Currently reading (September 2026)
John Tyler
The American Presidents Series: The 10th President, 1841-1845
by Gary May
I finished reading this sliver-of-a-book today, but it’s stuffed with book darts and feels like it’s going to take foorrrreeeeevvver to finish doodling my way through it.
I don’t have forever.
My John Tyler presentation is October 9 and my book pile includes a second book I need to read/doodle before then. (See below.)
Wolf Worm
by T. Kingfisher
This book. [ happy sigh ] Love it. The narrator a scientific illustrator and she provides vivid descriptions of scenes as she would paint them. “The sky overhead was a blue watercolor wash, the clouds picked out in white gouache against it.” That’s just one example. They’re throughout and I wondered if the author consulted with a painter. Nope. She’s an artist!
Plus:
There’s a reference to President Grover Cleveland as the narrator describes passengers on a train: “…the worst among them—a middle-aged man passionately in love with both President Cleveland and the sound of his own voice—”…
The day after I finished my Substack index that I was very excited about, I read this line in Wolf Worm:
“It occurred to me that what I really, really needed was an index.”
And it mentions the mythical animal discovered in China (dang, I wish I flagged the reference to quote directly) — and I read a whole book about when Theodore Roosevelts’ eldest sons went out to find the panda. Interesting stuff.
The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York
by Robert A. Caro
It’s looking less and less like I’ll finish reading this by the end of the year. I’ve read a total of about 10 pages since July. I thought a recent trip to NYC would get the pages turning. It did not.
Up next:
NON-FICTION
Presidentess: The Life of First Lady Julia Gardiner Tyler
by Christopher J. Leahy and Sharon Williams Leahy
To be honest, I was kind of annoyed when @Historywithher told me this book was coming out soon. It wasn’t supposed to be out until two weeks before my John Tyler presentation and that is not enough time to read and doodle three hundred pages. It arrived September 1. (Hooray! 🎉)
Still not much time to finish doodling John Tyler, read and doodle this book, and get everything into my upcoming presentation… but doable. I am now cautiously grateful about this book recommendation.
Ulysses’s Odyssey: Ulysses S. Grant’s World Tour at the Dawn of American Empire
by Louis L. Picone
So excited when this arrived in my PO box! I read two of Picone’s other books and they were a blast to doodle my way through.
The Forsaken Founder: Gouverneur Morris, the Unsung Patriot Who Wrote the Constitution, Stood Up to Slavery, and Survived the Reign of Terror
by Scott S. Greenberger
Might be a while until I get to this one, but I ♥️ learning about Gouverneur Morris. I read Greenburger’s book about Chester Arthur years ago and enjoyed it. I have a good feeling about this!
Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation, by Cokie Roberts
FICTION
Yesteryear
by Caro Claire Burke
The Marriage Portrait
by Maggie O’Farrell
More!
You can find all the books I’ve read this year or am reading this year in my Bookshop:
Or check out my related doodles:
Could’ve done without him