Untied by Meredith Baxter (#28)

Interesting memoir of the star of Family Ties and many other shows---family issues, her difficult marriages, raising 5 children, and finally coming out as gay.

The Girl Who Played with Fire (#27) by Stieg Larsson

Continuation of the story of Lizbeth Salander with a very exciting ending. This is a very long book; negative aspect is that Swedish names are (of course) used so it was challenging to keep everyone straight.

A Drop of the Hard Stuff by Lawrence Block (#26) and If You Ask Me by Betty White (25)

Light, fun reading, so enjoyable and very quick. Betty, her love of animals, take on show business, view of the world at 89.



Lawrence Block is my favorite mystery writer. This is the latest Matthew Scudder mystery with Matt scrambling to maintain his first year of sobriety while dealing with a number of interesting characters in AA and on the street. A series of murders takes place and Matt is on the trail.

Vietnamerica (#24) by G.B. Tran and Bossypants by Tina Fey (#23)

Humorous accounting of Tina Fey's life.




This graphic novel is the story of a Vietnamese family, their life in Vietnam and their flight to America in 1975. The author is the youngest son, born in America, learning his family's history during a visit to the homeland. Time shifts back and forth between the present and 1975 so it was not always easy to keep track of the characters. This is a big and richly illustrated book; the author is a gifted artist.

My Korean Deli (#22) by Ben Ryder Howe

The author, a native Bostonian, decides to go into business, buying a deli in Brooklyn, N. Y., with his Korean American wife and her Korean parents. The deli presents many challenges; work schedules, what items to stock, who to employ, maintaining a store that is not in good condition, difficult customers, cash flow problems, etc. The author was at the same time employed as an editor at the literary magazine, The Paris Review, so his time and energy was seriously challenged. This book is the chronology of what happened during this family's struggle with managing and maintaining a small business in Brooklyn. I really enjoyed it and especially enjoyed the culture clashes that occurred within this family.

The Sea Captain's Wife by Beth Powning (#21)

Such a great book! Azuba is a young woman living on the East coast of Canada in the mid 1800's when she falls in love with Nathanial who is a ship's captain. She has romantic visions of sailing the high seas with him but Nathanial is reluctant to take her, preferring that she and their child stay safely at home. Azuba makes a huge mistake and becomes a scandal in her village, thus getting her way with Nathanial after losing his trust. She and her child accompany Nathanial on the ship but their voyages are filled with hardships and difficulties, almost losing their lives more than once. This book is beautifully written by an author with lots of knowledge of seafaring during that period.

Please Look After Mom by Kyung_Sook Shin (#19) and Heads You Lose by Lisa Lutz (#20)

A novel within a novel; people start turning up dead in a small town where a brother and sister team have a small business growing pot.
Not my cup of tea!









The elderly mother of a Korean family goes missing while catching a train with her husband in Seoul. The story of the search is told through the perspectives of the people involved. We realize the mother was hardworking, always putting family first, and no one recognized or
appreciated what she did until she was gone. Sad!