a nice beer or dry white wine; The Radium Girls got an easy five stars. Who‘s next?

Book haul from my library‘s little bookstore. I love my public library.

This is a reread for me and an excellent palate cleanser after T.C. Boyle‘s Outside Looking In. I have a friend who lives out of state and we started “ buddy reads” about a year ago. This was her choice for Labor Day. I read this book when it was first published. It is just as good the second time around.

Those is my happy palce this week. This is the book I read before I go to sleep at night. I‘m also reading “Outside Looking In” by T.C. Boyle and “The Dissident” - a book about Alexey Navalny. Neither one of them makes me smile, but I keep sighing and thinking what a broken world we live in. 😳😢But before lights out I learn about sheep with underbotes, and unruly Shetland ponies….

“You know there was Alexander the Liberator, or Yaroslav‘” Navalny declared in a tone of scathing, unvarnished contempt. “And we will have Vladimir, the Poisoner of Underpants.” (Alexey Navalny in his court hearing in early 2021)

Bookclub read for August. I have a hard time with this one. It is not the writing, but after about a hundred pages I still haven‘t found any characters I like in this novel 😳. Good thing that I usually read more than one book at a time- I need to find something joyful to balance out my self-inflicted drag on this one.

This is a short graphic chronicle of the first 100 days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Igort is an Italian cartoonist with a deep personal connection to both of these countries. I was amazed how much his drawings and the accompanying texts moved me. I cannot believe that this war has been going on for two and a half years with no end in sight. You mudt have a heart made of stone if this book doesn‘t touch you in some way.

I finished this gem abot three weeks ago for the book club I joined recently. I would not have read this novel without my new book buddies. What an interested ng read. I would call this an atypical historical novel because of its unusual main character, but also because of its changing literary styles and genres used. I highly recommend it.

I have been AWOL for a little while, but I hope to be back more regularly. Although all kinds of things have been happening in my life - moving to a new house, a doggie that will need knee surgery, stress at work, just life - I have kept reading.
Leibovich‘s book is a recap of the Trump presidency. It reminded me of how much I had forgotten about the Trump presidency, and it is scary that he got away with it all.

It was moving weekend. I started North Woods right before, but am stuck on page 15 because I have been too tired to read after hours of moving boxes and furniture. The worst - not finding everything to make some coffee 😳

Everyone knows what is best for fat people, and everyone thinks they can solve our “problem” with some quick fix pill diet, or seven-minute workout, or a vile-tasting shake.

That was the tragedy. Radium had been known to be harmful since 1901. Every death since was unnecessary.

I listened to this book while packing moving boxes. I had never heard about Canary Girls and learned a lot about British women and their lives during World War I.

Nobody ever achieved anything epic without doing the reqisite work, even if the work itself is humdrum, boring, run-of-the-mill kind of work.

I put ahold on this book in March at my library and I finally got it for a week. I better hurry with this one!

I really enjoy this book, but have a hard time making progress because my lunch break get cut short due to work stress.😕

My birthday was alittle while ago, but I am so excited that I got my belated gift today. My old kindle had died after ten years, and I meade fue with the app. However, I am so happy right now. And don‘t get me wrong, I loove physical books, but my eyes not so much.

I started reading The Radium Girls this morning for one of my June challenges. I really enjoy it, but I am already horrified what was don3 to these women.

Of course, to the layman, all this was unknown. The mainstream position as understood by most people was that the effects of radium were all positive; and that was what was written about in newspapers and magazines, championed across product packaging and performed on Broadway.

I despised the book from the first page, but unfortunately I was at a point in my life in which finishing what I started reading was an absolute necessity. I‘ve become wiser since then.”

This is my favorite novel of all times. I have given it to several people. I have reread it twice and it is about time to do so again. I admit it‘s a novel from a different time and carried special meaning for a lot of readers behind the Iron Curtain. When I read it for the first time I was not aware that 100 pages had been censored in the East German translation - too political. I have read the full book since then.

I truly enjoy this little gem after The Sympathizer. It feels light and easy, and I share some of her experiences when she started running.

I discovered what running really was then—moving unencumbered through the world on my own two feet.

This was a difficult novel to read. It became more violent over time, but it is a novel about war. It was an interesting approach to the Vietnam War because all characters were flawed. It was impossible to determine who was right and who was wrong wich made the book more interesting. The story is told from the perspective of a Vietnamese refugee.#AAPI#vietnamwar#traumaticexperience#immigrantexperience

It was very important to me that there be no apologies, no translations, no explanations in this novel because these are signs of writing towards dominant culture. (author about his novel in an interview)

“Collectively we will be called the boat people, a name we heard once more earlier this night, when we surreptitiously listened to the Voice of America on the navigator‘s radio. Now that we are to be counted among these boat people, their name disturbs us. It smacks of anthropological condescension, evoking some forgotten branch of the human family, some lost tribe of amphibians emerging from ocean mist, crowned with seaweed.

☔️ and ⛈️ all day here on the prairie, what better to do than finishing my novel, taking some notes and starting the next one

Finished this morning. Excellent if you want to learn more about trauma and resilience and how to support people who experienced it, or understand yourself better. The most important takeaway - it is never too late to heal.#psychology#trauma#healing#childhooddevelopment

This is a great read for anybody who is interested in learning more about the treatment of Germans in Czechoslovakia at the end of World War II. Gerta is the bame of the main characterand we follow her from the time the Germans occupied Czechoslovakia after the treaty of Munich in 1938 to her arrival back in Germany after 1945. It is hard novel to read full of traimatic experiences and how they affect people. However, it is an important story.

Remember, you‘re not half of anything, my mother said, you‘re twice of everything!

What a fantastic read so far! The information is presented in a way that is understandable for everybody.

I had joined a bookclub and suggested this novel because Ihad found it interesting and liked the characters. The other members declined it based onthe fact that the paperback version was longer than 500 pages.
After a couple more meetings I found out that they would decline any book longer than 300 pages and would only want to read mysteries and thrillers. I stopped going,

This is a reread for me. If you are interested in learning about life under Stalin‘s rule in the 1930s, then I would highly recommend this novel. It is well written and a fast read. This is the first book in a trilogy following the characters spanning from the mid-thirties to the defense of Moscow during World War II.

Finished another door stopper. I actually liked this historical novel so much that I will read the second part right away. I do need to brush up a little bit on the War of the Roses. well-written and really worthwhile the time.

Finally finished this one along with an audiobook and another novel. It is one of those „feel good“ novels where you can detect early on that it will end well, but it has a few little turns that keep you going. I would give this to a friend who needs some “reading TLC“, but is not up for a very challenging story.

I was not really disappointed by the book, I just was surprised by the overwhelming darkness and depressing approach to life. I did not connect with any of the characters. I have not often read a novel that is so filled with loss, regret, bitterness, and a dark mood of failure. There seems to be no hope for any of the characters in the book. Whenever I thought finally somebody will move forward, that person regressed.

Back to something easy and short. Feels good to sit here after a run and some chores - perfect Saturday.

I did and finally finished my doorstopper novel. I really enjoyed it, but I need to refresh my British history to get a better grip on it. I felt that the author took sides and sometimes her characters felt a little flat, a little too black and white.

Could not resist starting this on my way to work as an audiobook. Seems appropriate since we might add another kid to our herd.

While out on my run last night, I began listening to this book. I could not wait to start it because I read a lot of good things about it.

Finally done listening to this novel. There are more books in this series, but I will take a break. I felt that the book had become a little formulaic and am worried the rest of the series will be even more so. I liked the first in the Fleury-series best. Still, it was entertaining and an excellent companion on walks and runs.

I am still fighting my way through this doorstopper. I really like the story, and I only have about 200 pages left, but still...I could have read a lot more books this year, had I chosen something smaller. Oh well...And did I mention there are four more novels in this series, equally long 🤔🤔

I feel like a winner tonight. I just finished my listening marathon of this historical fiction doorstopper. This novel has over 1,100 pages, and I enjoyed it a lot. It was the second in a series about the Fleury family in Lorraine in the 13th century. I will probably start on the third one tomorrow on my way to work.#2018#historicalfiction#germany#ingerman

I went for a walk in my new neighborhood and stumbled upon a free little library that had An American Marriage in it. Whoop!

My weakness: trying to read too many books at once. That‘s not even all of them.

I don‘t like cooking, but that does not prevent me from reading books in which food and food prep are major characters.

Some easy reading on the patio while playing with the dog

Very informative read, but also funny and entertaining. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to know what Apartheid in action looks like.