TOP TEN TUESDAY: Best of 2023 - Fiction

Yearly round up of books read last year. I read 124 books (27nonfiction) most audiobooks.  I'm going to make a separate post for the nonfiction books and a few other notable books but here are ten really good reads I had this year. Heh, I just noticed, ten really good reads I had this year, by women.

Trespasses Louise Kennedy

Such an Irish book! Set during the Troubles with a secret love, this broke my heart.

The Last Remains  Elly Griffiths

Elly Griffiths wrote 15 books in the Ruth Galloway series, the forensic archaeologist in Norfolk, England, who gets called in when bodies are discovered and ends up helping solve the murders. Her messy love affair with the police officer, her friendship with the local pagan Cathbad, her growing daughter - Griffiths kept the story going in real-ish time so that the books continued during the lockdown and pandemic. All the books are good, not necessarily excellent, but the familiar characters and suspense make the series as a whole excellent, and this last entry finished things up in a most satisfactory way.

Her Last Breath (#5 in the series)   Linda Castillo 

I assumed most Amish books are romances, but I was recommended this police/mystery series set in Ohio in Amish country has been excellent. The Chief of Police, Kate Burkholder, was once Amish, giving her an insight into their world. I read six of the books in the series this past year and like Ruth Galloway, a lot of the time its the personal life that keeps you reading. I've already got the next one queued up to listen to.

Weyward  Emilia Hart

Three story strands - 1619 a woman awaiting murder trial (is she a witch?), 1942 a young woman strains against expectations and searches for information about her long dead mother, and 2019 a woman escapes domestic violence to her great-aunts abandoned cottage. Each story was interesting, but having them woven together was very well done.

The Evil Eye by Etaf Rum

Remember all those women in the 1970s who struggled to find their power and autonomy, working how to balance home and work with a patriarchial society that limited them? dealing with depression but it wasn't acknowledged as depression, like in The Yellow Wallpaper? This story is a modern take on it within some cultures, like the Palestinian-American main character in this book. So, it's a quiet, one woman story, but  I liked Yara's growth and recovery.

Lessons in Chemistry   Bonnie Garmus

Great story, coming to a streaming service soon, about a 1960s chemist who refuses to behave as a women of her day. Elizabeth Zott is finding love, and family and a career despite her inability to accomadate others. There is a reason this is on plenty of 'best of' lists. Loved this book.

Pineapple Street  Jenny Jackson

Maybe my history of watching soap operas and reading Susan Isaacs novels in my teens is catching up to me, but this story about rich siblings in New York kept my attention even as it is not related to my life. Sometimes popcorn, while just fluff, tastes really good.

Remarkably Bright Creatures  Shelby van Pelt

A friendship between an all-knowing octopus and a widow working at an aquarium. Sometimes you don't really need to read the synopsis, you just need to read the heart-warming book.

Romantic Comedy Curtis Sittenfeld

Very modern, set partially during the pandemic, and based on a fictional Saturday Night Live sketch show, Sittenfeld plays on the dorky guy with the gorgeous actress trope and then turns the gender tables. Can a famous hot guy and a plain unknown woman make it work?

The Marriage Portrait   Maggie O'Farrell

1550s Florence and the life of girls and women sucks. If you've ever read Robert Browning's poem 'My Last Duchess', then this books is for you. Part of the appeal to me was that I haven't read a lot of books set outside of historical UK, so the Italian view really interested me, and of course, Maggie O'Farrell can write a great tale!

A Short List of Really Good Books by My Favourite Authors

Demon Copperhead  Barbara Kingsolver
Tom Lake Ann Patchett
Big Little Lies Liane Moriarty (reread)

VIRTUAL ADVENT TOUR: Fairy Tale of New York City

I haven't been blogging at all, but I saw this video clip on Twitter today and it seems foretold that I should post this Christmas song, and help Sprite Writes in another edition of the Virtual Advent Tour. I've been here since the beginning, and it wouldn't feel right to miss out this year. 

Hopefully one of these videos will play and you can feel all melancholy and uplifted at the same time, as this song is wont to do.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

 

Glen Hansard and Lisa O'Neill performed "Fairytale of New York" to close Shane MacGowan's funeral today.pic.twitter.com/bG7mCSusmC

— CONSEQUENCE (@consequence) December 8, 2023

CHALLENGE: Historical Reading Challenge January

Marg at Adventures of an Intrepid Reader is hosting once again the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge. I think we are supposed to link each review, but I like this monthly round up of whatever historical fiction reviews I get written. 

 

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

unknown time period, but before electricity was widespread; felt British early 20th-late 19th century

Time-traveling, so that makes it weird and hard to follow, mixed with a dose of Groundhog Day. A visitor to an estate has to solve a murder and keeps waking up in a different body/perspective at different times in the story. 

The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell

1550s Florence, Italy

I read so much English lit and historical fiction, that getting exposed to Italian historical fiction is just so different that it feels more interesting. It may be why the Neopolitan books by Elena Ferente were so popular. Here we have a poor child married off by her father, a Medici, to a count of Ferera. Poor girl had no chance. The legend is that she is the Last Duchess in the poem everyone likes, My Last Duchess by Browning and a portrait of her is a major plot point. It's also major foreshadowing to have that  quote at the start of the book.

O'Farrell uses a back and forth, past and present, to tell the story. It gives a picture of Lucrezia as a child, and the woman she becomes. Only Lucrezia gets fleshed out very much; the men are all a-* holes, filled with power and no consequences, and they remain stock characters. That was fine, I didn't want to know more about them. I did appreciate that characters didn't seem to have modern sensibilities dealing with their historical situations. So there were women trying to help Lucrezia, but only in small ways that women could have back then. O'Farrell doesn't disappoint with this HF.

Jan 24 TOP TEN TUESDAY: New Authors from 2022

I always love this topic - Top Ten New Authors you read in 2022. It's always fun to find new authors, especially new-to-you authors who have a whole backlist to delve into. 

Louise Erdrich - The Sentence

Glennon Doyle - Untamed

Elif Shafak - Island of Trees

Cynthia Hand - My Plain Jane, My Lady Jane

Catherine Hernandez - Scarborough

Clare Chambers - Small Pleasures

Simone St James - Broken Girls, The Book of Cold Cases

SJ Bennett - The Windsor Knot, All the Queen's Men

Cat Winters - The Raven's Tale

Lucy Atkins - Magpie Lane

TOP TEN TUESDAY: Favorite Books of 2022

I forgot to post my Favourite Books of 2022 and since I don't really make Bookish Plans I am changing it up for this week's Top Ten Tuesday. I didn't have as many terrific reads this year, but I managed to find some really good books.

Best Book
Scarborough - Catherine Hernandez

This was a gritty look at poverty in a housing development in Scarborough, Ontario. It was so positive, even with all the sadness that it caught me off guard, but in a good way. 

Best Homage

My Plain Jane - Cynthia Hand

My Lady Jane - Cynthia Hand

These were my best find of the year, and there is another in The Janies series, and there is a whole Mary series. Each is a rewrite of a famous book or person, Jane Eyre and Lady Jane Grey, but then there is a fantasy aspect (ghost-hunting, animal shape-shifting) that make then absurd and hilarious.

Best Book I Was Looking Forward To
When We Lost Our Head - Heather O'Neill

Take the French Revolution, but make it with women and set in early 1900s Montreal. Bravo!

Best Science Fiction/Thriller

The Apollo Murders  - Chris Hadfield

Wild ride in space from the Canadian who can do anything and everything!

Best Nonfiction

The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century - Kirk  Wallace Johnson

Narrative fiction with natural history, a mystery, and just fascinating story about fly-fishing ties.

Best Short Novel

The Swimmers - Julie Otsuka

I don't know how Otsuka does it with so little, but her books are so powerful and inventive. This one was about a crack which develops in a community swimming pool, and then turns into a beautiful tribute to Alzehimers

Best Historical Fiction
Haven - Emma Donoghue

I wasn't sure about this one, set in 7th century Ireland about monks who go live on an isolated island, but I was very invested by the end, and loved how it all came together. 

Best Quiet Character Study

Small Pleasures - Clare Chambers

I'm sure I would never have read this book without the Women's Prize Longlist but what a sweet treasure. I saw this listed somewhere on a book list of books which took you pleasantly by surprise and this fits perfectly. A single lady in 1950s London gets caught up with an unusual family and her life becomes more interesting.

Best Translated

The Strange Journey of Alice Pendelbury - Marc Levy

Alice, orphaned after WW2 in London, takes a trip with a neighbour to Turkey after a reading from a fortune teller. Finding your place in the world.

Best Start to a Series

The Windsor Knot - CJ Bennett

I read one of these quiet mysteries starring Queen Elizabeth before she died, and then the second one after she died. Much respect for the queen and her marriage, it is mostly about her assistants who carry out her requests for information. Delightful.

Best Re-read

Little Fires Everywhere - Celeste Ng

My book club read this book so I listened to it for a re-read and it was just as good the second time as it was the first time. 

Best Author - Ann Patchett

These Precious Days(NF), The Magician's Assistant, This is the Story of a Happy Marriage (NF)

Patchett's books have always been reliable and good but I think I mixed her up with Barbara Kingsolver and didn't really have a solid impression of her. But recently I put it all together, and especially reading her two nonfiction memoir/essay collections and now I am trying to get all her books read! 

A few honourable mentions:

Tevye the Milkman -Sholem Aleicheim (Fiddler on the Roof inspiration)

The Bullet That Missed - Richard Osman (Thursday Murder Club #3)

Matrix - Lauren Groff (historical nuns)

The Woman in the Attic - Emily Hepditch (Newfoundland mystery)

Eligible - Curtis Sittenfeld (retelling of Pride and Prejudice)

TOP TEN TUESDAY: New Releases to Look Forward to in 2023

 

What's the topic for my first Top Ten Tuesday? New releases in 2023 to look forward to.  I'm not sure how other people discover books that are going to be published/to look forward to, but I go to Amazon or Indigo and type in authors I love to read and see if any of them have upcoming books. Not very efficient and I'm sure I miss a bunch of upcoming books. I'm not a pre-order book person anyway.

First of all, thank you to a few of my favourite authors: Emma Donoghue, Maggie O'Farrell, Kate Atkinson who all released books in the end of 2022. I couldn't wait to get to Haven by Donoghue and Shrines of Gaiety by Atkinson. The Marriage Portrait by O'Farrell I won't get to until later this month, but Haven and Shrines of Gaiety, both historical British fiction did not disappoint. 

Here's some books I'm looking forward to:

Kate Morton - Homecoming (Apr 4)

Catherine Hernandez - The Story of Us (Feb 28)

Elly Griffiths - The Last Remains (Apr 28) Ruth Galloway

Jane Harper - Exiles (Feb 3) Aaron Falk

Sherry Thomas - A Tempest at Sea (Mar 14)

The Lives of Puppets - TJ Klune (Apr 25)

And then to the authors who I discovered had released books in 2022, but only realized as I was looking for upcoming releases: (so they feel like books to look forward to, lol)

Fiona Barton - Local Gone Missing (Jul 2022)

Alexander McCall Smith - The Song of Comfortable Chairs (Sep 2022)

Cynthia Hand - My Imaginary Mary, My Contrary Mary (Jun, Aug 2022)

CHALLENGE: Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

 Marg at Adventures of an Intrepid Reader is again hosting the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge, a chance to read and repost on the historical fiction books. I always enjoy historical fiction and historical mysteries and I read 28, and got them reviewed. 

All the details for the challenge can be found here. Basically, sign up at Marg's blog, and then post reviews and link to her site where she posts a dedicated monthly post for reviews. We can choose what level we want from these:

20th Century Reader - 2 books
Victorian Reader - 5 books
Renaissance Reader - 10 books
Medieval - 15 books
Ancient History - 25 books
Prehistoric - 50+ books

but I don't think it matters if you change, it's just a goal to aim toward. I'll say I'd aim for between 1 and 2 historical books per month, so around Medieval to Ancient History. 

CHALLENGE: Historical Fiction Challenge October - December

I wasn't very diligent on my blog this year, but that's okay. I do what I feel like, when I feel like it. I did like keeping track of the historical fiction books I read this year, and I plan to join Marg's Historical Fiction challenge again next year. 

There is a type of book that is kind of historical but more parallel or looking back. Do you consider these Historical Fictioin? The last few I read that were good were Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid about a tennis player who comes out of retirement, so the book follows her present day attempts to get back into competition alternating with the story of how she was champion fifteen years before. Now is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson was another of these parallel stories where the present day story is integral to the past story, and the narrative flips back and forth. This one kept my attention a lot and I couldn't stop listening to it as secret prank from two misfit teenagers comes back to life after twenty years. 

October

Bowlaway - Elizabeth McCracken 🎧

20th century Massachusetts

One of those sprawling, generational family stories, set in a bowling alley. Covers the history of bowling as well as the family which owns it. There is some magical realism stuff and mysteries. I know I liked it at the time, but I can't really remember too much.

Bring Up the Bodies - Hilary Mantel  🎧

16th century England

More in the Thomas Cromwell story, the second in Mantel's trilogy. Here Anne Boleyn is the queen, but not for long as Henry is already looking around. It's the story of Cromwell and the machinations at court. Makes stuff today look pretty tame actually. Mantel writes a good story, but if you've read any Tudor stuff, you know the story. I read this one soon after Hilary Mantel died, and I'll go for the third eventually. One of the rare trilogies where the books get shorter.

November

The King's Justice - Susan Elia MacNeal

WW2 England

My library finally got this book #9 well after I read book #10, The Hollywood Spy. This was probably one of Maggie Hope's better books, as Miss Pollyanna has finally been worn out by the evil of the war, and the deception of the spying. Maggie is still viewing her world with a modern sensibility towards homosexuality, PTSD. She's working as a bomb diffuser since she just doesn't care anymore, lol. Maybe I liked it more because the war was more of a background in this book, as Maggie is drawn into helping find a serial killer in London, as if the blitz wasn't enough to deal with.

December

Shrines of Gaiety - Kate Atkinson

1920s England

Atkinson went through a spell with some, I'd call, experimental books. There were a few, Life After Life, and A God in Ruins, that I tried as audiobook, but just couldn't follow. Then I read the paper book and loved. Transcription was a more straightforward novel, but still relied on the research she had done for WW2. Shrines of Gaiety reminded me more of her Jackson Brodie books, with a large cast of characters gradually being pulled in the center by the plot. Set in roaring twenties of London, life is fun and returning to 'normal' after the war, Nellie Croker, fresh out of prison, is controlling her large family of adult children as well as a series of nightclubs. There are missing girls, spunky girls who can't live a quiet life after the war, and police, both on the take and not. Really, there was a lot of fun in this book, just what I look for in a good historical fiction book.

Haven - Emma Donoghue

7th century Ireland

Oh, Emma Donoghue, what can't you write about? Her most famous book, Room, is present day, but all her other books are fantastic historical fiction and while I don't love all her books, she always writes great characters that draw you in, as well as setting the time and place so well. It's a small book here, as three monks take off, with one definite leader and two who will obey, to an isolated island off the coast of Ireland. (you will want to look up Skellig Michael, a real place that this story is based on. Add it to your bucket list). This type of devotion is frustrating to read with the fervent faith of the leader versus the practical thought of his underlings. Could have been very annoying, but Donoghue keeps her characters real and the reader very early hopes for the best for the likeable guys and that they can actually survive on more than God's love.

An Irish Yuletide - Patrick Taylor

1960s Northern Ireland

It's good to read a seasonal book and this novella in the Irish Country series fit the bill. While the most recent release, Taylor goes back a few years for the Christmas story. The medical issue throughout is chicken pox, the relationship issue is a prodigal brother returns, and all the characters of Ballybucklebo are present. Just delightful and a great series if you like a gentle book with fun stories. We are at the middle to late sixties, and there is very little of 'the troubles' mentioned.

CHALLENGE: Historical Fiction Challenge, July - September

 

The Lincoln Highway, by Amor Towles
1950s Nebaska, New York

Two brothers try to start a new life together, possibly looking for their mother, after the older one is released from Juvenile detention. Unfortunately, they best get used to their plans being upended, with the arrival of two lads who self-released themselves and tag along with the brothers. It sounds like a light-hearted romp, but no. It wasn't as good as A Gentleman in Moscow, but it got better as it went on.

My Lady Jane, by Cynthia Hand

1500s England, sort of

I am loving these irreverent remakes of Jane stories by Cynthia Hand. This one is Lady Jane Gray who was Queen of England for a few days. Most of the basic story is here, but Hand has so much fun going in different directions, and these are definitely light-hearted. In this book, the 'extra' is that some people can shape-shift into their animal, and there is a continual issue of losing clothes as they become animals, and turning back to human naked. Pure foolishness!

An Irish Country Cottage, by Patrick Taylor

1968 Northern Ireland

Late 1960s Ireland and contraception and pregnancy are issues for Dr Barry Laverty and Dr Fingal O'Reilly. The local issue is a fire burns down a cottage and the village must get a new house for the family. 

The Deeds of Darkness by Mel Starr

1300s England 

The tenth in the Hugh de Singleton Chronicles follows the medieval life of a surgeon and bailiff near Oxford in England. These books follow a certain formula, and I enjoy them. If you've read all the Brother Cadfael books, this series might be for you.

August

 Mississippi Trial, 1955 - Chris Crowe 🎧

1955 Mississippi

Pretty good historical fiction account of the Emmett Till murder told from the point of view of a teenage boy, having issues with his family at the same time. The boy is dealing with his developing awareness of life around him, and the conflicts with the tradition and culture of Mississippi, which hasn't probably changed much but is pretty horrific looking in from the outside.

 September

 The Strange Journey of Alice Pendelbury (ebook) - Mark Levy

1950s England, Turkey

I quite liked this story of a girl who lost everyone in WW2 making a journey to Turkey after hearing a message from a fortune teller. This was one of those Amazon Free World books. There was a friendship started in a rooming house, secrets, and life in Turkey for a while. I am particularly fond of Turkey having visited there while on a cruise years and years ago. It made an impression. It was a gentle, poignant story and worth my time.

VIRTUAL ADVENT TOUR: Memories

 

How can it be this time of the year already? As I was thinking about what to write for the Virtual Advent Tour, hosted most wonferfully by spritewrites since 2015, I was reflecting on how Christmas has changed in our house over the last 25 years. 

We had the crazy years when our three children were young and Christmas morning was a chaos scene. So much so that my father-in-law would drive in the thirty minutes to be at our house early (6 am) to see the children attack the presents. He was a little disappointed at how my husband and I contained the chaos - me writing down everything as it was opened, him staying on top and removing the paper and boxes immediately. But it was still fun!

Now as we have practically no teenagers, Christmas is a lot calmer. We do a lot of the same things still, but they have friends and social lives and we have to fit it all together. One thing that has not changed is we have my parents over on Christmas Eve for a nice supper and visit. 

In 2020, we re-enacted a picture from when everyone was much younger - my parents and my children.

Christmas Eve 2003

Christmas Eve 2020

We are so lucky to have been able to recreate this after seventeen years.

Thanks for stopping by for my stop on the Advent Tour. If you would like to contribute a post, visit spritewrites and let her know you'd like to be a part of this. We'd love to have you!

I'm pretty sure I am having comment problems and I have no idea how to fix it, so if you can't comment, I'm sorry. 

In 2021, I shared my gumdrop woes, and cake recipe

In 2020, I rambled a bit about Christmas in a pandemic, and an Adam Sandler song

In 2019, I shared the extra things that make Christmas sparkly

    - I shared my Nan's recipe for Frying Pan Cookies

In 2018, I shared several posts:

    - a look at some Canadian history on December 6th that I always remember

    - a look at advent calendars through my years

    - a look at my favourite Christmas breakfast

In 2017, I shared a song by local sister singers on a charity album

    - in a second post, I shared how I decked the halls with physics haikus with my class

In 2016, I shared the lights of my town, and a recipe for Spumoni shortbreads

In 2015, I shared my Christmas decorations in our new home

In 2014, there was no tour

In 2013, I shared a Christmas series of novellas by Anne Perry that I listened in audio

In 2012, I posted some favourite Christmas mystery  books

In 2011, I posted a 'recipe' for fruitcake that my grandmother had given me.

In 2010, I took a humorous look at some local events on Prince Edward Island.
In 2009, we played 'guess the carol'
In 2008, I played a game of 'guess the movie', and my favorite Christmas picture ever.
In 2007, it was the original 'guess the carol' game, with your vocabulary tested, and my whipped shortbread cookie recipe.

NONFICTION NOVEMBER: Summary of 2022 Reads

Nonfiction November gives me a chance to look back on the nonfiction reads since last November. Including December 2021, I've read 16 nonfiction books since last year. The most common type of NF would be memoir and true crime. Here with a short summary of the books I liked best:

Blood in the Water - Silver Donald Cameron 🎧

True Canadian crime, this was a crazy read of small town murder in a fairly local community, within the Maritimes. I was engrossed, and looked up some podcasts related to the incident, and found a documentary as well. How do you deal with a a*hole in the community when he never quites goes too far for the law, but he goes too far for people to put up with him? (one of the last books I read in 2021)

The Feather Thief - Kirk Wallace Johnson 🎧

Another great true crime book, which combined some historical accounts of some scientists besides Darwin who looked at evolution. This was quite a crazy tale and I would recommend this one as a good nonfiction book with a great story.

These Precious Days - Ann Patchett 🎧

I am having an Ann Patchett year, and this book of essays was varied and very readable. Nothing controversial, just a good author writing about writing and her life. Memoir-ish.

Freezing Order - Bill Browder 🎧

I've seen Browder on CNN talking about the Magnitsky Act, a way for other countries to deal with the rogue state of Russia and Putin as they launder money and deal with their political opponents. Browder is a pretty brave guy and is working hard to bring awareness to Russia. 

 

One Good Reason - Sean McCann 🎧

I've a huge Great Big Sea fan and Sean McCann was a big part of their history until he left the band. His memoir of what lead to him leaving, mostly due to heavy drinking brought on by some youth trauma certainly has two sides about the actual leaving, which didn't go well as you'd like from a bunch of lads that you like. But he did what he had to for his family. His wife plays a big part of the story, as how they dealt with life was based on both of their life experiences. Good read, good people.

The Vanishing Triangle: The Murdered Women Ireland Forgot (ebook)- Clare McGowen

True crime in Ireland, looking at how the death of young women is not looked at seriously enough for a myriad of reasons. There may have been a serial killer or two, many domestic violence situations, and nobody looking very hard in the nineties. There were a lot of names to keep track of, it's real life so it doesn't wrap up easily or neatly, but there is no doubt the author did her research, and made some pointed comments on how Irish society dealt with the crimes.

And a summary of the rest of them: 

Vanderbilt - Anderson Cooper 🎧

Historical account of Cooper's famous family. I've enjoyed other books by Anderson Cooper more, but the Vanderbilts lived a wild life.

Before My Time - Ami McKay  🎧

Memoir of a Canadian author and her family's dangerous cancer marker and how they have been studied. 

Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times - Katherine May 🎧

Self-help type book, I liked it at the time, but can't remember a lot of it now as I read it in January. I shouldn't really read self-help books. 

Untamed - Glennon Doyle 🎧

Self-help books can sometimes get me angry as I argue with the author in my head all the time. Doyle got a brainful from me. But there were sections I did like, when she focused more on the feminism stuff, but her enlightenment reminded me of the motivational speakers who live their life a certain way, then see the light and feel the need to let everyone know this new way of living. More infuriating, Doyle wrote previous self-help books on her past life, and then writes new ones on her new life. How do I know you won't find another new life philosophy and this one will be passe? 

Taste: My Life Through Food - Stanley Tucci 🎧

I've been super enjoying Tucci's CNN series Italy and this memoir is kind of related, but not quite as good. He's a nice guy, into food a lot, perhaps a bit snobbish about it (I've stopped cutting my spaghetti, lol after a comment in the book that adults should not be cutting their spaghetti!). He has had some rough times in his life as his first wife died, but he keeps a good attitude.

The Wake: The Deadly Legacy of a Newfoundland Tsunami - Linden MacIntyre 🎧

MacIntryre wrote one of my favourite books, Causeway, his memoir/historical book about Cape Breton, so I had high expectations. Maybe too high? This was still good and but more on the historical and very little memoir. It was an interesting premise to explain how Newfoundland has had to struggle in so many ways as a 'have-not' province, and he traces it back to a tsuanmi in the early 1900s.

Do You Mind if I Cancel? - Gary Janetti 🎧

Snarky, funny, and unmemorable comments by the Hollywood writer. 

Someone Like Me: How One Undocumented Girl Fought for her American Dream - Julissa Arce 🎧

This was a YA Sync free audiobook and was a good story of one young girl and the challenges she faced. Nothing new here, perfectly fine, but unmemorable.

Secret Soldiers: How the US Twenty-third Troops Fooled the Nazis - Paul B Janeczko 🎧

Another YA Sync read which was an interesting part of the United States part in WW2 in Europe. However, the prologue really gave me enough of the story that the rest of the book was just filling in details about what the prologue completely explained! Listen to the prologue to get the main idea, unless you love all the details, but I felt I got the gist of the story.

As Fast As Her - Kendall Coyne 🎧

YA Sync memoir from the US women's hockey team, I liked Coyne's story of her life growing up and loving hockey. This Canadian reader loved the hockey stuff, but hearing the US-Canadian women's hockey rivalry from the American point of view was a little hard for me, lol. 

And since November would be a great month to read some nonfiction, here are some books I have on hand that I hope to get through, including finishing up some YA Sync audiobook reads.

This is the Story of a Happy Marriage - Ann Patchett

Black Lion: Teachings from the Wilderness

Crescendo: The True Story of a Musical Genius Who Forever Changed a Small Town

The Real Herge: The Inspiration behind Tintin

Singled Out: The True Story of Glen Burke

A Time of Fear: America in the Era of Red Scares and Cold War