Nice Work If You Can Get It

On the short drive to the bus stop this morning:

Topher: I don't think I'm going to get a job when I grow up.

Me: (pondering how to both listen without judgement and inform him that he will likely need a job): Oh? Why?

Topher: I just want to spend my time being with my family.

Me: Well, that's very nice, but I think your siblings will probably go off to college and start lives of their own.

Topher: No, I mean spend time with my own family. I want to get married and have kids and not have a job so I can watch movies with them and play games and have picnics.

Me: That sounds like a really fun idea, but how will you pay for things like food and housing?

Topher: (thinks this over for a moment): I'll just marry someone rich.

To the Future

Last night Phoebe and I attended the high school preview night for the outgoing 8th graders. Can you tell that she's excited? She grinned as we walked through the hallways and learned about various clubs that the school offers. Cooper was our tour guide, and he was also invited to join some of the clubs.

The Biblio Files: 2024

2024's book count was 203. It turns out I really burn through audiobooks while I'm sanding and staining trim, painting walls, and building bookcases. This year I added a bit of additional information on a few of the books I read.

Did you read anything great this year?

 January:

1. The Princess Pact by Melanie Cellier
2. Honorably Engaged by Kasey Stockton
3. The Clockwork Ghost by Laura Ruby
4. Winds of Courage by Melanie Cellier
5. We Were Dreamers by Simu Liu
6. The Case of the Missing Moonstone by Jordan Stratford
7. Burn It Down by Maureen Ryan
8. A Midwinter's Wedding by Melanie Cellier
9. The Princess Game by Melanie Cellier
10. I Will Always Write Back by Martin Ganda, Caitlin Alifirenka, and Liz Welch
11. Spark by Julie Burstein
12. Lore by Alexandra Bracken
13. Storms of Allegiance by Melanie Cellier
14. Tempests of Truth by Melanie Cellier
15. The Princess Search by Melanie Cellier
16. Raising a Kid Who Can by Catherine McCarthy, MD, Heather Tedesco, PhD, and Jennifer Weaver, LCSW
17. The Map of Stars by Laura Ruby
18. The Case of the Girl in Gray by Jordan Stratford
19. Good Inside by Becky Kennedy
20. General Conference October 2023

February:

1. Oath and Honor by Liz Cheney (This is in the top five books I read this year.)
2. A Dance of Silver and Shadow by Melanie Cellier
3. A Tale of Beauty and Beast by Melanie Cellier
4. A Crown of Snow and Ice by Melanie Cellier
5. A Dream of Ebony and White by Melanie Cellier
6. Circe by Madeline Miller
7. A Captive of Wing and Feather by Melanie Cellier
8. The Teenage Brain by Amy Ellis Nutt and Frances E. Jensen
9. Beyond the Wand by Tom Felton
10. Chinese Menu by Grace Lin (This was a great book to read for the Chinese New Year.)
11. Deaf Utopia by Nyle DiMarco and Robert Siebert
12. A Princess of Wind and Wave by Melanie Cellier
13. The Secret Princess by Melanie Cellier
14. The Great White Bard by Farah Karim-Cooper
15. The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes
16. The Mystery Princess by Melanie Cellier

March:

1. General Conference October 2023
2. The Devil Made Me Do It by Anthony Sweat
3. Christ In Every Hour by Anthony Sweat
4. The Desert Princess by Melanie Cellier
5. Give and Take by Adam Grant
6. The Air Raid Book Club by Annie Lyons
7. We Are the Light by Matthew Quick
8. The Golden Princess by Melanie Cellier
9. The Rogue Princess by Melanie Cellier
10. Murder at the Polo Club by C. J. Archer
11. Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond
12. The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James
13. My Man Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse
14. Hidden Potential by Adam Grant
15. Code Name: Lise by Larry Loftis (I think this had the potential to be great, but it didn't quite get there.)
16. The Idiot by Elf Batuman (This was very stream-of-consciousness. And weird.)
17. General Conference October 2023
18. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
19. The Dead Letter Delivery by C. J. Archer
20. How to Get Away With Myrtle by Elizabeth C. Bunce
21. Whole In Christ by Robert L. Millet

April:

1. Traitor's Masque by Kenley Davidson
2. A Newlywed's Guide to Fortune and Murder Dianne Freeman
3. Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley (This was a very hard book to listen to, but I'm glad I finished it. It deals with incredibly difficult topics. If you choose to read it, look up the synopsis first to decide if you're up for it.)
4. Goldheart by Kenley Davidson
5. Pirouette by Kenley Davidson
6. General Conference October 2023
7. Shadow and Thorn by Kenley Davidson
8. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume
9. Daughter of Lies by Kenley Davidson
10. Path of Secrets by Kenley Davidson
11. The Van Gogh Deception by Deron Hicks
12. The Imposter's Inheritance by C. J. Archer
13. The Golden Thirteen by Paul Stillwell
14. The Dragon With a Chocolate Heart by Stephanie Burgis
15. Cold-Blooded Myrtle by Elizabeth C. Bunce
16. The Uninvited Guests by Sadie Jones (This book was very odd. I don't recommend it. I guessed the twist pretty early on, though I have no idea how I figured it out. If I think about it now, even at the end of the year, it still gives me the shivers.)
17. Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris by Paul Gallico (This is a sweet series.)
18. Mrs. Harris Goes to New York by Paul Gallico
19. General Conference April 2024
20. All Things New by Terryl and Fiona Givens (This is maybe the best book I read all year. I highly recommend it.)
21. The Very, Very Far North by Dan Bar-El
22. Romney by McKay Coppins (This was a great inside look at a politician that I admire.)
23. Hotel Magnifique by Emily J. Taylor
24. The Faceless Mage by Kenley Davidson
25. Marmee by Sarah Miller (I loved this! It's Little Women through Marmee's eyes. It does deal with some adult themes, including the loss of a child, and that's always hard to read. But I still loved this book.)
26. The Wild Robot by Peter Brown (I think I'm the only person I know that didn't like this book. I loved the movie, so maybe my problem was more with the audiobook narrator than the story itself?)
27. The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti (This was both very sad and very inspiring.)
28. The Case of the Counterfeit Criminals by Jordan Stratford
29. April 2024 Liahona
30. No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister

May:

1. The Abandoned Princess by Melanie Cellier
2. Enough by Cassidy Hutchinson
3. The Bookwanderers by Anna James
4. The Echo of Old Books by Barbara Davis
5. The Unseen Heir by Kenley Davidson
6. The Hidden Queen by Kenley Davidson
7. The Captive Throne by Kenley Davidson
8. The Uncrowned Prince by Kenley Davidson
9. The Swifts by Beth Lincoln
10. The Sundered Blade by Kenley Davidson
11. Wintering by Katherine May
12. The Queen's Assassin by Melissa de la Cruz
13. The Queen's Secret by Melissa de la Cruz
14. American Woman by Katie Rogers (A look at recent first ladies.)
15. General Conference April 2024
16. Alex and Eliza, A Love Story by Melissa de la Cruz
17. The Perfectionists Guide to Losing Control by Katherine Morgan Schafler (This book was one I definitely needed to read. In fact, I should probably go read it again and take notes this time.)
18. Pathways by Camille Peters
19. The Nutmeg Tree by Margery Sharp
20. Love and War by Melissa de la Cruz

June:

1. All for One by Melissa de la Cruz
2. The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson (This was a weird book. I picked it for our book club discussion and it was much odder than I was expecting.)
3. Discovering Wes Moore by Wes Moore
4. How Parents Can Develop Happy Children by Frank Dixon
5. Spelled by Camille Peters
6. I Never Thought of It That Way by Monica Guzman (This is a book about being willing to see things from a different perspective than your own, which I guess is probably obvious from the title.)

July:

1. The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood
2. Hold Me Tight by Dr. Sue Johnson
3. Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker by Jennifer Chiaverini
4. Raising Good Humans Every Day by Hunter Clarke-Fields, MSAE
5. Murder at the Dinner Party by C. J. Archer
6. Death Comes to Marlow by Robert Thorogood
7. 100 Days of Sunlight by Abbie Emmons (This was such a sweet book!)
8. Dirty Laundry by Richard Pink and Roxanne Emery (This and the next one cover a lot of the same material: how to live with and love someone with ADHD. This is definitely a more adult take on the topic than ADHD is Awesome, which I read in September.)
9. Small Talk by Richard Pink and Roxanne Pink
10. Destroy the Day by Brigid Kemmerer (This was the final book in a series that I ended up not liking as much as I thought I would. I kind of finished it out of a sense of obligation.)s
11. The Palace of Lost Memories by C. J. Archer
12. Astrophysics for Young People In a Hurry by Neil DeGrasse Tyson

August:

1. The Screentime Solution by Emily Cherkin
2. Mastering the Art of French Murder by Colleen Cambridge
3. Kingdom of Beauty by Deborah Grace White
4. Tessa and Weston: The Best Christmas Ever by Abbie Emmons
5. Essentialism by Greg McKeown
6. The Woman With No Name by Audrey Blake (I can't say much about why I was impressed with this without spilling spoilers. I really liked the main character.)
7. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
8. A Murder Most French by Colleen Cambridge
9. Kingdom of Slumber by Deborah Grace White

September:

1. Scarlet by Genevieve Cogman (The premise: what if vampires were part of the aristocracy that the Scarlet Pimpernel was trying to rescue?)
2. Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein (read aloud with Topher)
3. April 2024 General Conference
4. People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
5. A Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poisons by Kate Khavari
6. The Echo of Broken Dreams by C. J. Archer
7. The Whisper of Silenced Voices by C.J. Archer
8. The Temple of Forgotten Secrets by C.J. Archer
9. ADHD is Awesome by Penn and Kim Holderness (This was an uplifting and honest look at life with ADHD, for the person that has it and the people that live with them.)
10. Fourteen Talks by Age Fourteen by Michelle Icard
11. The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass (This was a sweet and sad middle grade book.)
12. What Happened to Rachel Riley by Claire Swinarski (Sophie recommended this one to me. It's also a middle grade book, and it deals with some pretty grownup stuff. I finished it before Sophie and encouraged her to finish so we could talk about it.)
13. The List of Things That Will Not Change by Rebecca Stead
14. The Prison of Buried Hopes by C.J. Archer
15. The Return of Absent Souls by C.J. Archer
16. Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead
17. The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman

October:

1. April 2024 General Conference
2. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
3. High Conflict by Amanda Ripley (This was a fascinating look at how to handle people who live and believe the opposite of what you live and believe.)
4. Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead
5. The Ogress and the Orphans by Kelly Barnhill (This was my second time reading this and I loved it even more than the first time around.)
6. First Light by Rebecca Stead
7. Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Wrath of the Triple Goddess by Rick Riordan
8. The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods
9. A Botanist's Guide to Flowers and Fatality by Kate Khavari
10. Glass by Kathryn Lasky
11. Thank You for Arguing by Jay Heinrichs (This is one of Cooper's text books for his AP Lang class. The book, which is written in a light-hearted comedic style, felt much longer than it was.)
12. Secrets of the Lost Ledgers by C.J. Archer
13. The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
14. A Botanist's Guide to Society and Secrets by Kate Khavari
15. What I Know For Sure by Oprah Winfrey
16. The Greatest Game by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

November:

1. The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman
2. October 2024 General Conference
3. Lifescapes by Ann Wroe
4. The Small and the Mighty by Sharon McMahon (This is one of the best books I've read all year.)
5. The Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein (read aloud with Topher)
6. How Not to Die by Michael Greger (His overall message was that everyone should be vegan.)
7. Not Nothing by Gayle Forman
8. The Elephant Whisperer by Lawrence Anthony
9. Seeds of Glory and Ruin by Melanie Cellier
10. Vines of Promise and Deceit by Melanie Cellier
11. Thorns of Hope and Betrayal by Melanie Cellier
12. Forests of Grandeur and Malice by Melanie Cellier

December:

1. The Third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop
2. Revenge of the Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
3. Voice of Power by Melanie Cellier
4. Voice of Command by Melanie Cellier
5. Voice of Dominion by Melanie Cellier
6. October 2024 General Conference
7. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
8. Voice of Life by Melanie Cellier
9. The Book of Mormon
10. Every Valley: The Desperate Lives and Troubled Times That Made Handel's Messiah by Charles King (This took a very broad lens to its subject matter and included a lot of information that often felt unnecessary.)
11. To Ride the Wind by Melanie Cellier
12. To Steal the Sun by Melanie Cellier
13. Hamlet's Father by Orson Scott Card (This one was well-written and an interesting take on Hamlet, until the twist at the end that left me feeling awful.)
14. The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J. K. Rowling
15. Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman
16. Christmas Eve, 1914 by Charles Olivier
17. The Mansion by Henry van Dyke
18. An Advent Christmas Countdown by Michael D. Young
19. The Christ Child by Adam S. Miller
20. Come, Follow Me 2024 Manual
21. The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde
22. Power of Pen and Voice by Melanie Cellier
23. The Book of Mormon
24. Sacred Days, Sacred Songs by Michael D. Young

In Review

2024 is ending with a thunderstorm. In fact, the year itself had several figurative thunderstorms in addition to the real ones. But it also had some major miracles happen and long-held prayers answered. It was a year of changes for our family with Peter going to college and a realignment of our ward boundaries. The kids have all grown and learned new things. I learned a lot from building the bookcases and Bryan fueled that (and future) learning by gifting me a miter saw for my birthday and a palm router for Christmas. I also began to learn about being a Primary president. I think after one year in this role I'm still just learning. Switching wards halfway through the year definitely changed my learning curve.

In 2025 I hope to keep learning, reading, and strengthening the relationships that matter the most. And while it's probably useless to continue counting it on my resolutions list, I'd like to sleep a little more next year too.

Biblio Files: 2022

A new year means a new list of books that I read over the last twelve months. I distinctly remember looking at last year's book count and realizing maybe I was a little out of balance. Perhaps I was reading too much. My total in 2021 was 125 books. I decided I would bring that number down in 2022.

I did not succeed at that goal.

My total book count for 2022 was 169 books.

That seems excessive, doesn't it?

I'm trying to figure out how I got that high number. I cut down on social media this year, that probably helped. I usually watch a TV show or movie while I exercise, but in December I switched to listening to books most days instead. During the beginning of the year I would often listen to books while I made dinner, if I wasn't needed by a child during that time. Hmm, I guess all those little changes made a big difference. I also didn't read any super long books last year, the longest was probably still under twenty hours, so I was able to fit more books in.

Phoebe decided she wanted to read romances at the beginning of 2022. That made me a little anxious and I asked if I could preview a few and make recommendations. I'm glad I did and no, I did not recommend all of them. I also can confirm that romance is still not my genre. I read a lot of YA sci-fi and fantasy in 2022, but that's not really out of the ordinary. The best book I read all year was The Only Plane in the Sky by Garrett Graff. It was so heartbreaking and difficult, but so beautiful as well.

Only one book club survived into 2022 (huzzah LLBC, aka my two-person book club!), so there aren't as many book club picks for this list. Those are starred, the physical books I read are italicized, and the especially profound books are underlined.

What did you read last year? I'm always looking for new books to add to my list!

January:

1. Starsight by Brandon Sanderson
2. Sunreach by Brandon Sanderson and Janci Patterson
3. ReDawn by Brandon Sanderson and Janci Patterson
4. Cytonic by Brandon Sanderson
5. Evershore by Brandon Sanderson and Janci Patterson
6. Gilded by Marissa Meyer
7. Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig
8. Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo
9. The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss
10. Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers by Patrick Kavanaugh*
11. The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams
12. The Magic Misfits by Neil Patrick Harris* (Read aloud to Sophie at bedtime.)
13. Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine
14. The Gift of Forgiveness by Kathrine Schwarzeneggar Pratt

February:

1. The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 by Garrett Graff*
2. Paper and Fire by Rachel Caine
3. Ash and Quill by Rachel Caine
4. How the Word is Passed by Clint Smith
5. Heartless by Marissa Meyer
6. Renegades by Marissa Meyer
7. Smoke and Iron by Rachel Caine
8. The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera
9. Archenemies by Marissa Meyer
10. Supernova by Marissa Meyer
11. The Selection by Kiera Cass
12. The Elite by Keira Cass
13. The One by Keira Cass
14. Sword and Pen by Rachel Caine
15. The Spirit of Revelation by David A. Bednar
16. Migraine by Maria Konnikova

March:

1. When the Sea Turned to Silver by Grace Lin
2. The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
3. The Lost Sisters by Holly Black
4. Instant Karma by Marissa Meyer
5. Atlas of the Heart by Brene Brown
6. The Golden Tower by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare
7. The Wicked King by Holly Black
8. The Comfort Book by Matt Haig
9. From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks
10. Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon
11. The Stolen Kingdom by Jillian Boehme
12. The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black
13. Call of the Wild by Jack London
14. Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
15. Stormrise by Jillian Boehme
16. Grace to Become by Emily Belle Freeman
17. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck*
18. Flunked by Jen Calonita
19. The Burnout Generation by Anne Helen Petersen
20. October 2021 General Conference

April:

1. Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen
2. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
3. Heidi by Johanna Spyri
4. We Bought a Zoo by Benjamin Mee*
5. Far Above Rubies by Tamara Uzelac Hall
6. Love Boldly: Embracing Your LGBTQ Loved Ones and Your Faith by Becky Mackintosh
7. A Whole New World by Liz Braswell
8. Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber
9. The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
10. The Great Brain by John D. Fitzgerald
11. Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
12. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
13. Music Is History by Questlove
14. The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer
15. The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

May:

1. Everyday Disciples by Taylor Ricks
2. The Sea in Winter by Christine Day
3. Good Morning, Monster by Catherine Gildiner
4. Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman*
5. Pride by Ibi Zoboi
6. That Summer by Sarah Dessen
7. The Case of the Left-Handed Lady by Nancy Springer
8. The Woman They Could Not Silence by Kate Moore
9. Women Who Believe by Heather B. Moore and Angela Eschl
10. The Law of Love by Steve Young
11. Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper
12. The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen
13. The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood
14. The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets by Nancy Springer
15. Not Cinderella's Type by Jenni James
16. Blended by Sharon M. Draper
17. Change Your Brain, Change Your Life by Daniel G. Amen M.D.

June:

1. Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
2. Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen
3. The Case of the Peculiar Pink Fan by Nancy Springer
4. The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Hidden Gallery by Maryrose Wood
5. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night by Mark Haddon
6. The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline by Nancy Springer
7. The Case of the Gypsy Goodbye by Nancy Springer
8. The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Unseen Guest by Maryrose Wood
9. This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen
10. A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen*

July: 

1. The Stars Beneath Our Feet by David Barclay Moore
2. Superpowered by Renee Jain
3. The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Interrupted Tale by Maryrose Wood
4. This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel*
5. OCDaniel by Wesley King
6. The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Unmapped Sea by Maryrose Wood
7. Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen
8. Where You Go Is Not Who You'll Be by Frank Bruni

August:

1. Own Your Past Change Your Future by John Delony
2. Count Me In by Varsha Bajaj
3. The Untold Story by Genevieve Cogman
4. The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Long-Lost Home by Maryrose Wood
5. The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen
6. Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen
7. The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen
8. Redefining Anxiety by John Delony
9. Enola Holmes and the Boy in Buttons by Nancy Springer
10. Saints Volume 3*
11. The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser
12. The Cay by Theodore Taylor
13. Psalms
14. The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
15. Once and For All by Sarah Dessen
16. The Messy Lives of Book People by Phaedra Patrick

September:

1. Baby, Unplugged by Sophie Brickman
2. Mr. Popper's Penguins by Florence Atwater and Richard Atwater
3. Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen
4. Honey by Sarah Weeks
5. The Final Gambit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
6. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
7. The Girl In His Shadow by Audrey Blake*
8. The Office BFFs by Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey
9. Hooked by Sutton Foster
10. The Surgeon's Daughter by Audrey Blake
11. April 2022 General Conference
12. Home Made Lovely by Shannon Acheson

October:

1. The Good Neighbor by Maxwell King*
2. Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult
3. Mom Babble by Mary Katherine Backstrom
4. The Sibling Effect by Jeffrey Kluger
5. Holy Hot Mess by Mary Katherine Backstrom
6. The 101 Dalmatians by Dodie Smith
7. The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick
8. Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche by Nancy Springer
9. Thursdays With the Crown by Jessica Day George
10. The Library of Lost and Found by Phaedra Patrick
11. Fridays With the Wizards by Jessica Day George

November:

1. Saturdays at Sea by Jessica Day George
2. Is He Nuts? Why a Gay Man Would Become a Member of the Church of Jesus Christ by Dennis Schleicher
3. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
4. A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd*
5. The Secrets of Love Story Bridge by Phaedra Patrick
6. The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber
7. The Lost Metal by Brandon Sanderson
8. Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
9. The Four Tendancies by Gretchen Rubin
10. The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin

December:

1. An Impartial Witness by Charles Todd
2. A Christmas Dream by Louisa May Alcott*
3. Rise and Shine, Benedict Stone by Phaedra Patrick
4. The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin
5. A Bitter Truth by Charles Todd
6. Come Follow Me: Old Testament, Sunday School Manual
7. Come Follow Me: Old Testament, Primary Manual
8. Come Follow Me: Old Testament, Individuals and Families Manual
9. Enola Holmes and the Elegant Escapade by Nancy Springer
10. Mr. Dickens and His Carol by Samantha Silva
11. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
12. The Book of Mormon
13. The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann
14. Don't Miss This in the Old Testament by David Butler and Emily Belle Freeman
15. An Unmarked Grave by Charles Todd
16. Taste: My Life Through Food by Stanley Tucci
17. Navigate Your Stars by Jesmyn Ward
18. Christmas Eve 1914 by Charles Oliver
19. If You Ask Me by Betty White
20. A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond

Write What You Know

As I was tucking Phoebe in last night she turned to me and the following conversation took place.

Phoebe: Mom, I'm eleven now. Wow! I'm eleven. (pause) Does that mean I'm old enough to write romance?

Me: (steady laughter for longer than was necessary) No.

Then we talked about Little Women and Jo's decision to write what she knows. I told Phoebe maybe she could write romance stories after she's allowed to date, so watch for a series of romances from Phoebe sometime in late 2026.