The Fortune Café by Julie Wright, Melanie Jacobson, Heather B. Moore

 This is the first book in the Tangerine Street Romance series. I had an upcoming plane flight and I wanted to something short and easy to read on the plane. I have read Melanie Jacobson's books before and enjoyed the light hearted banter and solid characters she writes so I decided to give this one a try. It's three short stories all centered around a Chinese restaurant called The Fortune Café. Each story has some of the characters from the other two stories intertwined in a subtle way. As the title of the book suggests, the fortune cookies at this restaurant tend to come true and help the characters overcome odds to find solid relationships. 

Recommend: Yes. 

24 Hours in Nowhere by Dusti Bowling

 Book #2 read aloud to my kids. I originally read this on October in 2021 and loved it. Bowling wrote two other books that are excellent, Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus and Momentous Events in the Life of a Cactus. Both are worth the read. Bowling has a knack for telling stories that are believable and engaging. Her books take place in the hot desert of Arizona and address bullying and not succumbing to peer pressure to be someone you are not, two really important subjects for young readers and for adults as well.

Nowhere is a town in Arizona that tops all the charts: highest poverty rate, lowest high school graduation rate, most likely place to die by cactus impalement among others. Gus is stuck there like most everyone in the town and sees dead ends everywhere he looks, but within a matter of 24 hours hope blossoms in a most unexpected way. Gus discovers truths about others and himself and things don't look so bleak anymore, even though they are in the middle of Nowhere.

 Recommend as a read aloud? Yes.

 

The Unteachables by Gordon Korman

Goal for 2023: read more to my children.  I started the year out with four books for them to choose from, three of which I was familiar with and had already read. They chose The Unteachables by Gordon Korman that I read in 2021. I have enjoyed other books by Korman (Masterminds trilogy was wonderful) and didn't mind this revisit. It tells the story of a group of middle school kids who are considered "unteachable" and are lumped into a classroom together and forgot about. The teacher that is assigned to these kids is at first as disengaged as his students. Through some unexpected chance encounters both the teacher and the students see past the labels that have been applied to them and surprise everyone, most importantly themselves.

 All three of my kids (ages 14, 16, 19) and my husband listened to me read each night. This book is engaging and short enough that we got through it in a week or so. They had a good time trying to guess what would happen next and even got a few things right.

 Recommend as a read aloud? Most definitely

56 Books read in 2022!

 I was surprised as I was counting the books I read last year to reach over 50!  It was difficult to pick my favorite, but two of them do stand out. 

Duet by Elise Broach belongs at the top of my list because of the uniqueness of the narrator: a goldfinch named Mirabelle. I've read books with animal viewpoints before but this one was more than just a bird personified. I felt I was getting a bird perspective of human life and it was fascinating. I loved how Mirabelle sees the young budding pianist as a kindred spirit and how she fights for his success. It doesn't hurt that my favorite composer, Chopin, is the passion of the boy pianist and his frail teacher. And finally the ending is not perfectly tied up in a bow with a comfortable dominant to tonic ending chord. It does, however, give hope in more work to come, more progress to make and more joy to create. 

100 Days of Sunlight by Abbie Emmons. I read this by accident really. I needed a book with a yellow cover and this seemed to fit the bill. It was a wonderful surprise. A little bit of romance and some teenage angst made it a typical young adult novel, but what stood out were the lives of the two main characters and most importantly their character. Tessa has been in an accident that robs her of her sight. Weston has also been the victim of an accident which left him a paraplegic. Tessa does not know that Weston is a paraplegic and so treats him "normally". This gives Weston a much needed break from the pity he is constantly shown. Tessa wants to be left alone in her misery, but Weston doesn't give up and is constantly there for her. Together they are able to help heal each other from their unseen wounds that their very visible problems have caused. I really enjoyed their journey. 

Here, There Be Dragons by James A. Owen

Fantasy. I found this book while browsing the books at my daughter’s home. Both my daughter and son-in-law recommended it to me and since I’m a sucker for dragon books I happily took it home. It immediately throws you into intense action as three men from London are fleeing for their lives. The action is compelling until about half way through and then it stalls with lots of back story explanations. I got a bit frustrated and nearly decided not to finish but my daughter said the ending was worth it so I pushed through and it picked up quickly. An author’s ability to end a story well is key for me to recommend a book. The ending was not only surprising but satisfying and tied together everything that happened perfectly! Bravo Mr. Owen, bravo!

Recommend: Yes!

The Best Laid Plans by Sarah M. Eden AND Charming Artemis by Sarah M. Eden

 Regency Romances. Why does cold weather bring me to settle in with a quick regency romance? These were two enjoyable reads. I have read many of Eden's books and she develops her characters quite well. Many of her books have the same families of characters in them and these two were some of those. As you get to know the families better it adds to the enjoyment of each story. There is always a social obstacle to overcome before the couples can attain their happily ever after as well as strengthening resolve in each other. A good recipe on a cold winter's day. 

Recommend: Yes. 

Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale

 Young Adult fiction. This is a re-read for me. I really enjoy all of Shannon Hale's books and this is one of my favorites. A young motherless girl gets assigned as a lady's maid to a princess that is about to be shut up in a tower for seven years because she refuses to marry the ruler of a neighboring kingdom. Thus starts Dashti's adventure with the Princess Saren, who is petulant and sad and stubborn. 

Dashti is resilient through situations that seem daunting and hard, which is a favorite attribute of heroines in the books I read. This is a book I will be re-reading again and again.