for a dream's sake

It's been a bit of time since I wrote one of these and these days reading is what gives me the biggest comfort out of all my hobbies. If any of you use Storygrah or Goodreads and would like to add me, let me know. I feel like half of these books came from the library and half came from ones I own. So here I am again telling you all of my recent books I've been enjoying:

'Dying: A Memoir' By Cory Taylor
This book I picked up because it reminder me of my mother and her condition and conversations we've been having in recent months. It was good overall but at times I felt like I lost connection. I made some notes from the book as I read it in the late summer after my nephew Alex passed away.

'My sisters keeper' By Jodi Picoult
I've always been a big fan of this author and this book was no exception. I had a hard time putting it down and the ending completely surprised me. I own several of her books and plan on reading more as time goes on.

'Jo's Boys' By Louisa May Alcott
While reading this book was the period in my life that I lost my father so to be honest I remember opening pages and reading the words but it was difficult to keep concertation and track of what was happening. In the future someday I plan on rereading the three books in order - Little women, Little men & Jos boys so I can make better sense of the characters in the later two books.

'Learning to live with OCD and anxiety: Separating myths and facts' By Katie Mercer
I think I read this book in a few days - it was pretty short and I skimmed over some of it. After reading it the parts of OCD don't seem to match with how I feel and do things but I could relate to some of the anxiety parts.

'GriefShare Survival guide: Navigating the holidays after loss' By The church initiative
While this book was given to me with good intentions I had a difficult time getting into it because of the religious background. I'm sure these books are very useful for those who have those beliefs but for myself I just couldn't get into it. I think I may rehome it to a free little library.

'And every morning the way home gets longer and longer' By Fredrik Backman
This one is about a father and a grandfather who is communicating with his son and grandson. Sometimes it goes into the man's head and he's talking to his wife who has passed on. It's a somewhat deep and sad story, short but meaningful.

'A celebration of animation: The 100 greatest cartoon characters in television history' By Martin Gitlin & Joseph Wos
In some ways I liked this book and in other ways it felt too long. The title says 100 but there are clearly more than 100 characters they touch base on and talk about. Some of the characters I enjoyed learning more about and others I never heard of. I ended up giving this book to my boyfriend because he ejnoys watching cartoons more than I do.

'It's okay that you're not okay: Meeting grief and loss in a culture that doesn't understand' By Megan Devine
I enjoyed this grief book more since it felt like it got straight to the point. The author lost her husband to a drowning accident suddenly. She write about the raw and heartbreaking experience of it and the aftermath and how society really can be clueless to those going through loss. At times the book was so sad it made me cry I had to put it down but it did help me overall.

'Cairn Terriers: Everything about purchase, care, nutrition, grooming, behavior and training' By Patricia Lehman
Because of taking in Fynn - my father's dear dog - was the reason I got this book. It was a good read, short and informative. I've never owned a dog that was a full bread, only mutts - so it was interesting to learn about this breed I knew little about. The pictures throughout were adorable.

'Sunrise on the reaping' Susan Collins
Of course I recently wrote about this book - Just a week or two ago. It was a good book but I don't think I liked it as much as I liked the other hunger game books I've read. It was bittersweet to learn more about the lore of the world and characters tied in together. I'm curious is there will be more HG books coming out - if there are I hope they cover other districts. I feel like we've spent enough time in 12, it would be neat to learn about the others.

'Klondikes, chipped ham & skyscraper cones: The story of Isaly' By Brian Butko
One of my dad's favorite ice creams were klondikes. While at my friend Jenny's home I noticed this book and they let me borrow it. It was the first book of 2026 I finished. While it was a short read it was informative with lots of old adds, prices and pictures. The history of Isaly was bittersweet but I feel like a-lot of companies start off well and then go down some difficult times.

'Unfamiliar: Volume 2' By Haley Newsome
I found the first volume of this book while at my local library last year. It was a good book and I found of there was a second volume I just had to check it out. I'm glad I did. It's about some misfit characters and their little adventures and lives. I love the art. It's just a simple graphic novel to enjoy. It'll be nice to read the third one if the author is able to write up one.

'More days at the Morisaki bookshop' By Satoshi Yagisawa
This is another book I found the first one at my local library last year. I got it in an event where they wrapped up the books and you just had to pick one by the description. It's a simple, short and slice of life sort of tale about an introvert young woman who sort of finds herself while being at her uncle's bookshop in Japan. I liked the writing style, the characters and the plot. This is the second one and it carries on with the girl, her job, relationships and life. It is a bit darker than the first and deals with some emotional stuff but is still a heartwarming story to read.