My NONFICTION pick for May is a timely and educational narrative of the life of British immigrant Ann Trow, who refashioned herself as “Madame Restell” and became NYC‘s most successful and simultaneously notorious abortion provider in the 1800s. The writing is lively and humorous while also making it starkly clear that throughout history women have always wanted to have autonomy over their own bodies. It‘s as simple as that.

My FICTION bracket for May. The tagged was my favorite of all the books this month. It‘s a sprawling multigenerational novel set in Kerala, South India. In every generation, at least one person dies by drowning due to some medical mystery. The story begins with the wedding preparations for Big Ammachi and ends three-quarters of a century later with her grandchild. Verghese is a master of storytelling and the book is a stunning work of literature.

Full disclosure: Fantasy is not my thing. I‘m glad that #AuthorAMonth encouraged me to pick this up since it‘s considered a classic and one of those “books that everyone should read.” And I can appreciate the beauty of the writing—really, I can. But honestly? This book kind of bored me. Maybe it‘s because it‘s a middle-grade young-man-coming-of-age story and I‘m a middle-aged woman eying the retirement years? Thank goodness it was short. ✔️

Saw this on Facebook and it made me laugh. Because not only do I usually not finish the books I bring with me on vacation, I also don‘t read the three additional books I buy in the airport and stuff into my carryon on the way there. 😀

I‘m at a work conference in Boston and took a walk during one of the breaks. Found this absolutely adorable Little Free Library on Beacon Street—isn‘t it fabulous? 😍

Ending an absolutely-glorious-weather holiday weekend with a campfire and a new book.

100 years ago today … This is one of the many reasons why feminism continues to be relevant and important. There are women still alive who were born before it was legal for them to wear pants in public.

7 years??
Happy Litsyversary to all, and to all a good read!

A behind-the-scenes look at what many U.S. teachers endure— entitled helicopter parents, peer bullying, a lack of administrative support, the force of a minority of bigoted parents who are trying to dictate how and what they teach, and the expectation that they will take a bullet (or a deadly disease during a pandemic) for our children. And yet they do it because in the end they love the kids. It‘s a sobering story.

#Nonfiction2023

A sprawling multigenerational novel that begins with Big Ammachi and ends three-quarters of a century later with her grandchild. Open it, read the sobering first sentence (“She is twelve years old, and she will be married in the morning”) and just fall into the pages. Verghese is a master of storytelling.

With a hardcover page count of 724, this checks off the Chunkster Mini category for #chunksterchallenge2023

Santa Fe International Literary Festival, Day 2:
Also had the privilege of listening to journalist Beth Macy read from her latest book, “Raising Lazarus: Hope, Justice, and the Future of America‘s Overdose Crisis” and talk about the PTSD she suffered after researching and writing “Dopesick” (which was also produced as a series on Hulu). She was joined in conversation by Hampton Sides, an illustrious author and historian in his own right.

Santa Fe International Literary Festival, Day 2: Attended a presentation with David Quammen, nonfiction author of 18 books including “Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic,” “Ebola: The Natural and Human History of a Deadly Virus” and the tagged one. He provided an edge-of-your-seat description of a trek he made in Gabon, Africa in pursuit of an article for National Geographic.

So this just happened. I met George R.R. Martin. 😳

#SantaFeInternationalLiteraryFestival

At the Santa Fe International Literary Festival to see John Irving! He spoke out against the troubling reversal of rights for women and the LGBTQ community, discussed his writing method (he always writes the last line of a book first) and the impact that his favorite novel (“Moby Dick”) had on him, and read a chapter from his current book-in-progress. What a fabulous 90 minutes! I could have listened to him speak for hours more.

When you‘re in Santa Fe (where the average annual rainfall is only 14”) on a day when it‘s absolutely pouring and there are flash floods, but you still make the rounds of local independent bookstores even though you end up completely soaked through to the skin. Because, books.

It wasn‘t purple, but a lot of rain/wind fell on Galveston, TX during the hurricane that wiped out the city on Sept. 8, 1900. Narrative nonfiction is my jam—and this is a great example of the genre. Larson builds suspense and tells the story of several characters —including the hurricane and Galveston, which are characters in their own right.

And it took 17 books, but I finally got a Bingo! 😀

#Nonfiction2023
#AuthorAMonth

Timely and educational narrative of the life of British immigrant Ann Trow, who refashioned herself as “Madame Restell” and became NYC‘s most successful and simultaneously notorious abortion provider in the 1800s. The writing is lively and humorous while also making it starkly clear that throughout history women have always wanted to have autonomy over their own bodies. It‘s as simple as that.

#Nonfiction2023

Some people might say that it‘s ridiculous and over-the-top to travel more than 2,000 miles just to see their favorite author in person. Thankfully for me, I am not married to any of those people. When I said, “John Irving is going to be at the Santa Fe International Literary Festival,” my husband said, “When are we going?”

Our flight leaves on May 17, sweetie. 🙌🏼💃🏻🕺

Ostensibly a crime novel, this is really more of a first-person perspective of a person with Tourette‘s. Lionel is an interesting character unlike any I‘ve seen in a book before. We see how he navigates the world while battling his many, many tics and compulsions. Interesting for that insight, but the actual crime part of the plot was underwhelming for me. A soft pick.

I‘ve been making my way through “The West Wing” on HBO. Kristin Chenoweth joined the cast in season 6. Coincidentally I saw this on Libby and shrugged. I never listen to audiobooks—I don‘t have the attention span. Then I said, “well, so what?” and hit the borrow button. It was a pleasant-enough read, narrated by Kristin herself. Enjoyed the chapters about the beauty pageant circuit, “Wicked” and her stint on “The West Wing.”

#Nonfiction2023

My fiction reads were merely okay in April. The tagged book won, but was no match for “Lessons in Chemistry.” Which in turn was taken out by “The Latecomer” —which now moves seamlessly into the quarterfinal slot.

My nonfiction bracket is where the fiercest action is happening this year, for sure! It was a contest between several great picks this month, but the tagged book came out on top. But can anything stop the juggernaut that is John Steinbeck? “Travels with Charley“ triumphs —and moves into the quarterfinals!

My haul from yesterday‘s Independent Bookstore Day. I didn‘t visit all 16 of the stores on Connecticut‘s book trail in one day —I‘m planning on doing leisurely visits throughout the year and filling my passport booklet with stamps over the next 12 months.

Quick read that provides an in-depth analysis of the emotional damage that was inflicted upon the Trump siblings by their father, Fred—as told by Mary Trump, who is a psychologist. While I‘m still revolted by Donald Trump, it‘s interesting to see how and why he became a sociopathic narcissistic git capable of manipulating his followers. Does that knowledge make any of the past 8 years easier to swallow? No. No, it does not. 🤬

#Nonfiction2023

When your friends know you so well that they send you a box of bookish treats for your birthday: notebooks, bookmarks, tea, a cookie, a gift card to Barnes & Noble, a blind date with a book, and a personalized imprint seal to use in your books. 🥰

Memoir about a woman‘s life journey that begins with her arrival in the U.S. from Pakistan as a young bride in an arranged marriage. As she raises children and builds a career in NYC, she works to create an interfaith community that brings Muslims, Jews and Christians together to understand and appreciate each other in the aftermath of 9/11. Well written and informative. I learned a lot about Islam.

#Nonfiction2023

1. My friends planned a surprise party for my 16th birthday. My “gift” was a giant wrapped box that contained three adorable guys from the senior class clad in nothing but their bathing suits. The most amusing detail of this story is that the party was held at our church and was chaperoned by our minister. 😀🤷🏻‍♀️

2. I love plot twists! Especially if I don‘t see them coming.

#Two4Tuesday

A small book that packs a powerful punch. Ed Slattery‘s life was changed forever in 2010 when a long-haul trucker fell asleep and plowed into the family‘s car, killing his wife and severely injuring his son. Since then Ed has become a fierce advocate who pushes to expose the staggering and scary cost of the American trucking industry's rising crash rate. Each year 4,000+ Americans are killed—“a 9/11 every year,” as he points out.

#Nonfiction2023

A memoir told in essays detailing near-death experiences that the author has had during her lifetime. The writing is haunting and poignant, although some of the essays were better than others. While it is ultimately a pick for me, I do think I expected something… well, more, I guess .. based on the rave reviews I‘d seen before picking it up.

#Nonfiction2023

Kay and Cyrus make a pact in their 50s to end their lives at 80 so as to avoid the various financial, physical and emotional issues of old age. But then their 80th birthdays arrive. That‘s when this becomes a “choose your own death adventure” book. Each chapter depicts a different future depending on whether they do it or not. Shriver is a provocative writer—I don‘t always understand the point she‘s making, but I enjoy the intellectual challenge.

Visited another adorable used bookstore in Baltimore with my son. This one is in Federal Hill and includes a cozy, fanciful reading nook tucked way in the back past the nonfiction shelves.

A soft pick completed for #AuthorAMonth. I enjoyed it more than another book by this author that I‘d read previously, so that‘s a plus. But I did think this one was too long and a bit repetitive.

Visiting my son in Baltimore and stumbled across this adorable bookstore in Fells Point.

Was persuaded by @batsy to hop into the buddy read for “The Once and Future King,” a book that‘s been on my TBR for a while. And thus begins this cautionary tale and a word of advice: Don‘t wait too long to read the books you buy. Because that portable, pocket-sized book with the tiny print you bought when you were younger will not be your friend if you wait until you are middle-aged to attempt to read it. #TheMoreYouKnow #YoureWelcome

And now my Fiction reading bracket pick for March. I didn‘t love this book as much as my picks for January or February, but it was the “best” of the five novels I read this month. So here it is.

My March pick for my Nonfiction reading bracket was a no-brainer, despite some fierce competition. I loved this book and will definitely re-read it in the future. Thanks to #AuthorAMonth for pushing it off my TBR and into a favorite.

Attended a Connecticut Forum discussion at the Bushnell in Hartford last night. A panel of journalists (including Ronan Farrow, Brooke Gladstone and Stephen Hayes) debated on “Misinformation and Finding the Truth: Reckoning with Today‘s Media Landscape.” It was both fascinating and sobering. I was particularly thrilled to see and hear from Ronan Farrow—he‘s fabulous!

I wanted to love this book. But it seemed to drag on forever. The narrative has an awkward flow to it as well, and may have benefited from a heavier editorial hand. But hey, at least it checked off one of the #ChunksterChallenge2023 levels.

Not so much a #weirdword but rather a beautifully wistful one.

@CBee

A soft pick, because I love Don Winslow—especially the way he writes dialogue because his characters talk like real people I know. But this book? I felt like I‘d read it already. And already seen the movie. The mafia/mobster trope has been done to death (pardon the pun). Still, it‘s a fast-paced read, and I‘ll likely read the rest of the trilogy when books 2 and 3 come out. Because … Don Winslow. 🤷🏻‍♀️

What is a “normal” family? Most people would probably reply, “I can‘t say for sure, but definitely not this one.” The author certainly had a unique upbringing. I would have preferred more about the DNA and the 35 siblings she discovered and less about her emotionally unstable mother. The descriptions of the author‘s childhood reminded me of “The Glass Castle,” although it‘s not as well written.

#Nonfiction2023

New genre, perhaps? 🤔😀

Completed for “Good as Hell” prompt in #Nonfiction2023. Duckworth is a total badass: survived poverty and war as a child, became an Army helicopter pilot, was shot down over Iraq and lost both legs, won seats in Congress as both a Representative and now a Senator, and juggles it all while raising two young children (the youngest she gave birth to at the age of 50. 😳) If she isn‘t “good as hell,” I don‘t know who is.

This memoir struck a chord with me. In 2004, Tammy Duckworth, now a U.S. Senator from Illinois, was a Black Hawk helicopter pilot in the Army Reserves. After being shot down in Iraq, she lost both legs and badly injured her arm. My oldest son is a Huey helicopter pilot in the Marines, and her account of the accident seared my soul. I salute Duckworth‘s courage and resilience in rebuilding her life and her dedication to our country.

Sheesh, where has this book been for the past 40 years? It might be too late for me. 😖😄

This cozy mystery is disappointingly bad. The characters engage in way too much over-explaining while they are doing something, which makes the dialogue clunky and pedantic. The situations they insert themselves into strain credibility. And the characters are more like caricatures, especially the men. This ends on a cliffhanger and I don‘t care enough about any of them to continue. Moving on.

I loved this #AuthorAMonth and #Nonfiction2023 book! It‘s a travelogue of Steinbeck‘s trip across America in 1960 with his dog, Charley. In it he muses about the country‘s shortcomings. He hoped to report that he had found the “truth” about America—but finally understood that no single “truth” can ever be found: that “this mightiest of nations turns out to be the macrocosm of microcosm me.” This book is poignant and lovely and amazingly current.

Reading this Steinbeck account for #authoramonth and came across this #weirdword. I‘m loving it! What say you, @CBee ?

Adding a new name into the #independentwomen mix: U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois). A combat veteran of the Iraq War who served as a U.S. Army pilot, she lost both legs when her Black Hawk helicopter crashed. Despite her injuries, she got a medical waiver to continue serving in the IL Army National Guard for another 10 years. She's also the first senator to give birth while in office and is an inspiration to moms everywhere!

This book got off to a rough start. Despite the cover blurb, I didn‘t find it “laugh-out-loud funny.” As a woman in my 50s who has faced my share of sexism in the workplace, it made me tired. And angry. And tired of being angry. Yes, we‘ve made gains since 1960. But we‘re going backwards. It irritates me when young women in my office shy away from the word “feminist,” saying we don‘t need to be that anymore. Yes. We do. Keep fighting. ⬇️