Currently reading (October 2024)

The Truths We Hold: An American Journey
by Kamala Harris

This one has been sitting on my shelf since the library book sale last year, but I was waiting for the right time to start it. Now the race is on to finish it before the election...

Carnegie’s Maid
by Marie Benedict

I picked this one up at the library book sale this month. Full disclosure: I finished it already. I can’t put it away though, because I flagged a bunch of appearances by presidents and other notable people. Sometimes that happens when I read fiction. Trying to decide if I want to/have time for a quick doodle or if I just want to pull out the book darts and plop it back on the shelf.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
by Gabrielle Zevin

John Green called it “utterly brilliant.” Who am I to argue with John Green?

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Up next:

NON-FICTION

The rest of the year feels very … unpredictable. I wasn’t sure what to read next. Nothing current, that’s for sure. Or too traumatic. I had been toying with a few different books in my pile, including 1920: The Year of the Six Presidents by David Pietrusza:

• 100 years ago was a long time ago and perhaps a decent escape

• 1920s typography is so fun!

• I had a blast doodling my way through his book Roosevelt Sweeps Nation: FDR's 1936 Landslide and the Triumph of the Liberal Ideal. OK, maybe not a blast. There were a lot of hateful characters. (William Randolph Hearst, exhibit A). I did learn perhaps one of my very favorite presidential facts EVER from it though. (Flip through my sketchbook for more.)

I just happened to walk by David Pietrusza on the street yesterday, which is obviously a clear sign.

This is the book I should be reading next.

EXHIBIT A: FDR Sweeps Nation was loaded with heinous characters. Like William Randolph Hearst, Mussolini, and Hitler (in no particular order).

FICTION

The Women
by Kristin Hannah

I read The Nightingale last year; when a trusted book-recommender mentioned this book I added it to my list immediately.

More!

You can find all the books I’ve read or am reading this year in my Bookshop: