Karen (Witchyrichy) Reads the Days Away in 2026 Part 2

Welcome to my second thread!

I am Karen Richardson, aka Witchyrichy, and this is my 12th year in the 75ers group, and in October 2025, I celebrated my 20th year on LibraryThing. I am continuing to try to retire but teaching online is just too easy to pass up. I get paid to work from home, often in my pajamas.

I live with my husband of 34 years, Bob, Josie the dog and Circe the cat, in a 19th century farmhouse on 18 acres in rural southeast Virginia. Bottle Tree Farm, as we call it, is our own little bit of paradise and came with a library for my books. I have lots of hobbies in addition to reading: book binding, gardening. crocheting, gel printing, and junk journaling are just a few. This year, I want to add quilting to the list. I also play the piano and ukulele.

My husband and I share a love for the outdoors including gardening, birding and exploring. The header includes a picture of my little family sharing the sofa, our farmhouse in the recent snow, and two pictures from our travels around Virginia.

I am looking forward to another great year of reading and sharing.

Ticker

Bingo Card



Features Senior Citizens: The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
Micro-History: Paper: Paging Through History by Mark Kurlansky
Set Entirely Or In Part At Sea: The Wager by David Grann
Dead Author: The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford
Tree On The Cover: Proving Her Claim: On the Dakota Frontier by CK Van Dam
Fairy Tale Or Myth Retelling
Something Living on the Cover: Happy People Read and Drink Coffee by Agnès Martin-Lugand
Award Winner: The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett (2025 New England Book Award for Fiction)
"End It": Studies At the School By the Sea by Jenny Colgan
Published Before You Were Born: Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford
New-To-You-Author: Rachel Reid author of Game Changer
"Green" Book: The Time Hop Coffee Shop by Phaedra Patrick
Read a CAT or KIT: The Wind Knows My Name by Isabelle Allende (AlphaKit May: W/A)
Beautiful Cover: The Bookshop Below by Georgia Summers
Onomatopoeia in the Title: The Zig Zag Girl by Elly Griffiths
Difficult to Categorize
Female Author's Debut Novel: Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
Great First Sentence: Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
Indigenous Author: The Lost Journals of Sacajewea by Debra Magpie Earling
Set in Province/State Bordering Your Own
Road Trip Book: My Friends by Fredrik Backman
Mode of Transportation in the Title
Classic from Another Literary Tradition: The Weaverbirds by Yusuf B. Mangunwijaya
Book of Poetry
From an LT Legacy Library: A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn (David Bowie)

January - March
TOTAL: 27

January

Lessons at the School by the Sea by Jenny Colgan (audio)
What You Are Looking For Is In the Library by Michiko Aoyama
Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan
Wide Awake: The Forgotten Force that Elected Lincoln and Spurred The Civil War by Jon Grinspan
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
Studies At the School By the Sea by Jenny Colgan (audio)
The Queen Who Came in from the Cold by S.J. Bennett
Rez Life by David Treuer
The Something Girl by Jodi Taylor
The Time Hop Coffee Shop by Phaedra Patrick (audio)



February

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
The Briar Club by Kate Quinn
Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan
Miss Caroline Bingley, Private Investigator by Kelly Gardiner (audio)
The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford
Love In a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford
The Devil's Bible by Steve Berry



March

The Mitford Affair by Marie Benedict
The Wager by David Grann
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt (audio)
Proving Her Claim: On The Dakota Frontier by CK Van Dam
Game Changer by Rachel Reid
My Friends by Fredrik Backman
The Hidden Palace by Helene Wecker
I See You've Called In Dead by John Kenney
Death of a Wild Swimmer by Peter Boland
Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid

April - June

April

A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn
How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix
His and Hers by Alice Feeney
The Wedding People by Alison Espach
Vigil by George Saunders
In the Belly of the Anaconda by C. Arthur Ellis Jr.
The Zig Zag Girl by Elly Griffiths
Dear Debbie by Frieda McFadden
The Lost Journals of Sacajewea: A Novel by Debra Magpie Earling
The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife by Anna Johnston
Paper: Paging Through History by Mark Kurlansky



May

The Bookshop Below by George Summers
Heart the Lover by Lily King
Happy People Read and Drink Coffee by Agnès Martin-Lugand
The Wind Knows My Name by Isabelle Allende
The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett
Witch of Wild Things by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland
The Weaverbirds by Yusuf B. Mangunwijaya
This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page
Murder on the Marlow Belle by Robert Thorogood (audio)



June

The Restoration of Celia Fairchild by Marie Bostwick (audio)

July - September

October - December

Hi Karen my dear, Happy New Thread, dear friend.

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread, Karen!

Happy new one, Karen.

Happy New Thread, Karen!

>8 johnsimpson: >9 Storeetllr: >10 drneutron: >11 PaulCranswick: >12 vancouverdeb: Thanks!

I have a couple reviews to write but am in the throes of finishing the spring semester grading and setting up the summer course with the goal of having next week off before I start teaching again. So, today is a nose-to-the-grindstone day.

Happy new thread, Karen. You've done some great reading this year! Good luck with your end-of-semester work. I do not miss the grading.

>14 BLBera: Thanks! I have really just let my intuition be my guide this year for choosing books and so far it has not failed me. I try to keep up throughout the semester so semester-end isn't so bad. It just means I have to put work first.

Heart the Lover was my first Lily King novel. She tells the story of three college friends as they navigate a love triangle. Jordan, the nickname given to her by her friends, narrates the story from the point of view of adult life. Facing her own family struggles, she is pulled back into her old life.

It was an engaging read with all the characters bringing their own quirks and kinks to the story. And, in an age when writers seem to sprawl across the page, King is efficient and effective in her prose.

Writers and Lovers has been on my shelf for a long time so may make it closer to the top of the TBR.

I picked up The Bookshop Below on a whim at the library. Georgia Summers plunges us directly into a magical world where books are used to cast spells and bookshops are powered by a mysterious river that receives the gifts exchanged for the books.

Cassandra Fairfax has remade her life from book thief to book owner and finds herself in the midst of murder and intrigue. The elements of the magical world unfold through the story as we navigate along with Cass. The story centers on "ink magic," a system where magic is derived from a river beneath the bookshops and involves specialized, often dangerous, readings and books.

While I found some of the magical elements a bit confusing, the story of Cassandra's relationship to a rival book shop owner and her book seller bring a compelling human element that pulled me in.

Happy People Read and Drink Coffee, a short novel by Agnès Martin-Lugand translated from French, tells the story of Diane who finds life impossible after the death of her husband and daughter. Even her literary café fails to bring her joy. She escapes to Ireland where she must finally deal with her loss and decide how to move on. The journey includes a challenging neighbor struggling with his own tragedy and loss.

The book is the first in a series, but I'm not sure I need to read the second book. This one was fine but nothing earth shattering. I wondered if the translation left something to be desired as it seemed like people, especially Diane, were "screaming" a lot.

This is a case of buying a book for the title: I read and drink books and I think that makes me happy. But, there was little discussion of book reading or even coffee drinking. Instead, I think the title should have included smoking cigarettes as lots of them were consumed by Diane and her neighbor.

If you liked Heart the Lover, you will love Writers & Lovers.

>16 witchyrichy: I am glad you enjoyed Heart the Lover, Karen . I was not too keen on it.

>19 BLBera: Thanks! I am scanning the shelves right now to see what happened to my copy.

>20 vancouverdeb: It's funny how different books connect with different people. I bought the whole set of Outlander novels because my sister raved about them and never managed to finish the first one. The local bookshop was thrilled when I brought them in to trade.

Happy new thread, Karen! As Beth said, you do seem to be reading some good books so far this year.

>22 atozgrl: Thanks for stopping by! They haven't all been five star but I don't regret reading any of them. I am not good at not finishing books so I will plow through something I'm not loving. I haven't done that at all this year.

>23 witchyrichy: I'm the same way. I'm not good at DNFing books. I had one a month ago or so that was so bad that I might have done it, but I was reading it for a challenge and it was fortunately short. Any longer and I probably would have quit.

In her novel The Wind Knows My Name, Isabel Allende weaves together the stories of Sam Adler and Anita Diaz.

Samuel was part of the kindertransport that rescued Jewish children and sent them to England, leaving their families behind. An accomplished violinist, Adler makes his way to America and eventually to Berkeley, California, where he lives as a widower with a supportive housekeeper.

Anita is a blind five-year-old brought to America in 2019 where her mother is seeking asylum. They are separated, and we follow Anita as she enters the chaos of the immigration system.

Allende's novel was a powerful testimony to the challenges of displacement, war and immigration faced by children. She alternates between the stories of Samuel, Anita, and an immigration advocate named Selena. For the most part, Allende manages a neutral narrator but ever so often, especially as we follow Anita, the mask drops, revealing her anger and frustration with the system.

The Road to Tender Hearts is my RLBG choice for May. Annie Hartnett tells the poignant tale of PJ Halliday's second chance at life. We meet PJ as he heads to his ex-wife's house for breakfast with her and her fiancé. The couple is heading to Alaska for an extended vacation, leaving PJ on his own for the first time in almost forever.

Meanwhile, Luna and Ollie Meeklin, two children who live near PJ in Pondville, Massachusetts, are facing their own challenges.

Eventually, they find themselves in a car heading west along with PJ's daughter Sophie and a cat named Pancakes who has a special talent.

There were twists and turns and grief and sorrow but it was a good story with a satisfying, if surprising ending.

>25 witchyrichy: Oh! You got me with this one, Karen. I have loved all the Allendes I've read, but I haven't read this one yet. It sounds so good, though it may exacerbate my already searing anger at what is happening today.

>26 witchyrichy: I’m on the list for The Road to Tender Hearts at my library. Great review!

Karen O

>27 Storeetllr: She does not pull any punches and is not overly concerned about portraying all points of view. You have been warned.

>28 klobrien2: Thanks! The last book my RLBG read was How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix. Hendrix writes authentic horror stories and my group did not like it at all. I am sure they were relieved with The Road to Tender Hearts and am looking forward to our meeting on Tuesday.

>29 witchyrichy: She never does. :)

>1 witchyrichy: Aww they look so calm and happy sitting together like best pals

Happy new one!

I have never read anything by Hartnett, but this sounds good. I will give it a try.

>31 figsfromthistle: Thanks for stopping by!

>32 BLBera: I didn't make it to book group due to a summer cold but the librarian said their were mixed reactions. I thought it was a lovely balance of grief and joy.

I came up to Pennsylvania on Friday for a ten-day visit to help my parents make the move to their apartment at their retirement community. Unfortunately, my mother ended up in the ER later that night due to breathing issues caused by fluid in her lungs. She is recovering well and will most likely be home tomorrow. Mostly she is bored and cranky; no one would every accuse my mother of being a good patient. My sister came up this afternoon to help with visitation and give Dad and me a break to go to chapel where his men's group was singing.

I have the early shift tomorrow. She is feeling better and not willing to wait around for help getting on and out of bed so needs babysitting. I'll grab a latte at Starbucks and be in the recliner by 7:30 AM. I bought her a cookbook this morning along with some magazines and my sister showed her how to use YouTube.

After a lengthy hold, This Book Made Me Think of You came in just in time for me to bring it along. It is a lovely book to read in my quiet time at the rental cottage.

I finished Witch of Wild Things by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland. It is the first in a series, and I really enjoyed it. Magic realism focused on the Flores women who each bring a special magic into the world. Oldest sister Sage narrates the tale that begins with her return to Cranberry, Virginia, after an eight-year absence following the death of her youngest sister. There is romance and heartache and just a nice story. I have the two sequels on my TBR list.

I believe I have mentioned that, when I visit my parents in Pennsylvania, I rent cottage in the historic community of Mt. Gretna. I am staying in a new one to me this time, and it is charming with beautiful gardens.

I am also testing out the image feature and was able to drag directly from Photos to LibraryThing. What a world! Thanks, @Copperskye!

I hope your mother recovers quickly and that you get some quality reading time in your charming cottage.

Sending healing thoughts to your mother. What a lovely cottage!

>36 BLBera: >37 Storeetllr: She was discharged yesterday morning and seems to be doing great. So, we are back to moving.

I get most afternoons and evenings after dinner to myself. I couldn't decide what to bring for a craft and settled on some paint by numbers that my husband gave me last year. They have a national park theme. Mt. Gretna is an artist's community so it was fun to sit on the porch and paint.

Here's my paint by number:

It is my last day at the cottage as I head home tomorrow. I am ready to sleep in my own bed and just rest after a physically and emotionally challenging ten days.

My sister went home. My parents and I are taking the morning off before meeting for lunch and then doing the last few odds and ends at the old house. I am going to dig up a few plants from dad's garden.

They are mostly settled into the apartment. It is good sized two bedroom on the top floor with a lovely balcony. This is one of those bittersweet moments: they have been in their house on Gatehouse Lane for 20 years. The people on their street are sad to see them go. They do know lots of people in the apartment building and will have easier access to services like the dining room and special events.

I LOVED The Book Made Me Think of You. Libby Page provides the list of 80 books mentioned.

Sounds like it was a lot--but your mom is getting better and the move is done. Nice job Karen. Cute cottage!! Take care of yourself this week.

It sounds like your parents are in a good place, Karen. Safe travels home.

>41 Berly: We ate take out pizza last night and just chilled. I am fortunate to have a good relationship with my parents.

>42 BLBera: Their community is small and fairly close knit. My drive home was uneventful and I am now being pestered by the pets for treats.

I'm glad your parents are settled in their apartment. I know it had to be a lot of work for you and the family. I'm sure they will be better off there at this stage of their lives, even though it's sad to leave their home. I'm also glad to hear your mother is recovering. I hope you will take some time to yourself now for some rest.