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Continuing on the climb.
First mountain details
Second mountain details
Running List:

----------- Rum Doodle ----------------

February:
1. Ms. Adventure: My Wild Explorations in Science, Lava, and Life by Jess Phoenix (audio)
2. Amelia Unabridged by Ashley Schumacher

March:
3. The Waters Between Us: A Boy, a Father, Outdoor Misadventures and the Healing Power of Nature by Michael Tougias

April:
4. Forget Me Not by Alexandra Oliva

May:
5. Switch by A.S. King
6. Three-Martini Afternoons at the Ritz: The Rebellion of Sylvia Plath & Anne Sexton by Gail Crowther (audio)
7. Little Pieces of Me by Alison Hammer
8. Remember: The Science of Memory and the Art of Forgetting by Lisa Genova (audio)

June:
9. Double Blind by Edward St. Aubyn
10. The Ice Lion by Kathleen O'Neal Gear
11. Ethel Rosenberg: An American Tragedy by Anne Sebba (audio)
12. The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray


----------- Mount Crumpit ------------

June:
13. Rabbits by Terry Miles

July:
14. Believers: Making a Life at the End of the World by Lisa Wells
15. Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau (audio)
16. Legends of the North Cascades by Jonathan Evison

August:
17. The Hard Crowd: Essays 2000-2020 by Rachel Kushner (audio)
18. Below the Edge of Darkness: A Memoir of Exploring Light and Life in the Deep Sea by Edith Widder
19. The Guide by Peter Heller
20. Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy

September:
21. Bewilderment by Richard Powers
22. Body of Stars by Laura Maylene Walter (audio)
23. Buses Are a Comin': Memoir of a Freedom Rider by Charles Person & Richard Rooker (audio)
24. Turbulence by David Szalay (audio)

----------- Mount Munch --------------

October:
25. Lessons from Plants by Beronda L Montgomery (audio)
26. Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult
27. The Spectacular by Zoe Whittall (audio)

November:
28. Songbirds by Christy Lefteri (audio)
29. Vanishing Edge by Claire Kells (audio)
30. Holdout by Jeffrey Kluger (audio)
31. A Wild Idea: The True Story of Douglas Tompkins—The Greatest Conservationist by Jonathan Franklin (audio)
32. The Nature of Oaks: The Rich Ecology of Our Most Essential Native Trees by Douglas W. Tallamy (audio)

December:
33. That Summer by Jennifer Weiner (audio)
34. Appleseed by Matt Bell (audio)
35. Scientist: E. O. Wilson: A Life in Nature by Richard Rhodes (audio)
36. The Sunlight Pilgrims by Jenni Fagan

----------- Bonus Books ---------------
37. Sea State: A Memoir by Tabitha Lasley (audio)

Book 25 is Lessons from Plants by Beronda L Montgomery.

4 stars, audio

This short book is a little academic, but highly informative and readable. Well, I listened to it, so listenable. :) I haven't pulled all my thoughts together yet, but I did enjoy learning about plants and how we continue to learn more about them. The book discusses how plants make decisions about resources available, such as water, soil conditions and sunlight and depending on these how they grow, where they grow. Do they flower or germinate. And then these processes are related to how humans make the same decisions. Fascinating! I got this from NetGalley just the other day and flew through it.

Book 26 is Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult.

4 stars, eBook

Maybe a 4.5 star book. I did enjoy it, despite being a little weird reading about the pandemic when we aren't quite out of it just yet. The book takes place at the beginning stage, with a couple about to embark on a two-week vacation to the Galapagos, where Dianna thinks Finn is going to propose, making the plan of her life being right on track. Well, the pandemic hits and Finn being a resident surgeon in New York City has to stay and help out, all hands on deck. The book is about more than just the pandemic, thankfully. I got this from NetGalley in June.

Book 27 is The Spectacular by Zoe Whittall.

2.5 stars, audio

Great cover but the book didn't live up to the name for me, underwhelmed by the book. Premise of three generations of women how they "strive for real freedom." Missed the mark on that for me. The narration was good, three different narrators for the three women. Got the audio from the local library.

Book 28 is Songbirds by Christy Lefteri.

4 stars, audio

Told between to different voices, of Petra and Yannis. Occasionally between their chapters there is this foreboding interlude that describes among other things a decomposing rabbit. I could have done without that! Nisha is missing. She is Petra's maid and caregiver of her child, while Yannis is the tenant in the apartment above who loves Nisha, asked her marry him the day she went missing. The novel is about Petra learning about Nisha while searching for her, realizing she never knew this woman despite her being so enmeshed in Petra's live for ten years. Had an eBook from NetGalley since April, but listened to the audio book from the local library.

Book 29 is Vanishing Edge by Claire Kells.

3.75 stars, audio

A mystery where one isn’t quite sure the person dead was killed or just an accident while out in the Sequoia National Park near Precipice Lake. Special Agent Felicity Harland with the Investigative Services Bureau, a park FBI type agency, is called out to find out what happened. Harland teams up with park ranger, and ex-Navy Seal, Huxley while they investigate, assuming it is a murder. It's well paced and easily set up for being a first in a series. Was drawn in due to the background being in nature, the camping, trees and woods, but it is a police procedure, investigative story. Enjoyable enough overall. Got the book from NetGalley.

Book 30 is Holdout by Jeffrey Kluger.

3 stars, audio

My fault, didn't read the synopsis closely enough. I thought the book was more focused on space, well there is a bit of that, as Walli Beckworth didn't leave the International Space Station after a near fatal collision. The crew left the ISS but Beckworth stayed as a protest, to bring attention to the fires and burning of the Amazon forest. So it's a mix of a little space stuff, with activism, politics and human rights crisis as well. Was looking for a good SF book, but this is not it. Listened to the audio which was narrated by the author, was okay but extremely slow. I had to bump up the listening rate.

Book 31 is A Wild Idea: The True Story of Douglas Tompkins—The Greatest Conservationist by Jonathan Franklin

3 stars, audio book

Forgot to post this book last week, I blame it on the holiday, Thanksgiving. Anyway, the book is a biography about Douglas Tompkins who started a couple of successful companies (North Face, Esprit) and then quit that to be a conservationist. His personality was domineering, and highly intelligent. Seems arrogant as well. His methods may have succeeded, although perhaps because of his death. The people and government in the Patagonia region fought his national park ideas. Listened to the audiobook.

Book 32 is The Nature of Oaks: The Rich Ecology of Our Most Essential Native Trees by Douglas W. Tallamy.

4 stars, audio book

This short book was highly informative about Oak trees, although did miss a little about their diseases. It covers the Oaks life and all the critters and creatures that live from the tree, such as birds, squirrels and all the bugs too. (got squeamish with some of those). An academic book in style, but also contains humor and is highly readable for anyone.

Book 33 is That Summer by Jennifer Weiner.

2 stars, audio

Thought this was an easy beach read, but I was fooled. Hadn't looked at the reviews or summary too closely. Instead this is a #MeToo book, which was fine, but the way the story was written was a bit confusing. The timeline isn't straight forward and sporadic dates given, if that had been consistent would have helped! Then the subterfuge that didn't make much sense. Anyway, not a good one for me.

Book 34 is Appleseed by Matt Bell.

4 stars, audio

This is quite the tale, expansive and allegorical. Told in three timelines, three main viewpoints, that span centuries. This is a bit like fantasy and science fiction mixed with fables and ancient myths, perhaps some magic thrown in. The book has almost a feel of a trilogy contained within this one book. On the longer side, but not like three-books length.

Book 35 is Scientist: E. O. Wilson: A Life in Nature by Richard Rhodes.

4 stars, audio

Decent biography about a highly accomplished scientist. His main work was with ants, making many discoveries. But Wilson didn't stop there, and got into biology of all types of species and controversially into human too with his textbook on sociobiology. Edward O. Wilson has written over 30 books, many popular, I own one and still unread. May have to change that and read a book or two of his.

Top of this peak with book 36 The Sunlight Pilgrims by Jenni Fagan.

3 stars, print

It's the near future, although in the book that makes it 2020. A cold freeze is happening all over the world. Dylan recently lost his family of mother and grandmother and the only home he knew a tiny art filmhouse in London. He goes north to Scotland to find this tiny trailer his mother bought. The main character turns out to be this teen girl Stella, who transitioned from a boy last year. It's a small town, all her previous friends beat her up one day, except one, who actually kissed her not long ago. Yet he seems conflicted. Stella's mother and a couple other characters fill up the book, and the cold. It's hard to believe they are surviving at these extreme cold temperatures. The writing is lovely, but there are gaps. And I really didn't like the ending.

Continuing on: book 37 is Sea State: A Memoir by Tabitha Lasley.

2.5 stars, audio

It does say memoir but the book blub talked about men who work in the North Sea on oil rigs. I expected more about the work, their labors. Instead we have a book about the author and her relationships, how she made the book, the interviews and such. She had a previous book but her flat was broken into, laptop stolen and no back-up. Starting over she ditched that boyfriend and moved to Scotland. (hmm...two books in a row). She ends up with a new boyfriend, although he's married and one of the first lads she interviews. There are bits of literary references thrown in to add flavor, I guess. Book didn't do it for me.


This may be it for me and this year. Not sure I'll get in another one.