Books

Books read/listened . . . rated on a scale of 1-5 with 1=low; 5=high

2024

NOVEMBER

Print:

Audio: 1. The Lonely Hearts Book Club/Lucy Gilmore (4.5); 2. 

OCTOBER

Print: 1. Between Sisters/Kristen Hannah (3.5); 2. The Stories Clothes Tell: Voices of Working -Class Japan/Horikiri Tatsuichi (4); 3. The Things We Do For Love/Kristen Hannah (3.5)

Audio: 1. Twisted Twenty-Six/Janet Evanovich (3); 2. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo/Taylor Jenkins Reid (4); 3. Pros and Cons/Janet Evanovich, Lee Goldberg (3); 4. The Heist/Janet Evanovich, Lee Goldberg (3); 5. The Chase/Janet Evanovich, Lee Goldberg (3); 6. Only If You Are Lucky/Stacy Willingham (2)                                                                                                                                                    Total 3+6=9 Overall Total 25+69=94 

SEPTEMBER:

Print: 1, Hotel Du Lac/Anita Brookner (3); 2. Kaleidoscope/Dorothy Gillman (3.5); 3. Distant Shores/Kristen Hannah (3); 4. The Fossil Hunter/Shelley Emling (4) 

Audio: 1. Tricky Twenty-Two/Janet Evanovich (3); 2. Turbo Twenty-Three/Janet Evanovich (3); 4. The Marriage Portrait/Maggie O'Farrell (4); 5. If the Shoe Fits/Julie Murphy (3.5); 6. Hardcore Twenty-Four/Janet Evanovich (3); 7. Look Alive Twenty Five/Janet Evanovich (3)                                         Total: 3+7=10 Overall Total: 22+63=85

AUGUST:

Print: 1. The Nun in the Closet/Dorothy Gillman (3); 2. The Feast of Sorrow/Crystal King (3); 3. Summer Island/Kristen Hannah (3)

Audio: 1. Smokin Seventeen/Janet Evanovich (3); 2. A Noise Downstairs/Linwood Barclay (4); 3.The Girls with No Names/Serena Burdick (4); Explosive Eighteen /Janet Evanovich (3); 5. Notorious Nineteen/Janet Evanovich (3); 6. Takedown Twenty/Janet Evanovich (3); 7. Book Lovers/Emily Henry (3.5); 8. Top Secret Twenty-One/Janet Evanovich (3); 9. Mad Honey/Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finny Boylan (4); 10. Eternal/Lisa Scottoline (4)                                                                                               Total: 3+10=14; Overall Total: 19+56=75

JULY: 

Print: 1. Angel Falls/Kristin Hannah (3); 2. The History of World in Six Glasses/Tom Standage (3.5)

Audio: 1. The Whale Bone Theater/Joanna Quinn (3.5); 2. Plum Lucky/Janet Evanovich (3); 3. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue/V.E. Schwab (3.5); 4. The Stationery Shop/Marjan Kamali (3.5); 5. Fearless Fourteen/Janet Evanovich (3); 6. The Lost Apothecary/Sarah Penner (3.5); 7. Plum Spooky/Janet Evanovich (3); 8. Finger Lickin' Fifteen/Janet Evanovich (3); 9. Sizzling Sixteen/Janet Evanovich (3);                                                                                                                                          Total: 2+9=11; Overall Total: 16+46=62

JUNE:

Print: 1. Angel Falls/Kristin Hannah (3); 2. Guardian of the Horizon/Elizabeth Peters (3); 3. The Women/Kristin Hannah (3.5)

Audio: 1. How It Happened/Michael Koryta (4); 2. My Antonia/Willa Cather (4); 3. The Larger Queen of Minnesota/J. Ryan Stradel (4);  4. Ten Big Ones/Janet Evanovich (3); 5. The Life of Pi/Yann Martel (4); 6. The Oysterville Sewing Circle/Susan Wiggs (3); 7. Eleven on Top/Janet Evanovich (3); 8. Twelve Sharp/Janet Evanovich (3); 9. Plum Lovin'/Janet Evanoich (3); 10. Lean Mean Thirteen/Janet Evanovich (3)                                                                                                                                           Total: 3+10=13; Overall Total: 14+37=51

MAY:

Print: 1. Aches & Pains/Maeve Binchy (3); 2. Artisan Sourdough made simple--a beginner's guide to delicious handcrafted bread with minimal kneading/ Emilie Raffe (3.5)

Audio: 1, Thank You For Listening/Julia Whalen (3.5);  2.Visions of Sugarplums/Janet Evanovich (3); 3. To the Nines/Janet Evanovich (3); 4. Who Is Maude Dixon/Alexandra Andrews (3.5); 5. Big Little Lies/Liane Moriarty; 6. Before We Were Yours/Lisa Wingate (4)                                                                 Total: 2+6=8 Overall Total 11+27=38

APRIL: 

Print: 1. On Mystic Lake/Kristin Hannah (3) 2. Go Away Home/Carole Bodensteiner  (3); 3. Chronic/Stephen Phillips (3)

Audio: 1. The Husband's Secret/Liane Moriaty (3.5); 2. Hard Eight/Janet Evanovich (3); 3. The Wife Upstairs/Rachel Hawkins (3); 4. A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow/Laura Taylor Namey (3) Total: 3+4=7 Overall Total 9+21=30

MARCH:

Print: 1. The Paleo Foodie Cookbook/Arsy Vartanian (3); 2. Mrs. Pollifax, Innocent Tourist/Dorothy Gillman (3.5); 3. The Hypnotist's Love Story/Liane Moriarty (3)

Audio: 1. Iron Lake/William Kent Krueger (3.5); 2. The Year of Less/Cait Flanders (3); 3. The Shadow Divers/Robert Kurson (5); 4. The Women in the Library/Sulari Gentill (3); 5. The Devil in the White City/Erik Larson (3.5) 6. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret/Judy Blume (3)                                   Total: 3+6=9 Overall Total: 6+17=23

FEBRUARY:

Print: 1. 

Audio: 1. The Kitchen Front/Jennifer Ryan (4); 2. Spare/Prince Harry (2); 3. Hot Six/Janet Evanovich (3); 4. Haven/Emma Donoghue (3.5); 5. What Alice Forgot/Liane Moriarty (3.5)                                        Total: 0 + 5 = 5 Overall Total: 3 + 11 = 14

JANUARY:

Print: 1. Home Again/Kristin Hannah (3.5); 2. Chronic: The Hidden Cause of Autoimmune Pandemic and How to Get Healthy Again/Dana Parish and Steven Phillips (3.5); 3. Mrs. Pollifax and the Lion Killer/Dorothy Gilman (3.5)

Audio: 1.  Keep Quiet/LisaScottoline (3.8); 2. The Soulmate/Sally Hepworth (3.9); 3. High Five/Janet Evanovich (3); 4. Hamnet/Maggie O'Farrell (4); 5. The Last Anniversary/Liane Moriarty (4); 6. Three Wishes/Liane Moriarty (4)                                                                                                                       Total: 3 + 6 = 9; Overall Total 3 + 6 = 9

2023

DECEMBER:

Print: 1. The Sewing Machine/Natalie Fergie (4); 2.Dog On It/Spencer Quinn (3.5); 3. Mrs. Pollifax Pursued/Dorothy Gillman (3.5); 4. The Stone Circle/Elly Griffiths (3.5); 5. Adventures in Improv Quilts--Master Color, Design, Construction/Cindy Griselda (4)

Audio: 1. The Winners/Fredrk Backman (4); 2. Lessons in Chemistry/Bonnie Grams (4.4) 3.Two for the Dough/Janet Evanovich (3.5); 4. Three to get Deadly/Janet Evanovich (3.5); 5. The Last Bookshop in London/Madeline Martin (3.8); 6. Four to Score/Janet Evanovich (3.5); 7. Prayers for Sale/Sandra Dallas (3.5); 8. The Museum of Ordinary People/Mike Gayle (4); 9. Keep Quiet/Lisa Scottoline (3.8) Total: 5+9=14 Overall Total 39+62=101

NOVEMBER:

Print: 1. Children of the Storm/Elizabeth Peters (3.5); 2. Dragonfly/Leila Meacham (4); 3. The Dark Angel/Elly Griffiths (3.5); 4. The Kitchen Front/Jennifer Ryan (4)

Audio: 1. The Pearl/John Steinbeck (4); 2. Foul Play/Janet Evanovich (3.5); 3. Metro Girl/Janet Evanovich (3.5), 4. Demon Copperhead/Barbara Kingsolver (3.5); 5. The Winemaker's Wife/Kristin Harmel (3.5); 6. All the Broken Places/John Boyne (4); 7. One For the Money/Janet Evanovich (3.5) 8. Us Against Us/Fredrik Backman (4)                                                                                                                Total: 4+8-12 Overall Total: 34+53=87

OCTOBER:

Print: 1. Waiting for the Moon/Kristin Hannah (3) 2. The Chalk Pit/Elly Griffiths (3.5)

Audio: 1. To Kill A Mocking Bird/Harper Lee (4;) 2. Sparks Like Stars/Nadia Hashimi (4); 3. The Only Survivors/Megan Miranda (3); 4.The Postmistress of Paris/Meg Waite Clayton (4) 5. Fingersmith/Sarah Waters (3.5)                                                                                                              Total: 2+5=7 Overall Total: 30+45=75

SEPTEMBER

Print: 1. Mrs. Pollifax and the Whirling Dervish/Dorothy Gillman (3.5); 2, Mrs. Pollifax and the Second Thief/Dorothy Gillman (3.5), 3. The Golden One/Elizabeth Peters (3.5), 4. The Woman in Blue/Elly Griffiths (3.5); 

Audio: 1. Anne of Green Gables/L.M. Montgomery (3); 2. Go Set a Watchman/Harper Lee (3.5); 3. A Suitable Boy/Vikram Seth (3); 4, Beloved/Toni Morrison (3); 5. Pride and Prejudice/Jane Austen (3); 6. The Book Woman's Daughter/Kim Michele Richardson (3.5)                                                             Total: 4+6=10 Overall Total: 28+ 40=68

AUGUST

Print: 1. Endurance-Schakelton's Incredible Voyage/Alfred Lansing (3.5); 2. The Outcast Dead/Elly Griffiths (3.5); 3. He Shall Thunder in the Sky/Elizabeth Peters (3.5); 4. Someone Else's Shoes/JoJo Moyes (4); 5. Lord of the Silent/Elizabeth Peters (3.5); 6. If You Believe/Kristin Hannah (3) 

Audio: 1. Caleb's Crossing/Geraldine Brooks (4) 2. Still Life/Sarah Winman (3.5); 3. The Reading List/Sara Nisha Adams (4); 4. The Deal of a Lifetime/Fredrik Backman (3.5); 5. Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen/Sarah Bryd (4)                                                                                                      Total: 6+5=10 Overall Total: 24+34=58

JULY

Print: 1. The Falcon at the Portal/Elizabeth Peters (3.5) 2. Mrs. Pollifax and the Hong Kong Buddha/Dorothy Gillman

Audio: 1. The Librarian Spy/Madeline Martin (3.5) 2. The Dressmakers of Auschwitz/Lucy Adlington (4) 3. The Sound of Gravel/Ruth Wariner  4. Horse/Geraldine Brooks (4)                                                                                            Total: 2+4=6 Overall Total: 18+29=47

JUNE

Print: 1. Mrs. Pollifax on the China Station/Dorothy Gillman (3.5) 2. Strangers in the Night/Pat Rushford (3)

Audio: 1. The Sun Does Shine/Anthony Ray Hinton with Lara Love Harden (4)                                       Total: 2+1=3 Overall Total: 16+25=41

MAY

Print: 1. Mrs. Pollifax on Safari/Dorothy Gillman (3.5) 

Audio: 1. The Indigo Girl/Natasha Boyd (4) 2. Gone Girl/Gillian Flynn, (3) The Laughter/Sonoroa Jha (3) 4. Remarkable Bright Creatures/Shelby Van Pelt (4) 5. State of Terror/Louise Penny (3) 6. All the Lonely People/Mike Gayle (4) 7. Love in the Time of Cholera/Gabriel Garcia Márquez (4)              Total: 1+7=8 Overall Total: 14+24=38    

APRIL

Print: 1. Voyage of a Summer Sun/Robin Cody (4) 2: A Palm for Mrs. Pollifax/Dorothy Gillman (3.5)

Audio: 1. The Wives/Tarryn Fisher (3.5) 2. Reach for the Stars/Kathryn Johnson (3) 3. The Girl in the Mirror/Rose Carlyle (3)  4. The Elephant of Belfast/S.Kirk Walsh (3)                                                                                                                           Total: 2+4=5 Overall Total: 13+17=30

MARCH

Print: 1. A Room Full of Bones/Elly Griffiths (3.5) 2. The Ape Who Guards the Balance/Elizabeth Peters (3.5)

Audio: 1. The Wives/Tarryn Fisher (3.5) 2. Reach for the Stars/Kathryn Johnson (3) 3. The Girl in the Mirror/Rose Carlyle (3) 4. This Tender Land/William Kent Krueger(4.5)                                                                                                                               Total: 2+4=6 Overall Total: 11+13=24

FEBRUARY:

Print: 1. River of the Gods/Candice Millard (3.5) 2. The Elusive Mrs. Pollifax/Dorothy Gillman (3.5) 3. The Hippopotamus Pool/Elizabeth Peters (3.5) 4. The House at Sea's End/Elly Griffiths (3.5) 5. The Stories We Tell/Patti Callahan Henry (3) 6. Mrs. Pollifax on Safari/Dorothy Gillman (3.5) 

Audio: 1. The Nature of Fragile Things/Susan Meissner (4) 2. The Power Couple/Alex Berenson (4.5) 3. Trickster's Queen/Tamera Pierce (3) 4. The House at Sea's End/Elly Griffiths (3.5) 5.The Overnight Guest/Heather Gudenkauf (4)                                                                                                                  Total: 6+5=11 Overall Total: 9+9=18

JANUARY:

Print:  1. The Elusive Mrs. Pollifax/Dorothy Gillman (3.5) 2. The Hippopotamus Pool/Elizabeth Peters (3.5) 3. The Janus Stone/Elly Griffiths (3.5)

Audio: 1. River of the Gods/Candice Millard (3.5) 2. The Lincoln Highway/Armor Towels (3.5) 3. City of Saints and Thieves/Natalie C. Anderson (4) 3. The Overnight Guest/Heather Gudenkauf (4)               Total: 3+4=7

2022

JANUARY:

Print:1. The Golden Thread/Karissa St. Clair (4.75)  2. The Secret History of Home Economics/Danielle Dreilinger (4.5) 3. The Narrow Boat Summer/Anne Youngson (4) 4. When We Were Strangers/Pamela Schoenwaldt (4)

Audio: 1. The Island of Sea Women/Lisa See (4.75) 2. The Beautiful Mystery/Louise Penny (4.5).

Total: 4+2=6

FEBRUARY:

Print:1. The Last Thing He Told Me/Laura Dave (4.5); 2. If You Believe/Kristin Hannah (3); 3. When Lightening Strikes/Kristin Hannah (2)

Audio: 1. Riders of the Purple Sage/Zane Gray (4.7); 2. The Long Way Home/Louise Penny (4.8); 3. The Five Wounds/Kristen Valdez Quade (2) Total: 3+3=6; Overall Total: 7+12=19

MARCH:

Print: 1. Island of the Saints/Andy Andrews 4; 2. When Lightening Strikes/Kristen Hannah 3.5; 3. The Fox Hunt: A Refugee's Memoir of Coming to America/Mohammed Al Samawi 3

Audio: 1. A Great Reckoning/Louise Penny 4; 2. Glass Houses/Louise Penny 4                                              Total: 3+2 =5; Overall Total: 10+17=27

APRIL:

Audio: 1. Kingdom of the Blind/Louise Penny 4.5; 2. A Better Man/Louise Penny 4.5; 3. All the Devils Are Here/Louise Penny 4.5; 4. The Madness of Crowds/Louise Penny 4.5; 5. And Every Morning The Way Home Gets Longer/Fredrik Backman 4                                                                                                Total: 0+5=5; Overall Total: 10+22=32

MAY:

Audio: 1.Britt Marie Was Here/Fredrik Backman 4.5; 2. Crocodile in the Sandbank/Elizabeth Peters; The Curse of the Pharaohs/Elizabeth Peters 3.5; 3. Prayers for Sale/Sandra Dallas 4.0; 4. Becoming Mrs. Lewis/Patti Callahan 4.5; 5.                                                                                                            Total: 0+4=5; Overall Total: 10+26=36

JUNE:

Print: 1. & 2. Dear Miss Kopp and Miss Kopp Investigates both by Amy Stewart. 4/5

Audio: 1. Lion in the Library/Elizabeth Peters. 3.5/5; 2. The Paris Library/Janet Skeslien Charles 4/5 and 3. "The Personal Librarian"/Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher 4.5/5.                             

Total: 2+3=5 Overall Total: 12+29=41

JULY:

Audio: 1. The Deeds of the Disturber/Elizabeth Peters 3.5/5 and The Year of Magical Thinking/Joan Didion 3/5

Total: 0+2=2; Overall Total: 10+28=38

AUGUST:

Print: 1. Color: The Natural History of the Palette/Victoria Finlay 4/5

Total: 1+0=1; Overall Total: 11+28=39

SEPTEMBER:

Print: 1. Where the Forest Meets the Stars/Glendy Vanderah 4/5

Total: 1+0=1; Overall Total: 12+28=40

OCTOBER:

Print: 0

Audio: 1. The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax/ Dorothy Gillman 3.5/5; 2. The Sentence/Louise Erdrich 3.5/5; 3. Yellow Wife/Sadeqa Johnson 3.5/5; 4. A Bad Day For Sunshine/Darynda Jones 3.5/5; 5. The Last Camel Died At Noon/Elizabeth Peters 3.5/5 6. A Spindle Splintered/Alex E. Higgins 3/5; 7. First Grave On The Right/Darynda Jones 3/5

Total: 0+7=7; Overall Total: 12+35=47

NOVEMBER:

Print:1. Tinseltown/William J. Mann 3/5; 2. Clementine:The Life of Mrs. Winston Churchill/Sonia Purnell 3.5/5; 3. Love in the Present Tense /Catherine Ryan Hyde 3.5/4 

Audio: 1. Cloud Cukoo Land/Anthony Dorr 4/5; 2. Once Upon A Wardrobe/Patti Callahan 4/5; 3. Violeta/Isabel Allende 4/5; 4. The Clock Winder/Anne Tyler 3/5; 5. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe/C.S. Lewis 4/5; 6. Angle of Repose/Wallace Stegner 3/5; 

Total: 3+6=9; Overall Total: 15+41=56

DECEMBER:

Print: 1. The Snake, the Crocodile and the Dog/Elizabeth Peters 3.5/5; 2. The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax/Dorothy Gillman 3.5/5; The Crossing Places/Elly Griffiths 4/5

Audio: 1. Black Cake/Charmaine Wilkerson 3.5/4; 2. Rules of Civility/Amor Towles 3/5; 3. America's First Daughter/Stephanie Dray, Laura Kamoi 3.5/5; 

Total: 3+3=6 Overall Total: 18+44=62