Buckeye by Patrick Ryan

This somewhat sentimental and ultimately tense novel follows the interwoven lives of two married couples in the fictional town of Bonhomie, Ohio. One half of the first of these couples is Cal Jenkins, the sweet-tempered son of a gruff and traumatized first world war veteran, born in the spring of 1920 with one leg shorter than the other. This is a pivotal problem for Cal--he is marginalized because of it, is challenged romantically by it, and it keeps him out of WWII so he is home while others are away. He instead ends up spending his days in drudgery at the local concrete factory. As luck would have it, a chance meeting with Becky Hanover, a young woman with a dark bob and a loveably whimsical way about her, sees Cal and they are soon married. The second couple are the Salts--Margaret and Felix. Margaret grew up an orphan, never feeling safe or loved, so she can be forgiven for not understanding what was going on with Felix, but while he was away on a battleship in the Pacific, she begins an affair with Cal. That is how the couples become entangled with each other, and the rest of the story would be quite comfortable in a Faulkner novel--overdone a bit, but engrossing none the less. The book also takes us through racism, classism, and homophobia in mid-century America.

Nippori Fabric Town, Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo has neighborhoods and Nippori Fabric Town lies in a quiet part of Nippori, just east of the Yamanote Line station and makes for just as exciting of an adventure for fabric aficionados, as it does for most of us non-connoisseurs. There are dozens of shops selling anything from fabrics, leather, buttons, zippers, beads - you name it - Nippori Fabric Town has established itself as a hotspot for Tokyo’s textile lovers over the past century and is an ideal place to get some inspiration for your next creative endeavor. Start your journey through Nippori Fabric Town by making your way up the central street (Chuo-dori) that runs towards the east of Nippori Station and you’ll soon notice the yellow signs that mark the beginning of textile heaven. Tomato is perhaps the neighbourhood’s most famous and easily most recognizable establishment, boasting several shops along the main street and a main building that stretches over a whopping five floors. Each of Tomato’s stores is dedicated to slightly different types of fabrics including textiles for interiors, a shop dedicated to sewing kits and even an outlet where can have your very own fabric designs printed. There is a lot of high quality Japanese fabric for very good prices, but if you are looking for kasuri or shibori, you need to go to a used kimono store to find that.

Looking For Smoke by K.A. Cobell

I read this for a Goodreads challenge and to celebrate Native American Heritage month. It is a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick as well--and mirrors another one of her picks, a YA book called The Firekeeper's Daughter. It is also a novel where a teen girl has to figure out what is happening in her community. Mara Racette is a high school student who recently moved to the Blackfeet Rez in Browning, Montana. The book is told from a number of different viewpoints, and includes Loren Arnoux, whose older sister Rayanne went missing three months earlier, Brody Clark, who has a crush on Loren and the joker of their friend group, and Eli First Kill, whose biggest concern is his younger sister. During Indian Days weekend, Loren’s family honors the memory of her grandfather by doing a giveaway, and soon afterward Samantha White Tail, Loren’s best friend, is found murdered. The FBI gets involved because unlike with Rayanne’s disappearance, there is a body and a chance for the agent on the case to pretend like he cares. As happens all too frequently in real life, the tribal police are under-resourced, and the killing of native women goes un solved and unpunished.

A Paris Christmas Waltz (2023)

This movie should only be watched when you are doing a string of Xmas movies. It is Hallmark Christmas movie material (even though it is not, strictly speaking). It will be very satidfying if that is the urge you are looking to itch and the streeet scenes of Paris are an added bonus. Emma is enraptured watching classical dancing, and she finds Leo, a professional dance competitor, to be divine to watch. He is so inspiring that when friend gives her dance lessons, she takes a deep dive and gets pretty good for a beginner. Most importantly, she loves how it makes her feel and you can tell by looking at her. So when Leo, recovering from a broken heart and trying to recapture his love of dancing decides to enter a por-am competition--in Paris--he picks Emma and she accepts. Leo's old partner doesn't at all like the look of Emma or how Leo looks at her, and goes about spooking her AND getting in her head, which works up to the point that it doesn't and it ends exactly as you expect it will, which is okay, because that is what Christmas movies are supposed to deliver. Happy Holidays!!

History Lessons by Zoe Wallbrook

This is part murder mystery and part romance novel--I picked it out for a Goodreads challenge fulfillment and enjoyed it. Daphne is a Black woman in academia mobilizes her research skills to investigate the murder of an unlikable collogue who she is on the verge of accusing of plagiarism. She is a brainy junior professor at illustrious Harrison University, Daphne studies the history of Black families under French imperialism and has some very enjoyable best friends who keep her spirits up. When a fellow professor in the anthropology department, Sam, is killed, a last-minute text message from him subjects her to the perpetrator’s continued threats. With the encouragement of Rowan—a local bookseller, former police officer, and Daphne’s crush—and for self-preservation she investigates Sam’s death while uncovering the misogyny, racism, and lies of her college’s new dean. This is by no means ground breaking work, but it was an enjoyable read that ticked a lot of boxes for me.

Tsukiji Fish Market, Tokyo, Japan

Tsukiji Outer Market (築地場外市場, Tsukiji Jōgai Shijō) is a district adjacent to the site of the former Tsukiji Wholesale Market. It consists of a few blocks of wholesale and retail shops, as well as restaurants crowded along narrow lanes. Here you can find fresh and processed seafood and produce alongside food-related goods such as knives. A visit to Tsukiji Outer Market is best combined with a fresh sushi breakfast or lunch at one of the local restaurants, which typically open from 5:00 in the morning to around noon or early afternoon. Because most of the fish served and sold at Tsukiji Outer Market is delivered directly from Toyosu Market, it is one of the best places in Tokyo to enjoy fresh seafood. We were there before the sun came up and it was a good start to our Japan vacation.

These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean

For some reason I was thinking this was more high brow literature than it ended up being, and so was maybe more disappointed than I would have been if I had been slightly better informed. The author is a romance writer, and for me, this book is deeply rooted in that tradition--you can see what is coming down the proverbial pike from a mile away. Although it turns out this was on the New York Times 100 Notable Books for 2025, so maybe it is just me. The senior Storm has died and left his prodigious estate in limbo. On the one hand everyone counted on getting their share of a sizable inheritance pie and on the other, what were they thinking? That their husband and father would not try to manipulate and control them beyond the grave? Alice is the black sheep of the family and our window into the family. She’s an outsider who used to be an insider, as she was exiled from the family by her father five years ago for rebelling against her father over a sexual harassment situation, so we are on her side in this — she is the only person who had ever stood up to him. There is so much hurt and pain amongst all the Storm siblings, as they have lived in the shadow of their larger-than-life father, and all of them, except Alice, have always done his bidding. The twists, turns, and layers of Storm dysfunctional family relationship dynamics are central to the story--if that sort of saga appeals to you, this would be good reading.

The Family Plan (2025)

I read a review that basically said that this is a decently entertaining action movie, and I would agree. Mark Wahlberg is the perfect actor to pull off a character who is now changing diapers but used to be a paid assasin, and when his cover is blown, he needs to not rile up his family too much but also to keep them safe they need to be on the run--they are making their way to Vegas to get their fake. After fending off assassins all the way from New York to Nevada, but always in a way that everyone but the baby misses, the Morgans finally get to the City of Sin, and while I’m willing to suspend some disbelief to help a dumb comedy like this work, Dan leaving his kids, including the baby, to go out to a nice dinner with Jessica, is literally insane. Of course, the Morgans get separated, McCaffrey finds them, and everyone learns the truth. I watched this on a trans Pacific flight--in other words, the perfect setting to tolerate an utterly unbelievable plot that is helped along by an amiable and likable lead actor, and enjoyed it way more than the critics apparently did.

Plunder by Menachim Kaiser

I read a review of this book which had a quote from the book that more or less sums it up. "Family stories are poor preservers of history: they’re fragmented, badly documented, warped by hearsay, conjecture, legend — of course errors are going to creep in. This seems somehow wrong, even blasphemous, at odds with the private sacredness we impute to our origin stories. But most stories in most families aren’t meant or relied on as preservation of hard information, they’re meant and relied on as preservation of soft information, of sentiment, narrative, identity, of who someone was and, subsequently, who you are." The author is the grandson of someone whose property in Poland was seized when the family was sent to a concentration camp and all the rest of them died. It was by family lore a modest property--they were middle class not wealthy and when he decides to try to get it back, he knows that it is a long shot and that there isn't much bang for the buck, in that he is going to spend time and money on this project, and that it is not the destination so much as the journey. There are a lot of surprises for him along the way, and the book takes us through it in an almost thrilling sense, that we quickly learn that there are many corners to turn on this adventure, and that there are quite a few interesting people who get involved as well. I would recommend this for many reasons, because many of us know our histories only through stories, and some of those stories might very well have surprise endings too.

Organic Shapes with Carolina Oneto

First off let me say that the Modern QUilting world is a big and generous world. I was able to participate in this virtual workshop with a teacher who is living in Buenos Aires with a quilt guild in Rochester, all while I am in yet another location, and it worked out great. I have not been able to get a class in person with Carolina at QuiltCon, and so the chance to do this was too good not to take. She has had some really gorgeous quilts in that show, and while I did not have a need to learn this technique--I already have so many UFO's that I have joined not one but in 2026 will be adding another one to be able to stay on task and quilt more, so that I can continue to get inspired and do more and work my way through my truely impressive stash of fabric. Oh, and also so that I might have way to much to do that when I retire I am relieved to be able to spend more time in this hobby. The class we all took was an improv round shapes class. Think building cairns with stones, but they are more colorful, and do not have to balance on each other. The thing I like about this expereince beyond the actual learning and expanding my ideas and skill set is that it is so convivial to be with strangers in a virtual environment and create together. My own quilt guild, which I am deeply invovled with and invested in, is in a city I do not live in--so I know most of the members virtually. I do meet up with some people IRL on occasion, but most of it is while I am in my parlor or my dining room at home, and I feel connected and that I know them. As a non-gamer, this is a new experience for me, and my creativity has been expanded exponentially through this. Can't wait to do another course like this!