tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45082678656323652312026-09-23T12:17:07.697-07:00Book notes from a compulsive "list" reader.Gilion at Rose City Readerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18080293172467000794noreply@blogger.comBlogger3975125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4508267865632365231.post-21703289877969508192026-09-03T17:00:00.000-07:002026-09-03T17:00:00.189-07:00

 BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYSANNOUNCEMENT -- NEW HOST!I put out the call, and Olivia at Bemused & Bookish rose to the occasion! She will take over hosting Book Beginnings on Fridays starting next week, September 11. Please give her a big round of applause!Olivia may have some new ideas for this weekly event. It will be hers to shape and manage as she wants. I am grateful for her for

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BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYThe Green Road by Anne Enright Thank you for joining me this week for Book Beginnings on Fridays. Like I said last week, I'm ready to give up Book Beginnings. My time as host has run it's course.Does anyone want to take over this weekly event to host and make it your own? Please let me know in a comment if you are willing and interested. Alternately, we can call it good

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 BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYSGood-Bye, Mr. Chips by James HiltonThank you for joining me this week for Book Beginnings on Fridays. And speaking of goodbyes, I'm ready to give up Book Beginnings. I forgot to post again last week, even though I put it on my calendar. It's like now that I've retired from work, I have no time to blog. Crazy! My time as host has run it's course.Does anyone

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BOOK REVIEWRisk Management by Reid WinslowReid Winslow's second thriller, Risk Management, explores a dark world of corruption and double (triple?) dealing. Larry Welk makes an almost anti-hero of a protagonist as a dry drunk, disbarred lawyer working as private detective. This time, he's working off the books after his former lover is shot by Chicago police and Larry is the main suspect. 

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BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYSState of the Union by Nick HornbyThank you for joining me for Book Beginnings on Fridays. Please share the opening sentence (or so) of the book you are reading this week. You can also share from a book that caught your fancy, even if you are not reading it right now.MY BOOK BEGINNINGWhen Louise arrives, Tom is already halfway through a pint, and he's doing The Guardian's

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BOOK THOUGHTSJuly 2026 Monthly Wrap UpJuly was a good reading month for me. How about you? Here's a list of the books I read in July, in the order I read them, not as shown in the photo. Those not in the photo were audiobooks I read with my ears. The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien. Not a favorite but I’m happy to get it off my shelf, thanks to the TBR 26 in '26 Challenge. 

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 BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYSThe Windsor Knot by S. J. BennettThank you for joining me this week for Book Beginnings on Fridays where participants share the opening sentence (or two) from the book they are reading. You can also share from a book you want to feature, even if you are not reading it at the moment. MY BOOK BEGINNINGIt was an almost perfect spring day.-- from The Windsor Knot

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BOOK THOUGHTSJune 2026 Monthly Wrap UpWhat book surprised you in June? For me, the answer is The Calamity Club, which completely pulled me in from the get go. See my earlier review post.Here's the list of the book I read in June. See any favorites?Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie. I love AC but often forget to read her books. I'd like to read at least one a month but need to concentrate to

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BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYSThe Singapore Grip by J. G. FarrellThank you for joining me for Book Beginnings on Fridays. Please share the opening sentence (or so) of the book you are reading this week. You can also share from a book that caught your fancy, even if you are not reading it right now.MY BOOK BEGINNINGThe city of Singapore was not built up gradually, the way most cities are, by a natural

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 BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYSEncounters with Animals by Gerald DurrellThank you for joining me this week for Book Beginnings on Fridays where participants share the opening sentence (or two) from the book they are reading. You can also share from a book you want to feature, even if you are not reading it at the moment. MY BOOK BEGINNINGI am constantly being surprised by the number of

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 BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYSHere One Moment by Liane MoriartyWell, if you came by last week or the week before for Book Beginnings, MY APOLOGIES! Apparently retirement and hosting duties don't mix, because I keep forgetting to post. I've now added a weekly reminder to my calendar so I hope I will be more responsible.  If you are still hanging around, thank you for joining me this

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 5 Great American NovelsFAVE FIVE BOOK THOUGHTSThe word of the month is semiquincentennial! On this Independence Day weekend, in honor of America's 250th anniversary, I picked five of my favorite American novels. I think these are all "great American novels" even if I don't know I would pick one of them for the Great American Novel, which is an elusive critter. Instead of trying to

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 The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett and Mona's Eyes by Thomas SchlesserBOOK REVIEW(S)I recently read The Calamity Club and Mona's Eyes, both new, popular books, and they hit me entirely differently. Can you guess which of these I loved and which I didn’t finish? The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett: Well -- suspense over -- I loved this one. Absolutely loved it. I almost didn’t

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Birdbrains: A Lyrical Guide to Washington State Birds by Susan Rich (editor), Stephanie Delaney (author, bird notes), and Hiroko Seki (artist) (Raven Chronicles Press, 2025)BOOK REVIEWBirdbrains captivated me immediately, both in concept and execution. It’s not like any other bird guide (or poetry collection) you’ve ever seen. The birdbrained brainchild of editor Susan Rich, Seattle poet and

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 BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYSThe Impossible Fortune by Richard OsmanThank you for joining me this week for Book Beginnings on Fridays where participants share the opening sentence (or two) from the book they are reading. You can also share from a book you want to feature, even if you are not reading it at the moment. MY BOOK BEGINNINGIt's been a while since I wrote, I know that. I'm ever

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 BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules VerneThank you for joining me this week for Book Beginnings on Fridays where participants share the opening sentence (or two) from the book they are reading. You can also share from a book you want to feature, even if you are not reading it at the moment. MY BOOK BEGINNINGThe year 1866 was marked by a bizarre incident, an

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BOOK THOUGHTSFebruary 2026 Monthly Wrap Up When it comes to vacation books, I’m Team Fluffy all the way. When I go out of town, like I did in May, I pack hen lit, comfort reads, and mysteries. Many of the books I read in May are not in this picture because I left them behind when I finished.* Do you do that? Here's a list of the books I read in May. See any favorites?The Last Detective by Peter

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BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYSThe Calamity Club by Kathryn StockettThank you for joining me for Book Beginnings on Fridays. Please share the opening sentence (or so) of the book you are reading this week. You can also share from a book that caught your fancy, even if you are not reading it right now.MY BOOK BEGINNINGDowntown Drugstore had a bell on the door that made a single tink sound when you

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 BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYSThe Ghost Road by Pat BarkerThank you for joining me this week for Book Beginnings on Fridays where participants share the opening sentence (or two) from the book they are reading. You can also share from a book you want to feature, even if you are not reading it at the moment. MY BOOK BEGINNINGIn deck-chairs all along the front, the bald pink knees of

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BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYSThe Season of Second Chances by Diane MeierThank you for joining me for Book Beginnings on Fridays. Please share the opening sentence (or so) of the book you are reading this week. You can also share from a book that caught your fancy, even if you are not reading it right now.MY BOOK BEGINNINGIt takes a keen eye to tell a false start from a dead end.-- from The Season of

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 BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYSThe Royal Secret by Lucinda RileyThank you for joining me this week for Book Beginnings on Fridays where participants share the opening sentence (or two) from the book they are reading. You can also share from a book you want to feature, even if you are not reading it at the moment. MY BOOK BEGINNING“James, darling, what are you doing?”-- from The Royal Secret

Gilion at Rose City Readerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18080293172467000794noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4508267865632365231.post-29796377602888524202026-05-09T15:45:00.000-07:002026-05-09T15:45:00.116-07:00

Three Books I Always Recommend, and WhyBOOK THOUGHTSWhen you are a reader, people always ask for book recommendations. Which book(s) do you recommend wholeheartedly? Three of my go to books I always recommend are Play It as It Lays, What’s Bred in the Bone, and Cold Comfort Farm. Here’s why I picked these three: Play It as It Lays by Joan Didion is a 1970 novel about a former actress facing the

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BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYSFinlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead by Elle CosimanoThank you for joining me for Book Beginnings on Fridays. Please share the opening sentence (or so) of the book you are reading this week. You can also share from a book that caught your fancy, even if you are not reading it right now.MY BOOK BEGINNINGChristopher was dead.-- from Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead by Elle

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BOOK THOUGHTSApril 2026 Monthly Wrap UpApril was a good reading month for me. I finished rereading the Narnia Chronicles for the first time since I was a kid and I knocked six books off my TBR 26 in '26 list. See any favorites?The Horse and His Boy by C.S. LewisThe Magician’s Nephew by C.S. LewisThe Last Battle by C.S. LewisThe Other Family by Joanna Trollope. I always enjoy her books. This one

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 BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYSRegeneration by Pat BarkerThank you for joining me this week for Book Beginnings on Fridays where participants share the opening sentence (or two) from the book they are reading. You can also share from a book you want to feature, even if you are not reading it at the moment. MY BOOK BEGINNINGFinished with the War[,] A Soldier's DeclarationI am making this

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