Favorite Audios of 2021

Last year I listened to 21 audiobooks (which is half of all of the books I read in 2021), but there were only a few that impressed me. The three books in the top row were my favorites, each of which earned a 5-star rating. 

Click here for links to these and other books that I read in 2021.

For more of my audiobook favorites, click here (for nonfiction) and here (for fiction). Last year's list can be found here. 

Taste: My Life Through Food

Taste: My Life Through Food by Stanley Tucci

Nonfiction - Memoir

2021 Gallery Books

Finished on January 23, 2022

Rating: 5/5 (Excellent)

Publisher's Blurb:

From award-winning actor and food obsessive Stanley Tucci comes an intimate and charming memoir of life in and out of the kitchen.

Before Stanley Tucci became a household name with The Devil Wears Prada, The Hunger Games, and the perfect Negroni, he grew up in an Italian American family that spent every night around the table. He shared the magic of those meals with us in The Tucci Cookbook and The Tucci Table, and now he takes us beyond the recipes and into the stories behind them.

Taste is a reflection on the intersection of food and life, filled with anecdotes about growing up in Westchester, New York, preparing for and filming the foodie films Big Night and Julie & Julia, falling in love over dinner, and teaming up with his wife to create conversation-starting meals for their children. Each morsel of this gastronomic journey through good times and bad, five-star meals and burnt dishes, is as heartfelt and delicious as the last.

Written with Stanley's signature wry humor and nostalgia, Taste is a heartwarming read that will be irresistible for anyone who knows the power of a home-cooked meal.

Nothing like starting the year off with a 5-star read! I rarely get books for my birthday or Christmas, but this year I received a copy of Taste from my mom. Cooking, memoirs and Tucci; she knows me well! I chose this book back on January 1st for my First Book of 2022. However, it wasn't the first book I completed, although I could have easily read it in a couple of days. Instead, I chose to read a chapter or so every few days during lunch, savoring the book, not wanting it to end. 

I've seen several movies starring Stanley Tucci (The Pelican Brief, The Devil Wears Prada, The Lovely Bones and The Terminal), but it wasn't until I watched him play Paul Child in Julie and Julia that I became an adoring fan. More recently, I've watched him in Supernova, Worth and Fortitude, but I have yet to watch La Fortuna or Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy. But the one movie I plan to watch this week is Big Night. I love "foodie" movies and have no idea how I missed it! 

Tucci is not only a great actor, but he is an excellent writer. His book is so well-written; he's articulate and intelligent and his self-deprecating humor had me laughing out loud on more than one occasion. He's obviously famous and yet he presents himself as the guy next door, almost embarrassed by his wealth and fame (and the friends who are of the same ilk). The memoir is a great read and I plan to check out his two cookbooks, as I suspect they are also filled with interesting anecdotes, as well as tantalizing recipes. Tucci includes several recipes in Taste, many of which I'd like to try. He also chronicles a day in his life with his family during lockdown in London during Covid. Did I mention that he's a very funny man? What I didn't know (maybe I'm not the fan girl I thought I was!) is that he suffered from oral cancer, which must be the most cruel act of fate for someone who is so passionate about food.

I'm so pleased to own a copy of Taste, which will reside on my "keeper shelf" with my other favorite nonfiction books. I also have the book on audio, which I plan to listen to later this year during the Nonfiction November reading challenge. I'm certain it will be a hilarious audiobook, as Tucci is the narrator, but I'm curious about the recipes. It might be somewhat tedious to listen to him read each of the ingredients and instructions, but then again, he's a funny guy and it's likely that he will make even those details entertaining.

Library Shelfie Day

 

Almost missed it! This is one of my TBR shelves.

The fourth Wednesday in January offers a unique opportunity for book lovers on Library Shelfie Day.

Library Shelfies offer book stores, libraries, schools, and individuals an opportunity to express their reading preferences through a single photograph. Whether they frame their favorite authors, titles, genres or cover art, readers share a bit of their library in creative ways. With or without dust jackets, signed and unsigned, dogeared and in mint condition, bibliophiles love books of all kinds.

Now May You Weep

Now May You Weep by Deborah Crombie

Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James Series #9

Mystery

2003 William Morrow

Finished on January 22, 2022

Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

New York Times Notable Book of the Year author Deborah Crombie has garnered tremendous praise -- and has been nominated for virtually every major mystery award -- for her piercing police procedurals featuring Scotland Yard detectives Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James, who are personally and professionally entwined. Now Gemma takes center stage when a lethal crime of passion turns a recreational trip to Scotland into pure bloody business.

Though her reputation for delving into the heart of murder is matched only by that of her former partner and current lover, Duncan Kincaid, newly appointed Detective Inspector Gemma James has never thought to question her friend Hazel Cavendish about her past. So it is quite a shock when Gemma learns that their holiday retreat to a hotel in the Scottish Highlands is, in fact, a homecoming for native daughter Hazel -- and an event that has provoked strong reactions from the small community. Something is definitely amiss -- and that something is quite possibly Donald Brodie, the charming if intense Scotsman who is a guest as well.

The truth comes out before long: Hazel and Brodie were once lovers, despite a vicious, long-standing feud between their families, rival local distillers of fine whisky. Their affair was fierce and passionate, and its fire might not have burned out completely. Certainly Brodie, now the domineering head of the family business, believes his "Juliet" still belongs to him alone -- and he's prepared to destroy Hazel's English marriage to make it so.

A brutal murder puts Hazel's very life in peril when she's arrested for the crime. Hazel is the logical suspect, but Gemma knows nothing is simple in this place of secrets and long-seething hatreds. As even more damning evidence piles up against the friend Gemma never truly knew, the investigation into Hazel and Brodie's history begins to take darker, more sinister and tumultuous turns. Gemma knows she will need assistance to unravel this bloody knot -- and so she calls the one man she trusts more than any other, Duncan Kincaid, to join her far from home . . . and in harm's way.

Another winner! I read several of Deborah Crombie's books last year, four of which made my Honorable Mentions list, and it's nice to start off 2022 with another fun read by this talented author. I enjoyed the details about whiskey distilleries and the Scottish Highlands, but as always it was the personal relationships between Gemma, Duncan and Kit that held my interest. In spite of numerous red herrings, I wasn't able to solve the mystery before the murderer's identity was revealed, which is fine with me. I don't like a mystery that's too obvious. On to #10 (In a Dark House)!

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson

Fiction

2010 Random House Audio

Narrated by Peter Altschuler

Finished on January 18, 2022

Rating: 3/5 (Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

You are about to travel to Edgecombe St. Mary, a small village in the English countryside filled with rolling hills, thatched cottages, and a cast of characters both hilariously original and as familiar as the members of your own family. Among them is Major Ernest Pettigrew (retired), the unlikely hero of Helen Simonson's wondrous debut. Wry, courtly, opinionated, and completely endearing, Major Pettigrew is one of the most indelible characters in contemporary fiction, and from the very first page of this remarkable novel he will steal your heart.

The Major leads a quiet life valuing the proper things that Englishmen have lived by for generations: honor, duty, decorum, and a properly brewed cup of tea. But then his brother's death sparks an unexpected friendship with Mrs. Jasmina Ali, the Pakistani shopkeeper from the village. Drawn together by their shared love of literature and the loss of their respective spouses, the Major and Mrs. Ali soon find their friendship blossoming into something more. But village society insists on embracing him as the quintessential local and her as the permanent foreigner. Can their relationship survive the risks one takes when pursuing happiness in the face of culture and tradition?

It's been over a decade since I first read Major Pettigrew's Last Stand. I listened to the audio in 2011 and decided to go that route again when my book group selected the novel for our January discussion. I enjoyed Peter Altschuler's excellent narration, but the story fell flat and I continued listening only in order to refresh my memory for the upcoming meeting. Once again, I found myself comparing Major Pettigrew with Lyle (Geoffery Palmer) from As Time Goes By. Both men are opinionated and share a dry sense of humor, which was the best part of the book. 

You can find my first review of this book here.

Looking Back - Love Medicine

Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.

Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich

Fiction

2001 Harper Perennial (first published in 1984)

Read in January 2001

Rating: 1/5 (Meh)

Publisher's Blurb:

The first book in Louise Erdrich's highly acclaimed "Native American" trilogy that includes "The Beet Queen," "Tracks," and "The Bingo Palace," re-sequenced and expanded to include never-before-published chapters.

Set on and around a North Dakota Ojibwe reservation, Love Medicine is the epic story about the intertwined fates of two families: the Kashpaws and the Lamartines.

With astonishing virtuosity, each chapter draws on a range of voices to limn its tales. Black humor mingles with magic, injustice bleeds into betrayal, and through it all, bonds of love and family marry the elements into a tightly woven whole that pulses with the drama of life.

Filled with humor, magic, injustice and betrayal, Erdrich blends family love and loyalty in a stunning work of dramatic fiction.

My Original Thoughts (2001):

If it weren't for a book club selection, I never would have finished this book. I thought it was terribly confusing (even with family trees - my own attempt) and dull! I felt no connection to any of the characters.

My Current Thoughts:

I know Erdrich is a beloved author of many readers, and I have a couple of her more recent novels in my TBR stacks, but this one was a big miss. Maybe I'll give a second read sometime after reading some of her other books, but it was not a good introduction to her writing. 

Sailing by Starlight

 

Looks like my husband's new book, Sailing by Starlight, is now available for pre-order at both barnesandnoble.com and amazon.com!

Publisher's Blurb:

In 1982, a hobby sailor and retired geography professor named Marvin Creamer embarked on a very special circumnavigation: On his 36' steel ketch, Globe Star, Creamer and his crew ventured out into the Atlantic a few days before Christmas on the first leg of the voyage, bound for Africa. On board they carried absolutely no navigation instruments of any kind: no LORAN, no GPS or AIS (civilian versions of which did not, in any case, exist in 1982), no sextant or astrolabe, no radar . . . nothing. They didn't even have a clock on board. They had some rudimentary charts and maps of the trade winds and that was it. What they did carry with them was Marv's blue-water sailing experience and his knowledge of the Earth, the stars, and of the winds and waves. Eighteen months later, Creamer returned, having shown the world--or as much of it as was paying any attention--that one could sail around the globe without using any instruments. Creamer's intent was to prove that such a voyage could be successful, showing that ancient peoples--e.g., the Norse, the South Pacific Islanders, and possibly others--could well have traveled the world's oceans using only their brains, their five senses, and the experience of multiple generations of their seafaring ancestors. The trip was ultimately successful, but Creamer was beset by almost-constant problems. That makes for an exciting tale, and provides some exceptional examples of seafaring ingenuity and sheer determination on the part of Creamer. The author was given exclusive access to Creamer's diaries, photos, and other memorabilia by Creamer's family.

One Two Three

One Two Three by Laurie Frankel

Fiction

2021 Henry Holt and Company

Finished on January 14, 2022

Rating: 3/5 (Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

In a town where nothing ever changes, suddenly everything does...

Everyone knows everyone in the tiny town of Bourne, but the Mitchell triplets are especially beloved. Mirabel is the smartest person anyone knows, and no one doubts it just because she can’t speak. Monday is the town’s purveyor of books now that the library’s closed―tell her the book you think you want, and she’ll pull the one you actually do from the microwave or her sock drawer. Mab’s job is hardest of all: get good grades, get into college, get out of Bourne.

For a few weeks seventeen years ago, Bourne was national news when its water turned green. The girls have come of age watching their mother’s endless fight for justice. But just when it seems life might go on the same forever, the first moving truck anyone’s seen in years pulls up and unloads new residents and old secrets. Soon, the Mitchell sisters are taking on a system stacked against them and uncovering mysteries buried longer than they’ve been alive. Because it's hard to let go of the past when the past won't let go of you.

Three unforgettable narrators join together here to tell a spellbinding story with wit, wonder, and deep affection. As she did in This Is How It Always Is, Laurie Frankel has written a laugh-out-loud-on-one-page-grab-a-tissue-the-next novel, as only she can, about how expanding our notions of normal makes the world a better place for everyone and how when days are darkest, it’s our daughters who will save us all.

It's been over three years since I read Laurie Frankel's marvelous novel This Is How It Always Is. It was one of my favorite books of 2018 and I still think about the characters in that thought-provoking story. I was thrilled to win an ARC of Frankel's most recent release from Shelf Awareness in late 2020, but of course it wound up on my TBR shelf for more than a year. I plan to read all of the books on that shelf in 2022 and One Two Three ended up on my January reading list.

I wish I could say that I loved this book as much as I loved This Is How It Always Is, but it was somewhat disappointing and a little bit of a challenge to finish. The novel alternates between the three sisters' (triplets) narratives, which provides insight to each of their lives and inner thoughts. I liked each of the girls equally and came to care about their challenges in Bourne. Unfortunately, halfway in, the book became a slog and I wanted to be finished and move on to something else. In addition to receiving an ARC from Shelf Awareness, I also received a complimentary edition of the audiobook from Libro.fm. After reading a few reviews from other bloggers, I wish I had listened to the book instead of reading the print edition. The audio includes three narrators, one for each sister, which I can imagine adds to the humor and emotion of the story, especially in the final chapters. Maybe I'll give it a listen in a few months and update this post once I have.

Looking Back - Welcome to the Great Mysterious

Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.

Welcome to the Great Mysterious by Lorna Landvik

Fiction

2000 Ballantine Books

Read in January 2001

Rating: 3/5 (Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Megastar of stage, screen, and television, Geneva Jordan now has a command performance in Minnesota, where she agrees to look after her thirteen-year-old nephew, a boy with Down’s syndrome, while his parents take a long-overdue vacation. Though Geneva and her sister, Ann, are as different as night and day (“I being night, of course, dark and dramatic”), Geneva remembers she had a family before she had a star on her door. But so accustomed is she to playing the lead, finding herself a supporting actress in someone else’s life is strange and unexplored territory. Then the discovery of an old scrapbook that she and her sister created long ago starts her thinking of things beyond fame. For The Great Mysterious is a collection of thoughts and feelings dedicated to answering life’s big questions—far outside the spotlight’s glow. . . .

My Original Thoughts (2001):

While it was an enjoyable and quick read, I was disappointed in Landvik's latest novel. It read like a Sidney Sheldon or Danielle Steel book with all the sappy scenes you'd expect from those authors, but not Landvik. It could have been much better, I think. Too cliched and predictable. Obviously life-changing moments occur, including the requisite romance. It wasn't a bad book; just not the caliber I've come to expect of this author. 

I did like the idea of The Great Mysterious scrapbook. Very creative idea and thought-provoking.

My Current Thoughts:

Not surprisingly, I don't remember this book or anything about the scrapbook. 

Winter Solstice

Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher

Fiction

2000 Thomas Dunne Books

Finished on January 4, 2022

Rating: 5/5 (Excellent)

Publisher's Blurb:

For millions of readers around the world, a new Rosamunde Pilcher novel is a cause for celebration. Her clear-eyed and sharply observed stories have captivated readers for a generation, and with Winter Solstice she proves herself to be at the height of her powers by creating people and places so real, we feel we have known them for years.

The December solstice is a turning point. For some it represents a time of darkness, the shortest day of the year. But for others this events--just a few days before Christmas--is about hope, renewal, and rebirth. In a story both deceptively simple and effortlessly complex, Rosamunde Pilcher brings together five very different people, ranging in age from the teens to the mid-sixties, each of whom must confront very different challenges or losses. 

When Elfrida Phipps abandons London for a quaint country village, she settles in quickly. She has a tiny cottage, her faithful dog, Horace, and the friendship of good neighbors, Oscar, Gloria, and their little girl. Perhaps, at last, she can exorcise the pain of the past and find peace.

But it is not to be.

Tragedy upsets Elfrida's newfound tranquility, and she takes refuge in a rambling house in the north of Scotland called Corrydale. Almost like a magnet, Corrydale attracts various waifs and strays, each of them escaping difficult personal pasts. As the holidays approach and the weather turns foul, the scene seems set as a perfect recipe for disaster.

But somehow the group proves to be greater than the sum of its ill-suited parts, and as the solstice passes and Christmas approaches, the healing power of love, even on the most troubled human spirit, begins to work its magic.

Once again, Rosamunde Pilcher reminds us all that friendship, compassion, loyalty, and love can come together and renew us all--even when the days seem darkest.

Oh, what a wonderful book. When Diane (Bibliophile By the Sea) first mentioned that she was going to listen to the audiobook in December, I considered reading it as well, but I was in the middle of another novel and didn't give Winter Solstice another thought, especially since it's one I'd already read. Well, I finished the aforementioned book on December 21st and took that as a sign to begin Pilcher's novel on the winter solstice. I was a little distracted with our holiday preparations, so it took me a few chapters to finally get interested in the story. However, once I acquainted myself with the cast of characters, I couldn't stop reading. As I mentioned, this is one that I've previously read, but I don't know when that was and I've yet to locate that journal entry. When I do, I will be sure to link back to this review for comparison.

I have read several books by Rosamunde Pilcher, the first of which was The Shell Seekers, which I absolutely adored. I have always intended to read it again, but worried that it might not be as enjoyable as the first time I read it. Having now reread Winter Solstice, I should not let that concern me. I believe Pilcher's novels are marvelous comfort reads, which stand the test of time. I loved this book!

2021 Year End Survey & Top Reads List

2021 may not have been the best year thanks to the continuation of the pandemic, but with regard to my reading, I am very pleased. I met my goal on Goodreads, completing 63 books (my goal was 60) and surpassing the past two years' numbers by 8 books. Once again, I participated in three reading challenges (20 Books of Summer, RIP XVI and Nonfiction November), which helped to motivate me to read more of my own books.  

Books Read: 63

Print: 41

Audio: 21

Ebook: 1

ARCs: 5

Rereads: 4

Fiction: 45

Nonfiction: 14

Poetry: 4 (I never know how to categorize this!)

Mystery/Thriller: 17

SciFi/Fantasy: 3

Classics: 1

Teen/YA: 1

Memoir: 6

Travel Memoir: 2

Self-Improvement: 1

History: 1

Books in Translation: 1

Male Authors: 12

Female Authors: 51

New Authors: 27

From My Stacks: 51

Borrowed: 12

Ratings:

5 stars: 6

4.5 stars: 8

4 stars: 19

3.5 stars: 2

3 stars: 14

2 stars: 10

1 star: 4

Top Reads of 2021:

The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson (5/5) 

A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg (5/5)

Circe by Madeline Miller (5/5)

The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tinti (5/5)

Bear Town by Fredrik Backman (5/5)

All the Devils Are Here by Louise Penny (5/5)

Writers & Lovers by Lily King (4.5/5)

Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin (4.5/5)

28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand (4.5/5)

The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo (4.5/5)

Testimony by Anita Shreve (4.5/5)

Still Me by Jojo Moyes (4.5/5)

House Rules by Jodi Picoult (4.5/5)

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult (4.5/5)

Honorable Mentions:

The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny (4/5)

Falling by T.J. Newman (4/5)

Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver (4/5)

The Daughters of Erietown by Connie Schultz (4/5)

Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano (4/5)

On Island Time by Hilary Stewart (4/5)

Commonwealth by Ann Patchett (4/5)

The One I Left Behind by Jennifer McMahon (4/5)

Mourn Not Your Dead by Deborah Crombie (4/5)

And Justice There is None by Deborah Crombie (4/5)

Kissed a Sad Goodbye by Deborah Crombie (4/5)

A Share in Death by Deborah Crombie (4/5)

#1 Book of 2021: The Splendid and the Vile

Find my complete 2021 list (including all reviews) here.

Find my previous Year End Surveys and Top Ten Lists here. 

How I kept track of my reading:

 

I'm going to try a spreadsheet for 2022.

Books Read in 2021

The Overdue Life of Amy Byler by Kelly Harms (2/5)

Kindred by Octavia E. Butler (3/5)

The Fireman by Joe Hill (3/5)

All the Devils Are Here by Louise Penny (5/5)

The Yellow Bird Sings by Jennifer Rosner (3/5)

Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver (4/5)

The Daughters of Erietown by Connie Schultz (4/5)

A Share in Death by Deborah Crombie (4/5)

The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff (1/5)

The World We Found by Thrity Umrigar (3/5)

Stars of Alabama by Sean Dietrich (3/5)

Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin (4.5/5)

All Shall Be Well by Deborah Crombie (3/5)

If I Stay by Gayle Forman (4/5)

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (2/5)

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult (4.5/5)

Beartown by Fredrik Backman (5/5)

A Quiet Life in the Country by T. E. Kinsey (4/5)

Leave the Grave Green by Deborah Crombie (3/5)

Circe by Madeline Miller (5/5)

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett (3/5)

Three Hours in Paris by Cara Black (1/5)

Gift From the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh (2/5)

Commonwealth by Ann Patchett (4/5)

A Thousand Mornings by Mary Oliver (4/5)

Felicity by Mary Oliver (4/5)

Afterlife by Julia Alvarez (3/5)

Blue Horses by Mary Oliver (4/5)

Mourn Not Your Dead by Deborah Crombie (4/5)

Testimony by Anita Shreve (4.5/5)

Dog Songs by Mary Oliver (2/5)

Dreaming of the Bones by Deborah Crombie (2/5)

The Oregon Trail by Rinker Buck (2/5)

28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand (4.5/5)

Kissed a Sad Goodbye by Deborah Crombie (4/5)

Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy (3.5/5)

Still Me by Jojo Moyes (4.5/5)

Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano (4/5)

The Sewing Room by Rev. Barbara Cawthorne Crafton (3/5)

On Island Time by Hilary Stewart (4/5)

Writers & Lovers by Lily King (4.5/5)

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman (2/5)

House Rules by Jodi Picoult (4.5/5)

The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo (4.5/5)

A Finer End by Deborah Crombie (2/5)

In the Market for Murder by T.E. Kinsey (3/5)

The One I Left Behind by Jennifer McMahon (4/5)

The Survivors by Jane Harper (2/5)

The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny (4/5)

Falling by T.J. Newman (4/5)

The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tinti (5/5)

And Justice There Is None by Deborah Crombie (4/5)

Living Out Loud by Anna Quindlen (2/5)

The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson (5/5)

A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg (5/5)

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab (3.5/5)

The Longest Road by Philip Caputo (2/5)

Notes on Grief by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (3/5)

Broken Horses by Brandi Carlile (3/5)

I Miss You When I Blink by Mary Laura Philpott (3/5)

Delancey by Molly Wizenberg (4/5)

Yeah, No. Not Happening. by Karen Karbo (1/5)

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig (4/5)

Looking Back - It Was On Fire When I Lay Down On It

Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.

It Was on Fire When I Lay Down on It by Robert Fulghum

Nonfiction

1998 Ballantine Books

Read in December 2000

Rating: 3/5 (Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Show-and-Tell was the very best part of school for me, both as a student and as a teacher.

As a kid, I put more into getting ready for my turn to present than I put into the rest of my homework. Show-and-Tell was real in a way that much of what I learned in school was not. It was education that came out of my life experience.

As a teacher, I was always surprised by what I learned from these amateur hours. A kid I was sure I knew well would reach down into a paper bag he carried and fish out some odd-shaped treasure and attach meaning to it beyond my most extravagant expectation.

Again and again I learned that what I thought was only true for me . . . only valued by me . . . only cared about by me . . . was common property. The principles guiding this book are not far from the spirit of Show-and-Tell. It is stuff from home--that place in my mind and heart where I most truly live.

P.S. This volume picks up where I left off in All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, when I promised to tell about the time it was on fire when I lay down on it.

My Original Thoughts (2000):

Pretty good, but not as good as All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. I enjoyed the story about the box of "Good Stuff." Also, his list of recommendations (p. 90) and motherly thoughts (p. 101)

My Current Thoughts:

I wish I had been more specific about what I enjoyed about those particular essays in this book. They are long forgotten after 20 years.

Wordless Wednesday