What I'm reading Wednesday...

After finishing the 2026 reading challenge, I felt like I needed something super easy.  I picked a book off of my Kindle that's been there for an age...well...for five years or so anyway.  This is the last book of a series about a quilting group which stumbles into many murder investigations.  

The plots of the series were a bit unbelievable, but easy to pick up and put down, and the characters are likeable.  

Now I'm reading Lady Tremaine which I checked out from the library.  It's not as easy, and I'm slower at making progress.  It's a retelling of the Cinderella story from the point of view of the stepmother.  It makes her more human, as it tells of her struggles trying to keep up appearances, keep food on the table, and keep up the decaying noble house and land that her husband left her upon his death.

Hoping I can get it finished before the borrowing period is up.

What I'm reading Wednesday...

 Fifty-second finish of the year.

This one wraps up the 2026 Reading Challenge for me.  I had left the 'Published in 2026' prompt for the last.  I actually think I've read a couple of other ones that were published this year, but they easily fit in other prompts, so counted them there.  

I liked this one.  I've never read anything by Michael Connelly before, and I've kind of moved out of my detective-story phase, but we are reading this one for bookclub soonish, and I wanted to read it while a friend had it available to share with me.  I liked the characters.  Writing was good.  

Dogs as I See Them by Lucy Dawson

This one was purchased for $2.99 on Kindle a week or so ago.  I couldn't resist all the adorable terriers in its pages.  It was a very short read, as there are very few written words, just short descriptions of the personalities of the dogs modeling for the artist (they aren't all terriers).  I probably will check it out from the library at some point to see the drawings on the paper page instead of the ebook version I have.

What I'm reading Wednesday...

Prompt #13 - Bookface

This prompt really intrigued and challenged me this year.  Here is a sample of the trend of 'bookface':

Bookface samples from www.boredpanda.com/bookface-challenge/

Follow the link above to see more examples, some of them are so imaginative!  As I was contemplating what book to use for this prompt, I realized how complicated it could get.  I decided to look for a book that would match my model.

So without further ado, may I present my version of 'bookface'...

I browsed Amazon for a cover that would work for my intent, and ordered a used copy.  Frankly I can't believe how (relatively) easy it was to get this photo.  Rudy had a vet appointment yesterday, which always wears him out...so many new people...so many new animals all in one place.  He wants to interact with every single one of them.  So when we got home he was exhausted, and I was able to get a few minutes of subdued cooperation from him to snap this photo.  :)

He has to go back to the vet today for an ex-ray.  There was no containing (constraining?) him yesterday, so they sent us home with some 'relaxing' meds to give him last night before bed and this morning before his appointment.  Hoping it does the trick so they can get an ex-ray without having to fully sedate him.  The vet heard a heart murmur during yesterday's exam, so they wanted to get a pic of his innards to look for any problem visually before prescribing him meds, and to have as a baseline for future reference.  He has slowed down a bit since he turned ten earlier this year, but he can still run circles around me...literally!

Now back to what I'm reading Wednesday and the 2026 challenge...

Fifty-first challenge finish of the year.

It's a childrens' chapter book from Tasmanian authors.  A little challenging as the authors use made-up words and put a glossary at the end of every chapter.  (Example:  Bathwater.  One of the worst swear words I know. )  I believe this is one of a series of a dozen or so.

Kind of a cute story.  It definitely gives a good representation of terrier breeds.

What I am reading Wednesday...

Forty-eighth challenge finish of the year.

I found a prompt to to put my book club selection under!  I had to Google to check that boredom is an emotion (never really thought of it as an emotion).  It is.  Then I Googled whether one could be intensely bored (it seemed like an oxymoron to me); it turns out people do suffer from intense boredom.  So, yay, there is my strong emotion!  LOL

This is about a butler (from early to mid 1900s).  His job was how he defined himself.  He had no clue how to relate to people in a personal way.  I wanted to slap him and scream.  Oh, look!  Anger is another strong emotion it provoked.  :)

Forty-ninth challenge finish of the year.

I have been dreading this prompt all year, as I'm not much of a fantasy genre fan.  One of this author's books was listed as a candidate for this prompt on the Goodreads community page.  I didn't find the one that was mentioned available at my library, but I found this one, In Calabria.  It was a quick read at under 200 pages.  

This modern-day fable was about a farmer who's property is visited by a unicorn.  It was a sweet story about the farmer and his animals and neighbors.  I'm still multitasking, so listened to the audiobook.  I have to say that the narration of this one was delightful.  

Fiftieth challenge finish of the year.

The Armand Gamache series of mysteries isn't necessarily a favorite, but they are reliably sure of including a red herring; and the cast of characters are growing on me.  :)  

I feel like these last few prompts didn't excite me, so I put off reading books that would fill them.  

What I'm reading Wednesday...

Forty-sixth challenge finish of the year.

Interesting premise.  Would you like a chance to have one last meal with a lost loved one, to ask a question, share something left unsaid, or just be in their presence one more time?

Unfortunately it was looooooooong, and all the things I hate in a book.  Chapters from different characters points of view...some chapters I couldn't even grasp which character was speaking.  The descriptions of food which would call your departed loved one was detailed, wordy, went on and on, neverending; I think you get my drift.  

Then, when things go awry, the veil between this world and the next is ripped, ghosts are hangry and all in attendance at the restaurant's opening night, and it was like the climactic scene from the original Poltergeist movie.  Nope!  No more.  Just...no.

I did finish it, but out of self preservation I skimmed great swaths of it, picking out just enough to be able to follow the story.  Honestly, I wish I hadn't, but after spending so much time in it, I wanted to be able to count it for the challenge.

Perhaps the most ludicrous of all?  After acquiring a backer to open a swanky restaurant (a mob boss), and spending a fortune and so much effort...they name the restaurant "Duh."

Will I be reading any other work from this author?  Uh, no.  Duh!

 

What I'm reading Wednesday...

Forty-fifth challenge finish of the year.

This is a compilation of stories originally published in Texas Monthly with follow ups after each chapter.

I heard the author interviewed about this new (at the time) book of his on NPR several months ago.  I've long admired his work as an award-winning journalist for Texas Monthly magazine; I see that he is now an executive editor there.  

A few days after hearing that interview, I received an email from Amazon that this book was specially priced at $1.99 for a limited time.  I already knew I wanted to read it, so was only too happy to get a deal on it.  When I realized that the subtitle fit a prompt of the challenge, it sealed the deal.

 

What I'm reading Wednesday...

Forty-fourth challenge finish of the year.  

I finished this last night.  Heard good things about this.  Waited on reserve list for ages.  Had high hopes.

I liked most of it, but I didn't love it.  Felt like it took forever to make progress.  It lagged, and could have used more editing.  The main character was likable and kind, but his true identity, most of his personal history, and motives were kept secret from the other characters and the reader until the last couple of chapters.

Now is where this description and review get difficult for me.  There were a few (pretty few) references to Christianity throughout the book; and at the end of the book they became more frequent and overt.  

I am a Christian, let me say that right out.  Still, I am not crazy about fiction that does not let people know that the book is written from a Christian viewpoint right from the beginning.  It somehow seems disingenuous to me to find that out halfway through the book.  I feel like people of other faiths, should be aware before investing money and time reading something that may not interest them.  

I realize that Christian fiction is one way to reach out to people.  I personally usually find it written for a lower level of reader, and I imagine that that is done to reach a wider audience of people who may need to 'hear the message.'  I just feel that people's right to choice should be respected, and that they should know from the outset what they are embarking on.

I know, and love, people who have a different point of view about this.  I continue to love them.  I hope they continue to love me.

Now I have until Friday morning to finish this month's selection for book club.

What I'm reading Wednesday...

Forty-second challenge finish of the year.

This book won the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction (2025), The Winston Graham Historical Prize (2025), and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize (2025).  It also was New York Times Editors' Choice, NPR Best Book of 2025, New Yorker Best Book of 2025, and the Shelf Awareness Best Book of 2025.

I rarely like prize winning books.  It always seems like I must be missing what the hype is about.  This did not change that feeling.  However, I listened to it as an audiobook, and I am almost tempted to read a hard copy just to see if that makes a difference.  I kept falling asleep, and then would have to rewind to find the spot I fell asleep, so I may have missed something important.  But I opted for the audiobook, because it was available through our library, and the library does not have the hard copy, or even ebook.  The Kindle version is $12.99, and a hard copy or paperback are priced even higher than that.  I don't want to spend that much just hoping that I might like it, when I'm pretty sure I won't.

So I'm going to call this good enough.

 

Forty-third challenge finish of the year.

I liked this more than I thought I would at the outset.  It was about an abusive marriage and the children born into it.  It started out with the abused wife being ordered to go to the registry office to add the newborn's name to the birth certificate.  The abusive husband insisted on having the baby named after him (a family name of several generations), but the mother of the child believes that the choice of name will affect the life of the child given it.  So she has a list of three possible names.  

For the rest of the book, the chapters are from the point of view of the life of the child as his life would turn out with each of the three names.  I'm probably not explaining that very well.  I don't usually like when each chapter is from a different character's point of view, but this one was interesting, as each lifetime of the three child names lays out a complete change of circumstances for each.  

I liked it very much.  Now that I'm thinking about it, I'm not even sure which name was 'actually' chosen, but I enjoyed each of the 'lives' they lived.

Half of the year has gone by!  I have nine prompts yet to fulfill for the challenge.  Eleven of the prompts completed so far were with books that have been on my Kindle for a long while, and now they are read!  It doesn't sound too impressive, but it's a full quarter of all the books I've read for the year so far.  I'm not sure how I will do at filling remaining prompts with books already on my to-be-read pile, but will continue to strive for that goal.

What I'm reading Wednesday...

Forty-first challenge finish of the year.

It may be a bit of a stretch to say this is 'Related to the Word "Nemesis" '.  My reasoning?  In the begining of the book, the main character was a professor of physics and astronomy.  She has a lifelong fascination with the stars.  Later in the book she shares her love of astronomy by helping a fellow NASA trainee to identify constellations in order to help with navigating without instruments.

They talk about the mythology behind different constellations; specifically they discuss Cygnus, the Swan.  In one myth, the goddess Nemesis was a beauty, and Zeus wanted her.  She transformed herself into different animals to escape him.  When she transformed into a goose, Zeus disguised himself as a swan and caught her.  Later he placed the constellation Cygnus in the sky to commemorate his conquest of her.

So Atmosphere is distantly related to the word 'Nemesis.'  I wish I could have worked the phrase 'in a galaxy far, far away' into this post.  Alas, Cygnus is in our own Milky Way galaxy.  ;)

I liked the book.  There were tears.  We took a little jaunt over to a somewhat nearby town today (an hour and a half one way) for lunch at a restaurant that we like.  I finished the book on the way.  It was a four-napkin cry.  Carey, very wisely, pretended not to notice the tears.  He almost cried tears of his own when we pulled into the restaurant parking lot to find a sign on the door, 'Closed Today for Family Emergency.' 

What I'm reading Wednesday...

Fortieth challenge finish of the year.

Set in 1903 Canada, the main character has killed her abusive husband, and she is running from his two brothers who are intent on seeing her punished one way or another.

I found this at the library, and the cover on the copy I borrowed showed a woman leading a horse through a snowy forest.  I'm a sucker for historical survival stories, so the front cover art and the back cover blurb made me pick it up.  I had absolutely no idea how, or even if, I could make it count toward the challenge.  

I have a habit of of reading the stuff at the back of the book.  This one had the  author's acknowledgements, a conversation between the author and another author (Michael Ondaatje), and a list of books the author used in writing this one.  In the authors' conversation, Mr. Ondaatje says "...And there is a deus ex machina moment late in the book."

Well, thank you, Mr. Ondaatje, for telling me exactly which prompt I could fit this under!  And in a way that was a very 'deus ex machina moment late in the book' just for me!  Just see the definition below.  :)

Deus ex machina:  a plot device in which a seemingly impossible problem is abruptly resolved by an unexpected, often highly convenient occurrence."

By the way, I didn't recognize the event in the book that Mr. Ondaatje was talking about as deus ex machina, so it's just a darn good thing that he spelled it out for me.  LOL

What I'm reading Wednesday...

Thirty-seventh challenge finish of the year.

This is June's book club selection, and I went into it with low expectations.  I thought it was a cozy mystery, which I don't usually like.  But this one was a pleasant surprise.  The main characters are four women who  have been contract killers for forty years and have now reached retirement age.  They work for an 'agency' whose targets are all people who escape justice:  in the old days they were nazi art thieves, more currently they are drug triffickers, human trafickers, etc.

Thirty-eighth challenge finish of the year.

I found this book on my library's Cloud Website page when I was searching for something else.  I would have passed this one by, but I noticed the diacritical marks in the author's last name.

It was a short read at 153 pages.  It was...interesting.  The two main characters are neighbors who have not met until one of them has a cat who keeps turning up at the other one's house.  They bond over the cat, and come to realize that they both have really awful boyfriends.  

Thirty-ninth challenge finish of the year.

I have been meaning to read this one for so long.  Noticed that the library finally had the audiobook available for checkout.  Fourteen plus hours, and I listened to all of them today.  I didn't even speed the playback much, just 1.2, because for a change I LOVED this narration.  And I almost always love anything Mr. King writes.  Except Pet Sematary; that one scared me so bad I gave up reading the authors books for ten or so years.  It was because of the part where the toddler gets hit by a truck...I had a toddler at the time...just couldn't get the picture out of my head.  But that's another book.  THIS book was excellent!

What I'm reading Wednesday...

 

Thirty-fifth challenge finish of the year.

This is a newly published continuation of the story of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek.  It was very satisfying follow through with the characters, and I really enjoyed reading it.  The vivid descriptions of sights and sounds put me right into the setting with them.  This is the third book I've read by this author.  All very good.  

Thirty-sixth challenge finish of the year.

Took me awhile to settle on a book for this prompt.  Then I was reminded that in the movie The Princess Bride, the grandfather is shown holding and reading the book of the same name to his grandson.  Since I knew I've had the book on my Kindle (since 2012), I decided it followed the intent of the prompt close enough (as well as  my own intent to get books I already own read!) 

I did enjoy it, but it was a bit challenging.  Having already seen the movie, which was pretty straight forward as fairy tales go, I wasn't prepared for the satyrical bent of the rest of the book.  It was a work of metafiction in which the author breaks the fourth wall, and speaks directly to the reader.  I didn't realize that the 'introductions' of the anniversary editions of the story were actually not introductions, but were how the  original story was spun by the author; also the follow up story at the end of the book was actually still part of the original story.  It made it difficult to understand where to start and stop reading. I don't always read introductions, and I did skip part of it in this one, only to find that I needed to go back and read it.

It was very imaginative with the inclusion of actual living people.  I found myself wondering if the author had to get their permission to include them in the story.  Once I caught on (thanks to some research on the book and author), it made more sense to me.  The portion that was made into the movie was followed pretty closely, and had additional back story of the characters' histories which was enjoyable.

What I'm reading Wednesday...

Thirty-first challenge finish of the year.

Once in awhile I get a wild hair to read a book that I probably should have read in high school.  As I was consulting Goodreads 52-Books-2026-Challenge page for this prompt, nothing was calling out to me, but then I saw that this was a suggestion for 'featuring a conspiracy.'  I've never read it, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

Conspiracy and dystopian novels are not usually genres that I pick up to read for fun.  This one didn't do much to change that.  I checked this one out from the library as an audiobook, so I could kill two birds with one stone (and keep working at organizing my new cardmaking area that we moved into the guest room...I call it the 'annex,' as all my quilting supplies stayed in the original craft room).

Now, I have listened to more audiobooks this year than I have during the previous 68 years of my life, and I know I have mentioned that I don't usually love the narration.  This may be why I didn't like this book better.  It just seemed to never end.  I'm writing about this on Thursday afternoon, and the book was set to be returned to the library at 5:00 p.m., so I had to power through.

I think I will just say this about it using a reference from the book.  If I were sent to "Room 101," it would probably be after being told I would be there for an eternity, and I would walk in to find that the room was filled with books, and every single one of them was this one.  I'm giving it 3 stars, because it is a classic after all...it was very imaginative and well written...but OMG it was a real downer.

Thirty-second challenge finish of the year.

I usually get bored with long series unless I really like the characters.  And I really do like the characters in this series...particularly the dog.  :)  The main characters are a deputy sheriff and her K-9 partner.  I like all the regular secondary characters as well.  One of the secondary characters is a veterinarian, as is the author's real-life husband, so the animal healthcare in the books seem pretty realistic.

She has a new book coming out in September of this year.  I look forward to it.

What I'm reading Wednesday...

Thirtieth challenge finish of the year.

I just finished this afternoon, and really enjoyed it.  I hadn't read anything by this nineteenth-century author before.  This was originally serialized in a Victorian periodical in England.  And I believe I remember that when published in book form (in 1855?) there were some rewrites or additional chapters included.  It came in at 498 pages, and I'm going to say it again, the font on those 498 pages must have been really small, because it took an age for me to finish.  I read it on my Kindle, so I can't swear to that.

Strong characters, and even secondary characters were well developed and likeable for the most part.  Glad I gave it a go for this prompt.  

What I'm reading Wednesday...

 

28th challenge finish of the year.

It was about British female convicts being transported to Van Diemen's Island (present-day Tasmania) by ship; dangers, challenges, relationships among strangers torn from everything familiar.

I liked it.  I read through the night to finish it.  The characters were likable, and the story was interesting.  And yet it somehow left me not quite satisfied.  It felt a bit rushed in places.

Twenty-ninth challenge finish of the year.

I really do love Elizabeth Berg's work.  This is her brand new one, just released, and I was excited to see that my library already had it in their "new acquisitions," so I got on the reserve list and received it almost immediately.  Her prose are spot on, characters to care about, and I don't think I've ever found anything to complain about in the books of hers that I've read.

This one is about a ninety-two year old woman who is wrapping up her life.  She never had children, so she is leaving her house to the child who grew up next door and with whom she had an almost familial relationship.  She is writing a letter, explaining and telling stories about the house and its contents, and sharing memories and advice with this child/woman.

Having grown up on a wonderful homey street myself, surrounded by neighbors where, when I knocked on their doors, they would always take me in for a visit or a snack or a baby chick (but that's my story, not this book's), it brought back some wonderful memories, and makes me wonder what I should share in letters to ones I love.

I have another two audiobooks also from the library.  I am listening to the first one while I go through boxes of stuff that needs to be dealt with in an unsentimental way (45% discards / 45% donates / 10% [or less] keep) is my goal.

What I'm reading Wednesday...

Twenty-seventh challenge finish of the year.

Ugh.  I begrudged the reading time it took to slog my way through this one.  The setting was a large, decrepit manor house in the English countryside.  The owners, though going broke, were hosting a big house party for their estranged daughter's birthday.  Lots and LOTS of characters to keep up with, more than a few of which kept switching identities with other party attendees.  It was torture to try to keep up.

Oh, and did I mention that each day magically started over on the day before, during which the characters switched to yet other party-attendees' identities?  And they did not retain the memories of the day 'before,' so they wrote themselves notes and hoped to come across them.  By the fourth replay of the eve of the party, I was SO exhausted with this book.  However, by this time, I was so tired of the 'secret identity' trope, that I did not want to read another entire book using it; so I persevered.  I skimmed some before switching to the audiobook version which I checked out from the library.  I think I listened to it at double time while I did other things around the house.

I finished, FINALLY, but I hated almost every minute, every page, every freakin' identity switch and day replay.  Obviously I do not recommend this book.

**Post edited to remove the Ada Blalckjack book, as it was included in this week's post by mistake.  I had forgotten that it was in last week's post.

What I'm reading Wednesday...

 

Twenty-fifth challenge finish of the year.

This is my second reading of this book.  In 2017, I rated it 10/10, and wrote this:  A septuagenarian woman approaches a neighbor, the widower of a former acquaintance, with a proposal.  She wonders if he might sleep with her...just to hear someone breathing in the bed next to her at night, to talk to in the dark.  It was such a sweet story, and the Netflix Original movie version with Robert Redford and Jane Fonda was wonderful as well.

I loved it just as much this time.

Twenty-sixth challenge finish of the year.

Found this one on the Goodreads 52 Book Club 2026 Challenge Community.  The complete title/subtitle is 'Ada Blackjack: A True Story of Survival in the Arctic.'  Ada was an indigenous woman hired by the expedition because she could speak and write English and was a skilled seamstress.  Having a sick child to support, and an absent husband, she went along.  Other indigenous people who had signed on, backed out before the outset, so Ada was the lone woman with the group made up of men.

And with this one behind me, I am half-way through the challenge.

What I'm reading Wednesday...

 

Twenty-third challenge finish of the year.

This crime fiction > courtroom drama is a genre and sub genre I used to read a LOT of, but for some reason kind of got away from.  This is the first I've read in a long time, and it was well done.  I came across this 'author' while sorting donated books at the library, so I knew that Perri O'Shaughnessy is the pseudonym for two sisters, one a trial lawyer for sixteen years, and one a writer.  This title is the first in a series.

Twenty-fourth challenge finish of the year.

What can I say about this?  Not my genre.  Not my trope.  I thought about reading Jane Eyre for this prompt, and I wish I had!  But I thought I would try to stay close to the prompt's seemed intent.  I found this one free to borrow from Kindle Unlimited.

The subtitle for this book was too long to put in the graphic: A Hilarious Small Town Rom-Com of a Grumpy Mountain Man and the Surrogate For His Child.

Not sure how to describe this without sounding prudish.  Maybe I'll just say that I give this two stars for writing, plot, etc.  But I give it FIVE red hot peppers for sexual content.  If that's your deal, go for it; if it's not your deal, then turn away.  This is the first of a trilogy, but I think I've read enough.

What I'm reading Wednesday...

 

Twenty-first challenge finish of the year.

Seemed to take a long time to get through this one.  Story of Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis' relationship going from US/UK correspondence to eventual marriage.  It seemed to be well researched, and a subject the author cared about.  However I couldn't quite get invested in the characters.  

Twenty-second challenge finish of the year.

This falls under the old adage of 'don't judge a book by its cover.'  This cover art is one which is in the trend that I hold a particular dislike for.  To me it kind of screams CHICK LIT which is not my favorite genre.  But this was my book club's selection for this month so I figured I should make an effort.

The club meets at my house this Friday.  My house is not ready for company (for reasons I will probably post about later), so I looked everywhere I could think of for a way to borrow the audiobook, but all options had long wait lists.  I finally resorted to using one of my Audible credits to purchase it, and I listened to it while I did other things around the house. 

The 'castle' setting was one of the gilded-age mansions built in Rhode Island which was the wedding venue; it was the closest I could come to getting it to fit into one of the prompts.  It IS chick lit, but wasn't mind-numbing pap.  The characters were likable and their development was pretty good.  I didn't love it, but it was better than I expected, and I feel good about getting it done so I can take part in the discussion.

What I'm reading Wednesday...

Nineteenth challenge finish of the year.

This one has been on my Kindle since 2013.  It took me over a week to finish; I've had other stuff going on.  My daughter and I were reading it at the same time; I finished it last night, she finished it today.  I was reading it on my Kindle; she was reading a paperback, but may have switched over to audiobook, as she said the print in the paperback was almost too small to read.  At 416 pages of tiny print, maybe that's why it took me so long.  I really thought she was going to beat me to the finish line.

I didn't love it, and can't put my finger on why.  The main characters were likable, most of the secondary characters not so much.  I was contemplating exactly what kept me from really liking it.  It is based in Greek mythology, and as I was thinking back to high school literature classes, I realized I didn't enjoy learning about mythology even then.  So maybe I can chalk it up to it just not being a genre I enjoy.

 

Twentieth challenge finish of the year.

I don't like to try to rate non-fiction.  I'll say that it is not light reading.  This was along the lines of a journal written by C.S. Lewis as a way to work through his grief after his wife died from cancer.  

Tomorrow will be the 27th anniversary of the death of my best friend, also from cancer.  Did I pick this one now on purpose?  I didn't think so, but perhaps.  I will probably read it again.  It's impossible to absorb and process something this deep in one read through.  But it had enough points I agreed with that I would like to revisit it.

I'm now about halfway through the bigraphical fiction book about C.S. Lewis and his wife that will fill prompt 45.

 

The first quarter of the year is behind us already!  I'm satisfied with the challenge progress I've made so far.  I've read books for each prompt that has red arrows at their number.  And if a prompt number has two red arrows pointing to it, it means the book that I read for that one has been lingering on my Kindle for a loooong time.