This is the Story of a Happy Marriage, by Ann Patchett
14/60 | Started 02.25.26 • Finished 03.11.26 | 5 stars
I might not like her politics, but I love Ann Patchett's writing. This collection of essays did not disappoint. While it touches on some probably controversial topics, all are done with straightforwardness and craft. I think my favorite was reading about her relationship with her husband, and how they ended up married. What else is there to say?
Emily's Runaway Imagination, by Beverly Cleary
13/60 | Started 01.21.26 • Finished 02.26.26 | 5 stars
"This book is about a girl named Emily. It was not possible to get any books in Pitchfork, unless you were really lucky. But Emily was able to get a library started with a note to the state library. With china cabinets as bookshelves and donated books, Emily’s mom began the library. Emily really wanted the book called Black Beauty (which I love). After a while she got it from the state library. Fong Quock was moving to China and wasn’t coming back, so he donated his house to the library. That was my favorite part."
Carolyn, age 9
Stoner, by John Williams
12/60 | Started 02.17.26 • Finished 02.25.26 | 4 stars
I literally just finished this book, and it is difficult to explain exactly why I liked it so much. It's not a hopeful story, and I imagine that some might have found it downright boring, being about a rather mediocre life. Or is it? The reader meets William Stoner just as he is entering college in 1910. And then he is led on the journey through college, to marriage, to graduate work, to the death of his parents, to the birth of his daughter, to an extramarital affair, and into later life. As is the case of any human, Stoner's story has many bumps and stumbles, but sadly it does not produce many lasting highs. Stoner is plagued by loneliness, a troublesome department head, an unwanted distance from his daughter, and his dramatic, eccentric wife. The writing is gorgeous - desperate and compassionate. It's not an uplifting work of literature, but it hit all the beauty spots for me.