August 3, 2023

Special Request:

Before I share the highlights of my July books, I have a request. I am writing an article for BookWomen about keeping a book journal and TBR (To Be Read) lists. I would love to hear from you about the ways you keep track of what you read or want to read. OR if you don’t record your reading life, why not? Do you use Good Reads or another online method? Do you have a physical book dedicated to book lists? What else do you keep track of in your reading life? Number of pages read? A summary of each book read? Do you give books stars to evaluate what you’ve read? I would love to learn it all. Send me an email at nagneberg48@gmail.com and do it soon, please. I have an August 20th deadline, so I am working on this now. Thanks–and I hope to hear from you.

Now For the Summary.

The shortest summary is to say –Lots of hot days created lots of reading time!

As noted in my post on July 13, I entered the month taking a time -out from other activities to read, read, read. The reading pace slowed down a bit the rest of the month, but I can easily report another good book month.

Beyond the books mentioned previously in my July posts, can I pick a favorite book of the month? Tough one. Here are two in contention:

• The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer. I was surprised I had not read this book in the past, for it is just my kind of book–strong female characters coming into their own. Faith Frank is an influential feminist and Greer hears her speak when she is in college, eventually going to work for Frank’s foundation. The side stories–Greer’s high school/college boyfriend Cory and her best friend, Lee–are all engrossing as well. A favorite line, although there were many.

You know, I sometimes think the most effective people in the world are introverts who taught themselves how to be extroverts.

p. 45

• The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams. This intriguing novel is based on the true story about the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary in the early 20th century against the background of women’s suffrage in the UK and also WWI. The main character is Esme, whose father is a lexicographer, and she is present with him in the scriptorium from a very early age. She falls in love with words, especially the words discarded by the dictionary men. Those are the words used by women and by other classes. Esme goes on to create a dictionary of those lost words. I loved her personal story, too–how she surmounts a sad chapter in her life and is supported by women, including the servant Lizzy.

We can’t always make the choices we’d like, but we can try to make the best of what we must settle for. Take care not to dwell.

p. 200

By the time you read this, I will have finished a new book by Pip Williams, The Bookbinder. Set in the same time period and at the Oxford Press, it includes some of the characters from The Dictionary of Lost Words. I love this book, too.

I also loved Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson, which I think pairs well with Maud Martha (See the July 27 post.). Each chapter is short with short, almost stand-alone paragraphs. One character is the focus of each chapter and is written in third person, but in such a way that it felt like first person. The story evolves from the birth of a child to a 16 year old couple, Iris and Aubrey. The three live with Iris’s parents until Iris leaves Brooklyn and goes to Oberlin College in Ohio. Set in contemporary times, but there is also reference to the Tulsa Massacre in 1921. I almost started re-reading this book when I finished the last page, for it was so beautifully written, and I would take more care reading it a second time with the readers’ guide questions in mind.

One of my purchases at Once Upon A Crime bookstore was the first book in the Vera Stanhope series by Ann Cleeves, The Crow Trap. (I like the Vera tv series.) I enjoyed the book, despite the fact that Vera doesn’t even appear until page 125, but the story is interesting and the ending, surprising. I may read more in the series eventually, but right now I am more intrigued with the Simon Serailler series by Susan Hill. I read #2, The Pure in Heart and #3, The Rock of Darkness and #4 and #5 are waiting for me on my TBR shelf.

What’s Ahead in August?

Our car could be labelled a “bookmobile.” This past weekend we visited two favorite bookstore: Arcadia Books in Spring Green, WI, and Mystery to Me in Madison, WI. I found several books on my TBR list:

• A Change of Circumstance by Susan Hill
• The Bookbinder by Pip WIlliams
• The Prodigal Women by Nancy Hale (Arcadia recently did a review of the re-issue of this book published in the 40’s)
• Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver (A book I have been wanting to re-read.)
• French Exit by Patrick DeWitt
• The One Hundred Years of Lenin and Margot by Marianne Cronin
• A Life of One’s Own, 9 Women Writers Begin Again by Joanna Biggs

When I visit a destination bookstore, I also like to buy something not on my TBR list–a wild card. This time I bought Flatlands by Sue Hubbard and Late in the Day by Tessa Hadley.

Bruce did well, too, as you can see from the pile in the trunk.

An Invitation

Any wild cards in your reading life? I would love to know.