Author: elizabethcaulfieldfelt

Best Books of 2024

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Happy New Year!

I read a lot of books in 2024. So many, I’m almost embarrassed to claim the number (shhh…110). Not only did I read a lot, but many, many, many of the books were really, really, really good. Here is a short list of the ones I liked the most.

MG=middle grade, ages 8-12; UMG=upper middle grade, ages 10-14; YA=young adult, ages 14-18; GU=grown ups (because calling a book “adult” makes it seem like it’s pornographic lol)

Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow UMG

A very funny story about a boy who moves to a community where the internet is banned, trying to recover from something horrible that happened. It’s about making friends, hunting for UFOs, and dealing with trauma. A superb story. It received a well-deserved 2023 Newbery Honor.

A Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds YA

A poem-novel about a boy going down in an elevator with a gun, planning revenge on the person who murdered his brother, but he’s visited by “ghosts” that have a lot to say about his plan.

Ladies’ Rest and Writing Room by Kim Kelly GU

Australia, 1920s. Sydney is alive and bustling after the chaos of the Great War, but two women who struggle with grief are coping in very different ways. A gorgeously written novella.

Cutting for Stone and The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese GU

This is the year I discovered Verghese. I’d known about Cutting for Stone for a long time but was discouraged by the length of the book. Don’t be! These two novels are tour de forces with exciting plots and phenomenal characters doing extraordinary things. Fiction but you learn so much–about medicine, history, Ethiopia, India…..

Early Riser by Jasper Fforde GU

Need a silly escape? This book is for you. In an alternate world in which humans hibernate, our main character takes a job staying awake in the winter, taking care of the sleeping from those who wake early as slow-moving, zombie-like humans. This is a very funny book.

Horse by Geraldine Brooks GU

This is the story of a horse, his jockey, his owners, a painting of the horse, and those who come in contact with all of the aforementioned through several time periods. A fascinating story.

Ancillary Justice, Ancillary Sword, and Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie GU

Science Fiction. An ancillary is a man-like machine run by a larger AI system to do an assortment of tasks. When our main character’s ship is destroyed, he is suddenly an ancillary with no connection to what was his larger self. He seeks revenge on the god-like being who forced him to kill someone. Not a great summary, but a really incredible story. Great world building, exciting plot, and some thought-provoking ideas about technology.

The English Experience by Julie Schumacher GU

A grumpy English professor is cornered into taking a group of students on a study abroad experience to London. This hysterical story is told through emails, letters, and other correspondence.

Uprooted by Naomi Novik GU

Fantasy. Our protagonist is the most recent young woman chosen to work in the tower of the local sorcerer. She will need to learn to control her own magic if she can save her loved ones and the entire world from some bad people. Part of why I loved this book was all of the Polish names and references.

Alebrijes by Donna Barba Higuera MG/UMG

In a post-apocalyptic, western United States, survival is difficult but made easier when our main characters discover animal-drones that can be controlled by their “becoming” the drones. I don’t remember the story that well right now, but I do remember the world building was incredible, the plot engrossing, and thought-provoking ideas cleverly presented.

The Bolingbroke Chit by Lynn Messina GU

You all know I’m a huge fan of Messina’s Beatrice Hyde-Clare series. This is one of her other series, a Regency romance that is smart and funny. A delight to read. I need to get more of her books.

Black Girl You are Atlas by Renee Watson UMG/YA

A powerful collection of poetry about what it means to be a young black woman.

Ferris by Kate DiCamillo MG

DiCamillo does a great job of bringing together quirky, lovable characters. Ferris’s little sister wants to be a bank robber, her grandmother is getting old, her crazy uncle has moved into the basement, and her best friend is a piano prodigy. A story that will make you feel good.

The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman by Gennifer Choldenko MG/UMG

Although he’s only twelve, Hank has taken care of his baby sister more often and more responsibly than his mother. Now that his grandmother has passed, he has nowhere to turn when his mother disappears. How can he keep his sister safe and with him with no money? Bring a hankie for this incredible story. My vote for the Newbery.

The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig GU

Horror isn’t my favorite genre, but I’ve been hunting for good horror story to replace The Shining in my English 202 classes. This is the one. It starts out a bit like The Shining: a father, mother, and son (this time a teenager) move into a house that seems like it could be haunted. This story is actually nothing like The Shining except that it is an exceptionally well-written horror story.

Wrong Way Home by Kate O’Shaughnessy MG/UMG

The story of a girl who is rescued by her mother from a cult they were both living in. The girl is extremely upset with her mother and wants to go back. A really interesting idea for a story. I thought about this one a lot after I’d finished it.

American Kingpin by Nick Bilton GU

Nonfiction. The story of Ross Ulbricht and how in 2011 he created the Silk Road, a dark-web online marketplace where you could buy or sell drugs, guns, body organs, and nearly any other illegal good. It’s also the story of the government agents who caught him and how they did so. Reads like fiction. This book kept me on the edge of my seat. A fascinating, true story.

Book Challenge Complete

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I challenged myself to read all the books on my Women Writers mug this year, and I completed the challenge about a month ago. You can read more about my 2024 Reading Challenge here.

Most of the books are important historically more than because of good writing or engaging plots. One book stood out to me for personal reasons: The Scarlet Pimpernel.

I wasn’t sure if I’d already read it, so decided to read it in case I hadn’t. About a chapter in, I started thinking about my older brother, who died almost a decade ago. There was nothing about the book or characters that should have made me think about my brother, but all through my reading of The Scarlet Pimpernel, I thought about David.

As children and teenagers, David and I were big readers. We read a lot, and we talked about books too. Although I didn’t remember the book (even as I was reading it), I was certain that David had suggested I read it and then we must have talked about it together. It was definitely the kind of book we both would have enjoyed as teenagers.

So, I’m happy I did this challenge, although I don’t see myself doing a 2025 reading challenge. I already am constrained in what I read by my three book clubs and the books I read for work.

Stay tuned, as my post of the best books of the year, 2024 will be coming soon.

Non Serio in Stevens Point

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Last year, before we left Gdansk, when our friends in the Polish choir, Non Serio, suggested coming to visit us in Wisconsin, we said, “Yes! Do!” Meaning it but not expecting that it would really happen. Well it did! Lucky us!

The choir spent several days in Chicago, sight-seeing and singing concerts, then came up to Stevens Point, Wisconsin.

So, we held a welcome party for them with help from the Polish Heritage Awareness Society of Central Wisconsin. We ate, we sang, and we had a wonderful time.

Then, the Polish members of the choir met their host families and went off to experience life in small town America! Andy and I hosted Zbigniew and Brygita. Lucky us! Brygita made delicious potato and cheese pierogi. We showed them around downtown Stevens Point, popped in at the Riverfront Rendezvous, ate at the Cozy Kitchen (a real American diner), drank at District 1 Brewing , drove to DePere to visit the Oneida Nation Museum, and spent an absolutely incredible five days with them.

Of course, this choir wasn’t in Stevens Point only to socialize. They had concerts to perform! Non Serio performed at Michelsen Hall on the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point campus, both alone and with a pick-up “Yankee choir” of Americans.

Non Serio also performed on the Main Stage in Pfiffner Park for Steven Point’s Independence Day festival, Riverfront Rendezvous, finishing just before a downpour of rain that soaked yours truly.

Non Serio’s final performance occurred at St. Peter’s Church, where they sang at the Saturday mass.

They headed off to Chicago early on Sunday morning, to give one more Chicago concert before their flight to New York City, where they have several concerts before heading home to Gdansk.

I cannot express the depth of my gratitude to these wonderful people. When we were in Gdansk, they welcomed us into their choir family–even me, who cannot sing! They are kind, fun, interesting, and open to everything. They are wonderful people. I cannot wait to return to Gdansk, to re-connect with these friends. My heart overflows.

A Busy Bookish April

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I’m doing some April events and invite you to come!

Friday, April 5, 6-9pm. Cornerstone Press Gala. I’m a Cornerstone Press author and will be helping them celebrate 40 years of publishing. The event is free, but they request a “ticket” purchase, so they’ll know how many people plan to attend.

Friday, April 12, 7-9pm. Caravan Wine Shop will be hosting a Wilde Wagers event. I’ll do a short reading, we’ll discuss the book (those who have read it), and you can buy the book (if you haven’t read it). Most importantly, Keith will have some ratafia, a beverage ordered by Genevieve when she is trying to be Olivia. What is ratafia? What does it taste like? Come and learn all about this interesting beverage (and my book).

Saturday, April 27, 10am – 6pm. (My assigned time is 10am-noon) Bound to Happen Books‘ Local Author Festival. Local authors will be at this bookstore, selling, talking, signing, and maybe more? Stop by and learn about writers in the community.

My 2024 Reading Challenge

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I don’t usually do reading challenges. I mostly just try to keep up with my book clubs (I’m in three), with what’s new in children’s literature, and still have time to pick up recommended books every now and then. However, several years ago, I bought this mug of women writers at my favorite local bookstore, Bound to Happen Books, and every time I use it, I wonder about some of the works.

I’ve read many of the novels, short stories, and poetry on the mug, but not all. My goal is to have read them all by the end of the year. If you cannot properly see the names on the mug, they are listed below. The titles in regular font, I have already read. The titles in bold are what I’ll be reading this year:

  1. Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti
  2. The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe
  3. The Pillow Book by Sei Shonagon
  4. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
  5. A Vindication of the Rights of Women by Mary Wollstonecraft
  6. Vera by Elizabeth Von Arnim
  7. The Railway Children by E. Nesbit
  8. Aurora Leigh by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
  9. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
  10. The Old English Baron by Clara Reeve
  11. Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth
  12. The Age of Innocence by Edith Warton
  13. A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf
  14. Our Nig by Harriet E. Wilson
  15. The Garden Party by Katherine Mansfield
  16. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
  17. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
  18. The Awakening by Kate Chopin
  19. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
  20. The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy (I might have read this??)
  21. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
  22. An Australian Heroine by Mrs. Campbell Praed
  23. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte (I might have read this??)
  24. Middlemarch by George Eliot
  25. Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
  26. The Female Quixote by Charlotte Lennox
  27. Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management by Isabella Beeton
  28. Oroonoko by Aphra Behn
  29. The Bondwoman’s Narrative by Hannah Crafts
  30. Hope is the Thing with Feathers by Emily Dickinson

How many of these have you read? Do you have a favorite?

Do you have a reading challenge for the year?

Best Books of 2023: July – Dec 2023

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I read so many excellent books in the first part of 2023, I made a blog post about it. The second half of the year was equally amazing. Below are my favorites of the books I read, July-December of 2023. Again, there are so many I’m going to attempt just one-sentence summaries with links to the authors’ pages for each.

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr: Using the Greek myth of Aethon, creative and amazing characters, from the past, present, and future find meaning in the midst of great peril.

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro: In the not-so-distant future, Klara is an “artificial friend,” a robot with sentience and the goal of aiding her troubled teen “owner” into a happy and stable adulthood.

Artemis by Andy Weir: This fast-paced thriller, set in the future on the moon, features the fabulous Jasmine Bashara, a small-time criminal tempted to make a big-time heist that will get her into more trouble than she can imagine.

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabriella Zevin: The story of three friends who create a video game company. This well written description is stolen from the author’s website: this is a “novel that examines the multifarious nature of identity, games as art form, technology and the human experience, disability, failure, the redemptive possibilities in play, and above all, our need to connect.”

The Butterfly Collector by Tea Cooper: Australian historical fiction. I was lucky enough to get an ARC to read for a Historical Novels Society review.

A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat: (intended for ages 9-12) Set in a Thailand-like fantasy world, a child born in prison and a child born to a prison warden seek justice and truth. In part, the story mirrors Les Miserable with added excitement and great world-building.

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell: I finally got around to reading this much-hyped book, and it deserves all the praise it got. This is the story of Shakespeare’s son, Hamnet. Exceptional writing and story-telling.

The Lies of Locke Lamorra by Scott Lynch: Another book I should have already read. Fantasy at its best. The story of Locke Lamorra, the renowned thief and rogue, from his orphaned childhood to his most dangerous exploits.

Poison for Breakfast by Lemony Snicket: If you enjoyed his Series of Unfortunate Events, you’ll love this Snicket mystery which involves diving into philosophy. I couldn’t find anything about this book on the Lemony Snicket website, but this one at his publisher’s is clever.

I was lucky to read two phenomenal books set before, during, and after the Japanese occupation of Malaysia:

The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng: This book is written so softly, so beautifully, so peacefully, you almost don’t think of it as a book about pain and loss and war and torture, which it is. Short-listed for the Booker Prize.

The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan: The story of the Alcantara’s family who are Chinese-Malaysian, told through the perspectives of Cecily (mother), Jujube (teen daughter) Abel (teen son) and Jasmin (young daughter). The decisions each makes will have devastating impacts on the rest of their lives.

Letters from Clara edited by Janet Newman: This is the only nonfiction book on my list. These are the edited letters of Clara Pagel of Wausau, Wisconsin. On her own, she traveled the world from 1936 to 1939 and wrote letters home to her friends and fellow YWCA members. Her curiosity, intrepid spirit and thoughtful insights about the world, just before it broke out in war, are fascinating.

One Came Home by Amy Timberlake: (for children ages 9-12 and adults) When the sheriff decides that the unrecognizable body in her sister’s dress is her sister, Georgie Burkhardt doesn’t believe it and sets off to find her sister. Set in 1871 Wisconsin, during the massive passenger pigeon roost, as well as the Peshtigo fire, this is fast-paced, historical thriller for kids.

The Final Revival of Opal and Nev by Dawnie Walton: Using interviews, articles, and letters this tells the story of fictional rock duo Opal and Nev’s rise and fall in music history. Walton is masterful in the changing voices of those interviewed and her descriptions. Everything feels so real. An amazing look at the music industry and its handling of gender and race.

The Eyes and the Impossible by David Eggers: (for ages 8-12 and up) I hope this wins the 2024 Newbery Award. Johannes is a wild dog that lives in a large park with other animals, including two buffalo who reside in a comfortably large pen. As the elders, the buffalo make decisions and solve disputes among the other animals. Clever and fast, Johannes is the eyes for the buffalo, running around the park and reporting on what is going on. I won’t give anything more away. This is an enchanting animal story with beautiful, full-page illustrations by Shawn Harris every 20 or so pages.

The Mermaid and the Bear by Ailish Sinclair: A magical love story set in late 1500s Scotland that encounters the devastation caused by hate, jealousy, and the abuse of power. This story made me cry.

Thanks for making it to the end of this long post! I read 96 books last year (almost 100!), and SO many of them were excellent. How lucky is that? I wish I could have recommended more, but this post has already gotten very long.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about these books, your own favorite books of the past year, or anything else you’d like to mention.

Happy 2024 and may it be a great year of reading!

Guessing the next Newbery winner

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This is the time of year when one of my book clubs reads a lot of children’s books and tries to guess which one will win the Newbery Award. The books must have been published in 2023, and the winner will be announced at the American Library Association’s mid-winter conference on January 22, 2024. I’ll be streaming the award ceremony.

So far, my favorite books so far are Joan Schoettler’s The Honey Jar, Dave Eggers’ The Eyes and the Impossible and Sarah Everett’s The Probability of Everything. There are some books also on our contenders list that aren’t pictured above and that I haven’t read yet.

What are your favorite children’s books of the past year?

Favorite Books

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This isn’t my favorite books of the year post (coming soon). Instead, this is a post talking about the Shepherd platform’s book promotion asking authors for their favorite three books of 2023. I’ve answered their question, and you can see my thoughts here.

If you are curious which books got the most votes (with about 2000 authors replying), you can follow that link too.

Shepherd is for both readers and writers as an alternative to Goodreads (owned and controlled by amazon). So, take a look and sign up if you are so inclined.

Sneak peak:

Lost Tree

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We lost a tree.

I tried to find photographs of it, but there were very few. The tree was never the subject of any of my photography. Sad. Now that the tree is gone, I regret how little I thought of it.

It was there, at the edge of our front yard, greeting us when we came home.

It was there, giving us beautiful shade every summer.

My children climbed up into fullness, sitting on its sturdy branches. They hid up high, spying on neighbors and unsuspecting pedestrians.

My children played “catch the leaf” in the fall, running hither and thither, giggling and gasping, trying to catches its lovely leaves.

My children’s stuffed animals, Pippo, Cloudy, and U-Umph, also played in and by the tree.

A storm blew off a large low limb which ripped down the trunk to the ground. It was a fatal blow. I took a picture of the fallen limb which landed on my Little Free Library. The library was repaired; the tree began to die.

A week ago, some men came to our home. They cut away its branches, then its limbs, and finally its trunk. The tree is in pieces in a pile on the ground. There is but empty space where once there was such life.

Its wood will warm our house in winters to come.

Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree has been on my mind.

Our tree gave and gave. It gave much to our family without our thinking about it. Our tree filtered the air. It consumed carbon. It created homes for animals and birds and insects. And with its death, it will warm our home.

Trees live long, quiet lives. They can communicate to each other. It seems to me that trees are the most evolved species on earth. We humans may have sentience and intelligence, but we take and take and take. Trees give and give and give. What is more evolved that that?

Good-bye, my dear, sweet maple.

Where Am I?

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We returned home to Stevens Point, Wisconsin, on July 14th. I haven’t posted anything in almost a month. We’ve been busy saying good-bye and saying hello!

In Gdansk, for almost a whole week, we spent at least one meal a day with someone that we won’t be able to see again for a long time–but our plan is to return! We will meet again!

And, of course, Andy’s choir met with us several times to say good-bye. We are hoping to see all of them again next summer, here in Stevens Point, singing in English and Polish! Keep an eye out for announcement of the Non Serio American Tour!

Since being home, I’ve met with both of my book clubs (no pictures taken), and played Dungeons and Dragons three times (no pictures taken). I’ve had coffee with friends (no pictures taken–that’s the problem with being back to normal! I never take pictures!) and more visits with friends planned in the days to come. Pictures are always the best part of a blog post, so I’ll include a couple. Here’s our house and Little Free Library, also some photos taken at a concert at a city park located next to the Wisconsin River.

Stay tuned; I hope to have some writing news in the next few days.