Let's Finish These Projects!

Hoping to finish at least FOUR by the end of April, 2024!

There are 8 here, at least two more ...

Progress 4/3/2024

V - Vivian

W - Wihelm

Need 9th round of unifying color

X - Xander

12 rounds

Need 13th row of unifying color...

L - London

K - Kandinsky

8 rounds, last two being Michael's "Putty"

Y - Yellowstone

J - Joshee

Finally Finished, yee-ha!!!

Z - Zephyr

FINISHED 4/2/24

Double knit

Tie in the ends.....FINALLY!!

TWO triple crochet afghans, started a couple of years ago and almost finished when I re-discovered them on April 2nd, 2024!  Let's get 'em done!

1st one finished 4/2/24 and in the PILE!

Simplest Square-in-a-Square EVER - Fold & Sew

Too Simple to Believe!

There's got to be a catch!

Sew Simple YouTube video here.

Mama Spark's blog instructions here.

29. My Evil Mother, a Short Story by Margaret Atwood

listened on 3/30/24
32 pgs.

2022
Adult Short Story CRF/Magical Realism
Finished 3/30/2024
Goodreads rating:  3.90
My rating: 5
Setting: Contemporary Canada

My comments: Love the cover.  A crazy, witchy, magical mother?  A savvy, slightly crazy, fun-loving mom? Who knows....who cares....In my opinion this is just a plain fun and funny cool story.  Loved it.  

Goodreads synopsis:  Life is hard enough for a teenage girl in 1950s suburbia without having a mother who may—or may not—be a witch. A single mother at that. Sure, she fits in with her starched dresses, string of pearls, and floral aprons. Then there are the hushed and mystical consultations with neighborhood women in distress. The unsavory, mysterious plants in the flower beds. The divined warning to steer clear of a boyfriend whose fate is certainly doomed. But as the daughter of this bewitching homemaker comes of age and her mother’s claims become more and more outlandish, she begins to question everything she once took for granted.

28. Lovers at the Museum - a short story by Isabel Allende

listened on Audible
25 pgs.

2024
Adult Magical Realism
Finished 3/29/24
Goodreads rating: 3.45
My rating: 2.5
Setting: contemporary Bilbao

My comments: Very young man and woman were caught in the morning in one of the displays at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, tangled together...she in a wedding gown, he naked...in one of the displays.  Discovered by a jittery cleaner and interrogated by a no-nonsense cop, the couple insisted the museum had not been locked and that they had more-or-less floated through it during their evening of lovemaking/copulation.  A very strange short story.  Perhaps from some sort of dream Allende had recently?

Goodreads synopsis:  From the New York Times bestselling author of The Wind Knows My Name comes a mesmerizing tale of two passionate souls who share one magical night that defies all rational explanation.

Love, be it wild or tender, often defies logic. In fact, at times, the only rationale behind the instant connection of two souls is plain magic.

Bibiña Aranda, runaway bride, wakes up in the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao still wearing her wedding dress, draped in the loving arms of a naked man whose name she doesn’t know. She and the man with no clothes, Indar Zubieta, attempt to explain to the authorities how they got there. It’s a story of love at first sight and experience beyond compare, one that involves a dreamlike journey through the museum.

But the lovers’ transcendent night bears no resemblance to the crude one Detective Larramendi attempts to reconstruct. And no amount of fantastical descriptions can convince the irritated inspector of the truth.

Allende’s dreamy short story has the power to transport readers in any language, leaving them to ponder the wonders of love long after the story’s over.

2024 Bookworm Catch-Up Challenge (GoodReads)

2024 Bookworm Catch-Up Challenge

Duration:01.01.24 - 12.31.24

Keeping up with the Discussions on GoodReads

2024 Bookworm Catch-Up Challenge -  There are 19 On my TBR List (below)
Duration:01.01.24 - 12.31.24

completed:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Pick a task number and Read as many Previous Bookworm Bitches Selections that you did not read. Check the bookshelf for previous selections: https://www.goodreads.com/group/books...

Current monthly book selections are not eligible for this challenge.

DON'T FORGET TO POST YOUR COMMENT IN THE APPROPRIATE BOOK DISCUSSION THREAD WHEN YOU FINISH!

Rules
~Books must be read during the selected time period.
~Post the date you finished the book.
-Absolutely NO REREADS (this is obvious)
~At the end of the challenge, it will be closed for commenting and moved to the archives folder.
~Books MUST be a previous Club Selection!!!

Copy the blank template below and paste into a new comment to start your challenge. Update as necessary.

want to read:

6/2013 - One Hundred Years of Solitude - Garcia Marquez

8/2013 - Bel Canto - Patchett

1/2015 - Big Little Lies - Moriarty

11/2015 - Mr. Mercedes - King

7/16 - A Thousand Splendid Suns - Hosseini

11/16 - The Outsiders Hinton

11/16 - Salt to the Sea - Sepetys

3/17 - The Butterfly Garden - Hutchison

1/18 - A Court of Thorns and Roses - Maas

2/18 - The Picture of Dorian Gray - Wilde

9/19 - Before We Were Yours - Wingate

3/21 - The House in the Cerulean Sea - Klune

10/22 - Lessons in Chemistry - Garmus

6/23 - Fairy Tale - King

9/23 - Mad Honey - Picoult

12/23 - Demon Copperhead - Kingsolver

10/23 - Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches - Mandanna - on hold TPPL

2/24 - The Seven Year Slip - Poston

5/24 - The Women - Hannah

already read:

8/2009 selection:  Time Traveler's Wife (my rating 2 **)

5/2011 selection:  A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (5)

8/2011 selection:  The Island - Hildebrand (2)

8/2011 selection:  The Forgotten Garden - Morton (5)

10/2011 selection:  The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane - Howe (4)

11/11 selection:  Juliet - Fortier (2)

1/12  Shiver - Stiefvater (3)

5/12  The Hunger Games - Colllins (5)

6/12 - Fifty Shades of Gray - James (3)

7/12 - To Kill a Mockingbird - Lee (5)

8/12 - The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Edwards (4)

8/12 - Divergent (#1) - Roth (4)

9/12 - Gone Girl - Flynn (3)

10/12 - A Discovery of Witches #1 - Harkness (4)

12/12 - The Thirteenth Tale - Setterfield (4)

4/13 - Wonder - Palacio (5)

6/13 - Looking for Alaska - Green (4)

7/13 - Gone with the Wind - Mitchell (4)

8/13 - Ready Player One - Cline (3)

11/13 - Flight Behavior - Kingsolver (4)

12/13 - The Handmaid's Tale - Atwood (3)

1/14 - Where'd You Go Bernadette - Semple (5)

2/14 - Eleanor and Park - Rowell (4)

3/14 - The Maze Runner (31) - Dasher (4)

4/14 - Fallen (#1) - Kate (1)

5/14 - The Rosie Project - Simsion (5)

6/14 - Miss Peregrine's Home for Wayward Children - Riggs (1)

6/14 - Orphan Train - Kline (4)

8/14 - Between Shades of Gray - Sepetys (5)

10/14 - The Cuckoo's Calling - Galbraith (4)

11/14 - The Bone People - Hulme (1)

12/14 - The Language of Flowers - Diffenbaugh (5)

2/15 - The Age of Miracles - Walker (2)

3/15 - We Were Liars - Lockhart (3)

3/15 - Cinder (#1 Lunar Chronicles)) Meyer (4)

4/15 - Station Eleven - Mandel (3)

5/15 - City of Bones (#1) - Clare (4)

6/15 - Scarlet (#2 Lunar Chronicles) Meyer (4)

7/15 - Fangirl - Rowell (5)

9/15 - The Life of Never Letting Go - Ness (1)

12/15 - Legend (#1) Wu (5)

1/16 - A Tale of Two Cities - Dickens (4)

3/16 - The Red Queen (#1 Red Queen) Aveyard (5)

4/16 - The Secret Keeper - Morton (2)

6/16 - The 5th Wave (#1) Yancy (4)

8/16 - The Secret Garden - Burnett (4)

2/17 - The Scarlet Letter - Hawthorne (1)

4/17 - My Sister's Grave (#1 Tracy Crosswhite) Dugoni (3)

7/17 - Glass Sword (#2 Red Queen) Aveyard (4)

10/17 - Girls with the Dragon Tattoo - Larsson (5)

10/17 - Dark Matter - Crouch (5)

1/18 - The Hate You Give - Thomas (5)

3/18 - Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine - Honeymoon (4)

11/18 - The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Reid (5)

12/18 - Educated - Westover (5)

3/19 - Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - Berendt (3)

4/19 - Shadow of Night (#2) Harkness (2)

4/19 - Stillhouse Lake - Caine (2)

5/19 - Catcher in the Rye - Salinger (2)

5/19 - Nine Perfect Strangers - Moriarty (4)

5/19 - Love and Other Words - Lauren (5)

8/19 - Flowers for Algernon - Keyes (5)

10/19 - The Kiss Quotient - Huong (5)

2/20 - The Death of Mrs. Westaway - Ware (2)

5/20 - Where the Crawdads Sing - Owens (5)

7/20 - Then She Was Gone - Jewell (5)

7/20 - The Bride Test - Hoang (5)

6/21 - American Dirt - Cummins (5)

8/21 - Beach Read - Henry (4)

12/21 - Project Hail Mary - Weir (5)

3/22 - Rock, Paper, Scissors - Feeney (5)

9/22 - The Book of Cold Cases - St. James (3)

11/22 - Remarkably Bright Creatures - Van Pelt (5)

12/22 - Book Lovers - Henry (4)

4/24 - Weyward - Hart (5)

2024 Movies

1 movies in 2024

2023 - Three,  three!

2022 - Just four?

2021 - ONE MOVIE!! (Continued Pandemic)

2020 - 5 movies (Pandemic!)

2019 - 26 movies

2018 - 51 movies

2017 - 49 movies

2016 - 62 movies

2015 - 37 movies

2014 - 46 movies

2013 - 48 movies

2012 - 37 movies

2011 - 54 movies

*6*  Awesome

5  Loved it

4  Liked it

3  It was okay

2  Not great

1  Nope

Cabrini (3/28/24) Strong females, ruling white men, immigration...(6)

WOW movies of 2023

Cabrini (3/28/24) Strong females, ruling white men, immigration...(6)

REALLY GOOD movies of 2023 (4.5 & 5)  

.

GOOD/FUN movies of 2023 (3 - 3.5 - 4)

.

WASTE-OF-TIME MOVIES OF 2023 

Movie - Cabrini

PG-13/2:25

Wide release 3/8/2024

Viewed date at Thursday, March in Hanover, PA

IMBd: 7.9/10

RT Critic:  91  Audience:  98

Critic's Consensus:  Aided by Cristiana Dell'Anna's performance in the title role, Cabrini is an uplifting biopic with a timeless message.

Cag:  6/Awesome  

Actors:  Cristiana Dell'Anna, David Morse, John Lithgow

My comments:  First movie on the big screen in a long time, perhaps a year?   Worth the wait, for this was an extraordinary film, based on the real person, Mother Cabrini, the first American saint.  Gritting my teeth I watched conceited white men make ridiculous, ruthless, selfish decisions and an extremely strong-willed female take them all on.  Immigration, such a timely subject, was just as timely 135 years ago, only this time it was the Italian immigrants that were being scorned and belittled.  Very powerful movie, which I loved.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  From Alejandro Monteverde, award-winning director of "Sound of Freedom", comes the powerful epic of Francesca Cabrini, an Italian immigrant who arrives in New York City in 1889 and is greeted by disease, crime, and impoverished children. Cabrini sets off on a daring mission to convince the hostile mayor to secure housing and healthcare for society's most vulnerable. With broken English and poor health, Cabrini uses her entrepreneurial mind to build an empire of hope unlike anything the world had ever seen.

27 Light and Air by Mindy Nichols Wendell

read on Kindle
218 pgs.

2024
Middle grades Historical Fiction
Finished 3/28/24
Goodreads rating: 4.39
My rating: 4
Setting: 1935 upstate New York

My comments: The lovely cover definitely beckoned to me.  I can remember in second grade a lot of talk about tuberculosis, haven't really heard too much about it since.  The story was eye-opening and interesting with a brave and sassy 10-year-old protagonist.  Quite memorable.  Would sanitoriums be available nowadays that treat people with such humanity?  I don't think so.....

Goodreads synopsis:  It's 1935, and tuberculosis is ravaging the nation. Everyone is afraid of this deadly respiratory illness. But what happens when you actually have it?

When Halle and her mother both come down with TB, they are shunned—and then they are sent to the J.N. Adam Tuberculosis Hospital: far from home, far from family, far from the world.

Tucked away in the woods of upstate New York, the hospital is a closed and quiet place. But it is not, Halle learns, a prison. Free of her worried and difficult father for the first time in her life, she slowly discovers joy, family, and the healing power of honey on the children's ward, where the girls on the floor become her confidantes and sisters. But when Mama suffers a lung hemorrhage, their entire future—and recovery—is thrown into question....

Light and Air deals tenderly and insightfully with isolation, quarantine, found family, and illness. Set in the fully realized world of a 1930s hospital, it offers a tender glimpse into a historical epidemic that has become more relatable than ever due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As Halle tries to warm her father’s coldness and learns to trust the girls and women of the hospital, and as she and her mother battle a disease that once paralyzed the country, a profound message of strength, hope, and healing emerges.

2021 Reading Dumps & Needs to disburse

71.  To Be Taught, If Fortunate - Becky Chambers, 2019 Audible (5) 153 pgs. (21,156 pgs.) disburse

72.  When the Stars Go Dark - Paula McLain,  2021 Libby (4.5) 371 p. (21,527 p.)  6/30 disburse

73.  The Fixer (#1 Justice Series) T. E. Woods, 2012 Audible (5) 312 p. (21,835 p.)  disburse

74.  Her Final Breath (#2 Tracey Crosswhite) Robert Dugoni, 2015 KUnlAud (5) 426 p. (22,265 p.)  disburse

75.  The Caretakers (# 11.5 Mike Bowditch) Paul Doiron, 2021 Kindle (4) 51 p. (22,316 p.)  disburse

76.  Debris Line (#4 Gibson Vaughn) - Matthew FitzSimmons 2018 Audible (4) 320 p. (22,630 p.)  disburse

77.  I Temporarily Do - Ellie Cahill, 2017 Chirp (4) 220 p. (22,856 p.)  Disburse

78.  Too Bright to See - Kyle Lukoff, 2021 Book (4.5) 192 p. (23,048p.)  Dsburse

79.  The Lion of Mars - Jennifer L. Holm 2021 Book (5) 259 p. (23,307 p.)  Disburse

80.  365 Days to Alaska - Cathy Carr 2021 Book (5) 272 p. (23,579 p.)  disburse

86.  The Dispatcher - John Scalzi, 2016 Audible (SS) (4) around 100 pgs. (25,065 pgs.) G needs to be disbursed

87.  Back in the Burbs - Tracy Wolff & Avery Flynn, 2021 Audible (3.5) 400 pgs. (25,465 pgs.)

88.  Hold Me Today -Maria Luis, 2019 Chirp (4)  435 pgs. (25,900 pgs.) G needs to be disbursed

89.  Soulmate Equation - Christina Lauren, 2021 Libby 8/19 G

90.  The Bright Side of Going Dark - Kelly Harms, 2020 Aud 8/28 G

91.  Without Her Consent - McGarvey Black, 2020 Kindle (2) 310 pgs. G disbursing needed

September

92.  The Deal - Elle Kennedy, 2015 Audible (4) 342 pgs.  G disbursing needed

93.  Devi's Distraction - Ruby Dixon, 2019 Audible #7 Icehome 254 pgs. G disbursing needed

94.  Fallen (#13 Kate Burkholder) Linda Castillo. 2021 Libby (4) 9/11 G

95.  The Last Anniversary - Lianne Moriarty. 2020 Kindle.  (5) 9/12 G

96.  The Tourist Attraction - Sarah Morgenthaler. 2020 Kindle  (4) 9/19 G

97.  The Last Thing He Told Me - Laura Dave, 2021  Libby. (4.5) 9/24 G

98.  Project Hail Mary - Andy Weir. 2021 Audible (5) 9/30 G

DNF - Still Lives - Maria Hummel.  Audible 43%

October

99.  Wrapped in Ink - Carrie Ann Ryan, 2019 Audible (2) 340 pgs. G disbursing needed

100.  In the Clearing  (#3 Tracy Crosswaite) - Robert Dugoni 2016 (4) 10/12 G

101.  The Audacity of Sarah Grayson - Joani Elliott 2021 (3) 10/19 G

102.  The Keeper of Happy Endings. 2021 Kindle.  (4) 10/22 G

November

103.  The Red Hot Fix (#2 Justice series) - T. E. Woods 2014 (no info?!?) G

104.  Sexy  - J A. Huss 2015 KindUnlAud (3) 249 pgs. 11/11 G disbursing needed

105.  Solar Plexus - Victor Zugg 2018 Kindle (2) 11/13  G

106.  This Is Where I Leave You - Jonathan Tropper 2003 Kindle (5) 11/21 G

107.  The Name Curse - Brooke Burroughs 2021 Audible & Kindle (3) 11/29 G

108.  Cavalier - T. L. Smith 2018 Audible (1.5) 199 pgs. G disbursing needed

December 114 pgs.

109.  Dragon's Thief -Zoe Chant 2020 KindleUnl (1) 114 pgs. G disbursing needed

2020 Reading Dumps from Notes on phone

105.  Jan Anonymous - Laura Faria Stolarz, 2020 BosAud (4) 306 pgs. 7/9

107.  Find Me - Anne Frasier, 2020 Audible (4.5) 286 pgs. 7/21

108.  We're Not From Here - Geoff Rodkey, 2019 BosAud (3) 256 pgs. 7/23 t/a

110.  The Perfect Escape - Suzanne Park, 2020 Chirp (3.5) 336 pgs. 7/28 t/a

111.  Dating Games - T. K. Leigh, 2019 Chirp (3) 430 pgs. (34,856 pgs.) 7/29  DISBURSED

     As soon as I heard the narrator speak, I knew I had listened to her before - I couldn't STAND listening to her and I almost decided not to listen.  The way she reads really annoys me, and took away from the personality of the protagonist for me.  Much of her voice for the hunky Julian was read in a monotone.  Holy Yuckiness.  The story was cute, predictable, and enjoyable, with no surprises at all, but I couldn't enjoy it half as much as I would've without the narrator. Too bad.  The decadence and small mindedness of the Hamptons really shouts out in this story.  I do love these fake fiancé, girlfriend/boyfriend tomes, however.  Yes, this one had a few cute twists and turns and although totally predictable, it added a fun dimension.  Four for the story taken down to 3 because of the lousy narration.

113.  Dark Planet Warriors - Anna Carven - 2016Audible (3.5) 240 pgs. (35,448 pgs.)

8/4  DISBURSED

     Far, far away in space in the 24th century is a small asteroid mining station of humans, where Abbie works as a biologist.  A spaceship of court Kordovians arrives, headed by the fearsome general Tarak.  The story becomes an adventure as well as a romance, and to tell you the truth, it was quite compelling.  There are a couple of super steamy sections, but most of it is interesting storytelling.  It's the first in a series, and I wonder if the next follow these characters...sometimes they don't.  The end of the book is when they are about to reach earth.  

115.  Ruth's First Christmas Tree (#4.5 Ruth Galloway) - Elly Griffiths 2012 Kindle (4) 26 pgs. (35,990 pgs.) t/a/myst

  

116. The Sixth Wicked Child (#3 4MK) - J. D. Barker 2019 Audible (5) 626 pgs. (36,616 pgs.) t/a/my 8/8/2020   DISBURSED

     Contemporary Chicago.   wonder if J. D. Barker knew as he was writing the first book how he would be continuing it, or even if there was going to be a continuation.  There are no clues, and it is such a departure from the first, at least in my mind.  This, the third book in the series, made me a nervous wreck because of the situation that Sam Porter was put into.  Even though I didn't want to doubt, there were places here and there in the middle of the book that I did begin to doubt a tiny bit -- but then I though about Heather, Sam's wife.  Whew.  Talk about a twisting, turning mind!  What a rude.  It waas EXCELLENT storytelling!

     

117.  Outsider (#12 Kate Burkholder) - Linda Castillo 2020 BosAud (2.5) 320 pgs. (36,936 pgs.) t/a/myst 8/9/2020

     What a disappointment.  This was boring, repetitive, and the last of the series so far.  It seems to be going downhill fast.  Gina, the bad ass friend otht Kate is trying to help/save is one of the most unlikable characters I've met in a long time.  So not only did I not care whether she came out of it okay or even alive, I questioned why Kate helped her as much as she did.  Another huge snowstorm, hasn't there been bad snow weather in many of the other books, too?  And I love the way that Tomaselli jumped on a handy-dandy snowmobile and traveled many, many miles to get to Kate whenever he needed to....over and over again!  Yep that would really happen.  I wonder how far it is from Wooster to Painter's Falls, lol.  I did enjoy getting to know Adam and his three children, but other than that this story could've been told in three hours instead of ten and in a much better manner.   I've also noticed that Castillo enjoys using great words, but she tends to overuse some of them. I think she used the word "plethora" four times and it was very noticeable.  I used to love these books, it's so disappointing to not love them at all anymore.

118.  A Bad Day for Sunshine (#1 Sunshine Vicram) - Darynda Jones, 2020 Bos/Libby (4) 400 pgs. (37,336 pgs.) 8/11 t/a/myst

     Well this was definitely the first in a series.  I immediately knew the narrator, she's the one who does all the Stephanie Plum stories, and she's definitely got that comical way of speaking down pat.  Sunshine is definitely a bit like Stephanie Plum, probably a whole lot smarter, and I was able to let go of the thought of Miss Plum after about a third of the way into the book.  Wonderful setting in contemporary Del Sol, New Mexico, up near Santa Fe, and area that I very much enjoy.  So that was great and added to the ambiance.  There are so many things that are eye-rolling about this book, and pretty much everything is easy to figure out way ahead of time, including pretty much what happened when Sunshine was adducted so many years ago and her daughter, Ari, was conceived.  But it was definitely a fun ride...and very, very funny!

     The required BFF, the handsome and studly out-of-reach gorgeous hunk, and also some crazy shenaningans...just plain fun to listen to. Definitely want to read #2 when it comes out in a year or so, lol.  

119.  The Forgotten Ones - Steena Holmes, 2018 Audible (3) 345 pgs. (37,681 pgs.) 8/12 t/a

     I'm not sure what to think about this book.  It was pretty slow, but compellingly told, although repetitive in many places, which I have discovered really bugs me lately.  I think the thing that bothered me most is that I never got a feel for Gertie, mother/wife/antagonist.  Why did David lover her so?  What was she like?  What were her attributes?  That made of the the cray unrealistic things he did become unbelievable, because supposedly he loved his wife wo much.  I don't know, it's leaving me shaking my head.  And then the granddaughter, L was such a disbeliever - she was hard for me to take, too.  Yep, I definitely find a lot of things questionable about this story.

120.  A Keeper - Graham Norton, 2018 Audible (4.5) 326 pgs. (38,007 pgs.) 8/13 t/a

122.  The Switch - Beth O'Leary, 2020 Audible (4) 336 pgs. (38,731 pgs.) 8/20 t/a

123.  A Field Guide to Getting Lost - Joy McCullough, 2020 Chirp (3.5) 224 pgs. (38,955 pgs.) 8/22 t/a

124.  The Year of the Witching - Alexis Henderson, 2020 Aud (3) 368 pgs. (39,323 pgs.) 8/25 t/a

125.  Unsheltered - Barbara Kingsolver, 2018 BosAud (4) 464 pgs. (39,787 pgs.) 8/27 t/a

126.  Text 2 Lovers - K. Webster & J. D. Hollyfield , 2017 (3) 245 pgs. (40,032 pgs.)  8/29 t/a

128.  Interference - Brad Parks, 2020 Aud (4) 397 pgs. (40,749 pgs.)  9/2 t/a

DNF - .  Jane Unlimited - Kristin Cashore, 2017 BosAud 45% of 464 pgs. = 209 pgs. (40,958 pgs.)

129.  The Lost Vintage - Ann Mah, 2018 Aud (4) 384 pgs. (41,342 pgs.) 9/11 t/a

130.  Nothing More Dangerous - Allen Eskens, 2019 Aud, (5) 352 pgs. (41,694 pgs.)  9/16 t/a

136.  The Librarian's Vampire Assistant - Mimi Jean Pamfiloff, 2018 Chirp (1.5) 246 pgs. (43,790 pgs.) t/a

137.  Well Played - Jen DeLuca, 2020 Libby (4) 336 pgs. (44,126 pgs.) t/a

 

138.  The Lasaran (#1 Aldebarian Alliance) - Dianne Duvall, 2020 Chirp (3.5) 460 pgs. (44,586 pgs.)

139.  142 Ostriches - April Davila, 2020 Chirp (4) 272 pgs. (44,858 pgs.)

140.  Squeeze Me - Carl Hiaasen, 2020 Libby (4.5) 353 pgs. (45,211 pgs.)

142.  Chimera - N. J. Tanger, 2015 Chirp (3) 310 pgs. (45,825 pgs.)

143.  Today Tonight Tomorrow - Rachel Lynn Solomon, 2020 Chirp (4) 364 pgs. (46,189 pgs.)

144.  Big Summer - Jennifer Weiner, 2020 Libby (3) 368 pgs. (46,557 pgs.) 11/21/2020

         Set mostly on the tip of Cape Cod in Provincetown and Truro, plus-size up-and-coming Instagram star xxxx reminisces about the back-and-forth relationship she has with her on-again off-again best friend, who is a real bitch.  A rich mean girl, she mesmerizes, dumps, chums up with again, and dumps again for years.  It's been six years since the straw that broke the camel's back when she reappears in xxx's life and asks her to be her maid-of-honor at her particularly snazzy, well-publicized wedding on the Cape.  I liked some of the story, but there was just something about it that didn't strike me right.  Perhaps I just couldn't engage with any of the characters?  Entertaining but flimsy.

153.  Fake Date - Monica Murphy, 2019 Audible (1) 358 pgs. (49,104 pgs.)

154.  Christmas at Copper Mountain - Jane Porter, 2013 Audible (3.5) 152 pgs. (49,256 pgs.)

155.  It's a Wonderful Wife - Camille Pagan, 2020 Audible (4) 100 pgs. (49,356 pgs.)

26. The Island Cottage by Jane Lovering

listened on Audible
250 pgs. (8:33)

2024

Adult British romance, very clean
Finished 3/24/24
Goodreads rating: 4.46
My rating: 3
Setting: Contemporary Orkney Islands

My comments: One of the slowest moving novels I've read in a while, there were absolutely no surprises or twists, you knew exactly what was going to happen.  Very close to boring, but the charm of the Orkney Islands and Magnus, the handsome male in the light romance allowed me to push my way through.

Goodreads synopsis:  When Brid Harcus is sent to the Orkney Islands, in the far reaches of Scotland, she has high hopes for her trip being short, straightforward and lucrative.

Her mother has inherited a cottage from her Great Aunt Jennet which has been unlived in and unloved for decades, and the time has come to make it habitable and saleable. Easy, right?

But Midness Cottage has other ideas. For one thing it’s rather more ‘fixer upper’ than Country Living, with a resident goose and her goslings who have made themselves at home. And Brid definitely hadn’t planned for the strongly-held local belief that the cottage is meant to be the home of the Orkney Witch, and whomever lives in it must fulfil this role. Not the best message for the estate agent brochure and of course Brid doesn’t believe in magic, let alone have healing powers.

But Orkney does have healing powers. Its beauty and peace are enchanting, its people welcoming, and Brid’s handsome new friend Magnus is rather charming too. When her life back in York starts calling her home, will Brid sell up and ship out? Or did the last Orkney Witch cast a spell and leave a legacy of love if only Brid believed in magic…

25. Signal Moon - Short story by Kate Quinn

listened on Audible
57 pgs.

2022
Adult Historical Fiction/SciFi Short Story
Finished 3/24/24
Goodreads rating: 4.33
My rating: 5
Setting: 1943 & 2023 London

My comments: Two time periods, two Navy radio operators.  One in 1943, one in 2023.  One British, one American.  Talk about long-distance relationships!  One saves the other.  SciFi....love it more and more each time I read one.

Goodreads synopsis:  A short story about an impossible connection across two centuries that could make the difference between peace or war.

Yorkshire, 1943. Lily Baines, a bright young debutante increasingly ground down by an endless war, has traded in her white gloves for a set of headphones. It’s her job to intercept enemy naval communications and send them to Bletchley Park for decryption.

One night, she picks up a transmission that isn’t code at all—it’s a cry for help.

An American ship is taking heavy fire in the North Atlantic—but no one else has reported an attack, and the information relayed by the young US officer, Matt Jackson, seems all wrong. The contact that Lily has made on the other end of the radio channel says it’s… 2023.

Across an eighty-year gap, Lily and Matt must find a way to help each other: Matt to convince her that the war she’s fighting can still be won, and Lily to help him stave off the war to come. As their connection grows stronger, they both know there’s no telling when time will run out on their inexplicable link.

24. Tell Her Story by Margot Hunt

listened on Audible (Aud Original)
?? pgs. - audio only (2:52)

2022
Adult Murder Mystery
Finished 3/23/24
Goodreads rating: 3.60
My rating: 3.75
Setting: 

My comments: Read by Dakota Fanning and a cast of others.  A journalist who has been fired from her job is living in her sister and brother-in-law's guest house in Florida and waitressing at her brother-in-law's tavern.  When her sister suggests that she start a podcast about the 20-year-old murder of a beloved high school teacher, she agrees, which sets off a series of events that eventually solve the cold case.  Quite a twist!

Goodreads synopsis: From the author of Buried Deep and The House on the Water comes a shocking thriller about a young podcaster who’s investigating a cold case in her hometown and determined to uncover the truth at any cost.

Paige Barrett was living her dream as a journalist in New York City, racking up bylines as a staff writer at The Razor, a cutting-edge online magazine. But when she’s suddenly fired from her job and dumped by her boyfriend, she finds herself back home in the quaint seaside town of Shoreham, Florida, waiting tables and living in her sister’s guesthouse.

Restless and itching for something meaningful to occupy her time, she decides to launch a true-crime podcast about the death of Jessica Cady, a beloved teacher who died mysteriously 20 years earlier. The case went cold with no leads and no suspects, but the more Paige digs into the woman’s death, the closer she comes to a killer. In a small town like Shoreham, it’s impossible to keep a secret forever. 

23. Penelope in Retrograde by Brooke Abrams

listened on Audible

247 pgs. (7:46)
2023
Adult romance, no smut

Finished 3/23/24
Goodreads rating: 4.11
My rating: 4
Setting: contemporary Coronado Island, San Diego, CA (with a few flashbacks to the past)

My comments: I almost put this down after listening to the first few chapters. The protagonist seemed frenzied, over-the-top. But she/it did settle down and the storytelling became tongue-in-cheek funny, if not exaggerated and in some places, a bit ridiculous, but really fun. Penny is a romance writer, but the story is devoid of anything steamy, very clean. Great characterizations and interesting characters, including an elderly grandmother who was a hoot. The protagonist grew a lot during the story. Disliked her during the first 2/3 of the book, then she started smartening up. Enjoyable read.

Goodreads synopsis:  In this witty and heartfelt debut from author Brooke Abrams, a romance writer with a passion for astrology reluctantly travels home for Thanksgiving to make amends with her estranged family…and possibly manifest her own happily ever after. Romance writer Penelope Banks can write the perfect love story, but when it comes to family, all she’s got is a rough draft. Penny shelved the idea of fitting in with her high-achieving family years ago, but when her new business venture—a romance bookstore—is at risk of closing before its doors have opened, she’s forced to ask for help from the one place she never expected. Home. Penny’s prepared for the usual Thanksgiving her perfect sister, meddling nana, matchmaking mother, and workaholic father. The guest she didn’t anticipate? Her ex-husband, Smith. After an awkward rideshare with Smith leaves Penny questioning why the romance in her life exists only in her novels, Penny adds some fiction to reality and turns her father’s colleague into the perfect fake boyfriend. With only four days to mend damaged relationships, and her bookstore’s future at stake, all the stars must align for Penny to finally write a happily ever after for herself and her family.

22. Obsessed: A Memoir of My Life with OCD by Allison Britz

listened on Audible
368 pgs. (9:58)

2017
YA & Adult Memoir 
Finished 3/21/24
Goodreads rating: 3.92
My rating: 4.5
Setting: contemporary anywhere, USA

My comments: Wow.  Although the protagonist is a 15-year old sophomore, this book would be very appropriate for a middle school.  A memoir, it gives a deep examination of how a seemingly normal, average, pretty-much-happy young girl can slip totally into OCD.  I was very sad, depressed, and frustrated through the first half of the book, but it also discussed getting better.  It was difficult, and she did it without meds - and knows that she will have to live with symptoms for the rest of her life.

Goodreads synopsis:  A brave teen recounts her debilitating struggle with obsessive-compulsive disorder—and brings readers through every painful step as she finds her way to the other side—in this powerful and inspiring memoir.

Until sophomore year of high school, fifteen-year-old Allison Britz lived a comfortable life in an idyllic town. She was a dedicated student with tons of extracurricular activities, friends, and loving parents at home.

But after awakening from a vivid nightmare in which she was diagnosed with brain cancer, she was convinced the dream had been a warning. Allison believed that she must do something to stop the cancer in her dream from becoming a reality.

It started with avoiding sidewalk cracks and quickly grew to counting steps as loudly as possible. Over the following weeks, her brain listed more dangers and fixes. She had to avoid hair dryers, calculators, cell phones, computers, anything green, bananas, oatmeal, and most of her own clothing.

Unable to act “normal,” the once-popular Allison became an outcast. Her parents questioned her behavior, leading to explosive fights. When notebook paper, pencils, and most schoolbooks were declared dangerous to her health, her GPA imploded, along with her plans for the future.

Finally, she allowed herself to ask for help and was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder. This brave memoir tracks Allison’s descent and ultimately hopeful climb out of the depths.

21. The Postscript Murders by Elly Griffiths

#2 Harbinder Kaur

listened on Libby (I think)
315 pgs. (9;09)
2020
Adult Murder Mystery

Finished 3/18/2024
Goodreads rating: 3.93
My rating: 3.5
Setting: Contemporary Britain

My comments: 3.5  Mystery writers are being murdered, beginning with a 90-year-old woman who is a whiz at figuring out "who dunnit."  An interesting group of characters gather together to figure out what's going on.  Definitely not as good as Ruth Galloway, which I was a bit hopeful for, but entertaining.

Goodreads synopsis:  Murder leaps off the page when crime novelists begin to turn up dead in this intricate new novel by internationally best-selling author Elly Griffiths, a literary mystery perfect for fans of Anthony Horowitz and Agatha Christie.

The death of a ninety-year-old woman with a heart condition should not be suspicious. Detective Sergeant Harbinder Kaur certainly sees nothing out of the ordinary when Peggy’s caretaker, Natalka, begins to recount Peggy Smith’s passing.

But Natalka had a reason to be at the police station: while clearing out Peggy’s flat, she noticed an unusual number of crime novels, all dedicated to Peggy. And each psychological thriller included a mysterious postscript: PS: for PS. When a gunman breaks into the flat to steal a book and its author is found dead shortly thereafter—Detective Kaur begins to think that perhaps there is no such thing as an unsuspicious death after all.

And then things escalate: from an Aberdeen literary festival to the streets of Edinburgh, writers are being targeted. DS Kaur embarks on a road trip across Europe and reckons with how exactly authors can think up such realistic crimes . . .

Paper Pieced Mini Houses - Easy-Peezy-Simple-Small

Photo will go here as soon as I create one - can't be downloaded from internet.

Watch Stitch with Rachel YouTube directions

Etsy shop where I purchased the pattern: JitkaDesign

Shipwreck Casserole

In a large bowl, combine:

     1 lb. scrambled ground beef

     3 sliced carrots

     1 chopped onion

     1/4 cabbage, chopped

     1 green pepper, diced

     4 cups shredded, frozen hash browns

     3/4 cup instant minute rice

     1 cup tomato sauce

     2 1/2 cups water

     1 can diced tomatoes

     1 t. salt

     1 t. pepper

     1 t. onion powder

     1 t. garlic powder

     1 t. Italian seasoning

     1 t. paprika

     1 cup shredded cheddar.

Stir together

Dump into sprayed 9 x 13 pan

Cover with aluminium foil

Bake at 350 for 60 minutes.

Add more cheese, cook for another 15 minutes (or skip this cheese....)

Thanks Julie Pacheko!

Dump & Go Broccoli, Ham and Rice Casserole

Spray 9 x 13 pan

2 c. chicken broth

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 t. salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika

     Whisk together

1 cup uncooked rice

1/2 cup cheese

12 oz. frozen broccoli

1 lb. diced ham (or chicken)

Stir.

Cover with foil

Bake at 375 for 55 minutes

Remove foil, stir, cover with another 1 cup cheese

10 more minutes.

Serve.

Another good one from Julie Pacheko.

Orange Sesame Chicken Salad

From Andy's East Coast Kitchen

2 large chicken breasts, cubed, seasoned with:  l T. salt, 1 T,  pepper, 1 T. onion powder, 1 T. garlic powder, fried until brown on all sides.

5 c. cabbage, shredded thin (or cole slaw mixture)

2 oranges, segmented

1 c. sliced green onions

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Toast and top with:

1/4 c. slivered almonds

2T. sesame seeds

Dressing, mixed in a mason jar:

1/2 c. sesame oil

1/4 c. maple syrup

1/3 c. soy sauce

3 t. rice wine vinegar

3 t. fresh ginger

zest of one orange

1 T. fresh orange juice

Upcoming Releases

 3/28  The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton

                  AUDIO BOOK COMING 5/21/24

4/9  The Gathering by C. J. Tudor

4/30  Granite Harbor by Peter Nichols (coastal Maine murder mystery)

5/14 - The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren - on Hold TPPL

6/18 - The Nature of Disappearing by Kimi Cunningham Grant

6/25 - Pitch Dark - Mike Bowditch #15 by Paul Doiron

6/25 - Finding Mr. Write by Kelley Armstrong rom com!

7/2 - Storm Child by Michael Robotham #3 Cyrus Haven & Evie Cormac

7/9 - The Burning - Kate Burkholder #16 by Linda Castillo

7/16 - The Black Bird Oracle - Deborah Harkness #5 All Souls

7/16 - Not Another Love Song by Julie Soto (YA)

12/10  What the Wife Knew - Darby Kane

20. Weyward by Emilia Hart

listened on Libby - borrowed from library

416 pgs.
2023
Adult Historical Fiction/Magical Realism

Finished 3/10/2024
Goodreads rating: 4.10
My rating:/
Setting: Cottage in England during three different time periods:  1619, 1942, contemporary

My comments: LOVE the cover!  Told from the point of view of three women in the Weyward family:  Altha, in 1619, on trial for practicing witchcraft, supposedly using a spell to have a farmer's cows trample him to death.  Violet, in 1942, living a hugely restricted life with her brother, being intimidated by a hateful father.  And then there's Kate in 2019, never leaving her flat because of an abusive, controlling husband, until she finally takes matters into her own hands.  Three really interesting stories of three strong women, bonded by blood and history and the huge touch of magic that connects them with the natural world, the birds, the bees, the bugs, and all growing things.  It was hard to put down and beautifully narrated by three different female voices.

Goodreads synopsis:  I am a Weyward, and wild inside.

2019: Under cover of darkness, Kate flees London for ramshackle Weyward Cottage, inherited from a great aunt she barely remembers. With its tumbling ivy and overgrown garden, the cottage is worlds away from the abusive partner who tormented Kate. But she begins to suspect that her great aunt had a secret. One that lurks in the bones of the cottage, hidden ever since the witch-hunts of the 17th century.

1619: Altha is awaiting trial for the murder of a local farmer who was stampeded to death by his herd. As a girl, Altha’s mother taught her their magic, a kind not rooted in spell casting but in a deep knowledge of the natural world. But unusual women have always been deemed dangerous, and as the evidence for witchcraft is set out against Altha, she knows it will take all of her powers to maintain her freedom.

1942: As World War II rages, Violet is trapped in her family's grand, crumbling estate. Straitjacketed by societal convention, she longs for the robust education her brother receives––and for her mother, long deceased, who was rumored to have gone mad before her death. The only traces Violet has of her are a locket bearing the initial W and the word weyward scratched into the baseboard of her bedroom.

Weaving together the stories of three extraordinary women across five centuries, Emilia Hart's Weyward is an enthralling novel of female resilience and the transformative power of the natural world.

19. The Man Burned by Winter by Pete Zacharias

#1 Rooker Lindstrom

listened on Audible/Kindle Unlimited
335 pgs.
2022
Adult Murder Mystery/Police Procedural/Serial Killer

Finished 3/6/2024
Goodreads rating: 4.10
My rating: 4 (with reservation,  hard to rate)
Setting: Contemporary 

My comments: This took me a little while to get into but ended up being a solid mystery.  Something happened at the very end of the book, though, that I didn't understand because I must have missed a tiny something somewhere earlier; the boy delivering the package containing the last painting; a boy with a scarred hand that Rooker recognized.  (Later note:  oh my, this was explained in one of the reviews on Goodreads by "Shivam," thank goodness!)  I get the feeling this may be the introduction to another story?     

     The protagonist, Rooker Lindstrom, a man with an agonizingly horrible past, a man who has sustained incredible psychological abuse - as well as physical - a man raised by a psychopath who killed, then beheaded many women - becomes the hero of the story.  I can't wait to read more about his upcoming life and escapades.  

     Lots of confusion in the storytelling, as well as a dozen red herrings.  I still totally enjoyed it, but not sure how to rate it because of flaws.....

Goodreads synopsis:  An investigative journalist on the edge. A serial killer testing his limits. What they have in common can freeze the blood.

Still reeling from a personal tragedy, investigative journalist Rooker Lindström finds a grim hideaway from the world. It’s the dilapidated cabin on Minnesota’s Deer Lake bequeathed to him by his late father—one of the most notorious serial killers in the state. If the walls of this murder house could talk, they’d scream.

Detective Tess Harlow needs something from Rooker only he can provide: a window into the mind of a murderer. A copycat is on the prowl, following in the footsteps of Rooker’s father. After reluctantly agreeing to take on the role of consultant, Rooker makes a chilling discovery. Every victim—five and counting—is a depraved taunt meant only for him. Rooker is not just tracking a killer playing sick games. In this brutal Minnesota winter, Rooker is confronting his past.

Maybe working with Tess is Rooker’s last chance at redemption. But to outrun his father’s legacy, he must follow a darker path still to come.