Deedledee reads in twenty Twenty-five

Hi folks,

I'm Dee, a librarian in rural Nova Scotia. I live with a less than intelligent kitty in a house that looks like it might be a craft store.

You can also follow more of my reading at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/mytwofavouritelibrarians

The 52 Book Club’s 2025 Challenge:
*1) A pun in the title - Notting Hell by Rachel Johnson (May 24)
*2) A character with red hair - It's One of Us by J.T. Ellison (Feb 24)
*3) Title starts with letter “M” -Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Mar 9)
*4) Title starts with letter “N” - The New Couple in 5B by Lisa Unger (May 16)
*5) Plot includes a heist - Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich (Aug 14)
*6) Genre One: Set in Spring - Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult (Aug 20)
*7) Genre Two: Set in Summer - Flamer by Mike Curato (Feb 6)
*8) Genre Three: Set in Autumn - Burn by Peter Heller (Jun 21)
*9) Genre Four: Set in Winter - Run by Ann Patchett (Feb 23)
*10) Author’s last name is also a first name - The Turn of the Screw by Henry James (Apr 12)
*11) A prequel -Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins (Nov. 1)
*12) Has a moon on the cover - Beetle & the Hollowbones by Aliza Layne (Apr 19)
*13) Title is ten letters or less - Girl by Edna O'Brien
*14) Climate fiction - Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy (Jun 17)
*15) Includes Latin American history - State of Wonder by Ann Patchett (Apr 6)
*16) Author has won an Edgar award - A Season with the Witch by J.W. Ocker (Aug 23)
*17) Told in verse - the princess saves herself in this one by Amanda Lovelace (Aug 6)
*18) A character who can fly - Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune (Jan 23)
*19) Has short chapters - Etta and Otto and Russell and James by Emma Hooper (Feb 17)
*20) A fairy tale retelling - Into the Bright Open by Cherie Dimaline (Aug 14)
*21) Character’s name in the title - The Age of Hope by David Bergen (Jan 4)
*22) Found family trope - And Then I Woke Up by Malcolm Devlin (Apr 19)
*23) A sprayed edge - Blood on Her Tongue by Johanna Van Veen (Oct 23)
*24) Title is a spoiler - Sociopath: A Memoir by Patric Gagne (July 8)
*25) Breaks the fourth wall -Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Apr 12)
*26) More than a million copies sold - The Housemaid by Freida McFadden (Aug 10)
*27) Features a magician - The London Séance Society by Sarah Penner (July 26)
*28) A crossover (Set in a shared universe) - Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen (Sep 3)
*29) Shares universe with prompt 28 - Henry Tilney's Diary by Amanda Grange (Sep 21)
*30) In the public domain -The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain (Feb 4)
*31) Audiobook has multiple narrators - 42. Mad Honey by Jennifer Finney Boylan and Jodi Picoult (June 30)
*32) Includes a diary entry - Rage by Richard Bachman (May 7)
*33) A standalone novel - Watch Out for Her by Samantha M. Bailey (Apr 5)
*34) Direction in the title - Spain Under the Surface by David Hulth Wallgren (May 19)
*35) Written in third person - We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry (July 15)
*36) Final sentence is less than 6 words long - Foster by Claire Keegan (Mar 1)
*37) Genre chosen for you by someone else - I Must Be Dreaming by Roz Chast (Jan 25)
*38) An adventure story - The Revenant by Michael Punke (Jun 7)
*39) Has an epigraph - Amazing Black Atlantic Canadians by Lindsay Ruck (Apr 16)
*40) Stream of consciousness narrative - Call Me by Your Name by André Aciman (Aug 24)
*41) Cover font is in a primary color - Redshirts by John Scalzi (May 24)
*42) Non-human antagonist -Everything Is Tuberculosis by John Green (Apr 18)
*43) Explores social class - The Women by Kristin Hannah (Feb 12)
*44) A celebrity on the cover - From Here to the Great Unknown: a Memoir by Lisa Marie Presley and Riley Keough (July 6)
*45) Author releases more than one book a year - Come Sundown by Nora Roberts (Apr 18)
*46) Read in a “-ber” month - Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
*47) “I think it was blue” - Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty (Jan 1)
*48) Related to the word “puzzle” - Best of All Worlds by Kenneth Oppel (Aug 5)
*49) Set in a country with an active volcano - Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld (July 13)
*50) Set in the 1940s - The Lost Daughter by Gill Paul (Oct 28)
*51) 300-400 pages long- Dandelion by Jamie Chai Yun Liew (Mar 3)
*52) Published in 2025 - Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix (Mar 20)

FINISHED November 1st

52/52

January
1. Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty
2. The Age of Hope by David Bergen
3. Girl by Edna O'Brien
4. Somewhere Beyond the Sea (Cerulean Chronicles #2) by TJ Klune
5. I Must Be Dreaming by Roz Chast
6. Cockeyed: A Memoir by Ryan Knighton
February
7. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
8. Flamer by Mike Curato
9. The Women by Kristin Hannah
10. Goya: The Terrible Sublime by El Torres with Fran Galán (Illustrator)
11. Etta and Otto and Russell and James by Emma Hooper
12. Run by Ann Patchett
13. It's One of Us by J.T. Ellison
March
14. Foster by Claire Keegan
15. Dandelion by Jamie Chai Yun Liew (read by Jennifer Hui)
16. Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid (read by Julia Whelan)
17. Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix
18. Invisible Influence: the Hidden Forces That Shape Behavior by Jonah
Berger (read by Keith Nobbs)
April
19. Intolerable: A Memoir of Extremes by Kamal Al-Solaylee
20. Watch Out for Her by Samantha M. Bailey
21. State of Wonder by Ann Patchett (read by Hope Davis)
22. Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
23. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James (read by Simon Prebble and Rosalyn Landor)
24. Amazing Black Atlantic Canadians: Inspiring Stories of Courage and Achievement by Lindsay Ruck
25. Come Sundown by Nora Roberts (read by Elisabeth Rodgers)
26. Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection by John Green
27. And Then I Woke Up by Malcolm Devlin
28. Beetle & the Hollowbones by Aliza Layne
May
29. Jennie's Boy: A Newfoundland Childhood by Wayne Johnston
30. Rage by Richard Bachman
31. The New Couple in 5B by Lisa Unger
32. Spain Under the Surface by David Hulth Wallgren
33. Exit, Pursued by a Bear by E. K. Johnston (read by Jorjeana Marie)
34. Notting Hell by Rachel Johnson
35. Calling In by Loretta J. Ross
36. Redshirts by John Scalzi
June
37. The Revenant: A Novel of Revenge by Michael Punke (read by Holter Graham)
38. Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy
39. Burn by Peter Heller
40. The House of My Mother by Shari Franke
41. The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard (read by Cindy Kay)
42. Mad Honey by Jennifer Finney Boylan and Jodi Picoult (read by Carrie Coon and Key Taw)
July
43. From Here to the Great Unknown: a Memoir by Lisa Marie Presley and Riley Keough (read by Lisa Marie Presley, Riley Keough, and Julia Roberts)
44. Sociopath: A Memoir by Patric Gagne
45. Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld
46. We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry
47. The Woman Beyond the Attic: The V.C. Andrews Story by Andrew Neiderman
48. The London Séance Society by Sarah Penner (read by Lauren Irwin and Alex Wyndham)
August
49. Best of All Worlds by Kenneth Oppel
50. the princess saves herself in this one by Amanda Lovelace
51. Late Nights on Air by Elizabeth Hay
52. The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
53. The Sister's Tale by Beth Powning
54. Unmask Alice: LSD, Satanic Panic, and the Imposter Behind the World's Most Notorious Diaries by Rick Emerson
55. Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich
56. Into the Bright Open: A Secret Garden Remix by Cherie Dimaline
57. Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult (read by Carol Monda)
58. A Season with the Witch: The Magic and Mayhem of Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts by J.W. Ocker
59. Call Me by Your Name by André Aciman
60. An Ocean of Minutes by Thea Lim
September
61. Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton (read by Scott Brick)
62. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen (read by Rachel Atkins)
63. Three to Get Deadly (Stephanie Plum #3) by Janet Evanovich
64. Henry Tilney's Diary by Amanda Grange
65. The Serial Killer's Wife by Alice Hunter (read by Sarah Paul, Kristin Atherton, James McNaughton)
October
66. Blood on Her Tongue by Johanna Van Veen
67. From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death by Caitlin Doughty
68. The Lost Daughter by Gill Paul (read by Helen Duff)
November
69. Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
70. Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein (read by RC Bray)
71. Walking After Midnight: One Woman's Journey Through Murder, Justice, and Forgiveness by Katy Hutchison
72. They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera (read by Michael Crouch, Robbie Daymond, and Bahni Turpin)
73. The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom (read by Orlagh Cassidy and Bahni Turpin)
December
74. The Change by Kirsten Miller
75. How Can I Help You by Laura Sims (read by Carlotta Brentan and Maggi-Meg Reed)
76. The Last Housewife by Ashley Winstead
77. Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
78. Terrible Typhoid Mary: A True Story of the Deadliest Cook in America by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
79. Annoying: the Science of What Bugs Us by Joe Palca & Flora Lichtman.

Welcome back, Dee

Happy 2025!

Happy 2025, Dee

Happy New Year, Dee.

Hope you have a great year of reading!

Book 1
Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty
Told in Moriarty's usual style in which you get a little bit of the story from each of the characters until it all comes together at the end.
The flight delay was bad enough, lots of people were going to be late and were anxious. To make it worse just before the plane lands an older woman gets up and starts predicting the age and cause of death for each passenger. Folks are obviously shaken up by this and become more so as one of the predictions holds true.
Suddenly people are racing the clock to protect themselves, to get diagnostic appointments, to find ways to make the prediction not be their fate.

The 52 Book Club challenge: “I think it was blue”

Book 2
The Age of Hope by David Bergen
A 2013 contender for Canada Reads, The Age of Hope is domestic fiction focusing on the inner life of Hope Koop. Encouraged to get married and become a mother, after that is accomplished Hope wonders what her life is about.

The 52 Book Club challenge: Character’s name in the title

Book 3
Girl by Edna O'Brien
This is not an easy read but it does give a bit of a sense of what these poor girls went through.
In 2014, hundreds of girls were taken from a school in Nigeria by the Boko Haram. This novel focuses Maryam, we hear about her experiences with being kidnapped, raped, beaten, being forced into marriage, giving birth. It's brutal and distressing. When she finally is able to escape her family and community look on her with disdain as she is sullied.

The 52 Book Club challenge: Title is ten letters or less

Book 4.
Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune
This is the follow up to The House in the Cerulean Sea, and I really, really wanted to love it, but I didn't. I know Klune was trying to show the growth in the kids and how this found family fits together, but I feel like it was a set up for the 3rd book. You know that there is going to be a major showdown between DICOMY and the magical beings.

The 52 Book Club challenge: A character who can fly

Book 5
I Must Be Dreaming by Roz Chast
My friend quite literally put this book in my hand and told me to read it.
I have always been a prolific dreamer and someone who mostly remembers what I dream.
I found this graphic novel interesting and like that Chast not only talked about her dreams but also mentioned some dream theories.

The 52 Book Club challenge: Genre chosen for you by someone else

Book 6
Cockeyed: A Memoir by Ryan Knighton
When he turned 18, Knighton was diagnosed with with retinitis pigmentosa, a progressive eye disease that leads to night-blindness, tunnel vision, and, eventually, total blindness. His memoir recounts his time before that when he didn't realize how bad his vision was becoming. Like when he drove the family car and put it in the ditch.
As his vision becomes worse, Knighton struggles to come to term with his blindness. He tries to hide it whenever possible, which leads to almost losing his eventual wife.

Book 7
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
What can I say about Tom Sawyer, this book was published almost 150 years ago and has had countless retellings, adaptations, film versions, etc. I picked it up because I had never read the original.

The 52 Book Club challenge: In the public domain

Book 8
Flamer by Mike Curato
Aiden is away at Scout Camp and is worrying about the end of summer and the beginning of high school. He doesn't quite fit in because he's a bit effeminate, and chubby, and not into sports, etc. He's really struggling with the thought that he might be gay.

A semi-autobiographical graphic novel, Flamer has been banned or challenged in many states. As we come up to Freedom to Read week (https://www.freedomtoread.ca/), it is a good time to think about our intellectual freedoms and make sure we retain our right to read, learn, and explore without limitations.

The 52 Book Club challenge: Set in Summer

Book 9
The Women by Kristin Hannah

Frankie McGrath is a good Catholic girl in 1960’s America. She chose one of the 3 approved professions, in her case nurse, but will be expected to give it all up once she becomes married. Her brother, Finley has just graduated from the Naval Academy and is off to Vietnam.
But Frankie doesn’t want to live the life laid out for her. A conversation with one of her brother’s friends convinces her that she can also have a heroic life. Then she enlists in the army as a nurse …. during the Vietnam War.
The part of the book when she’s in Vietnam is both disturbing and very engaging. It is well researched and has a lot of gritty detail. I feel like this is a different description than we’ve seen before in war literature.
When Frankie returns home, a toughen veteran, there is no help for her. The VA won’t help her because she wasn’t in combat. Her parents want to forget she went to Vietnam. She has nothing in common with her friends back home.
I was initially really interested in the story but as Frankie fought the same battles over and over again I found my interest wane. Despite that, I would recommend this book.

The 52 Book Club challenge: Explores social class

Book 10.
Goya: The Terrible Sublime by El Torres
Reading this graphic novel felt like coming into the middle of a story.
Francisco Goya was a well known Spanish painter in the 18th century. He's remembered both for his prosaic paintings of royalty and his completely unhinged nightmare paintings.
In this graphic novel, Torres implies that Goya's hallucinations weren't just a byproduct of his illnesses, but actual witches trying to take his soul.
It's left me intrigued enough to seek out more information on the artist.

Today's (February 17th) online Atlas Obscura feature Cape Breton!

Book 12
Run by Ann Patchett
Over the course of 24 hours, the lives of several people are changed during a snowstorm in Boston.
Tip and Teddy are the youngest of the Doyle boys, and while they are young adults their father still drags them off to political speeches. During a nasty snowstorm they go to see Jesse Jackson. Tip stands arguing with his father outside and is saved by a bystander who pushes him out of the way of an SUV. The woman who saves him turns out to be connected to his family in a way that no one expects.

The 52 Book Club challenge: Set in Winter

Book 11
Etta and Otto and Russell and James by Emma Hooper
Eighty-two year old Etta gets up one day and decides she needs to see the ocean. She's spent her whole life in Saskatchewan and knows that the time to see the water is now or never. In her journey from Saskatchewan to Nova Scotia, she reminisces about her life and about how she met and got together with Otto.
Meanwhile, Otto remains at home keeping himself occupied. He starts by learning to bake and then becomes a paper mache artist. He writes letters to Etta but doesn't send them.

The 52 Book Club challenge: Has short chapters

Book 13
It's One of Us by J.T. Ellison
Everyone in this book is awful. Initially I thought there might be a redeeming character but as I went along I realized that no, none of them were.

Olivia and Park have been struggling with infertility. They've done multiple rounds of IVF to no avail.
When a woman in their city who has been missing turns out to have been murdered the police knock at Park's door, but not for him. The DNA match turns out to be his son. The son he didn't know existed.

There are more secrets and lies in this book than a White House press briefing.

The 52 Book Club challenge: A character with red hair

Book 14
Foster by Claire Keegan
Keegan packs a lot of emotion into a short story.
A young girl spends the summer at the home of her aunt and uncle, where she experiences personalized attention, care, and love. She's one of several children at home and her mother is pregnant again. Her father thought so little of her that he left her for the summer but forgot to leave her suitcase.
The ending is a little ambiguous.

The 52 Book Club challenge: Final sentence is less than 6 words long

Book 15
Dandelion by Jamie Chai Yun Liew
A contender for this year's Canada Reads, Dandelion is a story of immigrations, statelessness, and family secrets.
When Lily was 11 years old her mother left, never to be heard from or seen again. Now, many years later, having just become a mother herself, Lily goes on a quest to find out where her mother went. She longs to know not just where she is but has she thought of her family. Along the way Lily finds out things about her mother that she never knew. And discovers parts of herself too.

The 52 Book Club challenge: 300-400 pages long

Book 16
Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid
At almost 30, Hannah has to make a decision about her life. After a disastrous affair with a married man, she moves from New York to Los Angeles, where she grew up. Soon after her arrival she and her best friend Gabby go out to meet old friends. Hannah is offered a choice, go home to Gabby's or stay out with her high school boyfriend Ethan.
This is when life splits in two. We are then taken down the path of each decision and it's outcome for Hannah's life.

The 52 Book Club challenge: Title starts with letter “M”

Hope your week is going well.
>15 Deedledee: I really liked Tom Sawyer. The humor holds up surprisingly well.

Book 17
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix
I have mixed feelings about this book. Mainly I felt it was just too long. There was a lot that could have been cut and I feel it would have been a better book for it.

Fern is 15 years old and pregnant. It’s the summer of 1970 and she’s basically received no sex education and has a “boyfriend” who only wanted one thing from her. She’s shipped off to the Wellwood Home for Girls in the middle of nowhere Florida. The home is for unwed teen mothers. They’re hidden away until their babies are born, the babies are then adopted out and the girls go home to pretend none of this has ever happened.

As Fern and the other girls come to realize, they have no control over their own lives. They’re not even allowed to use their own names, having been all given flower monikers by the home’s director, Ms. Wellwood.

When the bookmobile comes to the home the librarian gives Fern a book on witchcraft, but this is no ordinary book. How to Be a Groovy Witch shows Fern, Rose, Holly, and Zinnia, a path to taking back their power. But none of that comes for free as they quickly find out. Soon they’re in a battle with evil that’s not just one that society has put on them.

It took me just over a month to read this book and I really had to push it because it was overdue and someone else had a hold on it. Despite that, I’ve loved other books by Hendrix and will definitely read the next thing he puts out.

The 52 Book Club challenge: Published in 2025

Book 18.
Invisible Influence: the Hidden Forces That Shape Behavior by Jonah
Berger
I love these books on popular social psychology. I don't want to read a dry textbook to find out why people act as they do, I'd rather read a short book that tells me why I buy the colour car that I do or why being told about my neighbour's energy consumption might make me conserve more.

>27 Deedledee: Your review lines up pretty well with thoughts too. Not Grady’s best, looking forward to his next one.

Book 19
Intolerable: A Memoir of Extremes by Kamal Al-Solaylee
Canada Reads book from 2015.
True story of the author’s growing up in the middle east and then as he says - his escape to Canada.
Al-solaylee grew up in Yemen, moved to Lebanon, Egypt, and then back to Yemen. When he was a child he realized that he was gay. As the middle east was embracing Islamic extremism, he knew that he would never be able to live being out.

Book 20
Watch Out for Her by Samantha M. Bailey
One of the Canada Reads contenders for this year.

I was very frustrated by this novel. I don't think it was executed well and I didn't like the ending.

The 52 Book Club challenge: A standalone novel

Book 21
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
Wow, this book was really captivating.
When Marina Singh finds out about her office mate's death she doesn't immediately think that she needs to go to Brazil to find out what happened to him, but his widow and her boss both convince her to go. Marina is a research scientist working for a pharmaceutical company. Her colleague, Anders Eckman went to check on the development of a fertility drug but succumbed to a fever in the jungle.
Marina finds herself in a land that she could not anticipate. She is among a tribe of people who are able to extend their fertility to a point well beyond what has ever been imagined. And at the centre of this is her former teacher and mentor, Dr. Swenson.

The 52 Book Club challenge: Includes Latin American history

Book 22
Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
I read this book about 5 years ago and decided to revisit it. And I still love it.

A fictional 70s band that is so well written you can almost hear the music. It's like reading the script for a VH1 Behind the Music episode.

The 52 Book Club challenge: Breaks the fourth wall

Book 23
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
A young governess gets her first position working with two beautiful, orphaned children at an isolated estate. She sees the ghosts of the former butler and former governess, ... or does she?
An early ghost story that formed some of the tropes that are in common use today.

The 52 Book Club challenge: Author’s last name is also a first name

Book 24
Amazing Black Atlantic Canadians: Inspiring Stories of Courage and Achievement by Lindsay Ruck
Lindsay Ruck did a virtual reading at my library a few months ago and really peaked my interest about this book. While the target demographic is kids, I learned a lot about Black Atlantic Canadians.
This book features sports heroes, artists, musicians, writers, those who have fought for social justice, and those who have served in the military.
Very interesting and a strongly recommended read for all Canadians.

The 52 Book Club challenge: Has an epigraph

Book 25
Come Sundown by Nora Roberts
Bodine is a successful, hard-working, CEO of a popular resort in Montana. The resort is attached to a ranch run by her brother. The family has been running these businesses for a few generations. When the handsome Callen returns to town and gets a job on the ranch you know sparks are going to fly.
But right around the time of Callen’s return women start to turn up dead. Is it a coincidence or is Callen really a bad guy?
There’s also a side story of Bodine’s aunt, Alice, who disappeared years before. The family assumes she’s run off but in reality she was kidnapped.

The 52 Book Club challenge: Author releases more than one book a year

Book 26
Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection by John Green

John Green, most well known for writing teen books, has become obsessed with tuberculosis. He, along with his brother Hank, have been doing a lot of fundraising for healthcare causes specifically giving funding to Partners in Health. (You can find out more about their fundraising efforts at fightworldsuck.org).

In 2019, John Green met a young man named Henry while traveling in Sierra Leone with Partners for Health. He was there to see a hospital that the foundation was building to reduce maternal mortality. Meeting Henry changed the course of his life. Learning that people still suffered and died from a curable and preventable disease made him take a deep dive into research on TB and he not only wrote this book but began fundraising to help those like Henry.

The 52 Book Club challenge: Non-human antagonist

Book 27
And Then I Woke Up by Malcolm Devlin
I powered through this book. Such an interesting examination of what effect media and narrative has on our lives. But you can also just read it as a straight up horror novel.

The 52 Book Club challenge: Found family trope

Book 28
Beetle & the Hollowbones by Aliza Layne
This is such a cute graphic novel. Targeted at middle grade readers, I think it's a great read for any age.

Beetle is a homeschooled goblin witch who spends her days trying to learn goblin magic and how to ride a broom. She likes to hang out at the local mall with her friend a Blob Ghost (BG for short). BG is somehow tied to the mall and they can't the premises, so Beetle is trying to figure out how to help. Then Beetle's old friend Kat comes back in town to apprentice with her very powerful and famous aunt. With Kat's appearance comes a whole lot of other feelings Beetle has to sort through. On top of all that, Kat's aunt has a plan to buy and tear down the mall, perhaps eradicating BG forever.

The 52 Book Club challenge: Has a moon on the cover

Book 29.
Jennie's Boy: A Newfoundland Childhood by Wayne Johnston
One of the contenders for this year's Canada Reads, Jennie's Boy is a very specific memoir of Johnston when he was 7 years old.
Wayne Johnston is primarily known as a writer of fiction but this memoir is about a difficult time in his life. For the longest time he failed to thrive, he had a terrible cough that kept him out of school and didn't allow him to get much sleep. He also was unable to keep much food down. Thus he spent most of his time with his mother and grandmother. His family also really struggled financially.
This is clearly somewhat of a work of fiction. No one could remember their life in that much detail at the age of seven. While I have no doubt that his siblings helped fill in some of the gaps, there are things on the page that they weren't present for.

Book 30.
Rage by Richard Bachman (Stephen King)
This book was initially published in 1977, when school shootings were a lot less common but since this book was found to be in the possession of at least one school shooter, King has requested that it no longer be in print.
Charlie Decker has major psychological problems. He's already injured a teacher and yet is still in school. After a mandated session with the school councilor he decides to take a classroom hostage. This hostage session is focused on what he refers to as “getting it on”, which is mostly about his classmates revealing their dark secrets.

The 52 Book Club challenge: Includes a diary entry

Book 31.
The New Couple in 5B by Lisa Unger
What was that??? I don't even know why I finished this book, I hated the main character, I found the plot ridiculous, the supernatural elements had little bearing on what happened, and the end was rushed and bad.
Basic outline - Rosie and Chad inherit a very expensive pre-War NYC apartment from his uncle. Rosie is writing a book on all the weird things that happened in this building, including murders, suicides, and accidental deaths.
A bunch of people die. There's a subplot about the people who lived in the apartment before them, it has no seeming point.

The 52 Book Club challenge: Title starts with letter “N”

Book 32.
Spain Under the Surface from A to Z: a Different Kind of Guide by David Hulth Wallgren

A short but interesting guide about Spain. Wallgren writes each piece like an encyclopedia entry. I read this while traveling in Spain and it provided some interesting background on some of the things I had noticed.

The 52 Book Club challenge: Direction in the title

Book 33.
Exit, Pursued by a Bear by E. K. Johnston
Hermione is co-captain of the Palermo Heights High School cheerleading squad, a team that their small school is known for, and one which wins a lot.
It's her final year of high school and she wants to go out on top. At cheerleading camp everything changes, Hermione is drugged and raped. She's unable to remember the perpetrator.
This book really focuses on recovering, healing, and living after rape. It's a really powerful book but not over the top.

Book 34.
Notting Hell by Rachel Johnson
A fluffy, quick read perfect for the beach.
A year in the life of a tony neighbourhood in Notting Hill. The main characters are Claire and Mimi. Claire is desperate to become a mother and is willing to do most anything. Mimi is living beyond her family's means, and finds a new billionaire neighbour very attractive. We also get a glimpse at all the others that live on the communal garden and their foibles - infidelity the chief among them.

The 52 Book Club challenge: A pun in the title

Book 35.
Calling In: How to Start Making Change with Those You'd Rather Cancel by Loretta J. Ross
It took me 5 months to finish this book, not because it's hard to understand or it's bad but because I wanted to really think about the strategies that Ross provides.

In today's world it's very easy to call someone out, but it doesn't actually get you to the change that is needed. When people feel attacked, they're not going to change their minds.

Calling in is a harder, and longer, process. It requires looking at ways you can actually work together. Find the ways that you are similar with someone, not the ways that you aren't. Build off of shared values.

I really appreciated that Ross provides real, practical frameworks and solutions, not just theories. And she didn't shy away from talking about her own difficulties and using examples to show how hard, and worthwhile, calling in can be.

Book 36.
Redshirts by John Scalzi
A funny book that plays with the conventions of fiction and gently makes fun of sci-fi tropes. Best for folks who are fans of Star Trek and like a little tongue in cheek humour.

The 52 Book Club challenge: Cover font is in a primary color

Book 37
The Revenant: A Novel of Revenge by Michael Punke
Although this is a novel, Punke based it on a true story of an early 19th century trapper named Hugh Glass. There are claims that Glass' story was exaggerated over the years and it is this story that Punke based novel around.
It does seem hard to believe that a man could survive such great injuries, travel a couple hundred miles through wilderness while hurt with no supplies, and still live to exact revenge on those who left him for dead.
The 52 Book Club challenge: An adventure story

Book 38
Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy
Dom Salt lives on Shearwater, a VERY isolated island, with his three kids. He is there as a caretaker but the family is just weeks away from leaving as the conditions on the island become more volatile. There was an entire scientific team here, but they all left weeks ago. Dom and the kids are now waiting for their boat and finishing work on removing the seeds from the seed vault.
Then a mysterious woman washes up on shore. Where did she come from? There is nothing for miles and miles.
As the family comes to know her, they know there are secrets she's keeping from them. But they are also keeping secrets from her.

The 52 Book Club challenge: Climate fiction

Book 39.
Burn by Peter Heller
Jess and Storey have been friends since they were kids. As their lives have changed over the years, one thing remains the same, their love for hunting and fishing.
After a two week hunting trip in the back woods of Maine, the two come out find that bridges have been blown, and towns have been destroyed. They have no idea what's going on but suspect that it has to do with successionist feelings that had been rising in Maine prior to their trip.
An interesting, and frankly distressing, look at a possible future for North America

The 52 Book Club challenge: Set in Autumn

Book 40.
The House of My Mother by Shari Franke
This was a buddy read with a friend, the same one that made me watch the docu-series.
All this book does is make me mad at the LDS church. They have created an atmosphere in which women are essentially powerless and their only value is to be wives and mothers. I'm not saying these roles aren't important, but they shouldn't be someone's whole identity.
In this memoir, Shari Franke discusses what it was to grow up on camera as her mother filmed every family moment to share on YouTube, what it was like when her mother, and then her whole family, fell under the spell of Jodi Hildebrant, and the struggles she had as a young woman who felt that she didn't have anywhere to turn or anyone to trust.

Book 41.
The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard
A very original premise. The isolated valley that Odile grows up in is neighboured by a valley to the West, which is 20 years in the past, and a valley to the East, which is 20 years in the future.
Odile is socially awkward and a loner. Until she falls into a group of friends at 16. This is the time in her life when she has to decide what she wants to do. Her mother is strongly pushing her to become a member of the Conseil. If she earns the position, she’ll get to decide who can cross borders to the East or West.
She accidently recognizes two visitors and realizes that they are the grieving parents of her friend Edme, who have been escorted across the border, on a mourning tour, to view their son while he’s still alive in Odile’s present.
This sets a whole string of events in motion.
It really made me think about the decisions we make and how they can affect our future.

>52 Deedledee: that one's on the wishlist

Have a great day, Dee.

Book 42
Mad Honey by Jennifer Finney Boylan and Jodi Picoult
I'm still trying to sort out what I feel about this book.
On one hand, it has a twist I didn't really see coming and it is very pro trans rights, but on the other hand it feels like the authors threw every hot button topic into the novel. I think this would have done better with some editing of the storylines to pull a few out.
Asher Fields is found cradling the dead body of his girlfriend Lily Campanello, and is charged with murder. Told in flashbacks, we learn about their relationship. We also learn about his father's abusive relationship with his mother, and about the trauma in Lily's life at the hands of her father.

Book 43
From Here to the Great Unknown: a Memoir by Lisa Marie Presley and Riley Keough
I remember Lisa Marie Presley always being fodder in the tabloids and a quick search showed me just how much she was featured on the covers. Everything she did was scrutinized. I don't think she could have done anything to have a normal life.
One thing that does come through in this book is that her daughter, Riley, really loved her and wanted to honour her.

The 52 Book Club challenge: A celebrity on the cover

Book 44
Sociopath: A Memoir by Patric Gagne
Gagne realized at a young age that she was different from other people. The kids at school told her she was weird. Her mom lamented not knowing what to do with her. As she got older she realized she was a sociopath and decided to research it.
What’s really interesting about this book is her descriptions of what’s going on inside her head.

The 52 Book Club challenge: Title is a spoiler

Book 45
Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld

Sally is a writer on The Night Owls, a Saturday night live sketch comedy show with famous guests (sound familiar?). She loves her job but doesn't really have much of a life outside of it. She doesn't have a partner of any kind, just a friend with benefits, without the friend part.
When the very famous Noah Brewster hosts the show, she feels a connection to him but can't believe it would also be true on his side. He's gorgeous, talented, famous, etc. What would he want with plain Sally?

I really liked the first half of this book, Sittenfeld did research on Saturday Night Live to make the fictional The Night Owls show realistic. The second half of the book was fine but didn't grab me as much.

The 52 Book Club challenge: Set in a country with an active volcano

Book 46.
We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry
This book is such tongue in cheek fun!
It's 1989 and the players for the Danvers Field Hockey team are trying to get to the State finals. They're willing to do anything. Including sign their names in a notebook featuring Emilio Estevez on the cover. But then it escalates, in order to keep the "power" of the notebook going the team members have to keep performing increasingly disturbing acts. Living in a town in which witchcraft was prevalent part of the history leads them to believe that it is this that is leading to their wins.

The 52 Book Club challenge: Written in third person

Book 47.
The Woman Beyond the Attic: The V.C. Andrews Story by Andrew Neiderman
Like every Gen X kid, I read VC Andrews' books at an unreasonably young age. She and Stephen King were my mainstays. When I saw this on display at the library I just had to pick it up.
Andrews didn't have an easy life. She had arthritis that was exacerbated by a fall when she was in high school. From the age of 17, she had to endure surgeries and pain making it so she could barely walk. After the death of her father, Andrews and her mother moved around a lot. He mother, it was thought, didn't want people to see her wheelchair bound daughter and kept her home a lot.
Publishing her first novel at the age of 56, Andrews became an overnight success. Flowers in the Attic was huge bestseller, and she immediately wrote a sequel. She went on book tours and was flown out to Hollywood when her book was optioned for film. And then, just 7 years later, Andrews died from cancer.
Written by the ghost writer of her novels after her death in 1986, I don't know that he had the most objective view of her or her life.

Book 48
The London Séance Society by Sarah Penner
Lenna Wicks doesn't believe in ghosts but she'll do anything to find out who killed her sister Evie, including travel to Paris to study under the famous spiritualist Vaudeline D'Allaire. Evie had also studied under D'Allaire and planned to become a medium herself. But before Lenna can find out what happened to her sister Vaudeline is summoned to London to solve the death of an old friend and founder of the London Seance Society.

In reading The Lost Apothecary by Penner, I liked the historical plotline best so this book was a much better read for me.

The 52 Book Club challenge: Features a magician

Book 49
Best of All Worlds by Kenneth Oppel
Xavier, his dad, and stepmom go away to the cottage for the weekend but when they wake in the morning they are no longer in the same place. They're in the cottage but the whole thing has been moved to some sort of dome. They have a farm for sustenance but no contact with the outside world.
Three years later, another family is dropped into the dome. They are as different from each other as is possible but somehow must get along because this is all the society that exists.

The 52 Book Club challenge: Related to the word “puzzle”

Book 50
the princess saves herself in this one by Amanda Lovelace
I frankly picked this one up because it was short and met with one of the prompts for my reading challenge.

The 52 Book Club challenge: Told in verse

Book 51.
Late Nights on Air by Elizabeth Hay
This has been on my list to read for a long time.
Winner of the Giller prize in 2007, Hay's novel is set at a radio station in 1970s Yellowknife.
I really felt like this was a bit of a slog. I like the bits about radio and their lives in Yellowknife but when the group goes out into the Barrens for several weeks to follow the path of an old explorer, it didn't really speak to me.

Book 52.
The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
So many people love this book and the rest of the series. McFadden's books are very popular at my library. But I hated this. All the characters are terrible. There's no one in the book that I want to root for.
Unsurprisingly, I do not plan to read the rest of the series.

The 52 Book Club challenge: More than a million copies sold

Book 53.
The Sister's Tale by Beth Powning
When the book opens, Josephine's life is pretty much perfect. The respected wife of a sea captain, she lives in comfort with her two daughters. The only thing she wishes is that her husband be home.
Flora, on the other hand, has nothing. An orphaned child, she was sent to Canada as a British Home Child. Essentially an indentured servant. She had been taken in by a nice family but they died in an accident. Leaving Flora as a pauper.
Josephine bids for Flora at a pauper's auction to save her from unsavoury people who may want her for more than gardening. Then Josephine's life takes a turn for the worst as her husband is lost at sea. As he left no will, Josephine is left with nothing.
A fascinating look at women's rights, the suffragette movement, and equality in late 1800's New Brunswick.

Book 54.
Unmask Alice: LSD, Satanic Panic, and the Imposter Behind the World's Most Notorious Diaries by Rick Emerson
Absolutely fascinating!
Go Ask Alice was marketed as a true diary of a 15 year old girl who began to use drug which lead her into running away from home, sex work, and eventually death. Of course, we now know that isn't true. It was fiction written by Beatrice Sparks.

She also wrote several other “anonymous” diaries, including, Jay’s Journal, a diary of a young man who committed suicide. To spice up the story, she added scenes of the occult and Satanism, which helped fuel the “Satanic Panic”.

I liked the author's style and found this an extremely fast read.

Book 55.
Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich
Years ago I read the first book in this series and found it just okay. But recently a friend convinced me to go on with the series because the books get better.
Stephanie Plum is back and trying to corral bail jumper Kenny Mancuso. Using Grandma Mazur as a cover she goes to visiting hours at some funeral home. Grandma Mazur is predictably unpredictable. And somehow Stephanie is involved in investigating the theft of a bunch of coffins.
It's all very absurd and a great beach read.

The 52 Book Club challenge: Plot includes a heist

Book 56.
Into the Bright Open by Cherie Dimaline
This is part of the Remixed Classics series, in which people from different cultural backgrounds rewrite classic novels through their own cultural lens.
I have loved other books I've read by Dimaline but this one was less compelling. I think it's more because it's kind of Secret Garden with a dash of Flowers in the Attic.

The 52 Book Club challenge: A fairy tale retelling

Book 57.
Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
I initially read this book back in 2007, when I was working at a middle school library and was practicing lockdown drills. The plot hit really differently then.

The 52 Book Club challenge: Set in Spring

Book 58.
A Season with the Witch: The Magic and Mayhem of Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts by J.W. Ocker
I really wish that travel to the US wasn't such a bad idea right now, reading this book by Ocker has put me in the mood to go visit Salem again.
Very interesting book about Ocker moving with his wife and two young daughters to Salem for the month of October. Of course he talks about the witch trials, but he also interviews practitioners of Wicca, talks to businesses owners, tour guides, visits a youth centre, and talks to the police. The Halloween night that he and his family spent there in 2015 had approximately 100,000 people in attendance.

The 52 Book Club challenge: Author has won an Edgar award

Book 59.
Call Me by Your Name by André Aciman
I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about this book.
Elio is 17 and living with his family in Italy. He seems to be a bit of musical prodigy. His father is a professor who invites a scholar to live with them each summer. The summer in question it is Oliver, an American graduate student. Over the course of the summer, Elio's feelings for Oliver grow.
Parts of the book were so good but parts were so boring.

Book 60.
An Ocean of Minutes by Thea Lim
This book was recommended by a friend several years ago, and in a pre-COVID world I may have looked at it very differently.
In 1981, Polly signs herself up for indentured servitude to save the life of her boyfriend, Frank. She and Frank went on a roadtrip and found themselves stuck in Texas as a flu pandemic locked down state borders.
Polly is supposed to be sent to 1993, and she and Frank plan to meet up once she gets there. But then the company TimeRaiser, to whom she signed away a couple of years in order to get Frank lifesaving medicine, re-routes her to 1998.
The America she arrives in is not the same as the one she left. For one thing, the country has been split in two, the United States and America. And she is not an American citizen, and therefore has no rights.
A love story and a dystopian future.

>73 Deedledee: Got me. That's on my wishlist now.

Book 61.
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
This book was better than I expected.

“Scientists are actually preoccupied with accomplishment. So they are focused on whether they can do something. They never stop to ask if they should do something.”

Published before the first known cloned animal, this is a cautionary tale of science messing in the natural world and possibly getting more than they bargained for.

The 52 Book Club challenge: Read in a “-ber” month

Book 62.
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Catherine Morland's 6 week sojourn to Bath with the Allens is an exciting prospect. She lives in a tiny village with no diversions.
Arriving in Bath she finds it difficult without any acquaintances until Mrs. Allen chances to encounter an old schoolmate. And, coincidentally, Mrs. Thorpe's son is good friends with Catherine's brother.
Catherine and Isabella Thorpe become fast friends. Catherine, from her sheltered upbringing, does not immediately notice how vain Isabella is, or how much of a braggart her brother.
At the same time she has come to the notice of the lovely Henry Tillney, and meets his gentle sister Eleanor. Her trip to their home changes her life.

The 52 Book Club challenge: A crossover (Set in a shared universe)

Book 63.
Three to Get Deadly (Stephanie Plum #3) by Janet Evanovich

I think these are going to be my go to beach read books, which means it's time to put Ms. Plum away for a few months.
The plot is almost besides the point in these novels, it's really more about Stephanie and how she's going to destroy her car, what Grandma Mazur is going to destroy, and will she and Morelli hook up.
If you happen to be interested in the plot, in this installment Stephanie is after Mo, beloved in the neighbourhood, making her a pariah. She also manages to get in a fight with a man in a mascot suit at Cluck in a Bucket while attempting to bring him in on bail jumping.

Book 64.
Henry Tilney's Diary by Amanda Grange
I'm getting toward the end of the 52 Book Club Challenge and needed to find a book that had a shared universe. But I'm glad I read this. Grange's retelling of Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey through Henry Tilney's eyes was quite entertaining. Twenty-four year-old, Henry is content with his life. He is no longer under his father's thumb as he has a living as a clergyman, leaving his older brother Frederick to inherit Northanger Abbey. But General Tilney is determined to increase the family's means by having all three of his children marry wealthy partners. During a trip to Bath, Henry meets Catherine Morland and believes he may have found "his heroine" as he and his sister have always discussed. When the General takes an unusual liking to Catherine and invites her to visit the Abbey, Henry is thrilled. But just as in the Gothic novels Henry loves, not everything is as it seems.

The 52 Book Club challenge: Shares universe with prompt 28

Book 65.
The Serial Killer's Wife by Alice Hunter

The first book in a series by Alice Hunter.

When we're introduced to Beth, she's angry because her husband isn't home yet. A knock on the door has two detectives there but Tom hasn't been in an accident. The detectives are there to ask him questions about a woman who disappeared 8 years ago.

As the story escalates we mostly follow Beth's point of view, but we do get glimpses into Tom's mind, and the thoughts of Katie, the missing woman.

I did feel like some elements were rushed but overall I was interested throughout the book.

Book 66.
Blood on Her Tongue by Johanna Van Veen
This book had a huge gothic creep factor, but there was a LOT of eye violence.
Lucy goes to care for her twin sister in her husband's estate, Zwartwater (which translates to black water) in 1880 Netherlands. She's been called there because her sister, Sarah, has some sort of brain fever.
Sarah spins a tale about digging up a woman in the bog around the estate. Is she possessed? Has a vampire taken over her body? Or is she insane?

The 52 Book Club challenge: A sprayed edge

Book 67.
From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death by Caitlin Doughty

I was introduced to Doughty through her YouTube channel, Ask a Mortician.

In this book, Doughty talks about different death rituals throughout the world. A fascinating look at how various cultures mourn and recognize death.

Book 68.
The Lost Daughter by Gill Paul
This seems like the kind of book that could send me down a rabbit hole.
In 1918, the Romanovs, already imprisoned were secretly executed and buried. The Russian people were only told that the Tzar was executed and that his wife and children were someplace safe.
In Paul's novel, Maria is saved by one of the guards and goes on to live her life in secret in a turbulent and changing Russia.
The other story is that of Val in 1970s Australia. In a terrible and abusive relationship, Val's life changes after her father's death. It leads her into and interest in the Romanovs in a way you would not expect.

Book 69.
Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
In this prequel to the Hunger Games, we get Haymitch Abernathy's story as a "contestant" in the Quarter Quell games.
It was ok, but I wish there had been more of an emphasis on his life after the games. It just kind of jumps ahead 20 years.

The 52 Book Club challenge: A prequel

FINISHED!
I have finished the 52 Book Club challenge.
Yay me!

Book 70.
Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein
I'm struggling with how to describe this book. Obviously, it is very much of its time, having been published in 1959. But it also still has some messages to ponder, ones I don't agree with, but still something to think about.
Johnny Rico signs up to serve in the military on his 18th birthday. In this future civilization all humans are united under one government. In order to be a full, voting citizen, a person has to serve a minimum of two years in military service.
In the midst of training the Terran Federation goes to war with the "Bugs" (giant arachnid creatures from another planet). What started as a two year stint becomes a life mission for Johnny.
While there is some action in this book you can tell that it is written to argue a point.

Book 71.
Walking After Midnight: One Woman's Journey Through Murder, Justice, and Forgiveness by Katy Hutchison

Hutchison goes through a terrible ordeal when her husband of 10 years and father to her small children is murdered at a New Year's Eve party. Once they find the main perpetrator she could become vengeful but instead wants to meet with the young man and talk to him about the impact on her family's life. Later she advocates for the young man to get addictions treatment.
The restorative justice aspect is the best part of this memoir. I understand we need to know a bit about Hutchison and her family in order to build sympathy but to be frank, her first husband kind of sounded like a jerk.

Book 72.
They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
Imagine if you knew the day you were going to die. Not well in advance, but are told on the day you die that it will happen within the next 24 hours. What would you do with your last day?
In the not too distant future, a service called Death Cast calls individuals between midnight and 3 am to let them know it's their death day. Teenagers Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio both receive this call. Using an app called Last Friend they connect and spend their final hours together.

Book 73.
The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
In the antebellum South, Lavinia, a young Irish girl becomes an indenture servant to a plantation owning family. As a white servant among slaves she is an outsider in both worlds.
She befriended by Belle, the plantation owner's illegitimate daughter. What follows is tragedy after tragedy.

Book 74.
The Change by Kirsten Miller
I really didn't know where this story was going to go.

The Change is about women of a certain age. Women who have supposedly lost their power because they are no longer young and pretty. Dismissed by men and therefore of no value. But Harriet, Jo, and Nessa all find their gifts when they reached menopause.

Harriett was a successful advertising executive. Her husband left her for a younger woman and she has since been sidelined by her male counterparts. Divorced from her husband, she has gained repute as the resident “witch“ of the community. Her wild garden has really angered the president of the HOA (but Harriet knows how to handle him).

Jo was a hotel manager, but after her dismissal she invested everything in opening a women-only fitness centre. She is married and is the mother of eleven-year-old Lucy. Her hot flashes manifest into fierce energy and strength.

When Nessa was growing up she spent a summer with her grandmother learning about her gift. Her grandmother and other women ancestors, had the ability to hear women who had died to ensure that their death was acknowledged. Women who died at the hands of men.

These three women together discover a mystery and must determine who is killing young women in their community.

Book 75
How Can I Help You by Laura Sims

I have some serious questions about the hiring policies at this library. Margo is on the run and lands at the library. Lying her way into getting a job she's been there just over two years. I feel like a criminal record check or a call to some references would have stopped this before it began.
When Patricia starts as the new reference librarian something about her reminds Margo of her past life as a nurse. At that time Margo was going by the name Jane. She left after another nurse caught her in the midst of killing a patient.
Patricia has landed at this library because her great ambition in life, to be a novelist has been thwarted. But in Margo she's found a new muse.

Book 76.
The Last Housewife by Ashley Winstead

This book is like every trigger warning fed into a plot.
Shay is in her late 20s, married to a rich guy, living in an expensive neighbourhood in Dallas. But then she hears that one of her university roommates has died by suicide and feels that she must determine if that is true. She then falls into a world of submission, power, and control, in which women are mere playthings.

Book 77.
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Joan has always been in love with the stars. In the late 1970s she is teaching astronomy to undergrads at Rice when her sister calls her about an ad she's seen for NASA recruitment. Flashforward a few years and Joan is in the astronaut training program. She meets wonderful friends. People who are just as invested in space as she is. And she meets the love of her life.
A very interesting exploration on love, family, and what it takes to make it in a world that was just on the cusp of opening up for women.

Congratulations on reaching 75!

Book 78.
Terrible Typhoid Mary: A True Story of the Deadliest Cook in America by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

Typhoid Mary has become synonymous with those who spread disease. This book points out how there are many shades of grey within a story. Mary Mallon was a cook who had non-symptomatic typhoid. She was connected with approximately 24 cases of typhoid. However, other individuals, especially men, were connected to many more cases and not incarcerated.

Congrats on zipping past the goal!

Here's my 2026 thread:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/376762#n9059510