My Top Books from 2024

What I consider my reading list is far from the Best Seller lists on the Internet or at a local bookstore. Many of the books I read are circumstantial; they are often books that I just happen across. While I do read the best-seller lists, their suggestions don’t always strike me. For one thing, there are so many choices I have to pick from. Looking through Book Pages, there are 30 or 40 books reviewed. I can at least eliminate some of them by their genre. I really don’t want to read any romance books or historical fiction, which is not to say that I never do. They just aren’t my favorites.

    I belong to a book club, and I enjoy most of the books we read. Suggestions from friends and booksellers have often turned into treasures worth keeping. Visiting the library or bookstores always has given me books that I enjoy. There is nothing like walking down a set of shelves and seeing what books might present themselves to me. I also enjoy reading older books, ones that have been out of print for awhile. Libraries and bookstores excel at these books!

    I keep a list of the books I’ve read and rate each book from 1 to 5. “Five” is a book I’d rave about and suggest to others while “one” is a book I don’t want to mention to anyone. These ratings are only my own thoughts, they are based on how the story grabbed me, how well it was written and of course, whether the subject matter excited me or not. It is a numerical version of how I felt after reading the last page.

    My reading preferences this year has been more fiction than non-fiction with a sprinkling of poetry tossed in. There were a couple books I started but put down before finishing, these weren’t included. There are too many books to read and not enough time. I don't want to spend time reading books I don’t enjoy. If they don’t grab me quickly, I pick up something else. I also tend to read a couple books at a time. Should one get tiring, I just go to another and slip right back into that story. The other one can wait awhile, just as this one has.

    These books have been rated at 5 in my records. They are listed as read, not by preference.

1) A Long Way Gone – Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, by ishmeal beah. (NF-2007) This tells ishmael’s story, how he fled his village when he was 12 and how at 13 he was taken to become a government soldier in Sierra Leone. It is touching, scary and violent. It shows how some people are forced to live, and how they deal with it.

2) Learning to See, by Elise Hooper. (F-2019) This book is a fictionalized version of Dorothea Lange’s life. Having recently read another book about Dorothea Lange, I was surprised at how closely the book followed the details of her life.

3) The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, by James McBride. (F-2023) Set in Pottstown, a mystery is presented to the community when a skeleton is unearthed. The story tells about how neighbors in a poor section of the town come together, never minding each other’s religion or race, to help each other during difficult times. We find out about the people in this Pennsylvania town and their thoughts and prejudices against each other.

4) All the Broken Places, by John Boyne. (F-2022) This book is about a woman; as a young girl, as a young woman and as a nonagenarian. (a woman in her 90’s) As a child she lived near a Nazi concentration camp that her father was in charge of. The book tells about her feelings of guilt and how it affects the decisions she makes as she goes through her life. It is very well written and has a few surprises in it.

5) One Dog, Two dog, Three Dog, Four…, by Paul Estronza La Violette. (NF-2007) On one of the trips that Ann Marie and I took this year, we passed what we thought was a bookstore. We drove up a long driveway and met Paul, the author of this book. He and his wife lived there and graciously invited us in and told us about their dogs, their hobbies and their history. The book is a collection of stories about the Weimaraners they had when they lived on the Gulf Coast. The stories just made me feel good!

6) The Globemakers, by Peter Bellerby. (NF-2023) This is a beautifully illustrated book about the craft of making world globes. Wanting to get a nice world globe for his father’s birthday, Peter attempted to make one himself. He discovered it was quite difficult. He eventually created a company to continue this art form. The globes this company makes are true art, no doubt about it.

7) The Burnt District, by Gary Link. (F-2003) This book, written by a local author, tells a tale about what the city of Pittsburgh was going through after the Great Fire. (April 10, 1845) As I read the book, I could easily imagine where he was writing about because of my familiarity of the city. The story follows the city’s history rather closely and includes some well know citizens in it.

8) James, by Percival Everett. (F-2024) This was a great book, especially if you've read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. It can't help but make you think! I tore through the book, not wanting to put it down! I can't say I enjoyed (?) reading this book but I'm very glad that I did. The story is the same as Mark Twain's story about Huck with a few variations. The biggest one is that the story is told from Jim's (Jame's) viewpoint. A very good story and I'm sure it will become an important novel in the ages to come!

9) The Women, by Kristin Hannah. (F-2024) The book tells the story of "Frankie" who as a twenty-year-old, volunteers to go over to Viet-Nam as a nurse. It tells about the awful things she sees and experiences along with the friends and loves she encounters during her tours of duty. It also tells about all the things she loses while she is there!
    Coming back home she encounters another country than the one she left a couple years before. She isn't respected, her family doesn't know how to relate with her and she can't get any help for the traumas she experienced while helping the men and boys, she helped save. She is constantly told that "No women served in Viet-Nam". Luckily, she has friends that help her through the tough times.
    I read this book with damp eyes. There was so much in it that made me stop and reflect, mostly as to how lucky I was to have "just" missed having to go and experience this war myself. A lot made me think about my brother who experienced it firsthand, along with a good friend of mine who did likewise. Our country did a great disservice to the men and women who served in this war, and it can't help but make me think, is this still going on today?

10) Slow Train to Yesterday, by Archie Robertson. (NF-1945) Archie tells us about short line railroads and their appeal, both standard and small gage lines. He has ridden many of them and tells about the equipment, the scenery and the people who run them and ride them. He also discusses railfans (of which I am one!) and railroad clubs.

11) The Forest of Lost Souls, by Dean Koontz. (F-2024) Basically a good versus evil book. A woman who lives away from society, who is “one with the woods” ends up battling to protect a sacred section of land that an “evil” mastermind wants to develop for financial gain.

12) The Tender Bar: A Memoir, by J.R. Moehringer. (NF-2005) I thought this was a wonderful book. It is the story of a boy growing up, searching for a father figure. The bar his uncle owns provides a variety of father figures that help him through his life into adulthood. The question is, was he searching for his father or himself? I had seen the movie before the book, both are good!

13) The Life Impossible, by Matt Haig. (F-2024) An elderly math teacher inherits a small cottage on a Mediterranean island. It begins with an e-mail from a former student, telling her about her problems. Her reply is, basically the book. The book tells about her search to find out more information about the woman who bequeathed her house to her and the importance of protecting our planet and all the creatures on it. (Matt Haig’s book, The Midnight Library is also a great read!)

    I hope you see something that strikes your fancy and gets you to visit your local library or bookstore. Remember how important it is to continue supporting these valuable resources! If you are a reader, you know how important they are!

Happy New Year, I hope it is filled with lots of good books! Keep on reading!

Phil B

Sitting Out the Rain

 

The day was befitting of a day in fall, dismal with a light rain. It was a day that made you want to sit and do nothing, depressing. It was a good day to leave the house and lift our spirits!

    Ann Marie, Jim and I headed down to the Northside, to a favorite spot to hang out and visit, City Books. There was no doubt that it was autumn, leaves were floating in the puddles, people were wearing jackets and carrying umbrellas and those with shorts on were regretting their choices.

    Inside the store, it was warm and inviting. Boxes of Holiday shipments sat waiting for delivery. The furniture had been rearranged leaving a nice conversation pit surrounding a small round table. There weren’t many walk-ins so we took advantage of this and sat down with Arlan, the store’s owner and started to solve the world’s problems. Books were discussed along with interesting stories and recent travels. It was comfortable sitting in a small circle, watching people rushing by outside in the rain. All it needed was a small fireplace with some crackling logs in it.  

    This made me remember sitting in a small bookstore in Oakland. Sitting off of South Craig Street, Townsend Books was situated in a small house. There were two floors; the owners lived upstairs and the books downstairs. Bookshelves were everywhere.

    One special memory stands out; it was a snowy day, back when a forecast for snow meant more than just a light flurry. The weather was very cold and when I came inside my glasses fogged over. Knocking the snow off my boots the smell of a burning fire hit my senses. After saying good afternoon to the man behind the counter and loosening up my coat and scarf I started browsing the shelves, working my way back to the room that had the fireplace in it. I can remember to this day how I thought that this was exactly what a bookstore should be. A congenial owner behind the counter, lots of exciting books to look through, a couple chairs to sit in while contemplating my purchases and a nice warm fire to sit beside. It didn’t have any animals in it, a dog or a cat would have made it perfect but I’m not going to hold that against them.

    In those days there were three bookstores situated near each other in the Oakland area. I made sure to visit all three whenever I was there. Only a couple blocks separated Townsend Books from Bryn Mawr-Vassar Books and the Caliban Book Shop. Townsend Books lasted 21 years before it shut down in 2012. Bryn Mawr shut down earlier in 2005 after 33 years in business. In this section of Oakland, only Caliban Books survives to this day.

    History is no stranger to City Books. It was first opened as City Books and Antiques in 1984 on Carson Street on Pittsburgh's South Side. One of the interesting things about this store was the spiral staircase in the middle of the shop and the coffee bar on the 2nd floor. It had a cat or two that would sleep in the window, basking in the sunshine. It remained in the South Side until the final day of 2014. Arlan then bought the store and relocated it to the Northside. It is the oldest Independant Bookstore in Pittsburgh!

(The pictures above were taken on Dec.31, 2014)

    Ann Marie and I visited the original store on December 31st, 2014, its last day open. I still have the book I bought that day, The Best Loved Poems of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, written by her daughter Caroline Kennedy. Slipped inside the book is a newspaper article about the store closing. Little did we know that it would soon be re-opened and we would become regular customers and friends with the owner.

    Our world takes us on some strange journeys and we never really know how anything will turn out or where we will end up. The best thing I can suggest is go along with the flow and enjoy the ride!

   After an hour or so, we said our good-byes and let Arlan get back to her work. Stepping out into the wet world outside the comfortable confines of the store, I thought about how good it is to have a local bookstore near-by. I can both feed my literary addiction and spend some time with a friend, or should I say friends? (We can’t forget “the books”!)

My Kind of Bookstore!

 We had hoped to see some of the leaves starting to change in their yearly show but for the most part, we were a bit early. There were lots of leaves on the ground but the colors hadn’t hit their peak yet. While driving we passed through areas with the sweet smell of burning leaves, taking us back to our childhoods. We ended up across the border in West Virginia and so we stopped at a bookstore located not far from Cheat Lake.

    We have tried to visit this store on other occasions but every time we had come down to this area it wasn’t open either because it was too early in the morning or the store wasn’t open on the day we arrived. Today our timing was on and the store was open!

    From the outside, Antiques and Old Books doesn’t look special but walking inside the door, I was taken to another time and place. It was as if we had been invited into the owner’s home. Books filled the shelves and cabinets in all directions. Desks and tables had groupings of books along with antiques nicely placed around them. It wasn’t overcrowded; everything seemed to be right in its proper place. It was as if we had stepped back in time.

    An old brass bell ringer sat beside the cash register with a world globe sitting near-by. Books were lined up in front of the counter and a glass display case held a variety of smaller items above them. Behind the desk was a set of shelves with nicely bound books, giving the shop a look of distinction. But it was all the other bookshelves that grabbed my attention. Where does a person start in a strange bookshop? Where else but with the owner, of course...

    Jo Ann was standing behind the desk right inside the door and after greeting us was happy to show us around and familiarize us with her shelves. She has a lot of West Virginia related books and authors including many signed volumes. Antiques sat amongst the books as if they had been put more for display than to be sold. Pottery, wooden bowls, linens and typewriters sat with small collections of books beside them. Open shelves and cabinets with glass doors held books and there was even a doll house beings used to store some children’s books. While many of the books were old, they were in good condition!

    I went over to the books written by West Virginian authors. It was a tall set of shelves with a chair sitting across from it. Stretching up a bit I squinted to see what was on the top shelf. Running my eyes across the titles I would occasionally pull one down and open it up. I’d look at the paper it was printed on, is it thick paper that has started to disintegrate with time or is it a better quality of paper? Of course the subject matter of the book is important. If I’m not interested in the subject, the book gets replaced. I check the front to see when it was published and to see if by chance the author had signed their name in it. I find looking through a book store much like a game, a search to see what I can find.

    There is a good feeling I get when I’m turning thin nicely printed pages. These books are fragile, they need cared for and a quick glance through the pages show if any drinks have been spilled on them or if any notes have been scribbled in the margins. I want to know that the previous owners cared for their books. I look for any illustrations or maps that might be in them. 

    If it is non-fiction, I check the index for things I’m interested in and if so, check to see what the author has written about it. Are there any water spots, mold or a cracked spine and how does it smell? Old books should have a wonderful smell. These are all part of my process of evaluating a book. Another very important thing I check is of course, the price!

    I worked my way though the shelves and then went over to where the train books were stored. While I browsed I marveled at the various antiques and pictures setting beside the books. I ended up in a small corner cabinet where I found some books dealing with Pennsylvania and its history.

    While Ann Marie was going through sets of linens in the drawer of a near-by dresser I was delving into Pennsylvania’s past. I left the store with a nice copy of The History of Pennsylvania from the 1940’s written for students and also picked up a book titled Living with Books published in 1965, which I think was intended for librarians. Ann Marie purchased a copy of Onward and Upward in the Garden by Katharine S. White, printed in 1979, written by the wife of the author who wrote Charlotte’s Web.

    Visiting a bookshop for the first time, it is nearly impossible to see everything. We will definitely return here again to see what other treasures we might have missed. This bookstore will be added to our list of “favorites”!

    On our trip we visited some iron furnace remains; some waterfalls, another bookstore and we ate dinner in Morgantown before heading back. It was a beautiful day for a memorable drive. We got lots of fresh air and saw three sunrises and two sunsets thanks to the topography of the roads and the mountains in the distance. I’ve said it before, the area around western Pennsylvania has so many nice things in it to explore and discover!

    Another thing that will draw us back to this bookstore again is to visit with Elliott. He was sleeping behind the counter but we could hear him snoring. I don’t know how old this Basset Hound is but he sure enjoyed having his throat rubbed. His long ears felt like silk. He reminded me of my own Basset Hound, Romeo, a cherished pet from my youth. Books and dogs, a couple of the things I’d learned to love at an early age!

Old Books and Iron Furnaces

My grandson Nico and his mother, Chelsey had both recently celebrated their birthdays. This weekend we were going to party! Toss Mothers Day on top and it had all the makings of a good time.  Ann Marie and I were heading out towards Philly for the get-together.

    We left a few days early, taking our time as we crossed the state from Pittsburgh. There were a few spots on our “to-visit” list and the extra day or so gave us time to wind our way across the state, going a little bit north, a bit south, a lot westward and even a bit towards the east. (Yeah, we did backtrack a few times…) This was a great time to explore some of the roads we haven’t traveled before!

    On the first day, we drove through the home of that famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil. We ate our breakfast at Punxy Phil’s and then cruised the streets of the town.

    We found a bookstore, B's Books Etc., but sadly, we were a few hours early, it hadn’t opened yet. This is one of the problems with my preferred early starts.

    A bit further north, we found the remains of the Karthaus Furnace. Built in 1817, the company folded after about a year. There were too many problems with transportation and customers. A couple decades later, the furnace was adapted to use coke but sadly this venture failed also. It collapsed and was later rebuilt in the late 1960’s. Within three years, it collapsed again. There is a large crack going from ground to the top on one of the sides still standing, it has definitely seen better days.

    Next on our list was Curtin Village, where the Eagle Furnace stands. The furnace was built in 1847, finally closing down in 1921. The village has a number of original buildings still standing and was added to The National Register of Historic Places in 1971. Looking around the grounds gave us an idea of what it was like when the furnace was in blast!

    The day was rapidly slipping away on us so we headed towards State College where we saw the remains of the Centre Furnace. This stack sits right outside of town. It was built in 1792!

    We then went into the town to visit Webster’s Bookstore and Café. Going down a set of steps from the sidewalk, we entered another world. Books were everywhere with lots of customers sitting and studying, eating vegetarian meals and reading. They have a great selection of books with good prices; most of their selections are used. Ann Marie came out with an arm load. 

    From there we headed (on the back roads of course) to Lewistown where we would be spending the night. Before we checked in, we stopped at The Crooked Shelf, an independent bookstore located about a block away from the town square. We BS’d with the owner for a while in this neat and orderly shop. We both picked up a couple more books before we left. 

    In the morning, while AMB slept, I went out to look for trains. Lewistown has a nice historic Amtrak Station and there is an active rail yard beside it, complete with a turn table! I was lucky enough to see a couple freight trains zip past while I was there.

    Breakfast in another diner and then we headed towards Boiling Springs. Passing through the town of Carlisle, we stopped to visit the Whistle Stop Bookshop but even though we were there after the posted opening time, it was closed. I was looking forward to looking through their railroad books; I’m only guessing they might have some. Hopefully we will get a chance the next time we go through town.

    The Boiling Springs Furnace or the Carlisle Iron Works was built around 1860-1862. They produced iron for about 100 years. An interesting fact about the furnace is that it is located on the Appalachian Trail. Hikers will notice the markers in the picture. Backpackers pass right by the furnace as they enter the town of Boiling Springs. So, not only did we visit another historic site, we “hiked” a small bit of the AT!

    Next on our list was a furnace near the town of York. The Codorus Furnace is rather unique since it was built with a round stack rather than the conventional square, pyramidal shaped furnaces.

    Built in 1765, it helped supply the Continental Army with cannons and cannon balls. It went out of blast in 1850 and has been restored three times since then. The brick structure was placed on top of the stack after it was built to help protect the workers who fueled the fire from the top. It also provided heated air to increase production.

    From here, our interests went back to books. In the town of Enola, across the street from the Norfolk and Southern rail yard was Cupboard Maker Books. The building is hard to miss; the sides are painted like books, stacked up side by side. It is a huge store filled mostly with used books. I headed in one direction and Ann Marie in another. I went to the Pennsylvania collection and then over into Photography and then where-ever my eyes led me. As we wandered through the store, various cats came by to let us pet them. I’ve seen cats in bookstores but so far, only one shop that had a dog, there should be more of those!

    From the bookstore, we headed towards the far end of the state. The party day was almost here!

    On Saturday morning, before the party, we stopped at the North Wales Library to find a geocache hidden inside it. It is a really nice library with a large collection of books for sale. While I looked for the various clues to locate the cache, AMB scanned the sale shelves. Then SHE found the cache. We both took home a book or two from here also!

    Sunday afternoon and we were both ready to get back to our homes. We didn’t make many stops other than shortly after we left. We made our regular stop at Dietrich’s Meats for some Pennsylvania Dutch style meats, and then stopped at the Lime Kiln that is located a few miles down the road.

    I know hardly anything about this other than it is a Lime Kiln, not an iron furnace. We happened across it as we were heading home on another trip. It was all overgrown and covered with trees and ivy. Someone had recently cleaned it up. Since it was Sunday, no one was at the near-by business, so we couldn’t ask any questions.

    From there, we stuck to our route. We passed with-in a couple miles of a few more furnaces but we no longer were in the mood to sightsee, we just wanted to get home.

    Playing with and holding my grandsons was the highlight of the trip, along with the party with family and friends. We left with heavy hearts but are anxiously looking forward to their trip to Pittsburgh in the near future, when we will be able to see them and their parents again. We squeezed a lot into this trip, we didn’t see all the furnaces on our list and some of the bookshops were closed, but they will just be put onto the list for the next trip!

     I have to say, my bed felt REALLY good when I got home!

Independent Bookstore Day

     It was the last day of April. What made this day special was that it is Independent Bookstore Day. Ann Marie, Kelle, Frank and I were going to visit a couple of our favorite stores and hopefully we would be coming back with lots to read.

    Getting on the road early we had some time before the stores opened, so we did a geocache in a small local park. I had attempted this cache several times before, Frank found it almost immediately. It helps to have someone with a good set of eyes to help you search! Since it was found so quickly, we still had time before our bookstore adventures started. We took a short hike in Riverview Park to see the ruins of the zoo.

    When Riverview Park was first built, it had a small zoo with an elk paddock, a bear enclosure along with some other small cages. A merry-go-round was also set in the park. 

    All that remains today are the brick foundations of some of the cages, set along a large stone wall. They are situated on what used to be a road, now it is only a simple dirt trail going past what used to entertain the people of Pittsburgh.

    Our first bookstore was City Books located in the city’s Northside. Arlan, the owner was already busy handling customers when we arrived. (Masks were required at all the shops we visited.) I can’t remember seeing this many people in her shop in the past 2 years. It was great seeing all these people out and buying books. This is my favorite book store in the city! (As if you didn’t know!)

    We shot the breeze for a bit and browsed for awhile and then continued on, allowing other customers access to Arlan. We all left with books under our arms. The day was definitely off to a good start.

    Next on our itinerary was a quick stop at White Whale Books and Coffee in Bloomfield. After leaving, we went across the street to Paddy Cake Bakery for some Chocolate Chip Cookies to fuel us on as we headed into Oakland.

    People in the college section of town were happy to be outside, window shopping and eating at tables on the sidewalk. Students were laughing and talking with each other, families strolled hand in hand enjoying the warm temperatures and the fresh smelling air. These things all added to the beauty of the day. In the middle of the block we saw shelves of books sitting outside our next stop, the Caliban Book Shop.

    One of the things I’ve always enjoyed about this shop is the tight aisles. Books are stacked on the floor in places and the shelves are set in odd angles. Though I never have, I always have a sense of possibly getting lost in this store, and where would a better place to be lost than a book shop?

    I gravitated towards the Books on Books shelves. Squeezing past a couple patrons to get there, I scanned the racks looking for “that” book, the one that needed to come home with me. 

    There is a certain joy to wandering through a bookstore. There are always books I haven’t seen before and I’m always on the look-out for that “special” book, the one just sitting on its shelf, waiting for me to walk past. Sometimes it sits there for years until I happen to stroll by and it can grab my eye. Jumping out at me, it lets me know it needs to come home with me. I know this makes books sound alive…but you have to remember, they are! They have taken me along on adventures, taught me things which helped me through life, they have made me laugh, cry and love. I admit that I have a passion for new books, never certain as to where they will lead me. I am constantly looking for my next affair with these multi-paged lovers!

    We all made some purchases and then returned to the car. Frank and Kelle headed home and Ann Marie and I settled in and started leafing through our new books, happy and content.

    *Remember; always support your local bookstores. These stores are very important city resources. The people who run them will help you find the books that you didn’t realize that you needed!

 Be sure to thank them when you leave! 

A Bookstore Find

 While digging around in a crowded, disorganized bookshop in the eastern part of the state, I came across what I think is a great volume. Though many people would consider it unimportant and not worthy of purchasing, it fit right into my own qualifications for a good buy.

    The book was an old instruction manual on how to run and maintain a steam engine. Printed in 1926, it was the 20^th edition of a 1916 printing. The book is called “Enginemen’s Manual”, written and published by W.P. James.

    The book is a bit over 350 pages with black hardback covers. The corners are rounded perhaps to avoid damage from heavy use. The book is in fairly good condition for a book a little under100 years old. The binding is a bit worn and there are a few wrinkles in some of the pages but for a book this old it is in surprisingly good condition. The edges of the pages are red and none are missing.

    Inside there are pictures of different locomotives and a fold out diagram of a steam engine along with the various parts listed. It describes how to start an engine, how to properly maintain the heat and pressure along with all the things which need to be properly lubricated. It isn’t easy to keep a steam engine running properly!

    From the headlight and how it needs lubricated, (yes, lubricated) to how to set the various valves located on the drive train, it covers it all. After each chapter there are questions and answers to the different exams the firemen and engineers would be tested on. With lots of pictures, diagrams and charts, it is a fun book to page through.

What I consider the best part of the whole package is, inside the manual was a pass for the Reading Lines RR for the year 1935, belonging to Ardnor Barndt, an Engineman of “The New York Division”. (passed away in 1945 at age 58) He no doubt was the man who owned and studied the book. A bit of the book’s provenance, this makes it even more valuable to me. Not bad for $15!