August & September Book Report

Quilt Retreat, September 2026

My last book report was for July. The summer ended in a whirlwind of activities and I am now catching up on things, like posting to this blog. Since the beginning of August I have finished 15 books.

A quote from August's reading:

"Because wellness is simple, this book is simple. It focuses on the six fundamental wellness behaviors that yield the maximum benefits with the least work. 1) Don't be a schmuck. Avoid self-destructive risks. 2) Talk to people. Cultivate family, friends, and other social relations. 3) Expand your mind. Stay mentally sharp. 4) Eat your ice cream. Consume healthy food and drink. 5) Move it! Exercise well and regularly. 6) Sleep like a baby. Get the rest you need.” ― Ezekiel J. Emanuel MD, Eat Your Ice Cream

A quote from September's reading:

“It is the opposite of America: not a colonizer’s canvas cut into political states but ancient kingdoms brought together into one nation. And so the passage from Tuscany into Emilia-Romagna was not like that from South into North Carolina” -- Andrew Sean Greer, Villa Coco

Here are the books I finished in August & September 2026: 

1. Eat Your Ice Cream: Six Rules for a Long and Healthy Life by Ezekiel J. Emanuel (5-stars)
2. Money in the Morgue by Ngaio Marsh (4-stars)
3. A Dilly of a Death by Susan Albert Whittig (4-stars)
4. Unexpected Night by Elizabeth Daly (3-stars)
5. The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor (audiobook, 3-stars)
6. Murder at the Spirit Lounge by Jess Kidd (4-stars)
7. Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh (audiobook, 5-stars)
8. Deadly Nightshade by Elizabeth Daly (3-stars)
9. 500 Ideas for Small Spaces by Kimberly Selden (4-stars)
10. Alice B Toklas is Missing by Robert Archambeau (3-stars)
11. The Power by Naomi Alderman (3-stars)
12. Cat Got Your Tongs by Victoria Hamilton (4-stars)
13. Masher of Ceremonies by Victoria Hamilton (4-stars)
14. Crushed Velvet by Diane Vallere (3-stars)
15. Villa Coco by Andrew Sean Greer (4-stars)

I finished 20 Books of Summer -- including a book from my Classics Club list (I still need to write about it).