The whole point of our Cleveland trip last week was to see a writer I have read and admired for years. She was speaking at the Parma-Snow Branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library system and I just had to go.
Adriana Trigiani is a writer first and foremost but her bio talks about the many hats she wears because she wants women to be inspired to pursue their own career aspirations. She’s billed as a women’s writer (although a lot of men like her books too) who has also worked as a television writer/ producer and a film director/screenwriter/producer. She also has a terrific podcast where she talks to authors about their books. I know her primarily as a fiction writer whose colorful books are true works of art that I look forward to with each and every release.
When I learned she was coming to Ohio, Adam and I planned an adventure around this event.
We were part of a lively audience packed into the Sari Feldman Auditorium at the library. Out of the 400 seats available that day, they all seemed full and they were mostly occupied by women. Adam was one of maybe two dozen men that I saw filter into the theater so the energy in this room just hit a little different.
She’s an Italian American who grew up in the Appalachian community of Big Stone Gap, Virginia. My gateway into her world was a series based in Big Stone Gap that features a fictional character named Ave Maria, the 35-year-old self-proclaimed spinster of her mountain town. I actually listened to the series on CD in the car several years ago when I was driving more than I do now. I vividly recall many driveway moments when I simply did not want to stop listening and go inside.
Since then, I have read everything she’s written except two of her older books (on my shelf and waiting to be read) and her newest book which I just acquired last week. It’s signed so it will eventually be moved to my signed book collection. All of her books pay homage to someone from her past and the contributions Italian Americans made to industries like dress making, music, shoemaking and more. They all are respectful and celebratory of these people and how they maintained pride in heritage while embracing a new life in America. These are immigration stories at their finest.
They say you shouldn’t meet your heroes and I didn’t. However, I do feel like I met her. In fact, I bet most people in that room left feeling like they know her, at least a little. She sat down with Ron Block, an employee of the library system and co-host of the Friends With Fiction podcast (if you read fiction, you’ll love it and the hosts who are New York Times bestselling authors). They’re old friends and he had a list of questions to try to guide the conversation. Truth is, there’s no guiding this woman in a conversation. She tells fantastic stories with side stories and side treks off of those.
I’m pretty sure she hasn’t met a rabbit hole she didn’t like and I appreciate that!
Adriana is relatable and funny and knows how to pull at your heartstrings too. She’s quick on her feet, fast with a joke and can paint a mental picture like no one’s business. It was like sitting in the living room of an old friend.
I loved every minute.
When we left, I was grateful that the event ticket came with a signed book and that I didn’t have to stand in line for it. We would have been there all night.
Three ladies in front of us knew her from college. A woman they didn’t know who was sitting next to them gushed about what these books mean to her and was excited to finally see her in person. One man stood up to say his family ran the apartment building where she lived years ago. Another brought a pair of earrings Adriana had given her twenty years ago. Adriana took them off and handed them to her during a Q&A, the woman said.
If you are a reader or just enjoy some good storytelling, I recommend you go listen to writers talk any time you have a chance. It’s always an enriching and fun learning opportunity! This one was filled with laughter and lots of wonderful stories!
I tend to read a healthy mixture of genres in both fiction and nonfiction. These people who read just one genre have my respect but I could never do it because there’s just so much interesting stuff out there. Plus, I’m a moody reader so my tastes can change. Nonfiction is handy when my mind is quiet and able to concentrate. Different fiction genres are reserved for when I wish to just be entertained or when I need a palate cleanser between harder books. Historic fiction has been my favorite for a long time. Photography books and children’s books come in handy for when the mind needs help quieting.
This year, the bookshelf was sparse. I read about half what I would normally read and abandoned at least a dozen books either because they just weren’t for me or because I truly disliked them.
Historic fiction was once my go to fiction category but I have become extremely picky about what I will even consider reading. That’s because there have been some troubling trends in that genre these last several years. The first is that it seems every book cover features a woman facing away from the author. Yes, yes, we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover but this style choice is often our first clue that the word cookiecutter might be part of our review. The second is that they’re all about ordinary women doing extraordinary things during World War II. It’s like a few of these books performed well and publishers decided to churn out as many as possible without regard to quality. The third trend is that the story starts to drag a little more than half through and you wonder if the author knows how to end the book.
I tell you that to say this: most of my DNF list was World War II historic fiction published in the last two years.
In 2024, I read far less nonfiction than normal but most of those choices were rock solid. Overall I felt rather uninspired by my reading life last year. Yet, when I went to choose my very favorites to share with you, gentle reader, it was hard to pare down to a manageable number. That’s because the books I did enjoy were mostly books I loved.
Without further ado, here are the books I would recommend!
Nonfiction:
The Art Thief by Michael Finkel
This true crime book reads like a thriller, telling the story of the world’s most prolific art thief. He pulled off over 200 heists, mostly in broad daylight in museums across several countries. Priceless paintings, sculptures, tapestries, silver pieces and more were expertly whisked away to his sad attic room that resembled the inside of Ali Baba’s cave. He lived in that room with a girlfriend who was a partner in the spree. I did not want this book to end. If you are a lover of fine art, museums, or true crime, this is the book for you.
Come Fly The World by Julia Cooke
The author is a travel writer and daughter of a former Pan Am executive. She gives us a glimpse inside the golden age of travel and the glamorous life of the Pan Am Stewardess by weaving together the stories of actual women who wore the uniform between 1966 and 1975. During those years, these women had to be college educated, speak two languages and be well versed on current affairs. There were age, height and weight requirements too. Often treated like glorified waitresses in the air and perceived in suggestive ways, these women helped to define midcentury air travel. They also were put at risk when Pam Am added runs from Saigon to Hong Kong for plane loads of soldiers who were off on five days leave before being flown back to battle in the Vietnam War. What a journey this book takes you on!
The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert
The woman who brought us Eat, Pray, Love has written several other books including this examination of Eustace Conway who left his comfortable suburban life for twenty years of beautiful, rewarding, harsh and unforgiving living in the Appalachian Mountains. I bought this book on a whim without knowing what was in store. It was shelved in the nature section which seems both appropriate and an odd choice. Regardless, I’m glad it found me. Honestly, this book defies description but it’s a fascinating glimpse into a mind and a life that’s a bit offbeat from what we take for granted today.
The Man From the Train by Bill James and Rebecca McCartthy James
This book is a ruler by which I judge all historic true crime. Oddly enough, Bill James had a career as a baseball writer rather than a crime writer. He read about a series of crimes that occurred in the midwest at the turn of the twentieth century. The worst of them all was in Villisca, Iowa where eight people were murdered by axe in a locked home. The murderer had disappeared into thin air. When the author read about this series of crimes, he was certain there were more. Using modern technology, he pieced together a much larger group of crimes that he believes were committed by the same person and he believes that person traveled and escaped by train. We will never know for sure but this book made a believer out of me.
When Books Went To War: The Stories That Helped Us Win World War II by Molly Guptill Manning
It is difficult to describe what this book means to me. It opens in Berlin in 1933 where German college students gathered to burn banned books – books that the government had designated anti-German. Imagine the birthplace of the printing press becoming the crematory for books! It was difficult to stomach. Fast forward to America’s entry to World War II when the War Department and the publishing industry partnered to create a program that put lightweight pocket sized books into the hands of American soldiers. Soldiers carried them into battle and some died with them in their hands. These books connected them to home and inspired them to learn. Men and boys who had never read even one book in their lifetime were suddenly excited to read. Ultimately, this book program led to the creation of the GI Bill and the motivation of an entire generation to better themselves through education and career. I struggled with the book burning but am grateful for the author and the work she put into her research.
Winter’s Song: A Hymn To The North by TD Mischke
The author is a writer, podcaster, former talk radio show host and Minnesota native. This book is his love letter to winter and it is the first book I have read by someone who enjoys the season as much as I do. Of course, his Minnesota winter is far more hardcore than we have in my region of the country. It’s funny, sad and profound and an honest look at the season. He quotes a woman named Nannah who moved from Manilla to Minnesota at the age of 35. When she photographed snow and sent it home to family in Asia she always used the same description “So white, so beautiful, so quiet, so cold.” He wrote “she said she always made sure to include a description of the word quiet, because after each snowfall, that was what struck her most when she stepped outside, the remarkable quiet of the world around her.” It’s a lovely book.
Honorable Mentions: Nonfiction
Courageous Women Of The Vietnam War: Medics, Journalists, Survivors and More by Kathryn J. Atwood (part of the Women of Action series geared toward young women)
Life Makeover by Dominique Sachse
Out of the Forties by Nicholas Lemann
Stories In The Grove by Phil Nuxhall
What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia by Elizabeth Catte
The Wright Sister by Richard Maurer ((ages 10-14 but extremely well researched and told)
Fiction
The God Of The Woods by Liz Moore
This was a much anticipated release last year and I can understand why. It’s the story of a wealthy family, missing children, and secrets that stretch across time from the 1950s until the current day setting in 1975. That’s when a girl goes missing from a summer camp that the family owns. This is a nonlinear telling of the story, meaning that it jumps around a lot. I personally like that kind of story and especially appreciated it in this case. It kept me engaged and guessing from the first page to the last and that’s honestly something I can’t say about most fiction.
Heartwood Hotel: A True Home by Kallie George and illustrated by Stephanie Graegin
This chapter book was written for about the 7-10 year old set but I don’t care. It was like a warm blanket and cookie after a long day in the rain. It is the first in a series that follows Mona the Mouse, an orphan who finds her way to the exclusive Heartwood Hotel. This hotel is in a tree in the Fernwood Forest and is a place for all kinds of animals to come together for stays both brief and long and where everyone mostly coexists happily. In fact, the hotel motto is “We live by protect and respect. Not by tooth and claw.” It’s a delightful book that’s well written and beautifully illustrated. It would make a great read aloud book for your family but is awfully nice for us tired grownups who just want to live peacefully among our neighbors. I also read book two in the series and it held up as well. I’m holding on to the next two for a proverbial rainy day.
Kinfolk by Sean Dietrich
This year gave me a new author. A southern writer. A man who is open about once being a middle school drop out. He studies people and loves traditional music. He sees the good in this world and seems to do his part to make up for some of the bad out there. His oral storytelling is second to none. His written storytelling is probably my new favorite as I read his daily essays online. This book was my gateway into his world of fiction. I won’t try to describe it for you other than to say it’s a beautiful story about rich characters and about what brings us together. It’s set in the seventies but the themes are timeless. Do not miss out on this book.
The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer
Two boys go missing in a West Virginia state forest only to reappear six months later with no explanation for where they have been or how they got back. Fifteen years later one has become a reclusive artist with no memory of what happened. The other is a famous missing persons investigator who knows they spent those six months in a magical realm that he can only access again with help from his friend. The two set off on a journey with a woman whose sister went missing in that very forest. What happens next is a magical, awe inspiring fairy tale that makes you want to go find your own portal into a magical land.
Olivetti by Allie Millington
Olivetti is a typewriter who despises books and the laptop computer that has replaced him. But he feels deeply for the family he lives with and about protecting their secrets. That is, until one day he realizes that the code of the typewriter is less important than a member of the family who has gone missing. He knows secrets that can help and begins to speak in the only way he knows how. This is fantasy writing at its best because it doesn’t feel like a fantasy. It feels like it could actually happen and I liked that. By the way, I bought this book for its cover and title. I guess you can sometimes judge a book by its cover after all.
The Women by Kristen Hannah
I actually wrote about this book after I read it. Click here for that story. Meanwhile, I would like to emphasize that this isn’t the absolute best fiction book I read this year. However, it may be the most important. What our men and women endured in Vietnam was unspeakable and the treatment they received when they came home was reprehensible. We owe a debt of gratitude to them but the topic has always been taboo. I was in a store the other day and witnessed a teenager thank a Vietnam veteran for his service and I noticed he stood a little taller after that. It’s important. These women who were nurses deserve to be noticed, thanked and treated just the same as the men but their stories have largely gone untold. I hope this will spark a conversation and inspire more books like it.
Honorable Mentions: Fiction
Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis
Nightwoods by Charles Frazier
Saturday Night At The Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal
The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
The Rosewood Casket by Sharyn McCrumb
The Trackers by Charles Frazier
So that’s the cream of the crop. What did you read that you can recommend? I would very much like to know!
One week ago, author William Kent Krueger encouraged me to write every morning before the day gets busy. On Monday, I got up early, cracked open my new book of writing prompts and got to work.
I wrote every day this week, exploring fiction topics both familiar and foreign. This week I used a different prompt a day. Next week, I intend to use the same writing prompt every day to encourage finding new ways to look at the same idea.
Honestly, I’m already sold on the effectiveness of writing before the world gets its hooks into me. However, the practicality of getting up at 5 or 5:30 in the morning is hardcore unpleasant for someone who dislikes mornings. Bit I will keep it up either until it’s a habit or until I just can’t take it anymore!
Want to read about what inspired me to turn over a new leaf? Click here!!!
I fell short of my reading goal this year and that’s ok. Actually, that’s a lie. I’m not falling short. I’m missing it by about a fourth.
That’s still ok.
I began setting a Reading Goal for myself a few years ago when the Goodreads app asked if I wanted to. I had no idea how much I could read in a year so I just randomly chose 100 books.
I met or exceeded my goal a few times but this year was different. My interest in reading ebbed and flowed. I sometimes tore through two or three books quickly. Then would fall into a rut where I couldn’t finish anything.
Part of it has everything to do with me and my health. The brain fog has improved drastically but continues to be an occasional problem.
Part of the problem is that my go-to fiction category is historical fiction. A lot of the newly published titles have been formulaic and frankly, terrible. It’s like the publishing world caught on to the fact there’s money to be made in this genre and just started churning it out as quick as possible. It has become the Hallmark Christmas movie of the publishing world. Bleh.
Long story short, a lot of the historic fiction I attempted this year got tossed in the DNF pile – Did Not Finish for all of you who aren’t excited about reading.
My friend Johnna jokingly suggested I dive into the stack of vintage storybooks that I collect to hit my goal. While tempting, it isn’t really within the spirit of what I’m trying to accomplish.
This year will end at 75 books. That’s not shabby considering I work full time, travel and have other hobbies.
The 2023 goal will remain at 100. We’ll see how that goes. Meanwhile, here are the ten books I enjoyed most. In random order:
Fiction
Bambi: A Life In The Woods by Felix Salten – most people think that Bambi was created by Walt Disney. Instead, the classic cartoon fawn was created by an author and critic in Austria. Early children’s literature wasn’t what it is today and this 1926 is downright dark. It it’s also beautifully written and poetic in places.
A Christmas Memory by Richard Paul Evans – Evans is the king of heartwarming Christmas stories and this one is no exception. It’s a story of tragedy and survival, kindness and unlikely friendship. It’s also an easy heartwarming read.
Final Girls by Riley Sager – this author has taught me to enjoy a good thriller. His books usually keep you guessing and turning the page for more. I didn’t see this ending coming.
A History of Wild Places by Shea Ernshaw – this is another one that kept me hooked despite the fact the title has nothing to do with the content. It involves a missing person and a reclusive community known as Pastoral where a man disappears while searching for that missing person. I was a little sad when it ended.
The Good Left Undone by Adriana Trigiani – so far, I haven’t met a Trigiani book that I didn’t like. Her books focus on rich characters and beautiful settings. From Appalachian Virginia to New York City to old world Italy, every book is special. This one is no different, weaving stories of past and present that draw the reader in and inspiring thought.
As a side bar, listen to the Big Stone Gap audiobooks. This series was my gateway into the Trigiani universe and they’re still among my favorites.
Nonfiction
The Deepest South Of All by Richard Grant – the author is an award winning journalist who moved to Natchez, Mississippi and wrote this amusing book about the life and characters of this town. This wins the award for one of the strangest reads of the year.
Dirt by Mary Marantz– I bought this book at Ollie’s for $3 and had low expectations. Turns out, it is one of the best pieces of contemporary Appalachian nonfiction that I have read. This memoir was written by a woman who grew up in a single wide house trailer in the mountains of rural West Virginia. Generations of her family were loggers but she escaped this harsh and dangerous lifestyle to attend Yale Law School. It is well done and I recommend it to any child of Appalachia.
Gift From The Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh – this is a slender volume and an elegant meditation on solitude, relationships and contentment. She wrote it while on vacation at the sea and it is teeming with wisdom. And yes, she is that Lindbergh. The Lindbergh baby was her child.
The Growing Season by Sarah Frey – this was another standout. Sarah Frey grew up dirt poor, helping earn the family money as a young child selling produce to store managers. Today, her family company, Frey Farms, is one of the largest fresh produce growers and shippers in America. If you have bought a watermelon in this country, you likely have bought one of her melons. If you’re looking for a “pull yourself up by the bootstraps” story, this one is extraordinary. I admire her work ethic, creativity and good old fashioned scrappiness.
The Face Of Appalachia by Tim Barnwell – this was a souvenir from Asheville, North Carolina. I bought this volume of local photography because the images are extraordinary and the book is signed. The photographer spent years convincing strangers to let him make their portraits in their natural environs. Think homes, storefronts and even chicken yards. These images all seem to be from the eighties and captured scenes and the faces of people who are likely almost all gone now.
But it’s not just images. He captured oral histories too. This guy’s work is the stuff of dreams, the kind of photography that I would love to practice. The author has published other books and I’m dying to see them all.
I feel pretty uninspired when looking back over this year’s reading. You wouldn’t believe the stack that I couldn’t finish including one in particular that was truly disappointing.
There’s a lot of good stuff in my To Be Read pile and I’m excited to get started again. What are you reading? I’m always up for a good recommendation!
This year’s reading challenge goal was again 100 books. I missed my goal by two.
Yes, I could have fudged things and read a couple of kids books just to say I got there but that didn’t serve the spirit of the challenge.
Instead of mourning the failure, I’m choosing to be glad that I read 98 books and that I enjoyed most of them. There was again a nice mix of fiction and non fiction including a handful of photography books.
Out of them all, there were just a few I didn’t like. There were probably eight or ten others that I started but didn’t enjoy. Life is too short for mediocre books. I don’t have time for that and will shamelessly put down any book that clearly will not serve me.
Here are the fiction books I liked best.
William Kent Krueger’s This Tender Land was my favorite because it was so beautifully and thoughtfully crafted. It’s a coming of age story with a journey that is full of twists and turns. Components reminded me of many other wonderful books like The Wizard of Oz, Homer, Huck Finn and more.
City of Girls was written by Elizabeth Gilbert who also gave the world Eat, Pray, Love. It wasn’t what I expected but it’s a page turner. I was surprised to realize I only read the one Adriana Trigiani book this year. Her work is all excellent. Give her a try if you ever have a chance. My gateway to her world was Big Stone Gap a few years ago. While I haven’t read her entire catalog, I have read most and enjoyed them all. They’re easy reads that pull you right in to the beautiful worlds she creates and keep you promising just one more chapter.
I also really liked The Four Winds which chronicles a family’s Dust Bowl experience. Many readers complain that it starts slow and that it’s depressing. Honestly, I felt like author Kristen Hannah made it purposefully slow to emphasize the desperate monotony of life for the main characters. Also, it’s hard to gussie up the Great Depression. Her last few books of historic fiction have all been extraordinary and I would recommend giving her a chance if you haven’t yet.
These were my favorites on the non fiction side.
I have come to appreciate memoirs. Nerves of Steel tells the story of Tammie Jo Shults whose entire career has been record breaking. You might remember her from the news a few years ago when she successfully landed a badly crippled Southwest Airlines flight. Before that she was one of the first female fighter pilots for the US navy. She’s humble and a great storyteller.
Another interesting woman I read about was Dorothy Kilgallen. I already wrote about her and this book earlier this year and you can read that story here.
Tulsa 1921 recounts the race massacre that destroyed a huge swath of Tulsa, Oklahoma a century ago. This is a devastating story not told in history class and one we should all know. Read the book to find out why.
Joy At Work taught me a lot of things including how to keep my inbox manageable to improve my work life. I’m planning to read it again this year because there’s still much opportunity for improvement.
Hill Women tells the story of a young Appalachian woman who credits those who helped on her road to success. It was written in response to Hillbilly Elegy which preaches a bootstrap mentality and which many Appalachian people like myself found to be just another stereotypical depiction of the region. Hill Women was my favorite nonfiction book of 2021.
With 2022 there’s a new reading challenge and I’m again aiming for 100. The challenge keeps me moving forward, always reaching for a book when there’s free time and happily picking up a new book as soon as the old one is done. I have a bunch already lined up for the year and look forward to diving in.
Have questions? Ask them in the comments. I’m always happy to talk books!
