2009 | Mystery, historical fiction | Flavia de Luce #1
This was our bookclub pick this month. I read it alternating between page and audiobook (which happily was read by Jayne Entwistle). I am not generally a fan of child MCs, but for a variety of reasons I did like this one. I feel like future books in this series might be good slump-breakers or good ones to pick up when I’m not sure what I’m in the mood for.
2018 | Historical fiction (Berne, Switzerland, and Paris, France, 18th century)
This is a fictionalized biography of Madame Tussaud (she of wax museum fame). It’s really good–weird and interesting. I’m not sure how I would have felt about reading it on the page, but I really enjoyed the audiobook. Jayne Entwistle is my new favorite audiobook narrator.
1969 | Middle grade, time travel, historical fiction (WW1, 1950s)
I gave this book to my husband for his birthday. The book was the inspiration for The Cure’s song “Charlotte Sometimes” (one of his favorite songs from his all-time favorite band). I didn’t know the song well, so I didn’t catch the lyrics drawn from the book, but I can see and appreciate the inspiration for sure. The book was thought-provoking about the feel of identity in the midst of day-to-day life and there were times I felt real tension about how the plot would resolve. And I love the title so much.
I am a huge fan of magical realism. This book was ridiculous, and I loved it. It very much had the feel of a folktalke and/or a telenovela, so the parts that were over the top (and there were many) weren’t too heavy or dark. I didn’t actually like the central romantic pairing (Tita and Pedro) at all, and that whole (pretty central) storyline did not go how I would have liked it to. But I tend to like a book where the plot goes in a different direction than I’d prefer — it keeps it more interesting.
I got a bee in my bonnet to list all the books we’ve read in book club. The list is at 108, and I think it’s really close to comprehensive, but record keeping is not my strong suit, so I may have missed a few. Contemporary fiction
Historical fiction
More fiction (includes Classics, Fantasy and/or Magical Realism, Literary Retelling, Mystery, Plays, Science Fiction, Short Stories, and Westerns)
BIOGRAPHY
A Light So Lovely: The Spiritual Legacy of Madeleine L’Engle by Sarah Arthur
Pub. 2018 | Read November 2020
CHRISTIAN
Art and Faith: A Theology of Making by Makoto Fujimura
Pub. 2021 | Read June 2021
The Quotidian Mysteries: Laundry, Liturgy, and Women’s Work by Kathleen Norris
Pub. 1998 | Read July 2016
ESSAYS
Girlhood by Melisssa Febos
CLASSICS
Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery
Pub. 1923 | Middle grade | Read September 2017
Emma by Jane Austen
British lit., romance | Pub. 1815 | Read ? (discussion was at Holmes Lake)
Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
British lit., romance | Pub. 1874 | Read December 2024
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Pub. 1818 | Read 2018? (discussion was at Nicole’s house)
HISTORICAL FICTION
1st Century
The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd
Nazareth | Pub. 2020 | Read October 202
12th Century
Godric by Frederick Buechner
England | Pub. 1980 | Read November 2021
16th Century
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
England | Pub. 2020 | Read May 2023 | Watched movie February 2026
17th Century
North Woods by Daniel Mason
CONTEMPORARY FICTION
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Pub. 2013 | Read January 2015
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
Pub. 2019 | Read May 2021
Beartown by Fredrik Backman
Pub. 2016 | Read July 2018
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
Japanese lit. | Pub. 2016 | Read March 2021
Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner
Pub. 1987 | Read March 2015
I know you’re not really supposed to do so, but I read this primarily with someone else in mind (not toxic thoughts about this person, but helping her overcome her own toxic thoughts). Overall, I thought it was pretty solid. I am not recommending it, but I wouldn’t discourage anyone from reading it either, if this kind of book is your jam.
2025 | Mystery, number 20 in the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series
I’m ambivalent about this series. Twenty books in, there is too much repetition, too little character growth, and too much really cheesy writing (I was going to flag examples to complain about, but I didn’t bother). And yet, I like the familiarity of the characters and the reliability of the setting. I keep thinking I might be done with the series, but what I do like about it still outweighs what I don’t.
As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame;
As tumbled over rim in roundy wells
Stones ring; like each tucked string tells, each hung bell’s
Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name;
Each mortal thing does one thing and the same:
Deals out that being indoors each one dwells;
Selves — goes itself; myself it speaks and spells,
Crying Whát I dó is me: for that I came.
1986 | Poetry, historical fiction (The Children’s Blizzard, January 12, 1888)
I picked this up at Bluestem a few weeks ago, and a post reminded me of the anniversary of the blizzard (137 years), so I ended up reading it on that day. Having grown up in Nebraska, I have been fascinated and haunted by the stories of the devastating blizzard. These poems were, with one exception, stories I had not heard before, and I really enjoyed reading them.
I do love a good heist story. And this cast of characters was really fun. I don’t love that it ended on a cliffhanger because by the end of the book I felt like I needed a bit of a break from the genre–nothing bad, just need a breath after 450+ pages.
2013 | Mystery/thriller (but very much character-driven and not at all plot-driven)
This book is set in Red Hook, Brooklyn, just as it was beginning to be gentrified, and has such a strong sense of place–the neighborhood feels like a character itself. The large cast of characters reminded me of a James McBride book (a good thing). Though the premise seems like this will be a thriller (two fifteen-year-old girls take a raft out on the river, only one returns), it’s much slower-paced than a proper thriller (an interesting and good thing), and even the mystery takes a backseat to the character development.
1905 | Historical fiction (French Revolution), classics
January bookclub pick
This was my second time reading this, and I liked it again, but not quite as much as the first time I read it (several years ago). Baroness Orczy is aggressively pro-aristocracy, and it’s a bit much at times. Setting aside actual politics and going along with the which-is-which of good guys/bad guys within the story as it is written, I do love stories of tricksters outsmarting their opponents. My husband learned that the Scarlet Pimpernel is widely considered the first costumed superhero, which is an interesting way to read this one. I also learned that it was originally written as a play, and that tracks.
I absolutely loved this one. I found myself processing long after, as if Sybil were someone I had actually known. Also, it made me want to write letters. A new favorite.
