JulieLill's 2019 Reading Challenge

Here I go again!

2019 Book Challenge

1. Book published in 2019
Kid Gloves: Nine Months of Careful Chaos byLucy Knisley
3.5/5 stars 3/24/2019
2. Author you’ve never heard of
Bowlaway: A Novel by Elizabeth McCracken
3/5 stars 5/3/2019
3. Anything by Shirley Jackson
The Bird's Nest by Shirley Jackson 3.5/5 stars 5/23/2019
4. Book with a strong female lead
The Final Confession of Mabel Stark by Robert Hough
3/5 stars 3/23/2019
5. A play-
All My Sons by Arthur Miller 4/5 stars 2/8/2019
6. A book set in Southern USA
Grief Cottage byGail Godwin 5/5 stars 5/30/2019
7. A memoir on someone you admire
Love, Ellen: A Mother/Daughter Journey by Betty DeGeneres
4/5 stars 6/5/2019
8. Set in the Victorian Era
Unmentionable: The Victorian Lady's Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners by Therese Oneill 3/5 stars 6/14/2019
9. Character with career you wish you had
The Lost Queen of Crocker County by Elizabeth Leiknes
2.5/5 stars 6/24/2019
10. A plant on the cover-
Lab Girl by Hope Jahren 4/5 stars 6/10/2019
11. Published the year you graduated school-
A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick 3/5 stars 7/10/2019
12. A graphic novel-
Giraffes on Horseback Salad: Salvador Dali, the Marx Brothers, and the Strangest Movie Never Made by Josh Frank|86439 3.5/5 stars 5/6/2019
13. Featuring music-
The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto by Mitch Albom
3.5/5 stars 7/3/2019
14. An ugly cover-
Transcription by Kate Atkinson 3/5 stars 6/29/2019
15. A teen as the main character-
Summer Hours at the Robbers Library by Sue Halpern
3.5/5 stars 5/12/2019
16. The re-telling of a well-known story-
Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin 4/5 stars 7/20/2019
17. Set during a holiday-
Mr. Dickens and His Carol by Samantha Silva 4.5/5 stars 7/30/2019
18. Book picked out by a stranger-
Robin byDave Itzkoff 4.5/5 stars 11/18/2019
19. Gothic Fiction novel-
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters 4.5/5 stars 6/22/2019
20. A book about time-travel-
Time and Again by Jack Finney 3/5 stars 7/26/2019
21. A title starting with the letter “J”-
Jell-O Girls: A Family History by Allie Rowbottom
4/5 stars 1/16/2019
22. Fantasy novel-
The Drowning Girl by Caitlin Kiernan 3/5 stars 8/4/2019
23. True crime novel-
Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by
Casey Cep 5/5 stars 7/14/2019
24. Trilogy
Lisa's Legacy Trilogy: Slip-Cased Lisa's Legacy Trilogy Containing All Three Cloth Editions by Tom Batiuk 4/5 stars 3/2/2019
25. The name of a color in the title
The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick by Mallory O'Meara 5/5 stars 5/26/2019
26. A one word title -
Calypso by David Sedaris 4.5/5 stars 5/17/2019
27. Horror -
The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing 5/5 stars 8/5/2019
28. A book that discusses mental health-
The Phantom of Fifth Avenue: The Mysterious Life and Scandalous Death of Heiress Huguette Clark
Meryl Gordon 4/5 stars - 2/20/2019
29. A book published by HarperCollins-
The Alice Network by Kate Quinn 4/5 star 3/20/19
30. An author who uses initials-
The Wild Bunch: Sam Peckinpah, a Revolution in Hollywood, and the Making of a Legendary Film by W.K. Stratton 3.5/5 stars 4/10/2019
31. A book that everyone’s talking about-
Daisy Jones & The Six byTaylor Jenkins Reid 5/5 stars 8/23/2019
32. A western-
News of the World by Paulette Jiles 4/5 stars 8/15/2019
33. A book about a cult-
Girl at the End of the World: My Escape from Fundamentalism in Search of Faith with a Future by Elizabeth Esther 4/5 stars - 1/29/19
34. Nominated for an award-The Keepers of the House by Shirley Ann Grau 5/5 stars 6/4/209
35. A sports related book-
Wait Till Next Year: A Memoir by Doris Kearns Goodwin
4/5 stars 8/31/2019
36. A humorous novel
Less by Andrew Sean Greer 3.5/5 stars 9/21/2019
37. Set in South America -
Marching Powder: A True Story of Friendship, Cocaine, and South America's Strangest Jail by Rusty Young 3.5/5 stars 11/9/2019
38. An allegorical book
Alice in Quantumland: An Allegory of Quantum Physics by
Robert Gilmore 2.5/5 stars 9/14/2019
39. Military Related: fiction or non-fiction
Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill by Candice Millard 4.5/5 stars 8/12/2019
40. A character that is an immigrant-
The Annotated Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
3/5 stars 4/27/2019
41. Non-fiction science book-
Milk!: A 10,000-Year Food Fracas by Mark Kurlansky
4/5 stars 2/2/2019
42. A family member’s favorite book-
The Clock Maker's Daughter by Kate Morton 3.5/5 stars 10/12/2019
43. A children’s book-
The Flying Classroom by Erich Kästner 3/5 stars
5/15/2019
44. An author who uses a pseudonym-
The Rose and the Yew Tree by Mary Westmacott 5/5 stars
9/6/2019
45. A “beach read”-
The Madwoman Upstairs byCatherine Lowell 3.5/5 stars 10/19/2019
46. The first book you see in a bookstore / library-
The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers by
Maxwell King 4/5 stars 10/31/2019
47. Set in a country you’ve visited-
Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood 5/5 stars 9/28/2019
48. Set in a post-apocalyptic world -
The Dog Stars by Peter Heller 4/5 stars 9/10/2019
49. Celeb Biography
Born with Teeth byKate Mulgrew 4/5 stars 7/17/2019
50. A fairy tale
Part of Your World: A Twisted Tale
by Liz Braswell 4/5 stars 2/23/2019
51. A book about organized crime / the mob
Al Capone and the 1933 Worlds Fair by William Hazelgrove
4/5 stars 4/26/2019
52. Set in China
For All the Tea in China: Espionage, Empire and the Secret Formula for the World's Favourite Drink by Sarah Rose 5/5 stars 10/24/2019
53. A book about magic
Mariah Mundi: The Midas Box by G.P. Taylor
3.5/5 stars 1/26/2019
54. A book on the top of my reading list
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman 5/5 stars 4/14/2019
55. A book on the bottom of my reading list- Fifty Things That Aren't My Fault: Essays from the Grown-up Years by Cathy Guisewite 3.5/5 stars 8/20/2019
56. Mystery written by a female
Little Big Lies by Liane Moriarty 4/5 stars 2/7/2019
57. A book that is a sequel
The Golden Tresses of the Dead byAlan Bradley 4/5 stars
3/31/2019
58. Political non-fiction book
Notorious Victoria: The Life of Victoria Woodhull, Uncensored by Mary Gabriel 4/5 stars 3/1/2019
59. Book set in Germany
The Innocent by Ian McEwan
4/5 stars 4/20/2019
60. A romance
The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer 4/5 stars 1/21/2019
61. Book on film-
Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War
By Mark Harris 5/5 stars - 1/9/2018
62. Book with a month in the title
October Sky by Homer Hickam 5/5 stars 2/13/2019
63. A Western Romance
Cowboy Charm School (The Haywire Brides) by Margaret Brownley 3/5 stars 1/12/2019
64. Poetry Book
The Beautiful Poetry of Donald Trump byRob Sears 3/5 stars 4/26/2019
Wade in the Water: Poems by Tracy K. Smith 3.5/5 stars
5/8/2019
The Princess Saves Herself in This One by Amanda Lovelace
3.5/5 star 5/9/2019
The Witch Doesn't Burn in This One by Amanda Lovelace
3/5 stars 5/12/2019
the mermaid's voice returns in this one by Amanda Lovelace
4/5 stars 5/15/2019
A picture book
65. Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal 5/5 stars
66.Elmore by Holly Hobbie 4/5 stars 1/24/2019
67.A House That Once WasBy Julie Fogliano 5/5 stars 1/26/2019
68.We Don't Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T Higgins 3.5/5 stars 3.5/5 stars

68/68

Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War
By Mark Harris
5/5 stars
This is the amazing true life story of some of the greatest Hollywood film directors who were asked to film events during WWII and produce training films for the soldiers while putting aside their careers. John Ford, George Steven, John Huston, William Wyler and Frank Capra were the ones asked to give up their Hollywood jobs to work with the government. A few stayed to make instructional films to train soldiers; others accompanied troops to war torn regions putting their lives in danger while filming. This was a page turner for me from the beginning to the end! Book On Film

Cowboy Charm School (The Haywire Brides)
Margaret Brownley
3/5 stars
Kate Denver is about to be married to long time beau Frank when Texas Ranger Brett Tucker storms the wedding to arrest Frank. Unfortunately, it is all a mistake. Frank is no criminal but it sets into motion in Kate’s mind about whether she and Frank should get married and it doesn’t help that the handsome Brett Tucker is hanging around the town looking for the real criminal Frank Foster. Typical romance novel but sweet.
Western Romance

Jell-O Girls: A Family History
Allie Rowbottom
4/5 stars
Jell-O was invented prior to 1899 and Rowbottom’s great-great-great uncle bought the patent and manufactured it. The book details her family’s lives living in privilege and how the so called “Jell-O” curse affected their lives. The book also details the history of Jell-O over the years and touches on the story of a group of girls from LeRoy, New York, who came down with a Tourette-like syndrome which was blamed on the manufacture of the product in the area. Interesting!
A Title Starting With the Letter J

The Grand Sophy
by Georgette Heyer
4/5 stars
This is the classic 1950 story from the romance writer Georgette Heyer. Set in 1816, Sophy’s father, the diplomat is traveling so she is sent to stay with relatives with whom she barely knows and vice–a-versa. During her time there she manages to upend all of their lives for the better with all her schemes and finds love herself. Romance

Alma and How She Got Her Name
Juana Martinez-Neal
5/5 stars
Sweet picture book with wonderful drawings about a young girl who’s name will be a reminder of her family and their stories.

Elmore
Holly Hobbie
4/5 stars
This is a wonderful picture book about making friends when it is hard to make friends. Great drawings!
Children's Picture Books

A House That Once Was
By Julie Fogliano
5/5 stars
This is a lovely picture book about children exploring an abandoned house and imagining what had happened there. Wonderful writing and illustrations. Childern's Picture Book

We Don't Eat Our Classmates
Ryan T Higgins
3.5/5 stars
Penelope is a dinosaur, who is starting to go to school with a class full of humans. Unfortunately, she likes to eat humans but an incident with the school fish turns her attitude around and she learns how to make friends. Children's Picture Book

Mariah Mundi: The Midas Box
by G.P. Taylor
3.5/5 stars
Mariah Mundi is sent away from home to work in The Prince Regent, a hotel. His job is to assist the magician in the magic show. Unfortunately, the previous assistants have all disappeared and it takes Mariah and Sacha, a co-worker to find out what happened in this sinister and magical tale. Magic

Girl at the End of the World: My Escape from Fundamentalism in Search of Faith with a Future
Elizabeth Esther
4/5 stars
This is the true story of Elizabeth Esther who grew up in a very physically and mentally punishing religious cult and the efforts she took to try and remove herself from their influence. Very compelling! Book on a Cult

Milk!: A 10,000-Year Food Fracas
Mark Kurlansky
4/5 stars
Kurlansky noted for his non-fiction writing doesn’t disappoint in this book on the history and science of milk. Never boring, he makes the topic of milk extremely interesting from its very beginnings up until today. The studies they did on homogenized milk before allowing the public to drink it were interesting and I learned that the yogurt I thought I was eating is actually a cheese product. There are recipes scattered throughout the book and the older ones are quite shocking, making me feel happy I was not born several centuries ago. Highly recommended! Science

Little Big Lies
by Liane Moriarty
4/5 stars
A young, single woman with a child comes to a new town to rebuild her life but things go awry from day one. Her child is accused of hurting a girl in class and the school becomes divided with those on her side and those against her. Did he do it? It was compelling till the very end. I had seen the mini-series previous to reading this and thought that they did a great job in staying within the story line of this book. Mystery Written by a Woman

All My Sons
by Arthur Miller
4/5 stars
Based on a true story, this Miller play relates the tale of a manufacturer of plane parts who knowingly sent defective plane parts to be used in the WWII which resulted in pilots dying, his partner being sent to jail and the effects of that action on his family. Well-written and compelling! Play

October Sky
Homer Hickam
5/5 stars
This was a wonderful book on the early life of Homer Hickman, living in a coal town along with the stress of that, while he and his friends were being inspired by the space race and wanting to be a part of it. He did eventually become a NASA engineer but not without the help of his friends and the town that supported him. Book With A Month in the Title

The Phantom of Fifth Avenue: The Mysterious Life and Scandalous Death of Heiress Huguette Clark
Meryl Gordon
4/5 stars
This is a very interesting look at the reclusive Huguette Clark, a wealthy heiress, introvert and hoarder who secluded herself in a hospital room for over 20 years relying on some people who did not always have her best interests in mind and cut off from her relatives whom she did not want to see or contact. On her death, she left a huge estate and a huge problem for the lawyers and the courts to sort out pitting her family against the friends and staff she had given money to. A Book That Discusses Mental Health

Part of Your World: A Twisted Tale
By Liz Brazwell
4/5 stars
This book was inspired by the Walt Disney animated fairy tale film, The Little Mermaid but with a twist. What if Ursula, the evil sea creature/octopus, defeated Ariel, the mermaid; married Ariel’s love Prince Eric and captured her father? Brazwell explores this idea in this wonderfully written tale of underwater intrigue about how Ariel grows up and reclaims her life. Geared to teens but I think adult fans of the movie would appreciate this too. Fairy Tale

Notorious Victoria: The Life of Victoria Woodhull, Uncensored
Mary Gabriel
4/5 stars
This is the interesting story of the life and times of Victoria Woodhull who attempted in 1870 to run for President of the United States. Victoria was a quite a character. Growing up poor but highly intelligent, she went on to do many things that women of that time period were not allowed to do. Married twice, she also worked in many areas-from being a clairvoyant and a prostitute to running a newspaper and a brokerage firm. She was also the first woman to address Congress. Gabriel did a nice job researching Woodhull and her life. Political Non-Fiction

Lisa's Legacy Trilogy: Slip-Cased Lisa's Legacy Trilogy Containing All Three Cloth Editions
Tom Batiuk
4/5 stars
This trilogy is actual taken from the comic series Funky Winkerbean and revolves around the love story between Les and his wife Lisa and her struggles with breast cancer and what happens beyond that. As a regular reader of the comic strip which I have followed for years, I thoroughly enjoyed this series but if you read it you may want to get some tissues. Trilogy

The Final Confession of Mabel Stark
Robert Hough
3/5 stars
Fictional dark story based on the true life story of Mabel Stark which covers her tragic life including her many husbands and her work with tigers and other animals for over 57 years with circuses around the world. And if you can find it there is a DVD about the true Mabel Stark called Mabel, Mabel Tiger Trainer which is very interesting too. 3/5 stars Book With a Strong Female Lead

The Alice Network
Kate Quinn
4/5 star
Wonderful fiction book based loosely on the true tales of the "Alice Network" from WWI about the men and women who fought the German occupation in France amid the story of a young pregnant girl in post WWII looking in France for her cousin who became pregnant out of wedlock and sent to Europe to take care of the situation. The story bobs between looking for the Rose and what happened to Eve (who is helping with the search of Rose) in WWI. I enjoyed it. 4/5 stars A Book Published by Harper Collins

Kid Gloves: Nine Months of Careful Chaos
Lucy Knisley
3.5/5 stars
Knisley, a graphic novelist and author, relates her pregnancy trials in a no holds barred look through pictures and words. Well done!
Book Published in 2019

The Golden Tresses of the Dead
Alan Bradley
4/5 stars
Flavia and Dogger, her estate gardener, start their own private agency business in this newest addition to the series. Along the way they have to deal with a finger in the wedding cake at her sister’s wedding, missing letters from the home of a Mrs. Prill and female missionaries that have their own agenda which is not on the up and up. Always entertaining! A Book That Is A Sequel

The Wild Bunch: Sam Peckinpah, a Revolution in Hollywood, and the Making of a Legendary Film
W.K. Stratton
3.5/5 stars
Stratton writes about the making of the film The Wild Bunch, the time period surrounding and influencing the making of the film and of course the director Sam Peckinpah and his new darker version of the western genre. This is definitely for film buffs and people who have seen the film. I enjoyed it. An Author That Uses Initals

A Man Called Ove
Fredrik Backman
5/5 stars
This is a lovely book about an anti-social man who struggles with living by himself when a new neighbor intrudes into his life forcing him to become more social. Great book and a favorite author for me! I had seen the movie earlier and enjoyed that too. A Book On the Top of My Reading List

The Innocent
Ian McEwan
4/5 stars
In 1955, during the Cold War, American Leonard Marnham, in his first job, is sent to East Berlin to set up recording devices that tap into the Russian sectors to keep an eye on them. Along the way he falls in love with the divorced Maria. Complications ensue when Maria’s ex-husband shows up. Between his job and the ex-husband Leonard is overwhelmed with life and eventually things only go from bad to worse. McEwan is one of my favorite authors and he doesn’t disappoint in this novel. Book Set In Germany

Al Capone and the 1933 Worlds Fair
William Hazelgrove
4/5 stars
This book is about the end of Capone’s career as a gangster and the building of the 1933 World’s Fair that took place in Chicago during the depression. Not a long book but a fascinating look at the time period, though in this book Capone and the World’s Fair weren’t really linked together but were events occurring at the same time. This reminded me of Erik Larson’s fascinating book The Devil in the White City which was about a serial killer who lured and killed visitors from the 1893 Exposition in Chicago. A Book About Organized Crime/The Mob

The Beautiful Poetry of Donald Trump
Rob Sears
3/5 stars
This came across the desk at the library and was so intriguing I just had to read it. Rob Sears took President Trump's tweets and transcripts arranging each sentence and made them into poetry. Every sentence was spoken by Trump which the author backs up with notes on where each sentence came from. Poetry

The Annotated Little Women
Louisa May Alcott
3/5 stars
I found this classic story of Little Women which was made into an annotated version. I wish I could I say I loved this version but I had a hard time with it. There were copious annotations in the book and most were very tedious which took me away from the storyline. I was looking forward to a re-read but I must have never read this version because this was so different from what I remembered. Perhaps I had read a children’s version when I was younger. A Character That Is a Immigrant

Bowlaway: A Novel
by Elizabeth McCracken
3/5 stars 5/3/2019
Bowlaway is the story of the unusual Bertha Truit, her family and friends in Salford, Massachusetts. When we first meet Bertha, she is in a cemetery and presumed dead but her life isn’t over and she eventually sets up her life in Salford surrounded by her husband Dr. Leviticus Sprague. She opens up a bowling alley where candle pin bowling is the game and life revolves around the alley with characters coming and going, growing old and dying. I had some difficulty with keeping track of all the characters coming in and out of the story line but overall I enjoyed this book.
Author You Never Heard Of

Giraffes on Horseback Salad: Salvador Dali, the Marx Brothers, and the Strangest Movie Never Made
Josh Frank
3.5/5 stars
This is the interesting and absurdly true story about the famous painter Salavdor Dali who had written a screenplay and wanted the Marx Brothers to be in it. Josh Frank had been researching unmade film scripts when he found mention of Dali’s script originally titled The Surrealist Woman and from there he had his subject for this book. Through painstaking research he pieced together the story of Giraffes on Horseback Salad screenplay. Illustrated by Manuela Perte and adapted with Tim Heidecker, this book contains the graphic novel based on the screenplay and the written story of the strangest movie never made. One of my favorite trivia bits from the book was how did Harpo and Dali (who became friends) communicate. Neither spoke each other’s language but both wives spoke German so they could translate for their husbands. Graphic Novel/Non-Fiction

Wade in the Water: Poems
Tracy K. Smith
3.5/5 stars
The poems from this book are from the Poet Laureate of the United States. I especially enjoyed the section of poems I Will Tell You the Truth about This, I Will Tell You All About It which were taken/based from letters written by African Americans civil war soldiers and their family members. Poetry

The Princess Saves Herself in This One
Amanda Lovelace
3.5/5 star
Lovelace writes from the feminine prospective on love, loss and growing up/being female through short concise poetry. This is the first of 3 books in the series. You will either love it or hate it. I loved it. Poetry

Summer Hours at the Robbers Library
By Sue Halpern
3.5/5 stars
This novel follows three main characters- Kit, the librarian; Sunny, the shoplifter and Rusty, who was down on his luck after a meteoric run on Wall Street. They meet through the local library. As the novel proceeds you follow their backstories and the trouble they have been through and how their bonding improved their lives. I really enjoyed it. A Teen As A Main Character

The Witch Doesn't Burn in This One
by Amanda Lovelace
3/5 stars
This is the second book in a poetry series from Lovelace’s the women are some kind of magic series which discusses women’s issues. I found this one darker than the first one but I could feel where the writer was coming from through these poems. Poetry

The Flying Classroom
Erich Kästner
3/5 stars
This is Kastner’s 1933 novel about a group of very young male students that live at a boarding school in Germany and which highlights their camaraderie as the grow up and learn about life and how they learn to rely on their classmates and their teachers. This was just okay for me, however, when I researched the author; he became more interesting than this story. He was German and his books were burned in 1933 when the Goebbels instigated the book burnings pre WWII. Now I want to read a biography on Kastner. Children's Book

the mermaid's voice returns in this one
Amanda Lovelace
4/5 stars
This is the third book of the series of poems about women’s issues by Lovelace and this one also includes other female poets’ poems. I enjoyed it. Poetry

Calypso
By David Sedaris
4.5/5 stars
Sedaris (one of my favorite authors) writes about his life and his family in a no holds barred look using his oddball sense of dark humor to ease the pain of difficult times and to celebrate good times. A One Word Title

The Bird's Nest
Shirley Jackson
3.5/5 stars
A young single woman who lives with her aunt comes home from work one day very ill from headaches. Her aunt knows something is wrong and takes her to a doctor who discovers that she has developed into split personalities and attempts to help her get rid of them. Very dark-just like a Jackson novel should be! Anything by Shirley Jackson

The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick
Mallory O'Meara
5/5 stars
Mallory O’Meara, the author of this book and also a horror screenwriter and film producer, through sheer tenacity was able to track down and put together the story of Milicent Patrick. Patrick came from an artistic family and grew up in the town near the Hearst Castle in California where her father worked as superintendent of construction on the Castle. Milicent, who was quite artistic, was involved in the designing of the monster from the movie The Lady From the Black Lagoon and also worked on the animation/drawings of A Night on Bald Mountain from Fantasia but who eventually lost her job due to a jealous boss. What a wonderfully interesting book!
The Name of A Color in the Title

Grief Cottage
Gail Godwin
5/5 stars
This story revolves around Marcus whose mother has passed away and who is sent to live with his Aunt Charlotte, a reclusive painter that lives on an island off of South Carolina. Aunt Charlotte has her own demons to deal with, let alone raising a nephew. Marcus is mostly on his own so when he explores the island he finds Grief Cottage- a house that was wrecked in a hurricane and which his Aunt often paints pictures of. While there he senses a young man at the cottage starring at him as he sits on the porch. Who is this young man and why is Marcus so intrigued with him? What a wonderful tale by Godwin-I will definitely read more of her! A Book Set In Southern Illinois

The Keepers of the House
Shirley Ann Grau
5/5 stars
This 1965 Pulitzer Prize winning novel revolves around the slave owning Howlands, who have lived in the South for generations. When events that happened in the past have come to a head in the future, Abigail, the latest Howland has to deal with the repercussions. This is one of the best books I have read this year. Nominated for An Award

Love, Ellen: A Mother/Daughter Journey
Betty DeGeneres
4/5 stars
This book covers the life of Betty DeGeneres up to 1999 when it was first published. Betty and her kids had a tumultuous life. Betty was divorced, remarried and divorced again. She talks about her marriages and life after marriage, her children and their lives and struggles and especially the events surrounding her daughter Ellen and her coming out. Well written and very interesting. A Memoir On Someone You Admire

Lab Girl
Hope Jahren
4/5 stars
This is the true story of the life of Hope Jahren and her career as a geobiologist. Her cohort and assistant Bill is by her side for most of the book and he is an quite a character! Alternating chapters discuss her life with her work. Sometime the science bogs down the flow of the narrative but overall I found it interesting and I learned a lot about the science of trees, flowers and soil. A Plant on the Cover

Unmentionable: The Victorian Lady's Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners
by Therese Oneill
Oneill, in a humorously satirical style, details the awfulness of being a woman in the Victorian Age. You will be glad you live in today’s modern era after reading what women had to do to keep up appearances and take care of their family and home. Interesting and a fast read! Set In The Victorian Age

Fingersmith
Sarah Waters
4.5/5 stars
In 1862, Sue Tinder, a young woman comes to an estate in England to work for a wealthy gentleman and his daughter. But Sue is not all she seems. She is actually there to set up a scheme to make her family of cons very wealthy. But of course there is a twist to this plot that Sue is not in on and things go from bad to worse for everyone involved. Sarah Waters doesn’t disappoint her fans in this wonderful written novel of suspense. Gothic Fiction Novel

The Lost Queen of Crocker County
Elizabeth Leiknes
2.5/5 stars
When her parents perish in a plane crash, Jane Willow, a popular movie critic is forced to come home and face her past. Unfortunately, one night she hits something on the highway but runs from the scene after she discovers what was on the road. She spends the rest of the story sneaking around trying to make everything right. I enjoyed the author’s writing style and it was a fast read but I really had trouble with the actions of the main character and how it ended. Character With a Career You Wished You Had

Transcription
by Kate Atkinson
3/5 stars
Juliet Armstrong of England is recruited during WWII to be a spy and infiltrate the British Fascists. When WWII ends she joins the BBC to do radio programming but her history with MI5 comes back to haunt her. Well written but at times I got confused as to what was going on which I suspect was the aim of the author. After all isn’t that the purpose of a good spy! An Ugly Cover

The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto
Mitch Albom
3.5/5 stars
Narrated by the voice of Music, this is the story of the magical but difficult life of Frankie Presto, musician extraordinaire, born in Spain and who became an orphan at a very young age. He was taken in by a blind music teacher who helped him hone his gift which leads him into his musical career and the ups and downs of his unusual life. Interesting read! Featuring Music

A Scanner Darkly
by Philip K. Dick
3/5 stars
A law enforcement agent, Fred is following the criminal activities of a known drug dealer and user – Bob Arctor. Bob is selling Substance D which alters the mind while destroying it at the same time. There is a big twist involving the two in this black comedy tale. The book was made into a movie and I would love to see how the director interpreted this unusual story! Published the Year You Graduated School

Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee
Casey Cep
5/5 stars
The trial of the murder of Reverend Willie Maxwell, who had taken out insurance policies on numerous family members with several ending up murdered, was the one story that Harper Lee could not resist. And so she returned to Alabama to attend the trial to take notes in an attempt to write a book about the crimes. Cep’s book flows so well that it was hard to put down and the information on Lee and the trial was fascinating. True Crime Novel

Born with Teeth
Kate Mulgrew
4/5 stars
This is the autobiography of Kate Mulgrew, actress, who grew up in Iowa in a very interesting family dynamic and who eventually got into acting. She started out in the soap opera Ryan’s Hope and the book ends with her starting in her new role as Captain Janeway in the show Star Trek: Voyager. She certainly led an interesting life and this is definitely a page turner.
Celeb Bio

Monsters: A Celebration of the Classics from Universal Studios by Roy Milano
3/5 stars
I picked this book because it had some more information on the film The Creature From the Black Lagoon which I read about in The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick by Mallory O’Meara which was really interesting. This is a pretty short book about some of the first monsters in film history but it has some great photographs from the films plus some interesting facts about the actors and the monster films they were in.

Ayesha at Last
Uzma Jalaluddin
4/5 stars
This is a fun spin on Pride and Prejudice though this time the background is set in Toronto amidst the Muslim world. Ayesha is a poet and teacher when she meets Khalid to work on a community project. They clash over her choices while he is very conservative. While she would like to have nothing to do with him, circumstances keep putting them together. I really enjoyed this debut book by Jalaluddin. The Re-Telling of a Well-Known Story

Time and Again
by Jack Finney
3/5 stars
This is the story about a government organization recruiting citizens to go back in time using self-hypnosis. The goal is to just observe but not change anything in the past. Set in the 1970’s Si Morley has shown adeptness in going back in time. He has done his first mission when the organization is upended when one of their other members who time traveled caused someone’s life to disappear after a mission. Despite that Si is urged to go again to the past and he ends up falling in love with someone from the past. Well told but at times the descriptive narrative just goes on and on and I just wanted something to happen and also the use of self-hypnosis to go back in time seemed implausible to me. A Book About Time Travel

Mr. Dickens and His Carol
Samantha Silva
4.5/5 stars
This is the fictional story of Dickens whose last book was a flop and his need to get a best seller before he goes bankrupt. I thought this was quite charming and a very fast read. Set During a Holiday

The Drowning Girl
Caitlin Kiernan
3/5 stars
This fantasy book revolves around a young woman, India Morgan Phelps (Imp) who is schizophrenic. With her mother dead, Imp struggles on her own. Working dead end jobs, writing stories and meeting people who may not be real makes up her life. She meets Eva one night but is Eva real or part of her schizophrenia. Though well written, I sometimes struggled with the writing style of the book though I feel the author was using that style to enhance the character’s schizophrenia. Fantasy Novel

The Fifth Child
Doris Lessing
5/5 stars
A very happy couple from London marries, buys a new home and starts a family. Wanting to have a big family, they start having children and are quite content until Ben, their fifth child is born. Ben is not like the others and tries the patience of the whole family till they know they have to do something about him. Considered a horror novel, we initially place Ben as the evil one but is he really? This book really is an eye opening look at family dynamics and what people will do when they can only see one option open to them. Horror

Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill
by Candice Millard
4.5/5 stars
Millard is one of my favorite authors and she doesn’t disappoint in this tale of Churchill’s escape after being captured during the Boer War in 1899 in South Africa while he was there as a news reporter. Highly recommended! Military Related: Fiction or Non-Fiction

News of the World
Paulette Jiles
4/5 stars
After the Civil War, Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd is at loose ends. His job now involves traveling town to town in Texas reading newspaper stories in halls where people gather to listen. After one of his shows, he is offered a large sum to return Johanna, a young girl whose family was killed by Indians and then was taken and raised by them. She speaks no English but he reluctantly agrees to take her back to her kinsmen. This is a tale of two lost souls and what can happen from their connection. Lovely! A Western

Fifty Things That Aren't My Fault: Essays from the Grown-up Years
Cathy Guisewite
3.5/5 stars
This book is written by Cathy Guisewite who wrote and drew the comic strip Cathy. It has essays about her life after she ended the comic strip. In this funny book she deals with some of the same issues that were in her comic strip (dating, weight gain, etc.) but also about her marriage that ended, her daughter whom she adopted and dealing with her elderly parents. Very enjoyable and relatable! A Book on the Bottom of My Reading List

Daisy Jones & The Six
Taylor Jenkins Reid
5/5 stars
I loved this fictional book about a young female singer, Daisy Jones who hooks up with the male group The Six in the 1970’s to do concerts and albums. The story is told through the interviews of the people involved. This reminds me of all those retrospectives of actual singers. Wonderful! A Book That Everyone is Talking About

Fox 8
George Saunders
3.5/5 stars
I enjoy Saunders writing and found or heard about this book/short story/novelette about a Fox called Fox 8 who learns to read and understands human language. When he discovers a shopping mall, he goes to explore it but on his return to his home finds that the humans have done something horrendous! Quick read and very well done!

Not part of my reading challenge but read it anyways!

Wait Till Next Year: A Memoir
by Doris Kearns Goodwin
4/5 stars
Goodwin relates her life around the major events of the 1950’s including her love of the Brooklyn Dodgers and the hope that they will win the World Series, the changes in her neighborhood and her life in the Catholic Church. I thought this was wonderfully written and enjoyed learning about that time period through her eyes. A Sports Related Book

The Rose and the Yew Tree
Mary Westmacott
5/5 stars
Written by Agatha Christie under a pseudonym, this story is narrated by Hugh Norreys who knows all the participants in this unusual tale. When Hugh is summoned by John Gabriel now known by as Father Clement, Hugh is shocked by the revelation. John Gabriel was a scoundrel and social climber who was a hero in the war and was running for election when Hugh first met him. However, when John meets the lovely Isabella, whose family Hugh is staying with, everything changes for John. I really enjoyed this book, the characters, the story line and the surprise ending. An Author Who Uses a Pseudonym

The Dog Stars
Peter Heller
4/5 stars
Years following a massive flu epidemic and the death of his wife, Hig finds himself adrift despite the company of his dog and his neighbor. With his wife gone, there is nothing to live for anymore. After his dog dies, he decides to take his plane for a final ride leaving his friend to take care of his property. He lands in an area and finds a father and a daughter trying to eke out a living on their plot of land and stays with them till he makes his decision of what to do with his life. I enjoyed Heller’s book Celine and this one too. Looking forward to reading more of his books! Set In A Post-Apocalyptic World

Alice in Quantumland: An Allegory of Quantum Physics
Robert Gilmore
2.5/5 stars
This is an allegorical book that is supposed to help teach you the different aspects of quantum mechanics by following Alice around as she encounters the different theories. This got very high marks but this is not for everyone. I had taken physics many decades ago but had lost that knowledge since it was never my major field of study. I think someone studying beginning quantum physics now would benefit from reading this cleverly written and illustrated book. An Allegorical Book

Less
Andrew Sean Greer
3.5/5 stars
In this Pulitzer Prize winning book, Arthur Less is in the doldrums. His former lover is getting married and he needs to leave town before the wedding. Les is an author so he books as many literary events and readings around the world so he doesn’t have to face up to the fact that he is turning 50 and not in a relationship. Probably not the funniest book I ever read but a highly enjoyable novel and I would read him again.
A Humorous Novel

Cat's Eye
Margaret Atwood
5/5 stars
This is the fictional story of the artist Elaine Risley. Going back and forth through different time periods, Risley relates her life as a child in Canada during WWII and tells of her life as a mother, wife, sister, daughter, friend and artist through good and particularly bad times. Wonderfully written and relatable to most women, I had a hard time putting this down. Set In A Country You Visited

The Clock Maker's Daughter
Kate Morton
3.5/5 stars
A multi-layered tale told over several generations beginning with Elodie, a young archivist who finds a case with a sketch book and an old photo of a beautiful woman in it. The author takes the readers on a journey, back and forth throughout several generations to find out the history and the story behind the photo. Good read but sometimes I had trouble figuring out what time line I was in since it was not a straight narrative. A Family Member's Favorite Book

The Most Spectacular Restaurant in the World: The Twin Towers, Windows on the World and the Rebirth of New York
by Tom Roston
4.5/5 stars
This is the history of the restaurants in the Windows on the World which resided in the Twin Towers/ the World Trade Center in NYC and was created/developed by the restaurateur, Joe Baum. Roston gives the readers a behind the scenes look at the restaurants in the WTC and the people who ran them. He also talks about the history of the city during that time period and the tragedy that still affects people today. Sad but a compelling read. For a better synopsis of this book – check out this website-
https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Most_Spectacular_Restaurant_in_the_W.ht...

This is not on my reading challenge but I could not help checking it out and I am glad I did.

The Madwoman Upstairs
Catherine Lowell
3.5/5 stars
In this fictional story, Samantha Whipple is a descendant of the Bronte family on her late father’s side. After her eccentric father who was a writer passes away she decides to go to Oxford to study. She supposedly has an inheritance of Bronte memorabilia that nobody can find until it starts showing up, a piece at a time at Oxford. I enjoyed this fast, light read and it makes me want to read some bios on the Brontes. A Beach Read

For All the Tea in China: Espionage, Empire and the Secret Formula for the World's Favourite Drink
by Sarah Rose
5/5 stars
This is the story of the lengths that England and the British East India Company went about to monopolize the tea industry and take it away from China. Robert Fortune, gardener, botanist and plant hunter was sent by England to secretly gather plants from China to send to India (where England had British Rule). Aiding him in the transplantation of the plants (besides some Chinese citizens) was the newly invented Wardian case, a predecessor of the terrarium. This was definitely a hard to put down book. So interesting! Set In China

The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers
Maxwell King
4/5 stars
This was an enjoyable and interesting biography of the wonderful Fred Rogers. The author takes us through his life discussing his family and his work on Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood. He also discusses his strong religious faith and his unwavering sense of the belief that children should be valued and heard. The First Book You Saw in a Bookstore/Library

They Called Us Enemy
George Takei
4/5 stars
Wonderful graphic novel/biography about the trials of George Takei (Star Trek's Sulu) and his family when they were forced to leave their home after the Pearl Harbor attack and go into a internment camp simply because they were Japanese. Well written! I had read of his interment in one of his previous books but I feel this provided a little more information. Not on my challenge but had to read it.

Marching Powder: A True Story of Friendship, Cocaine, and South America's Strangest Jail
Rusty Young
3.5/5 stars
This is the true story of Thomas MacFadden, who on a trip to South American got caught by the police with drugs at the airport in Bolivia. He is sentenced and sent to the San Pedro Jail in Peru. McFadden is confounded by the prison set-up. To get a room to live in, you have to buy a cell of your own. Families live with their relative who is a prisoner, in their prison cell and businesses are run by the prisoners in the jail. Drugs are prevalent in the prison and are a main source of revenue to buy items and bribe the guards and judges. I thought this was a fast and interesting read! Book Set In South America

Bunny Lake is Missing
Evelyn Piper
4/5 stars
A young woman and her daughter are starting over in a new town. Blanche, the single mother drops off her daughter at her new school but on her return no one remembers a new girl at school and she is not there. This sends Blanche into a panic. No one, especially the police, believe that she has a daughter who is now missing. Suspenseful! This was made into a film by Otto Preminger though the plot was radically changed.

Robin
Dave Itzkoff
4.5/5 stars
This is the biography of actor and comedian Robin Williams. Itzhoff follows Robin from his very beginnings to the sad ending of his life. I thought this was a really well written biography and I just flew through it. If you are fan of his, this is a must read!
Book Picked Out By A Stranger

Challenge finished - now attacking my never ending to read list!

The State Boys Rebellion
By Michael D’Antonio
4/5 stars
This is the true story of a group of boys and girls from the 1940’s in Massachusetts who were imprisoned in asylums during the time of the rising theories of eugenics. Entry into these schools was not equal and some of these children should not even have been in there. These children were abused, made into laborers, poorly educated and experimented on until they rebelled. Unfortunately, after release some did not do well and had trouble adjusting to outside life but they felt fortunate to be free. The book also talked about the influence that Pearl Buck and Dale Rogers had on opening up the institutions. They kept their developmentally disabled children at home which influenced families of the disabled to do the same thing. This is a shocking book and though I was familiar with the time period, I never realized the extent of the abuse at these homes. Well written!

>73 JulieLill:



I really am impressed. Good job !!!

>75 Carol420: Thanks!

The Essential Houdini
By William Pack
4/5 stars
Author, William Pack has written a captivating biography of the life of Houdini. The book is short (about a 130 pages) and covers the very interesting highlights of his life and career. I found out about this book when the author came to our library and did this wonderful program on Houdini. He even demonstrated Houdini's escape from a strait jacket. I definitely would like to read more about Houdini.

Into the Water
Paula Hawkins
2.5/5 stars
A writer comes to town to do research on a book about a death at a lake and is found dead in the same location. I am not sure how to review this book. I had a hard time with this book though at times I really enjoyed the writing and I felt like I was understanding what was going on and then another narrator is introduced and another side to the story and I just got discombobulated. However, I had to see who the killer(s) were and so I finished it. According to Wikipedia, there were 11 narrators or narratives in this story and it seemed like it. I would read another Hawkins book because I loved her first book but this one not so much.

The Lion in the Living Room: How House Cats Tamed Us and Took Over the World
Abigail Tucker
3.5/5 stars
This is the fascinating history and evolution of the rise of cats and their dominance in the animal world. Tucker talks about their popularity as pets and the extremes humans will do to take care of them. Definitely for cat people but others who love animals will also enjoy this book.

Requiem For A Wren
Nevil Shute
4/5 stars
On return to his parents’ home in Australia after the years following WWII, Alan Duncan finds the family and staff quite upset. Their former maid, Jessie, who was very good with her job had been found dead, possibly by suicide. The family was very fond of her and could not understand why she killed herself; they also can find nothing of her possessions. Alan searches the house and finds hidden in the attic, her suitcase and passport. When Alan sees the name on the passport, he realizes that the maid had used a different name and it was someone he knew personally. But why did she do it? Shute weaves a tale of love and loss and the effects of war on the women and men who served.

There are two titles for this book. The one I listed was the English version but the American version is titled The Breaking Wave.

Barbie and Ruth: The Story of the World's Most Famous Doll and the Woman Who Created Her
Robin Gerber
4/5 stars
This is the story of Ruth Handler who was looking for an adult female doll for girls to play with. At the time there were only baby dolls or paper adult dolls for girls to play with. While traveling in Germany she saw a Bild Lilli adult doll which inspired the creation of the Barbie doll and which became a toy sensation. This was the beginning of the rise of Mattel but life for Ruth and her family would be a whirlwind of ups and downs. What an interesting read!

The Graveyard Apartment
Mariko Koike
4/5 stars
A young Japanese couple with a child is living in Tokyo but they decide to move out of their current lodgings and buy a condo. The condo is a steal but is located next to a cemetery. Shortly, after moving in to their new apartment they find out that few people are living there. They make friends with the people that are there but one day their child and a friend are playing in the basement and are trapped down there. Luckily they are rescued but unusual and eerie events continue to occur impelling the residents to leave until they are the last family in the building. I enjoyed this fast and eerie read.

Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War
Mary Roach
4/5 stars
Mary Roach, one of my favorite non-fiction authors, loves to explore the most unusual subjects and she doesn’t fail in this book about the science behind the problems that crop up when soldiers are defending us. Topics include stink bombs, flies on the battlefield, how to make shark repellent and much more. Not for everyone but for those curious in unusual topics.

Nightbird
Alice Hoffman
4/5 stars
This wonderful children’s novel about acceptance revolves around Twig, a young girl and her family who keeps to themselves because of her brother’s mysterious condition. When a new family moves to town everything changes for them when the sisters befriend Twig. I have read Hoffman before but I never knew she wrote children’s books.

Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love and Heartbreak in the Stacks
Annie Spence
3.5/5 stars
Annie Spence, real life librarian, writes of her love of reading and the books she adores by writing quirky love letters to them. Of course she also writes about some of the duds that she has read and those get breakup notes. A very charming book but be warned this may increase your to be read book list!

Echo
Pam Munoz Ryan
5/5 stars
This is the wonderful story that starts with Otto, a young man who was lost in the forest but saved by 3 girls who are trapped in the forest. They give him a harmonica marked with an M. If he passes it on and it saves someone, the girls will be released. The harmonica touches the lives of three families and we learn of their tragic stories and what has become of them and the girls trapped in the forest. Written for children and young adults but adults will enjoy this too!

Turbo Twenty-Three: A Stephanie Plum Novel
Janet Evanovich
3.5/5 stars
Stephanie, once again is embroiled in another mystery when Ranger, a bounty hunter she occasionally works for, needs her to go undercover at an ice cream factory after a dead body covered with chocolate and pecans shows up in an ice cream truck. All the regulars make an appearance in this story including her Grandmother and her crazy friend Lula. I like this series, always a fun fast read.

The Westing Game
By Ellen Raskin
3.5/5 stars
A group of residents from the same apartment building are invited to the home of the wealthy Samuel W. Westing to hear his will being read. To receive money from the will, they will have to partner up and play a game. But the game is very tricky and dangerous and they will have to rely on their partners to win! The core reading group for this Newberry Medal winner is teen and older children but adults will enjoy it too.
Last book of the year -onto next year's challenge.