2024 books

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A summary from Goodreads is below. I read a lot of good books this year. Most memorable include Shark Heart, Remarkably Bright Creatures, The Women and Guncle. Unexpected delights by Dee McDonald. I’m keeping my goal at 42 again this year and hope to surpass it! More reading in 2025! Cheers!

2024
My Year in Books
14,442 pages read

42 books read

Shortest book: Two Women Walk into a Bar by Cheryl Strayed (31 pages)

Longest Book: The Rose Code by Kate Quinn (624 pages)

Average book length in 2024: 335 pages

MY 2024 BOOKS
The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger
* The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan
Two Women Walk into a Bar by Cheryl Strayed
The Book Club Hotel by Sarah Morgan
The Hole We’re In by Gabrielle Zevin
The Five-Star Weekend by Elin Hilderbrand
* In a Book Club Far Away by Tif Marcelo
Spare by Prince Harry
Jacqueline in Paris by Ann Mah
* The Women by Kristin Hannah
Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler
The Marriage Sabbatical by Lian Dolan
* The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xóchitl González
The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny
* The Rose Code by Kate Quinn
Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez
* The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley
Funny Story by Emily Henry
The Guncle by Steven Rowley
Shark Heart by Emily Habeck
* The Silver Ladies of Penny Lane by Dee MacDonald
The Guncle Abroad by Steven  Rowley
Honey by Isabel Banta
The Golden Oldies Guesthouse by Dee MacDonald
* A Thousand Voices by Lisa Wingate
One-Star Romance by Laura Hankin
Sandwich by Catherine Newman
* The Teacher by Freida McFadden
The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune
The Golden Gals’ French Adventure by Judy Leigh
* Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin
* Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid
‘Tis the Damn Season by Fiona Gibson
Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten
The Answer Is No by Fredrik Backman
Angel Falls by Kristin Hannah
The Christmas Book Hunt by Jenny Colgan
The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter

* equals Book Club Books 2024

why do I have a blog?

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I haven’t been on the blog since January 2024, when I posted my 2023 book list. We’re hurtling towards the end of 2024, and I’m on track to meet my reading goal (42 books), so soon I’ll be creating that post.

Aside from my reading goal, I have other things that I have been working on in 2024 with my theme word of the year: CORE. I’ve taken pilates and yoga classes, I’ve been writing daily in my “Some Lines a Day” journal, I’ve made playlists for 2024 and for othher special events, and I’ve been writing letters to August and Juni. There are things I’d still like to do, like make chicken tikka masala and to watch some good movies.

I guess I tend to mini-blog through Instagram. so maybe I’ll have to reconsider having this blog… but I don’t want to lose all these thoughts, so I’ll have to ponder…

Books I read in 2023

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41 books this year, listed below in the order I read them. You’ll notice some authors appear more than once (Abby Jimenez, Lisa See, Emily Henry), some are work-related, and all the books with an * designate that we read them for Book Club (7 books and a yearly plan completed in 2023!).

Enjoy the list, with a few thoughts as they come!

Flying Solo by Linda Holmes
Linda Holmes is a podcaster I enjoy listening to (Pop Culture Happy Hour) and this is her second novel. Good stuff!

The Guest List by Lucy Foley *
Our first book club book of 2023 – and a suspense-filled one it was!

Lunar Love by Lauren Kung Jessen
Predictable and fun.

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
Haunting and memorable. So good.

Layover (short story) by Emily Henry

Last Circle of Love by Lorna Landvik
Love me some Lorna!

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry *
You’ll notice lots of Emily Henry – again!

The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why it Matters by Priya Parker
Learned about this through podcasts. Great podcast during COVID times and great instagram all the time.

Love Poems for Anxious People by John Kenney
A silly and delightful little book.

Love & Saffron by Kim Fay
Told in letters – great fun!

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Great story… an author that is solid.

Truly, Madly, Guilty by Liane Moriarty
I listened to this and didn’t find it wonderful

The Dry by Jane Harper *
Book in a bag – Great suspense!

Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez
Saw this author at RPL – great book, great to listen to her.

Atomic Habits: An Easy Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones by James Clear

The Long Way Back by Nicole Baart
Pre-release read – suspenseful!

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry
Haunting depiction of addition; made his death seem even more sad because of reading it.

Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradahl
Met this author in Rushford – inspiration for our Supper Club Tour!

Saints for All Occasions by J. Courtney Sullivan
I love J. Courtney Sullivan books… great characters.

Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez
Another Jimenez book… another winner!

I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
Listened to the audio… what a horrible childhood.

My Antonia by Willa Cather *
What a treat. Listened to the audio and read along. Great book recommended by ChatGPT!

Trauma Stewardship: An Everyday Guide for Caring for Self While Caring for Others
Work work work… and a great book for the work we do.

Dreams of Joy by Lisa See
I love Lisa See books. I listened to this one and it was sort of plodding but good characters.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
What a delight. So unexpected. So good.

The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald *
Another delight and filled with books books books! Lovely story!

Happy Place by Emily Henry
Another Henry – good stuff.

Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See
Predictably good.

Truth or Beard by Penny Reid
A light fluffy read.

Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear *
What a good one this is… want to read more!

The Sweet Spot by Amy Poeppel
I love Poeppel books and this is no exception! Great fun story.

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
So glad I finally got to this, although those WW2 books are difficult.

The Lake House by Kate Morton *
Book club! Ghosts and suspense…

You, Again by Kate Goldbeck
I didn’t love this, but it was ok. Supposed to be “harry met sally-“esque, but just ok.

The House We Grew Up In by Lisa Jewell *
Complex families…

The Christmas Orphans Club by Becca Freeman
A podcaster I listen to and a delightful holiday story!

My Christmas Curse by Joan Gable
Found it on my Kindle…

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
Ah… good stuff.

Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t by Simon Sinek
Work work work…

The Better Half by Alli Frank and Asha Youmans
What a delight! Loved this book. Very fun.

The Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan
A nice holiday treat…

Gratitude 11 and 12

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I knew I wouldn’t be consistent! But here I am .. catching up.

Yesterday was another hot day and we strolled after dark, because it’s dark so early! Hot October days are little gifts. I know they won’t last, so I’m grateful for days with nice weather. 85 in October feels different than 85 in July, after all.

And today… I’m grateful for music. I listen to a lot of podcasts and audiobooks, but Chris listens to different music each night before bed. It’s fun to learn about the bands he loves. We also have been watching Beat Shazam, a game show where you have to quickly identify songs. It’s fun. Lots of genres I’m bad at, but it is fun when you know!

“Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good.”

Maya Angelou

More to come!

Gratitude 10

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Today I turned 55 and celebrated 9 years of marriage. Ah. It was a great day. I’m grateful for the heat, for the walk in the morning, and for the small gathering of friends and family at our favorite taco place. I’m grateful Griffin knows my name and wanted to give me a birthday hug today.

I’m looking forward to some autumn adventures and was able to do some research today for that trip. Ah.

Gratitude 9

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This guy. Days like these.

Tomorrow is our 9th anniversary…

Today we drove. We took twistie roads, ate lunch at a cute cafe and browsed Johnny Appleseed days. We watched pelicans and pointed out colorful trees. We found the end of MN Hwy 55 and drove some of the WI Great River Road.

We never run out of things to talk about: deep and reflective or silly and unimportant. We listen to music and create playlists. We talk about future goals and plans.

Looking forward to celebrating 9 years with many more to come!

A wine tasting with a view

Gratitude 8

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Forgot to write yesterday. It was a great day, filled with good work, good weather, and a good football game. The outcome wasn’t what we wanted but it was respectable and no one got hurt. The band played, the dancers danced, and there was a harvest SuperMoon

Harvest moon, Super moon, September 2023

Gratitude 7

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The ED team, past and present… Mostly past

I’m grateful for these people.

These are the friends I have worked with during the past (almost) 12 years I’ve worked in the ED. We joke about being trauma bonded to each other and there is truth in that. We all know the challenges of our job.

I’m grateful for our history and I’m grateful there are new beginnings.

Some of the same… still my crew.

Our ED crew is changing and that is exciting and I’m grateful for the teaching and learning that is happening daily.

Life is good.

Gratitude 6

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This dude.

August

He turned 8 today.

I’m grateful for him and his inquisitiveness, his love of baseball and activity, and his mathematical mind. I’m grateful for his momma, my one and only, who cares deeply that he will be well-rounded and caring.

Can’t wait to celebrate with him!

Gratitude 5

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Today my employer showed its appreciation for employees. As a team we were able to go get lunch from the food tent, but first we took advantage of the photo booth and registered for door prizes. It was a busy day, but we were able to get away for 30 minutes, listen to live music, and listen to trivia questions. Lunch was delicious and everyone was gracious.

I’m grateful for the team I work with. I’m grateful for my tenure in the job and the culture that I get to influence in some way.

Tomorrow I’ll snap a pic of our photo booth strip and add that. It’s a keeper!