Books I read in the fall of 2024

The Dollmaker– by Harriet Arnow 11/10 (I don’t have a pic of this book. I had to give it back to my mom because it’s one of her favorites)

I absolutely loved this book! 677 pages it’s a whopper. It was published in 1954. The book is set in the 1940’s during the war and it’s about a woman living off the land on a farm in Kentucky. Her husband gets drafted into the war but instead of going into combat, he gets drafted into the factories in Detroit. SO she packs up her kids and moves to the city to be with her husband in the hopes that they will only be there for a few months. The utter shock of living in a tiny row house in the city and having to shop for food and to have to eat things like margarine instead of her own homemade butter is one of the most poignant parts of the story to me. To learn about how people lived during these times and to just hope that this family will get back to their farm makes this such an unforgettable and heartbreaking story.

Tell the Wolves I’m Home– by Carol Rifka 10/10

I started this book years ago but put it aside because I was just not into reading at that particular time but I knew that this book seemed good enough to try again. So I did and I was right! This book is set during the original “outbreak” of HIV/AIDS. The story revolves around a young teenage girl who’s uncle dies of AIDS and the relationship she has with her uncle’s partner and also with her sister. It’s just a really good story and transports me back to the late 1980’s.

Mrs. Kimble– by Jennifer Haigh 10+/10

Jennifer Haigh is becoming one of my favorite authors. I just really like her character development and style of writing. This book revolves around 3 women who all were once “Mrs. Kimble.” We never really get to know Mr. Kimble as the story is only told from the point of view of his 3 wives and his children. Mostly his son from his first marriage. The stories are broken up into 3 parts- for the 3 wives but it all comes together in the end. It was jsut such a really good book and the ending was fairly satisfying.

None of This is True– by Lisa Jewel 10/10

I heard of a lot of people reading this book and it did not disappoint. Although the ending was a little different than I thought it would be, it’s definitely a book you can’t put down because you can never quite figure out what the heck is going on. The premise is 2 women become friends when they find out they have the same birthday and 1 of the women is bat shit crazy. This book has so many twists and turns and on the edge of your seat suspense. It’s just so good.

Anywhere But Home– by Daniel Speck 9/10

This book was a random find of my mom’s. It goes back and forth between 2014 Milan and 1954 Milan. In 2014, Julia finds out about a long lost family member that leads her on a journey through Italy to uncover family secrets. In 1954, Vincent is a German engineer for BMW and he falls in love with Giulietta, but they are forbidden to be together. The choices they make change generations of family forever. SO I really liked this book but I gave it a “9” because the parts about Julia just aren’t that great in my opinion. Not enough character development for her maybe? But the story of her family is really very good.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn– by Betty Smith

Published in 1943 it is a literary classic. One I never had to read in school but everyone should read it. It’s a coming of age story about a girl named Ruth set in Brooklyn New York in the year 1912 and the sheer poverty of her family and it is just such a great novel and if you never read it, I insist that you do. Or I strongly suggest that you should.

Monogamy– by Sue Miller 9/10

I started this book a few years ago and then put nit down but I kept it (I just wasn’t into reading at that time. I hate when that happens). So i picked it back up again and I’m glad I did. It’s about a woman who’s larger than life husband dies suddenly and she comes to find out all kinds of different stuff about him. It’s also about how she deals with the loss of him. It’s really good and the writing just flows well.

The Housemaid– by Frieda McFadden 9/10

Everyone (internet people) was reading this book so I did too. It’s kind of simple reading but it is so suspenseful that you can’t put it down and when you get to the end you say, “No f*cking way.” There’s a whole little series with the Housemaid name and I have 1 or 2 more, but I haven’t read them yet.