The stack is ready to go for #DeweysReadathon this Saturday (10/21)! It starts at 8:00 a.m. EST (6:00 a.m. for me). I can‘t wait to ‘unplug‘ for a day. 😀
#Deweys24hourreadathon

Maybe reading this just now wasn‘t the best idea as I am feeling overwhelmed at how evil people can be. I plan to see the movie, but am wondering how 2 hours can do justice to this complicated story. By-the-way, the book is very good!

Oh my, this swept me off my feet. I don‘t always love Oprah‘s picks, but this was a winner.

I enjoyed this tale of a brilliant young woman fighting to practice medicine in the early 19th century.
A local library “group read”.

This was my 4th James and the toughest one to get through. It felt like too much work to figure out the complicated, dare I say shallow, relationships and aspirations of the characters.
#1001books

I‘ve been working my way through the Smiley novels and I think this is my favorite. In addition to his stellar writing, I appreciate le Carré‘s unflinching look at the world of espionage. No sugar-coating here.

It‘s always fun spending time with Amelia Peabody and crew. Also, Barbara Rosenblat might be my favorite narrator.

This book is indeed a strange new thing. I like Faber‘s writing but my overall judgment is still unclear. I‘m 70% done and I think I know what‘s going to happen, but I hope it doesn‘t. 😗

Update: I‘d have to give it a so-so. After finishing, still not quite sure how I feel about it.

Not my favorite by this author, but still a solid 4*. Native American culture fascinates me, and Erdrich is a masterful storyteller. (She also has a lovely reading voice.)

I read most of this in one day - couldn‘t put it down. There were a few things that bothered me but after this and Babel, I‘m adding everything Kuang has written to my TBR.

Lovely essays about the importance of maintaining our close ties to the natural world.

I wasn‘t sure how I felt about this until I finished it. I thought about it…then I thought some more. And I decided the structure and all the layers were really kind of brilliant (imho). Another winner from the #Tob2023longlist #Pulitzer

SO good. Barbara Kingsolver is a master at combining sadness and beauty.

🤔 The writing is impressive, but I‘m giving it a tepid “pick”. I read the whole book with a sense of uncomfortable anticipation - like watching what you suspect might become a horror movie.

I seem to have found yet another Japanese author I like. Plus, I learned a lot about sustainable forestry. 🌲 🌳

I finally got to this after 10 years (!) on my TBR. It‘s very good, although by the end I was a little weary of the time jumping.

Books like this clever sci-fi thriller (middle-grade) remind me why I continue to read the Newbery winners. The audio was wonderful.
#Newbery

Reading all day. Yessss!!!
#deweysreadathon

As usual, I‘m enjoying ToB longlist books more than some on the shortlist. Historical fiction may be my favorite genre, and this one has great characters and atmosphere. Even though the narrative jumps back and forth in time (that seems to be a trend for authors these days), I didn‘t have trouble following it.

It was time to mix it up, and jump into Smiley‘s world for a while. I think I‘ll try to finish up this series. I‘d forgotten how good Le Carré is.

An ambitious novel, which I thought flowed really well. I also appreciate there were some glimmers of hope amongst all the tragedy. An apt summary from a blurb on the back: “Imagine a mash-up of Stranger Things and Salman Rushdie”. 🤔
#ToB2023 (I do realize the tournament is over - hashtag is for my reference 😁.)

I won‘t finish this before the start of the tournament (100 pages in), but I am so disappointed. I love mysteries and I love the violin, but I do not love this writing. I‘m surprised the book made the shortlist. Oh well. Expectations were too high.
#ToB2023 #ToB23 #LitsyToB23

While I didn‘t love this as much as “A Constellation of Vital Phenomena” (it certainly didn‘t flow as well), I‘m a sucker for meticulously researched historical fiction with interesting characters. I grew up in Utah and didn‘t know about German Village!
#ToB2023 #ToB23

This story had the perfect author to tell it. I think I will try some of Wilson‘s short stories next. I‘ll bet he comes up with some interesting stuff.

This was just the book I needed right NOW. I couldn‘t put it down - was awake half the night finishing it on audio. 😁

I have to let this percolate for a while, but my first impressions are: great writing and character development, although there were periods where I didn‘t like either Sam or Sadie much. I‘m not a gamer, so that maybe kept me from LOVING the book. I will also have to read some other reviews to see if I can get a handle on the purpose of a particular plot twist.
Overall, I did enjoy it.
#ToB2023 #ToB23

I liked this a lot, despite never having a full grasp on the powers of a match-pair. 😬 Also a tad long.
#ToB2023 #ToB23

Weird and fascinating and I‘m loving it so far!
#ToB2023 #ToB23

Michelle inspires me to do better and be better.

I‘ve always enjoyed books about time travel and this is an especially intelligent one. An extra plug: it‘s on Pres. Obama‘s best-of-2022 list!
#ToB2023 #ToB23

Especially delightful on audio. 4 1/2*
#1001books

My emotions were all over the place with this one. Memorable for sure. Gunty has some impressive writing chops. In the end, I‘d have to say I admired it more than “enjoyed” it. #ToB2023 #ToB23

I‘m giving this a pick because I like Hamid‘s writing so much. Like others, though, I was left unsatisfied. Sometimes less is more. In this case, less is just…not enough. Will be surprised if it makes the shortlist.
#ToB2023 #ToB23

Here is my current TBR of #ToB2023 longlist books. I have a few more on hold at the library. Hoping at least a few of them make the shortlist, so I‘ll have a chance at becoming a “completist”. #ToB23

Lovely book. This reminds me why I will continue to read the Newbery winners.
#ReverseReadathon #Deweys #Newbery

I loved this! Now I must see a performance. This is one of the two books I finished for #ReverseReadathon. I did read part of all ten books in my stack - the first time I‘ve ever done that! #Deweys

Final stats: 874 pages, 12 hr 21 min

Starting the #ReverseReadathon with the tagged book. It‘s good! #Deweys

Beautiful collection of quotations. I picked this up from a “new age” bookshop a few months ago, and find that reading a few pages each day grounds me. I just tried to order copies for some family members, but it doesn‘t seem to be available. Shame.

Don‘t hate me, but I did not love this book! I found the first half silly, the second half much improved but confusing, and the ending dragged on too long. I was surprised because I loved Beartown.

Dr. Hyman‘s ideas make sense to me, but it‘s annoying that Pegan = Paleo + Vegan, yet he encourages you to eat meat! 3.5/5*

This series has been a guilty pleasure for me for years. But with the passing of M. C. Beaton, I think I will put Hamish Macbeth to rest.

I‘m in the minority in not loving this one. I enjoyed the nature writing and learning more about wolves, but had several issues with the “sub-plots”, especially towards the end.

There was a lot to process here. It took me so long to read it, I‘m afraid I‘m just ready to move on and not analyze too much. I mostly liked it. 😊

I‘m a fan and enjoyed getting to know Randy a little better. Audiobook recommended (read by Randy).

This was a fun one on audio - although I did have to check my Kindle copy a few times to remember who certain characters were.

Such a sad, but excellent book. This has been on my Kindle for years, but I may not have chosen the best time to read it. Add the people of Zimbabwe to those for whom I feel heartbroken.
Late reporting, but I finished with 9 hours 49 minutes for #20in4. Hoping to do a little better next time.

I enjoyed this second installment of the Maisie Dobbs series. I don‘t believe I liked the first one as much, but I‘ll definitely be continuing the series. The narrator did a good job with the various characters. First book finished for #20in4 .
And yes, I like my old-fashioned headphones. 😁

Hoping to finish these this weekend for #20in4. I was also able to get the Winspear on audio from the library. I‘m attempting to whittle down the old TBR and these have all been on my list a LONG time.

Well, this just wasn‘t for me. I can understand how one would appreciate its inventiveness, but it left me with the same discomfort Murakami causes me. (Sorry, Murakami-lovers.)
I continue to plug along with old ToB books from this year and years past. There are never enough reading hours in the day. 😁
#ToB2022

This was a different twist on race and class from anything I‘ve read recently. I liked that I didn‘t have a handle on what Alix or Emira would do next.