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2024 in Book Reviews
I read 75 books in 2024 and wrote half of my sixth novel, which is tentatively titled Four Hearts. While I originally planned to set a goal of 100 books, I changed my goal to 75 books early in the year due to unforeseen circumstances. Here are my top reads for the year. Top 10 best reads for 2024 (traditionally published) These are in order, starting with my favorite read of the year. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr This Used to Be Us by Renée Carlino This Impossible Brightness by Jessica Bryant Klagmann Spirit Crossing (Cork O’Connor, #20) by William Kent Krueger Camino Ghosts (Camino Island,…
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Weddings and Funerals: Changing Relationships with Family and Friends
Most people will say they love their family and closest friends. I’m no different. I love them all dearly. But, like many people, I don’t see them often since we live in different towns, and the COVID-19 Pandemic didn’t help matters. But hasn’t it always been that way? In the olden days, people either stayed in one town their whole lives or ventured off to the wild frontier, only communicating in letters. Back then, moving away might mean never seeing family and friends again. At least in more modern times, we have phones and other electronic ways to communicate—if and when we make time to reach out. Family trees My…
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When Unexpected Blessings Come in the Form of Two Puppies
My family was originally a one-dog family that became a two-dog family by chance. When Buddy passed away, leaving us with only Peanut, we chose to adopt Roscoe three months later because our fur-baby family didn’t feel complete anymore. And that was it. We were done—no more dogs—until life happened. Two starving pups needed a home I grew up just outside of Benton, where my mother still lives, about 80 miles away from where I live now. I talk to my mom daily and try to visit when I can. This spring and summer, she’s had some health issues, so I’ve been to her house more frequently. At the beginning…
