What I Read: October 2024
How is it already November 3rd?
I’m coming off a week of hosting my dad for a semi-surprise visit (he usually calls and says “hey, I’m coming to Wisconsin next week” and that’s the amount of heads up I might get. This is the life of a retired bachelor who lives in his horse trailer.).
We’re prepping to leave town later this week for what might be the longest trip we’ve ever taken with kids (8 whole days, and to a neighboring state).
So I’ll keep this intro short and jump right into the books.
Here’s What I Read in September:
Rooted: Life at the Crossroads of Science, Nature, and Spirit {memoir-ish}
by Lyanda Lynn Haupt
I wanted to LOVE this book: it sits in the crosshairs of so many of my current interests. And it was good — I jotted down at least a dozen sentences that I wanted to remember — but I maybe felt that it was too elementary? That there wasn’t a call to action? That the stories weren’t unique enough to really grab me and stay with me? I think it would be excellent on audio, especially if you happened to be gardening or hiking or sitting by a lake in a cabin. But it felt a little bland on paper.
Goodreads | Bookshop | Libro.FM
Things You Save in a Fire: A Novel {rom-com // audiobook}
by Katherine Center
I recently mentioned Katherine Center as a reliable rom-com writer that I return to again and again. I’ve steered away from this specific novel since it’s about a firefighter, and I am predisposed to dislike all firefighter-related media after hearing my used-to-be-a-firefighter husband and currently-is-a-firefighter brother-in-law complain about how unrealistic all these stories/movies always are. But I liked it. Cassie is a female firefighter who relocates across the country to help her mom and avoid a bit of fallout from something that happens in her current city. She has a hard time breaking into a new department as a woman (predictable), falls for a coworker (predictable), and ultimately has to fight tooth and nail to keep her job (predictable). But it’s the best kind of predictable. I listened to this one, and loved all the Boston accents.
Content warning: this novel alludes to a past sexual assault many times, but never goes into detail or describes the situation in full. It acknowledges it, but does not recreate it on the page. This may still be too much for some, so read with caution if that’s you.
Goodreads | Bookshop | Libro.FM
Table for Two: Fictions {short stories}
by Amor Towles
I don’t usually go in for short stories, but I am pretty sure I’d read a to-do list written by Amor Towles. Each of the stories was engaging, easy to read, enjoyable, and completely self-contained. I would have read more of each one of them, but when they ended, I felt satisfied. Like Ashley Brooks, I am skipping the half of the book that is a novella follow-up to Rules of Civility (thanks for the idea, Ashley!) because it’s been so long since I read that (2017!) that I want to re-read it before I do.
Perfect for people who loved A Gentleman in Moscow or The Lincoln Highway, maybe even Anthony Doerr or Barbara Kingsolver’s work.
Goodreads | Bookshop | Libro.FM
I’m still slowly working my way through How to Read a Poem. It feels good to be reading poetry for myself again, like stretching a muscle that hasn’t been used in a while.
What I’m Reading with the Kids:
We are working our way through Heidi as our current read aloud. I can’t actually remember if I’ve ever read it before? We finished Understood Betsy for school this week, and I loved it! I have never heard of Dorothy Canfield Fisher before, and what a shame. She seems to have led a thoroughly interesting life, and wrote novels for children with wit and humor in the early 1900s. I laughed out loud while reading this multiple times, but also appreciated the more serious points that it did make, without it feeling too heavy-handed.
We’re enjoying this picture book right now, even as the flowers have faded from our garden. It’d be a good one to check out in spring/summer.
Tennyson is recently obsessed with Search and Find books. She recently walked out of the library with one about Captain America and one about Frozen 2. She has wide-ranging taste.
What I’m Reading Next:
I need to read all of The House on Mango Street for my book club on Monday (tomorrow!). Wish me luck!
And I need to choose what book(s) I’m taking with me on vacation this coming week when our whole family heads to Minnesota — Scott to deer hunt, and the kids to visit Ashley Brooks and her crew (I am SO EXCITED!).