Readers are always looking for just one more book. And with Christmas coming and we are all looking for a gift for the person who has everything. Nothing beats a good book.
I have reached out to a group of people who love to read. They share some of the best books that they have read this past year.
Gary O’Malley- Retired Educator
THE BASEBALL 100 by Joe Posnanski-This New York Time's bestseller is the winner of the Casey Award for best baseball book of the year.
THE BIG FELLA by Jane Leavy- Leavy’s book of Babe Ruth. A home run!
SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND HATE by John Fugelsang. Thoughtful, intelligent, and provocative book written by this comedian and broadcaster who is the son of a former Catholic nun and Franciscan brother. Imagine that!
WILD TALES by Graham Nash. Insights into the life of this talented rock star of the Hollies and CSN +Y. 5.
THE BEATLES A HARD DAY'S WRITE by Steve Turner. Stories behind every song. Quick read, interesting reference material.
My future reading list includes
THEY WENT LEFT, written by Monica Hesse of the Washington Post and former student of mine at University High School in Normal, IL. Enjoyed American Fire, also written by this talented author.
GRANT by Ron Chernow.
Jean Trumpy- Retired Librarian
The Correspondent, by Virginia Evan’s- A woman writes letters to friends, authors of books she’s read and family. Thru these letters we learn the story of her life, good parts and regrets.
My Friends by Fredrik Backman- This is the story of the friendship between 4 teenagers. It is told to a young girl 25 years later on a train ride across the country, with additional adventures.
Black Wolf, by Louise Penny- This is described as a frightening suspense story. It’s hard to explain. But it’s a book that I didn’t want to end. I’ve talked to several others who felt the same way.
Solito, by Javier Zamora- In this memoir by a young poet, a 9 year old boy travels “alone”from El Salvador to the United States to join his parents in Los Angeles. As an adult, I would not have wanted to have the “adventures” that he did.
Kathy Callison- Retired Libarian
Crippen by John Boyne- A reimagining of the amazing escape attempt of one of England’s notorious killers. A great read!!
The Mountains Sing by Nguyen Phan Que Mai
A novel that follows several generations of a Vietnamese family during the 20th century conflicts that divided the country, this is a masterpiece in weaving characters and timelines together. Heartbreaking and yet so affirming of familial bonds and forgiveness.
You Are Fatally Invited by Ande Pliego
This book is a page turner set in a mansion on a remote island. Disguised as a writers’ retreat, this elaborate game exposes attendees to an unseen murderer as they fight to solve a real-life mystery. Whodunit?
All That Glitters: A Story of Friendship, Fraud, and Fine Art by Orlando Whitfield
I really enjoyed this insider view of the world of art, following a self-proclaimed "failed art dealer" and his partner/friend now convicted of art trade fraud. The memoir exposes ridiculous art trade antics and inflated values, but ultimately, the noise and nonsense doesn’t diminish Whitfield's awe in true works of art.
The Ink of Time (Dawn of the North Book 1) by Nadine M. Roth
I purchased this book at the Galesburg Public Library’s local author fair last year and was pleasantly surprised. The first of three in a series, the novel follows a young man as he rebuilds his life after a traumatic accident. A concoction of small town Alaska, a tattoo parlor, and a dose of magical realism make for a very unique story. Note: Nadine will be at the next author fair on December 13th!
Cat Nap by Brian Lies
I was immediately obsessed with this book when it arrived at my desk at the library. A children’s picture book, it is a visual stunner with the author/illustrator reproducing 2D and 3D art from various genres and eras. (Yes, he actually made a stained glass window and an illuminated manuscript.) It would make a wonderful gift for a child and be equally appreciated by their adult.
Books on My TBR List:
The Phoenix Pencil Company by Allison King
Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld
Correction: Parole, Prison, and the Possibility of Change by Ben Austen is an eye-opening look at how the parole system actually works, told through the real stories of people who’ve spent decades behind bars. It digs into big questions about justice, second chances, and whether the system truly allows people to change. It was selected as the Galesburg Public Library's 2025 Community Read book, and it’s thoughtful, compelling, and the kind of read that sticks with you.
Bill Bryson, One Summer: a friend recommended this book and I found it to be one of the best books I read this year. As the title would suggest it deals with events in their backgrounds in 1927. Included, of course our Charles, Lindberg and Babe Ruth. Also the trials of Sacco and Vanetti, Mississippi flooding, and other others. It’s one of those books that you look at the title and think about it and you may be not intrigued at first, but I think if you give it a shot, you would really enjoy it, I did. And no matter how much we think we know about the topics in history of 1927. I think you’ll learn a lot, I know I did.
Demon Copperhead: you’ve probably heard a lot about this one, it’s a retelling of David Copperfield, set in modern or recent Appalachia. It’s very good, maybe because it’s written now it’s definitely much more readable than David Copperfield. Barbara Kingsolver can tell a good story and write an outstanding book.
Code Breaker by Walter Isaacson: Isaacson tells the story of Nobel Prize Winner, Jennifer Doudna & gene editing. He does a fantastic job not only of telling her story, but makes the science understanding (sort of 😎🤷) I think both Isaacson & Doudna are are the peak of their professions.
Radium Girls: I may have recommended this before? Regardless, some of you may have not finished your homework. If you happen to see the movie of this, ignore it. The book is much better. The story focuses on factories in New Jersey and Illinois that abuse female employees in heartbreaking fashion after World War I. The companies continued to deny and deflect, finally began losing lawsuits in the mid-1930s. And they say we don’t need OSHA. One of the factories was close by in Ottawa, Illinois, and is the location of a super fund cleanup site, which is still ongoing. This might be the most fascinating and heartbreaking story that you may not have heard of.
Kristin Hannah, The Women: another book that has been on the top of many best of lists in the last two years. No argument on that assessment here. It’s a broad story, dealing with the experience of Frankie as a nurse in Vietnam during the war and then coming home. Upon coming home she experienced not only the same confusing reception many service men and women did, but added to that the misperception, “there were no women in Vietnam.”
Early in the story she was told, “women can be heroes,” turns out that was right.
Evan Massey- Retired Teacher/Coach
No one would describe me as an avid reader, but I wanted share a list of books that are all basketball history related.
Becoming Caitlin Clark by Howard Megdal- If you are looking for an in-depth look at the relationship between the history of Iowa HS basketball starting in the 1920’s and Caitlin Clark, this is it.
The Read Hoosiers by Jack McCallum- This is powerful story of Crispus Attucks HS and Oscar Robertson in Indianapolis. It is a story that shares the intersection of race, inner city, and basketball.
Hard Labor by Sam Smith- We look at the millions paid to pro athletes today. Sam Smith looks back at the struggles of NBA players in the 1960’s to unionize, gain health care, and pensions. He looks at the price some big-time stars paid for being activists.
The Amazing Appleknockers by Teri Campbell and Anne Riman- Maybe not the first choice of Galesburg basketball fans. An inside look at a small town and their basketball team.
The DuSable Panthers: The Greatest, Blackest, Saddist Team From the Meanest Street in Chicago by Ira Berkow- DuSable HS was an all-black team that made it to the Illinois State Championship game. The book looks at the lives of the players, the struggles for equality on and off the court.
Sweet Charlie, Dike, Cazzie, and Bobby Joe by Taylor Bell- This is a great coffee table book. Taylor Bell looks at schools, coaches, and players starting back in the 1940’s thru 1990’s. Each chapter is only 3-4 pages long and each chapter is about a single school, coach, or team.
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