Margaret Truman

 I read the early Margaret Truman fiction/mystery series many years ago (1980’s). As I added books to my GoodReads account, September 2023, this series popped in my head. 

I looked at the nice long list (above) and then searched under Margaret Truman’s name on Audible in September of 2023. 

I immediately knew there was a big problem. The Audible list is quite short, with 16 fiction titles listed. And all the books listed on Audible are the later ones. The early books are not available.

This rarely happens. I think nearly every book I have wanted to read, or was assigned to read for a group, is available in audio format. (There might have been one non-audio title in one of my old book groups long ago, and I think I just skipped that month.)

I took the list of Margaret Truman capitol mystery series books and went to my local library on September 11, 2023. A reference librarian helped me look. She agreed, most of the (early) titles are not available (anywhere) in audio format. 

She suggested I look up each book on the library system as I go, it is possible one or two might still be available on CD. (Nope, there were -0-.)

She also suggested large print books might be an option, but I am confident holding a book is going to be an issue with my hands as well as my eyes, and again sedentary reading.

Librarian mainly suggested reading these (non audio) titles/books on a tablet. She said many people who have eye issues do fine on a screen vs a paper/printed book.

This (below) is a clear indicator of how much I wanted to start with book one and work my way through the whole capitol crimes series. 

I charged an old iPad. 

I downloaded Hoopla and Libby. And learned to use them.

I learned to checkout library e-books and read on a tablet. 

The biggest adjustment to tablet reading?  It is so quiet. The quiet is overwhelming and super uncomfortable. 

Biggest surprise? I had forgotten how quickly I read. I can nearly finish one of these books in a sitting. But the problem is - I am sitting. 

On the quiet issue, I tried listening to white noise as I read, and that did not work. My mind is programmed to sleep when it hears white noise, so I napped instead of  reading.

I cranked through the first two books, one book the first day, and the second book the next day. But I got very little else done those two days. It was not happy reading. 

Then I sort of struggled for two weeks thinking I should be reading Truman in order, but then not because she was not audio. And then not reading/listening to anything, because I was used to reading one author, all the way thru, at a time. This both sank me and caused me to get little else done. 

So I set Truman aside and started on Krueger’s Cork (audio) series. I loved the series and there were lots of books. 

And then I listened to many other books and caught up on my podcasts.

And then I started going to local book groups (April 2024) which generated lots of titles with the bonus of discussion. And I was able to stop reading books by author and just read individual books.  

And nearly a whole year went by, in the blink of an eye.

End of July 2024, one morning when I woke early, I relooked on my local library system, there were still  -0- Truman audio books listed.

I looked on Libby, utilizing my card and Youngest’s cards, there were -0- Truman audio books listed.

I looked on Hoopla, under my own/local library card, there were 9 Truman audio books listed.  

Remember, Audible had 16 Truman audio books listed.

I looked at the list of Truman books and decided I needed to make myself an actual chart, in the wee hours that same morning (below).

I am not reading my way through these books. 

But I am saving this chart. Circumstances might arise where I can stand to read 8 books on a tablet and then the audios and complete this author. Or maybe the missing books will be recorded at a future date.

Crimes Books

Murder in the White House	(1980)	Read tablet
Murder on Capitol Hill	(1981)	Read tablet
Murder in the Supreme Court	(1982)
Murder in the Smithsonian	(1983)
Murder on Embassy Row	(1984)
Murder at the FBI	(1985)
Murder in Georgetown	(1986)
Murder in the CIA	(1987)	Hoopla
Murder at the Kennedy Center	(1989)	Hoopla Audible
Murder at the National Cathedral	(1990)
Murder at the Pentagon	(1992)
Murder on the Potomac	(1994)	Hoopla
Murder at the National Gallery	(1996)	Hoopla
Murder in the House	(1997)
Murder at the Watergate	(1998)	Hoopla
Murder at the Library of Congress	(1999)	Hoopla
Murder in Foggy Bottom	(2000)	Audible
Murder in Havana	(2001)	Hoopla
Murder at Ford's Theatre	(2002)	Audible
Murder at Union Station	(2004)	Audible
Murder at The Washington Tribune	(2005)	Audible
Murder at the Opera	(2006)	Audible
Murder on K Street	(2007)	Audible
Murder Inside the Beltway	(2008)	Audible
Monument to Murder	(2011)	Audible
Experiment in Murder  (With: Donald Bain)	(2012)	Audible
Undiplomatic Murder  (With: Donald Bain)	(2014)	Audible
Internship in Murder  (With: Donald Bain)	(2015)	Audible
Deadly Medicine  (With: Donald Bain)	(2016)	Audible
Allied in Danger  (With: Donald Bain)	(2018)	Audible
Murder on the Metro  (With: Jon Land)	(2021)	Hoopla Audible
Murder at the CDC  (With: Jon Land)	(2022)	Hoopla Audible

Did I type all that? No. 

https://www.bookseriesinorder.com/margaret-truman/

I copied the chart and then added Audible and Hoopla to the right column.

Note, Margaret Truman’s biography is very interesting:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Truman

Another note, there is also a nice list of her non fiction books, and two other titles.

None Of This Is True by Lisa Jewell

This was a book group assignment. We all liked it. There was great discussion over the “none of this is true” element of the story. 

The two main characters are women, voiced by two separate actresses. There were multiple other readers in the recording, the different voices really helped tell the story. 

Lisa Jewel has a long list of books. They are neatly listed by category, here -

https://www.orderofbooks.com/authors/lisa-jewell/

Would I read more? Yes, I might. 

Another walled garden

Note - extra posts snuck in earlier this week. 

My husband, middle and I previously built five walls at middle’s house. Four of these are raised flower beds. Two hold river rock around utilities, spigots, next to the house. 

We built four major walls at our house. All of these are raised flower beds. 

We built a recent raised flower bed at middle’s house. 

It is the first circle we have done. Making an enclosed wall where everything is level, is a bit tricky. 

First we gather supplies and tools. We use a wheel barrow as a rolling toolbox. It is stored in the garage between work sessions. 

Many of the plants were moved from my house. I dug, middle potted. We moved them in our car trunk. We also purchased end of the season/50% off perennials and one bush for this bed. 

The plants all acclimated in their new location for several weeks while we worked on placement and design.

The lines were finalized, a trench was dug. Paver gravel was pounded in the bottom. An 8’ 2”x4” with a level on top was used to keep everything in line/level. The wall was built. Dirt was added. The plants were planted. 

The area between the bed and the house was walled, lined with weed cloth secured by U pins, and filled with washed river rock. This creates an area for the hose. It also gives a spot for the downspout. 

Spirit Crossing by William Kent Krueger

This was not a book club assignment.

Youngest alerted me months ago that William Kent Krueger’s 20th book/Cork series would be available mid August 2024. 

I preordered on Audible. I knew there would be a wait at all libraries on the Libby and Hoopla platforms. I wanted to be able to read it immediately.

It automatically popped up in my library. 

As soon as I got in my car, leaving my August 21st book group discussion meeting, I started Spirit Crossing.

I knew I could easily finish it before Monday morning rolled around and I started my next discussion group book. 

I try to attend one book discussion group per week. These groups meet on Wednesdays or Thursdays. I start the new book each Monday, so it is fresh in my mind for discussion. I do not start another (personal choice) book until after the discussion. So I read one book a week for discussion. And I tend to read one or more books per week that are personal choice. 

Youngest and I were introduced to William Kent Krueger, fall 2023, when her book group assigned one of his stand alone novels. She loved it. Her group loved it. I read and loved it. Then I started in on the rest of his list. This was before I started attending one book group a week. 

I read all the rest of William Kent Krueger’s books fall 2023. I read the stand along books first and then the Cork series. (I have not read the Cork companion book.)

It very happily took many months to listen/read thru all Krueger’s titles. This emersion method is my favorite way to read a really good author - one book after the other in chronological order. 

https://www.bookseriesinorder.com/william-kent-krueger/

The Day He Never Came Home by Andrew DeYoung

Reeding Between the Lines is the book review podcast hosted by my quilt blogger (Nicole Reed) and her daughter (Sara Reed). 

Podcast format - Sara hosts each episode. Nicole joins her, at least once a month, for their book review topic. Nicole’s son, Sara’s brother, Ahren joins Sara on occasion to discuss science fiction titles. And also, occasionally, Sara interviews a variety of authors. I best like this podcast when Nicole is on it. But I like the other says too. 

One of the July podcast titles caught my attention -

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/reeding-between-the-lines/id1744436935?i=1000663808381

The podcast (above) features the author of this book -

I sort of devoured it. I started listening on a Wednesday morning, after my book group meeting on another title, and finished it before I went to bed that same day. It was in my ears, playing, sort of the whole day. 

It was captivating. I would classify it as a “beach read”, a book with a quick pace that holds attention without being complicated or difficult. 

I absolutely could keep track of all the characters easily. 

I understood the plot. 

I enjoyed it. 

I watch enough Dateline to know that some officials are excellent, others not so much. 

So, I accepted the book’s premise that the FBI is a little incompetent, right from the start. And then just let go of certain facts that otherwise would have annoyed me in the plot. 

I think this author, at this point in time, has three books.  Would I read the other two? Yes, I might. 

Photo frames

This would make a great gift idea. 

I ordered this first 10” digital photo frame directly from Amazon in March 2022, $180.83. We had problems with it. It was a return with someone else’s photos loaded on it. It appeared as if a family bought it for a party, loaded/used it, and then returned it. 

Amazon refunded the full amount after we complained about the fact it was a second hand frame. Skylight helped us return it to factory settings/clean.

I kept this 10” frame. It has been in the living room for the last two years. The kids send photos directly to it.

It recently moved to the kitchen. The 10” size is perfect on a kitchen counter. We tend to watch the frame while we wait for the microwave.

There is a power strip with a short cord behind the frame. This is my charging station.

I recently ordered a 15” (directly from Skylight) for the living room. I really love the larger size in the living room. 

I did not wait for a sale. I ordered June 2024. I ordered directly from Skylight (not Amazon) so I was assured it would be a new one. 

Peter Swanson books

Nicole (Reeding Between the Lines podcast and Sister’s Choice Quilt Blog) mentioned this series. 

I liked them very much! I thought the series was original and well written. 

Various sites use these genres to describe the series: psychology suspense, thriller, mystery, fiction.

Yes, they absolutely need to be read in order. They are captivating. I listened to all three over the course of approximately 5 days. 

I listened to the first two via Libby/library. I purchased the third one (Audible) because there was a very long wait on both Libby and Hoopla.

The characters were easy to distinguish.  Multiple readers voiced the different people. The character changes were well defined, it was very easy to keep track of everything and everyone through all three books. 

I just went with the premise and did not fight it. 

Probably I will read his stand alone books also:

Arthritis creates daily problems

In February/March I had a lot of left knee issues. 

I ended up getting a cortisone shot which helped a lot, because we traveled in April. 

I thought the cortisone calmed down everything and the left knee issues were solved.

In July, the pain came back. Very sad. 

Getting in and out of my car seemed to be one of the biggest issues.

We bought a new/higher vehicle for me. 

It is quite a bit taller than the 2023 Accord, which makes it look big, but it is not.

It is about 10” shorter than the Accord and less than 1” wider.

It has even more safety features. It is much easier to get in and out.