A Special Report for Book Lovers
Greetings to new and returning subscribers! I post slice-of-life blogs on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month. If there is a 5th Tuesday, I post a Special Report for Book Lovers. This is it!
Beyond sharing the five books I’ve enjoyed most in the last several months, I will mention a sixth book I read. It falls into an important category – it is a banned book. This will give me the opportunity to tell you about the 10,046 books banned in the 2023-2024 school year. I’ll provide a link that will allow you to check your state. Yay, Ohio! Only three books banned here. But so sorry for you if you live in Florida, Iowa, or Texas!
Before I start, this is a reminder that I am now an Affiliate Marketer on Amazon. This means my book reviews will include a link to the book on Amazon. If you purchase the book using my link, I will earn a small commission. This is at no additional cost to you.
But here is a crazy (and wonderful) fact – if you use my book link to get to Amazon and then buy anything, I still earn a small commission even if you don’t buy the book. More details here. Thank you for supporting my Book Blog in this manner.
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Here are my five favorite books this quarter:
- A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L. Peck
- In Five Years by Rebecca Serle
- Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
- Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade by Janet Skeslien Charles
- The Goddess of Warsaw by Lisa Barr
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NOTE: Click the “Book Title” to get my review.
Click “Amazon” to get other readers’ reviews.
Book Title: A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L. Peck
Brief synopsis: What’s it like in Hell? This book offers a Welcome to Hell letter setting out nine rules to follow for “a pleasant stay.”
One more thing to say: I have often read books to bond with one of my kids or grandkids. When my son returned to reading fiction after a long hiatus, he loved this book. That put it on the top of my reading list. I loved it too! My daughters are now reading it so we can “book club” it down the road a piece.
Learn more about A Short Stay in Hell on Amazon.
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Book Title: In Five Years by Rebecca Serle
Brief synopsis: Celebrating her engagement to David, Dannie falls asleep after too much champagne and wakes up five years later (!) married to some other man.
One more thing to say: I was delighted by the book. I read it one night until I could not keep my eyes open and woke up the next morning to finish it before eating breakfast. I loved every minute of reading it. This is so much the case that I read – and reviewed – another book by Rebecca Serle shortly thereafter: One Italian Summer.
Learn more about In Five Years on Amazon.
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Book Title: Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
Brief synopsis: Dana, a Black woman living with her white husband in California in 1976, gets transported to Maryland in 1819 and thus, to slavery.
One more thing to say: Here I go, bonding again. This time with my fifteen-year-old grandson. This is his summer reading assignment for high school. I gobbled it up, which is not exactly the case for him!
Learn more about Kindred on Amazon.
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Book Title: Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade by Janet Skeslien Charles
Brief synopsis: The American Committee for Devastated France was an organization of women lending aid to France in WWI. Read about their amazing work here! By the way, J.P. Morgan’s daughter is one of the stars of book.
One more thing to say: My friend, Nancy, recommended this book to me. She loves historical fiction. After reading this fine example of that genre, I see its charm. And by the way, if you read The Personal Librarian about J.P. Morgan, you’ll enjoy learning more about that family here.
Learn more about Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade on Amazon.
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Book Title: The Goddess of Warsaw by Lisa Barr
Brief synopsis: In this Holocaust-related novel we learn horrific things about the Nazis including their real-life presence in America after the war.
One more thing to say: Thanks to my friend, Sue, for recommending this book. She and I traveled with a group to Poland to see Warsaw and the devastation of the war first hand. Here is the story I wrote about our trip: Bearing Witness to the Atrocities.
Learn more about The Goddess of Warsaw on Amazon.
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On the Topic of Banned Books:
Click here to see PEN America’s index of school books banned from July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024. The spreadsheet is alphabetical by state and lists the book title and the school district that banned the book as well.
Here are the top ten banned books:
- Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult (See my review below.)
- Looking for Alaska by John Green
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
- Sold by Patricia McCormick
- Crank by Ellen Hopkins and
- Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Crank and Thirteen Reason Why tied for 5th place
- Identical by Ellen Hopkins
- The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
- The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
- Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
- Tricks by Ellen Hopkins
Water for Elephants and Tricks tied for 10th place
It is interesting to note that Ellen Hopkins has three books in the above list. To learn more about her work, here is a link to ACLU South Carolina, where she posted a response to the mass banning of her YA novels.
Kinda makes me want to read one of her books. How about you?
And now, here is the book that sparked my interest in banned books. For Mother’s Day this year, my daughter gave each woman in the family a banned book. This is the one I received:
Here is my review of Nineteen Minutes.
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In closing I ask for your help. Please tell a friend about my book reviews, blogs, and newsletters, and suggest they join my mailing list.
Thank you!
Lorie
Lorie,
Thank you for all your book suggestions I’ve read 4 of the top 10 banned books and now plan to read the others. It always intrigues me why a book is banned.
Hi Nancy. Keep me posted on your banned book reading adventure!