My Summer "Priority TBR" List

Inspired by all of your 20 Books of Summer lists, I've decided to put together a priority TBR list of my own. It consists of ten books I'd like to read by the end of Labor Day Weekend. Rather than joining a challenge, I'm formulating a reading plan. Though I may not get to them all, there will at least be a direction to my reading.

MY SUMMER "PRIORITY TBR" LIST

Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin

(in progress)

Horse by Geraldine Brooks

(in progress)

Olga Dies Dreaming by Xóchitl González

Persuasion by Jane Austen

Long Island by Colm Tóibín

How to Read a Book by Monica Wood

September by Rosamunde Pilcher

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center

Dust Child by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai

Fresh Water for Flowers by Valérie Perrin

ALTERNATES

This Strange Eventful History by Claire Messud

The Half Moon by Mary Beth Keane

Wellness by Nathan Hill

North Woods by Daniel Mason

January Wrap-Up and February Reading Plans

January was one long month around here. It started off on a pleasant note with holiday visitors remaining though the first week, but went downhill after that as my father-in-law's health deteriorated dramatically, resulting in his death a week later. The rest of the month seems like a blur. 

Surprisingly, I still managed to read four books. 

Books read in January:

1.  The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

     - read/listen combination 

     - literary fiction

      - 4/5 stars (my review)

2. A Woman of No Importance by Sonia Purnell

    - read/listen combination

    - nonfiction

    - 3/5 stars (my review)

3. A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson

    - ebook

    - literary fiction, longlisted for 2021 Booker Prize

    - 5/5 stars (my review)

4. The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green

    - audiobook

    - nonfiction, essays

    - 4/5 stars (my review)

My favorite book of the month:

February is a short month but, since moving to Florida, it has become one of the busiest. This is the beginning of 'high season' around here... lots of visitors, social engagements,  and seasonal programming and fundraisers for many organizations. The pandemic curtailed much of it over the past two years, but we are cautiously optimistic this year. 

My daughter and her boyfriend are here this weekend for her birthday celebration, my sister and BIL will visit over her February break, and we'll also welcome a friend from NY for a few days at the end of the month. Most of our activities and all dining will still be outdoors, but that's progress!

February reading possibilities:

• The Ten Loves of Nishino by Hiromi Kawakami (finished)
• Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America by Gilbert King (nonfiction, Black History Month, in progress)
• There Is Confusion by Jessie Redmon Fauset (classic fiction, Black History Month)
• Sula by Toni Morrison (literary fiction, Black History Month)
• Brown Girls by Daphne Palasi Andreades (debut fiction, on hold from library)
• at least one book already on my shelf

What was your favorite book in January? What are you planning to read this month?

The small starfish in the photo above was discovered on a recent evening walk. Since it was alive,  I scooped it up for a quick photo and placed it gently back into the gulf.

July Wrap-Up and August Reading Plans

Now that we're a week into August, I'm finally getting around to wrapping up July. We spent the first two weeks of the month with my parents in central NY, then moved to the rental house in coastal Connecticut where we will stay for the rest of the summer. One of our Manhattan daughters visited the first week we were here, then the other came with her boyfriend for the rest of the month. I'm surprised I managed to read anything at all, let alone five books. Best of all, I closed out the month with back-to-back five star reads. Definitely a first for me!

Books Read in July//

Morningside Heights by Joshua Henkin - 4/5, contemporary fiction, goodreads giveaway

The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller - 4/5, debut fiction

My Place at the Table by Alexander Lobrano - 4/5, audio memoir, Paris in July

Count the Ways by Joyce Maynard - 5/5, literary fiction, read/listen combination

Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout - 5/5, literary fiction, read/listen combination

Favorite July Books// 

July bonus//

I discovered two new authors last month, Joyce Maynard and Joshua Henkin. Both have extensive backlists  to explore.

August Reading Possibilities//

The Street by Ann Petry - classic, currently reading

We Are the Brennans by Tracey Lange - debut fiction, borrowed from my daughter

A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams - audio, classic play

The Women of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor - 1982 fiction, National Book Award  Winner for First Novel

Olympus, Texas by Stacey Swann - debut fiction, recent indie bookstore purchase

Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe - nonfiction, audio

A Girl Returned by Donatella Di Pietrantonio - fiction, in translation

My new summer reading spot

What was your favorite July book? What are you planning to read this month?

June Wrap-Up and Summer Reading Plans

June has been another great reading month... I'm definitely on a roll this year!  I mostly stuck to my reading plan but more library holds came in than I was expecting, so I didn't get to listen to Dust Tracks on a Road or read the latest Shelf Subscription, Revival Season.

Books read in June//

Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri - 4.5/5  literary fiction, in translation

Good Company by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney  - 4/5 contemporary fiction, read/listen combo

What Kind of Woman: Poems by Kate Baer  (I don't read enough poetry to rate it, but this was great.)

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo - 4/5  YA audio

That Summer by Jennifer Weiner  - 4.5/5  contemporary fiction

A Thousand Miles to Freedom by Eunsun Kim  - 3/5 audio, memoir

Last Best Hope: America in Crisis and Renewal by George Packer - 5/5 audio, nonfiction

Favorite June Books//

Summer reading plans//

I'm keeping it simple this summer. Since we will be away from home for at least the next couple of months, most of my reading will be either on my kindle or audio.

JULY

I'll choose a couple of books from this list to read for Paris in July. The rest of the month will be devoted to my remaining library holds.

AUGUST & SEPTEMBER

Right now my plan is to read books already on my kindle. I've purchased so many daily deals over the past few years, and will finally setting aside time to read from my own digital library.  Lately it seems like purchasing a book is the surest way to insure that I don't  read it! You know how it goes once a deadline or due date is removed...

However,

I discovered a wonderful indie book store in Chapel Hill, NC on our trip north. Surprisingly, I managed to leave with just two new books. We'll also be fairly close to another favorite indie while we're in CT... so I may have to make a few exceptions to my kindle reading for new purchases.

What was your favorite June book? Have you made any summer reading plans?

Beaufort, SC

May Wrap-Up and June Reading Plans

 Before we get too far into June, I'd like to take a quick look back at May. It was our first full month of immunity... and I tried to make the most of every day. We ate at our favorite restaurants (still outdoors since the weather is so nice), visited with fully-vaccinated friends, shopped in stores I haven't visited in over a year, and even managed an overnight getaway to Key Largo.

 May highlights include//

• beautiful flowers for Mother's Day 
• Trees bursting with colorful blooms all over the island 
• Nesting owls (and fledglings!) on the beach path 
• Overnight trip to Key Largo
• Bedroom furniture finally delivered, I unpacked my suitcase
• Gorgeous sunsets on the beach
• Visits with friends

Books Read in  May//

I didn't really stick with my list of reading possibilities last month, only reading one of them. But I still read five good books and, in the process, rediscovered historical fiction.

• The Rose Code by Kate Quinn,  historical fiction 4/5
• Fifty Words for Rain by Asha Lemmie,  historical fiction 4/5
• The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw,  short stories 3.5/5
• Early Morning Riser by Katherine Heiny, fiction 3.5/5
• Good Morning, Monster by Catherine Gildiner, nonfiction 4.5/5

My favorite May book//

June Reading Possibilities//

• Good Company by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney  - new fiction, from the library
• Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri - new fiction, in translation (currently reading)
• Bilgewater by Jane Gardam - backlist fiction, on my shelf
• What Kind of Woman by Kate Baer - new poetry (currently reading)
• Dust Tracks on a Road by Zora Neale Hurston - nonfiction, classic
• My final Shelf Subscription selection, a new release
• any  library holds that become available

How did your May reading go? What was your favorite book last month?

Key Largo, May 2021

March Reading Wrap-Up and A Look Ahead

 Is it just me, or does is seem like March lasted for a very long time?  Highlights here included vaccinations (one for me, one for Twin B, and two for my husband!), a visit from my brother and his fiancé, Twin A arriving for an extended visit, experimenting with my new air fryer, trying several new recipes, and, of course, beautiful sunsets on the beach.

I ended up reading six books in March, including three of the four from my tentative list. I started the month with two impulse reads (always fun), followed by the new Shelf Subscription (Brood didn't work for me at all), and then dove into nonfiction for Women's History Month. I moved on to a backlist title from an author I've previously enjoyed and finished the month with a book I'd hoped to get to last year. 

Books Read in March//

Young  Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin  3.5/5

The Lazy Genius Way by Kendra Adachi  3/5

Brood by Jackie Polzin  

Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II by Liza Mundy  5/5

Bitter Orange by Claire Fuller  3.5/5

Writers & Lovers by Lily King (no review yet)  5/5

My favorite books of March//

Tentative Reading for April//

The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson (nonfiction)

April Shelf Subscription selection  (new fiction, ships 4/6)

The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith (T Book Club, American classic - I'm not in the mood for this now. We'll see how I feel in a week or two. Have you read it?)

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata (translated fiction, 2018)

How did your March reading go? What was your favorite book last month?

February Reading Wrap-Up and a Look Ahead

 February was my first month with a planned reading list. I kept it modest to allow for impulse reading and unpredictable library holds, and found that I liked having the "what do I read next?" question resolved in advance. 

I ended up reading three of the four titles on my tentative list. As for Middlemarch, I read the first chapter and decided this was not the time for a reread.  On the plus side, my Black History Month reading was a huge success - 5 books instead of the planned two, 3 nonfiction and 2 fiction.

Books Read in February//

The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson - 5/5 

Everything Beautiful in Its Time by Jenna Bush Hager (audio) - 4.5/5

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi - 3.5/5

We Run the Tides by Vendela Vida - 4/5, Shelf Subscription

So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo - 5/5

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds,  Ibram X. Kendi - 4/5

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry (play) - 5/5

My favorite February book was The Warmth Of Other Suns.

March Reading, Tentative Plans//

Brood by Jackie Polzin - Shelf Subscription selection 

T Book Club selection - an American Classic, TBA 3/9

Code Girls by Liza Mundy - or other nonfiction for Women's History Month

Bitter Orange by Claire Fuller (my mother and sister had very different opinions and want me to weigh in)

How did your February reading go? What was your favorite book last month?

Back to the Classics Challenge 2020

One challenge. That's all I can commit to this year... and it's Back to the Classics 2020, sponsored by Karen at Books and Chocolate. I've been a member of The Classics Club since it's inception, completed my first list of 50 classics in 5 years, signed up for round two, and my classics reading inexplicably stopped. The 2019 Back to the Classics Challenge was a bust, but I'm going to give it another try.

Here are this year's categories, along with  a few possible selections:

1. 19th Century Classic
The Woodlanders by Thomas Hardy

2. 20th Century Classic (originally published between 1900 and 1970).
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
Them by Joyce Carol Oates
The Tortoise and the Hare by Elizabeth Jenkins

3. Classic by a Woman Author
filling in this category won't be a problem ;-)

4. Classic in Translation
The Magic Mountain or Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The Black Tulip by Alexandre Dumas

5. Classic by a Person of Color
Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin

6. A Genre Classic
several authors in mind, but no specific titles:
Wilkie Collins
Daphne DuMaurier
Georgette Heyer

7. Classic with a Person's Name in the Title
Miss Marjoribanks by Mrs. Oliphant
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton (reread)
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (reread)

8. Classic with a Place in the Title
Villette by Charlotte Brontë
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen (reread)

9. Classic with Nature in the Title  
(so many possibilities here!)
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
Under the Greenwood Tree by Thomas Hardy
Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck (a reread)

10. Classic About a Family
Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell

11. Abandoned Classic
The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope

12. Classic Adaptation
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay


We'll see how this goes the second time around. Will you be reading classics this year? Did you join any challenges?

First Book of the Year: 2020

Happy New Year! For the seventh year, Sheila at Book Journey is hosting the First Book of the Year event. The idea is simple - just share a photo of you and your first book. Sheila says:

Here we go – year 7.   I am THRILLED to continue this tradition, even when I don’t stay as well connected as I once did on this space. Thank you to those who have messaged me to ask if I will be doing it again. 

The answer is… Of course we are doing it...

So what is First Book?  First Book to me, is that first book you plan on reading for the New Year.  It can be a long-coveted read you have not had time for, a guilty pleasure read like a re-read of a favorite…  really it can be anything – it is, after all, YOUR First Book. 

Make it AWESOME.

My First Book...

One of my reading goals for 2020 is to get back to reading classics. Without really meaning to, I ignored them almost completely in 2019. So I will begin 2020 with my 13th  Trollope novel, The Way We Live Now.   As with the previous twelve Trollpe novels (The Barsetshire and Palliser series) I will be reading with our friend Audrey. We are just getting started and you're more than welcome to join us!

If you need a little more convincing, here's a sentence from the first paragraph. It's a perfect example of why I love Trollope:

"She spoke of herself in these days as a woman devoted to Literature, always spelling the word with a big L."

Have you selected your First Book of the Year?

First Book of the Year 2019
First Book of the Year 2018
First Book of the Year 2017
First Book of the Year 2016

Out of Control: The Current State of My Library Hold List

I was afraid this might happen...

As you know, I divide my time between Florida and Central New York. You also know how much I love my libraries, both here in NY and our newly-remodeled island library. My bookish needs are usually fulfilled between the two. This past winter, I obtained a third  library card. This time to our Florida county library system... and it changed my reading life! I use it exclusively for ebook and audiobook downloads, and almost everything I've searched for has been available. However, the hold lists tend to be longer and this is where I get into trouble.

During most of the spring, I added ebook titles to the county hold list. They allow ten per patron and I seem to be consistently at or near the limit. I use the other two libraries when I reach the limit or if the hold list is significantly shorter. I also use the other two libraries for physical books and movies.

Anyway, the holds began arriving. Naturally, all at the same time. Now I'm nearing the top of the list for most of the other titles, too. "Out of control" is officially a crisis. Maybe just writing it all down will help. Here we go...

BORROWED AND ACTIVELY READING//

Devotion: A Memoir

by Dani Shapiro, narrated by the author

I'm loving this audiobook and have about an hour left.

Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger

This is our July book club selection. I'm almost halfway through and fully invested. 

The loan expires today... hello, airplane mode!

EBOOKS BORROWED, BUT NOT STARTED//

The Overstory by Richard Powers

I read the kindle sample of this 500+ page Pulitzer Prize winner. The writing is excellent!

Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane

This 400+ page book seems to be on every list of summer reading recommendations.

The Altruists by Andrew Ridker

Wish I could remember who reviewed this book. The premise sounds appealing.

The Leavers by Lisa Ko 

 I borrowed this on impulse after seeing a friend's goodreads review... sounds like an emotionally charged story.

AT THE TOP OF THE HOLD LIST//

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou

I'm at the top of this list for this nonfiction audiobook. Maybe it will become available today... 

So many books! What's a reader to do??

 If I keep my kindle on airplane mode, they won't disappear before I at least get a chance to sample them. Can I/ will I read them all? And what about all the other titles still on hold? I've taken the drastic measure of suspending all holds for one month.

Just for fun, I'll go ahead and share my suspended holds, too.

TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED LIBRARY HOLDS - FICTION//

City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert

Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner

Summer of '69 by Elin Hilderbrand 

Rules for Visiting by Jessica Francis Kane

The Other Americans by Laila Lalami

Milkman by Anna Burns

The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo

TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED LIBRARY HOLDS - NONFICTION//

Women Rowing North: Navigating Life’s Currents and Flourishing As We Age

by Mary Pipher

Alienated America: Why Some Places Thrive While Others Collapse

by Timothy P. Carney

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed

by Lori Gottlieb

And there you have it... my library hold list. Writing it all down was helpful. Several titles have lost their appeal and I cancelled those holds. Wish me luck with the rest!

What's at the top of your library hold list?