I‘m alternating reading these two books, both story collections. They could not be further apart in tone and content. 😂😂😂 if you know, you know. One is a Booker prize winner and one was given 5 stars by Jenny of Reading Envy.

This is my tiny Village of Hyde Park, VT, 130 years old this year. Each year we have Home Day where school bands, community bands, trucks & tractors, & kids on bicycles participate in a parade that goes down a short Main Street, turns around and comes right back again. Food trucks, raffles, face painters and artists all have booths on the side of the road. After this week of political chaos today felt particularly sweet and a treasured event.

In this story, a woman is taking an experimental drug that will turn her into a horse. A horse that will be completely wild, with no restraints, no language, no laws, no riders. What you end up caring about sounds pretty good to me right now.

This cracked me up.

Bo is quite elderly and lives alone with caregivers coming and going. His wife lives in a home with other dementia patients. Over the months that we know him we experience his decline. We learn of his relationships with his father and his son as he struggles with memories of his father and anger at his son who is just trying his best to care for his father. His love for his wife is an ever present theme. I could not put this book down. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A mother, her two daughters, and an ex-husband of one of the daughters are struggling: one coping with an end of life issue and the others dealing with an infidelity and a reckoning. I appreciated the writing and, honestly, I related strongly with all the characters. There should have been a ‘bad guy‘ but I found myself able to empathize with all of them. Not sure who decided this cover though. Thanks to @Jeg and @Centique for the recommendation.

Sadly, this book is starting to bug me. This grandfather is explaining each painting in the museums they visit to his granddaughter who is 10 years old. His explanations are even hard for me to follow. Not sure how we‘re supposed to believe she understands what he‘s talking about. I suppose if you‘re going to visit the museums the commentary would be helpful though.

1. A son & his wife & daughter planned a sleepover even though they live only an hour away. We spent time at a lake, ate out with other family members, and relaxed.
2. Charley and her new friend, Tenzi, that my Tibetan friend gave me ages ago.
3. A mural in Bellows Falls, VT taken during my bookstore travels.
4. The Captain and his sister on the 1st day of 6th and 2nd grade
#5JoysFriday
@DebinHawaii
5. Flowers everywhere.

Miller is an author who has a farm in Vermont. I really enjoyed his first book so I had high hopes for this one. This is a story of a young man watching his father farm in Iceland and helping him to take on the duties of the farm as his father falls into a depression. I feel as if I learned so much about Iceland and about farming through this book. It wasn‘t quite as good as The Memoirs of Stockholm Sven but a worthwhile read, for sure.

The dedication page of this book. As a grandparent of children of all ages I say thank you very much. This book is giving me lots of ideas of additional things I can offer to my grandkids.

Also, the paper cover of the hardcover book opens to a large foldout with pictures of all the paintings highlighted in the book. 🔥

Folks may remember I‘m attempting to complete my Vermont Independent Bookstore Passport program. While there are a great deal of independent bookstores in Vermont only 20 are part of this program this year. Yesterday I drove 5 hours in total to visit 2 bookstores. One store was in a town I‘d never visited and I spent a good deal of time exploring. I‘ve now gone to 19 stores - one more to go to complete this fantastic adventure.

Roman comes back to his hometown when he hears his father has been badly injured. He reunites with his siblings to find that his youngest brother is involved in a bad drug dealing scheme which may have been the reason for the father now being close to death. Roman takes on the mission to get his brother out of this situation. This book is not my favorite of Cosby‘s and, as usual, it‘s violent, but I could not put it down. #CampLitsy25

A Ukrainian woman seeking to find snails before they become extinct & two sisters participating in the bridal tourism industry meet up & become embroiled in a journey with 13 men they‘ve abducted & placed in their mobile van. In the middle of the story things change, the Russian invasion begins, and the author begins to speak of her ancestry and her feelings about the invasion. Then we return to the story already in progress. A five star read.

I‘m not sure where I heard about this book but I knew at once I needed to own it. Organizers and movement-builders offer more than fifty rituals, prayers, and liturgies to support and sustain us in the work we need to do to work against a fascist regime, to help the unhoused, to feed the hungry, and to move forward toward social justice.

A little porch read and a little dig at the former and current White House resident.

This is referencing the text that provides details on why men would want to go to Ukraine to find a bride.

Thanks to @Cathythoughts for her review, I was reminded to look for this book at the library. At 400+ pages, very small type, long sentences and very few paragraphs, it would seem to be a challenge to get through. Yet I was enthralled even when I wanted Mauvignier to get to the point. The suspense builds throughout as three men invade a household during a birthday celebration. It has a series of terrific character studies that will stay with me.

I have no idea how I was lucky enough to win a free copy of this book from Europa. I can‘t wait to read it.

Book 2 in this trilogy brings us inside Kristin and Erland‘s home life in the 14th century. Childbirth (so many children!), the death of Kristin‘s parents and the management of their property are all wearing Kristin down. And Erland isn‘t much help. In fact, he becomes involved in a political scheme that nearly does him in. Simon rises in every instance to help Kristin. Undset writes a great story. #KLBR @BarbaraJean

A story unlike any I‘ve read before that brings you inside the experience of being trans, of coming out as trans, of hiding that you‘re trans. The characters are all richly drawn and ones I‘ll remember for quite some time.

Thank you to #camplitsy25 for selecting this one as a summer read.

This is about domestic violence & how it affects each member of a family. Cora goes to register the name of her baby with 3 options being suggested. What she decides to name him then affects the rest of their lives. However, rest assured that the DV affects all members of the family no matter what name is chosen. It‘s an interesting approach to telling the story & I appreciated her writing but it was a bit hard to keep track of each storyline.

Alison Bechdel and Harry Bliss, both Vermont cartoonists, interview each other in our local independent newspaper.

https://www.sevendaysvt.com/arts-culture/cartoonist-interview-alison-bechdel-and...

On the left, the book jacket. On the right, the book. The story is as creative as the book design. A novel I only read because of #CampLitsy25 and one I‘m so glad I didn‘t miss out on. Immersive, page turning, and layered.

I remember borrowing this book from the library but I never had the chance to read it. I‘d forgotten all about it until this prompt came up!

@Jas16 interested in participating?

#tagyourit

Yesterday I drove about 6 hours round trip to hit up two more bookstores in order to try to complete my Vermont Independent Bookstore Passport. I visited two stores: one in the beautiful tourist town of Woodstock and the other in Ludlow, home to Okemo Mountain. The Book Nook in Ludlow was definitely a little nook but it had so many of my obscure favorites-ones I thought no one read anymore-that I felt truly seen. Three more stores to go!

Thanks to @BarbaraBB for recommending this book and thanks to Evans for writing it. A story told through letters is always a pleasure to read and the main character is a pleasure to meet. We meet her in her early 70‘s. We experience her frustration as her eyesight begins to fail, we root her on when several men seem interested in her, and we share her sadness as she writes of some past events. I really enjoyed this.

If you know of Tiffany then you‘ll appreciate her recounting of her experience being a drug addict and navigating life in and out of prison.

(Photo from a nearby river on my walk where I tried to wrap my head around the cruelty of the country I live in. I‘m devastated.)

My first Oates. I did not expect to be reading what I‘m reading right now. Are her books always so creepy? The sinister undercurrent of this teacher who seeks out 12-year-olds to seduce is pretty overwhelming. At 87 years of age, she sure can still write.

I read this so you don‘t have to. The author does absolutely ridiculous things to gain the professional attention & affection of her bosses at Facebook, including answering emails while she‘s supposed to be pushing her baby out into the world. Mark Zuckerburg is an absolute nut job and increasingly a dangerous nut job. And Sheryl Sandberg! Good Lord. Lean In means abuse the underlings. The book is eye opening but not a surprise.

A story of a father and his three children have been living on an island that is being overwhelmed by the rising waters of climate change. Their way of life, their mission to save the seeds, their relations with each other are all being affected. A woman washes ashore and she brings a mystery and a thriller aspect to the novel. The nature writing was specific and inclusive. This was a page turner for me. #camplitsy25

I‘ve been going through a crappy reading phase. None of the books I‘m picking up are keeping my attention. Leave it to McConaghy to reinvigorate my love for reading.

Stopped reading at the midpoint so I can stick with the #CampLitsy25 schedule. @squirrelbrain @BarbaraBB @Megabooks

Kristin, Erlend, Lavrans, Rangfrid! This is my third reading of the first book of a trilogy. The descriptions of the scenery & the clothing bring you into the time & place. Blame for wanting to be married to someone other than the one your father has selected is infused throughout. Do we root for a young girl who wants her own way? Do we see Erlend for who he really is? As a 20 year old I read this & supported Kristin. Now I feel for her parents.

1. Lois Boisson. What a fun French Open she had. I loved watching her play.
2. My trip to Northshire Bookstore.
3. Gracie face painted at a school fair that I went to.
4. Spent a day with 2 month old Remy who is really starting to engage with folks.
5. Visited Hildene, the summer home of Robert Lincoln, the President‘s son, in Manchester, VT.

#5JoysFriday

Today I drove 2 1/2 hours each way to Manchester, VT to get another stamp on my independent bookstore passport. Northshire Bookstore is a premium store in a very wealthy town and they are much loved. I have 6 stores yet to go to and the ones listed on the right are far away. Boo. But Vermont is lovely so that makes up for it. I‘m now ready for my July CampLitsy25 read.

#CampLitsy25

1. A rainbow at the end of an outdoor food truck/music/vendor event that my two sons organize every Thursday through Saturday.
2. Two grandkids exploring Oregon and reporting back on the joy they‘ve experienced.
3. Two year old Charley on the first sunny warm day in ages.
4. My garden.
5. Watching tennis with a book in hand.

#5JoysFriday
@DebinHawaii

This was an insert that the Book of the Month Club included when they published their special printing of this book (I‘m still trying to figure out when they published it.) I think it‘s helpful to read this if you‘re struggling at the beginning of the novel.

@BarbaraJean #KLBR

This was my favorite read in May. A story of four generations of women in Ireland, told in chapters of 500 words each. I loved the language, the lyrical prose, and the characters so much.

I don‘t think I‘ve read anything else by Ryan but I‘ll sure be looking for more of his work.

I read a number of good books in May, several of which I haven‘t reviewed yet on Litsy. The one I‘m going to say was my favorite is a dark horse, coming in from out of nowhere. It‘s The Queen of Dirt Island by Donal Ryan. Sadly, I won‘t remember the name of it in a month or so. 😊

2. I‘m looking forward to reading the tagged book for #CampLitsy25

@TheSpineView

It seems appropriate that I would finish this book on Memorial Day. A book of sacrifice, of thousands of boys fighting in World War I. And a love story of two young boys who head into the fray. The novel spends a good deal of time providing the specifics of fighting in a war so if that‘s not where you want to spend your time, be aware. But the story is rich and detailed and well worth the effort.

I‘d be happy with any of these.

#bookspin

@TheAromaofBooks

During the rains today I decided to visit Craftsbury VT, 30 minutes away. I‘d never spent time there but there was a plant sale at the library (bottom right -imagine it with rain). While there, they told me about another library 10 minutes away in East Craftsbury. This town of 1,300 people has 2 libraries! I fell in love with the Simpson Memorial Library (top photo)-104 years old, fantastic new and old fiction, mementos from the Simpson family. 🔽

1. The Burlington Waterfront Park, all purply
2. My son snoozing with his daughter
3. The image on a building on a side street in Montpelier, VT
4. Flowers to plant if… (5)
5. … If it ever stops raining. At least it‘s making the fields a deep, deep green.

#5JoysFriday
@DebinHawaii

I enjoyed this story of the life of a midwife in the 1700‘s. It definitely held my attention. The story includes details of experiences of delivering babies but primarily focuses on Martha Ballard‘s pursuit of justice through the newly created legal system for a woman who was raped as well as working to hold a murderer (and all around bad guy) accountable for his deeds. This story was inspired by the journal written by Martha during that time.

Finished this a while back & forgot to post about it. I read Knott‘s first book and loved it. This one took me quite some time to engage with but by the second half I was locked in. Knott lost her matriarchs - her mother and grandmother - within a short period of time and she writes of her unexpressed grief and displacement. This was a soft pick.

Thanks to @Riveted_Reader_Melissa and #SheSaid for the opportunity to read this.

Demon is someone you root for as you move through his life experiences. I had to renew this audio from Libby three times to get through the whole story. It's definitely a pick for me but the story seemed a bit long. ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Was on my way with plants in hand to start my gardening when suddenly my ankle collapsed on me. I‘ve broken my ankles and wrists so many times. Thankfully, this is a bad sprain, not a break. So on this bright sunny day when I‘d rather be outside I‘m lying on the couch, leg elevated, starting this book. This event could have been so much worse so I‘m trying to be mature about it and not grumble too much.

I‘ve read this trilogy every twenty years. I give my copies away and then randomly over the years find them at secondhand bookstores and purchase them again. I can‘t wait to start reading this again with the #KLBR group beginning in June.

Just an FYI: Willa Cather and Sigrid Undset were friends. My mother was Cather‘s niece and she talked about Undset‘s writing and this trilogy in particular.

A woman wakes up exhausted every morning, limbs aching, with unexplained bruising. She eventually finds out that she‘s sleepwalking. Strange things are happening - cats start to run away from her - and she tries to ascertain what is happening. It‘s a short read, a bit creepy, and one that keeps you hooked. The ending? Yeah, who knows what happened but I have several theories and I‘m okay with that. #offtheshelf #bookspin

The author goes into great detail about the history of NASA, government contractors, and astronauts. While the book is about the Challenger you learn a lot about the workings of getting all space shuttles into orbit. Once again we find out that greed and not listening to the experts is the thing that will doom a project every time. What a tragedy. Great work writing a riveting book that was never a slog to get through despite all the detail.

It seemed for a time that everyone on Litsy was reading this book. I‘m finally getting to it. Such a sweet read. The NY author begins writing to a bookstore in England in order to find rare secondhand books at a good price. She ends up becoming very fond of the employees, sending them packages of food that are unavailable to them during wartime and staying in touch with the employees and their families for years. It‘s a quick and touching read.

Every year for 25 years at least 15 members of the family-my kids, aunts, uncles, grandbabies-spend a week at the ocean in the same funky house. So much of this book reminded me of the type of stays that we have. (Although I have to admit that we have some grumpy times which this author did not replicate.) I break my days down the same way she does. (Monday I‘m so relieved that we have so much time and by Wednesday I start to get sad.) 🔽