Thursday Thirteen #446

Movies are my passion. I just checked out my Letterboxd stats for 2025, which gave me a deep dive into my film watching.

1. I saw 176 movies this past year, an average of 3.4/week.

2. My watch vs. rewatch ratio: 55% of the movies were new to me, 45% were rewatches.

3. The average running time of the movies I watched this year: 1 hour/48 minutes. 

4. My biggest movie-watching day is Sunday. I think that's because my movie group meets on Monday and I'm catching up. 

5. My biggest week of movie going was April 21-27. 13 films in all. No surprise there, since that was the week of the TCM Classic Film Festival.'

6. There was one week in May and another in October when I watched no movies at all. The reason is simple: BASEBALL!

7. The oldest movie I saw this year was from 1930. The Divorcee, starring Norma Shearer. It was considered scandalous at the time and it's still rather frank about extramarital sex. I love pre-code movies (movies made before the Production Code of 1934).

8. Four were released in 2025 – Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, One Battle After Another and Sorry, Baby. You may not have heard of Sorry, Baby. I liked this little indie film about a woman recovering from trauma. The writer-director-star, Eva Victor, was the darling of Sundance and has been nominated for a Golden Globe. (PS Nothing bad happens to the kitten. You need to know this.)

9. The 50th of the 174 movies I saw this year was Misery. It was a special 35th anniversary screening at the TCM Classic Film Festival with Kathy Bates and Rob Reiner. I attended two Festival events with him and he seemed like a sweet, joyous man. His murder makes me so sad.

10. The 100th was Mrs. Miniver (1942). It was a movie group selection. I liked it well enough (I gave it 3.5 stars) but others in the group loved it. Mostly, though, our conversation about the movie was memorable because of what Betty revealed. She asked why Mrs. Miniver didn't just grab the Nazi's gun. I said, "She's a suburban housewife. How would she know how to use a gun?" Betty shrugged and said she had a FOID (Firearms Owner's ID) card and usually carried her gun. I do not find this news comforting. If you knew Betty, you wouldn't, either.

11. The 150th was The Locket (1946). Oh, this psychological thriller is trippy! It has a flashback ... within a flashback ... within a flashback. It made me question everything I was watching. What if one of these narrators is that famous unreliable narrator? 

12. This year I gave 16 movies a full five stars. Of those 16, my fellow Letterboxers nearly agreed on two, giving both Psycho (1960) and It's a Wonderful Life (1946) 4.5 stars. The online community disagrees with me most vehemently on Jailhouse Rock (1957). Letterboxers give it an average of 3.2 stars. They are simply wrong. Elvis getting everybody on the whole cell block to dance to the "Jailhouse Rock" is one of the most iconic musical numbers of all time – right up there with Julie Andrews twirling around on that mountaintop and Gene Kelly stomping in puddles. I will die on this hill.

13. The star I spent the most time with this year was Robert Redford. I watched 8 movies that he starred in and one (Ordinary People) that he directed. Many of his movies were suddenly available to stream after he died in September. 

 

Please join us for THURSDAY THIRTEEN. Click here to play along, and to see other interesting compilations of 13 things.

 

WWW.WEDNESDAY

WWW. WEDNESDAY asks three questions to prompt you to speak bookishly. To participate, and to see how other book lovers responded, click here. 

PS I no longer participate in WWW.WEDNESDAY via that link because her blog won't accept Blogger comments. I mention this only to save you the frustration I experienced trying to link up

1. What are you currently reading? G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century by Beverly Gage. This book is a deep dive into the life and career of the first FBI director, a man who served under eight Presidents and was at the center of American law and culture for decades. I've encountered him often while reading about JFK and Nixon. Now I'm going to get to know him as the subject of this Pulitzer Prize winning biography (la-de-da).

 

This was a Christmas present from my nephew. He knows that I'm attracted to big biographies of men with big personalities (last year it was Richard Nixon and Leo Durocher) and he figured I would like this one. I appreciate the thought he put into my gift and I not only want to like it, I want to have made a significant dent in the book by the time we spend the weekend together at the Cubs Fan Convention (January 16-18). Wish me luck!

  

2. What did you recently finish reading? Just the Nicest Couple by Mary Kubica. Nina and Lily both teach at a high school in the Chicago suburbs. The women become friends, and socialize away from school with their husbands, Jake and Christian. Their worlds are completely upended when Nina's husband Jake suddenly goes missing, and Lily tells her husband Christian that she believes she was the last one to see him before he disappeared.

 

This is a psychological thriller told by two characters: Nina and Christian. Page by page, Nina goes from angry to panicked. At first she thinks Jake went off without a word to punish her after a fight, then she begins to worry something darker happened. As Christian narrates, we can see him go from protective to paranoid. At first he believes Lily is exaggerating her role in Jake's disappearance. After all, she's newly pregnant and very emotional. Then he starts to worry that running into Jake at the forest preserve that day put her in grave danger.

 

I love how Kubica uses the forest preserve. Here in Chicagoland, they bump right up against residential neighborhoods and are part of our lives. In this book, the local forest preserve goes from being a restful and friendly meeting place where folks cycle and walk their dogs to a dense, dark thicket that keeps its own secrets.

 

Which is not to say I loved this book. I liked it. I appreciated it. But Christian bugged the living shit out of me, and he narrated half the book. He wasn't an unreliable narrator, he was an annoying one. As curious as I was about what happened to Jake and why, I almost bailed on the book because Christian was such a ninny.

3. What will you read next?  Edgar and I are spending almost 900 pages together, so who knows what I'll be up for when we're done?

 

  

Sunday Stealing

When I Was Young

1. Tell us about a time when your family got a newfangled invention (your first air conditioner, color TV, VCR, microwave, computer, etc.). We were first on our block to have a color TV. My dad was sooooo proud of this, and became a tyrant about what we watched. There weren't many color shows yet, but if it was in color we watched it, no matter what it was about. (After all, he paid for the color so he wanted the color!) Bonanza became a sticking point between my parents. My mom felt it was too intense for me – I responded strongly to the action sequences – and then figured out I really only got upset when it was Little Joe or his pinto horse who were hurt. Though I don't remember this, she maintained he was my first real crush, even before Sir Paul.

2. Is there a particular song that sparks a childhood memory? I was obsessed with this song when I was 9. "I loved the flower girl ..." It seemed so romantic! (Hey, I was 9.)

3. What is something an older family member taught you to do? It was just after Easter at my Nice Grandparents' house. We were doing the dishes in the kitchen while the menfolk were watching TV in the living room. The sink was stopped up. I started to go get my Grandpa, but Grandma shook her head. She'd handle it. She was tiny and so ladylike, yet even in her Sunday best she could handle a plunger like a pro. I watched in amazement and think of her whenever I use a plunger or snake a drain.

4. Back in the day, what name brands would we have found in your family's kitchen? My mom was very loyal to Comet cleanser. I have a can in my bathroom now. I only use it occasionally, but it works well on calcium stains in the toilet.

5. As a child, did you collect anything (rocks, shells, stickers, etc.)? Somewhere around here I still have a box of Beatle trading cards.

 

A plot twist I didn't see coming

Helena was the store manager at the card shop during Caroline's brief but painful reign of terror. While Helena herself was almost always a pleasure to work with – my shifts went fast when she and I were alone in the store with customers – she also hired Caroline around Labor Day and began dismissing complaints by other employees back in October. Caroline was her favorite shift manager, the one she trusted most, and Helena refused to acknowledge any problems. Four of the girls I work with – and they are girls, all on the green side of 30 – filed a formal complaint with corporate on Tuesday, December 16. After a review which took about two weeks (Christmas fell during this period), Caroline was let go on December 31.

The karma train also flattened Helena. Thursday, January 8, was Helena's last day. She sent me a text telling me of her resignation, and I believe she resigned. But the timing tells me she resigned during corporate's investigation of Caroline. If she wasn't officially placed on probation during that period, it must have been crystal clear that corporate had no faith in her.

Yesterday, January 9, was the first time I worked in three weeks. The first day without either Helena or Caroline. It was weird. It all looks completely different – Christmas has been completely packed away and Valentine's Day is spreading across the store – and someone I'd never seen before was acting as store manager. Corporate has called upon a pair of managers from nearby shops to pinch hit until they can hire a replacement.   

My self-esteem has taken a mighty hit. I needed help at the register when a customer wanted to exchange a product, which is more complicated than a return, and I forgot how to do it. Logically, sanely, I realize that it's been months since I was called upon to do this and so it's understandable that I needed an assist. But now I'm wondering: does the new, temp manager think I'm an old, incompetent woman, as Caroline referred to me?

And while I appreciate that Helena completely mishandled the Caroline situation, I also feel bad for her. She began working at the shop years ago, as a college student, and accepted the promotion to store manager last fall because she had just turned 26 and needed to get her own health insurance. I know her heart is in teaching dance to children – which pays little but brings her joy – and I hope she can find a way to support herself doing that.

It's been hard for me to watch Helena and Caroline learn that actions have consequences, even as I understand that what has happened to them is just and fair.

And I'm tired of how much emotional space this $16/hour job is taking. I may still quit soon. At this stage in my life, I want to do something that makes me happy.

 

Photo by ダモ リ on Unsplash

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Volare (1960)

 

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) The word "volare" is Italian for "to fly." Say something else in Italian. "Cantare" means "sing." It's in the next line of the song. Duh. (Since I'm the one who does the questions, I can make a smartass response with complete impunity.)

2) This week, Bobby Rydell invites us to take off with him up in the clouds and promises we'll find a rainbow. Countless lyricists have included rainbows in their songs. Can you name another song that mentions rainbows? I have loved this song since I first saw Ski Party on the after school movie when I was a little girl. I have spent much of my adult life on public transportation. I can attest that the movie misled me and this never, ever happens on buses in real life.

 

 

 

3) His happy heart is singing. What is making you happy this morning? I just learned that my beloved Joe Maddon is returning to Chicago for next weekend's Cubs Convention. He was manager of the magic 2016 World Series team but has not appeared at anything Cubs related since management fired his ass declined to renew his contract. I get such a kick out of old Joe and am looking forward to seeing him as part of the convention. (Rizzo will be there, too! My heart is not only singing. It's spinning around like Julie Andrews on a mountaintop.)

 

4) Bobby Rydell, like Frankie Avalon and Fabian, was a 1950s teen idol who hailed from Philadelphia. Home to the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, Philly is Pennsylvania's most populous city. Have you ever been there? Many times. I was once in a long-distance relationship and came dangerously close to moving to Bala Cynwyd, a suburb less than half an hour outside Philly.

 

5) Bobby was such a perfect example of a clean-cut American boy that when Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey sat down to write the play Grease, they named their fictional high school Rydell High after him. Do you have a favorite song from Grease? Wella wella wella uh! Summer Lovin'.

 

6) In addition to singing, Bobby also acted. His most famous film role was opposite Ann-Margret in Bye, Bye, Birdie (1963). Have you seen it? Yes, but I don't think of it a an Ann-Margret/Bobby Rydell movie. I remember it for this Dick Van Dyke musical number. (We sang it for our fathers at the annual Girl Scout Daddy/Daughter Dinner.)

 

 

 

7) In 1960, when this record was popular, so were hand-loomed, 100% virgin wool sweaters from Italy. You could order one from the Sears catalog for $12.60 (approx. $135 in today's dollars). That sweater was labeled "dry clean only." Do you have any garments waiting to be picked up from the cleaners? Nope. Since I retired from advertising, I seldom wear those grown up/suitable for big presentations/dry clean only jackets. I really should donate them to Goodwill before they go too far out of style.

 
8) Also in 1960, Princess Margaret married photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones. They met when he was commissioned to take her official portrait. Who took the most recent photo of you? My niece took a freaking adorable photo of me with her baby on Christmas morning. I told her that from now on, she does all my portraits.

 

9) Random question: Is your oldest friend also your best friend? Not anymore. This makes me sad because we met in kindergarten and, for more than 40 years, we were best friends. But she has changed and while my heart goes out to her and I work to understand the financial, physical and emotional challenges she has faced since moving to Los Angeles in 2011, I can't honestly even refer to us as friends anymore. That implies an equal partnership she is simply incapable of. I legitimately cannot recall the last time we talked about anything but her: her anxieties, her money troubles, her (completely one-sided) "love affair" with her landlord ... It's depressing and exhausting. Every time she reaches out, I respond because I love her and honor our history. But I'd by lying if I didn't admit I emit a heavy sigh and wonder, "Now, what?" when I see a message from her.

 

 

I'm sorry he's upset, or maybe I'm not

I've long known Will's politics are different from mine. There were clues on his social media – like when he was effusive on LinkedIn over his former employer's publishing a children's book devoted to Amy Coney Barrett, or his X post about Governor Pritzker. I've never engaged him. It's his social media, these are his opinions, and this is where he should express them. 

Will is the founder/moderator of our movie group and members of the group have been very outspoken in their criticism of Trump. As long as it somehow ties to the film we're discussing, Will doesn't weigh in. I've always respected him for that. 

From cnn.com

He knows where I stand on things, as I'm very outspoken on Facebook and we are friends on one another's pages. When Trump changed the name of the Kennedy Center,* I posted: Dear Leader is at it again. Who thinks this is a good thing? How soon before he begins naming airports, schools and roads after himself? I bet the first act of the privatized postal service will be a Trump postage stamp. When will be the penny be reintroduced with his face on it?

 For some reason, Will decided to respond: Plenty to get upset about. This isn't it, in my opinion.

First of all, I wasn't crazy about the tone. I don't need Will's permission to "get upset." Especially not on my own Facebook page.

Secondly, you don't have to know me long to understand that there are three topics I have down: The Chicago Cubs, the Beatles, and the Kennedy family. 

Lastly, Will used to work for a scholastic publisher. He worked with historians. If he doesn't understand the propaganda implications of Trump naming shit after himself, he should.

My response, while civil, reflected the second and third points. I let the first, more personal one, go.

Ever since, I've heard from Will over and over and over again. More than ever before. Now he thinks my Facebook posts are brilliant. In our text chain, he ❤'s that I'll be joining him and Elaine at a Barbara Stanwyck screening later in the month. He made me aware of another classic film on the big screen and offered to go along with me. Just now he sent me a link to a revival of a play he knows I like.

I feel like telling him it's fine. We're fine. He doesn't have to work so hard to repair damage because no damage has been done.

Except he shouldn't have done it. Condescending to me like that on my own Facebook page is rude. Same with this blog. If you disagree with me, fine. That's what your blog is for. Do not come into my (cyber) living room just to be provocative.

 

*Technically, he allowed it to be renamed, though if you believe he wasn't behind it, well, bless your heart. 

Thursday Thirteen #445

My Top 13 Thirteens. Looking back on 2025, here are my Thursday Thirteens that got the most clicks and comments. 

 

1. #402: Donald Trump plays the Google Game 

2. #430: Looking back on summer

3. #431: My favorite Robert Redford movies

4. #415: Facts about Harvey Milk

5. #426: Perpetrators targeted for rough treatment behind bars

6. #395: Why my skin is so dry in winter

7. #429: The benefits of a cold shower

8. #413: My teeny bopper heartthrobs

9. #398: The charities I contributed the most to in 2024

10. #420: The products predicted to be most affected by The Trump Tariffs

11. #417: Facts about Peter Falk's Law

12. #419: How to get rid of everything from ants to thrips and voles

13. #427: The most popular food at the MLB's best-attended ballparks

How about you? Do you ever check your stats?

Please join us for THURSDAY THIRTEEN. Click here to play along, and to see other interesting compilations of 13 things.

 

 

WWW.WEDNESDAY

WWW. WEDNESDAY asks three questions to prompt you to speak bookishly. To participate, and to see how other book lovers responded, click here. 

PS I no longer participate in WWW.WEDNESDAY via that link because her blog won't accept Blogger comments. I mention this only to save you the frustration I experienced trying to link up

1. What are you currently reading? Just the Nicest Couple by Mary Kubica. We meet two couples: Nina and Jake, Lily and Christian. Nina and Lily are the friends here – teachers at the same high school – though Jake and Christian get along well enough. Both marriages are under stress right now. Nina is worried and distracted as her mother battles cancer; Lily is both thrilled and afraid to find herself pregnant again after miscarrying. 

 

Then Jake goes missing. He and Nina had a big fight and he stormed out. At first she thought he'd checked into a hotel and was enjoying room service, but then why isn't he answering her at first apologetic but increasingly panicked texts? Lily, already more than a little high strung as she deals with her high risk pregnancy, tells Christian she happened to see Jake somewhere he's not expected to be, doing something he's not expected to be doing. Lily's sure she's the last one to have seen him alive. Is she? 

 

 There's a pervasive sense of dread and paranoia in this book. I'm expecting lots of twists and turns.

  

2. What did you recently finish reading? The Family Holiday by Elizabeth Noble. Charlie is a widower looking at his 80th birthday. He wants his children and grandchildren around him on this auspicious occasion but his late wife, Daphne, was the one who handled all things domestic – including maintaining relationships with the kids. Still, he gives it a shot. He rents a home in the Cotswolds for 10 ten days, sends out invitations, and hopes for the best. 

 

This was a very sweet story, well told. Noble writes each chapter in a different character's voice and at first I found this off-putting, but now I get it. A family is collection of individuals, and this book tells this family's story from each of their points of view. It's a book for grown up book, filled with empathy and understanding.

 

I take it as a good sign that my first book of 2026 is a winner. 

3. What will you read next?  I don't know.

 

  

 

 

 

Sunday Stealing

Questions to Answer when You Need a Break 

1. What would you rather be doing right now? Donating that box of stuff. I want it out of here! Rehoming usable stuff is my resolution for 2026 and I'm eager to get started. But the local resale shop only takes donations Tuesday through Thursday, and so the box waits.

2. What is always on your grocery list? Coke

3. Have you ever used a fire extinguisher for its intended purpose? I've never used one for any purpose. But now I'm curious – except for putting out fires, why would you use a fire extinguisher? (This reminds me: I should check the little one in the kitchen cabinet. Fire extinguishers expire, don't they?)

4. How many times did you text yesterday? I'm doing this Saturday night, so I'm referring to my Friday texts:

Those five texts went to three different people: my nephew, my friend Mindy, and the owner of the nail salon (confirming my Monday pedi appt.).

5. Would you prefer a slow-paced, relaxing vacation or one filled with new sights and experiences? Depends on where I'm going, what the weather is, and what experiences are being offered. Right now, I'm following friends on Facebook – one took his family to Peru for the New Year, another is in London. He climbed around Machu Picchu and toured Incan temples. She is enjoying museums, pubs, and waking up on high thread count sheets. I'm enjoying living vicariously through them both.

 

 

Saturday 9

 Saturday 9: New Year's Day (2017)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

 
1) In the lyrics, Taylor Swift promises she'll not only be there for the party, but for the clean up afterward. As we say move on from the holiday season, could your home benefit from a thorough cleaning? My home could always benefit from a thorough cleaning. I'm an awful housekeeper.

 

2) This song describes a party where guests took Polaroid pictures. Have you ever owned a Polaroid camera? Do you have one now? My dad had a couple when I was a little girl. I don't believe I've ever owned one. In fact, if it wasn't for Taylor and the Lego set we sold at the store, I would have assumed Polaroid cameras were extinct.

 

3) Taylor sings that we should "hold on to memories." What special memory from 2025 memory will you hang onto? Meeting my little great niece, Violet. She's such a welcome addition to the family and has brought us such joy.

 

4) Taylor Swift grew up on a Christmas tree farm in Pennsylvania. Have you taken your tree, or other holiday decorations, down yet? If you didn't decorate at all, let us know that, too. My Christmas cards are down. I still have to take down the wreath on the front door and put my Santa kitty floor mat away. I'll do it before Monday, honest I will.

5) Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce announced their engagement but no wedding date has been shared. Do you anticipate attending any weddings in 2026? Nope.

6) Travis' team, the Kansas City Chiefs, is currently 6-10. Not exactly the record their fans hoped for. According to a 2024 Pew research study, 53% of Americans said football is their favorite sport. Have you watched much football this season? I don't care about football. But the Chicago Bears are doing better than expected and I'm happy for their fans.

 

7) In 2017, when "New Year's Day" was released, Wonder Woman was a hit at the box office. While Wonder Woman's superhero abilities vary depending on which TV show, movie or comic book you refer to, some of her powers remain consistent: a) immense strength, b) superhuman speed, c) the ability to almost instantly recover/heal from injury. Which would you like to possess – a, b, or c? I find C intriguing.

8) Have you made any New Year's resolutions for 2026? I have to get rid of the stuff I'm drowning in! So I've promised myself I'll donate goods every month. We'll see how I do.

 
9) What was the first thing to make you laugh in 2026? I stopped by the card shop on New Year's Day and one of the girls made me laugh with her love for all the cute pink and red plushies being promoted for Valentine's Day.

 

    

Umbrellas and Anthon Berger

This year for Christmas I got two umbrellas and two boxes of Anthon Berger chocolates. I was expecting the umbrella from my niece. We talked about how I'd begun carrying long, full-sized umbrellas because of my unfortunate proclivity for losing the folding ones. But I need a folding one for when I take public transportation and I had left my last one at the yoga studio. I also got a folding umbrella from my friend Kathleen. Add the one I bought myself on sale for Black Friday and I now have three. Let's see how long it takes me to lose all of them. 

Then there are the boozy chocolates. I'd never heard of Anthon Berger chocolate liqueurs and now I have two gift sets. They are kind of neat. Each foil-wrapped bottle is 2" in. high, made of dark chocolate, and filled with booze. I got one from Kathleen and another from my friend Mindy and her husband, Alan. I haven't tried any of them yet, but I'm looking forward to it.

It's funny. Mindy and Kathleen met once, more than a decade ago, at my mom's funeral. So I'm fascinated that they came up with the same gift for me, and something I previously didn't even know existed.

 

 

Oh, I don't know what I want!

I stopped by the card shop today. I'm not working, but I wanted to pick up next year's Christmas cards on sale and before they are packed away. I checked the New Year's Day schedule to make absolutely sure Caroline wasn't there. I didn't want to start 2026 with a dose of drama.

Well, I got some anyway. 

Kamilah and Zoey were working. Kamilah rang me up and was charming. Then I went into the back to see Zoey, who was taking her lunch. She was very happy to see me and did the sweetest thing ...

She got the other girls to join her in saving sale receipts for me. Our neighborhood business district has a holiday promotion every year: Collect $500 in receipts from participating stores and get a $50 coupon book. I am passionate about this program. Obsessed, if you will. There's a limit of three books/household and I wanted Christmas 2025 to be the first year when I earned all three. Zoey found my enthusiasm endearing and promised that, if a customer refused a receipt after it printed,* she would save it for me. She then went on to enlist two other salesclerks to join her and right before Christmas, she texted me a photo of her perfectly manicured fingers holding a thick stack of receipts. She was so proud, and I was touched. So when I saw her yesterday, I thanked her – for both the receipts and for her avid support of me during the mess with Caroline. When I got home, I discovered there were $306.71 in receipts! (She tallied them for me.)  There was also a handwritten note in which Zoey told me I am "one of the sweetest souls" she's ever met and she hopes she will be like me "when she grows up." How dear!

But then there was this: Zoey told me Caroline is no longer working at the store. Nothing has been formally announced, but our manager Helena has revised the published schedule through January 17 and Caroline's name no longer appears. Instead there are holes, shifts that have no supervisor on duty. I checked the scheduled and damn if Zoey isn't right. Next time I work – Friday, January 9 – I am no longer working with Caroline as had been originally scheduled.

I am conflicted about this. Zoey told me how awkward the last few weeks have been. Every sales associate was contacted by HR like I was on the 18th, and some of them were on the sales floor when their calls came. Helena was often there and aware when they had to go back to the office for privacy as they answered questions about how she's been running the store during Caroline's reign of terror. Gulp!

I didn't make any of this happen. I didn't even sign the 5-page complaint that HR was responding to. Also, only two bullets of the document pertained to me. But I am still sorry that any of it happened. 

I was going to quit at the end of this month. But now I don't know that I will. Maybe with Caroline gone, the vibe at the store will be restored and I'll enjoy the job again. For reasons too complex to go into here, I suspect the store will be closed by Corporate this summer anyway. I make an average of $375/month. It's an attractive notion to stick it out until after Memorial Day and earn more than $1,000. 

No matter what happens, I'll have that note from Zoey and her assurances that, when she told the other girls to save receipts for me, they said they'd do anything for The Gal.

I just wish there wasn't so much drama! 

 PS I didn't need the extra receipts to reach the $500 threshold. But I loved the gesture so much.

 

*This happens a lot. I don't know why a consumer would trust us with their sales receipt for a charge purchase. Even if I didn't want it, I'd take it home and shred it. 

Photo by Siora on Unsplash 

Thursday Thirteen #444

 

 My favorite books of 2025. I plowed through 41 books this year. These are the ones I liked best. I recommend them all, and have included links to Amazon, if you'd like to learn more.

1. Trial by Ambush: Injustice and the Truth about the Case of Barbara Graham by Marcia Clark. (2024) Non-fiction. Barbara Graham was one of the first – and still one of the few – women to be executed by the State of California. She may not have received justice. That's the problem with the death penalty: there's no mulligan. This book is continues to haunt me.

2. The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue. (2024) Fiction. Remember that magic time of your life, when you were in your 20s and out on your own for the first time and met the friends who would be with you forever? This book captures that time so well. There's sex and chaos and money trouble and heartache. And love. Lots of love.

3. JFK Jr.: An Intimate Oral Biography by RoseMarie Terenzio. (2024) Non fiction. Decades after his death, John's friends look back on his life and his continuing influence on their lives. What's it like to grow up with and hang out with The Sexiest Man Alive? There was an inherent imbalance of power in his  relationships that John learned to navigate with grace. He also died recklessly and caused his friends incalculable pain for no good reason. I took comfort reading how his survivors continue to deal with this. I was especially heartened by something a priest said to Ann Freeman, the mother who lost two of her daughters in that pointless plane crash: "God is big enough to handle our anger." I must remember that when I get mad because my friends – John and Henry – died and left me.

4. Competing with Idiots: Herman and Joe Mankiewicz, a Dual Portrait by Nick Davis. (2021) Biography. These two brothers made some of the greatest films of all time (Citizen Kane, All About Eve, and more) and won so many Oscars I lost count. But at heart this is a family story. The author is Herman's grandson/Joe's great-nephew. Genius, ambition and depression run deep in this clan, and on a less grand scale in many families.  

5. One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware. (2024) Thriller. One Perfect Couple is the name of a prospective new reality show. Five couples are chosen to appear in the pilot and are whisked away to Ever After Island, where they will compete for fame and prizes and the title of One Perfect Couple. Only a storm knocks out power to the island and leaves the contestants cut off from civilization. Part Lord of the Flies, part ... And Then There Were None. Compulsively readable.

6. So, Anyway ... A Memoir by John Cleese. (2014) My favorite Python tells his story and I was completely charmed. Far sweeter than I expected. His career seems to have been a delightful accident, surprising him as he bounced from job to job and eventually became a star. I especially enjoyed his tales of being a teacher at the same boys' school he had attended. (Yes, there are men out there who had Basil Fawlty as their teacher!) 

7. Curse of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz. (2009) Mystery. I am rereading this mystery series before rehoming them, and Book 2 is even better than I remembered. The Spellmans are a family of private investigators in San Francisco and they are a hilarious mess. The characters are drawn with great humor and affection and the plot had a very interesting twist.

8. Dark City Dames by Eddie Muller. (2025) Non fiction. Hollywood has created many great stars. These aren't them. Eddie gives us actresses who worked regularly and appeared in some very good films noir and crime dramas in the 1940s and 1950s. The femme fatale roles dried up and then what? These women were survivors who had fascinating second acts: raising families, doing charity work, battling illness ... Ann Savage memorably took the bus every day to an LA law office where she did clerical work. Her coworkers had no idea they could see this quiet old lady lure men to their deaths on The Late Show. I loved the stories of their lives.

9. Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen. (2017) Memoir. As candid as it is intense, The Boss puts the story of his life out there for us to learn from. He is talented, hard-working, driven ... and bedeviled by depression that sapped him creatively, spiritually and sexually. A moving story of hard won success – in both his personal and professional lives. I know more about a hero than I dreamed I would, and he remains a hero. 

10. Richard Nixon: The Life by John A. Farrell. (2017) Biography. President Bill Clinton said in the eulogy of his predecessor, we must "remember Richard Nixon's life in totality." This book does that. As we all know from Watergate, Vietnam and his trashing of Helen Gahagan Douglas, Nixon was amoral, expedient, and when desperate, prone to reckless decision making. He did not have the temperament to be President. But he was brilliant and resilient and not without empathy. I was touched by how distraught he was by the killings at Kent State and how kind and sensitive he was to Jacqueline Onassis when she brought her children back to the White House for a private unveiling of their father's Presidential portrait. It's impossible to imagine such dimension in the current occupant of the 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. I am grateful that John Farrell introduced me to new facets of a man I thought I knew.

11. Leo Durocher: Baseball's Prodigal Son by Paul Dickson. (2017) Biography. God, Leo was a big personality! He was the manager of my beloved Cubs when I was a little girl and I thought he was terrifying. I still do. The man bullied Babe Ruth, swung with Sinatra, helped integrate baseball (thereby helping to integrate America) and could be completely charming and thoroughly despicable, sometimes on the same page. I didn't like him, but I missed him when the book was over. The man was a force of nature. 

12. Pete Rose: An American Dilemma by Kostya Kennedy. (2014) Biography. Baseball has given us many heroes, but for some reason this year I gravitated toward the bad boys. Written when Pete Rose was still alive and fighting to get into the Hall of Fame, this book is fair and even handed. It gives us a great ball player and an incredibly flawed human being. At a time when companies like Draft Kings sponsor sporting events, when Donald Trump has normalized vulgarity, Pete Rose and what he represented deserve closer examination. A well-written, quintessentially American story.

13. How I Helped OJ Get Away with Murder by Mike Gilbert. (2008) Non fiction. What if your friend did something terrible? Mike Gilbert tells his story, of how as OJ's sports agent he made the decision to stand by "The Juice" during The Trial of the Century. I found Gilbert unlikable, but the book is thought provoking. Regardless of how you feel about Gilbert individually, he presents his side in such a way that you'll wonder what you would do in his position. 

Happy New Year! 

I wish you a 2026 fill with good reads.

Please join us for THURSDAY THIRTEEN. Click here to play along, and to see other interesting compilations of 13 things.