What I Read in 2023

I read 25 books in 2023. Most of them were great. Some were not so great, and I dragged myself through them. Here is the list:

The Gown By Jennifer Robson ~ I really enjoyed this book. It was a delightful historical novel.

The Light We Carry By Michelle Obama ~ This was an excellent and thought-provoking book. Probably worth a second read someday. 

Call the Midwife By Jennifer Worth ~ I love this PBS show and plan to read all of the books in the series. This was the first one and I really enjoyed it. 

The Coffin Quilt By Ann Rinaldi ~ This middle school book was a gentle way to learn more about the Hatfield and McCoy feud. I wanted to know more but without gruesome details. 

The Mapmaker's Children By Sarah McCay ~ This was a fast read and enjoyable peek into John Brown's life and the Underground Railroad. 

At the Edge of the Orchard By Tracy Chevalier ~ This was not my favorite book by Chevalier. It was more intense and depressing than I had hoped.

The Second Mrs Giaconda By E. L. Konigsburg ~ This was another middle school book about who might have been the woman behind the Mona Lisa. A fun and quick read. 

The Lost Girls of Paris By Pam Jenoff ~ This book kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end. It was filled with intrigue and just a bit of suspense. It was interesting to learn about the young women who went behind enemy lines to run the spy radio systems during World War II.

The Address By Fiona Davis ~ This was a wonderful historical novel about the Dakota in New York City. I really enjoyed this one and it was especially interesting, because I had two great-aunts who lived in the building in the 1940's.

Labrador Nurse By B. J. Banfill ~ This book wasn't written well, but the content was interesting. I hung in there because it was so interesting reading about the difficulties of being a nurse in the Canadian wilderness. 

The Lost Jewels  By Krist Manning ~ This was another exciting book about a time period in London that I knew very little about. 

Rules of Civility By Amor Towles~ I enjoyed this fast moving book about people living the high life in  post war New York City. It wasn't as good as A Gentlemen in Moscow by the same author, but I did enjoy it. The book kind of has a Great Gatsby feel. 

Mr. Darcy and The Secret of Becoming a Gentlemen By Maria Hamilton ~ I loved this book. It made Jane Austen's characters come even more alive. A fun updated read on Mr. Darcy and Lizzie's story.

Little House in the Highlands By Melissa Wiley ~ This was a quick read about the strong women who lived before Laura Ingalls Wilder. Enjoyable. A good pick for young ladies. 

Go Set The Watchman By Harper Lee ~ I did like this book, but it was not nearly as good as To Kill a Mockingbird. It felt rushed or underdeveloped. 

Her Heart for a Compass By Sarah, Duchess of York ~ I loved this book. It was intriguing, encouraging and kept me guessing. 

The War That Saved My Life By Kimberly Bradley ~ This was a good book. I liked reading the experiences of World War II through a child's eyes. It was an interesting take and reiterated how even in dark moments sometimes really positive things happen. 

Victoria By Daisy Goodman ~ This was a lovely historical novel about one of England's most influential queens. It was a thick book, but I read it quickly because it was so interesting. 

The Forgotten Garden By Kate Morton ~ This book was filled with mystery and intrigue. I enjoyed it very much. Once again, it kept me guessing until the end. 

The House of Seven Gables By Hawthorne ~ This was not my favorite Hawthorne book, but I did enjoy reading an account of life in the house, since I visited that house a few years ago. 

A Murder is Announced By Agatha Christie ~ I liked this Miss Marple story; it was fun and witty. A perfect Halloween tale. 

Haunted Inns in the Southeast ~ A nice reference book. There were several inns in our area which made it extra fun to read about.

Queen By Right By Ann Easter ~ This was an interesting historical novel about the years leading up to the War of the Roses. I very much enjoyed it.

Christmas Bells By Jennifer Chiaverini ~ This book was about Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and his life leading up to writing the poem, "Christmas Bells". Honestly, I think I would have enjoyed this book more if I hadn't read it at Christmastime. I wanted a happy book, but I stupidly read a book that took place during the Civil War. Also, I didn't know about some of the tragic events that struck this family. It was a bit tough going at times. 

The Autobiography of Santa Claus By Jeff Guinn ~ This was a delightful book and much closer to the cheerful and interesting book I was looking for at this time of year. There is a fair bit of history sprinkled through, too.

I have lots of books already on the shelf for next year. Happy reading!!

Blessings, Dawn

Books I've Been Reading and A Field Trip

We had a nice day trip over Memorial Day weekend. It was nice to get away, but the return trip was a nightmare of traffic. What should have taken one hour to return home took just over three hours. Yikes! But we were still happy that we had left town and explored. We went to Greenville, South Carolina and visited their river park. We also ate lunch out at a restaurant that had outdoor seating (a first for the kids since the pandemic began). We wrapped up our day with a trip to the mall which is double the size of ours and, unlike ours, is thriving. We also attended a movie over the weekend. This was also a first since the pandemic began, and we had lots of fun. We saw Cruella. It was good and a fun re-entry to the movie theater world.  

All of the pictures below are from our visit to Greenville's river park.  I will insert the books I have been reading throughout the post. My goal is to read at least 12 books this year. I will most likely surpass that number, because I have already completed eight. My reading has gone faster than I thought it would. Some of the books were easier books that my kids had read years ago and loved, but I had never gotten to read. They still talk about them, so they must be worth reading.

An Hour Before Daylight by Jimmy Carter ~ This was not a page turner, but I did enjoy learning about the boyhood of one of our former presidents. I didn't know very much about rural farm life in the Deep South. I know a great deal more now. Jimmy Carter is one of those genuinely kind people, and it very much comes through in his book.  

Alexander Hamilton The Outsider by Jean Fritz ~ My kids loved this book and it was good. I enjoyed it and found it chock full of information as is the norm for a Jean Fritz book. 

Becoming by Michelle Obama ~ I loved this book. What a wonderful look into a life of an extraordinary woman. This book became Rebekah's very last assignment for high school. She is almost done and has enjoyed it as well. 

The Charlotte Years on Tide Mill Lane by Melissa Wiley ~ This is one book in an enjoyable series of books that were written about Laura Ingalls Wilder's mother and grandmother. They are fun, quick reads that Rebekah and I  have very much enjoyed over the years. We are slowly collecting the complete sets and this was our most recent find.

  

Evicted by Mathew Desmond ~ This was a very good but hard read. Hard because it really laid out the corruption of landlords, the mishandling of people's lives by government and the desperation of poverty (especially for those with intellectual deficits). This hits especially hard for me because I am raising a handful of high end special needs people that may well fall into this life after I am gone if I don't figure out how to protect them. Also, while reading this, we have been working to transition our daughter (Katie) from one placement to another which is proving much more difficult because she is now an adult. Her social worker even said she could probably handle being independent (although all of her doctors feel she needs tons of support) and that the system could help her if and when she became homeless and couldn't get back on her feet! Of course, we don't want to wait until that happens!

The Children's Blizzard by Melanie Benjamin ~ This has been one of my favorite books this year. It is based on the true story of a terrible blizzard that struck the American West during school hours in 1888 and killed over 200 people (mostly children trying to get home). It was a sad topic, but very well written with an emphasis on the heroes. I always like to read about the everyday heroes.

The Walnut Tree A Holiday Tale by Charles Todd ~ This was an enjoyable and page turning book about a young woman who became a nurse during World War I and found her true calling and true love. 

To School Through the Fields by Alice Taylor ~ This was a gentle story about the author's childhood in rural Ireland in the 1950's, which was not as modernized as the United States was in the fifties. I love historical accounts about normal lives and this one was nicely written. 

Blessings, Dawn