Reading In/Out 1/6/2026

I finally, actually have something new to say here!

OUT

The 33 by Hector Tobar - I finally finished it! Where did I leave off? Ok, the mine collapsed and trapped 33 men in it. No one was killed in the collapse. It took 17 days for the rescuers to drill down to the miners to find out if they were even alive. In that 17 days the miners survived on some cookies and cans of tuna that they had to split 33 ways. The water was contaminated as it was used for cooling machines, but they drank it anyway. After the rescuers found out the men were alive, they could at least send them food and letters from their families and other necessities while they figured out how to get them out. It took 52 days after discovering the men to finally extricate them. The book goes one to talk about how the men fared after the rescue and where they were a year after their ordeal. It was interesting and it marked a Bingo spot off for reading a book set in another country.

Hearts in Circulation by Sarah Monzon - I listened to this while I was going through old papers. I decided it's worth continuing when I feel like it. I listened on the way to work this morning. I am now 1/3 through it. Hailey is a librarian in a small town in Tennesee who got voluntold to drive the "new" bookmobile to parts of the area that don't have libraries. She has named the donated VW bus Cletus. On the first day out, Cletus croaks and a rockslide traps her in Turkey Grove. She calls the only garage that can reach her and Levi comes to her rescue. Only he is not a talker. In fact, he really doesn't like being around people. Weirdly, Hailey doesn't immediately give him a headache, which is good because he has the only available bed in town for her to stay while he fixes Cletus. Of course, when he gets it fixed, the roads are still blocked. That's where I'm at, now. Hailey is trying to figure out how to bring library books to the people of Turkey Grove, and also trying not to overstimulate Levi while living in his house.

IN

First Impressions by Charlie Lovett - I started this one as soon as I finished The 33. I knew if I waited, I would lose momentum, so I just jumped in. I have now read a third of it. It definitely reads faster than the last book. I like our main character Sophie and of course I like Jane Austen. Sophie has just had two requests for the same super-rare book from two different people. I fear she is about to get involved in something she will really wish she didn't. One of the people is quite nasty and outright threatened her if she found the book for anyone else.

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius - This is not meant to be a quick read, so expect to see this on my list for the forseeable future. I have read 8 pages so far. I have to read everything a couple of times over to understand what it is trying to say. I hope that will get easier as I go. I also have to look up words I don't know, which slows me down.

The King's Ransom by Janet Evanovich - I started this one at lunch today. I already like it. Gabriela Rose is an insurance investigator. She helps insurance companies fight fraud by finding lost items. The story begins with her rapelling into a well to recover millions of dollars worth of jewelry that had gone missing in a nasty divorce. When she gets home she finds her ex-husband and his cousin in her apartment. The cousin got himself in a bunch of trouble and they need her to fix it. Of course. The writing is very Evanovich which I appreciate.

That's a good chunk of books for a currently reading pile. I think we'll hit the pause button on starting new books for a minute.