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My mother reading Richard Scarry to my father.
Below are the first lines of the 9 short books I finished reading in March. Some political, some fun and one absolute fluff, all under 300 pages. I read the non-fiction books too fast, which reduced my retention.
Book 1
In 1776, fifty-six men risked their lives to defy the British and sign their names to the Declaration of Independence, but most Americans can’t name more than a handful.
Book 2
Sister Bernadette Ohlson anticipated her annual vacation with her best friend more than any other event all year, but before she could leave The Abbey: Senior Living, she had to complete the to-do list she’d written on the back of an old envelope.
Book 3
Who Wants to Read a Sermon?
When I first read the Gospel of Matthew–I must have been about thirteen or fourteen–I didn’t have much interest in the Sermon on the Mount.
Book 4
The Rescue
Nancy Drew, an attractive girl of eighteen, was driving home along a country road in her new, dark-blue convertible. She had just delivered some legal papers for her father.
Book 5
Introduction: Crisis Conditions Require Bold Tactics
The contemporary political moment is defined by emergency. Acute crises, like the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change-induced fires, floods, and storms, as well as the ongoing crises of racist criminalization, brutal immigration enforcement, endemic gender violence, and severe wealth inequality, threaten the survival of people around the globe.
Book 6
My attention was drawn to the spots on my chest when I was in my bath, singing, if I remember rightly, the Toreador song from the opera Carmen.
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| Of all my photos of bathtubs, this scene is the most likely to be in a book with this character. |
Book 7
The children did not like it that Marta was unhappy.
“Well, she chose to come, didn't she?” said Janet.
“Haven’t you ever chosen to do something and not liked it at all?” asked Father, and Janet had to admit she had. Gregory had not.
Book 8
July 21
107 Days to the Election
“Auntie! Auntie!”
A small fist rapped gently on my bedroom door.
Book 9
Welcome: I’m SO Glad You Picked Up this Book!
I’m guessing you did so because you're looking for a way of making a difference that fits in your life.
Did not finish 1
I remember, in no particular order:
- a shiny inner wrist;
- steam rising from a wet sink as a hot frying pan is laughingly tossed into it;
Did not finish 2
She did not call her mother Mom or Mommy or even Mother.
The titles and authors revealed:
My favorites were Book 2 and Book 7. Book 6 was the fluff.
Book 1
Signing Their Lives Away: The Fame and Misfortune of the Men Who Signed the Declaration of Independence
By Denise Kiernan with Joseph D'Agnese
256 pages • first pub 2019
nonfiction history informative
The only reason I got this book (on Libby, kindle version, from the library) is because David McCullough’s book 1776 would require waiting and I wanted a big selection of books to read, right now, while traveling on the weekend.
It would work well to read this book in snippets. Each section represents one of the thirteen colonies and the chapters are quite short, each one about one of the signers.
Book 2
A Fatal Habit (Nun the Wiser Mysteries #3)
By Melissa Westemeier
289 pages • first pub 2026
fiction mystery
(purchased for my kindle)
A yarn well told and thoroughly enjoyable to read. The characters are well-portrayed and I found the subplots interesting. Loads of tea drinking, which I always appreciate, especially when it was served up by the police in an effort to calm a character. The premise was unique, and also served as a sincere recognition of graphic novel/comic book artists. I applaud the author’s bold decision to move the setting for this third one in the series. It was good to have the friends of AJ, a fresh set of characters, developed.
At one point in my reading, I said to my husband with eager anticipation, “There is about to be an exciting yet gentle chase through a hotel with a retired nun!” In response my husband thought of how a chase scene would go in a retirement home. He set up a whole scenario with a phalanx of elderly people barging down the retirement center hallway, rollators assisting, at 0.00001 mph. At the last moment, an outlaw elderly resident sticks out his cane, the rollators and their owners tumble, snowballing down the hall in slow motion. That didn’t happen in the book; the chase was in fact swift and stirring.
The villain was suitably villainous. What we need in these times is for a heinous villain to be brought down fully, and shamed to the utmost. This book delivers (but without gore or congressional action). Oh, how we long for the same outcome to be delivered to certain public figures.
I have to love a book that references David Tennant.
Book 3
Sermon on the Mount: A Beginner's Guide to the Kingdom of Heaven
By Amy-Jill Levine
160 pages • first pub 2020
Nonfiction informative reflective slow-paced
Reading it for a Lenten study. Healing. I swear, every time I opened this book and started reading, it was the literary equivalent of a soothing cup of tea.
Book 4
The Secret of the Old Clock (Nancy Drew Mystery Stories #1)
Carolyn Keene
210 pages • first pub 1930
fiction middle-grade mystery lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
I read lots of Nancy Drew books in my youth, but I had no recollection of the plot for this one. Ah, the joys of a forgetful mind. The book is rather repetitive–the reader is reminded numerous times how beneficial the inheritance will be for various people Nancy befriends. The jaded adult reader begins to wonder if Nancy herself is responsible for the death of the benefactor. But this book contains no murder or gory brutality. Nancy is a goody-two-shoes, as any 18-year-old girl (as she is referred to in this book) should be portrayed in 1930 (or 1959, which is actually the revision date). She rushes around doing good deeds, including apparently working for her lawyer father without pay. Her perfect choice in clothing is frequently described.
Once a key object is found, the plot moves forward quickly.
As a girl (long before I got my driver’s license), I do remember being astonished that Nancy Drew had her own car. In the versions I read, it was called a “roadster”, if memory serves. But that word was not used in this version. I admired the freedom her car gave her.
I enjoyed reading it – goodness triumphs in the end, the greedy people get their comeuppance, and, in an excellent marketing ploy, the next book is introduced. Sometimes when reading a book written long ago, unwanted things like racism and antisemitism rear their ugly heads. I saw none of that, and Wikipedia confirms that later versions removed racial stereotypes. Supposedly I read the “80th Anniversary Edition,” which I got from the library on kindle, but the internet advises that the version with Nancy as an 18-year old is the 1959 revised version.
Nancy Drew and her father reside in a fictional town with no clear geographical location, except for one mention of the Muskoka River, which the internet locates in Canada. The possibility of Nancy Drew there enhances my opinion of Canada. But the internet also rules that Nancy Drew’s location is somewhere in the Midwestern US.
And that is enough about that.
Book 5
Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next)
By Dean Spade
152 pages • first pub 2020 (I read the 2026 edition)
nonfiction politics sociology
The preface is 38 pages long!
The author is emphatically anti-capitalism. I thought this was going to be a book describing how successful mutual aid efforts were built and sustained, but there were no details on that. Plenty of admonishment on how not to have your mutual aid effort sink into serving capitalism. The last chapter had some useful stuff on the psychology of groups and good practices to follow to avoid pitfalls of working in groups.
Book 6
Aunts Aren’t Gentlemen
By P.G. Wodehouse
167 pages • first pub 1974
fiction classics
The plot is enjoyably the same as any Jeeves & Wooster volume: B. Wooster successfully avoids marrying an overbearing woman, and narrowly escapes being thrashed by threatening muscular men. The outcome for Aunt Dahlia is positive. Oblique mentions but no appearance of Aunt Agatha in this one.
This was the last book Wodehouse published before his death in 1975 at the age of 93.
I read the hardback version, borrowed from the library.
Book 7
The Kitchen Madonna
By Rumer Godden, Illustrated by Carol Barker
89 pages • 1967
fiction children's classics
Lovely! A calm story of children making an extra effort to help an immigrant feel more at home in her adopted residence. The children are changed by their experience. I was glad I read this in physical format. There were just a handful of illustrations, beautifully done in a stylized manner appropriate for a book about an icon. Recommended by Swistle in this blog post.
Looking into this book informed me that there is a booktube phenomenon called Middle-Grade March. In which adults read at least one middle-grade book. I have now fulfilled that illustrious goal.
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| Not exactly an icon. A mosaic of Mary, from Scotland in the Church of the Annunciation, Israel |
Book 8
107 Days
Kamala Harris
304 pages • first pub 2025
nonfiction history memoir politics
It was bittersweet to read this. This woman would have made a very fine president.
Overall, the book is thin on details, but I do not fault her for not providing them. I guess a deeper book is for historians to write.
The frantic pace of the campaign seems impossible. It’s ludicrous to think that a presidential campaign in the 21st century in a nation of 340+ million people could be pulled together in 107 days. Ms. Harris tried. I fault Joe Biden’s hubris (though he is humble in other respects) and his advisors’ hubris. If I recall correctly, he promised that he would serve just one term as POTUS. He was certainly an effective president (one major exception was Gaza/Israel), but should have not pushed Harris off to the side. He should have said definitively in 2022 or before that he would not run for re-election.
She had 16 days to pick a Vice Presidential nominee.
To hear Kamala tell it, Joe Biden was not much help and was sometimes a hindrance to her campaign.
The chapter titles have a confusing error, at least in the Kindle version.
The first chapter is called “July 21: 107 Days to the Election.”
The second chapter is “July 27: 131 Days to the Election.” What is this time travel?
I puzzled mightily over this until I did the calendar math: Nov 5, 2024 minus 131 days = June 27th. It’s a bad typo.
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We tried.
Book 9
Micro Activism: How You Can Make a Difference in the World Without a Bullhorn
By Omkari Williams
176 pages • first pub 2023
nonfiction feminism politics race
This short book was more applicable to my situation than Mutual Aid. The main takeaway for me is that limiting activism to just one or two issues can make an activist more effective. For the past 9 years I have not been following that advice.
Did not finish 1
The Sense of an Ending
By Julian Barnes
150 pages • first pub 2011
fiction contemporary literary
Borrowed from NPL; due on March 31st.
I read halfway through it, but decided I simply did not like any of the characters. I suppose the writing is brilliant but I just was not in the mood for it. Content warning: suicide.
Did not finish 2
The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl
288 pages •2024
fiction historical
Stopped at page 15. Pedophilia. I can’t read about that. This one was for book club.
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