Reading in the Garden

 September 2026 Book Recaps Peck & Peck   by Bonnie Garmus I loved this story of a poetry nerd landing his dream job at a prestigious publishing firm. Batter’s witty inner dialogue of his aspirations, wide-eyed naivety, and struggles with a crusty cantankerous boss in a toxic work environment really had me in stitches (and even more so in a My-Cousin-Vinny-like moment)—genius!     The laughter was coupled with the nagging question throughout the book as to how this geeky greenhorn ultimately lands in jail, as the first line of the book indicated. It isn’t non-stop chuckles either; there were surprisingly tender moments, too.    In the end I gained a new respect (not necessarily love, but definite respect) for poetry.  Well done!!   Pub Date: October 13, 2026   Scalpel’s Edge  by Ritu Mukerji This is an entertaining time-period mystery set in 1876 during the Philadelphia World’s Fair. I loved learning about and imagining the...

 August 2026 Book Recaps Theo of Golden  by Allen Levi (Book Club) ✨✨✨ Theo of Golden was my book club selection (along with many other book clubs who have chosen it).  It follows an 86-year-old man who moves to the town of  Golden, Georgia and begins purchasing and gifting portraits hanging on a café wall. The recipients are the subjects of the pencil portraits, and as he presents the art to them, he learns their life stories. Theo is not just generous, he’s sincerely interested in the men and women he meets. He exudes a warmth and kindness we’d all want to strive for.  Everyone in my book club ended up loving it, although another person and I actually had a difficult time getting into it. There wasn’t much action, and we wondered if we’d have to examine all the lives of the 92 people represented on the café wall, which would have gotten tedious. I would read a few sentences, then set the book down letting myself be lured away by social media. But pat...

 July 2026 Book Recaps The Astronaut!  By Oana Aristide I enjoyed the originality of Astronaut! It packs a punch with an unlikely friendship between an old radical and a little girl, and a string of brutal killings that are attributed to bear attacks, and political dissent culminating in a possible moment of great change in the oppressive Ceausescu regime of Romania in 1989, all with a dark, biting humor.      July Classic Challenge: The Sun Also Rises  by Ernest Hemingway The Sun Also Rises is about a group of expats living in Paris and traveling to Pamplona, Spain to see the running of the bulls and bullfights. But mainly, the story centers on a free-spirited woman everyone seems to be in love with: Brett. She’s engaged to one man, sleeping with others, and flirting with everyone.    I didn’t quite connect with this book. Getting hammered was their main pastime, which I could overlook, but antisemitism was a strong factor in the story and there ...

 June 2026 Book Recaps The Wild Robot   by Peter  Brown 🤖 How can I resist when my granddaughter asks me to read a book that they are reading in her classroom? I already knew that The Wild Robot by Peter Brown is a very popular mid-kids book and there is even a beautiful commemorative edition available.   Now I can see why it’s so loved. The story of Roz, the robot, landing on a remote island, exploring nature, getting to know the animals, and adopting a baby gosling, is adorable. The chapters are short and illustrations are wonderful.   🎬  I’ll have to watch the movie with my granddaughter! And if she wants, we can continue to the next two books in the series.    Fallen for France   by Elizabeth Letts This novel is an example of one of the things I love about reading—experiencing and learning things I didn’t know much about, in this case: WWI, Morocco’s involvement as a French colony, and distinguished Arabian horses. It’s so well-wri...

 May 2026 Book Recaps The Foursome  by Christina Baker Kline What an utterly fascinating story about an absolutely unique circumstance of two sisters marrying conjoined twins, Eng and Chang!! The couples were stitched together in marriage like a strait jacket with no breathing room—a mesh of personalities, temperaments, desires, and opinions. A peek into their lives felt a little voyeuristic, a look at something so unimaginably foreign—yet Kline brings us to a thoughtful level of understanding with respect and compassion. So well written!    They married in 1843 and together they had 21 kids! There are so many facets to the book: not just their marital relationships, but  family tragedies, financial issues, slavery, and then the Civil War, which was interesting to read about. Wow!    James  by Percival Everett (Book Club) I’m so glad I read James. It’s humorous, poignant, and terrifyingly real at times.     It’s the retelling o...

 April 2026 Book Recaps A Fortune of Sand   by Ruta Sepetys In this new historical fiction by Ruta Sepetys, she dives into the story of a wealthy American family set in the late 1920s in the Detroit area.    There's something mysterious and enigmatic about the family. Secrets abound. What are they all hiding?—The controlling loudmouth father? The second wife? Two siblings who are up to something? A handsome reclusive neighbor? And something's off about an exclusive arts program where the youngest daughter is a resident.    I had my own theories, but I did not see the twist that came!    So good!   While I did enjoy this book, my favorite of Ruta’s is I Must Betray You – Jaw-dropping! Next favorite, Salt to the Sea.       When the Cranes Fly South  by Lisa Ridzen (Book Club) This popular book has been selected in many book clubs that are displayed in a section of the bookstore where I work—and I can see why.  It’...

 March 2026 Book Recaps Calamity Club  by Kathryn Stockett   Kathryn Stockett is coming out with a new book!! (And I was able to read an advance copy 🎉 )   Oh my heart, how I love this book! Eleven-year-old Meg is the center of an unforgettable cast of characters. She's a little spitfire—smart, resilient, and larger than life, battling her way through unimaginable struggles set during the damn (one of her favorite words) Great Depression. The story is filled with desperation, heartache, ingenuity, warm hugs, and laugh-out-loud moments that flew by in the blink of an eye. I loved it as much as, if not more than, "The Help." Meg and the ladies will continue streaming through my mind for a long, long time. They feel like newfound friends.   This book will be released on May 5, 2026, right before Mother's Day. So drop hints for this perfect gift now! 🎁💐   If you get a chance, read this book with a friend, like I was lucky enough to do, so we could share the ...

 February 2026 Book Recaps Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Sutanto  (Book Club) This is a fun cozy mystery where 60-year-old   Vera   Wong   finds a dead man in her tea shop, and, despite police findings, decides it’s a murder that needs to be investigated. She’s astute, observant, and she’s also opinionated, blunt, and bossy, commanding respect and obedience. She’s also very likable and compassionate. Her suspects don’t mind enduring her interrogations too much, especially when she’s serving them good food all the time.    I actually  got hungry reading this book where she describes the many mouthwatering Chinese meals she makes, so much so, that I decided to buy a rice steamer and attempt to make my own California Sushi Rolls. In the end, the flavor of the rolls were very  good, but I need to work on the technique, starting with paying attention to the steamer. Tip: never leave the steamer to go on your ...

 January 2026 Book Recaps Thunder Dog by Michael Hingson (Book Club)   What an amazing story of a blind man and his guide dog who made it down with others from the 78 th  floor of the first World Trade Tower that was struck by a terrorist-hijacked plane on September 11, 2001. He tells not only of their escape, but the chapters are interspersed with his life story, living as a blind man. We learn the cause of his blindness and his utter determination to function independently in a sighted world. His remarkable attitude brought him far in life. As a child, he taught himself how to ride a bike by clicking his mouth and creating his own form of echolocation.  As an adult, he was a successful business man who earned 6 figures. I was fascinated by his guide dog and their relationship, as well as the changing technology that assists blind people (and even more so than when this was published 15 years ago in 2011.) The book is an incredible revelation of the life of a ...

The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett Dashiell Hammett’s The Thin Man , is a hardboiled detective novel first published in Redbook Magazine in 1933, then book format in 1934. It stars the dynamic couple, Nick and Nora Charles with their dog, Asta.    After a woman’s bullet-riddled body is found in a New York City apartment, Nick is reluctantly pulled in to investigate while on vacation in the Big Apple. He’s long retired from being a private eye, but his reputation precedes him and people are asking him left and right to dig into the homicide.    Set at Christmas-time 1932 during Prohibition, they were anything but dry. Nick, Nora, and even the police Lieutenant, were sucking down drinks like air, and not just in speakeasys, but in the hotel, apartments, and the Lieutenant even offered Nick a drink at the station. Before breakfast Nick asks Nora “How about a drop of something to cut the phlegm?”    You’d think someone so pickled wouldn’t be able to function, bu...

 Walk Down Memory Lane 💥 For this February's author birthday month challenge, I had several choices on my TBR. Here are the ones I narrowed it down to:   Jules Verne, February 8, 1828. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea Toni Morrison, February 18, 1931. The Bluest Eye Wilhelm Grimm, February 24, 1786. Grimms’ Fairy Tales Anthony Burgess, February 25, 1917. Clockwork Orange.  In the end I chose Grimms' fairy tales by Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm. Wilhelm Grimm was born Feb. 24, 1786 and his brother Jacob was born Jan. 4, 1785. Although in this self-imposed challenge I wanted to try and read new books, I went a nostalgic route instead, choosing to read fairy tales that my mother read to me as a child.  I still have the book with the colorful illustrations that bring back good memories.    Some of the stories I remember well, like the beloved Frog Prince (Frosch K ö nig). But others have been washed over with the Disney version, like Cinderella (Ashenputte...