Book Review: Outer Order, Inner Calm: Declutter & Organize to Make More Room for Happiness by Gretchen Rubin

Outer Order, Inner Calm: Declutter & Organize to Make More Room for Happiness by Gretchen Rubin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a wonderful book by one of my favorite authors, talking about one of my favorite topics - decluttering and organizing.  Lots of great ideas and suggestions, all presented in a very short snippets.  It's an easy book to read a little at a time and get inspired, like I did.  And Gretchen Rubin is right (at least for me) -- outer order DOES lead to inner calm.

I would highly recommend this book for anyone who is looking to bring some order to their life.

Read more of my reviews at https://thegoodreader13.blogspot.com/. 

View all my reviews

Book Review: Last Twilight in Paris by Pam Jenoff

Last Twilight in Paris by Pam Jenoff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3 1/2 stars, upgraded to 4 stars.  This novel is told from two points of view as well as dual timelines -- Helaine is a young Jewish woman living in Paris and Louise is a young British woman living in London.  The time frame is 1943-44 during World War II and ten years later.  Helaine was captured and housed at the Parisian department store, Levitan, that was turned into a prison-of-war work camp for Jewish women living in Paris from 'noteworthy' families.  Louise volunteered for the Red Cross during the war, delivering care packages throughout France and Germany.  Both experienced extreme struggles and hardships from the war that extended much further than we realize.

The book was very well researched by the author and provided glimpses into the reality in Western Europe at that time.  However, I felt that the story line was contrived and that there were too many coincidences.  The pacing was rather slow, and the characters a little too saccharine and sentimental.  However, after reading many of the Goodreads reviews, I'm looking forward to reading another book by this author.  

Read more of my reviews at https://thegoodreader13.blogspot.com/. 

View all my reviews

Book Review: The Academy by Elin Hilderbrand

The Academy by Elin Hilderbrand
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Tiffin Academy is a boarding school in rural Massachusetts, and the novel follows one year in the students' and faculty members' lives.

With all the teenage drama, hook-ups, break-ups, slang, and cultural references, I felt that this book is targeting the YA audience rather than Elin Hilderbrand's typical readers.  There are quite a few characters to keep track of, and the majority of them (faculty included!) are making bad decisions.  Unfortunately, there are too many characters and not enough plot and character development for me.

Read more of my reviews at https://thegoodreader13.blogspot.com/. 

View all my reviews

Book Review: Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The basis for this book is a fable, written by Antonius Diogenes in the 2nd century.  It is woven within stories of five different individuals from various points in time and place.  Anna and her sister Maria live in Constantinople in the 14th century.  Omeir is a young boy born with a cleft palate, living with his farming family also in Constantinople.  Zeno lives in Idaho in the 20th century, but also spent time in a POW camp during the Korean War.  Seymour is a young boy on the autism spectrum and lives with his single mother, also in Idaho.  Finally, Konstance is a 12-year old living with her mother and father aboard the Argus starship heading for a distant planet.  

Wow - what a wild ride I went on while reading this book!!  The book jumps back and forth between each of the five main characters, with a portion of the Diogenes fable interspersed at the beginning of each section.  

I really struggled with the first 40% of the book, trying to figure out how the characters all fit together and what was happening.  It finally started to make sense and then I literally flew through the remainder of the book.  I typically don't like non-linear books with diverse storylines, but this one worked.  I would like to read it again with the knowledge I now have about the structure of the book.  

I thoroughly enjoyed discussing it with my book club and came away with a much greater appreciation and knowledge of this book.  

Read more of my reviews at https://thegoodreader13.blogspot.com/. 

View all my reviews

Book Review: Warning Signs by Tracy Sierra

Warning Signs by Tracy Sierra
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Zach and Bonnie (ages 12 and 9) have been trained by their mother on snow/skiing and outdoor safety techniques since they were very young.  Zach's father has arranged a father/son extreme sport skiing weekend with his big investors in hopes of salvaging his ailing business.  The adults in the group are extreme risk takers - ignoring avalanche warnings, overriding their guide's cautions, ignoring threatening weather, and drinking and taking drugs.  Zach is put into multiple situations where his knowledge and experience help him make the right decisions, but not before his life is put into danger.  

This is the second book I've read by Tracy Sierra.  I thoroughly enjoyed her first book, Nightwatching, and this book is just as page-turning!  I was having problems slogging through a 600+ page book for my book club and wanted a fast-paced book to serve as a palate cleanser -- this was exactly what I needed.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance reader copy of this book.  It will be published on February 10, 2026.  Place your order now at your local bookseller, or hurry and put your hold on this book at your local library -- you won't regret it!

Read more of my reviews at https://thegoodreader13.blogspot.com/. 

View all my reviews

Book Review: The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A fast-paced suspense novel set in and around the Boston Public Library. Four strangers are in the library researching and writing when a scream is heard. The usually silent reading room buzzes with conversation about the scream, and these four quickly form a friendship. The story-within-a-story in epistolary format gives an additional, unique perspective. This is quite a page-turner and I finished the book in about 36-hours, anxious to find out who-dunit! It had everything I look for in a book - mystery, books, libraries, writers, readers, red herrings. Many thanks for NetGalley for the ARC! Highly recommended!

January 2026 Update: I re-read this book for a buddy read book club, and I liked it just as much the second time around! Of course I didn't remember the actual culprit, so the ending was a surprise to me once again. The story-within-a-story works well to add suspense and to keep the reader guessing.

Read more of my reviews at https://thegoodreader13.blogspot.com/.

View all my reviews

My Year in Books - 2025!

Goodreads – My Year in Books - 2025 

According to Goodreads, I read a total of 107 books in 2025.  My goal was cautiously 52 books (one per week).  Here are the details --  

107 books read / 33,676 pages read

Shortest book – The High Line – 32 pages

Longest book – The Poet by Michael Connelly – 597 pages

Average book length – 323 pages

Most shelved – Lessons in chemistry – 3,327,395 people shelved it

Least shelved – Lessons from a one-room schoolteacher – 1 person shelved it (me!!)

My average book rating – 4.2

My first review of the year – What I ate in one year by Stanley Tucci

My last review of the year – The curious charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick

---

MY 2025 BOOKS