What I thought was going to be a facebook post ended up way too long for a fb post.
Here's a look at what I have been reading, what I did not finish reading, why my currently reading list is so ridiculously long, and a little of what is newly released and might make it onto my to read list.
Please note that I am an Amazon Affiliate, so if you click on any of the links here and make a purchase, I may earn a few cents commission. I'm also an old Pennsylvania Dutch farm wife, too stubborn in her strong opinions to be swayed by a few cents. We'll save my guilt about promoting/shopping on Amazon for my memoir.
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RECENTLY READ
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RECENTLY READ
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Marius Quinn Book 4
I read this by accident. I've been reading the Lord Edgington Series, and enjoying them very much (except for book 2. I didn't care for that one). These books are harder to find, our local libraries often do not have them. Book 4 came available on libby, so I added it, and started reading. A couple of chapters in, I found myself wondering where Chrissy and Lord Edginton were, and when they would be arriving in the story. Then I looked at the cover again and sure enough, across the top it says Marius Quinn. I hadn't even realized Brown wrote two other series. In my defense, both this and the Edgington Series are "An addictive 1920s murder mystery"
It was a happy accident - I loved this book, and look forward to reading more of this series. I noticed these are on Kindle Unlimited, so I'll make sure they are on my list for when there is a free or severely discounted trial at some point this year.
Book One
I listened to the audiobook for this one, while driving... and I kept thinking of the children's book Are Your My Mother. It felt like a REALLY long version of that, to the point where I thought of it as Are You My Fathers Murderer?
Yet somehow, by the books end, I liked it enough to want to read the rest of the series. It has great characters. The description mentions it being for fans of Richard Osman's Thursday Murder Club series, and I can't argue with that. The rest of the series has been added to my To Read list.
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DNF
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Agnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter
The latest by Heather Fawcett
This is not an Emily Wilde book. I'm still disappointed that Fawcett wrote something other than a new Emily Wilde book. So maybe I didn't give this enough of a chance. But realistically, this book probably just isn't for me. It's rare I pick up a fantasy genre book.
The Emily Wilde Series was magical, and much like the Narnia or Harry Potter series. I feel strongly that it should have as many books as those series, but Fawcett did say it was a trilogy. (It is also the same type of fantasy read as Lord of The Rings, which is also a trilogy)
Speaking Of DNF.. Goodreads is finally adding a DNF shelf! YAY!
And yes, I still use goodreads. I know there are better options, and I know some of those options will import my goodreads history. Most of my friends still use goodreads, and I like seeing what they are reading. It's sort of like facebook. Annoying, often you can't really trust what you read there... but it's where my friends are, and I'm just too busy and tired to figure out something new.
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RECENTLY RELEASED
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Did you see that there is a new book - Biography/Memoir - about Judy Blume, by Mark Oppenheimer? I don't know how I feel about this. I'm not sure I want to pull back the curtain and see what is behind it. LOL! My current "currently reading" list/pile is ridiculous, and between our trip to California this year (every trip I take has it's own reading list... we study before we travel) , and America 250 - I have WAY too much on my to read list for this year already. So I can wait and see what others think of this before I add it to my own list.
Book 10 in the Veronica Speedwell Series
This series is a bit.. I think the word they are using these days is "spicier", than my average recommendation. It's likely still considered PG by today's standards. There's not a lot of detail, mostly innuendo. That said, I love this series. It's smart, it's fun, the characters are great.
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WITH THE GRANDCHILDREN
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Little Blue Truck and Racer Red: A Fun Picture Book About Race Cars, Friendship, and Trying Your Best - Alice Schertle. I am adding this because the last few years with my grandchildren have made me very aware of how very bad so many children's books are. Maybe bad is the wrong word. Difficult to read might be more appropriate.
I love the Little Blue Truck Series, Julia Donaldson Books, Mother Bruce... books that are fun to read. Bonus points for this one - as our 6 year old grandson is currently struggling with feelings about winning/losing, and needing to beat his brother at everything. Its a fun read with a great moral reminder - win or lose, it's fun to try.
We also read Creepy Carrots a lot this past week. It's the 6 year olds favorite. The 3 year old is loving My Truck Is Stuck. Bonus for that one, it reinforces counting and number skills - and is a quick, fun, read.
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CURRENTLY READING
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CURRENTLY READING
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Yes, I know. This is a bit much. My life in general is a bit much, manageable only if I have a reading list to match. I frequently read in short spurts, from whichever book is closest to where I sat down for a minute. There are books everywhere in this house, and in every bag I might carry out the door - in addition to a shelf of "to reads" by the front door.
-Dinner With King Tut By Sam Kean (Audiobook I'm listening to in the car with my husband, so this might take awhile to finish unless we take another road trip.) I love this book, and will look for more by this author. Great for road trips - EXCEPT - even as a farm wife I find myself a bit squeamish over some of the mentions of animal processing. They'd be so much easier to skim in a text version...
- The Revolutionary Samuel Adams by Stacy Schiff (A Libby hold that came available). I'm finding this one to be absolutely fascinating. How did I know so little about Samuel Adams?
- More Tracking Yesterday by Ted Fenstermacher Short articles about historical things in Columbia and Montour County Pa - this has been perfect for "waiting room reading" for all of my husbands appointments. Although I'm enjoying this very much, after seeing what it is selling for on ebay and thrift books, I may need to sell my copy when I am finished...
- Recollections Of John Binns by John Binns. Written in 1854. This is an epub on my phone, and this one is taking me forever because every time I do read it, I end up researching whatever topic he last mentioned.
I spent two days researching Joanna Southcott after reading his mention of her. You can read more about her here:
-Liberty's Land by Chris Yohn (Local Revolutionary War Historical Fiction)
-Declarations Of Independence By Dr. Chris Pearl (Local Revolutionary War History)
I have really strong (positive) thoughts on how incredible it is to have these two authors speaking in our area, after writing these books about our local history. You can read that facebook post here: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CFKWWQZoa/
Both of the last two are relatively short, easy to read books that should not be taking me this long. I am enjoying both of them VERY much. I could have finished either one of these in the time it took me to compile this post. The phrase "she used her time wisely" is not likely to appear on my tombstone.
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MY FAVORITE READ
OF 2026 SO FAR
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By Allen Levi
Theo Of Golden by Allen Levi. Its just a beautifully written, wonderful, story. I continue to insist that everyone should read this one. :-)
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And since it is March, here's a post I wrote a few years ago, with recommendations to read during Women's History Month
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