The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young

Working on my StoryGraph account, I discovered an assigned book, The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young, I somehow had not read last year. I suspect I was out of town when the group met and maybe deep in another author’s archives.

I read The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young. 

I am not big on magical realism, but this one was pretty creative. I enjoyed it. 

I maintain accounts on GoodReads and StoryGraph, thanks to youngest getting me organized. 

StoryGraph - 

In each book post, I utilize https://www.bookseriesinorder.com/

This is a wonderful website that helps clarify the publication order of books and verifies book series. I use this website because there are no spoilers. But if I need a description, I can click over using the links, easily. There are also author bios.

Octavia E. Butler - Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents

Octavia E. Butler (1947-2006), who authored Parable of the Sower (published 1993), is one of Youngest’s favorite authors. 

This is for good reason, Octavia E. Butler is an excellent author.  

Butler’s books are listed near the bottom of this list. 

Parable of the Sower was supposed to be a discussion book for Youngest’s group earlier this year. At the last minute there were not enough hard copies available. So they switched to their back up book. 

They designate one back up book for each year. My own groups, with audio and ebooks readily available, no longer worries about having a large quantity of physical books available for checkout. 

I loved Parable of the Sower, even though dystopian is not a favorite genre for me, and the subject matter in this book can be a tough read. 

And then I read the sequel, Parable of the Talents, also excellent, also a tough read in parts.

Middle did not read Parable of the Sower, even though dystopian is her favorite, because there are sad packs of feral dogs.

Youngest has also not yet read Parable of the Sower. She has read and loved Octavia E. Butler’s science fiction. 

These two, Parable of the Sower (published 1993) and the sequel Parable of the Talents (published 1998), are dystopian themed fiction books.

These are unusual books, and most modern readers will be surprised they were written in the 1990’s. They might be a tough read for some, in view of world circumstances today, but if one can handle the very close to home dystopian themes, they are excellent. 

Lynn Thigpen, of Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego, narrates the first book, Parable of the Sower.  She did an excellent job, she really brought the story to life. She died in 2003. 

The second book, Parable of the Talents, has three readers (Patricia R. Floyd, Peter Jay Fernandez, Sisi Aisha Johnson) who are also excellent.

These would be a good series for a February/African American read for a group that likes quality reads. There would be much discussion in both these books for a reading group. Yes, they should both be read, in order.

I maintain accounts on GoodReads and StoryGraph, thanks to youngest getting me organized. 

StoryGraph - 

In each book post, I utilize https://www.bookseriesinorder.com/

This is a wonderful website that helps clarify the publication order of books and verifies book series. I use this website because there are no spoilers. But if I need a description, I can click over using the links, easily. There are also author bios.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho was another book from Youngest’s book group’s previously read books. I am cranking through this/my To Read list in May. 

The audio speech pace was quite slow, but as it was Jeremy Irons, I left the speed alone. 

This is a very short book, only 4 hours in audio format.

It was enjoyable and easy to follow, but unusual. 

I maintain accounts on GoodReads and StoryGraph, thanks to youngest getting me organized. 

StoryGraph - 

In each book post, I utilize https://www.bookseriesinorder.com/

This is a wonderful website that helps clarify the publication order of books and verifies book series. I use this website because there are no spoilers. But if I need a description, I can click over using the links, easily. There are also author bios.

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner is a book from my To Read list. 

It is one of the books from Youngest’s book group’s previously read books. Youngest has not read it, it predates her membership in the group. 

I believe The Lost Apothecary is classified as historical and fiction. Still not my favorite genre. But I believe the characters were fictional, so that is good, in my opinion. 

The Lost Apothecary reminded me so much of The Lost Bookshop that I stopped to see if they were written by the same author. Nope, The Lost Bookshop is Eve Woods. 

One of my current book groups read The Lost Apothecary before I joined their group. They all liked it. They like historical fiction in general. 

I maintain accounts on GoodReads and StoryGraph, thanks to youngest getting me organized. 

StoryGraph - 

In each book post, I utilize https://www.bookseriesinorder.com/

This is a wonderful website that helps clarify the publication order of books and verifies book series. I use this website because there are no spoilers. But if I need a description, I can click over using the links, easily. There are also author bios.

John Marrs series and John Marrs stand alone books

John Marrs’ series -

I read John Marr’s One Universe series (5 books) in late February/early March and loved all but one of the books. 

Of course the one book, that was not my favorite, The Marriage Act, was the assigned title for my early April book group. 

That group met several weeks ago. 

I was very interested to hear what everyone else thought of the book. 

I could not imagine reading The Marriage Act stand alone (it was #4 of 5 books in the One Universe series). But that is exactly how most people read The Marriage Act, by itself. 

A few people had read The One. 

The opinions? 

One person hates all John Marrs books. She think he is a poor writer in general, apparently because he writes short chapters. (My opinion is when you have a lot of characters, it is very kind to have short chapters and rotate between all characters regularly.)

A couple people plan to read the rest of the One Universe series, all the books, in order. They loved it.

A few people, including the librarian, felt The Marriage Act was a little too close to current life, even though it is science fiction and dystopian.

John Marrs’ standalone titles -

Late March 2025 and all of April 2025, in between book group assignments, and with a break to catch up on my podcasts, I started interspersing John Marr’s stand alone novels in between my book club assignments and books on my To Read list and podcasts.

All these John Marr stand alone books are labeled as mystery thrillers. I think there needs to be one more word added to that description, like “twisted” or “dark”. People who like Dexter or Criminal Minds would probably like these books. 

Some of the dates (below) are quite close, but I read at least one other book in between every Marrs’ title. 

That is my strong recommendation, layer other things between the Marr’s standalone books.

I was not under any time constraints. I just kept plugging away, working my way through the list. 

Most of these books were not available in audio through the library. I purchased on Audible.

When You Disappeared was disturbing, but creative, and quite good in a very twisted way. (Listened from start to finish on 3/28/25).

The Vacation had a lot of characters and story lines, it was well written, and I could follow everything easily, but it was a lot, in my opinion. I stuck with it, I knew the story would come together. It did. I liked it, very much, by the end. (3/29 - 3/31).

The Good Samaritan also has a uniquely twisted storyline, two main characters, well written, unpredictable. (4/2 - 4/3).

Her Last Move, well written, police department character list, dark, really liked it  (4/7 - 4/8).

What Lies Between Us, two main characters, well written, quite twisted (4/8 - 4/9).

Keep It In The Family, it was okay, but dragged, not my favorite (4/17 - 4/18).

The Stranger in Her House, it was okay, but not my favorite (4/18 - 4/19).

You Killed Me First, it was okay, but also not my favorite, (4/28 - 4/29).

In each book post, I utilize https://www.bookseriesinorder.com/

This is a wonderful website that helps clarify the publication order of books and verifies book series. I use this website because there are no spoilers. But if I need a description, I can click over using the links, easily. There are also author bios.

The Manicurist's Daughter by Susan Lieu

Note -

I have done quite a bit of work on my StoryGraph account. I retroactively added month end summary posts to the last day of each month for 2025. This is quite fun! 

https://baby-steps-v.blogspot.com/search/label/Books%20storygraph%20stats

Two books I read in January 2025 did not have an audio edition listed. So the pie charts reflects an incorrect hard copy read. I listened to 100% of the books on Libby, Audible, or Hoopla.

The Manicurist's Daughter by Susan Lieu, a non fiction memoir, was an assigned book. 

This story follows a family who immigrated to the USA from Vietnam. They are genetically Chinese, but culturally Vietnamese.

Middle and I listened this week and attended the evening group meeting. (I had two groups meet this week, it makes it tricky to remember both books properly for discussion.)

Middle liked The Manicurist's Daughter quite a bit. I was more neutral on it.

Three people at the discussion meeting did not finish the book and did not seem to understand people from other cultures have different viewpoints. Everybody else finished the book and had a lot to say, pro and con,  there was lots of discussion. 

Middle and I read a similar book in 2024, Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner. We both liked that book. I liked it more than she did. (Middle happened to be off work and attended the Crying in H Mart morning group discussion with me last year. She is fairly well versed in Asian culture and food, she added a lot to the discussion.)

I maintain accounts on GoodReads and StoryGraph, thanks to youngest getting me organized. 

StoryGraph - 

In each book post, I utilize https://www.bookseriesinorder.com/

This is a wonderful website that helps clarify the publication order of books and verifies book series. I use this website because there are no spoilers. But if I need a description, I can click over using the links, easily. There are also author bios.

Flag quilt #3

I made 9-patches using up the dark blue fabric leftover from flag quilt #2 and the light blue fabric leftover from flag quilt #1.

The 9-patches are one light blue fabric, the solid squares are a second light blue fabric (below).

I loved the blue on blue design. It makes a lovely blue pieced background. 

Middle and I agreed, the nine patch background was too plain. It needed something more. It needed something to balance the flag. 

At first I thought about substituting bold blocks for a few of the 9-patch blocks. These were my inspiration photos -

At middle’s suggestion, “applique”, I ended up going an entirely different direction -

Flag Quilt #2

I started right in on flag quilt #2 rolling on with the momentum of having a free long arm quilter and using up masses of fabric from my studio. 

Here was my starting point flag quilt #2  - 

Here are my inspiration photos -

There was a lot of math, the three sets of blocks (large friendship star, small friendship star, fancy star) and the flag were all different sizes. 

The background fabric is a consistent light blue print. I had a limited amount of that blue fabric and could not get more. It was a measure twice, cut once project.

I completed this quilt top between 4/7 - 4/16. I remembered to take a photo.

The stars are scattered, but in a systematic way. I like how the scattered stars form a background.  I like how the three fancy stars are string and balance the flag. 

I like the scale of the whole thing. 

Flag quilt #2 (above) is ready to go to the new-to-me long arm quilter. 

When she texts to say flag quilt #1 is finished, flag quilt #2 is ready to go to her in the same trip. Bonus, she lives the next town north of me, a close distance.

Military Veteran Donation Quilts (Flag quilt #1)

I found five flag panels, I made long ago. 

I wanted them to go to good use. None of the kids wanted them. I did not want them either. 

At the quilt retreat in March, a female Navy veteran told me about a group. They make and donate  veteran/military charity quilts. I was thrilled to find this connection. More information is at the bottom of this post.

My goal was to only use supplies on hand, not buy anything. I gathered what I had and stared at it for a while. 

My Flag quilt #1 -

Inspiration -

My finished top -

Middle and I dropped flag quilt top  #1 (above) off to the Navy Veteran, who is also a new-to-me long arm quilter, on Sunday, April 6, 2025. 

I neglected to get a photo of the top before it went to the quilter, but she kindly took one (above) for me. 

There is something off about the color in this photo and the quilt top in this photo. It looks off and a bit ugly. It did not look that way to me in person. I will post another photo when the quilt top is quilted and bound. 

I am very relieved I have a “no cost system” to put the five flag pieces to good use -

This Navy Veteran and long arm quilter is a member of my quilt guild. She volunteers her time/talent quilting for a local military support group. The group provides batting. The group will also do the handwork of the binding. 

So, for me, this means I piece the quilt top(s). I give the top and backing to the long arm quilter. She loads it on her frame and quilts it. She gives it back to me. I make binding and do the sewing machine part of the binding. I take it to the guild meeting for show and tell. I give it back to the long arm quilter at the meeting, she gives it to the military support group for me. They finish the binding and give it to a veteran.

No $$$ is required for the long arm quilting nor the batting nor the handwork on the binding.

Funny Story by Emily Henry

Funny Story by Emily Henry was an assigned book. 

When I started reading, I was confident I recognized the author’s style. Sure enough, when I looked, I had read an earlier book (Happy Place) by this same author. 

Funny Story by Emily Henry was well paced, well written, great characters, good light hearted story. The audio reader was perfect. I got into the swing of this type of book.  I enjoyed it. I plan to read the rest of Emily Henry’s books (bottom of this post). 

The other members of my book group liked this book too. One other person had read a previous book by this author. For a fairly light read, there was still lots of discussion.  We agreed that this is a good author to read in between dark or difficult books.

I maintain accounts on GoodReads and StoryGraph, thanks to youngest getting me organized. 

Here’s what people on StoryGraph had to say - 

Other novels by Emily Henry -

https://www.bookseriesinorder.com/emily-henry/

In each book post, I utilize https://www.bookseriesinorder.com/

This is a wonderful website that helps clarify the publication order of books and verifies book series. I use this website because there are no spoilers. But if I need a description, I can click over using the links, easily. There are also author bios.

April StoryGraph Stats

 

More on rediscovering

I have gone back to things, I loved long ago, in a big way. See my last post.

DOGS

Dogs is probably the biggest one. I loved pets as a child. 

When the kids were quite young I was diagnosed with asthma. The asthma was not new, I have likely had it since birth. It had never been diagnosed or treated. I had really suffered. Untreated asthma impacted my life in a big negative way. 

I then developed what I now think of as asthma PTSD. I was terrified of something triggering an asthma flare, which, for me, can last for weeks/months. I avoided animals. I was nearly hysterical about perfumes, cigarette smoke, incense, etc. 

The neighbor’s dogs changed this for me. As I interacted with them, and my respiratory system did not crash, I grew less afraid.  I loved spending my days with them. Eventually I realized the dogs could be in my house and not crash me. 

With my neighbor’s dogs full time 2017 - 2020, intermittently 2022 - 2023, and now middle’s dogs (turning 4) full time, I have gone back to dogs in a big way. 

Middle’s dogs are here, with me, a lot. She drops them off each morning on her way to work. They stay here when she is out of town or has an event.

Middle and I are now (very) active with our local dog club. I am in the dog club building, surrounded by dogs, with no fear and no respiratory problems. 

Why is this? I went through two rounds of allergy shots. I am on daily allergy and asthma meds. We have huge filters at our house. I have my sleep machine which has improved my respiratory system. 

Dogs is a big, positive back in my life.

BOOK GROUPS

I loved book groups starting in 2011 and continuing for several years. I am not sure why I stopped. I have gone back to book groups in a big way too, I participate in four locally, my husband I both read Youngest’s book group selections also. Reading her book selection each month and giving her feedback for her group, is good for all three of us. It gives us positive/energetic talking points. It expands everyone’s reading lists. 

CROSSWORD PUZZLES

During my four high school years, maybe my two junior high years too, I did cross word puzzles out of a printed Chicago newspaper. 

I loved cross word puzzles at that time. When I went to college, I think I got the Chicago paper for a bit. 

Then things got busy, it was expensive to get the paper long distance, and I fell off the crossword habit. I forgot all about my love of crosswords.

I started doing online Wordle a year or two ago. This is via the Wordle app.

Two weeks ago I started doing all the other NYTimes online games too, except for Sudoku which I do not like. 

The kids and DIL all play some of the New York Times Games, including Wordle and Connections. 

Youngest and I are the only two who do the full Crossword puzzle each day. We both pay the premium so we have access to the full NYT crossword. 

On the harder days, primarily Sunday, youngest and I do the puzzle together, talking on the phone. 

QUILTING 

I have to limit/pace myself carefully, but I am able to quilt now. I have rejoined the local quilt guild. Middle attends the monthly meetings with me.  I went to a guild weekend retreat in March. I have started going to a once a month Saturday guild quilt bee.

Rediscovering

Gretchen Rubin and Liz have talked about going back to things you once loved on their podcast. 

They specifically mentioned that activities loved as a kid, might be worth rediscovering. 

This is not something I would have noticed/realized if they had not mentioned it. 

I looked for the podcast that talks about this in detail. I did not find it, but I found others I really enjoyed -

https://gretchenrubin.com/podcast/a-little-happier-when-do-i-feel-the-joyous-childhood-feeling-of-expectancy/

https://gretchenrubin.com/podcast/little-happier-children-arent-wasting-their-time/

PS - is the inverse of this also true? Avoid things hated as a child? Or do we change and grow into them? 

Murder 101

 Sarah Fain mentioned this podcast, Murder 101, in a recent episode of Happier in Hollywood. 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/happier-in-hollywood/id1236845161?i=1000704757737