Sally Lou reads in 2025

My 2025 thread is going to be very similar to by 2024 thread, which has worked well for me. Once again, I plan to do only one BingoDOG card. For the first time in many years, I will not be finishing it; I want to concentrate on books I want to read.

I will be hosting the September CoverCAT: Cats and/or Dogs and the October CultureCAT: Non-Mainstream Religious Subcultures (Amish, Quakers, Mennonites, or Church of the Brethren)

January reading:

1. (1) Confronting the Presidents: No Spin Assessments from Washington to Biden by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard -- finished reading Jan. 11th -- 4 stars
2. (2) From Sarah to Sydney: The Woman behind All-of-a-Kind Family by June Cummins -- finished reading Jan. 19th -- 4 stars
3. (3) Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson -- CultureCAT -- finished reading Jan. 22nd -- 4 stars
4. (4) The Small and the Mighty: Twelve Unsung Americans Who Changed the Course of History, from the Founding to the Civil Rights Movement by Sharon McMahon -- finished reading Jan. 29th -- 3 stars.

Ask Not: The Kennedys and the Women They Destroyed by Maureen Callahan -- read many sections of it in early January.

February reading:

1. (5) Some Things in This World: Poems by Joyce Thomas -- Early reviewers -- finished reading Feb. 3rd -- 3.5 stars
2. (6) Making the Best of What's Left: when You're Too Old to Get the Chairs Reupholstered by Judith Viorst -- Early Reviewers -- finished reading. Feb. 7th -- 4 stars
3. (7) Jane Austen: A Life by Carol Shields -- Colonnades Monday book group -- finished reading Feb. 8th -- 3 stars
4. (8) These Happy Golden Years - Laura Ingalls Wilder -- finished rereading Feb. 12th -- 4.5 stars
5. (9) Remember the First Ladies: The Legacies of America's History-Making Women by Diana B. Carlin, Anita B. McBride, and Nancy Kegan Smith -- finished reading Feb. 20th -- 4.5 stars
6. (10) The Natural World of Winnie-the-Pooh by Kathryn Aalto -- February NatureKIT (forests, etc.) finished reading Feb. 24th -- 3 stars.
7. (11) The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford --BingoDOG -- finished reading Feb. 28th -- 3 stars

March reading:

1. (12) Memorial Days: A Memoir by Geraldine Brooks --- finished reading March 6th -- 4.5 stars
2. (13) Framed: Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions by John Grisham and Jim McCloskey -- finished reading Mar. 13th -- 4 stars
3. (14) The House is on Fire by Rachel Beanland -- finished reading Mar. 16th -- 3 stars
4. (15) Walk Ride Paddle: A Life Outside by Tim Kaine -- finished reading Mar. 27th -- 4.5 stars

pink covers:Dropseed by Nettie Magnan; Last Girls by Lee Smith; Anchor of My Life by Linda W. Rosenzweig

April reading:

1. (16) Home Front by Kristin Hannah -- finished reading Apr. 3rd -- 4 stars
2. (17) The Residence: Inside the Private World of The White House by Kate Andersen Brower -- finished reading Apr. 17th -- 4.5 stars
3. (18) The Horse God Built: The Untold Story of Secretariat, the World's Greatest Racehorse by Lawrence Scanlan -- OLLI class -- finished reading Apr. 21st -- 3 stars
4. (19) The Girls: An All-American Town, a Predatory Doctor, and the Untold Story of the Gymnasts Who Brought Him Down by Abigail Pesta -- finished reading Apr. 30th right before midnight -- 4 stars

DNF (did not finish): Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg on April 10th (read first 104 pages)

May reading:

"Theft" by Katherine Anne Porter -- a short story -- May 12th

1. (20) Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai --BingoDOG -- finished reading May 16th -- 4 stars
2. (21) Eliza Hamilton: The Extraordinary Life and Times of the Wife of Alexander Hamilton by Tilar J. Mazzeo -- finished reading May 20th -- 4 stars
3. (22) The Byrd Machine in Virginia: The Rise and Fall of a Conservative Political Organization by Michael Lee Pope -- May CoverCAT (more than one item on cover -- has two pictures on both the front and back covers) -- finished reading May 22nd -- 3 stars.
4. (23) The Last Manager: How Earl Weaver Tricked, Tormented, and Reinvented Baseball by John W. Miller -- BingoDOG -- finished reading May 27th -- 4 stars (need to make sure BingoDOG is listed books read drive --could not get to that page 5/28 pm)
5. (24) Valiant Friend: The Life of Lucretia Mott by Margaret Hope Bacon -- BingoDOG -- finished reading May 30th -- 4 stars.

June reading:

1. (25) I Take Thee, Serenity by Daisy Newman -- finished reading June 2nd -- 4.5 stars
2. (26) End Credits: How I Broke up with Hollywood by Patty Lin -- BingoDOG -- finished reading June 7th, 3:30 am -- 3 stars
3. (27) The Road Back: A Journey of Grace and Grit by Michael Vitez -- June CoverCAT (something with wheels) -- finished reading June 10th -- 5 stars (again)
4. (28) The Book of Hope by Jane Goodall and Douglas Abrams -- finished reading June 18th (had read most of it prior to Colonnades Monday book club meeting -- woman from Pakistan borrowed it; returned it June 17th) -- 3.5 stars
5. (29) Harbingers : What January 6 and Charlottesville reveal about rising threats to American democracy by Timothy J. Heaphy -- finished reading June 18th -- 4 stars
6. (30) Gemma Sommerset by Jill McCroskey Coupe -- Early Reviewers -- finished reading June 25th --3.5 stars
7. (31) The Kendal Sparrow by Barbara Schell Luetke -- finished reading June 29th -- 3 stars

DNF: Spying on the South: An Odyssey across the American Divide by Tony Horwitz (Colonnades Wed. book discussion June 25th.)

July reading:

1. (32) Plain Language: A Novel by Barbara Wright (did not find touchstone) --finished reading July 2nd -- 4.5 stars
2. (33) The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict -- finished reading July 6th -- 3 stars
3. (34) The Women by Kristin Hannah -- finished rereading July 9th -- 5 stars
4. (35) And Then Came the Blues: My Story of Survival on Both Sides of the Badge by Katrina Brownlee -- Early Reviewers -- finished reading July 14th -- 3 stars
5. (36) Finding Margaret Fuller by Allison Pataki -- finished reading July 21st -- 4 stars
6. (37) Too Good to be Altogether Lost: Rediscovering Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House Books by Pamela Smith Hill -- finished reading July 25th -- 5 stars
7. (38) Shipwrecks of the Great Lakes: Tragedies and Legacies from the Inland Seas by Anna Lardinois -- read July 26th -- 4 stars.
8. (39) Charlottesville: An American Story by Deborah Baker -- finished reading July 29th -- 3.5 stars.

August reading:

1. (40) Long Island by Colm Toibin -- pleasure reading -- finished reading August 10th -- 3.5 stars
2. (41) Montana 1948 by Larry Watson -- JMRL Wednesday afternoon book club -- finished reading Aug. 12th -- 4 stars
3. (42) Betty Ford: Candor and Courage in the White House by John Robert Greene -- finished reading Aug. 17th -- 4 stars
4. (43) Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout -- finished reading Aug. 20th -- 3 stars
5. (44) Foster by Claire Keegan -- read evening of Aug. 23rd -- 4.5 stars
6. (45) Kent State: An American Tragedy by Brian VanDeMark -- finished reading Aug. 27th -- 4.5 stars

September reading:

1. (46) How to Suppress Women's Writing by Joanna Russ -- finished reading Sept. 1st -- 2.5 stars
2. (47) Leaving Atlanta by Tayari Jones — finished reading Sept. 9th — 4 stars.
3. (48) The Ump: a Novella by Bob Merz -- finished reading Sept. 14 -- 4 stars
4. (49) A Sheepdog Named Oscar: Love and Companionship in Rural Ireland by Dara Waldron -- finished reading Sept. 19th at 1:30 am -- 3 stars

Read most but not all of If I Don't Make It, I Love You: Survivors in the Aftermath of School Shootings, edited by Amye Archer and Loren Kleinman (489 p. of text)

October reading:

1. (50) History Matters by David McCullough; edited by Dorie McCullough and Michael Hill - finished reading Oct. 3rd -- 4.5 stars.
2. (51) Ursula K. Le Guin's Book of Cats by Ursula K. Le Guin -- read Oct. 5th -- 2.5 stars
3. (52) Remembering Laughter by Wallace Stegner — OLLI course reading — completed Oct. 26th — 4 stars
4. (53) The Land of Sweet Forever: Stories and Essays by Harper Lee -- finished reading Oct. 30th -- 4 stars

November reading:

1. (54) 107 Days by Kamala Harris -- blue cover -- finished reading Nov. 12th -- 4 stars.
2. (55) Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner -- OLLI course reading -- finished reading Nov. 13th -- 4.5 stars.

Color: blue: books with blue covers: Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings by Annette Gordon-Reed

December reading:
1. (56) A Cozy Christmas Blizzard by Debbie Macomber -- finished reading Dec. 4th -- 4 stars
2. (57) Once a Midwife by Patricia Harman -- finished reading Dec. 25th -- 4 stars
3. (58) Christmas with L. M. Montgomery by L. M. Montgomery -- a collection of 3 short stories -- finished reading Dec. 25th -- 3 stars

read approximately half of Paper Girl by Beth Macy.

Did not finish: Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah -- only book by her which I have not liked (read 202 p. out of 391)

BingoDOG

BingoDOG reading:
2. Profession in title: The Last Manager: How Earl Weaver Tricked, Tormented, and Reinvented Baseball by John W. Miller -- 13th book -- finished reading May 27th -- 4 stars
3. Author has relative's first name: Framed by John Grisham -- 8th book -- finished reading Mar. 13th -- 4 stars
4. Long title: Making the Best of What's Left : When You're Too Old to Get the Chairs Reupholstered by Judith Viorst -- 3rd book -- finished reading Feb. 7th -- 4 stars.
5. Hollywood: End Credits: How I Broke up with Hollywood by Patty Lin -- 15th book -- finished reading June 7th, 3:30 am -- 3 stars
6. Features fire: The House is on Fire by Rachel Beanland -- 9th book -- finished reading Mar. 16th. -- 3 stars.
7. Medical topic: The Women by Kristin Hannah -- 16th book -- finished rereading July 9th -- 5 stars --nursing in Vietnam during the war
8. Travel: Walk, Ride, Paddle by Tim Kaine -- 10th book -- finished reading Mar. 27th -- 4.5 stars.
9. Child main character : Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai -- 12th book -- finished reading May 16th -- 4 stars
13. Read a CAT: February ColorCAT (gold) These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder -- 4th book -- finished reading Feb. 12th -- 4.5 stars
14. Features a birth: Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner -- OLLI --finished reading Nov. 13th
15. Nonhuman narrator: The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford -- 6th book -- finished reading Feb. 28th -- 3 stars
16. Writing about writers: From Sarah to Sydney: The Woman behind All-of-a-Kind Family by June Cummins -- 1st book -- finished reading Jan. 19th -- 4 stars.
17. Oldest book in your TBR: Valiant Friend: The Life of Lucretia Mott by Margaret Hope Bacon -- 14th book -- finished reading May 30th -- 4 stars.
18. Place you've never been: Memorial Days: A Memoir by Geraldine Brooks -- 7th book --- finished reading March 6th -- 4.5 stars (West Tisbury, MA, and Flinders Island, Australia)
20. Holiday in title: A Cozy Christmas Blizzard by Debbie Macomber -- finished reading Dec. 4th -- 4 stars
23. Non-traditional family: Home Front by Kristin Hannah (military family with wife in the military) -- 11th book -- finished reading Apr. 3rd. -- 4 stars-- 1st Bingo -- middle vertical row
24. Library or Thing in title: Some Things in This World: Poems by Joyce Thomas -- 2nd book -- finished reading Feb. 3rd -- 3.5 stars
25. Recommended by a friend -- Natural World of Winnie-the-Pooh by Kathryn Aalto -- suggested by Jackie K. 1/19/25 for Feb NatureKIT -- 5th book -- finished reading Feb. 24th -- 3 stars

Suggested readings:
1. Sun on cover/in title: Raisin in the Sun; Narrowly (picture on cover)
10. Features winged creature(s): What an Owl Knows
11. Set in your favorite season
12. Newly in public domain: Good-bye to all that by Robert Graves or Passing by Nella Larsen
19. Totally random: Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See (on top of folding black bookcase)20. Holiday in title: Juneteenth by Ralph Ellison or something with Christmas in title
21. Furniture on the cover: Conversations with RBG or Helen Keller: Autobiographies & other writings ... or Voice in the night (mystery in magazine holder)
22. Published in language not your own

CAT and/or KIT reading:

CultureCAT Bonus 2: (Wrongly accused people): Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson -- finished reading Jan. 22nd

ColorCAT (Feb. -- gold): These Happy Golden Years - Laura Ingalls Wilder -- finished reading Feb. 12th

NatureKIT (Feb. -- Forests, farms, grasslands): Natural world of Winnie-the-Pooh by Kathryn Aalto -- finished reading Feb. 24th -- 3 stars

May CoverCAT (more than one item on cover): The Byrd Machine in Virginia by Michael Lee Pope -- has two pictures on both the front and back covers) -- finished reading May 22nd -- 3 stars

June CoverCAT (something wheels): The Road Back: A Journey of Grace and Grit by Michael Vitez -- (Picture of bicycle lying on road) -- finished reading June 10th -- 5 stars (again)

Assigned reading (book clubs, classes, LT Early reviewers)

1. Some Things in This World: Poems by Joyce Thomas -- Early reviewers -- finished reading Feb. 3rd -- 3.5 stars
2. Making the Best of What's Left: when You're Too Old to Get the Chairs Reupholstered by Judith Viorst -- Early Reviewers -- finished reading Feb. 7th -- 4 stars
3. Jane Austen: A Life by Carol Shields -- Colonnades Monday book group -- finished reading Feb. 8th -- 3 stars
4. The Horse God Built: The Untold Story of Secretariat, the World's Greatest Racehorse by Lawrence Scanlan -- OLLI class -- finished reading Apr. 21st -- 4 stars
5. Montana 1948 by Larry Watson -- JMRL Wednesday afternoon book club -- finished reading Aug. 12th -- 4 stars.
6. Remembering Laughter by Wallace Stegner - -OLLI class — finished Oct. 26h— 3.5 stars.
7. Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner -- OLLI --finished reading Nov. 13th -- 4.5 stars.

Memoirs, Autobiographies, Biographies:
1. From Sarah to Sydney: The Woman behind All-of-a-Kind Family by June Cummins -- finished reading Jan. 19th.
2. These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder -- finished reading Feb. 12th
3. Memorial Days: A Memoir by Geraldine Brooks --- finished reading March 6th -- 4.5 stars
4. Walk, Ride, Paddle by Tim Kaine -- finished reading Mar. 27th -- 4.5 stars.
5. Eliza Hamilton: The Extraordinary Life and Times of the Wife of Alexander Hamilton by Tilar J. Mazzeo -- finished reading May 20th -- 4 stars
6. The Last Manager: How Earl Weaver Tricked, Tormented, and Reinvented Baseball by John W. Miller -- finished reading May 27th -- 4 stars
7. Valiant Friend: The Life of Lucretia Mott by Margaret Hope Bacon -- finished reading May 30th -- 4 stars.
8. End Credits: How I Broke up with Hollywood by Patty Lin -- BingoDOG -- finished reading June 7th, 3:30 am -- 3 stars
9. The Road Back: A Journey of Grace and Grit by Michael Vitez -- June CoverCAT (something with wheels) -- finished reading June 10th -- 5 stars
10. The Book of Hope by Jane Goodall and Douglas Abrams -- finished reading June 18th (had read most of it prior to Colonnades Monday book club meeting -- woman from Pakistan borrowed it; returned it June 17th) -- 3.5 stars
11. Finding Margaret Fuller by Allison Pataki -- finished reading July 21st -- 4 stars -- fiction
12. Too Good to Be Altogether Lost: Rediscovering Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House Books by Pamela Smith Hill -- finished reading July 25th -- 5 stars
13. Betty Ford: Candor and Courage in the White House by John Robert Greene -- finished reading Aug. 17th -- 4 stars
14. 107 Days by Kamala Harris -- finished reading Nov. 12th -- 4 stars

Short readings:

1. "Theft" by Katherine Anne Porter -- a short story -- May 12th -- saw that it was the story of the week from Library of America (read from The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter)
2. Christmas with L. M. Montgomery -- 3 short stories by L. M. Montgomery -- read in December 2025

Welcome to my thread

Good luck!

Happy reading in 2025!

Happy reading!

Hi there! Best wishes for reading in 2025.

Happy reading in 2025!

Looking forward to another great reading year!

I hope you find lots of good books in 2025. Happy reading!

Love the simple set-up.

Good luck with your 2025 reading! As usual, I'm sure I will be hit with some BB's!

Happy reading in 2025.

Thanks >21 majkia: majkia, >22 JayneCM: JayneCM, >23 MissWatson: MissWatson, >24 LadyoftheLodge: LadyoftheLodge, >25 VivienneR: VivienneR, >26 DeltaQueen50: DeltaQueen50, >27 pamelad: pamelad,
>28 lowelibrary: lowelibrary, >29 Tess_W: Tess_W, and >30 dudes22: dudes22.

I've seen some of you signing up for various CATs/KITs.

Hope you have a great 2025 reading year! Monthly categories are awesome -- they capture everything.

Happy New Year and good luck with your reading.

Enjoy your 2025 reading!

I'll enjoy following along!

I have just finished reading Confronting the Presidents: No Spin Assessments from Washington to Biden by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard in which the authors give brief biographical information about each president highlighting his time in office with discussions about what he did or did not accomplish. They evaluate his performance often including how it will impact our history including today. They do not rank the presidents although Martin Dugard at the end of his essay about Trump ranks whom he believes are the five worse presidents with Trump at the bottom.

4 stars

Happy New Year! It looks like your reading is off to a good start!

>36 sallylou61: One I will definitely pick up! I'm surprised at Dugard's assessment as him and O'Reilly seem to be very conservative in their "Killing" books.

>38 Tess_W: He ranks Trump so low because of January 6, 2021. Dugard believes in the peaceful transition of power.

I just finished reading From Sarah to Sydney: The Woman behind All-of-a-Kind Family by June Cummins. It was an enjoyable read although could have used more thorough editing; it was repetitious. The All-of-a-Kind series was based on the life of the author, Sydney Taylor. She was part of a Jewish family, the members of which stayed very close throughout their lives.

4 stars

I've finished reading Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson for one of my book clubs which also fits into CultureCAT bonus 2, Wrongly convicted people. In this book, Mr. Stevenson discusses the work of his organization in attempting to free people from prison who were wrongly accused and convicted. Although he mentions a number of cases and situations, he focuses on Walter McMillian who was at family gathering and seen by many people when the murder for which he was accused occurred. Among the situations which Mr. Stevenson addresses are the jailing for life of young people (in their early teenage years).

4 stars

I just finished reading The Small and the Mighty: Twelve Unsung Americans Who Changed the Course of History, from the Founding to the Civil Rights Movement by Sharon McMahon. In my opinion, this is a disappointing book. The style of writing is much too informal; although Ms. McMahon is discussing history, she keeps inappropriately addressing the reader. An example of this is "Y'all, please sit down and remain seated for the rest of our journey, because I am about to tell you something that has never happened anywhere in the world, before of since" (p. 180).

I am not sure who the "twelve unsung Americans" are since many more people are mentioned in the story; more than twelve are even named in the chapter headings. A number of these characters are known in American history including Chief Justice Earl Warren, Daniel Inouye, Booker T. Washington, Katharine Lee Bates, Inez Milholland, and Julius Rosenwald. Some individuals including Katharine Lee Bates and Inez Milholland are headlined in several chapters.

Lacks index.

3 stars

This review is based on an ARC, an uncorrected proof.
Some Things in This World by Joyce Thomas is a collection of poetry. Most of the poems feature animals and nature, mostly outdoors. Although most of the poems are a page or two long, Ms. Thomas wrote in many different styles including the lengths of the verses which often differed within a poem. The placement of the text on the page is also an important element.

This collection will probably be particularly enjoyed by people who grew up in the 1950/60s because of Ms. Thomas's mentioning aspects of life then.

3.5 stars

>42 sallylou61: The topic is intriguing, the writing not!

I've read an early reviewers book, Making the Best of What's Left: When We're Too Old to Get the Chairs Reupholstered by Judith Viorst. In this book Judith talks about the Final Fifth of life -- life at age 80 and older -- both in essays and poems. Much of the discussion relates to living in Resident Communities (RCs); she and her husband live in one. Even though this is a very serious topic, Judith writes with humor. (I'm referring to the author as Judith, her first name, since that's the way the residents address each other.)

I've read Jane Austen; A Life by Carol Shields for a book club which meets tomorrow. This short biography dwells upon Jane's writing and the circumstances of her life -- what influenced her writing. It also examines her relationship with Cassandra, her only sister, who had an impact on her life and writing.

3 stars

>45 sallylou61: That might be too hard for me and I am 86 and one never knows. The chair hits home as my mother-in-law was having her couch reupholstered when she went into the hospital and passed away.

>47 mnleona:. One can never tell what might be a poor idea. Many years ago my father decided to have a hernia operation, which probably helped lead to his death.

>45 sallylou61: BB for me...waiting for April release. Thank you!

I reread These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder for the February ColorCAT (gold) and the February RandomKIT which included rereading a favorite book. This was the last of the Little House books which was published during Laura's life, and the last to be edited by her daughter. It tells the story of the last year of Laura's unmarried life including her teaching school and living with a horrible family (the wife sounds as if she was mentally ill) and Almanzo Wilder's coming to take her home every weekend to Laura and Almanzo's courtship and marriage at the end of the book.

4.5 stars

I have finished reading Remember the First Ladies: The Legacies of America's History-Making Women by Diana B. Carlin, Anita B. McBride, and Nancy Kegan Smith. The first section of the book described the first ladies in order but did not say much about the women who died before their husbands became president. The last section of the book discussed the first ladies as leaders including communicating their messages, campaigning for their husbands, views on race relations, and preserving the White House. There are interesting appendices including but not limited to (1) a list of the presidential wives including those who died before their husbands became president and women who acted as hostesses for presidents who were not their husbands with dates of service and (2) Siena polls during 1982, 1993, 2003, 2008, and 2014 rating of the top 20 first ladies.

Bibliographical notes at the end of each chapter.

4.5 stars

I've read The Natural World of Winnie-the-Pooh by Kathryn Aalto for the February NatureKIT. I particularly enjoyed the first two sections in which Ms. Aalto (1) discussed the collaboration of author A. A. Milne and artist E. H. Shepard and (2) told the origins of the Winnie-the-Pooh stories. However, I could do without the last section which is a visitor's guide to the flora and fauna of the region. The whole Milne family is featured in the book: A. A. Milne, his wife, Daphne, and particularly his son Christopher Robin. The book is filled with beautiful illustrations, most of which are in color.

3 stars (I am not that much of a nature person)

I read The Incredible Journey for BingoDOG square Nonhuman Narrator. Although this book is considered a children's classic, I did not find the book very appealing. The three animals traveling together are finally found by their family; they do not find their way back home. Takes place in Canada.

3 stars

Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks is a memoir of her life after the sudden, unexpected death of her husband, Tony Horowitz.

I've read Framed: Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions by John Grisham and Jim McCloskey. The subtitle accurately tells the topic of the book. Grisham and McCloskey each tell the story of five people or groups who were wrongly convicted for crimes which they did not commit. Most spent years in prison before being released if they were released at all. Often corrupt public "servants" were responsible for them being in jail.

4 stars

The House is on Fire by Rachel Beanland is a fictional account about a fire which occurred at Richmond, Virginia's, only theater on December 26th, 1811. The fire itself is described early in the book. Most of the story follows what happened to four people after the fire. These include Sally Henry Campbell, Patrick Henry's daughter; Cecily Patterson, a slave; Jack Gibson, a stagehand; and Gilbert Hunt, a black blacksmith who is trying to save enough money to buy his wife's freedom from slavery. I personally did not care for the skipping around from character to character which made up most of the book.

3 stars

Walk, Ride, Paddle: A Life Outside by Tim Kaine describes Senator Kaine's travels through Virginia in 2019, 2020, and 2021. This follows the 2016 election when he was the vice presidential candidate on the Democratic ticket headed by Hillary Clinton followed his reelection campaign to the Senate in 2018. In 2019 Kaine hiked the whole Appalachian Trail in Virginia, sometimes alone and sometimes with companions. In 2020 he bicycled on beautiful parkways built during the Great Depression, and in 2021 he canoed the entire James River. On all of these he sometimes traveled alone and sometimes with friends and/or relatives. (His wife and adult children also enjoy the outdoors.)

4.5 stars

I've read Home Front by Kristin Hannah, an author I usually really like. I've just finished reading her Home Front which is set during the war in Iraq. This is another book featuring strong female characters although Jolene does not feel strong. Jolene and her friend and neighbor Tami serve in the war together; Jolene is a helicopter pilot. Jolene's helicopter is shot down; everyone in it was killed or severely injured. Both Jolene and Tami are taken to a hospital in Germany where Tami is in a coma. Jolene is returned to her family in the Seattle area to recover from her wounds (including a missing leg). While Jolene and Tami are doing their military duties, their families are back home in Seattle. Much of the story centers around Jolene's family: her two daughters, her husband, and her mother-in-law. Michael is definitely not used to being the caretaker of his daughters, and Jolene and Michael's marriage was on the rocks when she left for military duty.

In my opinion, this book is not as compelling as either The Nightingale or The Women.

4 stars

The Residence: Inside the Private World of The White House by Kate Andersen Brower tells the story from the perspective of the employees. Many interesting events, some of which describe the character of the occupants are told.

4.5 stars

I read The Horse God Built: The Untold Story of Secretariat, the World's Greatest Racehorse by Lawrence Scanlan for an adult education class. Our instructor/discussion leader chose this book because she found the story of the groom, Eddie Sweat (whom she had never hear of) particularly interesting. Unfortunatey, the book was not particularly well written.

3 stars

Last month I read The Girls: An All-American Town, a Predatory Doctor, and the Untold Story of the Gymnasts Who Brought Him Down by Abigail Pesta. This is the story of Dr. Larry Nassar who sexually abused numerous young female gymnasts, primarily at Michigan State University, for decades. The girls questioned each other whether his behavior was normal. As the years passed, Nassar became more bold, victimizing the young women in the presence of their mothers; he used his body to block the mothers' view of what he was doing. Finally, the gymnasts testified against him and sent Nassar to jail for the rest of his life.

4 stars

For the child main character BingoDOG square, I read Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai. This is a young adult novel, written in verse, about a Vietnamese family who escapes from Vietnam before the fall of Saigon; it is based on the author's experiences. The family settles in Alabama. The novel is a 2012 Newbery honor book.

I did not enjoy it as much as Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson, another book in verse about growing up.

4 stars for Inside Out & Back Again.

I just finished reading Eliza Hamilton: The Extraordinary Life and Times of the Wife of Alexander Hamilton by Tilar J. Mazzeo. This is the biography of a woman who grew up in a relatively wealthy New York State family who married Alexander Hamilton, a man of illegitimate birth in the British West Indies, who became one of the founding fathers of the United States. The biography covers Eliza's entire life; she lived more than 50 years after the death of her husband in a duel with Aaron Burr. Although her father was supposedly well off, he was not as rich as expected. Eliza lived in rather dire circumstances part of her life. She and Dolley Madison were among the women who lived the longest during the early 19th century.

4 stars

I plowed my way through The Byrd Machine in Virginia by Michael Lee Pope. This book is about a political organization which wielded power until the 1960s -- long before I moved to Virginia. It functioned in a social and political climate in which men held the power. Although I had certainly heard of the Byrds, I had never heard of many of the other politicians involved. The book contains many black and white pictures, mainly photographs.

3 stars

For the profession in title BingoDOG square I read The Last Manager: How Earl Weaver Tricked, Tormented, and Reinvented Baseball by John W. Miller. Weaver is called the last manager because after his time, the role of the manager in baseball changed according to Mr. Miller.

4 stars

Valiant Friend by Margaret Hope Bacon is a biography of Lucretia Coffin Mott which I read for oldest book in my to be read collection. I bought it in the early 1980s relatively soon after it had been published. However, I had read another biography of her a short time before that and thus did not read it immediately. Lucretia Mott was involved in several 19th century reforms including antislavery, peace, and women's rights. During her early childhood, her family lived on the island of Nantucket where women had a lot of responsibility especially since many men where whalers and out at sea for long periods of time. Every though the Coffin family moved to the mainland after Lucretia's father lost his ship, Nantucket remained important in Lucretia's life. Lucretia's family was very important to her; she was very close to her mother as long as her mother lived. This biography describes Lucretia's full and important life.

4 stars

For relaxation, I reread I Take Thee, Serenity by Daisy Newman. The book is about a Quaker community near Firbank, the home of elderly Oliver and Daphne Otis. A young couple, Serenity (Rennie) Ross and Peter Holland want to get married prior to their senior year in college. That summer they are together -- Rennie with her relatives the Otises and Peter working on a nearby potato farm but he has dinner daily with Rennie and the Otises. By the end of the summer, a clearness committee for Rennie and Peter accept their application for marriage, but encourage them to wait until the next summer, which they agree to do. Other events in the book include Daphne's death (she was paralyzed on one side of her body), an art show of Daphne's artwork, and the arrival and 2 visits of Heather, the Otis's daughter who lives in England. At the time of Rennie and Peter's wedding, the immediate families of the bridal couple come. On of Rennie's brothers is particularly enthusiastic about the farm.

4.5 stars

For the Hollywood square of BingoDOG I read End Credits: How I Broke Up with Hollywood, a memoir by Patty Lin. This was hard square for me to fill since I'm not much of a movie or television fan. Patty Lin, of Asian descent, was a writer and producer for television. This memoir tells a lot about the television writing culture, which can be difficult to break into. It seemed as if it took Patty forever to end her tv career.

3 stars

For the June CoverCAT I read The Road Back by Michael Vitez which has a picture of bicycle on the cover.
The book tells the amazing story of Matt Miller, a University of Virginia pre-med student, who was seriously injured in a bicycle/car accident on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia. An anesthesiologist witnessed the accident, and saved Matt’s life there on the road. Matt was airlifted to the University of Virginia Hospital where he received excellent care, and greatly surpassed the expectations of the doctors and medical staff attending him. The swiftness of his recovery was nothing less than astonishing. For example, although his accident occurred in early November, Matt was discharged from the hospital by Thanksgiving to go “home” to his parents’ vacation condo at Wintergreen, a resort near Charlottesville, where he lived with his mother as he recovered. Matt aced a physics test less than six weeks after the accident! Matt was a very goal-oriented person who made goals towards his recovery, classwork, and physical exercise and pushed himself to reach them although he adjusted goals when necessary. Matt was also helped by having the strong support of his family, his girlfriend Emily Privette, his former swimming coach, a doctor he had been shadowing, some colleagues of his father, and friends.

Although Matt Miller is definitely the focus of the story, Mr. Vitez, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, expertly weaves the stories of the other people impacted by the accident into the book. Mr. Vitez tells something about these people’s backgrounds and the way they were affected by the accident and Matt’s recovery. Besides the Miller family and Emily, these people include those listed as being his other supporters, plus the doctor and his wife who cared for Matt at the accident scene, and the driver of the car involved in the accident.

An excellent book.

5 stars

For a book club meeting I read The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times by Jane Goodall and Douglas Abrams. This book is about Ms. Goodall's theories about and experiences with hope. Her four reasons for hope include: (1) the amazing human intellect, (2) the resilience of nature, (3) the power of young people, and (4) the indomitable human spirit (table of contents, p. vii.) The arrangement of the book is that Mr. Abrams asks Ms. Goodall questions about hope which she answers.

3.5 stars

Harbingers : What January 6 and Charlottesville reveal about rising threats to American democracy by Timothy J. Heaphy

Mr. Heaphy investigated both the Charlottesville 2017 riot and the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. In this book, he describes how the police were forewarn about the upcoming events, but were unprepared to handle them. In both situations, the police failed to handle the uprisings. The story is a comparison of the two events.

4 stars

Gemma Sommerset by Jill McCroskey Coupe.

The reason I was particularly interested in reading this book is that I live in Virginia near the Blue Ridge Mountains and Lynchburg, the town Gemma is from. I enjoyed this story of Gemma's life including her relationships with her husband and later in the book, an early lover. Gemma had two daughters who grew up with married parents who loved them. After Gemma's earlier lover reappears, she needs to tell him that he is the father of her younger daughter. Neither daughter likes the idea that they were not told of the relationship between their mother and the stranger. The book is about the relationship which this time continues (the daughters' father having died) and the lives of both daughters.

3.5 stars

The Kendal Sparrow by Barbara Schell Luetke

This is a novel featuring Elizabeth Fletcher, a teenage girl, heavily influenced by George Fox (the founder of Quakerism) who travels numerous miles around England and Ireland delivering the religious message. She was severely injured early in her travels which helped lead to her early death.

3 stars

Plain Language by Barbara Wright

Virginia Mendenhall, a Quaker who had just been working for the American Friends Service Committee in Mexico, takes the train to eastern Colorado to marry a man whom she had only met once years before but had had a continuing correspondence with. This is the story of their adjusting to married life together in an environment very foreign to Virginia. Both work hard to adjust to their new life together. Within the first year they have new challenges when Virginia's brother, damaged in World War I, comes to live with them and marries a young woman who lives in town. Virginia's Quakerism is an important part of the story.

Story takes place in the 1930s.

4.5 stars

I have read The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict in which five female crime writers -- Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, and Baroness Emma Orczy -- solve the mystery of the murder of May Daniels, a young English nurse found murdered in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France. This investigation occurs 1931 after the body has been found although the murder occurred some years before. In real life, the murder was never solved.
I would have preferred not to have so many mystery writers featured in the story.

3 stars

I reread The Women by Kristin Hannah. This excellent story is divided into two sections: serving in the Vietnam War, and experiences back home after the war. The women are three nurses who served together at Vietnam: Frankie, Barb, and Ethel. The doctors and nurses serving in the war had a camaraderie with each other. After coming home, Frankie had trouble adjusting to life. She lacked family support; her father, who was proud of his son who had been killed in the war, pretended that Frankie had been in Europe studying art! Barb and Ethel are very supportive of Frankie, coming to her aid when the situation gets tough. Finally her father realizes Frankie's worth when he and his wife go visit the Vietnam memorial in Washington, DC.

My review for Early Reviewers for And Then Came the Blues: My Story of Survival on Both Sides of the Badge by Katrina Brownlee.
This review is based on the "Advance Reading Copy" which is not for sale. This is the story of a woman who had a very poor beginning in life. She was abandoned as a baby, and was severely harmed by her fiance, a police officer, who shot her multiple times and left her for dead, when she was in her early twenties and had two young daughters. However, she was able to survive with the help of God. Ms. Brownlee had a strong faith in God; she mentions him and trying to find the way he wants her to live numerous times throughout her story. Ms. Brownlee was a police officer herself for approximately 20 years and following her retirement in 2021 has been active in a support group for at-risk young women, which she founded.

3 stars

Finding Margaret Fuller: is a Novel by Allison Pataki; Margaret was a woman ahead of her time. She was influential in the New England group of transcendentalists in the early 19th century, and was an early feminist. She was hired by newspaperman Horace Greeley as the first female foreign news correspondent in Europe. In Rome she has an affair, has a son, and then marries her son's father, Giovanni Ossoli. Together the family of three leave Italy which is experiencing dangerous revolution, and set sail for the United States on a cargo ship, which sinks off the coast of America. The sinking of the ship is not described; the body of the Ossoli baby is found and buried.

4 stars

Too Good to Be Altogether Lost: Rediscovering Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House Books by Pamela Smith Hill is an amazing study of the writing of these books. There has been controversy concerning the authorship of these books, particularly Rose Wilder Lane's role in their authorship. (Lane was Laura's and Almanzo's daughter.)

This book focuses on Laura: her growing up, courtship and marriage ceremony, and her writing career.

5 stars

I read Shipwrecks of the Great Lakes: Tragedies and Legacies from the Inland Seas by Anna Lardinois, which will be the basis for an OLLI adult education course this fall. I took the course, which was very interesting. The text is divided up by lake, and there are black and white photographs of the ships.

4 stars

Charlottesville: an American Story by Deborah Baker is another book about the uprising in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017. In my opinion, it is an overly detailed account. Ms. Baker mentions other disturbances in other places in which some of the leaders participated.

3.5 stars

Although he is a popular author, I did not enjoy reading the novel Long Island by Colm Toibin.

3.5 stars

Betty Ford: Candor and Courage in the White House by John Robert Greene is a biography of the whole life of Betty Ford; not just her life as first lady. The subtitle of the book is misleading since it implies she was only courageous and spoke with candor during her White House years. Betty Ford provided a great service to the country when she told of her experience with breast cancer and her dependence on painkillers (the result of a painful back injury). Moreover, after leaving the White House, she continued to be an advocate for breast cancer screening and the treatment of addictions, and had a treatment center named after her. Betty Ford was also a strong supporter of the Equal Rights amendment (which never got passed).

4 stars

Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout.
Lot of characters from other books, but two of main ones are Bob Burgess and Lucy Barton who take many walks together.

3 stars

Foster by Claire Keegan.
This is the story of a young girl who is taken by her father to live for the summer with a couple who she does not know who have lost a son to death. The couple take her home in the fall before school starts, but she races down the driveway as they leave. She apparently wants to go back with them instead of living at home where she will need to help out with her numerous younger siblings. The story is unclear about what happens then.

4.5 stars

Kent State: An American Tragedy by Brian VanDeMark is a detailed analysis of the May 4, 1970, shootings (and deaths) of Kent State University students. The author explains why the poorly trained National Guard should not have been on the Kent State campus.

4.5 stars

I read How to Suppress Women's Writing by Joanna Russ for an OLLI adult education course this fall. This edition was c2018, but I felt that it was overly negative in the difficulties in getting women's writings published.

2.5 stars

Leaving Atlanta is a story which takes place in Atlanta around the time of the killing of children. The author, Tayari Jones, is one of the characters mentioned by name in the story.

4 stars

The Ump: a Novella by Bob Merz was a relatively short and fun book to read. James Grossman, a family lawyer in the greater Philadelphia region, becomes a very authoritarian figure when he puts on an umpire's uniform. This is the story of a man who makes himself the center of attention on the softball field until he goes to an umpiring workshop and learns how to umpire and that he should be "invisible" as an umpire. He should manage the flow of the game.

4 stars

I found A Sheepdog Named Oscar: Love and Companionship in Rural Ireland by Dara Waldron disappointing. It dwells a lot on describing rural Ireland and not as much on Oscar as I would have liked. Would probably be of interest to people who are very familiar with rural Ireland.

3 stars

History Matters by David McCullough, selected and edited by Dorie McCullough Lawson and Michael Hill, is a collection of essays by McCullough. This collection was published in September 2025. In addition to being a historian and writer, McCullough was an artist; the endpapers are beautiful watercolors which he painted of his home and office in West Tisbury, MA.

I've read Ursula K. Le Guin's Book of cats by Ursula K. Le Guin which was disappointing. Much of the book was "writtten" by various cats. The part I enjoyed the most was the last section which gave brief biographies of the various cats whom Le Guin had owned.

2.5 stars

Remembering Laughter by Wallace Stegner is the first novel which he wrote. One of my OLLI (adult education) courses this fall is titled something like Alpha and Omega; it featured Stegner's first and last novels. We compared them for style, theme, etc.

Land of Sweet Forever by Harper Lee is a collection of her of stories and essays. She wrote the stories while living in New York City before writing her novels. She wrote her essays later in her career. Many of her works are very short (not more than 15 pages). The pieces each have a title page followed by a blank page so that there is less text than one would expect in this 187 page book. There is also introduction by Casey Cep, Ms. Lee's biographer; its pages are numbered separately from Harper Lee's work.

107 Days by Kamala Harris is a dairy of the days in Ms. Harris's unsuccessful campaign for President.

4 stars

Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner is Stegner's last novel. It features two couples, Sid and Charity Lang and Larry and Sally Morgan, who meet when the two men are on the faculty of the University of Wisconsin. The book begins with Sally's being crippled and the Morgans visiting the Langs in Vermont. Then it traces the story of the couples' meeting in Wisconsin their early years at the Langs including the camping trip during which Sally gets very ill and finally the final chapter of Charity's life when she orders the Morgans to return to visit them again in Vermont. Charity is a person who always wants things done her way.

4.5 stars

Once a Midwife by Patricia Harman is one of her Hope River novels, set in West Virginia. This story takes place during the Second World War which is featured in the story. The midwife's husband, who fought in World War One, is opposed to the war and imprisoned for beliefs (which midwife Patience does not share).

4 stars

A Cozy Christmas Blizzard is a collection of two short stories by Debbie Macomber. Although the title mentions blizzard, no blizzard occurs in the stories.