Hi bookworms. I hope you are hanging in there. It’s becoming more spring-like here now though early in the week we had a frosty morning that formed a bit of hoarfrost on the trees, which often has a neat effect. And we had several sightings this week of bald eagles on our road. I took a picture of one, which I’ve posted below. He was a big bird — majestic — and he watched me and our dog Willow as we walked quietly past. I think the eagle sat there for an hour or so while he gathered his thoughts, rested, and looked around. We’ve also had a couple flyovers by eagles and their wingspan is quite fantastic. I will keep my eyes peeled for more.
Meanwhile in disturbing book news this past week the U.S. president signed an executive order to eliminate “to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law” the federal agency (IMLS) that funds libraries and museums with grants and development with its budget of nearly $295 million. So apparently if this happens it will be “catastrophic” for libraries and museums across the country and will likely mean among other things that the availability of shared e-book collections and interlibrary loan services will be decimated. So if you depend on libraries for reading, things just got tougher. Make no mistake, libraries and books are under attack with funding cuts, book bans, and operational development and oversight.
By no coincidence, I received an email this past week from the Houston Public Library, where I reserve e-books and e-audiobooks as a paid nonresident library card holder, telling me they won’t be renewing nonresident memberships anymore due to “changes in library funding and operational needs.” Yikes all the rural users and people who don’t have access to a decent library will be out of luck. I’m beyond my city’s boundary and they don’t allow e-books or e-audiobooks to nonresidents here, so that’s why I sought out a nonresident card from Houston’s library system and it was very helpful for a couple years before this new funding cut, which I plan to call my representative about the need to save IMLS funding. It’s a shame right — along with the banning of books. We need more books to get to people, not less.
In more positive news, here is my library loot in hardback for the week. Though I’m not sure when I’ll have time to get to these since I’m reading three other books (not-pictured) currently. Still they look really good. Have you read any of these?
In other news I see that the National Book Critics Circle announced the winners of its 2024 book awards this past week, giving the top fiction prize to Hisham Matar’s novel My Friends and the top nonfiction prize to Adam Higginbotham’s book Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space. Also deceased Russian dissident Alexei Navalny won in the memoir category for his book Patriot. I’d like to read all three of these at some point and I know several of you have read and liked My Friends, which is about a Libyan exile living in London and his two friends who come together and apart over decades struggling with their loyalties to themselves and their homeland. I started it once and put it down but plan to pick it back up another time.
And now here are a couple reviews of what I finished lately — which were two good reads of historical fiction.
The Riveter by Jack Wang / House of Anansi Press / 392 pages / 2025
3.75 stars. Chinese Canadian Josiah Chang is a strong character who meets Poppy Miller while working in a shipyard in Vancouver, B.C. in 1942. (He uses a rivet gun to put together the metal on cargo ships. Hence the book’s title.) Josiah and Poppy fall hard for one another but her father won’t give his consent for them to marry since Poppy will lose her citizenship if she marries a resident Chinese alien like himself. So after a fight with a guy in the shipyard, Josiah runs off to join the Canadian army thinking that fighting for freedom and against the Nazis might also help him obtain his citizenship and marry Poppy in his homeland. He opts to prove himself further by training with an elite unit as a paratrooper and landing in Normandy during D-Day.
Josiah has some harrowing experiences with his regiment while fighting through France, Holland and Germany … as well as trying to stop a couple atrocities and crimes he sees from happening. And along the way, he becomes a veteran soldier all the while corresponding with Poppy in B.C. who worries for his safety as she continues work at the shipyard.
In some sense The Riveter is much like a traditional WWII story but from a Chinese Canadian perspective where Josiah’s the only one of his race in his regiment, which apparently was historically the case. He endures flak for it but proves his worth and sacrifice time and again. By the time the war winds down, you need to stick with it to see if he survives and if Poppy and Josiah will stay together post-war after so much time apart. Will they even be able to be together? That is the question. There is a little twist near the end that I didn’t foresee and it threw a new hurdle into the mix.
All in all, I learned a bit more about WWII and its paratroops from the Canadian side. The novel is fairly easy to read, but there is a density to the pages that took me a while to get through the book. By the end, it felt like I had journeyed far and wide with Josiah.
Crow Mary by Kathleen Grissom / Atria Books / 348 pages / 2023
4 stars. This novel, which I listened to on audio, enlightened me about a real life indigenous girl (Goes First) who grew up in Montana with her Crow parents and tribe in the 1860s and ’70s and ends up marrying at age 16 a white fur trader (Abe Farwell) at a ceremony in Fort Benton, Montana. There, Mary (as her husband calls her) befriends a married Metis woman Jeannie who helps her deal with her new life and learn English.
But then Abe and Mary set off on a long trip to his trading post in Saskatchewan, Canada, where in time they fall for one another. And all goes well there for a season, until they cross paths with a group of drunken traders and hunters who think some natives stole their horses. Abe tells them otherwise and tries to calm them down, but what results is the Cypress Hills Massacre of 1873, which is a brutal attack that kills a number of Nakota Indians. Crow Mary (as she calls herself), armed with two guns, puts herself on the line trying to save some native women from the marauders.
Afterwards a trial arises over what happened that ends up having life-long consequences for Abe and Mary who are called to testify as witnesses. Along the way, the story unveils what life and marriage was like on the frontier for young Crow Mary, who was quite brave and competent handling horses and guns, surviving in the outback, and sleeping in a tepee. Her husband and her were quite close for years and had three children, but things after the trials begin to fray. Mary is one of those figures in history who becomes caught between the native and white worlds, struggling with the collision between the two. I was glad to learn of her life story and this real historical tragic event that she was involved in. I thought the author did a great job putting the reader in her shoes.
That’s all for now. What about you — have you read these books and what did you think?
Both books sound good. Your reviews give a good sense of the stories and characters. Glad you enjoyed them both. I bought My Friends last year but I wasn’t able to get to it. It was also longlisted for the Booker, so I was interested, but this year my reading pace is somewhat slower; I upgraded my reading target in GR, though I don’t think I’ll get to 40-42 like 2 years ago. Have a great reading week, whatever you choose!
BTW, great pic of the eagle! I’m obsessed with raptors. Last fall I had several encounters with hawks and was able to photograph one from fairly close, while another, hunting, would have been a great picture had I had been able to open my camera app in time…
I also saw a bald eagle last fall swooping in the middle of traffic and later perching on a branch by the roadside. I was riveted! It was my first eagle sighting ever!!! Anyway, I think I have a hawk as neighbor; it’s been living on a tree nearby and from time to time it perches on the pointed roof in front of our window. So nice!
And thanks. Good to know that you like these raptors and have a hawk nearby. They’re wonderful to watch. Usually I can get a better photo with an eagle and their white head but this time I couldn’t capture his head well in the tree. I will keep my eyes peeled. Sometimes we see eagles near the river. And hawks seem to sit on poles overlooking the prairies. I’d like to see an owl but usually we can only hear them at night but they are elusive to see.
Hi Carmen, thanks. I’m glad you think these reviews are all right … I never know if I say too much but I sort of want to remember the books years later … so I want to say what they’re about. And My Friends seems like a novel that could take a while to get through. Even though I started it once with no success, I still think it will likely be good once I get more into it. Will you pick it up later this year? I’m not sure when I will get to it.
I didn’t know such a thing as nonresident library cards existed–so sorry to hear that yours is going away. Yes, things are dire for libraries and so much else right now. I’m hoping much of what is being dismantled will get put back together and stronger.
Coincidently, I also got Fagin from the library but am so impressed in the bio of US Grant that I am reading that I will likely need to return it before I can get to it.
As you know, I loved The River, so hope it resonates for you as well.
Have a good week, and welcome Spring!
Thanks Jane. The bio of Grant sounds terrific. I got a glimpse of how interesting a figure he was when I read a novel called The General & Julia a year or two ago. It got me into Grant too. I hope you will let us know all about the bio and Grant.
It looks like a warm week here (50s & maybe 60s) so spring is on the way!
Good luck with your vegetable seeds. We decided to plant ours next weekend.
I love it when the trees are frosty with ice. It’s such a magical image. And, I absolutely love spotting eagles here in our cove, as well as when we’re on the road in the RV. They are such majestic birds!
Yes, the latest EO to eliminate the IMLS is horrible. This is reminscent of book burning, no? Absolutely disgusting.
It seems like everyone has or is reading The Frozen River. I’ll give it a try sometime, maybe when the hype has died down.
Hope you’re having a good weekend, Susan.
Thanks Lesley, the weather is turning nice here now and spring is on the way. I’m sure you see eagles pretty often near the coast or on your journeys. They are terrific to see. We see hawks much more … but eagles every once in the while usually. But over last week we saw several.
The USA seems quite worrisome — and not sure there’s anyway to stop it. Ugh.
I still don’t have time for The Frozen River yet, lol. You are reading some good ones. Maybe we’ll both get to it later. Enjoy your week.
I liked Frozen River although thought it was a bit overhyped.
Have you read about the library on the Vermont/Canada border where people from both countries mix happily? Of course, the president and his people decided to spoil that. https://apnews.com/article/canada-america-library-vermont-quebec-7c4851c705d18e0cc891c3ce085e15e4
These cuts to library funding are dreadful. The library where I work as a substitute once or twice a month has such extensive hours that it is full of nonresidents on evenings and weekends. I suspect many libraries will have to cut acquisitions and staffing. I will say that when working in Adult Reference it is rare I am asked about books per se – I spent my time putting books on hold, helping people with printers and scanners, and booking small meeting rooms. I get asked for book recommendations more frequently in the children’s room (not by children, who mostly want graphic novels) but by their parents.
The software we use sometimes makes it hard to place reserve requests, so I practice by putting new mysteries on hold for my sister. She finds this very annoying but it makes me laugh.
Hi Constance, thanks for the link on the news story about library on the border that has been spoiled by the regime — that’s just despicable. I saw that Louise Penny had posted about it on Instagram. I’m glad to know too your take on library funding cuts and what is happening there. It sounds like it’ll have a big negative impact all over. Ugh. How awful for everyone who loves libraries! I’m curious about the software you mention. I’m not sure if we have that here.
And thanks for letting me know that The Frozen River is a bit overhyped …. I think I will temper my expectations. Enjoy your reads.
I am so sad to hear that some of the funding for libraries and other culture may fall away. Although to be fair, I don’t understand most of the decisions by the current US administration, so can’t say I am surprised. Do you have access to other libraries? Or how will you get your books going forward?
Hi Stargazer, thanks for your concern. The current US regime is doing all sorts of awful things — and I’m afraid they’ll try to take Greenland from your homeland Denmark … so that must be stopped.
Currently I’m able to reserve print library books here but not e-books or e-audios. So I might try to get a nonresident library card with the Los Angeles Public library system when I visit Calif in April. But it seems like without the extra funding libraries in the States will start to suffer and have to make changes which could be bad. I hope your library access is good there & there’s no cuts.
I was shocked about the cuts being made to libraries and museums. It’s horrific. I’m so sorry that the Houston PL is not renewing nonresident cards. Do we want people to be unable to access information? Do we not want an educated population? Mystifying.
Glad you enjoyed both of these historical fiction books.
Hi Deb, it is very concerning. I’m not sure what the endgame of de-funding libraries is supposed to be. Maybe they want voters to remain in the dark or an uneducated populace? It’s disturbing to think about. But I think it’s going to have a harmful effect with libraries across the country. Sigh.
I seem to be having much historical fiction come my way lately.
Enjoy your week.
I’m not sure how America is becoming great again.
Yeah I don’t think it is alas. It’s becoming the opposite.
I am so upset over the cuts to libraries and museums. We practically live at our library, and it is such a blessing to our community. They are always doing things to help people. It makes me so angry, what is happening.
Hi Erin, I totally understand. Libraries are so important and are such good places for kids and for all of us book lovers. I hope the funding can be found elsewhere or that they will restore it. It’s truly awful what is happening. thanks for your input and for stopping by.
I’m upset about the library stuff too. I’m a rural resident who gets almost all of my books from the library in a nearby town. I can’t afford to buy books.
Hi AJ, yeah I agree. This de-funding libraries apparently will be especially hard on rural residents. I think library budgets are already being squeezed and some aren’t getting the recent books. It might have a dreadful impact on us library users this coming year. We will have to see. Maybe if it’s fought, they will have to restore the funding. My hope.
I’ve been hearing good things about The Frozen River.
I talked to a local librarian this week. IMLS funds nearly all of their technology purchases and a big chunk of the summer reading program. Our e-books and a new state-wide consortium of libraries (which means that I can get books from many libraries around the state more quickly and easily than through interlibrary loan) both rely on funding from Missouri, which is also under threat.
Hi Joy, thanks for the info. That’s dreadful to hear that without that funding programs will be scrapped and likely e-books and loans will take a hit. I’m hoping there will be a backlash and maybe we can get IMLS funds restored. But we’ll have to see. I plan to look into it … and try to fight this. It makes me angry.
Keep up your activist work.
The hoarfrost is magical, I love the photo. We see eagles sometimes but not as many as I’d like. They are so majestic.
In your library loot I have two of the titles on hold. Gliff and Fagin the Thief. Speaking of library visits and lending, I am horrifed about the changes this administration is making. That’s awful about the Houston library not renewing your account. What about California? Could you get a card there, maybe via your family who live there? At one time I wanted to get a nonresident card from the New York Public Library but had not pursued it.
If it comes down to it, us readers will need to figure out a network to share books. Maybe a group with lists of books they want and books they have and are willing to mail to others.
Say, there are 7 of us wanting to read Title X and it’s agreed the book owner will mail to the first person on the list. Then the next person sends it on after they have read it. Probably too convoluted and expensive to do though.
I think I would like My Friends as you described it. Crow Mary also sounds great. My list grows.
Thanks Tina, the hoarfrost is neat to look at. This week should be warm so we might not see hoarfrost again. And I’m slightly wondering if winter is over?
Yeah the library de-funding is very concerning. I’m thinking I might try to get a nonresident library card through the Los Angeles public library system but I would need to do it in person when I’m there. So I might check into it. But I wonder if their funding will be slashed too. Sigh.
Sharing books is a good idea. If we could pass around e-books perhaps … it might work. Hmm.
I hope you have a good week. Many books to ponder. Lately much historical fiction seems to be coming my way. talk later.
Attacking readers, libraries, and book networks is another example of the intellectual vandalism of our current education-despising government. Like everyone commenting, I feel angry and powerless.
Have a decent week if you can…mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Hi Mae, I agree with you. And it is alarming. And I fear too there is no stopping the current regime. I will see if there’s enough backlash against the IMLS funding cut to do anything. Apparently the people who work at IMLS are being dismissed so it is all terrible. Thanks for your input.
Hi Susan,
This news about the libraries is disturbing. And I am so sorry they are not renewing your non-resident library membership. It’s petty and destructive this budget cutting that’s going on.
Both books sound good. I like historical novels and I had never heard of Crow Mary before. A very strong woman. Hope you have a good week.
Hi Kathy, thanks. I seem to be getting a lot of historical fiction these days.
The library news is really disturbing to see. And I’m going to check if I can get a nonresident library card elsewhere. We’ll see. Meanwhile I hope there will be enough backlash to save IMLS funding. Grrr. Enjoy your reads.
I really liked Frozen River a lot. I hope you enjoy the read.
I feel like spring has arrived in SoCal with the poppies, freesias, and ceanothus in bloom.
Hi Helen, I’m glad you liked The Frozen River. It was good to see your review of it. Now if I could only make time for it, lol.
It’s great that spring has arrived in SoCal. I will be there in April. Yay.
Have a good week.
If an attack on libraries, and by extension on learning, is not a sign of a nation in serious decline, I am not sure what is. It is especially true in the modern age where libraries are far more than a repository of books for loan. In small communities they become a kind of hub for all manner of activities to promote intellectual and physical well being. It is a sad day when libraries are threatened by their government.
Hi David, thanks for your input. I agree with you totally — libraries are so important to communities. It is a very sad day … and I’m very ticked off. I’m hoping there’s enough backlash against the de-funding to stop it. But nothing surprises me this regime. Wishing you a good week.
I have no idea why they’d cut funds to libraries and museums. Yet another terrible bit of news. The hits keep coming. I wonder what the US will look like at the end of his “reign”. What an absolutely horrible person. I’m sorry you’ve had your library access canceled. I use several libraries to request books and audiobooks.
On a more positive note, how neat you ran into a bald eagle! What a majestic creature. I’ve seen a couple in person when were on vacation in Cambria, CA a few years back. I’ve heard good things about The Frozen River. Hope you enjoy it. Crow Mary sounds like an epic tale! I hope things worked out for her and her husband by the end. A very tumultuous time!
Thanks Rachel. Yep Crow Mary is pretty epic … and it is a marvel how she managed and later succeeded to some extent. It seems like The Frozen River has been everywhere lately so I hope to eventually get to it.
I didn’t get too good a picture of the eagle and his head so I will keep on the lookout for more. They are neat to see.
The library de-funding news is alarming and we might see consequences of that in the coming months. Ugh. I might try for a nonresident card thru the L.A. public library system. We’ll see. Hope you have a good reading week.
It is very cool that you have had so many eagle sightings and got that photo.
That information about library funding is very disturbing. I hope it turns out to be not quite as bad as it seems. There are so many disturbing things going on now.
I am not familiar with any of your books from the library nor the two you reviewed. I will look into getting copies of The Riveter and Crow Mary because of the Canadian authors. Both sound interesting.
I am now reading A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson and liking it very much. Reading this one makes me want to reread Life After Life, which I also liked.
Hi Tracy, good to hear what you’re reading. Kate Atkinson, nice! I have not read either of those but I remember they were highly praised. I’ll look forward to seeing your review.
And now that you mention it … I recall that both authors of The Riveter and Crow Mary are originally Canadian. Both live in the U.S. right now but were raised in Canada — so that’s cool. I had forgotten that. I like trying to find Canadian authors to read too.
I hope we can get back the library funding, so I will keep investigating this.
The eagles were a big plus last week … I hope they are still around.
Have a good week there & happy spring.
In regard to cuts to libraries, museums, (and the Dept of Education), it’s fascism 101. Keep people uneducated and without access to information, and you have more control over them. (However, apparently, many people couldn’t be bothered to learn what a tariff was before these cuts….)
Your library loot looks good. I think I have Frozen River on my TBR list, so will be interested to hear your thoughts. You’ve been doing some heavy reading with the historical fiction. I’m finding the need to keep it light, or at least lighter.
Hi Olivia, thanks for your input. I agree. And I’m ticked off with the funding cuts going on and the axing for the Dept of Education. I hope there will be a lot of backlash. People need to wake up, though half the country voted for this person. Have you decided your destination move yet? I hope you will keep book blogging from there or wherever you go.
I agree that reading some of these epic historical fiction reads have taken me a while to get through. I could use something lighter to mix in. Light would help me right now. Enjoy your books.
It seems like there is a new outrage daily and cutting the funds for libraries and museums is especially infuriating. Mae’s term ‘intellectual vandalism’ is sadly apt. I’m sorry to hear Houston won’t be renewing your nonresident card. I’ve already noticed our local FL library has significantly cut the number of new ebooks they’re purchasing, and many of the older ebooks just expire when the number of allowed borrows has been reached. It’s all very sad… Your photos are absolutely beautiful though!
Thanks JoAnn about the photos. And I’m sorry to hear your local library is cutting back on ebooks etc. I think ours is as well. This de-funding libraries makes no sense of course. I agree so many daily outrages regarding the current regime. I hope they’re held accountable now and at the mid-terms.
Keep reading and your beach walks. We need to keep our sanity amid this.
Hi Susan,
Lots of terrible news including the loss of funding for libraries and museums. And there’s this story: https://www.npr.org/2025/03/23/nx-s1-5337411/library-us-canada-border-haskell
I thought “My Friends” was beautifully written. Not a plot-driven novel, but a meditation on friendship, exile from one’s country of birth, and how one event can shape a life. I lived in London at the time of the key event, but was completely unaware as a kid. I think it made the book especially interesting to me.
Thanks for posting lovely photos in this anxious time.
Thanks Jillann, I appreciate your thoughts. Ugh it’s so bad right now. And thx for the link to the Haskell library story …. it is very disturbing and so petty. I had seen that story from Louise Penny who mentioned it on her Instagram. So infuriating. The current regime is a danger to us all.
Glad that you liked the novel My Friends. Sounds really good and I need to pick it up again. I didn’t get far enough into it. Interesting to hear you lived in London at that event mentioned in the book. I didn’t realize you had lived there. But I’m sure it gives more interest for you about the book. I’m curious and will get to it.
Keep reading! And let me know if there’s others I should get to. Cheers.