Category: What I’m reading

The Other Two Books I Read in June 2026 

After taking a three-week break from blogging, I’m happy to be back. In case you missed my blog last week, here’s the link: A Book I Read in June 2026. It tells you a bit of what was going on with me during my absence from the blogosphere most of the month of June.

I got to read three complete books in June after decreasing the number of blogs I was writing every week. It was a welcome change of pace for me!

The Calamity Club, by Kathryn Stockett

The Help, by Kathryn Stockett is one of my all-time favorite books, so I waited impatiently for her to write another novel. I thoroughly enjoyed The Calamity Club, her new release.

Cover of The Calamity Club, by Kathryn Stockett
The Calamity Club,
by Kathryn Stockett

Stockett seamlessly wove together the lives of five women who  — how can I put this nicely? — had diverse backgrounds and life experiences. What they had in common was a shared need to survive in Mississippi in 1933 when the country was in the grips of The Great Depression.

I was pulling for Meg at the Lafayette County Orphan Asylum from the beginning. And you can’t help but pull for Birdie as she swallows her pride and travels to visit her sister, Frances, because Frances has married well and will surely give her some money so Birdie and their mother can survive a little longer in the Mississippi Delta.

It turns out that things aren’t what they seem in Frances’ life and Frances and her mother-in-law, Mrs. Startt, have some hard lessons to learn. They are both under the false impression that their lives are not falling apart and surely there will always be enough money for them to live in the manner in which they are accustomed.

Charlie comes along with her colorful and sad past. She comes with lots of baggage but a willingness to work with the others to try to save them all from being penniless. The plan she cooks up will make you laugh out loud even though it is inevitable.

Meg is wise beyond her years and has an endearing sense of humor and a way with words. Birdie seems to be the only one of the adults who has any common sense.

I had really looked forward to this book, and it did not disappoint. Although it is a large book at more than 1,000 pages in large print (650 pages in regular print), when I got to the end I only wanted more.

Having an historical novel in which to dive and get lost in was exactly what I needed last month.

I hope Stockett is already working on her third novel!

Theo of Golden, by Allen Levi

While I was on the waitlist at the public library for Theo of Golden, I read a number of reviews of the novel. People seem to really like the book or really not like it, so I was eager to read it for myself.

Cover of Theo of Golden, by Allen Levi
Theo of Golden, by Allen Levi

The story is intriguing, and I certainly didn’t want to put it down. The premise of the book is very clever and refreshing.

Theo was born in Portugal, lived all over the world, and in this novel has landed somewhere south of Atlanta, Georgia. That’s about all we know about Theo. He only has the one name, and we don’t know what he does for a living or how he made his money – of which he seems to have more than plenty.

Theo is a likeable old man. He makes a point to make friends with people in Golden. He patronizes a coffeeshop his first day in town and is enamored with the 92 hand-drawn portraits on the wall. This interest in the portraits is something that is carried throughout the book and they are the catalyst for his meeting many people in Golden and learning their stories.

His discovery of the portraits is the inciting event for the novel, and may I say was a clever and “novel” idea on the part of the author. I’ll not tell you about the artist or what happens to the portraits, but it is a delightful story of human kindness and unlikely individuals discovering that they have talents and can excel.

The ending will surprise you.

What a satisfying month of reading I had in June!

What have you been reading? Have you read any of the books I read in June? What did you think about them?

Janet

Never take your right to read for granted.

A Book I Read in June 2026

In last week’s blog post, I revealed that I needed to take three weeks off from blogging because I was trying to cope with depression. If you missed it, here’s the link:  I’m back!.

When I wrote my June 9, 2026 blog, I had started reading the book I’m telling you about today. This book explained a lot about me. It was an eye-opener.

The Van Gogh Blues: The Creative Person’s Path through Depression, by Eric Maisel, PhD

Front cover of The Van Gogh Blues, by Eric Maisel, Ph.D.
The Van Gogh Blues: The Creative Person’s Path through Depression,
by Eric Maisel, Ph.D.

I started reading this book the last week in May, and it has been a game-changer for me. It was recommended by Rhonda Douglas of Resilient Writers in one of her online classes. Thank you, Rhonda!

I never considered myself to be depressed except for Seasonal Affective Disorder in the fall and winter, but – whether I am otherwise depressed or not – I learned something important about myself in the early chapters of this book.

Dr. Maisel explains how the depression that a creative person often experiences is different from other people’s depression and how it must be addressed differently.

I was reading along and taking some notes, and then I got to page 57. It was then that I had an epiphany. The words on pages 57 and 58 described me. I was so excited to learn this that I couldn’t wait to tell my sister.

She read those two pages and said, “This is you!” That led us to have an honest conversation about why we are so different in many ways.

I learned that, as a creative person, I need to find meaning in everything I do. That’s why I cannot just goof off. (Be careful how you read/interpret the next sentence.)  I cannot do nothing. In other words, sitting down and doing nothing would drive me to distraction. If I don’t see the meaning in a task, it irritates and frustrates me to have to do it. While I’m doing that unwanted task, I’m thinking “I could be writing.”

I feel driven to fill all my waking time with an activity that has meaning for me. Otherwise, I am stressed out.

The beauty of what I got out of this book is that it’s all right that I’m made that way and it is all right that everyone else isn’t. I now know why I get frustrated and grumpy (and sometimes very angry) if I don’t see the meaning in what I’m doing. I now understand why my sister can be content to lie on the couch for hours and read a book or play a game on her tablet.

I now understand why it baffles my sister if I decide to clean out a bookcase at 10:00 at night, and she understands why I tend to do things like that. We finally, after living together off and on for more than seven decades, understand why we are so different in the way we spend our time. I can finally accept that it’s all right for her to lie on the couch and read or play games on her tablet, and she no longer has to feel guilty for not jumping up to help me clean out that bookcase.

Living with a writer, artist, or musician can’t be easy for a non-creative. I wonder how many divorces could have been avoided if more people had this information.

Creative people, in general, doubt themselves. Can I write that story? Can I paint that painting? Can I get up in front of people and sing? Can I go out on that stage and perform my part in this play? What if no one likes my story? What if no one buys my book? I’m only fooling myself if I think I can do this. I’m an idiot!

You must tell yourself that you’re better than you think you are. You have done the research. You have practiced. You know your lines. There is someone out there waiting to read your novel.

My explanation is simplified, but if you think you might be struggling with your creativeness or you live with a creative person – or you’re considering spending your life with one – it behooves both of you to read this book. It might just help you understand and accept each other for who you are.

My apologies to Dr. Maisel, in case I have misrepresented the book in any way; however, I will be grateful for the rest of my life for your enlightening me about why I am the way I am.

Reading this book gave me clarity, but my bubble burst a couple of weeks later when the realization of what my life has to be came back and hit me in the face full force. At least now I know why I find it so hard to find joy in picking up limbs and cutting sweetgum sprouts. I’ve also come to realize that I’m depressed in the summer, too, because there is no end to the yardwork and I’m getting too old for this. Besides… I’d rather be writing!.

Janet

“I was okay just a moment ago. I will learn how to be okay again.” ~ Nina LaCour

Books I Read in May 2026

I read (or attempted to read) four good books last month, and I’m happy to share my thoughts about them with you today.

The Creek, The Crone, and The Crow, by Leah Weiss

The Creek, The Crone, and the Crow, by Leah Weiss

This historical novel with an element of magical realism held my attention throughout. It’s the first book in regular size print I’ve been able to read in a long time. The story line and Ms. Weiss’ writing style played a big part in making that possible. The setting in a fictional community in the Appalachian Mountains in western North Carolina drew me in. I would say that the setting was as much a character as the people who populated the book.

Alternating chapters between two main characters is not typically my favorite format for a novel, but it worked for me in this book.

In a nutshell, Kate Shaw taught at the last one-room schools in North Carolina in 1980. She and the community are not happy when the county decides to close their school and bus the students miles to a bigger school.

Then, Lydia Brown, a psychic who wants to know more about her birthmark and the visions she had as a child, comes to Baines Creek looking for local recluse Birdie Rocas. Most people are afraid of Birdie and want to avoid her at all cost.

A professor from nearby Asheville gets brought into the story to help interpret Birdie’s writings. There are things hidden in the journals and there are things hidden underground.

Everyone’s story is woven together and things get more and more interesting as the contents of Birdie’s journals come to light.

I almost told too much. I don’t want to spoil the story for you.

Although it is historical fiction, the location is fairly well pinpointed to be near the real community of Little Switzerland, just off the Blue Ridge Parkway. I have eaten lunch in the restaurant there several times, so it was interesting when it and the building it is in showed up in a number of scenes.

The Immigrant and The Outlaw, by Joy Neal Kidney

The Immigrant and The Outlaw, by Joy Neal Kidney

This is a delightful collection of newspaper and magazine articles Ms. Kidney has written about her childhood and the ancestors and other characters that have filled her life.

So much many of Ms. Kidney’s memories matched mine, I thought at times she was writing about my childhood. I did not grow up on a farm and I did not have grandparents, but there were lots of little details that I could identify with – like a linoleum floor, going outside to watch Sputnik go by, the oil stove in the living room, and even my Daddy’s “ashtray on a stand” by his chair.

Along with childhood memories of growing up out in the country, there were memories of helping to assimilate Bosnian immigrants and their first Thanksgiving in Iowa.

The last piece in the collection, “A Housewife’s Best Friend” made me stop and think about the difficult lives of my grandmothers. Although they died long before I was born, they lived and raised farm families without the luxury of electricity. I take electricity for granted every day, and even a momentary power surge or a limb falling on the power line sends me into a frenzy. I am so spoiled!

I recommend this book to people of all ages.

The Astral Library, by Kate Quinn

The Astral Library,
by Kate Quinn

This is quite a change from Kate Quinn’s usual novels, but I must say I enjoyed it.

Let me clarify that. I enjoyed the first four of the eight CDs. The skipping got so bad on disc 4 that I finally gave up and went on to disc 5. I listened to it until it just stopped playing.

This novel has an interesting premise. When someone is at the end of their rope, they can be invited to the Astral Library. In the Astral Library, a person can enter and live in a book.

It was by coincidence that I ended up reading (or trying to read) two books in May that involved magical realism. I’d never even heard that term before, but The Astral Library and The Creek, The Crone, and The Crow both fall in that category.

Something I found extremely irritating – which I’d forgotten about books on CD – is that there is a tremendous range in the volume. Some characters almost whisper and some characters yell all the time. And sometimes one character whispers part of the time and yells part of the time. I had forgotten that was a problem I’ve had before in listening to a book on CD. I’ll try not to make that mistake again.

Ironically, I had planned to begin today’s blog post wishing everyone a happy “Audiobook Appreciation Month.”

God’s name is taken in vain repeatedly in at least the first half of the book. (I can’t vouch for the second half, since I didn’t get to listen to it.) I think this would be less offensive if reading the printed word. I found it quite offensive as I listened to the novel being read aloud. When profanity is used just for the sake of using it – and not something a character needs to say over and over again – it just ends up being irritating, and after a while it loses its impact. I was surprised and disappointed to find this in a Kate Quinn novel.

The excessive use of vulgarity did not feel necessary to the story. It had a lovely and intriguing premise.

Dear Writer: Pep Talks & Practical Advice for the Creative Life, by poet Maggie Smith

Dear Writer: Pep Talks & Practical Advice for the Creative Life,
by Maggie Smith

In the “Introduction,” Ms. Smith offers “ten principles of creativity: attention, wonder, vision, surprise, play, vulnerability, restlessness, connection, tenacity, and hope.”

She wrote, “You have to do it to learn how to do it.”

There is a helpful chapter in the book for people like me who are writing their (hopefully!) debut novel. That chapter is about choosing a title for your book. She talks about the different responsibilities a book title has.

I identified with the author when she wrote about loving “the idea of writing every day” but not doing it. She followed that a few pages later with, “Commit to doing at least one thing in service of your writitng every day.”

I agree with her, and I try to do that – something that serves my writing every day. It might be reading an article about the craft of writing, reading in my genre, listening to a webinar, reading a poem, planning a future blog post, or doing historical research. My favorite days, though, are the ones in which I get to work on my novel.

I hope you’ll be inspired to read one of the books I read in May.

Janet

Never take your right to read for granted.

Books I Finished Reading in April 2026

May is Get Caught Reading Month, Mystery Month, National Share a Story Month, and Latino Book Month, so I wish you a happy May in all those ways and the other ways you celebrate it.

Here in the northern hemisphere, it is truly the month when we transition into summer. What’s not to love about that? (I know… humidity, snakes, and mosquitoes, but let’s not go there.)

As has been my practice (some months and years more so than others), I like to blog early in the month about some of the books I read the previous month.

I will point out (again) that I am not a book reviewer. There are people who do that as a profession, and I am not one of them. Occasionally, I receive an email from a stranger asking me to review their book. I don’t do that. My reading time is precious and I only read the books I choose to read.

My fiction reading has been sparse for several months now due to the brain fog that is part of ME/CFS, which I have lived with for 39 years.

This is frustrating, to say the least. I used to love to read and, as a fiction writer, it is especially difficult for me to admit that I have difficulty reading a novel and remembering what I’ve read on a page – much less to try to remember the plot of a story.

This makes for embarrassing times at book club, where I feel like an intruder in a group where everyone else knows the minute details of novels. All I can do is marvel at what extraordinary memories they have as I sit quietly and listen to the discussion.

You may wonder how and why I’m trying to write novels. I have spent years working on two novels, and I have no idea when either of them will be completed. It is only because I have worked with this story and these characters for so long that I am able to believe I can finish writing the book. It is challenging work, but writing brings me joy and a sense of accomplishment.

That said, I will share a little of what I read, or more accurately, finished reading in April.

40 Days of Decrease: A Different Kind of Hunger, A Different Kind of Fast, by Alicia Britt Chole

40 Days of Decrease: A Different Kind of Hunger, A Different Kind of Fast, by Alicia Britt Chole

I’ve been a Presbyterian all my life, so fasting for Lent has never been a thing for me. There has been a growing emphasis on Lent in the Presbyterian Church USA in recent decades, but fasting or “giving up something for Lent” is not part of that emphasis. 

I was drawn to the title of this book several years ago. I finally purchased a used copy of it and looked forward to reading it in the 40 days of Lent leading up to Easter this year.

I am a flawed human being and a flawed Christian. I read it “religiously” (pardon the pun) for the first 20 days. Then, I got distracted. I lost my focus and read the last 20 chapters on a hit-and-miss basis. That is not a reflection of the book. It is merely a reflection on me and my failings.

This book is excellent! If you want to give up eating chocolate or something for Lent, that’s quite all right, but this book takes a different approach. I believe it takes a deeper approach.

For each day during Lent, the book encourages the reader to give up something in their lives.

For instance, on Day 1, we are encouraged to give up Lent “as a project” with a beginning and ending date. On Day 2, we are encouraged to give up regrets. That is a huge one! Especially if you are in your later years. Another day we are encouraged to not speed up sorrow. Give yourself and others time to grieve. Don’t rush it.

As you can see, this book is packed with baggage we all have. Each day gave me something to ponder and to try to get rid of.

I highly recommend 40 Days of Decrease: A Different Kind of Hunger, A Different Kind of Fast, by Alicia Britt Chole. I don’t plan to wait until Lent 2027 to re-read it. Most of the topics in the book are things that I need to work on constantly. I think many of us could benefit from reading it throughout the year. Some of the daily topics could be dwelt on for a week.

Even though the book was designed to be read in daily increments during Lent, I refuse to feel guilty for taking several extra weeks to finish reading it. In fact, I think that’s perfectly okay.

It takes some of us longer than 40 days to get our lives straightened out. I’m a work in progress.

Travels with George: In Search of Washington and His Legacy,by Nathaniel Philbrick

Travels with George: In Search of Washington and His Legacy, by Nathaniel Philbrick

I wanted to read the entire book, but I was unable to devote the time necessary to do that. My reading for pleasure tends to just be for the pleasure in the moment of reading a well-written, interesting novel. This book is not a novel but a retracing of George Washington’s 1791 tour of the southern states. I was especially interested in his travels in South Carolina and North Carolina in light of the novel I’m writing.

I enjoyed that part of the book and took some notes for future reference. I was disappointed, though, that the book jumped from Washington’s time with the Catawba Indians to “his next stop in Salisbury.”

Washington’s next stop was not Salisbury. He traveled to Charlotte, and spent the next night (May 29, 1791) as a personal guest of Red Hill Tavern owner Martin Phifer, Jr. near the present-day intersection of US-29 and Poplar Tent Road in Concord, Cabarrus County.

Mr. Phifer had served with Washington at Valley Forge, so they were more than acquaintances.

I’m puzzled over why the author skipped over Mecklenburg and Cabarrus counties and went directly to Rowan County.

Otherwise, what he covered that I got to read was very interesting and easy to follow. I think anyone interested in George Washington or his tour of The South in 1791 would enjoy this book.

Until my next blog post

I hope you have one or more good books that you’re reading! I’m reading The Mad Wife, by Meagan Church and Brawler: Stories, by Lauren Groff.

Janet

The government should be afraid of its citizens, not the other way around.

New nonfiction book about Regulator Movement in NC

This weekend I finished reading and taking copious notes from an excellent new nonfiction book, The Regulator Movement in North Carolina: Prelude to the Revolution, by Marcia D. Phillips.

Today is National Tell a Story Day, and this nonfiction book tells quite a story!

The Regulator Movement in North Carolina: Prelude to the Revolution,
by Marcia D. Phillips

If you want to know some of the little-known background leading up to the American Revolution, I highly recommend this book. As a native North Carolinian, I learned about the Regulators in North Carolina History classes; however, to read the details of it as an adult is to better grasp the terror that many residents of my state were living under in the late 1760s and early 1770s.

The author did an amazing job, like no one else I’ve read, of giving hundreds of years of history leading up to the Regulator Movement in North Carolina. She wrote about how the feudal system in Europe and even the Magna Carta laid the groundwork for what happened here in the mid-1700s!

I had never connected some of the dots that Ms. Phillips connected, but it all fits together now in my mind.

The book also does a great job of explaining the differences between the Regulator Movement in North Carolina and the Regulator Movement in South Carolina. That’s something important for me to keep in mind as I write my historical novels in progress.

Quoting from The Regulator Movement in North Carolina: Prelude to the Revolution, by Marcia D. Phillips,

“In a nutshell, the North Carolina Regulators were not attempting to overthrow the colonial government, just convince it to be the same one they had for years and true to British common law. Their actions were not intended to disrupt the law but to ensure the government’s actions were regulated, to promote uniformity and fairness. The issues of the day – excessive taxation and fees with limited recourse in the assembly, lack of justice in court rulings, and forced taxation for the Anglican Church, which none of the Regulators attended – were the sticking points but also indicative of underlying principles being violated. These discontented farmers were even willing to self-regulate if the colonial government would allow it.”

The Regulators signed petitions in an effort to get Governor Tryon to address their grievances. His appointed officials in the North Carolina Piedmont – particularly in the northern Piedmont part of the province owned by Lord Granville – were robbing the citizens blind and pocketing the money they collected.

They were sick and tired of paying tax to support the Anglican Church. They were Presbyterians and Baptists, and they wanted the right to pay their own clergy. Their clergy were not allowed to officiate over marriages or funerals. For people who had left Europe for religious freedom, this was unacceptable.

The Regulator Movement in North Carolina came to a head in Alamance County on May 16, 1771, when Governor Tryon ordered eight cannons to fire upon a group of Regulators who had asked to be heard. Under the Johnston Riot Act, Tryon gave them until noon to disperse; however, instead of arresting them at noon when they did not disperse, he turned eight cannons on them. It is called the Battle of Alamance, but it was really an ambush.

As the book gives in detail, that was not the end of Tryon’s reign of terror. He had a number of Regulators hanged and had many of their farms burned to the ground.

The book includes an extensive bibliography for readers wanting to do additional research. Thank you, Ms. Phillips, for giving us such a concise and well-researched account of the Regulator Movement in North Carolina.

Perhaps it is partly because of our current political environment that, but while reading this book, it struck me how similar Governor William Tryon of North Carolina was to Donald Trump. I’m not just referring to the fact that he built an extravagant palace for himself while in office.

Some leaders build palaces. Others build ballrooms and triumphal arches.

But it is the pattern of retribution demonstrated by Tryon and by Trump that hit me as an undeniable and frightening similarity between the two men.

Janet

The government should be afraid of its citizens, not the other way around.

Books I Read in March 2026 & National Literature Month

April is National Literature Month in the United States. Maybe I’ll get to read more books this month than I did in March of any of the recent previous months. Writing this blog almost every day along with other things pressing on my time and energy have left little time for reading for pleasure.

In the more than ten years that I’ve been blogging, I have traditionally blogged on the first Monday or around the first day of the month about the books I read the previous month. That has not been the case over the last year or so, but maybe I will get back into that rhythm this year… or eventually. I miss having time to read.

Photo by Susan Q Yin on Unsplash

I read one very small book and part of another book in March. Perhaps what I have to say about them will giver you the incentive to read them.

The Greatest Sentence Ever Written, by Walter Isaacson, is a tiny book with great importance during our country’s 250th birthday this year. Walter Isaacson has done extensive research and written many books about individuals who played instrumental roles in the formation of the United States. It was only natural for him to write a book about the second sentence of the Declaration of Independence:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Isaacson takes that sentence and breaks it down by word and phrase to address their meanings and how those particular words made it into the final draft of the Declaration of Independence.

He states in the first chapter, that “We the people” “is as profound as it is simple. Our governance is based not on the divine right of kings or the power imposed by emperors and conquerors. It is based on a compact, a social contract, that we the people have entered into.”

That early sentence in the chapter titled, “We,” sets the tone for the 67-page book. “We the people” is also the opening phrase in the United States Constitution.

Being a wordsmith of sorts and a political science major in college, I especially enjoyed how Isaacson brought in details about Benjamin Franklin’s input and editing recommendations of Thomas Jefferson’s early drafts of the Declaration of Independence. Both men were learned and very specific in word choice.

Both men were well-read and students of philosophy. They drew on the theories they had read about humanity and governance.

For instance, Jefferson had written “sacred and undeniable” but Franklin insisted that “self-evident” was a more accurate description of our rights. Franklin had become a close acquaintance of Scottish philosopher David Hume. Hume’s theory, known as “Hume’s fork” maintained that there are two types of truths. One is dependent upon empirical evidence and observations (such as, New York is bigger than Philadelphia), while the other type of truth is just true. Such truths are not contingent upon physical evidence or observations. An example is “All bachelors are unmarried.”

Franklin held that our rights are self-evident. They are not based on information that must be gathered and analyzed.

Another interesting tidbit was that Jefferson wrote that we are endowed by our Creator with certain “inalienable rights,” but when John Adams copied from Jefferson’s document, he changed “inalienable” to “unalienable” and that’s the way it was approved on July 4, 1776. No wonder I get confused sometimes over which word ended up in the document!

There is really no difference between “inalienable” and “unalienable.” Perhaps it was a case of personal preference… or an error in copying.

A book that I started reading for book club in March was Where the Rivers Merge, by Mary Alice Monroe. Time ran out, as it often does, and I did not finish reading it before the club met for discussion on March 22. I hope to read it in its entirety before the book club reads its sequel perhaps in 2027. The sequel has not been published, but book club members said it is being written.

Mary Alice Monroe knows the ACE (Ashepoo, Combahee and Edisto) Basin area of coastal South Carolina very well. The story in Where the Rivers Merge is anchored in that location and it is a deep love and respect for that physical environment that is the heart of this book about a family whose members have varying degrees of appreciation for the place and differing ideas about its worth.

The ACE Basin is a large undeveloped estuary in Colleton, Charles, and Beaufort counties in South Carolina on the Atlantic coast. In addition to being an author, Ms. Monroe is very interested in conservation and the environment.

Happy reading during this National Literature Month!

Janet

The government should be afraid of its citizens, not the other way around.

Books I Read in October 2025

For starters, relax, no mention of politics in America in today’s post.

Second, where did October go? Or September, for that matter?

I only read two books in October, but they were both wonderful reads that gave me much to think about. It was great to get back in the groove and read some excellent historical fiction!

The Weight of Snow and Regret, by Elizabeth Gauffreau

Two weeks ago, on October 20th, I blogged about The Weight of Snow and Regret, an historical novel by Elizabeth Gauffreau. If you missed reading that post, please go back and read it now: The Weight of Snow and Regret.

Photo of the front cover of The Weight of Snow and Regret, by Elizabeth Gauffreau
The Weight of Snow and Regret, by Elizabeth Gauffreau

I don’t want you to miss it! Ms. Gauffreau’s novel will take you back to a time in our country when poor houses were available for people who did not have anywhere else to go. The book is populated by distinct characters who will tug at your heart.

After not finding any novels that held my attention for months, October was a much-needed dive back into reading for pleasure for me.

15,000 Kilometers, by Laleh Chini

In addition to reading Elizabeth Gauffreau’s new novel, I read Laleh Chini’s new book, 15,000 Kilometers. In case you are an American and kilometers don’t mean anything to you, 15,000 kilometers is more than 9,300 miles. The book is Laleh Chini’s husband’s memoir.

15,000 Kilometers, by Laleh Chini

Hassan was a teenager when he risked his life to escape Iran after the Shah of Iran was overthrown in 1979. Life under the Shah’s rule was not perfect, but things deteriorated rapidly during and after the revolution.

This book will take you along with Hassan every excruciating step of the way as he was determined to get to Canada and have a free life.

Hassan’s decision was gut-wrenching for himself and his parents, but he faced a bleak future if he stayed in his home country. He already had his eye on the lovely Laleh, who was from his hometown. He never gave up on his dream of reaching Canada and reuniting with Laleh.

He joined others who sought to escape Iran, and they bonded as they walked and ran to the border with Afghanistan, then braved the desert with very little food and water, always at the mercy of smugglers they had placed their lives in the hands of.

Then came two more countries! Hassan continued to do everything he needed to do to blend in and not draw attention to himself in one strange land after another.

Did Hassan make it to Canada? How did he and Laleh find one another again after so much terror and sacrifice? I don’t want to give that away. You must read the book to appreciate Hassan’s bravery and sacrifice and to see if he realized his dream.

The exquisite hand-drawn illustrations are a bonus in 15,000 Kilometers. There are wonderful detailed images of Hasson, the guards and other men he encountered, and some of the sights he saw along the way.

The words and the images in 15,000 Kilometers, by Laleh Chini, are a real treasure that reminded me how fortunate I was to be born in the United States. Even with all of America’s flaws and current challenges, I was blessed to be born and grow up in a free country.

Hurricane Helene Update

As of Friday, October 31, 31 roads in North Carolina were still closed due to Hurricane Helene’s wind, flooding, and landslides on September 26, 2024. That’s two fewer roads than were closed when I gave my last update two weeks ago. Friday’s count included five US highways, two state highways, and 24 state roads.

Future progress will probably be slow, as winter weather is already setting in in the mountains. I will give updates periodically as there is something new to report.

Sections of the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina will remain closed for at least another year, and I-40 at the Tennessee line will continue to be just two lanes at 35 miles-per-hour for a couple more years while five miles of the highway are being rebuilt in the Pigeon River Gorge.

But western North Carolina is open for business and tourists this fall, although the elevations above 3,000 feet are well past their peak of fall color. Be aware that you might run into a detour, and you can’t drive the full length of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

If you visit western North Carolina, please drop by Blue Ridge Books in Waynesville and Highland Books in Brevard. Tell them I sent you. They sell my books!

Janet

The Weight of Snow and Regret, by Elizabeth Gauffreau

I planned to write one of my #OnThisDay history blog posts today about the Treaty of 1818, which established the 49th parallel as the Canada-United States border from the Great Lakes, west. However, I couldn’t get very excited about that topic.

I’m sure it was a big deal in 1818, during President James Monroe’s first term in office, and I’m sure it meant a lot to the people in the border states and provinces in the two countries. I just couldn’t come up with much to say about it.

I’ll just say, “I think I can speak for all Americans when I say, ‘We love you, Canada.’”

With that said, I will jump into what I am excited to write about today: a book I finished reading Friday night.

The Weight of Snow and Regret, by Elizabeth Gauffreau

If you regularly read my blog, you know I used to blog the first Monday of each month about the books I read the previous month. Some months I read so many books, it took two posts to write about all of them.

Then, January 2025 came along. I read The Frozen River, by Ariel Lawhon, in January, but then I hit a dry spell. I became so distracted by politics that I found it impossible to find a novel that I could concentrate on long enough to get interested, much less finish reading.

Then came October, and the release of The Weight of Snow and Regret, by Elizabeth Gauffreau. Historical fiction is my “go to” genre for reading and writing, and I had yearned all year for another book that would grab me like Ariel Lawhon’s book.

Photo of the front cover of The Weight of Snow and Regret, by Elizabeth Gauffreau
The Weight of Snow and Regret, by Elizabeth Gauffreau

The Weight of Snow and Regret is written in a way that would not let me go. Ms. Gauffreau was inspired to write the book after learning about the Sheldon Poor Farm in Vermont, which closed in 1968.

The book is expertly researched, which made it possible for the talented writer that Ms. Gauffreau is to infuse every scene with a level of authenticity that puts the reader in the story.

Each resident at Sheldon has a distinct personality and way of speaking that makes them easy to remember and tell apart.

The main character, Hazel, is matron at the Sheldon Poor Farm. Her husband runs the farm. The reader can’t help but be drawn to Hazel as she has the overwhelming job of cooking, cleaning, and in all ways caring for the residents of this very real poor farm. She has a heart for the job, and as her backstory is revealed the reader learns why she is the way she is.

Every time I thought I could close the book, I found myself plunging into the next chapter to see what was going to happen next. Every time I thought life couldn’t get more difficult for Hazel… it got more difficult. Somehow, Hazel kept her sense of humor, and that comes through in the book.

This novel is set in the 1920s, 1940s, and 1960s. I usually don’t enjoy novels that move back and forth between decades, but Ms. Gauffreau pulled this off masterfully. I think it was the perfect way for this story to be told.

The characters in The Weight of Snow and Regret will stay with me for a long time. It’s that kind of story.

There were “poor houses” when I was a child for people who were too poor to live anywhere else and had no relatives willing to take them into their homes. This novel made me stop and wonder where those people go now. I guess they are the people who live under bridges on the streets and highways in the cities.

If you like to read historical fiction, I highly recommend The Weight of Snow and Regret, by Elizabeth Gauffreau.

Hurricane Helene Update

As of Friday, 33 roads in North Carolina were still closed due to the September 26, 2024, Hurricane Helene. That count included five US highways, two state highways, and 26 state roads, meaning two state roads opened since my last blog update two weeks ago.

Of course, sections of the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina will remain closed for another year or more, and I-40 at the Tennessee line will continue to be just two lanes at 35 miles-per-hour for a couple more years while five miles of the highway are being rebuilt in the Pigeon River Gorge.

But western North Carolina is open for business and tourists this fall. Just be aware that you might run into a detour, and you can’t drive the full length of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Janet

The Book I Read in September 2025

I only read one entire book in September. I pre-ordered it early in the summer and had great expectations that it would contain some information to supplement my research about the Great Wagon Road.

The Road That Made America: A Modern Pilgrim’s Journey on The Great Wagon Road, by James Dodson

Photo of the cover of The Road That Made America, by James Dodson
The Road That Made America, by James Dodson

Perhaps I should have done more research into the book itself. It was not what I expected, but I read the entire book. I did not want to miss a morsel of new detail about the Great Wagon Road.

I will not write a review of this book, because it very well might be my fault that I expected too much from it. I know from experience that it is difficult to recover a high rating once someone has left a mediocre review.

For what Mr. Dodson set out to write, he did an excellent job. It just wasn’t what I hoped for or needed.

If you are looking for a travelogue that is about half set in Pennsylvania and pretty much peters out when he gets to the northern piedmont area in North Carolina, you would probably enjoy this book. The author tells where he ate, where he stayed, and who he met along the way. He met some old friends along the way and he gives background details of their years of friendship. There is an emphasis on the Civil War battlefields along or near The Great Wagon Road, so a Civil War buff would find that of interest.

It just wasn’t what I hoped would supplement my research for the historical novel series I’m writing.

My reading continues to suffer

I have been in a reading funk since January 20. Actually, it dates back to November 5, 2024. You can read between the lines and figure out why I have lost my desire to read. It is a sad and dangerous thing for a wannabe writer to stop reading.

My writing projects

This summer I finished writing and self-published I Need The Light! 26 Weekly Devotionals to Help You Through Winter and I Need The Light! Companion Journal and Diary. They are available on Amazon and you can look for them at your favorite bookstore.

If can even order the devotional book (and soon, the companion journal) from your favorite independent bookstore by going to https://www.janetmorrisonbooks.com, click on the book covers and place your order by using the Bookshop.org button.

I appreciate each of you who have ordered either or both books.

At the request of a distant cousin who is a very dedicated member of the Sons of the American Revolution, last week I set my short stories aside and wrote the honoring statements for four American Revolutionary War patriots and soldiers who are buried in Spears Graveyard of Rocky River Presbyterian Church in Cabarrus County, NC.

With that research and writing completed on Saturday evening, I turned my attention back to proofreading and editing my historical short stories. Stay turned for an announcement in a few weeks when I publish Traveling Through History: Historical Short Stories.

Hurricane Helene Update

As of Friday, 35 roads in North Carolina were still closed due to Hurricane Helene. That count included five US highways, two state highways, and 28 state roads, meaning three state roads opened last week.

Of course, sections of the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina will remain closed for another year or more, and I-40 at the Tennessee line will continue to be just two lanes at 35 miles-per-hour for a couple more years while five miles of the highway are being rebuilt in the Pigeon River Gorge.

But western North Carolina is open for business and tourists this fall. Just be aware that you might run into a detour, and you can’t drive the full length of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Janet

The Book I Read in July 2025 & Why It Stood Alone

You know a reader is in trouble when the only book she read in the month of July was a cookbook!

The Scottish Cookbook: Hebridean Baker, by Coinneach MacLeod

Photo of the front cover of The Hebridean Baker by Coinneach MacLeod
The Scottish Cookbook:
The Hebridean Baker, by Coinneach MacLeod

This was a fun read. I doubt I’ll try any of the recipes, but the recipes are interspersed with stories about the islands in the Outer Hebrides. They were interesting and the photographs brought back memories of my visit to Lewis and Harris.

Some of the recipes sounded interesting, but I was primarily drawn into the stories MacLeod shared. The photographs were beautiful and took me back to my wonderful trips to the Outer Hebrides and my dear friends on the Isle of Lewis.

More than a reading slump

Those of you who have followed my blog over the years have, no doubt, noticed that I have read very few books this year. In one or more blog posts I have blamed my slump on the current threats to our American democracy. That was not an idle excuse. It is very much the reason I have read almost no fiction in 2025. In conjunction with that same reason, I have spent an inordinate amount of time writing blog posts up to six times a week instead of my former usual of once a week.

However, this summer there has been a third reason for my lack of reading novels. If you subscribe to my newsletter, you know what I’m talking about.

I Need The Light! 26 Weekly Devotionals to Help You Through Winter

A couple of years ago, I started writing a devotional book. Imposter Syndrome set in, and I put it away.

Imposter Syndrome tells a person that they aren’t good enough. It says to a writer, “Who do you think you are? You can’t write a book!” It says to the writer of a devotional book, “You’ve got to be kidding! You have no formal religious training! You have no degrees in theology!”

Late this spring, I decided to publish my devotional book anyway. Due to the nature of the subject matter, I needed to get it out before winter set in.

Self-publishing a book requires one to jump out of the boat and into the water at the deep end of the pool without knowing how to swim.

I’ve done that before. I self-published two local history books, two historical short stories, and a cookbook through Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). However, KDP being part of Amazon, I soon learned that bookstores are not interested in selling your books. Amazon is seen as a bookstore’s enemy.

You live and learn. It just takes some of us longer to learn than it takes others.

In the spring I started researching IngramSpark. A book self-published through IngramSpark can be ordered by bookstores and libraries!

Those of you who know me well, know that I am not computer literate. Those of you who know me very well know that I have memory problems that make it incredibly difficult to learn new things. Having to learn a new computer program, for instance, is just about my worst nightmare.

It was with more than a little apprehension that I created an account with IngramSpark and jumped into the deep end of a new pool.

My summer has been a whirlwind of learning new things, editing words I wrote a while back, and adding contemporary examples. I learned new marketing techniques and have tried my best to implement them.

In my July newsletter, I offered Advanced Review Copies (ARCs) for the first time in my life. There was a learning curve there as I had to create a special ARC book cover. I also learned who in my small circle were willing to accept a free ARC and who were not. The timing wasn’t right for some people. It is all part of the process. Writers are required to have thick skin.

I anticipate the release in early September of I Need The Light! 26 Weekly Devotionals to Help You Through Winter.

Photo of front cover of I Need The Light! 26 Weekly Devotionals to Help You Through Winter by Janet Morrison
I Need The Light! 26 Weekly Devotionals to Help You Through Winter, by Janet Morrison

Be on the lookout for more specific announcements!

Hurricane Helene Update

As of Friday, of the 1,457 roads that were closed in western North Carolina last September due to Hurricane Helene, 34 remain closed, which is the same number reported for the last three weeks. The NC Department of Transportation reports 40 roads have just partial access, which is a decrease of two roads since the previous Friday.

In case you missed my weekly update on July 26, here’s a link to that blog post in which I gave the National Park Service’s three-phase plan for reopening the Blue Ridge Parkway: Books Banned at U.S. Department of Defense Schools.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Alert!

In a related story, on Saturday, US-441/Newfound Gap Road – the only road that crosses the entire Great Smoky Mountains National Park from Cherokee, North Carolina to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, was closed due to heavy rainfall causing the undercutting of a section of the road in Tennessee by Walker Prong Camp Creek between Mile Marker 12 and Mile Marker 13.

The entire road was closed for evaluation, but part of it in the North Carolina part of the park has reopened. There is no estimate of when the Tennessee portion of the road will reopen. The stated detour route is I-40, which is still just two lanes and 35 mph due to the massive damage done last September by Hurricane Helene.

Until my next blog post

I hope you have time and are in the mood to read a good book – fiction or nonfiction.

Remember the people of Ukraine, the starving children in Gaza, and the people of western North Carolina still reeling from the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene last September.

Janet