Reading Thread/Goals for 2026

[Simba's Mom]

Finally read a few more 4 star books, as well as straightened out my challenge #s.

6/55-"Fallout of War:Ukraine-Year 2" by Peter Alesso. It gave me a little opportunity to know more about the impact on citizens of the Ukraine War.

7/55 "Fireflies and Family Ties" by Rachel Hannah-an easy read of small town romance.

10/55 "The Collector of Burned Books" by Roseanna White. An English professor and her experiences during WW2.

11/55 "Capture the Moment" by Suzanne Woods Fisher. As a person who's been to the Grand Tetons, there were so many names of places listed, it brought back so many memories. And as I sat with my "In Honor of Bear 399" shirt on (Bear 399 was a very famous bear in the Tetons who recently died), I couldn't give the book less than 4 stars. It was about a wildlife photographer who goes to the Grand Tetons to try to get a photo of the bear as she emerges from hibernation.

 

[OKW8297]

6. Lovely One by Ketanji Brown Jackson. This is the autobiography of the first black, woman Supreme Court justice and what an incredible book. This woman is a wonderful writer and her story resonates and inspires me. She is relatable yet also amazing. I highly recommend.

 

[melk]

9/35 Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom

This was a reread for me having read it for the first time over twenty years ago. It’s a young man’s account of his his professor’s final life lessons with him as the professor is dying of ALS.

 

[Wood Nymph]

4/30 - Fall of Giants - Ken Follett - 4/5

This was a very interesting fictional account of the time period for World War I. The book is part of a 3 book Century Trilogy. I learned a lot of things that I never knew about that time period. The book is very long, almost 1,000 pages, and took me a long time to finish it. The story was good, but it was also easy to put down.

Follows the fate of five interrelated families - American, German, Russian, English, and Welsh - as they move through the dramas of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for women's suffrage.

 

[willowsnn3]

#6/25
A Dead Draw by Robert Dugoni
Detective Tracy Crosswhite isn’t one to lose her cool. Until her interrogation of the taunting and malicious Erik Schmidt, a suspect in two cold case killings. Schmidt also has unnerving ties to the monster who murdered Tracy’s sister, stirring memories of the crime that shaped Tracy’s life. After a critical mistake during a shooting exercise, Tracy breaks.
Haunted by nightmares and flashbacks, Tracy heads to her hometown of Cedar Grove to refocus. Just a peaceful getaway with her husband, her daughter, and their nanny at their weekend house. But Tracy’s sleepless nights are only beginning. A legal glitch has allowed Schmidt to go free. And Tracy has every reason to fear that he’s followed her.

This is the 11th in the Tracy Crosswhite series & while not as great as some of the others in the series it was still good.
I believe book 12 is already out so have to go find that one.

 

[Simba's Mom]

#12/55-"Academy" by Elin Hildebrand and her daughter (Shelby?). Very Enjoyable-I taught at a private boarding school, as did my parents, so this resonated with me. I give this 4 1/2 stars.