by Siddharth Kara, 2023 Adam suggested this book. It’s about mining for cobalt in the Congo. It is unbelievably heart-breaking. The injustice, the oppression, the evil that is taking place is so awful. I had no idea. China and the major companies that use lithium-ion batteries, of which cobalt is one of the major ingredients, […]
Category: Favorites
A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon
by Kevin Fedarko, 2024 Adam recommended this book. It’s by the author of The Emerald Mile, the book about Kenton Grua’s fastest run down the Colorado in 1983 in a wooden dory named after a stand of Redwood trees that were partially clear-cut. That was an excellent book. This one is even better. Kevin Fedarko’s […]
Beautiful Ruins
by Jess Walter, 2012 I got this book from a Little Free Library (I think the one on Smith Street). I LOVED IT! It’s set in Italy on the Cinque Terre, a little village called Porto Vergogna, Port of Shame. The main characters are Dee Moray and Pasquale Tursi. Dee is a beautiful American actress […]
Harbour Street: A Vera Stanhope Mystery
by Ann Cleeves, 2014 Fun murder mystery set in seaside town called Mardle, near Newcastle in England, modern day. Police detective, Vera Stanhope, and her team looking for the murderer of Margaret Krukowski, a 70-year old beautiful woman, living in the attic room of an inn on Harbour Street. Loved the characters, the setting. Vera […]
We Did OK, Kid: A Memoir
by Anthony Hopkins, 2025 Excellent book by Sir Anthony Hopkins, telling his life story. He never mentions when he was born, just that he is 87 years old, and the book was published in 2025, so I’m guessing he was born in 1938, just like Mom. He was born and grew up in Wales, the […]
Murder in Mesopotamia
by Agatha Christie, 1936 Fun mystery set in the desert of Iraq, near Baghdad. A nurse, Nurse Amy Leatheran, is sent to help the anxious wife (Mrs. Leidner) of an archaeologist (Mr. Leidner). They all live together in a gated compound with 8 other people who each have various jobs on the dig: Miss Johnson […]
The Closers: A Harry Bosch Novel
by Michael Connelly, 2005 LOVED this book! I love the way Michael Connelly writes. His crime dramas are meticulously detailed but so suspenseful. They are never graphic or explicit, ugly or dirty. The character, Harry Bosch, is so kind and well-meaning and professional and good. He teams up with his former partner, Kiz Rider (black […]
Fight Night
by Miriam Toews, 2021 This is the 2nd book selection for the Old Town Library Book Club 2025-2026. It was very different, very funny in spots, a wonderment, sometimes irritating, but touching and beautiful. The story takes place in Toronto. There are 4 main characters: Grandma, Mom, Swiv, and Gord. Swiv is 9 years old, […]
Under the Overpass: A Journey of Faith on the Streets of America
Mike Yankoski, 2005 An excellent book on homelessness, recommended in the packet of materials Wayne got from Harvest Farm. As a young man, Mike Yankoski decided to show his faith by living as a homeless man for 5 months. He and Sam, a volunteer who became a good friend, stayed about a month each in […]
Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant
by Anne Tyler, 1982 I got this book from a Little Free Library and it was on my stack for a long time. I finally read it and it was GOOD! The main characters are Mom (Pearl), Cody (oldest son), Jenny (daughter), Ezra (youngest son). Mom is a mean, terrifying, abusive woman but filled with […]
Blood Work
by Michael Connelly, 1998 Really good book – I got it from the Little Free Library in Cooper Landing, Alaska, along the bike path. It’s a crime mystery. A former FBI agent, Terry McCaleb, has received a heart transplant. The heart was from a murdered woman, Gloria Torres. Gloria’s sister, Graciela, comes to Terry while […]
Miss Silver Comes to Stay
by Patricia Wentworth, 1948 I got this book from a Little Free Library. It is a fun mystery. It’s set in 1940’s England, in a charming little village. You think you know who murdered James Lessiter all along, but it turns out to be someone completely unsuspected. Miss Silver, a beloved elderly governess turned private […]
Man’s Search for Meaning
by Viktor E. Frankl, written in 9 days in 1945, first published 1946 Danette recommended this book, along with The Tattooist of Auschwitz. I’ve wanted to read it for a long time. The copy I read includes 6 parts: a Foreword by Harold S. Kushner; the Preface to the 1992 Edition; Part I, the story […]
The Tattooist of Auschwitz
by Heather Morris, 2018 Danette recommended this book. It was very, very good. Took you into the lives of Lale and Gita, two Slovak Jews who meet in Auschwitz and it is love at first sight. Lale is the tattooist, the man who tattoos the numbers on the inmates. They somehow survive Auschwitz-Birkenau and, when […]
Alexei Navalny: Patriot, A Memoir
by Alexei Navalny, 2024, translated by Arch Tait with Stephen Dalziel Memoir written by one brave man who tried to bring truth to Russia in the last 25 years. He was murdered by Putin for his efforts. He was too popular, spreading truth, revealing the lies and corruption of Putin. He loved his country and […]
Pudd’nhead Wilson
by Mark Twain, 1893 I got this book from a little free library and finally read the first story, Pudd’nhead Wilson. I loved it so much! It’s a treasure of a story. Pudd’nhead Wilson is actually a very smart, very kind, very wise man, who moves to Dawson City and wants to be a lawyer […]
interpreter of maladies
stories by Jhumpa Lahiri, 1999 I got this book from a Little Free Library. It is wonderful! It is 9 short stories about East Indians or Bengali immigrants to the United States, or one or two take place in India. She is such an excellent writer! Each story is so different from the others but […]
Three Men in a Boat: To Say Nothing of the Dog
Jerome K. Jerome, 1889 (born May 2, 1859; died June 14, 1927-68 years old) This was one of Mom’s Time Reading Program editions. I remember her reading it and saying it was the funniest book she had ever read. I kept it when she moved, and I agree, it is one of the funniest books […]
I Want to Trust You, But I Don’t
Moving Forward When You’re Skeptical of Others, Afraid of What God Will Allow, and Doubtful of Your Own Discernment by Lysa TerKeurst Adams, 2024 Lysa is the president of Proverbs 31 Ministries. She was hurt deeply by her first husband, and by other ministry organizations. This book is about how she got through the pain […]
The Mysterious Mr. Quin
by Agatha Christie, 1930, 1958 I adored this book. I got it from a little free library in the neighborhood. I took it to Montana December 2024 when I went there to help Adam and Danette after Eliya was born. It’s a little book so was easy to stuff in my carry-on. Twelve mysteries set […]