What I’m Reading

2025

• A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’engle (5 stars). This is one of my favorite books. So smart and so well written! So good!
• The True Confessions of Charlott Doyle by Avi (5 stars). Another great read that presents a story full of mystery and heart. Don’t even get me started about the phenomenal character development and arc of the main character, Charlott Doyle. I’m still geeking out about it.

2024

• Not the End of the World by Geraldine McCaughrean (1 star) This is a retelling of the story of Noah’s Ark. Besides some glaring plots holes, the writing was just meh.
• Ben Franklin and the Chamber of Time by Chris Heimerdinger (3 stars) This is a time travel book about founding father Benjamin Franklin accidentally landing in the 1990’s. It was a pretty good plot. I think the climax at the end could have been explained better, and there were some dialogue moments that were cheesy and contrived, but, overall, it was pretty good.
• Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington (5 stars) This book is SO good! It should be required reading for everyone.
• The Fourth Nephite by Jeffrey Savage (2 stars). I think this is one of Jeffrey Savage’s earlier books. It had an interesting plot and had a fairly good climax. Kind of cheesy dialogue, though.
• The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis (5 stars). This book was a pleasure to read as always.
• As You Wish by Chelsea Sedoti (3 stars). This was a really compelling and thought provoking plot. It was very well-written and I couldn’t put it down, but I’m only giving it three stars because of the large amount of profanity, teen promiscuity, and substance abuse littered throughout the book. That was really off-putting and didn’t enhance the story. It’s unfortunate that it was written in there.
• Educated by Tara Westover (4 stars). Wow, this was a compelling read! I couldn’t put it down. (4 stars only because I doubt the accuracy of the narrative, which is supposedly non-fiction).

• Writing with Style: Conversations on the Art of Writing (Second Edition) by John R. Trimble (4 stars). –This is one of the best books on writing I’ve ever read, not because it says anything remarkably new about writing, but because it is so much fun to read. Definitely not your average, every day English textbook.
• Short Stories from The Contemporary American Essay Edited by Phillip Lopate:
  • Home Alone by Terry Castle (3 stars)– interesting, but dull at times
  • Matricide by Meghan Daum (4 stars) –this is such a good, symbolic journey through the heartache and strain that sometimes exists between mother and daughter.
  • The Case of the Angry Daughter by Rivka Galchen (3 stars) –Interesting because it is written like a detective novel; however, I was put off by the lack of discipline of the child.
  • The Aquarium by Aleksander Hemon (5 stars) –beautifully heart wrenching and well written, this may be one of my new favorite essays.
  • The Empathy Exams by Leslie Jamison (3 stars) –Captured my interest and held it, interesting comparisons about roles we play in life.
  • Experience Necessary by Phillip Lopate (4 stars) –Only read this one if you’ve got life experience or you won’t get it. Poignant look at all forms of experience, even the little things in life.
  • Bodies in Motion and at Rest by Thomas Lynch (4 stars) — Very matter of fact way of discussing death and life from the point of view of an undertaker. Such an interesting take.
  • Homeschool by Meghan O’Gieblyn (3 stars) –interesting read about something I care very much about. I’m a little disappointed that the essay delved into the worn out stereotype of homeschooling as an oddity. Successful homeschooling would be a more refreshing topic.
  • Gray Area: Thinking With a Damaged Brain by Floyd Skloot (3 stars) –Interesting read about trying to hold on to memory as we age. Well written

• Words Like Loaded Pistols: Rhetoric From Aristotle to Obama by Sam Leith (3 stars) –great guide to writing using literary tools, but dry in some places.
• Villette by Charlotte Bronte (5 stars) –I didn’t give it five stars until the last 100 pages. Up until then it was just *meh* 2 1/2 stars, but all the elements come together in a way that made me go, “wait, what?!” and then read back through passages to see that the clues were there all along. Brilliant!
• Various Collection of Poetry by the Bronte Sisters (1 star) –I know I’m supposed to rate this higher since it is classic literature and all, but, geez, I just could not get into it. (Or stay awake long enough to pull meaning from it,)
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (4 stars) –Wow! What a plot twist, eh? It was a good read except at the end (*mild spoiler alert ahead!*) when she finds out that the very people who she randomly bumped into are actually her cousins. Really? Broke my suspension of disbelief a lil’ bit.
• The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte (5 stars) (Tell me you’re in a Bronte class without telling me you’re in a Bronte class) –I really liked this one. It was well written, suspenseful, romantic, heart breaking…all the things. No complaints here.
• Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (3 stars) –wow, what a crazy bunch. Never in all my years have I ever felt so mentally unstable as when I was lost in this landscape. That unrequited passion, man, it’s killer.

• Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates by Brian Kilmeade and Don Yeager (4 stars) –SO interesting!
• The Duel: The Parallel Lives of Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr by Judith St. George (4 stars) –Why don’t we settle our differences with duels anymore? Oh yeah, because they’re a dumb way to die, but really interesting to read about! We often think of our founding fathers as stuffy and uptight, but they weren’t. They dueled!
• Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters by Mark Dunn (5 stars) –So good! You’ve heard of a war of words, but how about a war over words? This book makes me double appreciate and love the beauty of language.
• The Book of the Farm by Henry Stephens (4 stars) –This read is inspired by my dearest Netflix Binge, “Victorian Farm.” This is their Farm Bible that they used in recreating a Victorian Farm. I’ve watched the series 4 times! And the book is as close to time travel as you will get.
• Wheelock’s Latin (7th Edition) by Frederic M. Wheelock and Richard A. LaFleur (3 stars) –Yup. I’m learning Latin. Mostly because that sentence alone makes me sound smarter than I am, but also because I love making connections about the origins of words. This is a good textbook if you want a thorough guide to Linguae Latinae.

• The Price we Paid: The extraordinary Story of the Willie and Martin Handcart Pioneers by Andrew D. Olsen (5 stars) –Fascinating, in depth look at the journey of individuals in the ill-fated Mormon Handcart Company.
• Bea’s Book: Autobiography of Beatrice Beverege (5 stars) –My great-grandmother! This was so interesting and so well written!
• Black Beauty by Anna Sewell (4 stars) –interesting story, written from the horse’s perspective. There is enough detail to really capture what life at the turn of the century was like.
• Hatchet by Gary Poulsen (5 stars) –This book is going to fuel my survival daydreams for many, many days.
• Emma by Jane Austen (5 stars) –May be one of my most favorite books. Ever.
• The Mysteries of Beethoven’s Hair by Russell Martin (5 stars) –A lock of Beethoven’s hair is confirmed to be his through modern day DNA testing, then traces the history of ownership over 100 years. Wow, who knew hair could be so interesting!
• Theodore Roosevelt and the Industrial Revolution by (I can’t remember and I already took it back to the library) (5 stars) –a history textbook that reads like a novel? Yes, please! This was so interesting to read!