Today is not that day.

There may come a day when I am not talking or posting about books. Today is not that day. Tomorrow isn’t looking good either. In the meantime, allow me to tell you about the books I’ve read.

I finished listening to Tom Lake last night. Written by Ann Patchett, narrated by Meryl Streep, it was recommended by Jill Wine-Banks a few years ago. Finishing it also earned me the final Fall achievement on GoodReads. Finishing a book on your to-read list AND earning a GoodReads achievement in one book is a bonus.

Earlier this year, I read How to Read a Book by Monica Wood. It was a wonderful story! When you read the inside flap of the front cover, you will say that you know what happens in the book. That absolutely happens! But, it is about the journey, not the destination. The story of how that comes about is a gem. A woman at the library recommended another book by that author. The One-in-a-Million Boy was such a heartwarming story. I highly recommend it.

I received, as a Christmas gift, 1,200 Words You Should Know to Sound Smart by Robert W Bly. The person who gave it to me knows me well and knows that I like books about words. I got about three pages into the words that begin with the letter A and already was familiar with seven of those words. I felt smarter right from the beginning!

I was at the bookstore yesterday where a woman was trying to find a book for her mother. I think the idea was that she would buy the book for her mother and later borrow it. Good idea! She was looking in the romance and fantasy books. As the bookstore owner suggested one book after another, the woman said that her mother had already read that book/series. I don’t read romance or fantasy. The bookstore owner has said that romantasy is 60% of the market right now. She also said that she is going to get me to read a romance novel next year. I laughed, maybe too long and too loudly, at that prospect.

It’s fun to see what other people are buying at the bookstore or borrowing from the library. One of the local librarians is on my friends list on GoodReads. I noticed the other day that she added several books to her to-read list. Four of those books were ones I had recently read, or are currently reading, and that She and I had discussed. I appreciate her trust in me that I wouldn’t recommend a book that she wouldn’t like. I have also added some of the books she read to my to-read list. That’s one of the best parts about going to the library, engaging with other readers, and knowing them well enough to trust their recommendations.

A friend on Threads recommended a book earlier in the Summer. I loved it! It is my favorite fiction book of the year! Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson is a fun whodunit told in the meta fiction writing style. Jess, my Threads friend, asked me for recommendations. I suggested The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark and Love & Saffron by Kim Fay. She loved both of them! She recently changed her reading goal for the year because she was running out of time. I told her not to worry about a numerical value but rather the quality of the books she reads.

People obsess about marking a book as Did Not Finish because they think it reflects poorly on the author. I don’t think that’s the case. It could be any number of valid reasons for not finishing a book. Maybe you aren’t in the right time frame for finishing a particular book. Don’t give up! Put it down and pick it up another time.

The term “hate finish” was new to me this year. Those are the people who don’t want to mark a book as DNF so they finish reading it even if they don’t like it. I’ve only marked two books as DNF, neither one was this year. Last year, in October, I started reading America’s Deadliest Election by CNN’s Dana Bash. It was about a gubernatorial election in 19th Century Louisiana. After our own 2024 election turned out the way it did, I had no desire to read about any election and marked it as DNF. I’m not sure if I will pick it up again at some point. The other book I marked was seven or eight years ago. I may give that another try next year.

So, I’ve fulfilled my GoodReads challenges and have seven library books checked out; two of which are due back before the end of the year. My last book of the year may be America the Beautiful? by Blythe Roberson on Libby audio. She is a comedy writer, formerly with the Stephen Colbert Show. She borrows her stepfather’s Prius to travel to National Parks in hopes of earning Junior Explorer badges to complete her collection from her childhood. It is really very funny.

As I said, I love to talk about books, give and receive recommendations, compare notes on what we’ve read, and completely lost myself in a good library, bookstore, or cozy mystery.

Speaking of good bookstores, I was recently on the Google Maps page for my favorite bookstore. As I was looking through photos shared by people, I thought I recognized a familiar look. Imagine my surprise to find myself in one of the pictures! I will include it in this post. I should be glad that they got my good side

!