Michelle’s Comments (group member since Dec 08, 2021)

Michelle’s comments from the On The Same Page group.

Let the wild rumpus start!”
― Maurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things Are

I’m starting off the year with:
The Lost Story Hardback. I really like this author.
Mrs. Plansky's Revenge Audiobook. Funny.

"Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence."
– Calvin Coolidge

My Reading through the Presidents Challenge

1. George Washington - 1. The Ascent of George Washington: The Hidden Political Genius of an American Icon completed 3/16/20 2. Travels with George: In Search of Washington and His Legacy completed 3/31/22
2. John Adams - First Family: Abigail and John Adams completed 8/6/20
3. Thomas Jefferson
4. James Madison
5. James Monroe
6. John Quincy Adams
7. Andrew Jackson
8. Martin Van Buren
9. William H. Harrison William Henry Harrison: Young Tippecanoe 1/16/25
10. John Tyler
11. James K. Polk
12. Zachary Taylor
13. Millard Fillmore
14. Franklin Pierce
15. James Buchanan
16. Abraham Lincoln - 1. Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln completed 9/25/20 2. And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle completed 4/18/23
17. Andrew Johnson
18. Ulysses S. Grant - Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant: All Volumes Volumes 1 & 2 only completed 10/11/22
19. Rutherford B. Hayes
20. James Garfield - Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President completed 6/21/25
21. Chester A. Arthur
22. Grover Cleveland
23. Benjamin Harrison
24. Grover Cleveland
25. William McKinley
26. Theodore Roosevelt -The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt completed 11/15/21 The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey completed 8/1/25
27. William H. Taft
28. Woodrow Wilson
29. Warren G. Harding
30. Calvin Coolidge - The Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge: Authorized, Expanded, and Annotated Edition completed 12/30/21
31. Herbert Hoover
32. Franklin D. Roosevelt - No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II completed 11/7/23
33. Harry S. Truman
34. Dwight D. Eisenhower
35. John F. Kennedy
36. Lyndon B. Johnson
37. Richard M. Nixon -1. All the President's Men completed 6/9/23 2. Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America
38. Gerald R. Ford
39. Jimmy Carter - His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, a Life completed 1/5/23
40. Ronald Reagan - An American Life completed 4/28/22
41. George H. W. Bush - 41: A Portrait of My Father completed 12/27/24
42. Bill Clinton
43. George W. Bush
44. Barack Obama - A Promised Land completed 2/17/21
45. Donald Trump - TheRoom Where It Happened: A White House Memoir completed 4/6/21
46. Joe Biden
47. Donald Trump

"If the problem is fear, the answer is knowledge." – Joe Biden

Any way you want it
That’s the way you need it
Any way you want it
-Journey 1980

This independent reading thread for 2025 is all about reading what I want to read in the format that works best for the moment and recording it here in a way that makes me happy. I want to sprinkle quotes throughout because I enjoy that. I want to try to complete 2 12+4 challenges. I want to fill in my 2025 motley challenge as I go. I want to make progress on my ongoing presidents challenge which I will track on this thread. I want to read about 150 books overall. And most difficult of all this year I want to learn to DNF a book when it becomes clear to me that I really don't want to read it. I also hope my Goodreads friends will chime in often. Your comments are always welcome and make this more fun.

The new year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written. We can help write that story by setting goals.
-Melody Beattie

The list:

1. An author you have read a book from more than 2 times. Dark Matter Blake Crouch

2. A book published In the year of the snake. 🐍 (1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2013, 2025) Wild Dark Shore

3. A book written by two authors.The Last Week: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus's Final Days in Jerusalem

4. A book you bought because of the cover only. Atmosphere

5. A book you bought because of the author only. The Last Ranger

6. A book you bought because it was a new release. Never Flinch

7. A book with a persons name in the title.The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

8. A ghost story.The Lost Bookshop

9. A collection of short stories. The Secret Lives of Church Ladies

10. A book based on historical events.Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America

11. A book about revenge. Mrs. Plansky's Revenge

12. A book that has more than 40 chapters. The Wild Robot

13. The main character owns a small business. The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store

14. A character driven novel. Shotgun Lovesongs

15. A book with a strong female character.Onyx Storm

16. A book about royalty. Throne of Glass Fictional royalty counts right?

17. A book that the timeframe spans more than 10 years. The God of the Woods

18. A book from a different culture.Pachinko

19. A book about books.The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore

20. A book located in your home state. (Or country if your country does not have states.)

21. A book located in the state you were born. (Or country if your country does not have states.) Big Dumb Eyes: Stories from a Simpler Mind - Tennessee

22. A book set in a fictional town. The Spellshop

23. A book that has people on the cover. The Boys of Riverside: A Deaf Football Team and a Quest for Glory

24. A book that has a body of water on the cover. Jamaica Inn

25. A book that has a tree on the cover. The Lost Story

26. Choose any of the remaining topics that did not win the 2025 Motley Challenge. The Secret History (25. The word “Secret” in the title.)

For last year’s words belong to last year’s language, and next year’s words await another voice.
-T.S.Eliot

167 books/15,664 pages
15 5-star
69 4-star
72 3-star
11 2-star

134 audiobooks
33 print books

So one final post to close out 2024. It has been a traumatic year for me personally and as always I have turned to reading for comfort and occasionally sanity. I have enjoyed this thread keeping track of my reading and sharing a few thoughts. It has been low key and low pressure just what I needed. I also really enjoyed including quotes with my reviews so I’m going to keep that up on next year’s challenge. I “read” way more audiobooks this year than ever before. That has never been a goal, I just literally didn’t have time to sit down and read. I’m so thankful that audiobooks are so accessible and available through my library. It allowed me to enjoy my favorite pastime even when life got hectic. Thanks mostly to audiobooks I actually completed 3 12+4 challenges in 2024 and my motley challenge. I was less successful with my presidents challenge only reading one book which I freely admit I squeezed in at the last minute just so 2024 wouldn’t be a gap in that ongoing challenge. There’s always next year. Right?

In the New Year never forget to thank your past years because they enabled you to reach today! Without the stairs of the past, you cannot arrive at the future!
-Mehmet Murat Ildan

And it was like knocking four quick times on the door of unhappiness.”
― Albert Camus, The Stranger

#166. The Stranger. A young man’s fall provides the vehicle for Camus’ treatise on the futility of life. Well written but I fortunately don’t share Camus’ fatalistic view of life. 3 too detached for my tastes stars. Paperback. Fiction-Classic.

#167. The Stars Are Fire. A young mother and her children survive a fire that destroys their town. Her husband who volunteered to fight the fire doesn’t return and she has to figure out how to survive alone. 4 woman coming into her own stars. Audiobook. Fiction-Historical.

With her children in the backyard, and her foot taped, Grace stands at the kitchen counter with a pencil and a pad of paper. She knows from long experience that sometimes a list is the only way from one side to the other.”
― Anita Shreve, The Stars Are Fire

Thanks Alondra. And I don't think even Camus would blame you for not reading more Camus. I mean what would be the point?😁

This story is so prolific. Many times, I find I'm a little annoyed with it by the time the season is in full swing, but I enjoyed my listen this year very much. I guess I needed a little boost of Christmas spirit myself. This was a perfect short listen for the holidays.

This concludes the 3rd and final list of 2024, just in time for the new year. So the burning question. Were the books the "Everyone Needs to Read" really books that everyone needs to read? I'm going to have to say yes. I loved some of them and I really did not like others (I'm looking at you Human Bondage) but I have to admit that every single one of them were not only well written but also beautiful examples of books that convey a message. Even the books I did not like set a tone or inspired emotion. Some of the books that I was more ambivalent about as far as story was concerned, I appreciated for the cleverness of writing style i.e. 100 Years and Fear and Loathing. The books I loved such as Cutting for Stone were wonderful in every way. All of them were thought provoking and complicated and left a lasting impression on me. What more could you want from a book than that?

Just in the nick of time The Stranger complete!!!

The story begins with the death of the protagonist's mother and follows him through a series of relationships that ultimately draw him into a scheme in which he kills another man. The story continues through the trial and its conclusion. The entire story is supposed to point out the futility of life.

I cannot say I enjoyed this book. I can say that it fulfilled its purpose. Many times, while reading it I contemplated the abstracts of futility and meaninglessness. Possibly it suffered from translation, but it didn't really hit in any category (plot, character, place, writing style) for me.

3 existential and boring but mercifully short stars.

“I may not have been sure about what really did interest me, but I was absolutely sure about what didn't.”
― Albert Camus, The Stranger

“Mother died today. Or maybe yesterday; I can't be sure.”
― Albert Camus, The Stranger

“I looked up at the mass of signs and stars in the night sky and laid myself open for the first time to the benign indifference of the world.”
― Albert Camus, The Stranger

Ditto Jackie. I don't think we're alone either. Which is one reason I don't understand banning. It seems like it just makes the books more attractive.

Fun challenge Faouzia. There's nothing more satisfying than making progress on a favorite series. Good luck!

Cool challenge, Saar! Just reading 1 book per week is a great challenge, but hitting all your levels will be off the charts. Best of luck!

“I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach.”
― Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

#161 Cruel Winter with You Romantic Christmas short. Meh! Not great. Not horrible. 3 short stories shouldn't start at birth to present day stars. Audiobook. Fiction-Christmas Romance-Short Story.

#162 Holiday Hideaway Deeply improbable but fun. You can't really go wrong with Mary Kay Andrews for a light Christmas romance. 4 squatters aren't usually welcome for Christmas dinner but I'll just go along stars. ebook. Fiction-Christmas Romance-Short Story.

#163 Visions of Sugar Plums A Stephanie Plum Christmas short. I'm still not sure who/what Diesel was but Stephanie and company are always fun. 3 another car bites the dust stars. Audiobook. Fiction-Mystery-Short Story.

#164 A Christmas Carol Sometimes this story annoys me but I was in the mood for it this year and enjoyed a re-listen of the audiobook. 4 ghosts of Christmas past stars. Audiobook. Fiction-Classic.

#165 41: A Portrait of My Father A unique biography of an American president, written by another American president who also happened to be his son. 4 all about 41 by 43 stars. Audiobook. Nonfiction-Biography.

165 books/15541 pages

Current:
The Stranger paperback. Yes, I think I will finish it in time.
The Lost Story Hardback. Enjoying this a lot so far.

“My father enjoyed working hard, and he liked to see the result of his efforts. The lessons his mother had instilled had taken hold: Do your best. Don’t be arrogant. Never complain.”
― George W. Bush, 41: A Portrait of My Father

“When I was young and irresponsible, I was young and irresponsible.”
― George W. Bush, 41: A Portrait of My Father

“Americans have the capacity now, as we’ve had in the past, to do whatever needs to be done to preserve this last and greatest bastion of freedom.”
― George W. Bush, 41: A Portrait of My Father

Thanks Jackie!

@Ioana. I tried to point out in my review that the writing is excellent. Maugham's vivid writing style that let's you almost feel what the characters feel is what I enjoy about his books. In this case however it had the opposite effect. As a Mom who has watched young adult children make their mistakes this was just too much. I also felt that even in the end the MC didn't grow up enough or acknowledge his errors. Thankfully that is not part of my personal experience but it was a source of frustration for me with the book.

It is Alondra. I do think the book deserved 2 stars but if I were rating my relief in finishing it would be 5 stars.

Dresden, Dublin Murder Squad, Wayfarers ... this is a list packed with fun reading. Enjoy Alondra!

I actually loved The Painted Veil which made this book just that much more disappointing.

Lillie wrote: "What a great idea! Banned books, imo, should be on the top of any readers lists. Now I need to organize one for me.

I liked Last Night at the Telegraph Club as well. [book:The Blue..."

They may all be tough but I'm going to give it a try. My very own tiny little protest.