson
5. Game Time: A Baseball Companion by Roger Angell

ABC is playing the ball drop

Hi Linda!

Wishing you a great one!

>10 lindapanzo: Horse and Demon Copperhead made my top-of-the-list too! Happy New Year and happy reading. : )

>12 quondame: Happy New Year!!

>13 Berly: If left to my own devices, I'd probably read nothing but mysteries, but an occasional sports or American history book, but both of those books on our mutual top of the list were shared reads with Mark last year. I'm looking to do a shared read in March for Martin Dressler. I think you're on that one, too.

Happy reading in 2024, Linda!

>14 lindapanzo: Yup, I'm in for the Dressler book -- just have to get my hands on a copy!! I like doing shared reads (and LT) because it does widen my reading horizons. I look forward to another shared read with you!

Happy new year, Linda.

Thanks, Anita and Paul.

Kim, I'm looking forward to the shared read.

Well, I've finished one book already and almost halfway through another. When it's cold and gloomy and looks like it's going to snow, not much else to do when hockey isn't on. With the way the Chicago Blackhawks have been playing, I've got my Kindle open during the game anyway.

Hi Linda! Happy new year! It looks like your reading is off to a great start!

Happy Wednesday, Linda. Good Best of list. Horse and Demon Copperhead were also on my list and I loved the Larson too.

With my 15th Thingaversary coming up fast (on Jan 13), my thoughts are turning to the 16 books to pick to celebrate. Since we're just a few days away, I'll start filling in the list.

THINGAVERSARY BOOKS

1. Forecast for D-Day: And the Weatherman Behind Ike's Greatest Gamble by John Ross
2. Fudge and Jury by Ellie Alexander
3. Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust by Mindy Quigley--FINISHED
4. The Upstairs Delicatessen: On Eating, Reading, Reading About Eating, and Eating While Reading by Dwight Garner--FINISHED
5. Run to Win: My Packers Life from Lombardi to Canton by Jerry Kramer--FINISHED
6. Martin Dressler by Steven Millhauser--FINISHED
7. Winter Street by Erin Hilderbrand
8. Murder at the Blarney Bash by Darci Hannah--FINISHED
9. Nights of Plague by Orhan Pamuk
10. Diva: A Novel by Daisy Goodwin
11. The Mystery of the Three Quarters by Sophie Hannah
12. The Maid and the Socialite by Lynda Drew
13. A Mic for All Seasons by Kenny Albert
14. A Crime of Passion Fruit by Ellie Alexander
15. I Never Did Like Politics by Terry Golway—FINISHED
16. Last Night by Luanne Rice—FINISHED

Hi Carrie and Mark.

For my 2024 category challenge, once again, I have four basic categories: mysteries, sports, nonmystery fiction, and nonfiction.

Even though most of my books ultimately will be mysteries, at the start of the new year, I try to read one of each to get the year started. I've read a mystery book, a sports book, and a nonfiction. Now I've started The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride.

With two big snowstorms and a frigid weather for multiple days, it'll be good to stay in and read a lot in the next week or two.

Good luck with the weather -- enjoy the reading and I'll stop back to see what happens with your Thingaversary list!

Happy anticipated Thingaversary!

I added the first quarter (4 books) of my 16. Maybe another 4 on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, the actual day of my Thingaversary.

If you're in the Upper Midwest like me, please stay safe. We're expecting 15 inches of snow, 50 mph winds, and plummeting temps by end of Saturday. I think highs on Sun to Tues might reach 0.

Nice weather to stay home and read. We had some big wind gusts a couple of hours ago. Lights kept flickering and it knocked out Internet/wifi and cable for a time.

My current read, which I'm enjoying, is the novel The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride.

OK, with all the cold and snow and double Kindle Rewards points today, I've finished my Thingaversary book list. Seems like an exceptionally good list, this year.

Happy Friday, Linda. Great book haul up there. Glad to see Martin Dressler on there. I LOVED The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store. I am sure you will feel the same way.

Really got slammed with the snow. 6-8", with more to come. How about you?

>28 msf59: I think we got about 5 inches so far with another 7 or 8 on the way. Nice to be able to stay home for a few days.

I'm sure you don't miss having to traipse out in this snow. Our carrier travels entirely by truck. No house to house delivery around here.

I got some mysteries and some novels, along with a pair of sports books and a couple of nonfiction works and so I am pleased.

It took me a bit to keep track of the characters in The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store but I'm fully into it now and enjoying it.

In my Thingaversary haul, the first book listed, Forecast for D-Day: And the Weatherman Behind Ike's Greatest Gamble by John Ross sounded most interesting.

I saw an interesting obit in the NY Times about Maureen Flavin Sweeney who died at age 100 in December. She took weather measurements at a remote post in County Mayo and sent in the key hourly barometric pressure readings that led them to postpone the D-Day invasion by a day, most likely saving the invasion from catastrophe. As part of the obit, they talked to the author of this book. She was truly one of those "unknown people" who changed the course of history.

You need a subscription to read the NY Times obit but here's another obit for her. Very interesting.

https://www.irishamerica.com/2021/06/maureen-flavin-sweeneythe-mayo-woman-whose-...

One thing I liked about the NY Times obit, though, is that it opened with how ordinary people in the midst of an average day have changed history. Such as the young Bedouin shepherd looking for a sheep who went astray and who then found the Dead Sea Scrolls. Or Frank Wills, a security guard who was making his rounds one night in 1972 and who spotted a piece of tape holding a lock open in a building where he worked and which exposed the Watergate break in.

Maureen Flavin was doing her job was like that. And it happened on her 21st birthday.

Hi, Linda. I just learned that Julia (rosalita) passed away recently. I know you met her at one of my Meet Ups. I posted something on my new thread.

>30 lindapanzo: - I can't remember the exact name of the film, but several years ago there was an excellent (and often hilarious) documentary about the NYT obits. It may have just been called OBIT. Yes, I just googled:
https://www.obitdoc.com/

If you haven't seen it, try to find it. It was really good.

>21 lindapanzo: Looks like a great Thingaversary haul!

>32 jessibud2: a friend and I like to share obits of lesser known people who did something unusual. This one was right in our wheelhouse

>33 thornton37814: I was really pleased with this haul.

We got 10 inches of snow and will have sub zero temps for 3 days straight. Looks like the next snowstorm is taking aim at Ark, Tenn, and even Mississippi. Seems very unusual.

>34 lindapanzo: I talked to my brother earlier, and he said they are predicting 4-8 inches for his area in Mississippi. They are predicting about 4 inches here. (Most that give us a decimal estimate put us slightly over the 4 inches.) I've been let down by snowfall predictions here in East Tennessee so many times that like most people, I realize we'll know what we get when it happens--and not before.

>35 thornton37814: Some parts of the Chicago area have been greatly disappointed by the actual snowfall totals as compared to the forecasted amount. Where I live, we much more often than not are among the highest forecasted totals. Both the Tuesday storm and the Friday storm ended up with a lot more rain than expected. The rain/snow line was a mile east of me for a time on Friday afternoon, but the fact that we, as usual, got all snow put us closer to the forecast.

Even so, they'd said we'd probably be in the 12 to 15 inch range and, as a matter of fact, we missed that by just a few miles.

>36 lindapanzo: They keep increasing our amount. I believe the current estimate is 6-8 inches for where I live. I'll believe that when I see it!

Hi, Linda! Another year, another attempt by me to read more, like I used to.

I hope you have a great year of life and of reading! Happy Thingaversary (yesterday) and your book haul looks great!

I'm already tired of winter. It's not so much the amount of snow, but the timing and the mix of types of precipitation. And the wind! Wednesday, I got my car stuck trying to get out of my garage and I wound up walking to work. (I'm fortunate to live close enough to walk to work, but after a bad fall a few years ago, I hesitate to do it in icy weather.) A harsh, sustained wind gust almost blew me off my feet. I found a nearby doorway and held on for dear life!

I would take a little more snow if it meant less ice!! At least I have power today. : )

>37 thornton37814: Lori, I hope it wasn't too bad for you.

>38 tymfos: Terri, nice to see you. I'm tired of winter, too. Can't believe that we ever had entire winters like this. This winter, we had 6 weeks of El Nino winter. Fairly mild by winter standards. Highs in the 30's and 40s. The past 10 days or so have been terrible with many days struggling to reach 0 or just above. The last few days, though, we're made it up to about 20 and felt that was warmish.

>39 Berly: So glad to hear the power is back. Last Friday, when we had the strong wind and the start of the snow and bitter cold, our power was flickering. Enough that we lost Internet and cable but it'd stay on long enough that the heat would come on.

Now, a couple of days (today, Sat, and Sun) of cold again and then highs in the 30's for the foreseeable future.

As for me, with a cold, though not as bad as last week, weekend ahead, we will stay in, watch football, and I'll read a lot. Everyone is griping about how cooped up we're feeling but the past several days have helped a bit. We were able to restock on food and get out to dinner last night, too.

My current book is the first in the Darling Dahlia's cozy series set in 1930's Alabama (Darling is the name of the town and the garden club is called the Dahlias). The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree was slow going but I'm really getting into it now. I occasionally do like a slow, ultra cozy book like this.

>40 lindapanzo: We got 10 inches. Then Thursday night we had freezing rain, and Friday we got another inch of snow on top of what was still there (which was most of it since it hasn't been above freezing yet). The big thaw will come Monday. We "worked" from home most of the week. The cats enjoyed that, and since most of my projects involved print collections, I mostly monitored reference chat.

After the 10 days of snow then frigid temps, we're now in an extended period of "January thaw" and virtually all of the 18 to 20 inches of snow we had has melted over the course of the past week. Except for the piles created by the snowplows.

And, for the first time in a long, long time, yesterday, we had full sunshine for a time.

I've finished the first of my Thingaversary books, Run to Win: My Packers Life from Lombardi to Canton by Jerry Kramer. I've read some of his other books (he was the fabled right guard on the Packers during the Lombardi era (1960's)). This one was just kind of meh. Probably my least favorite book of the 10 books I read this month.

In the wee hours today, I finished one of the best books I've read in quite some time.

Cold Crematorium: Reporting from the Land of Auschwitz by József Debreczeni

I gave this long lost memoir of life in the Auschwitz camps 5 stars but, if I could, I'd give it 10 stars!!

This memoir by the Hungarian journalist and poet who arrived in Auschwitz in 1944 and was put to work as a slave laborer is brutal, painful to read, and yet important to read. Incredible detail about daily life in several of the camps, including, for his final months in camp, living in a hospital camp where prisoners too weak to work awaited death on extremely limited rations.

It's a haunting eyewitness account with details about the harsh treatment by fellow Jews in positions of authority and about food, bartering, diseases, and the deaths he saw.

Though painful to read, this book is riveting. I've read quite a few books about life in the camps and I can't recall any better than this. It should be a classic.

>44 lindapanzo: I'd like to give that book a read in the future, Linda. I'm reading much the same thing currently. My read is Survival in Auschwitz by Primo Levi. Levi was an Italian Jewish chemist who ended up in a labor camp in Auschwitz. In his book, he tells with the same detail about (I was going to say life...but it was hardly life) survival as a laborer in the camp. He had been incarcerated for ten months before he was liberated. In Levi's book, he also talked about the hospital in the camp and what it meant to be placed there for an illness or injury.

My own maternal grandparents (from Yugoslavia, formerly the Austro-Hungarian empire, now Croatia) were murdered in Auschwitz so I feel a compulsion from time to time to read about their place of death to honor their memory and mourn the fact that they were murdered before I was born.

Just curious...have you read Survival in Auschwitz? If not and if you want to read it, allow sufficient time between what you just read and this book as it sounds as if they both contain much of the same content. Levi's book is also an excellent read.

>45 SqueakyChu: After I finished, I've moved on to something lighter. I'll have to add the Primo Levi book to my TBR pile. I saw you're reading it for your TIOLI challenge. But you're right, I don't want to read another similar book anytime soon.

Hi, Linda. Cold Crematorium sounds amazing. On the list it goes. Were you joining us on a shared read of The Bee Sting? I have a Linda joining us.

>47 msf59: I’ll look at that one, Mark, but I’m thinking that my first group read is Martin Dressler. In March?

I picked up North Woods by Daniel Mason and hope to get to it this month.

I notice that quite a few people name their favorite and least favorite books of the month. I'll aim to give that a try this year.

For January, my favorite book was The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride. A novel very different from my usual. I'd like to read more by this author.

For January, my least favorite book was Run to Win: My Packers Life from Lombardi to Canton by Jerry Kramer. The Packers are my favorite football team and I've always liked Jerry Kramer and have read other books by him. This one was dull and repetitious. Not a total dud but my least favorite of a pretty good reading month.

Glad to know you are another fan -- I hope to get to the H&EGS sometime this year!

Hi Linda! I hope your February is going well. Did you watch the Super Bowl? I didn't have a dog in that fight so I skipped it this year. I went to my online book group discussion instead.

I've finally gotten around to reading The Girls of Atomic City, and I really like it so far. Oak Ridge isn't far from Knoxville, and we went on field trips to the Children's Museum or the Museum of Science and Energy just about every year it seems like. It has never been a secret in my lifetime, so it's really interesting to read about a time when no one knew about it.

>51 cbl_tn: I was rooting for Kansas City so I was glad that they won but "my team" is the Green Bay Packers. I would've been ok with the 49ers winning.

I'd like to get to The Girls of Atomic City but other books keep getting in the way. Mostly Net Galley books I've asked for.

Usually, I'm worrying about other people's (family or friends) medical issues. Now it's my turn. On Wed am, I was taking the recycling box out to the bin in the garage. I think the box tipped or something and I over adjusted, lost my balance and fell. Kinda broke my fall by grabbing at this thing we use for beverage storage, but still landed heavily on my left knee. I couldn't get up so Mom called the paramedics lift service. They got me up easily and made me walk and do the two stairs into the house. All seemed well.

But, within a few hours, my knee really hurt and felt unstable. Held the walls in the house because it felt weak. So I called for a doctor's appointment for Thursday. Yesterday, I felt a lot better (less pain and walking better) but still went. X-rays were equivocal but it looked like I'd broken something (upper femur?) but I was walking ok and relatively pain free so the doctors were confused. Sent me for a stat MRI. No break but I have severe osteoarthritis in my knee. Old age and overuse I guess.

For now, I'll recuperate from this trauma and, when I go for my next primary care appointment in a month or two, we'll talk about next steps.

After all the manipulation for x-rays and MRI, I'm more achy today. Seems like a good weekend to stay in and relax and read.

Just heard about this one. Definitely one I will want to look for (as might others here). Due out in early April. James Patterson's The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians.

>53 lindapanzo: Oh what a nasty fall. I'm so sorry about your knee - this is so not the fun part.

>55 quondame: Doing better every day, at least. So very tired though.

Sorry to hear about the fall. Take care of that knee. I like your plan of care--stay in, relax and read!!

>57 Berly: Sounds like a recipe for comfort. Take care of yourself, Linda. xx

Hi Linda! I'm so sorry about the fall. Taking it easy to give it time to heal sounds like a good plan. Extra reading time is your silver lining.

Sorry about your fall. I tripped over something and landed on my right knee in January. The older we get, the longer it takes to recover--especially when we have arthritis in the knees already.

>57 Berly: >58 PaulCranswick: >59 cbl_tn: >60 thornton37814: Thanks.

I've managed to drive ok, which I figured would be true since it's my left knee, and also do the grocery shopping and today, the laundry, which is in the basement. So, mostly back to normal, with a realization that normal does not mean strong knees. At least there's no pain.

Yesterday, I finished this interesting little book. The Upstairs Delicatessen: On Eating, Reading, Reading About Eating, and Eating While Reading by Dwight Garner. The subheading shows why I liked it.

Now I've got three books going. One about whistle stop presidential campaigns (surprisingly interesting, especially for this former Political Science major), a cozy mystery in a series I like, and a book about the 1948 Cleveland Indians.

^A March reminder. I snagged my copy from the library. I would think that might be a good fit for you.

>62 msf59: I have a copy and am planning on your group read in March.

Awesome, Linda! Have a great weekend, my friend.

>44 lindapanzo: Thank you for the recommendation of that one, Linda. I just finished it tonight and I agree - it should be a classic.

For February, my favorite book was Cold Crematorium: Reporting from the Land of Auschwitz by Hungarian poet and journalist József Debreczeni. For all the reasons I mentioned in post >44 lindapanzo: above

For February, my least favorite was Arthur Conan Doyle's The Red-Headed League. Not bad but not that great.

Hope you are making progress on those March reads!

>67 thornton37814: I'm having a good reading month in March, Lori, in quantity at least. Hoping to pick up a few better books in the second half of the month.

>68 lindapanzo: I updated the TIOLI ticker last night after I finished a book and I noticed you've finished a lot of books already this month!

>69 cbl_tn: Carrie, I’ve read a whole lot more than usual every month so far this year.

For my category challenge, I’m going to have to adjust some of the goals since I’m closing in on my goal for two of the four categories.

With March Madness and the Stanley Cup playoffs, I’m not sure if this will continue, though.

Hi Linda

You are reading at a fast clip. Congratulations! I've added The Opera Sisters to the TBR pile.

Hi, Linda. Just checking in. How are those books treating you? I am getting pumped about Opening Day! 😁

>71 Whisper1: >72 msf59: Hi Mark and Linda, I am zooming right along, reading wise, like I haven't done in years.

Oddly enough, I haven't read as many mysteries as I normally would have by now, but I'm hoping to start remedying that.

I am looking forward to Opening Day and also March Madness.

For March, my favorite book was Murder in the Tea Leaves by Laura Childs. Half of the books I read are mysteries and my two favorite mystery series are Louise Penny's Three Pines series and Laura Childs' Tea Shop series. In a month when I read the newest installment in either series, it's bound to be my favorite book of the month. I note that this one was the 27th book in the series.

My least favorite book in March was Martin Dressler by Steven Millhauser. I had high hopes for this one but it disappointed me.

My excellent reading year, thus far, continues, though the start of the Stanley Cup playoffs and the start of the baseball season will likely cut into the number of books I read.

Dropping in to say hello. I hope your knee is all healed up!

Keeping current here! No mention of the knee, so assuming things are okay again. I know the Three Pines series but am not familiar with the Tea Shop one. Hmmm....!

>75 figsfromthistle: >76 Berly: Hi, thanks for stopping by.

I’m not in much pain except when I overdo things, like too many stairs or whatnot. On Thursday, I’ll probably find out next steps (LOL) at my doctor’s appointment.

Physical therapy would probably be a good idea so as to strengthen things.

Since my knee doesn’t hurt, my doctor wants to hold off on any injections until it does hurt. Beyond that, just do what I’m doing. Be sure to bring a cane in case I need it for a downslope or other problem area for me.

>78 lindapanzo: That seems a bit of a strange idea, but I guess the Doc knows what he is doing.

>79 PaulCranswick: I think that a person can have only so many injections before moving on to knee replacement and it wouldn’t do to waste them if my knee isn’t hurting. The shots are intended to minimize pain.

For April, my favorite book was the historical fiction book by Jennifer Ryan, one of my favorite historical fiction authors who typically writes about WW2 British homefront. The Underground Library was terrific. Among all her books, possibly the only one I've enjoyed more was her The Chilbury Ladies Choir. An honorable mention for favorite book read in
April was James Patterson's new book, The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians. I'm guaranteed to love any book involving books, booksellers, and librarians and I thoroughly enjoyed this nonfiction book as well.

My least favorite April book was Cut & Thirst by Margaret Atwood. Nothing wrong with this story by Margaret Atwood but, for me, it was just OK.

>81 lindapanzo: I am going to have to see if I can track down a copy of The Underground Library since I also very much enjoy historical fiction. Thanks for the recommendation of that one - and the Patterson book.

>82 alcottacre: Stasia, while I enjoyed the Patterson book with all the bookseller and librarian stories, I was very highly annoyed that he used present tense for all of them, even for past events. Such as, when I was in college, I like to read when I walk. Seems so awkward. Plus, a lot of the booksellers touted when they had Patterson do a signing at their store. I think that's how he found many of the booksellers to write about.

I'm also enjoying the Doris Kearns Goodwin book though it's very different from her usual. This is much more personal, especially as to LBJ. Her husband was LBJ's speechwriter early in his presidency and Doris was his biographer later in his presidency. They had much differing views on LBJ.

As for The Underground Library, Mom finished it in the wee hours this morning and said it's the best book she's read in a long, long time. Alas, she went to the dentist this am and her hygienist says that Jennifer Ryan is her favorite author but she hadn't been aware there's a new book.

>83 lindapanzo: Yeah, that present tense thing will be sure to annoy me as well, lol.

Kerry gave me a copy of The Underground Library for Mother's Day. I am just not sure when I am going to get to it. Happy to hear that your mother enjoyed it!

On another note, I started the new Erik Larson book, The Demon of Unrest, today.

Hi, Linda. I am enjoying Table For Two. I am currently immersed in the novella. How has the new Larson been?

I haven’t gotten too far with the Larson book. Judy distracted me with The Last List of Mabel Beaumont. I should finish that tomorrow and get back to Larson.

Tonight I’m watching tornado coverage.

The Underground Library arrived at our library the other day. I made a note to check it out sometime. I'm glad your mom loved it.

>86 lindapanzo: I am bemoaning the fact that the Larson book includes no pictures. Larson is providing such great word images of characters such as Edmund Ruffin that it would have been nice to actually know what he looked like. Good thing Wikipedia exists! Lol

Watching the live stream of the U.S. Naval Academy graduation ceremony to see my friend's son graduate. Pretty amazing ceremony.

Hi, Linda! I’m planning to read the new Larson too. His books are always excellent!

>90 tymfos: I thought it was interesting but probably my least favorite of all the Larson books I’ve read. Six Larson books now. The Chicago one was my favorite. Chicago history and 20th century history are much more interesting to me.

Glad I read it though.

>91 lindapanzo: Yes! Devil in the White City! I really loved Isaac's Storm, too. I'll probably like the new one because my family is really interested in the US Civil War.

The latest audiobook I'm listening to is Ghosts of the Tsunami by Richard Lloyd Parry. You know I'm always interested in reading about disasters, and this book is heartbreaking.