Print Books Mar 7th Through August 22nd

My goal this year was to not check out anything in print, just read the books next to my bed....I did not follow that goal at all it seems. I checked out Pack by Jeaniene Frost as soon as I saw it was a stand alone book. I have really like her other books and thought this would be a win also but I was disappointed. If this one led to a series I am sure I would pass on it. I can not say I read the entire Carbon-Free Home: 36 Home Remodeling Projects to Help Kick the Fossil Fuel Habit by Stephen and Rebekah Hren since it was a step by step guide for actual remodeling projects. I really just skimmed through the book to see if there was anything that would work for me.  The Naked Lady Who Stood on Her Head by Gary Small was technically a kindle book. I try to keep one for emergencies which do not happen often but are known to happen. This one was a quickish read and I did enjoy the stories.  The next book took me forever to read. It was interesting and a topic I love but for some reason I could just not get through it in a timely manner. The Man from the Train: The Solving of a Century-Old Serial Killer Mystery by Bill James and Rachel McCarthy James. The next book finally was one from the stack in my room! Don't Sweat the Small Stuff...and it's All Small Stuff by Richard Carlson was good if dated information. Once I finished this one I registered it on goodreads and released it to a little free library. I continued in with Richard Carlson by reading Don't Sweat the Small Stuff With Your Family. This one was a bit more dated than the other book so there was not much information I gleaned from it. Just as the last one I passed it on in a little free library.  I did stack the books next to my bed by subject so that may be why the next book I picked up was Many Ways to Say I Love You by Fred Rogers. I love stuff that Mr. Rogers said but as a kid I did not like the show. I know reading the books was one resolution but minimizing our possessions was also a resolution so this book joined the others in a little free library. Next up was a book the boys actually bought me from Christmas. Never Shower in a Thunderstorm by Anahad O'Connor was a fun book of useless facts in answer to old wives tales we have all heard. I loved it and passed it on in a little free library so someone else can love it. An author that I have been following since her first book just published another one and so I actually purchased the kindle version since that is the only way it is available. Ronan by Teresa Gabelman was a quick fluffy read. I swear every time that I am done with the series and then I purchase the next one. One day I will have some self control and be done with it. Lastly for this time period I re-read Born of Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon just because I wanted some smutt.

Audio Books Mar 7th through August 22nd

Audio Books I have listened to from Mar 7th through August 22nd


I have been listening to more podcasts lately which has been a dent in the amount of audio books I can listen to as there are only so many hours in a day. The first up in this time frame was My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman which I loved. A lot of the reviewers were put off by the fantasy aspect of it but I thought that added to the story. Coop: A Year of Poultry, Pigs and Parenting by Michael Perry and I am on the fence. His writing style is easy to read but found it a little incomplete. It never fleshes out any one subject, just jumps from topic to topic without a resolution. Next up was Uncommon Type: Some Stories by Tom Hanks. I really,really wanted to like this book since I love Tom Hanks and he narrated it but I just could not wait for it to be finished. The stories loosely are connected as the same characters pop up in a few but none of them are satisfying or complete. I could not connect to any of the characters because the stories made little sense or abruptly end before you can develop the connection. I quickly listened to She Persisted:13 American Women Who Changed the World by Chelsea Clinton. This was a short listen as it is a children's book but I have recommended it to friends with small kids, especially girls. The same day as Chelsea's book I listened to The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry by Jon Ronson and was disappointed. I have loved his other books and Ted Talks but this book just did not cut it for me. I think it was a bit all over the place and not focused which took away from any point about mental health care he was getting at.  The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson was for me a waste of a couple of hours. It was less about cleaning out stuff and more about her life. My audio reading life redeemed itself with the next book Political Tribes: Group Instinct and the Fate of Nations by Amy Chua. I really was set to not like this book as her most famous book really rubbed me the wrong way. I however found this book full of information and insight. My reading high was diminished with the next book. The Motivation Myth: How High Achievers Really Set Themselves Up to Win by Jeff Haden. The was another absolute waste of my time. I do not equate being rich with being successful. I think being content or happy is what we should strive for and would love to read those books. Because of the Amy Chua book goodreads suggested Hacks: The Inside Story of the Break-Ins and Breakdowns that put Donald Trump in the White House by Donna Brazile. This book gave me information that I was looking for but did it in a whiny, I am the wounded party way that made me not like it. A different political time was up next. Churchill and Orwell: The Fight for Freedom by Thomas E Ricks was a good historical account of this time and relationship. Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman finally became available at the library so I listened to it. Britt-Marie was introduced in his previous book and she is just someone you have a hard time liking. In her own book you warm up to her and actually hope she has a second book. I delved back into the non-fiction world after Britt-Marie with So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo, this is one of those books that I recommend to everyone. One take away is that you can acknowledge your advantages without discounting your disadvantages. I do not need to play one up with anyone. I have had a few disadvantages in life but that does not mean I have not had advantages. People of Color or in other disadvantaged groups are the ones who say what counts as racist/sexist/ageist/ablist and not those outside the group. More holds became available at the library about this time so Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House by Michael Wolff, this book really just confirmed thoughts I already had about this administration. Minecraft: The Island by Max Brooks was the next book I listened to. My older son is a minecraft fanatic and so we listened to this together in the mornings. It is narrated by Jack Black and even though I am not into Minecraft I enjoyed listening to this with him. Fredrik Backman's short story And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer was up next. This was an extremely short and sad listen.  Switching gears I listened to B is for Burglar by Sue Grafton which I found entertaining but a bit dated.  I plowed on right into C is for Corpse also by Sue Grafton and still had the same opinion. It was entertaining but dated. After a stint in the detective world I listened to This Messy Magnificent Life: A Field Guide by Geneen Roth which I really wanted to love as the forward was from Anne Lamott whom I love. I just zoned out through a lot of it because it was so repetitive and light on the information.  Mystery was in the air again as A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny came available at the library. Louise Penny can make me forget about time with her effortless writing. Self-Help called my name and I gave Option B by Sheryl Sandberg a chance. I really felt for her story but just did not have any lasting impressions from this book. I honestly forgot I had listened to it until someone mentioned her and loss. The State of Affairs: Rethinking Infidelity by Esther Perel. I am not sure that I got as much out of this book as I hoped to. She is a marriage therapist and all I really took from this book was communicate with your partner. I tried to gain some knowledge from Neil deGrasse Tyson next with his new book Astrophysics for People in a Hurry and it was a fail. I can not tell you a single fact I learned from this book.  I fell back on crime thrillers with D is for Deadbeat by Sue Grafton but started really hating the main character.  Still trying to plow through the series I listened to E is for Evidence by Sue Grafton.  I increasingly noticed the judgy, prejudice nature of the novels and started hating the main character more than before. Flat Broke with Two Goats: A Memoir by Jennifer McGaha was a promo book offered free for a period of time to the library so I listened to it. I really had no sympathy for the author. There are things that befall us and there are things we bring on ourselves. The author definitely had her head in the sand and then whined about the resulting disaster. F is for the Fugitive by Sue Grafton was my  attempt to get through the series. I just can not take any more of these.  Semi switching gears and going back to non fiction. I listened to Creative Quest by Ahmir Questlove Thompson. This one was an easy listen and introduced me to his podcast. Tried a parenting book next which is an addiction of mine because I am convinced I am screwing my kids up and they are going to need therapy. Voice Lessons for Parents: What to Say, How to Say it, and When to Listen by Wendy Mogel. Still sure my kids will need therapy after this book, I do not feel like it led to any lasting change in my life.  I do not agree with everything Madeleine Albright says in her book Fascism: A Warning but I did think most of it rings true with our current political climate. While listening to my books I was also listening to Zombies Attack: An Unofficial Minecrafters' Adventure by Mark Cheverton. I do not play minecraft as I mentioned before but I like that I can listen to these books with my son and we can discuss them. I promise that G is for Gumshoe by Sue Grafton was my last attempt at the series, I can not let my OCD change my mind. The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny will likely be my last book in that series. I like the detective, the town it is set in and the mysteries but the side narrative in the books really has put me off. Hiking has always been something I enjoy and I want to hike a section of the PCT sometime in the near future so I tend to pick up any books about hiking. North: Finding My Way While Running the Appalachian Trail  by Scott Jurek is one of those books. I did like the book although I did not find it transformative as some reviewers did. I has put Esther Perel's book on hold before reading the other one based on her Ted Talk. I was disappointed in the first one but thought I would still give this one a try since it was on hold for so long. Same review on Mating in Captivity as her other book. I really just did not gain anything useful from it. Finishing this book actually left me with nothing else to listen to ( besides my podcasts) so I  just did a search on the library app to see what was currently available and Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now by Jaron Lanier caught my interest. This book was a quick listen and had some really good points. It made me rethink my Instagram usage and watch other pages that are "free". It did not convince me to delete my facebook account though. Evidently the next author is well known although I had never heard of him. Charlie LeDuff's book Sh*tshow!: The Country's Collapsing and the Ratings are Great left me angry. Angry at him, angry at the system and angry at the current administration. I have been working for change in my life and community but this showed the problem is deep and widespread. Why Courage Matters by John McCain is another book I really wanted to like and I just could not. I know he went through unspeakable horrors as a POW but I really want to believe that is not the only type of courage in the world.  Expanding my understanding of experiences unlike mine led to I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown which I am still digesting. Working in a multi cultural space and living in a neighborhood where we are the one of the only white families lulled me into believing I understood the experience of being a POC in America. I was wrong and I need to keep exploring this topic.  Soon after finishing this one my kids and I took a long road trip to visit my family so we listened to a few audio books specifically for them. My older son loves the I survived series so we listened to I Survived the Eruption of Mount St Helens 1980 by Lauren Tarshis. I had read an adult book on the eruption and of course was alive for the actual event. Having these experiences I realize that the I survived author put some thought into the characters having a "happy" ending by surviving. For my younger son we listened to a really and I mean really quick book. Pete the Cat's Train Trip by James Dean and although it was brief it was a fun one. In between the kids books, mainly while they were napping or watching DVDs I listened to I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara which was published weeks before they announced the suspect had been arrested. There was one more kids book Cars 3 Junior Novelization by Walt Disney Company that we made it through. It was a shortened version of the movie which the kids enjoyed. Once home I started God Save Texas: A Journey Into the Soul of the Lone Star State by Lawrence Wright . I liked the book overall but it was very repetitive and lots of name dropping.  The View from Flyover Country: Dispatches from the Forgotten America by Sarah Kendzior which again was enjoyable but repetitive. It is a collection of short stories on the same subject so it is hard to have no overlap but think maybe this should have been shorter or in a broader collection with other authors. We are to another kids book which we listened to while riding around town on errands The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary. This was one of my favorites as a kid so I was excited for my kids to listen to it. They really seemed to enjoy it and are excited to get the second in the series from the library. How to Change Your Mind: The New Science of Psychedelics by Michael Pollan. This book was a little too long which I am not surprised with since it was written by Michael Pollan. It will be interesting to see where this research goes. Still non fiction but a different subject captured my interest next. I saw Blood, Bones and Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton available and decided to check it out. I was not familiar with her despite her seeming fame. The book was a good read and an interesting look at someone else's life. Due to my recent reading history Killing It by Camas Davis was recommended and since it was available I jumped on it. This one really made me think about the cuts of meat I am purchasing. I already try to buy everything straight from the farmer but have never thought about the cuts that they are not offering. The second book in the Ralph S Mouse series was not available so we listened to Henry Huggins by Beverly Cleary and again the boys are excitedly waiting for the rest of the series to become available from the library.  We are almost caught up in time with the books I have listened to! A Future of Faith: The Path of change in Politics and Society by Pope Francis. I checked this one out as I really loved the last book by the pope. This one was in interview format and I just could not get into it. And Finally The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker was recommended in a fb group I belong to. It was essentially 3 hours of someone telling me to trust my instincts.


I will do another post with the print books I have read which will not equal this in number but I thought this post had gone on long enough.

Books Feb 3rd Through Mar 6th

The effort to read the stack next to my bed has brought up a lot of vintage books from authors I have not previously read. I am choosing to listen to as many as I can since this goes much faster for me that reading print books.

First up this month on audio was The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie. I have always loved Agatha Christie but had not read this one before or this series for that matter. The vintage feel of this was great while it was a bit confusing as first. This book is not told from the view point of the investigator which was something different. Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone by Brene Brown was next and I surprisingly liked this more than a previous one by this author. It as the last was really short but heavy on subject matter. Another vintage book was up next. I chose Cover Her Face by P.D. James  an author I had never heard of until a collection of short stories was published last year. This is an author that I enjoy and will likely listen to a lot more of in the coming months. Still in the vintage vein and one I heard recommended on the What Should I Read Next podcast was up next. My Man Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse was that recommendation. I did not think it was the best thing ever but it was an easy and relatively short listen. The next book I listened to was also a recommendation from What Should I Read Next and an author I had not heard of previously. This book was stellar and Still Life by Louise Penny will lead to me reading all of her books in this series. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman was started honestly at the recommendation of a friend and it's sheer popularity. It started with me really not liking Ove but by the end I loved this book! My only "complaint" is that it seemed to wrap up really neatly in the last couple of pages.


In Print I finished 2 books during this time span. I am down to just 3 more library books before reading from the stack ( at least the ones I can not find in audio).  Dirt is Good: The Advantage of Germs for Your Child's Developing Immune System by Jack A. Gilbert, Rob Knight and Sandra Blakeslee. Maybe I like this book so much because it confirms my suspicion that we are to concerned with germs as a society. Our systems need a little dirt and a lot of microbes. I love biographies and auto-biographies which help lead to the next book, that and my favorite book is Where the Wild Things Are.  There's a Mystery There: The Primal Vision of Maurice Sendak by Jonathan Cott was extremely interesting. Despite one of his books being my favorites I did not know anything about the author prior to this book. It was a great mix of his life, remembrances from friends and art work.

Books Jan 11th Through Feb 2nd

I have been trying to race through a few audio books because as generally happens to me all the books I was wait listed for have come available at the same time. I made the decision when that happened to go shortest to longest so I could get through as many as possible before I had to request them again. First up was Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data,and What the Internet Reveals About Who We Really Are. This book is being ripped to shreds by readers and I can understand that. He really does not go far for source material or have independent studies but it was a quick and interesting read nonetheless.  I keep saying I am not going to continue the Stephanie Plum series as I feel the plot is stale but here I was checking out the audio book for Hardcore: Twenty-Four.  It was nothing new other than Diesel was back.  A quick listen that lead into A is For Alibi. This is one I had in the stack next to my bed needing to get to when I noticed it was available in audio. I went for the audio and moved the print book out of my stack. The first thought I had when I started this was people were going to think I just jumped on the bandwagon because Sue Grafton passed away recently. Really this book has been by my bed for ages and I have just never gotten to it. I started with the mystery stack so I am not off to the races.

There was only one print book that I finished during this time span and it was one of the last books I am allowing myself from the library. Away With Words: An Irreverent Tour Through the World of Pun Competitions was not what I thought it would be but I still thought it was interesting. I love a good pun and this book showed that I am not alone in this.

During this time I also completed a Kindle book from a self published author. Forbidden Temptations is a decent read that does not require a ton of thought on my part which is sometimes nice since I read and listen to a lot of heavy books.

More Resolution Progress

#4 on the list also ties in with #1. I want to clean up the huge amount of books next to the bed. For me this means finally reading them and then either passing them on or putting them on the bookshelf as a permanent member of the house. Clark was super excited to help with this clean up and sorting.

I sorted them by genre and will start to tackle them as soon as I finish the last couple I checked out from the library. I really think I want to start with mystery first and then go from there.

These are the books that you will see show up on my reading log posts with some audios from the library thrown in!

New Year New Books! Jan 1st through Jan 11th

I am starting over on the book list. This year I am going to finish the last couple of library books I have checked out and other than audio I am determined to not start any more library books. I am going to tackle and hopefully finish ( at least mostly) this stack next to my bed.

They are divided by genre and I am trying to decide if I want to tackle one genre at a time or read one from each genre until I finish each category.



This year started with Sleep No More by PD James on audio. This one was a quick listen and I enjoyed most of the short stories. I have added this author to my need to read list so once the stack by the bed is complete I can check out more. Next up was The Child by Fiona Barton which I hurried to listen to as I was wait listed for months. I found the writing great but similar to The Widow. I figured out what happened before the big reveal and was happy I turned out to be correct.


In print I finished reading  Connection Parenting: Parenting through Connection Instead of Coercion, Through Love Instead of Fear by Pam Leo. At first I was not getting anything out of what the author was saying. As the chapters progressed I feel like I picked up some information that will help me parent the boys better.

Books Sept 7th through Oct 17th

As far as print books during this time I managed to finish the bigoted The Death of the Grown-Up: How America's Arrested Development Is Bringing Down Western Civilization. I was nearly dancing in the street when I finished that one. I picked Life Without Oil: Why We Must Shift to a New Energy Future back up. I am soo close to finishing this one also and will be glad. It is a very informational book which is not bad, just heavy to wade through.

Audio books as usual have been my go to entertainment while driving back and forth to work.  I finished Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube: Chasing Fear and Finding Home in the Great White North.  Once finished with the frozen north I listened to Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions. I was disappointed in this book mainly because it was a rehash of his other books that I listened to. The next book I listened to was interesting although it could have been shorter. I felt the author repeated himself and brought in details that did not pertain to the overall story just because he had the information in his research. Overall though I am glad I listened to American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst. Up next was Get Your Sh*t Together: How to Freak Out Less, Accomplish More, and Generally Win at Life which I found to be a complete rehash of her other book I listened to. She is not an author who I relate to and so I was having a hard time buying into her philosophy on life. With all of this mundane listening I was holding out hope that Not Dead Yet: The Memoir by Phil Collins was going to be worth the time. This was an interesting listen especially since I have previously listened to the Beatles story and this overlapped them in sections. I can not say this made me like Phil Collins as a person but he seemed to be honest about his faults which I appreciate.  Staying on the musical biography train I went immediately into Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen. This one was also interesting and overlapped with a lot of same bands Phil mentioned. As with Phil I appreciated Bruce's honesty about his faults and especially his bouts with mental illness.  I stayed in the 70s with the next book which was Coach Wooden and Me: Our 50-Year Friendship On and Off the Court by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar .  While I have never been a basketball fan I was hoping to enjoy this book. There were parts I liked and parts I did not. This book really seemed more about Kareem than the coach he claims to have loved.  After this one I totally shifted gears and listened to The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan which I loved!!! I honestly was wishing for just a smidge more once the book ended. I will definitely be looking for more books by this author.  Currently I am trying to become a better parent to the munchkins by listening to  Wild Things: The Art of Nurturing Boys . I am picking up some good information on supporting the boys in their current stage of life and helping them transition.

There have been Kindle books in the middle of this also! The book I was waiting on came out and I quickly read through it. Invisible Warrior by Teresa Gabelman was good but I have to say I am starting to lose interest in the series. Characters seem to be added now for the sole purpose of continuing the series. The initial premises which she built this world on seem also to have gone by the way side and I am disappointed with that. I started another kindle book from the library but did not finish it before it was due so I am waiting on Year of No Clutter by Eve O Schaub to become available again. 

Books Aug 22nd through Sept 6th

So in print I did not finish Life Without Oil: Why We Must Shift to a New Energy Future before it was due so I turned it in and requested it again from the library. In the interim I found another book on my currently reading list at the campus library and checked it out. 
The Death of the Grown-Up: How America's Arrested Development is Bringing Down Western Civilization is the book I am currently trying hard to finish. I have read books I do not agree with in the past but this book verges on hate speech on many levels. The author is basically making a case to go back to 1939 and live like the middle class. She just keeps saying middle class so I am not sure where she expects the wealthy and poor to go but this is her imaginary world I guess. The book can not be finished fast enough.


In audio I finished listening to You'll Grow Out of It and despite the reviews I liked it. People have a hard time seeing comedians as people and are upset when they are not funny all the time. Since I was not familiar with Jessi Klein before this book I did not have any expectations.  Whipping Boy: My Forty-Year Search for My Twelve-Year-Old Bully was also a decent listen despite the bad reviews. There were slow parts to the story and maybe more detail than was needed but still a decent listen.
The next book I listened to also got bad reviews mostly as personal attacks on the author. I was not familiar with the Winehouse family before I read Amy, My Daughter written by her father. I thought it was a touching telling of her story. There were parts that were mundane as with anyone's life and sometimes the timeline was confusing but I did enjoy listening to the book.  I must really have an odd opinion of books because this next one is super popular and I just did not like it. I listened to The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck: How to Stop Spending Time You Don't Have with People You Don't Like Doing Things You Don't Want to Do.  It was 3 hours of listening to the author repeat herself. The premise was helpful but listening to that premise over and over was tedious. All of that has led me to the current book Welcome to the Goddam Ice Cube: Chasing Fear and Finding Home in the Great White North. The author sometimes loses me because she jumps back and forth in time but so far it has been a good listen.

I have pre-ordered my next Kindle book and can not wait until the 19th when it comes out!

Books July 26th through August 21st

I have been plugging along clearing up my currently reading list on goodreads. It was my goal last year to clear the 41 books off of it but I failed. This year I will succeed, I am a mere 3 books from accomplishing this goal!


In print I finished Abominable Science!: Origins of the Yeti, Nessie and Other Famous Cryptids which was interesting but too long. They could have conveyed the same facts in a much shorter book.  The next book was Finding Me: A Decade of Darkness, A Life Reclaimed- A Memoir of the Cleveland Kidnappings which was a heavy book to read. I had started it a long time ago and could not continue once I reached her kidnapping. I picked it back up and made it through this time. It is her story to tell but like a couple others I have read recently I was not overwhelmed. They need a ghost writer to tell their stories, one who can give them a coherent voice and time line. Once I finished this one I jumped into Life Without Oil: Why We Must Shift to a New Energy Future and that is where I am still currently. I should have it finished within the next week but we shall see.

In the world of audio books I have plowed through several starting where I left off on the last post with The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and the People's Temple which it turns out was written by a local author. It was a good book but really heavy on names and minute details. I started forgetting who people were and just focused on the central story. I picked up a light book after this with An Irish Country Doctor which is the first in a series taking place just after the war. I am on the fence about reading any more of the series. I have also checked out a bunch of parenting book lately and the first in the bunch was How to Talk so Little Kids Will Listen: A Survival Guide to Life With Children Ages 2-7. The tips in the book were good and most worked on my younger one for about 2 days and then he was wise to my tricks. The next book I listened to was supremely interesting. I love to know the origins of things so Birdseye: The Adventures of a Curious Man which you probably could tell by the name is the story of modern frozen foods. This was a quick listen so I went right into Payoff: The Hidden Logic that Shapes Our Motivations. This one was disappointing because it was a shortened version of another book I read and so all the information was not new to me. The only salvation for this book was it was only a 3 hour listen and then I was able to move onto something else.  Next up was another parenting book The Gifts of Imperfect Parenting: Raising Children with Courage, Compassion and Connection. This one was also short at just over 2 hours which was good as I really got nothing out of it. The next parenting book I listened to was also short but unlike the others I got so much out of it. From the beginning she was describing my child and I am really looking forward to reading more books by this author. Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka. Finishing up that one led me to the current book of You'll Grow Out of It which I am about 1/3 of the way through now. There are a ton cued up to listen to as soon as I finish this one and hopefully I will have good things to tell you about them on my next post as well as be able to say I am done with my currently reading list!

Books July 7th through July 25th

In print I finished Everything Everything and moved on to Lists of Note which I did not enjoy as much as Letters of Note. I am a list maker so I thought I would enjoy the book more than I did. Once I finished it I moved on to Abominable Science!: Origins of the Yeti, Nessie and Other Famous Cryptids which I had started a couple of years ago and not finished. I am determined to get through it this time.


I did manage to complete several audio books including In The Great Green Room which I liked, You are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life which I hated, Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit which I liked, Insane Clown President: Dispatches from the 2016 Circus which I found fascinating, Real Murders by Charlaine Harris which I am on the fence about, The Hour of Land: A Topography of America's National Parks by Terry Tempest Williams which I loved and this morning I started The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and Peoples Temple.

Books starting July 1st!!!

I am not going back to my last post and updating the books I have read as it is just too many. I am however starting over from July 1st and posting on a more regular basis.

I finished Into the Fire by Jeaninene Frost on audio book yesterday afternoon and immediately started In the Great Green Room by Amy Gray which I may finish by tomorrow. 

In print I am reading Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon. It is a young adult book and goes fast when I have the time to sit and read it which has not been much lately.

Books Feb 28th Through Apr 5th

Audio Books for this time period started with Crime Beat: A Decade of Covering Cops and Killers . I love true crime but I really could not wait for this one to be over. The book is basically a reprinting of newspaper and magazine articles that the author published over the years. After this one I went back to having my heartstrings pulled with storycorps. Listening Is An Act of Love: A Celebration of American Life from the Storycorps Project is an amazing listen. It may be just because I am a fan of the project and think everyone has a story to tell but I love these books.  I threw in a young adult book after this one. The Lost Hero was a decent follow up to the Percy Jackson series. After finishing this one I went back to the true crime genre. Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery covers a case I had heard about on various crime programs. This book really added nothing to the case and the going back and forth between victims was extremely confusing. I immediately jumped into That Used to be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World We Invented and How We Can Come Back. There were some points in this book that I agreed with and some I did not. What really interests me is what the authors think of the current political climate where the opposite of nearly every suggestions they have made has happened.  I finished listening to that one last night and started The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine which I have not had time to form an opinion on yet.

Kindle books have been active just because I have needed something mindless to read. Dragon Actually was the first and it was just so so even for a romance novel.  Next up in quick succession were The Beast of Clan Kincaid and The Rebel of Clan Kincaid and I will admit to skimming these. They just could not hold my interest which says a lot since I love Scottish themed romance novels.


Print books bounced around. I was still reading Becoming China's Bitch when it was due so I am currently waiting on it to return to the library.  Ties that Bind: Stories of Love and Gratitude From the First 10 Years of Storycorps is a really worth the read. After finishing this one I started back on Abominable Science!: Origins of the Yeti, Nessie and Other Famous Cryptids which is another slow going book. It is heavy on words and I am not moving through it at any reasonable pace.

Books Jan 24th Through Feb 27th

First category of books for me was audio books. I had to recheck it but I did finish White Trash: 400-Year Untold History of Class in America, I have since recommended this book to all my Facebook friends. It was a long listen but ultimately worth it, it was well researched and interesting. After finishing this one I listened to All There Is: Love Stories From Storycorps which is another I would recommend! It made me ugly cry several times. I immediately started FoxCatcher: The True Story of My Brother's Murder, John Du Pont's Madness, and the Quest for Olympic Gold which completely the opposite of the other book's is not one I would recommend. It is not that the story is bad but it was not what it was billed as. If Mark basically wrote an autobiography that included the story of his brother's murder and that is what title and blurb should have said. I have just an hour left in this one and should finish it up while driving home tonight.


I reread a couple of Kindle books this month and then another in a series I have been reading came out. I finished Blaze in one day, it was good....not as good as some in the series but good.


In the world of print books I finished The American Way of Eating: Undercover at WalMart, Applebee's, Farm Fields, and the Dinner Table. The subject matter was interesting and informative but I am not a fan of the author as a researcher or storyteller. After this one I fell back on an author I like, Ann Lamott. I read Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith and as expected enjoyed it. Ann does tend to repeat some stories from book to book but it feels like talking to an old friend. I am currently reading 2 books at the same time due to the fact 1 of them will not fit in my purse to read while I am out and about. Letters of Note: An Eclectic Collection of  Correspondence Deserving a Wider Audience. I really think this is a book I want to own. I have loved reading the letters from various people and learning history through these letters. The other book I am reading is Becoming China's Bitch: and Nine More Catastrophes We Must Avoid Now. I am not very far into the book yet but like the author's centerist views and find his research to be thorough.

Books Jan 10th Through Jan 23rd

Starting off the post with the books I have listened to seems like a good trend as there tends to be more of those.
I finished My Own Words by Ruth Bader Ginsburg and while it was not what I thought it was going to be I still found it interesting.  After Ruth I listened to Bryan Cranston narrate his book A Life In Parts. I truly enjoyed this book and was surprised to find out the number of series I watched that he was in even if it was a bit part. I was cleaning around the house and this one is fairly short so I listened to it in nearly 1 sitting. Next up was a book I have mixed feelings about again it was narrated by the author and I can see where Shonda Rhimes makes a great TV author but most of the book I was zoning out or thinking she was arrogant. I get her point that you need to be confident in who you are and what you have accomplished but I also know it can easily cross a line into arrogance and I think that is where she is. The book I was listening to was Year of Yes: How to Dance it Out, Stand in the Sun and Be Your Own Person.  After wading through the end of this one I started a heavy book. Currently I am listening to White Trash: The 400-Year Old Untold History of Class in America. This one is a long, history book so I may end up having to recheck it out in order to finish.

Kindle books have continued to be disappointing. I skipped great sections of Mermen by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff because it was just horrid. I have no desire to continue this series and want to warn off any other possible readers. After this one I checked out The Beautiful Ashes by Jeanine Frost who I generally like. This one was not horrible but not good enough for me to check out the rest of the series when they come out.  I am currently not reading any other kindle books.

Print books are going along at a slower pace. I finished I Wish My Teacher Knew: How One Question Can Change Everything For Our Kids and liked it. Even though  I am not a teacher I found the book useful in staying aware of the kids in your life and just being there for them.  I went back to the books on my to-read list after finishing that one. I am currently reading The American Way of Eating: Undercover at WalMart, Applebee's, Farm Fields and the Dinner Table. The review for this book will come after I finish it as I am still digesting some issues I have with it.

Books Jan 1st Through 9th!

This is a post I have missed most! I did not complete my goals last year of reading all of the books on my currently reading list. I finished the year with 9 books left on it which considering it started with 41 and I read almost 200 new books and a few repeats I am granting myself some grace. I however will finish off the list this year and have already knocked 2 more out this weekend.


I started the year off listening to Sully, which of course the movie is based off of. I really liked this book even though it does not follow a strict time progression and occasionally repeats itself.
After finishing that one I started listening to My Own Words by Ruth Bader Ginsburg which involves a time commitment. It is not a life story as much as a collection of essays and papers she has written over the course of her career. In some places it is tedious but over all I like it. Currently I am a smidge shy of being half way through it.

As for kindle books I have read 2 new ones this year and really wished I had skipped them. They are part of a series by author T.S.Joyce and I am not sure how they ever were published. The stories are shallow and the dialogue is forced and honestly silly. I read them as I had purchased them and my OCD would not let me stop. If you see either Gentry or Roman by this author skip the purchase.

Print books during this time include the completion of Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies and Why which had been on my currently reading list since 2011. I felt like I needed to finish it! The book did not get great reviews and while it is not my favorite or the best thing ever I did not think it was bad. It was just an informational book but really needed more in the way of tips. After finishing that one I jumped into another one that I had been hanging on my list since 2014, Feasting on Asphalt by Alton Brown. This is a good book with a lot of good recipes and I am sad that it took me soo long to read it. Once it was completed I started on another book that was not already on my list but I had checked out from the library and it is due back next week. It is turning into a pretty quick read and I am really hoping to have it finished before it is due. The newest book is I Wish My Teacher Knew: How One Question Can Change Everything for Our Kids.

Books Jun 22nd Through Jul 15th

In the time since the last post I finished listening to Imbeciles: The Supreme Court, American Eugenics, and the Sterilization of Carrie Buck.  This book made me angry and sad over and over again. It is amazing how many times over history we have made decisions for the poor without their consent or even knowledge.  I did feel like the book went on a little too long about each players past. After finishing with this one I listened to The More of Less which did not leave enough of an impression on me to even comment on it here.  I went back to a story of the treatment of the poor and women in the past with Terrible Typhoid Mary: A True Story of the Deadliest Cook in America . Mary was the first known passive carrier. She never developed the disease but passed it on in anything uncooked she prepared. Many people were discovered after Mary but never received the treatment or notoriety that she did. Once I finished this one I moved on to another book about the poor from the perspective of a doctor who treated them in the ICU. Cook County ICU: 30 Years of Unforgettable Patients and Odd Cases received some bad reviews but I thought it was a decent book. He seemed to really care for his patients and was easy to listen to.  Next up was a book from the same time period as Imbeciles and Typhoid Mary. It was interesting and full of information that was completely new to me and from a trustworthy source. Oneida: From Free Love Utopia to Well-Set Table written by one of the original member's descendents. It was a quick listen and allowed me to go into Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World: How One Family Learned That Saying No Can Lead to Life's Biggest Yes. I got an hour into this book and quit it. This is not something I do often as I think starting a book means finishing it but this book was horrible. There were a couple of reasons with one being it was another popular blogger trying to translate a blog into a book. The other was that she never seemed to get to the Entitled portion of the book which is why I checked it out. Over an hour in and she was still discussing her religious views. Even being a christian I found her views bigoted. This freed me up to listen to The Name of God is Mercy by Pope Francis.  My next book was totally off subject NPR Laughter Therapy: A Comedy Collection for the Chronically Serious.  It was honestly not that funny but was something to listen to in the wake of all the serious books I had been listening to.  Again, it was a short listen so I started on 438 Days: An Extraordinary True Story of Survival at Sea. Once I got into this one I had to take a break. It is a true story and so I know how it is going to end, I had just reached a point where I know bad stuff is about to happen and needed a rest. I will go back and finish it soon.


Print books have been moving along also.  I finished Takedown Twenty and put the next one on my check out list. While they are not as funny as when the series first started I did laugh out loud a couple of times. I never seem to learn and checked out another year experiment books. A Year Without Made in China was a waste of my time. The project was not undertook with any reason, understanding or seeming point other than writing a book. Next book was better although I am not sure they had a solution to the issue, at least I did not feel I found an answer but I finished Cradle to Cradle anyway. I have two books going at the same time right now trying to get them both off my list.  Square Foot Gardening  is inspiring me to rethink my raised beds. Frugal Luxuries: Simple Pleasures to Enhance Your Life and Comfort Your Soul is also one I have been trying to finish and now I am making headway.

I am just going to list the cookbooks I scanned through during this time as well:

Cast Iron Cooking: 50 Gourmet-Quality Dishes from Entrees to Dessert
Southern Plate: Classic Comfort Food that Makes Everyone Feel Like Family
The Everything Cast Iron Cookbook
The Lodge Cast Iron Cookbook: A Treasury of Timeless, Delicious Recipes
Cook It in Cast Iron: Kitchen- Tested  Recipes for the One Pan That Does it All (Cook's Country)
The Homesick Texan Cookbook
 The Make Ahead Cookbook
and The Third Thursday Community Potluck  Cookbook: Recipes and Stories to Celebrate the Bounty of the Moment

Books May 28th through June 21st

I did not realize I had not posted a book list in soo long. Here they are:


After finishing Better than Before which really did not get any better for me I switched topics  and listened to Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age which I gleaned some good information from. This was directly followed by The Big Disconnect: Protecting childhood and Family Relationships in the Digital Age. I also was able to glean some good information from this one although I think she over stated the link between parents on their cell phones and kids becoming addicts. After these 2 books I thought I should change topics again or I was going to go down a rabbit hole with cell phones and kids. Next up was $2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America. This was a heartbreaking and informative book which I nearly finished and then had to turn in and wait my turn for again. I was able to finish last night and found it renewed my need to see reform in how the truly poor our treated by society. While I waited on $2.00 a Day to become available again I listened to Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation.  Several of my friends had been talking about the documentary that he made in conjunction with this book so I decided to listen to it and then watched the documentary. I can say as with most things I preferred the book to the documentary. The book was able to go more in depth and give more vignettes. I did enjoy getting a visual of the people discussed in the book but still preferred the "long" version. When I finished Cooked I was still waiting on $2.00 a Day so I started listening to Imbeciles: The Supreme Court, American Eugenics, and the Sterilization of Carrie Buck. This book is really hard to listen to due to the subject matter. I just can not believe how over and over in our country we systematically pick on a weaker group of people. I only have 2 days left on this borrow so I have renewed and will have to get in line again. In the meantime I stopped to finish $2.00 a Day last night and then restarted listening. I will try to get as much listened to as I can over the next couple of days but I have a feeling it will be a stop and restart proposition.


In print I have read Death in Yellowstone which was a book I read about in an article discussing the tourists who put the buffalo calf in their car. It was a good, informative guide to people dying in Yellowstone. After finishing this hefty volume I went with A Cowboy Returns which was exactly what it was supposed to be a romance novel. No deep thought was required. It was a series so I went on to Cowboy Proud and then finished up with Cowboy Strong.  After finishing these I am still not willing to dive into another non fiction so I am catching up on Stephanie Plum.  Takedown Twenty is one of the first that has made me laugh out loud in quite some time. After this I will hit the heavy subject matter again.

Book May 6th Through May 27th

The audio books for this time period had some back and forth.  It started with 10% Happier : How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works--A True Story.  I was interested in his story but found it is not something I really want to incorporate in my life now to the extent he has. Mindfulness is something I want to incorporate in my life without the daily meditation.  Once I had finished with that one The Happiness Project was finally available again through the library. I was so close to finishing it before it was due last time that I had it completed on the evening I rechecked it out.  Due to finishing it that night I was able to start on Boys in the Trees. I just had a passing awareness of Carly Simon before this book. It was really interesting to hear more about the music scene in the late 60s early 70s. I have listened to/ read several biographies from this time period and it is fun to see the overlap.  This was a longish book to listen to and I had made the error of putting myself on the wait list for several audio books at the same time. As usually happens to me all of them came up at the same time so I tried to "hurry" and listen to as many as I could before they were due.  Happier at Home was the next one up and I was able to get through it. Very little of it applied to my life and I found it disappointing. Despite this I forged ahead with another book by Gretchen Rubin. Better than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives was next and I really had a hard time getting through it. It might be because I listened to all of these books so close together but they were extremely repetitive. She also seems out of touch with the masses and overly forceful about her opinions which is essentially what all of these books were.


In print I finished Not Buying it: My Year Without Shopping. This book was really a waste of my time, she did not go without shopping and also seemed out of touch with everything going on other than the art scene in New York.  The next book I picked up was smallish and ended up done before the weekend was out. 365 Thank Yous: The Year a Simple Act of Daily Gratitude Changed My Life, this book was not the most well written but it really struck a cord with me. It has led to me renewing some resolutions I have had and ended up blogging about here.  It has really kicked in that I can finish my currently reading list this year ( this was after some despair that I might not finish it). This led me to skip over a couple of other books and pick The Freedom Manifesto back up. It was due before I could finish it so I will have to get it back from the library the next time I go.  In parallel I have been reading Vertical Vegetable Gardening usually while I am sitting in the bathroom with the boys taking their baths.  I managed to finish it last night and dropped it at the library this morning. I found some good information in it but not sure there was enough to warrant purchasing.

Books April 16th Through May 5th

I could have just screamed! I was sooo close to finishing the audio version of  The Happiness Project and then it was due back at the library. I tried to renew it but there were people in line so I had to go to the end and wait. It has been over 2 weeks and I am finally next and will get a chance to finish it soon.  As I wait to get the email that I am back up for this book I have listened to A Mother's Reckoning by Sue Klebold. I found this book a bit repetitive but completely honest and sad. She has spent many years trying to understand her son and his actions. I really felt for her and the situation his actions put her in.  Mindfulness for Beginners was next up and I have mixed feelings on this. I am trying to be more mindful of my actions but the slow and low tone of the narrator/author of this book was mind numbing. I found myself thinking of other things just because I could not stand his voice. Is Everyone Else Hanging Out Without Me was a good find. I had been trying to find time to read the print version as I traded for it but just never could. Finding the audio version at the library allowed me to add it to my already read stack. This is the second Mindy Kaling book I have listened to and I am still not a fan. I find her tone pretentious but keep hearing from others that it is a persona she has adopted. Not sure how I stand on her versus her persona but I know I can drop any of her other books off my to read list without feeling guilty. Excitement is also what I felt when I started Think Like A Freak as I loved the Freakonomics books.  It was a quick listen and covered a lot of their podcasts which I was unaware of initially.


My print book selection looks like this::: If I Can't Have You: Susan Powell, Her Mysterious Disappearance, and the Murder of Her Children. Long title for a true crime book which was ok. This book made me really sad and a touch angry. It was tragic that her husband despite everyone's best efforts never revealed where her body was or what happened to her and then 2 years later kills his sons and then himself.  After this one I wanted a little bit lighter reading so I am currently reading another year in the life experiment book. Not Buying it : My Year Without Shopping is my current choice in reading material.

Books Apr 1st Through Apr 15th

I do not have much to talk about with respect to audio books since the last post. I finished listening to Bill Nye's Unstoppable this week. It covers the subject of climate change and ridding our dependence on fossil fuels. He has some really good insights into research and ideas of things we can all do both at a local level and on a national level. This is a topic I am fairly well versed in and many suggestions I try to apply to my daily life. I am glad that we are waking up to this topic on a national level. After I finished that one I started listening to The Happiness Project which is something I had started reading in print but gladly switched over to audio book so I can finish it. On the fence currently with this one. I am always looking for insights to making my life better and some suggestions I have already been tackling such as cleaning up and simplifying your environment. We will see where else this goes and if I can use it in my daily life.

Print books are slower than ever. I finished Notorious Nineteen and thought it was an ok light read which is why I was reading it. Once it was finished I picked up Amish Life which was really just a cool picture book of the daily life of a couple of Amish groups. Once I looked through that one I went back to tackling my currently reading list. That meant trying to get through The Complete Idiot's Guide to Selling Your Crafts which I am not finding overly useful. I will finish it mainly to get it off my list and hope there are some tips I can use in it somewhere. I would love to supplement my income with my homemade items and get at least my student loans paid off.