November Reading Wrap-Up

 

RIP Fern Michaels

 

"Kensington Publishing mourns the loss of Fern Michaels, legendary bestselling author, animal lover, and dear friend. Fern was a wonderfully spirited and generous woman, granting scholarships and donating bullet-proof vests to K-9 dogs across the country, all while writing the romances and thrillers readers have cherished for decades. It has been our honor and joy to share her stories and warmth with you for more than 30 years.

Our hearts go out to her family and loved ones."

 

 I had the pleasure of interviewing her once. She was just as delightful as you would expect her to be.

 

Out of My Slump

 I have been in a reading slump for several years.

It was so bad that for the last three years my goal in the Goodreads Challenge was only 12 books a year. And in 2023 I didn't even make it! I read only nine books that year; 14 in '22; and 16 last year.

The highest number I have ever read was 90. That was in 2014.

I will at least tie that this year. Tonight, in fact, barring any unforeseen circumstances.

I started out with a goal of 12 and passed that pretty early in the year so I decided to be really adventurous, choose a new goal and shoot for something way out there. Thirty-three. 

I'm at 89 with 10% left in one of the three audio books I currently have going. (Don't ask how many kindles and physical books are in progress. It's more than I will admit.) 

There is a kind of irony to how I have come out of the slump. It's audio books. I have an hour-ish commute to work five days a week (30-ish minutes each way) and, no offense to my pals on the radio, I'm really sick of radio. All of it. The "witty banter," the ads, the music, news. Especially the news. And it takes me too long to decide which of my playlists, favorite podcasts, or Substackers I want to listen to. As long as I only give myself one to three choices of audio books, I'm good.

According to Storygraph, so far this year the number of audio books I have listened to has surpassed the number of physical books I have read, 43% to 37%.  The other 20% is digital in case you're doing the math.

Back to the ironic part. When I had jobs that had me living paycheck to paycheck and books were my biggest luxury purchases I dreamed of having a job where I could buy a book without having to budget for it. Now that I have that job, I use my library card more than ever. I have eight "holds" on the Libby app and they're all audio books. 

One other cool thing about the number of books I've read this year is that I've expanded my interests. I discovered that I enjoy magical realism. I like some fantasy. (I should have realized that much sooner. "The Wizard of Oz?" Hello!)

I haven't been this excited about reading in a long time. Even longer ago than 2014. Although I read 90 books that year, most were by authors I was going to be interviewing (Oh, poor me!) and the reason these best-selling authors enjoyed coming on my little show is that I actually read their books. I did get to interview Sue Monk Kidd about what is now one of my all-time favorite historical fiction books, The Invention of Wings. And I did one of my favorite interviews in all of my nearly 16 years in radio: Jim Beviglia on "Counting Down Bruce Springsteen: His 100 Finest Songs." We agreed to disagree on Rosalita vs. Born to Run.

As I tie my highest finished book count in more than a decade later this evening, I hope I never forget the feeling I have right now. It's akin to the feeling I had the first time I read a book to my parents and when I got my first library card and checked out a book all by myself. 

Here's to tying, then surpassing, the record, and never getting into another slump!  

 

Reading Wrap-Up for October 2025

 

Life's Too Short to Stick With a 'Bad' Book

 

I really don’t like putting a book on the DNF shelf. I’ve always felt that if someone put in the effort to write a book the least I can do, after picking it up, is finish reading it.

But over the last few months I’ve come to the realization that life’s too short to stick with books that aren’t touching me in some way. I’ve DNF’d more books in the last 6 weeks than I have, probably, in the last 6 years. (I’m not including “paused” books in this note. I’ll touch on that some other time.)

Before I DNF a book, though, I do go to a site or two to see what other people think of it, and I usually go to the one- or two-star reviews to see if any readers are picking up the same vibe I am. It makes me feel better (kind of) when I discover that they are.

It’s especially hard to DNF a best-seller or anything that’s beloved by readers. I start to think something must be wrong with me if I don’t like it. Then I remember that not everyone has the same taste in books. I also try to remind myself that if someone challenges me on why I didn’t like or didn’t finish a book, “not everyone has the same taste” is all I have to say.

Wouldn’t the literary world be boring if we all like the same thing?

(I have finished all the books pictured.) 

Let's Try This Again ...

I've read 57 books so far this year and, I'm confident that by the end of the week that number will be 60. It was not that ago that I couldn't even read 26 books a year. That's only 2 books a month, which makes me feel much better about the only 7 I read last month.

I do have an excuse for September, though. I was without a car for most of the month, meaning my audio book "reading" was cut by 40 minutes per workday. Also, my Bona Girl Trip was in September so my nighttime reading was cut down by a little. 

At least the majority of the books were good, though. 

For the first time ever I was disappointed with a Lisa Gardner book. I love Frankie Elkin but One Step Too Far just didn't do it for me. I will keep reading Lisa's books, though. And, after all, 3.75 is not a bad rating. I just thought the last 1/3 was too slow-paced.

I've never read Stacy Willingham before but had read good reviews of her books so I chose the audio book of Forget Me Not for my Book of the Month Club selection. (I was not impressed by another selection. For October, I was so unimpressed that I'm skipping this month.) It was OK but -- and sorry for this -- forgettable. It was very slow for the first 3/4 then had too much jammed into the lat 1/4. I might read her again. I'll decide when and if I get to that point. 
 

Mary Higgins Clark (who I still miss) and Alice Feeney haven't let me down yet. (I know All Around the Town is quite old, and I don't know how I missed it when it first came out. I am, however, grateful that I was able to pick it up at the Bemus Point Library book sale.) 

It's very unusual to have more than one 5-star rating in a month. I had 3 in September. Jane Eyre. Need I say more? I was late to the party for Remarkably Bright Creatures but so glad I finally got to it. The Secret Book Society, although historical fiction, is very relevant for the times in which we are living. It's the current selection for the Sounds Novel Book Club. This month's meeting will be my first and I'm looking forward to it.  

I'm keeping track of my reading on Storygraph and Goodreads (Fable, too, but I'm going to leave there after my reading streak gets to 366 days.) I also have a physical book journal. Why I need to keep track here, I don't know (Compilation of everything, I guess). And, I don't know if I'll keep up with it. But I do love reading and books, and looking at books, and talking about books, and writing about books, and going to libraries, and searching Libby for books ... You get the idea. So, we'll see what happens here. I'm hoping I don't go 11 months without posting like last time.

Note: The August graphic is to show that I have been doing better than 7 books a month. 

Book Review: Mad Honey

 After the shocking twist was revealed halfway through the book, I was sure I knew who Lily's real killer was. I was wrong, but it kept me guessing -- and kept me reading -- so that's a good thing.

I loved Lily but still not sure how I feel about her boyfriend Asher. I love Lily's mom, too, and have mixed feelings about Asher's mom.

Without giving away anything, I will say that if you think being "woke" is a bad thing, you will either hate this book or you'll learn something and be enlightened.

 

  From the book cover:

A soul-stirring novel about what we choose to keep from our past, and what we choose to leave behind.

Olivia McAfee knows what it feels like to start over. Her picture-perfect life—living in Boston, married to a brilliant cardiothoracic surgeon, raising a beautiful son, Asher—was upended when her husband revealed a darker side. She never imagined she would end up back in her sleepy New Hampshire hometown, living in the house she grew up in, and taking over her father's beekeeping business.

Lily Campanello is familiar with do-overs, too. When she and her mom relocate to Adams, New Hampshire, for her final year of high school, they both hope it will be a fresh start.

And for just a short while, these new beginnings are exactly what Olivia and Lily need. Their paths cross when Asher falls for the new girl in school, and Lily can’t help but fall for him, too. With Ash, she feels happy for the first time. Yet at times, she wonders if she can she trust him completely . . .

Then one day, Olivia receives a phone call: Lily is dead, and Asher is being questioned by the police. Olivia is adamant that her son is innocent. But she would be lying if she didn’t acknowledge the flashes of his father’s temper in him, and as the case against him unfolds, she realizes he’s hidden more than he’s shared with her.

Mad Honey is a riveting novel of suspense, an unforgettable love story, and a moving and powerful exploration of the secrets we keep and the risks we take in order to become ourselves.