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Secretariat

From Carlsbad, California USA
Age 72
Joined Sunday, October 27, 2002
Recent Book Activity
Statistics
4 weeks all time
books registered 0 6,470
released in the wild 0 6,067
controlled releases 0 125
releases caught 0 669
controlled releases caught 0 93
books found 0 224
tell-a-friend referrals 0 80
new member referrals 0 66
forum posts 0 12,186
Extended Profile
I take a commuter train to work every day, which allows me extra reading time. When not working as a legal assistant I spend my time with friends, at art galleries, roaming beautiful San Diego, at the theater, at movies, traveling, and reading (not necessarily in that order). I'm so obsessed by reading that I have more than 500 unread books available at all times (just in case the Big One hits California and I have to while away days, weeks, months waiting for power, water, etc. to be restored).

Because I'm a big fan of wild releasing and buy many books strictly for that purpose (frequently as a result of a release challenge), my bookshelf does not necessarily reflect my personal reading tastes. A better indicator is my TBR books and those listed below as recommendations.

"The good writers touch life often.
The mediocre ones run a quick hand over her.
The bad ones rape her and leave her for the flies."
Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury


I've hosted release challenges since 2003. The Release Challenges hosted in the last couple of years are listed below:

2018 Oh, the Places We Can Go Release Challenge
2018 You're Such an Animal Release Challenge
2019 Oh, the Places We Can Go Release Challenge


Year-round on-going challenge (on-going since 2003), but hosted by me since 2011:
2020 Never Judge a Book By Its Cover Release Challenge, 3rd Quarter

Currently reading:

  • She Said, Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story
  • No Name
  • Rules of Civility


Reading Recommendations [Rated 8 or more]:

2018
Wolf Hollow by Wolk
Squirm by Hiassen
Nine Coaches Waiting by Stewart
The Woman Who Smashed Codes by Fagone
Fear: Trump in the White House by Woodward
Matriarch: Queen Mary and the House of Windsor by Edwards
The Bookshop of Yesterdays by Meyerson
Mrs. Pollifax and the Whirling Dervish by Gilman
Ready Player One by Cline
Mrs. Pollifax and the Golden Triangle by Gilman
Clock Dance by Tyler
Mrs. Pollifax and the Hong Kong Buddha by Gilman
Mrs. Pollifax on the China Station by Gilman
Reading With Patrick: A Teacher, a Student, and a Life-Changing Friendship by Kuo
A Perfect Horse: the Daring U. S. Mission to Rescue the Priceless Stallions Kidnapped by the Nazis by Letts
Mrs. Pollifax on Safari by Gilman
Band of Brothers, E Company, 506 Regiment, 101 Airborne, From Normandy to Hitler's Eagle Nest by Ambrose
A Palm For Mrs. Pollifax by Gilman
The Foundling by Heyer
The Magician's Assistant by Patchett
The Elusive Mrs. Pollifax by Gilman
The Fallen by Baldacci
Mrs. Roosevelt's Confidante by MacNeal
Band of Brothers by Ambrose
A Beautiful Blue Death by Finch
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, Defender of the Realm by Manchester and Reed
A Higher Loyalty by Comey
The Affliction by Gutcheon
The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax by Gilman
The Woman in the Water by Finch
The Secret Piano: From Mao's Labor Camps . . . by Zhu
To Die But Once by Winspear
The Wild Robot Escapes by Brown
The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax by Gilman
The Baker's Secret by Kiernan
The Sisters of St. Croix by Costeloe
Secrets of the Book by Fry
The Girl With No Name by Costeloe
Home of the Brave by Applegate
Killers of the Flower Moon, The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by Grann
The Grave Is a Fine and Private Place by Bradley
The Lost Hero by Riordan
Hidden Figures, the American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Shetterly
Good Night, Mr. Tom by Magorian
Dead Mountain, the Untold Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident by Eichar


2017
American Fire: Love, Arson, and a Vanishing Land by Hesse
The Caine Mutiny by Wouk
Wonder by Palacio
End Game by Baldacci
After the Storm by Castillo
The Dead Will Tell by Castillo
Last Hope Island by Olson
The Freedom Line, the Brave Men and Women Who . . . by Eisner
The War I Finally Won by
The Little Princess by Burnett
Lavender Road by Carey
The Jersey Brothers by Freeman
His Majesty's Hope by MacNeal
A Million Shades of Gray by Kadohata
The Tour by Grainger
The True Story of Hansel and Gretel by Murphy
Ready Player One by Cline
The Last King of Texas by Riordan
Weedflower by Kadohata
The Victors: Eisenhower and his Boys, the Men of WW II by Ambrose
Spitfire Down! by S. Block
The Night Circus by Morgenstern (10)
The Secret Garden by Burnett
A Gentlemen in Moscow by Towles
Widower's Two-Step by Riordan
My Family and Other Animals by Durrell
The Girl Who Kicked a Hornet's Nest by Larsson
The Girl Who Played With Fire by Larsson
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Larsson
Her Last Breath, by Castillo
Rescue at Los Banos, the Most Daring Prison Camp Raid of WW II by Henderson
Franklin and Winston by Meacham
Counting by 7s by Sloan
Lalechka by Keidar
Gilded Life, Fatal Voyage by Brewster
The Fix by Baldacci
The Song of the Lion by Hillerman
The Boys of Pointe du Hoc
Hiroshima Maidens by Barker
The Quilter's Apprentice by Chiaverini
A Rule Against Murder by Penny
Walk to Beautiful by Wayne
In this Grave Hour by Winspear
The Cruelest Month by Penny
Still Missing by Gutcheon
A Mother's Reckoning by Klebold
A Fatal Grace by Penny
Still Life by Penny
How It All Began by Lively
Radiant Angel by DeMille
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Shaffer and Burrows
Irena's Children by Mazzeo
Maisie Dobbs by Winspear
The Snows of Kilimanjaro by Hemingway
The Boy on the Wooden Box by Leyson
The Hired Man by Forna
Five Fortunes by Gutcheon


2016
Norwegian by Night by Miller
The Poisonwood Bible by Kingsolver
The Whole Town's Talking by Flagg
The President's Club, Inside the World's Most Exclusive Fraternity by Gibbs and Duffy
No Man's Land by Baldacci
Incredible Victory: The Battle of Midway by Lord
Ancestor Stones by Forna
Death at Breakfast by Gutcheon
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Irving
The Hammer of Thor by Riordan
Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd by Bradley
The Thing Around Your Neck by Adichie
North and South by Gaskell
This Must Be the Place by O'Farrell
The Resistance by North
Animal Farm by Orwell
Vinegar Girl by Tyler
Curse of the Narrows by MacDonald
Britt-Marie Was Here by Backman
The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly by Hwang
Dead Wake by Larson
The Nightingale by Hannah
The Last Mile by Baldacci
The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Patrick
My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Backman
The Ninja Librarian by Douglass
The Wild Robot by Brown
The Little Paris Bookshop by George
Offshore by Fitzgerald
Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Janzen
The Secrets of Bletchley Park by McKay
Everybody Brave Is Forgiven by Cleave.
The Hidden Oracle by Riordan
The Death of Bees by O'Donnell
The Last Anniversary by Moriarity
Gone Missing by Castillo
The Story Hour by Umrigar
My Name is Lucy Barton by Strout
The Dream by Bernstein
Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Book Store by Sloan
Breaking Silence by Castillo
Mrs. Queen Takes the Train by Kuhn
Journey to Munich by Winspear
Pray for Silence by Castillo
The Sparrow by Russell
Welcome to the World, Baby Girl by Flagg
Sworn to Silence by Costello
Under the Wide and Starry Sky by Horan
Cousin Kate by Heyer
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Franklin
Crenshaw by Applegate
The Sound and the Furry by Quinn
The Liberator, One WW II Soldier's Odyssey From Sicily to Dachau by Kershaw
The Hollow Hills by Stewart
When Books Went to War by Manning
Skink No Surrender by Hiaasen
The Crystal Cave by Stewart
Surviving the Sword by MacArthur
The Poisoner's Handbook by Blum
The Postmistress by Blake
Voices From Chernobyl, the Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster by Alexievich
Little Brother by C. Doctorow
A Spy at the Heart of the Third Reich by Delattre


The Best of 2015
Devil's Cub by Heyer
The Sword of Summer by Riordan
The Rape of Nanking by Chang
The Garden of the Evening Mists by Tan
A Man Called Ove by Backman (10)
The Wright Brothers by McCullough
Ready Player One by Cline
Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy by Abbott
Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Dicks (10)
The Dog Stars by Heller
We Two, Victoria and Albert by Gill
Skinwalkers by T. Hillerman
The Help by Stockett
Go Tell It On the Mountain by Baldwin
The Memory Man by Baldacci
The Mapping of Love and Death by Winspear
A Spool of Blue Thread by Tyler

The Best of 2014
A Tale for the Time Being by Ozeki
The Scarlet Letter by Hawthorne
The Blood of Olympus by Riordan
Everything I Never Told You by Ng
The Pearl That Broke Its Shell by Hashimi
The Silkworm by Galbraith
Caleb's Story by McLachlan
Skylark by McLachlan
Sarah, Plain and Tall by McLachlan
The One and Only Ivan by Applegate (10)
The Merchant of Venice by Shakespeare
The Boys in the Boat by Brown
After Dark by Murakami
Burial Rites by Kent
Isaac's Storm by Larson
Why Be Happy When You Can Be Normal by Winterston
Pardonable Lies by Winspear
Montana 1948 by Watson
A Thread of Grace by Russell
Sula by Morrison (10)
Purple Hibiscus by Adichie
The Long Awakening by O'Connor
The Rosie Project by Simsion
Paper Towns by Green


The Best of 2013
Lost in Place, Growing Up Absurd in Suburbia by Salzman
Eleanor and Park by Rowell
Welcome to the World, Baby Girl by Flagg
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Joyce
No Ordinary Time by Goodwin
Quartet in Autumn by Pym
This Republic of Suffering by Gilpin
The Killer Angels by Shaara
True Notebooks, A Writer's Year at Juvenile Hall by Salzman
The Professor and the Madman by Winchester
Mornings on Horseback by McCullough
The Gift of Rain by Eng
The Sisters Brothers by DeWitt
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Bronte
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Kelly
In the Shadow of the Banyan by Ratner


The Best of 2012
I Shall Not Hate by Abuelaish
The Garden of the Evening Mists by Eng
Agent Zigzag, A True Story of Espionage, Love, and Betrayal by McIntyre
Elizabeth the Queen, The Life of a Modern Monarch by Smith
The Moonstone by Collins
Escape From Camp 14, One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom by Harden
Persuasion by Austen
Battle Cry of Freedom, the Civil War Era by McPherson (10)
A Train in Winter by Moorehead
Still Alice by Genova
Behind the Beautiful Forevers, Life, Death and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Boo
Peony by Buck
The Red House by Haddon
We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families by Gourevitch
The Fault in Our Stars by Green
The Underneath by Appelt
Iron and Silk by Salzman
The Magician's Elephant by DiCamillo
Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Demick
The Johnstown Flood by McCullough
Imperial Life in the Emerald City by Chandrasekaran
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by Kamkwamba
Train Go Sorry by Cohen
Great Expectations by Dickens


The Best of 2011
Blue Nights by Didion
The Night Circus by Morgenstern
A Christmas Carol by Dickens
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by O'Brien
The Memory of Love by Forna
Monkey Bridge by Cao
Please Look After Mom by Shin
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Edwards
Life As We Knew It by Pfeffer
The Worst Hard Time by Egan
Incendiary by Cleve
The Little Princes by Grennan
Kensutke's Kingdom by Morpurgo
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Hillenbrand
Lying Awake by Salzman
The Color Purple by Walker
Columbine by Cullen
Speak by Anderson
Manhunt, the 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer by Swanson
The Giver by Lowry
Room by Donoghue


The Best of 2010
The Unfinished Presidency by Brinkley
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Skloot
Secret Daughter by Gowda
The Photograph by Lively
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Wilde
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Speare
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Bender
Rebecca by DuMaurier
Mockingjay by Collins
Breakfast at Tiffany's by Capote
Little Bee by Cleaves
The Blue Notebook by Levine
Q's Legacy by Hanff
Strength in What Remains by Kidder
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Larsson
Anne of Avonlea by Montgomery
Olive Kitteridge by Strout
An Unfinished Life by Spragg
Peter and the Sword of Mercy by Barry and Pearson
Catching Fire by Collins
The Hunger Games by Collins
The Septembers of Shiraz by Sofer
Monkey Hunting by Garcia
In the Fall by Lent
A Suitable Boy by Seth
The Girl Who Played With Fire by Larsson
Someone Knows My Name (a/k/a The Book of Negroes) by Hill

The Best of 2009
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Kingsolver and Hopp
The Hiding Place by Ten Boom
The Graveyard Book by Gaiman
The Housekeeper and the Professor by Ogawa
Wuthering Heights by E. Bronte
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Larson
Yellow Raft in Blue Water by Dorris
Cutting for Stone by Verghese
The Seal Wife by Harrison
The Blood of Flowers by Amirrezvani
John Adams by McCullough (10)
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Alexie (10)
Coal Black Horse by Olmstead
Lark & Termite by Phillips (10)
Sweetsmoke by Fuller
Ancestor Stones by Forna
Cry, the Beloved Country by Paton (10)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Twain (10)
A Tale of Two Cities by Dickens (10)
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Murakami



The Best of 2008
Death Be Not Proud by Gunther
Survival in Auschwitz by Levi
The Riders by Winton
In the Heart of the Sea by Philbrick
Anne Frank Remembered by Gies
The Fish Can Sing by Laxness
Northanger Abbey by Austen
No Country for Old Men by McCarthy
Autography of a Geisha by Masado
Voyage of the Beagle by Darwin
Loving Frank by Horan
Small Island by Levy
People of the Book by Brooks
The Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck
Enrique's Journey by Nazario
The Cellist of Sarajevo by Galloway
Pretty Birds by Simon
The Piano Tuner by Mason
Ender's Game by Card
Lolita by Nabakov
The Road by McCarthy
The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Hamid
Half of a Yellow Sun by Adichie



The Best of 2007
Mister Pip by Jones
Team of Rivals by Goodwin
Blood Done Sign My Name by Tyson
Dead Man Walking by Sister Helen Prejean
Things We Couldn't Say by Eman and Schaap
Q&A by Swarup
Kafka on the Shore by Murakami
The Lemon Tree by Tolan
The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by DiCamillo
O Pioneers! by Cather
Saturday by McEwan

The Best of 2006
Beyond the Narrow Gate by Chang
They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky by Deng, et al.
In My Hands, Memoir of a Holocaust Rescuer by Opdyke
The Pianist by Szpilman
Digging to America by Tyler
Under the Banner of Heaven by Krakauer
I Am the Messenger by Zusak
First They Killed My Father by Ung
Night, by Wiesel
Fahrenheit 451 by Bradbury
Slaughter House-Five by Vonnegut
The Tiger Rising by DiCamillo
The Book Thief by Zakus
The Old Man and the Sea by Hemingway
The Year of Magical Thinking by Didion
The Children's Blizzard by Laskin



The Best of 2005
And the Band Played On by Shilts
Lindbergh by Berg
Sky Burial, An Epic Love Story of Tibet by Xiran
The Bee Season by Goldberg
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by Rowling
Because of Winn-Dixie by DiCamillo
The Shadow of the Wind by Zafon
Star of the Sea by O'Connor
The Ha-Ha by King
So Many Books, So Little Time by Nelson
Brick Lane by Ali
The Tale of Despereaux by DiCamillo
The Things They Carried by O'Brien
Schindler's List by Keneally
Naked in Bagdad by Garrels
Good Grief by Winston
Gift From the Sea by Lindbergh



I've Hosted/Am Hosting the Following Bookrings:


One Thousand White Women
Divining Women
Still Missing
The Things They Carried
The New Girls
A Redbird Christmas
The Blood of Flowers
The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop
My Name Is Mary Sutter

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