What are you reading now?: October 4, 2025

Still working on Silent Spring Revolution, starting on The Last Battleground.

Knocked off The Potency of Ungovernable Impulses. Starting Papyrus.

I'm about 2/3 of the way through Silas Marner for my monthly reading group.

Driving Miss Norma – Tim Bauerschmidt & Ramie Liddle
Digital audiobook narrated by Christopher Grove and Nan McNamara
4****

Subtitle: One Family's Journey Saying "Yes" to Living
Alternate subtitle: : An Inspirational Story About What Really Matters at the End of Life

When his mother was diagnosed with uterine cancer at age 90, Tim Bauerschmidt and his wife had some decisions to make. They had been living “on the road” for a few years already and had returned to his childhood home when his father passed away. But now he couldn’t leave his mother alone with this devastating illness. Norma decided she did NOT want to live her last months “sick” … and even sicker from the recommended treatment. She also didn’t want to be in a hospital or nursing home setting. So, she decided to go along with Tim and Ramie as they travelled the USA. This is a memoir of that year on the road.

Make no mistake, this was not an easy decision to make, and it took time, effort, resources and planning. But they were lucky, too. After posting about their journey on Facebook, and some friends sharing the posts, they had over 500 followers. Ramie then sent an email to the Good News Network to see if they’d like to do a feature article, and the network agreed, posting their “Driving Miss Norma” episode. In a day, their likes had jumped to 1,800 and they’d been contacted by CBS Evening News asking to do a feature story. Within a week they had 91,000 (!) likes. And offers of unique experiences came rolling in.

The lesson here, though, is all about Norma’s (and Tim’s & Ramie’s) reactions to all these opportunities. They embraced living. They said “yes” to most every offer. They set aside fears and “what ifs,” choosing instead to go with the flow and just enjoy the experience.

It’s a fine memoir and inspired this reader to be more open to life’s journey.

The audiobook is narrated by Christopher Grove and Nan McNamara, voicing Tim and Ramie’s chapters respectively. Having two narrators made it very clear which was writing which sections.

Waxing On: The Karate Kid and Me
Ralph Macchio
4/5 stars
This book is on Ralph Macchio who has played Daniel LaRusso in the film series, The Karate Kid and in the TV series Cobra Kai. He talks about his life and his film career. I highly enjoyed it. Books On Film and Entertainment

>2 rocketjk: I loved Silas Marner! Eliot is one of my favourite writers. I hope you're enjoying it as well.

This week, I'm listening to Drive your Plow over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk. It's an interesting story, a bit of crime fiction, beautifully written, set in a Polish forest near the Czech border.

I'm re-reading Outlander by Diana Gabaldon in preparation for (finally) reading Dragonfly in Amber, the second book in the series. It was twenty years ago that I read Outlander, and figured I should refamiliarize myself with the characters and much of the plot.

>6 ahef1963: I liked the Outlander series, especially Dragonfly in Amber

Currently reading A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny

I'm reading Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah.
I'm also still reading Language City by Ross Perlin.

started this audio via Libby ~

Dear Miss Lake: A Novel (Emmy Lake Wartime Chronicles, #4)
by AJ Pearce
(WWII era England/a favorite series)

I finished Silas Marner by George Eliot, which I didn't enjoy as much as the two other Eliot novels I've read, Adam Bede and The Mill on the Floss. C'est la vie. My short review is available on my Club Read thread.

I've now begun a self-published memoir by a friend of my wife's and mine from out time in California. The book is called Releasing Jenna (no touchstone yet), and it's about our friend's raising of her abused and very troubled niece. Our friend, Alice, self-published her memoir three or four years ago. My wife had already read it, so I knew I'd find it well-written and absorbing, which indeed has been the case so far.

The Door-to-Door Bookstore – Carsten Henn
3***

Translated by Melody Show

A small-town German bookseller has delivered books to his customers each evening after the store is closed. Carl has a regular walking route he uses for these deliveries. One day a nine-year-old girl, dressed in a bright yellow coat, appears and begins to walk with him. Schascha insinuates herself into his routine and things begin to change. Then Carl loses his job. But it is more than a job to Carl, it is his life.

I loved Carl and Schascha, but also really liked Carl’s customers, to whom he’s given literary pseudonyms. Mr Darcy, Sister Amaryllis, Effie Briest and Hercules are among his patrons, each given a name that befits his/her personality. And then there is Dog, a stray cat that follows Carl for part of his route and often makes a sound quite like a barking dog.

This is a lovely story of friendship, purpose, kindness and found family. It’s also about dealing with loss and grief, and about having the courage to make changes in one’s life.

Tricks
by Ellen Hopkins
3/5 stars
This is a collection of stories of five teenagers and their search to connect with their families or friends. Banned Book

Have started reading Black Order by James Rollins, another thriller

The new thread is up over here.