Right now

Right now...* 

*(an occasional (mostly monthly) meme, alternating from time to time with "The Current"). (Explanation of how this started & my inspirations in my first "Right now" post, here. Also my first "The Current" post, here.)

I am late! (lol) I normally try to post "Right now" on or around the first of the month. But to say December threw me for a loop would be an understatement... I am SO FAR BEHIND on everything. So this December/early January summary (and the rest of January, next month/early next) will be a bit of a mishmash, but it will all get get sorted out, eventually...! 

December was busy, getting ready, not only for Christmas, but to go away for Christmas/New Year's -- and to welcome a new little great-nephew! who was born shortly before we left.  (We still haven't seen him yet, but hope to do so soon!) The gloomy grey and cold weather was offset somewhat by the pretty Christmas decorations & lights in malls and homes, including our own tree, which we put up early in the month.

We arrived at my parents' home in Manitoba on Dec. 21st. On the one hand, it feels like we didn't do a whole lot. On the other, we really WERE busy (especially me!) -- prepping for (and recovering from!) Christmas, helping out my elderly parents with meal prep & cleanup and other assorted things around the house, playing cards (almost every night), and being entertained by almost-daily visits from Parents' Neighbours' Daughter and the youngest Little Princess (#3, now 16 months old).  I had very little laptop time (and I find it difficult to type out more than a couple of sentences on my cellphone...!)! 

Pandemic diary/update: December was month #57 since the covid pandemic began in March 2020 (now in Year FIVE, going on SIX). :(   We (still!) remain covid-free (so far as we know... knocking wood, loudly...) -- although dh came down with a nasty cough/cold in late November (and brushed off my suggestion of testing...). He felt pretty tough for about a week (which kept us mostly at home), then started feeling better, albeit the cough lingered for a while longer. 

And then he gave it to me!

I did test -- twice -- both times negative. Nevertheless, it was the worst cold I've had in quite a long time, with a very nasty & long-lasting cough and a lot of fatigue for the first week or two (no doubt because all the coughing kept me awake at night...!).  As a result, I didn't quite finish my Christmas shopping (and had to scramble for stocking stuffers in the few days remaining before Christmas once we got to my parents' house). We couldn't go to BIL's to see Little Great-Nephew, let alone to the hospital to meet his baby brother, our new Little Great-Nephew #2, who arrived just before we were scheduled to fly west for the holidays. :(   

By then, I felt slightly more human, but still had a pretty bad cough. So I masked up at the airport & on the plane -- as I would have, anyway (and will do again on the return trip). (I'm mostly better now, but the cough lingered for almost the entire two weeks I was at Mom & Dad's.)   

We continue to mask in stores, malls and (most) other such indoor public spaces hereabouts, especially if/when there are lots of people around. (Well, I do -- I know dh has been slacking off, whenever I'm not around to hand him a mask...!) (Non-maskers are still in the vast majority, but I noticed a lot more people masking at the airport and on our flights than I've seen lately.) 

I thought this was a great piece in the Toronto Star recently, which asks "Why doesn’t Doug Ford’s government want you to know if you have this dangerous disease?"  Here's how it opens:  

Once upon a time, rapid tests for COVID-19 were widely available and free of charge at groceries and pharmacies. Public health sent a clear message: results matter.  The current absence of tests is a striking departure that implies testing is no longer relevant and that SARS CoV-2 has ceased to be a threat. Both are false. 

The scarcity of rapid tests is Ontarians’ most recent loss to their ability to gauge COVID-19.  First came the shut-down of Ontario’s Science Advisory Table. Then Ontario stopped providing timely data to Canada’s Long-term Care Covid Tracker, leading to its closure. Two months later, funding for nearly all of Ontario’s wastewater surveillance sites ended. 

No one should be fooled into thinking that COVID-19 no longer matters...

Among other things we did this month, we: 

• Assembled the Christmas tree and brought the boxes of decorations (as well as our luggage) up from our storage locker (in the parking garage in the basement of our building)(Dec. 3rd). 
• Decorated the tree! (Dec. 4th)
• Did a little Christmas shopping at our local Chapters (bookstore), Carters (children's clothing) and Laura (women's wear) on Dec. 5th, while dh (with a nasty cough) waited in the car. 
• Drove into midtown Toronto for checkups & cleanings with the dentist (Dec. 10th).  Mine had to be postponed (first until Dec. 18th and then into early January) because I took a tumble and then came down with a cold!  :p  
• Visited Katie at the cemetery, and then had haircuts, lunch, and did some Christmas shopping at the mall in our old community (Dec. 13th). 
• Travelled to see my parents & sister over the holidays (and got back home yesterday). :) 
• Since we got here, we've been out a few times, shopping for last-minute stocking stuffers, drugstore sundries and healthy snacks & other food at the grocery store (including some fresh fruit, crackers, Greek yogurt and sparkling water). 
• Went out for coffee one afternoon last week with a woman who contacted me via Ancestry, after noting that I had some of her ancestors on my posted tree there.  Turns out: (1)  we are not related, BUT we have cousins in common (one of my great-great uncles married one of her great-aunts -- and then married her sister, after his first wife died!  (2)  she & I were born in the same town, and thus she knows lots of my relatives -- her husband worked with one of my cousins, her dad curled with my uncle, and our parents knew each other quite well too, and (3)  she now lives in the same town where my parents live! (And (4):  She doesn't have children either.)  We had a very enjoyable chat.
• Went with dh to the supermarket this morning to load up on groceries and restock our rather bare cupboards and refrigerator!

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Also right now:  

Reading: I finished 5 books in December (reviewed on this blog, as well as Goodreads & StoryGraph, & tagged "2024 books").  

• "The Windsor Knot" by S.J. Bennett, the January pick for my Childless Collective Nomo Book Club (previously read in 2021 and reviewed here;  most recent review here).   
• "Miss Buncle’s Book" by D.E. Stevenson, read chapter-by-chapter with my DES fan group. (Original 2015 review here;  review from my initial re-read in October here;  most recent review here.) 
• "Major Pettigrew's Last Stand" by Helen Simonson. (My review.) 
• "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy (!). As I wrote here, I needed another book club/readalong obligation like a hole in the head  ;)  but nevertheless, I took part in a year-long readalong of this book, hosted by Simon at Footnotes & Tangents -- a chapter a day for a full year, which began Jan. 1, 2024. (And I really enjoyed it!) Review here. 
• If you've ever thought about reading W&P, Simon is repeating the readalong in 2025 for paying subscribers, starting Jan. 1st -- and I highly recommend the experience! (and yes, I'm probably doing it again!). Details here!  
• "The Mirror and the Light" by Hilary Mantel (book #3 in the Thomas Cromwell Trilogy) -- part of a year-long "slow readalong" hosted by Simon at Footnotes & Tangents (which participants dubbed "Wolf Crawl,"  lol) -- about 40 pages per week.  :)   
• We started during the week of July 21st.  I chose to focus on some of my other books over the late summer/early fall, and as a result, was 9 weeks behind the posted reading schedule at one point (erk). I managed to catch up over the past two weeks and finished on Dec. 30th!  Review here. 
• Simon is repeating the Cromwell Trilogy slow readalong in 2025 for paying subscribers. I highly recommend the experience! (and am considering whether I'm up to another round of it myself...!). (Yes, I'm nuts...!)  Details here!  

This brings me to 37 books read in 2024, 82% of my 2024 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 45 books. (See my 2024 Reading Year in Review post!) 

Current reads: 

• "Anne of Windy Poplars" by L.M. Montgomery (called "Anne of Windy Willows" in the U.K., with some text variations). My L.M. Montgomery Readathon Facebook group started reading & discussing this book together today (Jan. 6th). This will be our last book with our wonderful administrator of the past five (!) years, Andrea, who is moving on to other projects. I just (re)read this one right at this time last year, so I chose not to read it through (again) on my own first (as I normally would), but I will count this one as a re-read when we're done. (My previous review here.) 
• "Others Like Me" by Nicole Louie. (Not a selection for my Childless Collective Nomo Book Club, but Katy Seppi will be interviewing the author in January!) 
• "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy, with Footnotes & Tangents. One chapter a day for an entire year -- round #2!!  Yes, I couldn't resist -- I'm doing it again!  (See above.) (And if I slack off, well, having done it once already, I'm good...!).  
• "Living the Life Unexpected" by Jody Day.  I'm once again taking part in a chapter-by-chapter group read of this CNBC classic!  The most recent Zoom meeting (which I missed) covered Chapter 5.  This is the 5th (!) time I've read this book, or the earlier version of it ("Rocking the Life Unexpected").  (Most recent review, with links to earlier reviews, here.)  
• "L.M. Montgomery and Gender," an essay collection edited by E. Holly Pike & Laura Robinson. Slowly working my way through, in between the other books...! 

Coming up: Most of my book groups have their next reads plotted out for a few months in advance -- and listing them here helps me keep track of what I should be reading next. ;)  

• For my Childless Collective Nomo Book Club: 
• "Yellowface" by R.F. Kuang (February). 
• For my D.E. Stevenson group:  This list of upcoming books should keep us busy through 2025 or even into early 2026!  (A couple of the books are ones we covered shortly after I first joined the group back in 2014 -- you know you've been around for a while when....!)  
• Peter West (the one DES book my group has NOT read together, in its 25+ years of existence! -- starting Jan. 13/25.) 
• Miss Buncle Married (original 2015 review here).
• The Two Mrs. Abbotts (original 2015 review here).
• Crooked Adam
• The Four Graces (original 2015 review here). 

• Footnotes and Tangents slow readalongs in 2025 -- besides repeats of the Thomas Cromwell Trilogy and "War and Peace" for paying subscribers (as mentioned above) -- will include:
• "The Siege of Krishnapur" by J. G. Farrell -- starts Jan. 13th, for 9 weeks. 
• "A Place of Greater Safety" by Hilary Mantel -- starts May 5th, for 20 weeks. 
• "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe -- starts Sept. 29th, for 5 weeks. 
• "The Blue Flower" by Penelope Fitzgerald -- starts Nov. 3rd, for 7 weeks. 
• Other books on my priority TBR list: 
• "We Solve Murders" by Richard Osman. (Because, obviously...) 
• "What Time the Sexton's Spade Doth Rust" by Alan Bradley (Flavia de Luce #11).  
• "Bury Your Dead," by Louise Penny (#6 in her Three Pines/Inspector Gamache murder mystery series, and the next one I haven't read).  
• "I'm Sorry for My Loss" by Rebecca Little & Colleen Long (which I've written about here, here and here -- but still haven't read myself!  lol) 

A few recently purchased titles (mostly in digital format, mostly discounted ($5-10 or less) or purchased with points): (I haven't added links, in the interest of getting this posted sooner vs later...!) 

• "Long Island Compromise" by Taffy Brodesseur-Akner
• "The Widow's Guide to Dead Bastards" by Jessica Waite
• "The Wedding People" by Alison Espach 
• "Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret" by Benjamin Stevenson 
• "Conclave" by Robert Harris 
• "Precipice" by Robert Harris 
• "Charlie's Good Tonight" by Paul Sexton 
• "A Well-Trained Wife" by Tia Levings
• "The Saturday Place" by Alice Peterson 
• "Intermezzo" by Sally Rooney 
• "Earth to Moon" by Moon Unit Zappa 
• "What I Ate in One Year" by Stanley Tucci 
• "Walking Disaster" by Deryck Whibley 
• "The Art of Power" by Nancy Pelosi 
• "Over Work" by Brigid Schulte 

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Watching:  

• "Wolf Hall" on PBS, based on the books "Wolf Hall" and "Bring Up the Bodies" by Hilary Mantel, both of which I read earlier this year (click on links for my reviews).  The first of six episodes aired on Oct. 27th;  the last aired on Dec. 1st, and I hugely enjoyed it. It really brings the books to life! 
• An adaptation of "The Mirror and the Light," the final book in the Cromwell Trilogy (which I'm reading right now -- see "Reading," above), with most of the same cast members, will begin airing in March 2025 on PBS. (It's already been seen in Britain.)  Looking forward to it! 
• Endless game shows, including The Price is Right, Family Feud, Let's Make a Deal, and Cash Cab (as well as vintage game show reruns, some of them 40 years older or more...!) -- which my dad LOVES (and which drive dh absolutely bonkers...!), while at my parents' house over the holidays!  (My sister confessed that SHE's the culprit who added the Game TV network to their favourite TV channels! lol -- and she has lived to rue the day...!)  
• Also re-runs of "The Big Bang Theory," which are somewhat more tolerable...! 

Listening: Beyond our usual listening fare (Stingray music channels, including Classic Rock and 70s), we were also listening to the 80s channel and Christmas/seasonal music, while at home!  

Playing:  

• Heardle Decades: I mostly slacked off on playing Heardle while I was at my parents' house.  Stats as of Jan. 5th (but really more like Dec. 22nd): 
• Heardle 60s: 76.5% (613/801, 242 on first guess), same as last month. Max. streak: 15.
• Heardle 70s: 78.4% (422/538, 237 on first guess), down 0.4% from last month. Max. streak: 18. 
• Heardle 80s: 39.4% (162/411, 61 on first guess), down 0.7% from last month. Max. streak: 4. 
• Heardle 90s: 28.8% (148/513, 30 on first guess), up 0.9% from last month. Max. streak: 5. 
• NYT Connections: 
• By Nov. 30th, I'd completed 125 games and won 79% of them, including 62 "perfect puzzles" with zero errors and a maximum winning streak of 15.  :)   
• By Jan. 5th, I'd completed 161 games and won 81% of them, including 78 "perfect puzzles" with zero errors. I maintained my maximum winning streak of 15.  :) 

Following:  

Eating/Drinking:  

• We continued our efforts to eat healthier since our family doctor warned us about our rising cholesterol levels back in mid-October.  By the time we left for the Christmas holidays, I was down about 6 pounds. (Dh had lost more than 11 -- MEN, right?? lol)  
• I couldn't NOT indulge in some of the holidays goodies that I generally only get to have once a year (turkey, gravy, stuffing, cabbage rolls and perogies, shortbread and butter tarts) -- but I made an effort not to OVER indulge, watch my portion sizes and make the healthy-ish choices. (This was complicated by the fact that my 85-year-old dad does a lot of the cooking, and has never met a pound of butter that he didn't want to slather all over everything...!  Lots of roasts -- beef, pork, chicken and ham, as well as turkey -- mashed potatos whipped with sour cream and half-and-half and veggies loaded with butter and/or cheese.)  Dh & I made a few trips to the local grocery store to stock up on our own (healthy(er)) snacks, including Greek yogurt, apples and clementine oranges, almonds, Triscuit thins, and sparkling water (as an alternative to pop/soda).  
• I was delighted (and relieved) to step on the scale this morning and find I'd only gained 0.2 pounds while we were away. (Then I was annoyed to find that dh LOST 2+ pounds (!) -- for a grand total of 14+ to date.  Good for him, but WHY is it always easier for men to lose weight??). The battle continues...!  
• More bloodwork to come this month. Hoping neither of us will need another prescription, depending on the results! 

Buying (besides books, lol):  Christmas and birthday presents, including things for dh, Little Great-Niece, Little Great-Nephew and his baby brother!   

Wearing:  Our heaviest/warmest winter jackets and boots (December/January in Manitoba!!).   

Enjoying:  Our Christmas tree (and other decorations), and the extra light it gives off at this time of year (which tends to be dark, grey & gloomy in southern Ontario...!).  (We left it up while we were away, and will likely take it down later this week.)  

Missing:  Receiving Christmas cards and displaying the photos people send on my refrigerator! -- no thanks to the Canada Post strike, which began Nov. 15th. The workers were ordered back to work on Dec. 17th, but there's a big backlog to deal with, and by the time we returned yesterday, we'd only received two cards in the mail so far.  And even pre-strike, I've noticed that fewer and fewer people are sending out Christmas cards these days.  :(   I didn't get any done myself this year (didn't see the point when I didn't know if or when I'd get to send them out), and am debating whether to send something out this month or just skip this year all together...?? 

Appreciating:  Heat!!  lol  My sister & her partner drove us to the airport yesterday morning with minimal/NO HEAT in their car!!  There was enough to keep the windshield/windows clear of frost, thankfully, and my parents sent blankets with us, but it's an hour's drive, and those last 20 minutes were pretty chilly! Besides the blanket over my lap/legs, I had my tuque/hat on, coat hood pulled up, scarf pulled up on my face, gloved hands shoved inside pockets, and was wiggling my toes inside my boots to try to keep the circulation going. The temperature outside when we left was -25C, with a windchill of -33C (by the time we got into the city, it had warmed up (??) to -21C).  (That's -33, -27.4 and -5.8F, respectively.)  It was funny to get to Toronto and hear people complaining about how cold it was (it was a relatively balmy -3C/+26.6F, lol).  

Noticing:  My knees (and the left knee in particular) have been KILLING me, after two weeks at my parents' split-level house, going (hobbling) up and down stairs between the three levels. I've had knee issues for well over 15 years now, but stairs just seem to exacerbate things, and I am so thankful to live in a condo, all on one level!  My elderly parents -- both of whom have mobility issues and use canes outside and sometimes inside the house -- insist that it doesn't bother THEM...!  

Prioritizing: I did a lot of that this month...!  Our respective colds really cut into the time we had for Christmas shopping and other prep work before we left for the holidays -- and while we were at my parents' house, I had very little uninterrupted time to myself. I really had to think about what I REEEEALLLLY NEEDED to get done, what would be good to do if I had some time, and what I could let go or postpone till after we got back. I glance at my social media feeds now & then but I'm sure I've missed a ton of news from friends. Likewise, I scanned my emails and flagged the ones that need immediate attention, but most of my newsletters and the like have sat unopened.  I have two weeks' worth of new Ancestry DNA matches to look at (for my mom & dh as well as myself), and have barely kept up with checking my Kobo wishlist for anything on sale, let alone checking out the daily deals. Sigh... 

Trying: To maintain my focus on what needs to be done first/most, now that we're back home (and to not get distracted by my phone, lol).

Wanting: To get organized for the new year (struggling so far...!). 

Anticipating: Looking forward to getting to meet Little Great-Nephew #2 soon!!  (Not enough photos posted/sent by his parents & grandparents while we were away to satisfy us...!) 

Wondering:   Will 2025 FINALLY be the year we get to do some serious travelling?? (particularly since we have a big anniversary coming up...!)  (And if we do, will my knee hold out??)

Loving:  Being back in my own bed again!! 

Feeling: Sad that Christmas always comes & goes so quickly. Sad to leave my elderly parents. (But happy to be back home and in my own bed again!) Nervous anticipation for this new year:  will our cholesterol levels be low enough to avoid additional medication??  

2024 Reading Year in Review

I started doing a specific "Reading Year in Review" post in 2020. I figured that since I was doing an overall year in review post (which includes some book information anyway), and a blogging year in review post -- and since keeping track of my books is a big thing I normally do on my blog -- my reading life deserved its own year-end wrap-up post too.  :)  

(Note:  I have not linked to all the books mentioned here, but they are all reviewed on this blog.) 

How did I do?  

I increased my Goodreads Reading Challenge goal from 36 books in 2021 to 45 books in 2022, kept (and met) that goal for 2023, and retained it for 2024. Unfortunately, it became apparent by mid-year that it was going to be a stretch to reach it! (largely because I took on a few more book clubs/readalongs, including ones where we were reading & discussing some pretty LONG books!). 

• My Goodreads 2024 Year in Review report tells me I read 37 books with 15,320 pages (versus 48 books with 16.980 pages in 2023 and 50 books with 17,047 pages in 2022). That's 8 books below my goal of 45 or 82%.  (My best result ever: 59 books in 2021.) All the books I read were reviewed on this blog and tagged "2024 books." 
• The shortest book I read was "Things I Don't Want to Know" by Deborah Levy (167 pages); the longest was "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy (1,938 pages). 
• Average book length was 414 pages (up from 353 pages in 2023). 
• The most popular book I read ( = most shelved by Goodreads readers) was "Eat Pray Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert (2.7 million readers);  the least popular was "No One Talks About This Stuff" edited by Kat Brown (279 readers).   
• The highest-rated book I read was "My Effin' Life" by Geddy Lee (4.68 stars). 
• My average Goodreads rating in 2023 was 4.2 stars (same as the last two years).  
• In 2021, I also started tracking books on The StoryGraph, which provides slightly different stats (and even more, with a paid subscription -- although I don't have one of those!). 
• StoryGraph reports that I read 37 books with 15,658 pages (slightly more than Goodreads recorded). 
• Average time to finish:  2 months (!). (This would be because of the readalongs I take part in...!) 
• Fastest read/least time spent:  "The Cost of Living" by Deborah Levy (3 days).
• Most time spent:  "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy (362 days, at one chapter per day, with a few days off along the way). 
• The top "moods" of my books were overwhelmingly "emotional" (value: 17) and "reflective" (10), followed by "lighthearted" (9), "mysterious" (5), and "informative," "funny," "dark" and "challenging" (4).    
• The vast majority of my books were medium-paced (66%). 26% were slow and 9% fast. 
• 64% of my 2024 books were 300-499 pages;  19% were less than 300 pages and 17% were over 500 pages. 
• 81% of my 2024 books were fiction;  19% non-fiction. This is a big change from recent years! (I credit the many book clubs I take part in, which mostly focus on fiction.)
• My most-read genre in 2024 was historical, followed by literary, then contemporary and romance.     
• StoryGraph also tracks the format of your books, but selects print as the default. 68% of my reads this year were recorded as digital, 32% print.  Note that some books do not have a "digital" option, in which case I choose print. 
• Most-read authors in 2024:  D.E. Stevenson (6 books), followed by L.M. Montgomery (4 books) and Hilary Mantel (3 books).  
• Average rating 4.06 stars. (Unlike Goodreads, The StoryGraph allows fractional star ratings.) 
• Most shelved book:  "Persuasion" by Jane Austen (161,000+ users). Least shelved: "Queen High" by C.J. Carey (just 16 users). 
• Highest rated:  "No One Talks About This Stuff" edited by Kat Brown (4.56 stars;  my rating was 5 stars). 
• I explored the work of 14 new authors, read 15 books that were part of a series, and revisited/re-read 11 books. 
• Once again this year, fiction choices outnumbered non-fiction (many of them re-reads, but still...!):  24 fiction, 13 non-fiction.
• Re-reads -- which I started counting as books read in 2020 -- accounted for a good chunk of my 2024 total (11 according to StoryGraph -- see above). Some were books that I read on my own and then immediately afterward as part of a group readalong/discussion, while others were books that I've read in the past and revisited this year.  
• Online, the Childless Collective Nomo book club (I'm one of the hosts!), D.E. Stevenson fan group, L.M. Montgomery Readathon on Facebook, and slow readalongs with Footnotes & Tangents on Substack helped boost my 2024 reading totals and provided me with a lot of reading/discussion pleasure. 
• My book groups were responsible for 19 of the 37 books I read in 2024 -- almost half!  I read 12? books as part of the Childless Collective book club or in preparation for other book-related discussions (including finishing Jody Day's "Living the Life Unexpected"), 6 for DES (3 different books, each counted twice as re-reads), and 4 for the L.M. Montgomery Readathon (2 different books, both counted twice as re-reads). 

Goals for 2025: 

• As noted above, I ended the year with 37 books read. I did not reach my Goodreads Reading Challenge Goal of 45 books (nor did I come anywhere near equalling my 2021/best-recorded total of 59 books, when my goal was 36).  Nevertheless, I've decided to maintain my goal of 45 books in 2025 ( = 3.75 books per month on average)(and hope to do better...!). I may be repeating one or both of my slow readalongs of "War & Peace" and the Cromwell Trilogy, which took up a lot of my reading time this year -- but I think this is still a realistic & reachable goal for me right now (albeit a bit of a stretch one!). 
• I've read more than 45 books in four of the past six years (2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023), and almost 45 (i.e., 43) in 2020 -- so 45 books still seems very do-able.  But I'd be thrilled to be able to improve on that goal, too!  
• While I'm grateful for my book groups and the boost they give to my reading totals, and while I intend to keep up with them in 2025, I'm hoping to be able to read more of my own choices this coming year too.  :)   

2024 Highlights:  

• Like so many people, I tried reading "War & Peace" by Leo Tolstoy... once. It was 40+ years ago, and I think I got about 60 pages in before abandoning ship. But I always thought I should give it another try... someday. When I first heard about the Footnotes & Tangents slow read in late 2023, I was deep in other book club/readalong obligations and figured I needed another one like a hole in the head... but it was an irresistible opportunity, and I took the plunge. As 2024 draws to a close, I am so glad I did. One chapter per day is entirely do-able, and the character wiki, daily chat threads with other readers and Simon's weekly context posts all contributed to an enormously enjoyable (and -- dare I say? -- fun!) experience. I'll very likely be back for another round in 2025! Thanks, Simon, and thanks to the other W&P-ers for what's turned out to be one of the highlights of my year. ❤
• Likewise, "Wolf Crawl" -- Footnotes & Tangents' "slow readalong" of the three books in Hilary Mantel's Cromwell Trilogy -- was an amazing bookish experience this year. An absolutely stunning feat of writing, storytelling, characterization and historical scholarship (along with a healthy dose of imagination!).  
• It's always very hard for me to pick a single book as "the best" that I read in any given year. I read some really good books this year -- very few disappointments or "meh" choices -- and I gave lots/most of them four and five-star reviews on Goodreads. (4.2 stars was my average Goodreads rating.)  A few of my favourites, in no particular order (I haven't linked to them here, but they're all reviewed on Goodreads, StoryGraph and this blog): 
• "A Death in Diamonds" by S.J. Bennett 
• "My Effin' Life" by Geddy Lee 
• "Wolf Hall/Bring Up the Bodies/The Mirror and the Light" by Hilary Mantel 
• "Widowland/Queen High" by C.J. Carey (both re-reads) 
• "You Are Here" by David Nicholls 
• "Code Name Helene" by Ariel Lawhon 

Did you meet your reading goals for 2024 (if you set any)? What great books did you read this past year? 

"The Mirror and the Light" by Hilary Mantel

"The Mirror and The Light" is the third and final installment in the Cromwell trilogy by the late, great British writer Hilary Mantel.  (The first two books:  "Wolf Hall" and "Bring Up the Bodies.")  I've been reading the entire trilogy over the past year in a "slow readalong" hosted by Simon at Footnotes & Tangents (dubbed "Wolf Crawl" by participants, lol). (I've also been taking part in another slow readalong Simon has been hosting -- "War & Peace" by Leo Tolstoy -- a chapter a day for the entire year!) 

The trilogy tells the story of Thomas Cromwell, who rises from obscurity as a blacksmith's son to become one of the most powerful men in England, and a right-hand man to King Henry VIII.  This volume picks up where "Bring Up the Bodies" ended -- after the beheading of Queen Anne Boleyn. Henry is newly married to Anne's lady-in-waiting, Jane Seymour, the daughter of a prominent family, who provides him with the male heir he craves.  But then Jane dies after childbirth, and Cromwell encourages Henry to marry the princess Anna of Cleves to secure a political alliance against the French and the Holy Roman Emperor. The marriage is a disaster, Cromwell's grasp on power begins to slip, and his enemies begin to gather round him...  

I fell behind schedule late this summer, and at one point, I was something like 10 weeks behind on my reading (!)(the daily vs weekly reading schedule & chats with "War & Peace" were an advantage in that regard). I started trying to catch up on the last half of the book on the plane trip to visit my parents over the holidays, and finished today. (Yay me!)  

These books are a magnificent achievement of writing -- absolutely spellbinding. Even though you likely know how everything turns out, it you still keep turning the pages.  I am so glad I finally got to read these books, with the benefit of Simon's expert guidance and the insights provided by fellow readers. FYI:  Simon will be re-running Wolf Crawl in 2025 for paying subscribers (along with War & Peace, plus several other books that will be free of charge) -- I highly recommend the experience! (And I'm considering whether to do it again...!) 

A TV adaptation of this volume, starring Mark Rylance as Cromwell and Damien Lewis as Henry, recently aired in the UK, and will be shown on PBS in North America in late March 2025. I'm looking forward to it! 

A solid 5 stars on Goodreads/StoryGraph. 

This was Book #37 read to date in 2024 (and Book #5 finished in December), bringing me to 82%  of my 2024 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 45 books. I am (for the moment, anyway...!) 8 (!) books behind schedule to meet my goal. :(  You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2024 tagged as "2024 books."    

"War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy

Like many avid readers (and English majors), I attempted to read "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy in my young and foolish years. (Attempted!)  I think it was the summer between second and third year university, and I had a shelf full of Penguin classics that I meant to read. "War and Peace" came in a boxed set of two volumes. I got about 60 pages in before I gave up. It was SO LONG -- and all those characters to keep straight!!  All those Russian names!!  

Then, late in 2023, one of my favourite writers, Rona Maynard, mentioned on a social media post that she'd just joined an upcoming "slow readalong" hosted by Simon Haisell. He'd been running a year-long readathon of "War and Peace" -- one chapter per day for an entire year -- on Instagram, and was about to repeat that feat in 2024, but this time on his Substack, "Footnotes & Tangents."  

I was intrigued. I was tempted. I thought about all my other (many) book club obligations, all the other books in my gargantuan To Be Read pile that I've been wanting to get to. Did I really need ONE MORE reading obligation??  

I caved in to temptation.  I signed up, downloaded a cheap (Kobo Original) copy of the novel to my e-reader, and (deep breath) opened it on Jan. 1st, 2024, and started reading. 

What a year it's been!  What a ride!  What a book!  

"War and Peace" begins in 1805, ends in 1820, and was originally published in 1868. At more than  1,900 pages (!!), the length alone makes it a daunting read.  Apparently "War and Peace," like many of Dickens's novels from around the same time, was originally published as a serial. This explains, perhaps, why it's so long -- were writer paid by the word back then?? But each chapter is a reasonable length -- seldom more than 12-15 pages long -- often with a pithy cliffhanger sentence!  

Consumed and pondered at the pace of one chapter per day, I found the novel to be entirely do-able and easily digestible. My enjoyment was enhanced by Simon's expert guidance, through his well-curated character list (which really helped to keep who's who straight, especially early on), weekly context/summary posts and (especially) the daily chat threads where readers discussed the chapter of the day with each other.  The comments were frequently thoughtful and insightful (and often witty and hilarious to boot). :)  Frequent refrain:  "I never thought I'd enjoy this book so much!" (Me either!)  

The novel is many things: there is romance, satire, history, family drama, long, rambling philosophical essays (which admittedly were boring at times, with many of us itching to get back to the stories of our main characters!), and many chapters in which Tolstoy takes Napoleon to task. (He clearly was NOT a fan!)  

"War and Peace" may not be the novel for you if you dislike ambiguity and crave clear-cut, happy endings. (It's a lot like real life in that way!) As a keen observation of human nature, and as a feat of storytelling, it's magnificent. 

To quote the title of another book that Simon frequently references (and which I'm hoping to read myself, now that I've finished W&P), "Give War and Peace a Chance." (lol) 

Seriously -- if you've ever thought about reading "War & Peace" -- this is the way to do it!!  If this post piqued your interest and reading W&P has been one of your longtime reading bucket list goals, Simon will be re-running the W&P (and Cromwell Trilogy by Hilary Mantel) slow reads in 2025 for paying subscribers, along with shorter readalongs for a couple of other books that will be open to all, free of charge. (I am seriously considering doing it again! -- and I am not the only one!)  Check out Footnotes & Tangents, if you're interested!   

(Content warning:  From an ALI angle, you should be aware that the book includes the death of a young woman following childbirth, an abortion that also ends unhappily, and a single childless character whose romantic hopes are never fulfilled.  There is also a wolf hunt that many in the group found difficult to read or skipped altogether.) 

Book:  4.5 stars on StoryGraph, rounded down to 4 on Goodreads.  

Readalong experience:  a solid 5 stars.  :)  

This was Book #36 read to date in 2024 (and Book #4 finished in December), bringing me to ??%  of my 2024 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 45 books. I am (for the moment, anyway...!) 8 (!) books behind schedule to meet my goal. :(  You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2024 tagged as "2024 books."    

"Major Pettigrew's Last Stand" by Helen Simonson

My Childless Collective Nomo Book Club co-host and I are always looking for potential books the group could read and discuss together. So when she told me she was currently reading "Major Pettigrew's Last Stand" by Helen Simonson and thought it might fit the bill, I decided that I would check it out too.   

I vaguely remember seeing "Major Pettigrew" on the shelves and hearing good things about it when it was first published, back in 2010.  As the story begins, 68-year-old retired  Major Ernest Pettigrew -- the very picture of a proper English gentleman -- has just learned of the death of his younger brother, Bertie.  (His wife, Nancy, died several years ago.)  Reeling from shock, he answers a knock on the door: it's Mrs. Jasmina Ali, a widow who runs the local convenience store, and she's collecting on behalf of the paper boy, who is sick. She quickly recognizes the Major's distress, makes him a cup of tea and stays to chat and offer her sympathy. 

This marks the beginning of a seemingly unlikely friendship:  the two come from very different cultures and different social classes, but they share a common bond of grief and loneliness, as well as a love of books. 

Of course, not everyone approves of this budding relationship -- including many of the villagers (who have been promoting one of their own single ladies as a perfect match for the eligible widower). It includes the Major's adult son, Roger, who works as a London financier, but has decided to rent a nearby cottage for weekends with his American girlfriend.  And it includes Mrs. Ali's young adult nephew, Abdul Wahid, a devout Muslim, who lives with her and helps her run the store since the death of her husband. There are a number of subplots interwoven throughout the book, including Abdul Wahid's estranged girlfriend and her young son (whom Mrs. Ali adores), a prized set of valuable antique guns that once belonged to the Major's father, the golf club's annual dinner and dance, and a proposed development of luxury homes on the estate just outside the village.  

Beneath the wry British humour and gentle social satire, the book deals with some serious themes, including grief and loss, family conflicts, clashes between generations, city versus country living, aging, classism, colonialism and racism. The writing is great, the characters are vividly drawn, and (bonus!) Mrs. Ali is that rare creature -- a warm and sympathetic CNBC character -- an older one, too!  

On the minus side of the balance sheet:  several of the characters, most prominently the emotionally repressed Major Pettigrew, seem solidly stuck in a rapidly fading past. I had to check a couple of times to remind myself that the book really IS set in present-day England! (My co-host thought the same thing!) Maybe I'm naive, but I cannot imagine anyone in Britain -- even 20 years ago -- would have thought the colonial Indian theme (including costumes) of the golf club dinner & dance was appropriate! -- or that the relationship between the Major and Mrs. Ali would have caused such a stir among the villagers. And the climactic scene of the book was a little melodramatic. 

For those reasons, I can't give this book a top rating. After some internal debate: 3.5 stars on StoryGraph, rounded down to 3 on Goodreads. 

(Apparently, the book was optioned for a film adaptation that, to date, has never been made. Too bad!  I think it would make a great little movie, or a mini-series on PBS Masterpiece.)  

This was Book #35 read to date in 2024 (and Book #3 finished in December), bringing me to 78%  of my 2024 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 45 books. I am (for the moment, anyway...!) 8 (!) books behind schedule to meet my goal. :(  You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2024 tagged as "2024 books."    

"Miss Buncle's Book" by D.E. Stevenson (re-read)

My D.E. Stevenson online fan group recently wrapped up our chapter-by-chapter reading and discussion of "Miss Buncle’s Book" (an early DES novel, first published in 1934), which began in early October.

(I first read this book not long after I joined the group back in 2014 -- my original 2015 review is here.  I re-read the book myself before our group read began, and that more recent review is  here.) 

Quiet, guileless, unassuming Miss Barbara Buncle has been forced to look for ways to increase her income, as her dividends have been rapidly shrinking (no doubt because it's the Great Depression).  She decides to try her hand at writing a book -- which turns out to be a thinly disguised portrait of Silverstream (the village where she lives) and its residents (all assigned different names, but still highly recognizable). 

Not only does Barbara's book (aptly named "Disturber of the Peace") immediately find a publisher, it becomes a bestseller -- nowhere more so than in Silverstream, where the enraged residents immediately recognize themselves and set out to learn the true identity of the author (who goes by the obvious pseudonym of "John Smith"). 

"Miss Buncle's Book" is a classic DES novel, often the first one by this author that people read.  Stevenson's books are very much products of the time & place they were written -- a little old-fashioned, perhaps -- but well-crafted, funny, charming romances, comedies of manners and family dramas featuring engaging characters and lovely descriptions of the natural world.  (This book in particular contains a lot of social satire!)  I can easily see this one as mini-series on PBS.  :) 

Stevenson wrote two sequels to "Miss Buncle's Book" -- "Miss Buncle Married" and "The Two Mrs. Abbotts,"  both of which are on our schedule of upcoming reads for 2025-26 (and both of which I previously reviewed here).  (My previous reviews of those books here and here.)  So is "The Four Graces," where Miss Buncle makes a brief cameo appearance. (My review.) 

Our next book, however, will be "Peter West" -- Stevenson's first published novel from 1923, which originally appeared in serial format, and was republished in 2013. It's the one DES book the group has not read in its 26 years of existence!  We'll begin in January. 

I wasn't on Goodreads the first time I read "Miss Buncle's Book" in early 2015, but I retroactively logged it and assigned it a 4-star rating. I kept that rating when I re-read the book earlier this fall, and it still stands now.  :)   

4 stars on both Goodreads & StoryGraph. 

This was Book #34 read to date in 2024 (and Book #2 finished in December), bringing me to 76%  of my 2024 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 45 books. I am (for the moment, anyway...!) 8 (!) books behind schedule to meet my goal. :(  You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2024 tagged as "2024 books."    

"The Windsor Knot" by S.J. Bennett (re-read)

"The Windsor Knot" by S.J. Bennett is the January pick for my Childless Collective Nomo Book Club (previously read in May 2021 and reviewed here).  

At first glance, this book might seem like an odd choice for a group of CHILDLESS woman, looking to read about non-motherhood-related topics and childless/free protagonists.  The Queen, of course, was a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother before her death in September 2022 at age 96. However, her new Assistant Private Secretary, Rozie Oshodi, is single and has no children, and plays a pivotal role in helping the Queen with more than just her royal duties -- and I enjoyed focusing a little more on Rozie as I read the book this time around.   

The plot:  It's spring 2016, and Queen Elizabeth II is at Windsor Castle, getting ready to celebrate her 90th birthday, when an overnight guest is found dead in his room. Initially it's thought to be suicide, then an accident (with some kinky overtones) -- but it quickly turns into a murder investigation. Dissatisfied with the direction the investigation is taking, Her Majesty enlists Rozie's help to make some discreet enquiries on her behalf. 

I first read this book shortly after Prince Philip's death in April 2021, which gave his appearances here a special poignancy. (Also making appearances: the Obamas! the corgis!! and plenty of horses. :)  )

I thoroughly enjoyed this book the first time I read it. It's still an engaging read (and I had forgotten a lot!), and I loved the behind-the-scenes glimpses of palace life.  :)  

My original rating of 4 stars (on both Goodreads & StoryGraph) stands.   

This was Book #33 read to date in 2024 (and Book #1 finished in December), bringing me to 73%  of my 2024 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 45 books. I am (for the moment, anyway...!) 9 (!) books behind schedule to meet my goal. :(  You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2024 tagged as "2024 books."    

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There are three other books in this series ("Her Majesty the Queen Investigates") -- so far!  Here are the links to my reviews:  Links to my reviews of previous books in this series: 

• #2:  "All the Queen's Men" (alternate title: "A Three-Dog Problem") 
• #3:  "Murder Most Royal" 
• #4:  "A Death in Diamonds" (which takes place in 1957, early in the Queen's long reign, with a different assistant private secretary, Joan McGraw, who is also single and childless).  (The author herself actually popped into the comments on my review to address a complaint I had with this one! -- and I wrote about it in another post, here.)  

A fifth book, "The Queen Who Came in from the Cold,"  set in 1961, is expected to make its debut in February (2025) -- in the U.K., anyway;  North American publication date still to be confirmed. I can't wait!  : ) 

"The Christmas Orphans Club" by Becca Freeman (re-read)

It's always kind of fun to read at least one Christmas-y book at Christmastime, isn't it?  When I first read "The Christmas Orphans Club" by Becca Freeman last year (I think I started it on the plane ride back to Toronto, after spending last Christmas with my family in Manitoba), I remember thinking it would make a good holiday-themed pick for the book club I co-host in the Childless Collective community. I recommended it to my co-host, who read it herself and agreed! and we added it to our schedule for this December. 

(This book first landed on my radar at the recommendation of Nora McInerny of "Terrible, Thanks for Asking," whose chose it for her December 2023 "Terrible Reading Club" podcast/Substack.) 

"The Christmas Orphans Club" is a lighthearted rom-com with distinct "Friends"/Hallmark Christmas movie vibes (especially at the end) -- but also some serious underlying themes/messages/life lessons that have relevance for those of us living without children. 

The book has two narrators:  best friends Hannah, whose parents both died when she was a teenager, and Finn, whose family cut him off when he came out to them as gay. They've spent every Christmas together since they met in college. It's now 10 years later, they're both living and working in New York City, and they've been joined for subsequent Christmas celebrations by Hannah's now-former roommate Priya, and the rich, handsome, charming, bisexual Theo, the secret object of Finn's desire. (Theo is the neglected son of a Richard Branson-like British airline billionaire, who -- fortunately for his friends -- can produce limos, famous Taylor Swift/Britney Spears-style pop stars and luxury vacations in Mexico like a magician pulls rabbits out of a hat.  In this respect, the book is not very realistic, albeit it's great fantasy/wish fulfillment...! -- like I said, Hallmark movie, lol.) 

But then Finn announces he's moving across the country to start a new job in L.A. This coming Christmas will be the last one they all spend together -- and Hannah is determined that it will be the best one ever. But Hannah's boyfriend David expects her to spend it with him and his family -- and he's planning to give her a special present. The pressure is on...!  

This book will resonate with childless people -- well, anyone, really -- who feel at loose ends during the holiday season, as friends and relatives occupy themselves with their children and grandchildren. It's about "chosen family" and the importance it assumes in our lives when our traditional family structures and relationships are lacking, and holidays make us feel like we're on the outside looking in. And it's also about what happens when we age out of young adulthood, situations change and our friends' life paths start diverging from ours. 

My original review of this book -- the first book I finished in 2024 -- rated it 3.5 stars on StoryGraph, rounded up to 4 stars on Goodreads (after some internal debate!). (It was Christmastime, and I was feeling generous, lol.)  I had a similar debate this time around, and wound up leaving my rating the same.  

3.5 stars on StoryGraph, rounded up to 4 stars on Goodreads. (Ho ho ho!)   

This was Book #32 read to date in 2024 (and Book #1 finished in November), bringing me to 71%  of my 2024 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 45 books. I am (for the moment, anyway...!) 8 (!) books behind schedule to meet my goal. :(  You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2024 tagged as "2024 books."    

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Postscript: The first time I reviewed this book, I observed that "Hannah can be somewhat clueless/annoying at times."  I thought the same thing this time around too -- but with a shock of recognition. I realized that I saw a LOT of myself in Hannah -- in the way that she hates change and clings to tradition -- even when it's obvious that some of those traditions no longer serve her and the changes might eventually turn out to be okay, or maybe even for the better.  (Oops.)  I like to think I've improved somewhat over the years, though...??