Whatcha Readin'?

When I found out we’d be staying with family in Santa Fe for Thanksgiving, I thought I’d get loads of reading done: I wouldn’t have to make dinner or do dishes, and we’d be driving to the airport, flying, driving again…so much reading time; huzzah! Instead, I watched a Hallmark Christmas movie on the flight, fought Pokemon battles with my kiddos, and lazed around in bed as we all recovered from a virus. There was little to no reading happening. Still, I managed to read fourteen books in November, nine of which were four stars or better. Here they are, in no particular order:

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune is the first book in a fantasy series that’s medium-to-fast-paced, lighthearted, emotional, and hopeful. I found it hysterically funny and impossible to put down. Can’t wait to read the next one. And enormous thanks, once again, to Sara Czerwinksi at the Thompson Falls Public Library for her phenomenal recommendations.

We Solve Murders by Richard Osman is a new series by the man who brought us The Thursday Murder Club. This series brings Osman’s humor and fast pace to a new set of characters with the same adventurous spirit. This series teams up a bodyguard and an actress for world-wide adventure. I still think Thursday Murder Club is the best ever, but this was good and I’m looking forward to the next one.

The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister is a medium-paced fantasy/horror that’s mysterious and very, very dark. The story of a family charged with protecting the bog over generations by marrying a wife the bog creates until it all falls apart. Fascinatingly creepy and definitely not what I usually read but impossible to put down because I just had to know how it ended.

Becoming Little Shell by Chris La Tray is a slow-paced, emotional and informative memoir about finding ones’ place in family, community, the world, and self. A beautiful and inspiring book by Montana’s own Poet Laureate with loads of history and current events. I loved his other books, One-Sentence Journal and Descended from a Travel-Worn Satchel, too.

The Sound of Gravel by Ruth Wariner is a medium-paced memoir that’s emotional and reflective about a woman who grew up in an abusive polygamist Mormon family and how she escaped. A difficult but fascinating read.

Brave, Not Perfect by Reshma Saujani is a medium-paced feminist book about getting things done and moving forward even when we fail. An inspiring book about not letting fear or failure win.

Who Was Claude Monet by Ann Waldron is a medium-paced middle-grade biography on the famous artist that weaves history and culture into a more complete understanding of the artist and his art. Surprisingly, my five year old likes these books a lot.

Who Was Frank Lloyd Wright by Ellen Labrecque is a medium-paced nonfiction biography for middle-grade readers that blends history and social studies into a clearer appreciation of the famous architect. My eight year old liked this one and it led to us looking up his constructions online.

Max and the Midknights by Lincoln Peirce is a fast-paced middle-grade graphic novel adventure about a girl who wants to be a knight and a boy who wants to be an entertainer. Funny and lighthearted, my eight-year-old loved it and it’s available as a Wonderbook at the Thompson Falls Public Library.

I’m currently in various stages of reading:

-A Year of Marvellous Ways by Sarah Winman (the December Flashlights & Firelight Free Online Book Club pick)

-The Guncle Abroad by Steven Rowley

-Volt by Alan Heathcock

-Poor Your Soul by Mira Ptacin

Are you able to get any reading done around the holidays or while travelling? My to-be-read pile seems to get ever larger even as I read as quickly as possible…although Pokemon battles seem to be taking up more time than I’d expected or accounted for, ha! I’m also in a bit of a genre funk; I love all my nonfiction but feel like I need the escape of fantasy books right now. Are there any Hallmark Christmas Movie-type books out there? Whatcha readin’ now? As we speed into the end of the year, what were your favorite books read in 2024? Drop me a line and let me know whatcha readin’!

Sunday Dutro is an avid reader and eBook convert living in Thompson Falls with her beautiful family and an enormous “to be read” pile. Reach her at [email protected]