BJ’s Reading Journal from 2021 — January 1. The Guest List by Lucy Foley 320 pages. There is a wedding on a remote island off the coast of Ireland. It seems like a fancy shindig. But then you realize that the guests each have a major issue with the groom, the bridesmaid has an issue with…

BJ’s Best Reads of 2021 — The Arrangement by Robyn Harding Nat is a struggling art student in New York City. She got fired from her job, her roommates are threatening to throw her out. Until one of her classmates fills her in on how she makes money: she’s in a sugar daddy/sugar baby relationship. The…

Get a Puppy, They Said. It’ll Be Fun — Despite the headline on this blog entry, really Phin has been a pretty easy puppy. He’s a puppy that is figuring out how to dog in a world full of humans and of course I am very patient with him. But he does have his moments. Lately he’s gotten into…

BJ’s Standout Reads June 2021 — The Chain by Adrian McKinty WOW! I was obsessed with this one. One day Rachel gets a phone call, her daughter Kylie has been kidnapped. But then she gets the most insane ransom demand ever. She has to pay money for the ransom, of course, but then she has to…

BJ’s Standout Reads May 2021 — Beautiful Boy by David Sheff This is the memoir of a father whose son is addicted to meth. I read this at an opportune moment in my life, as a good friend’s brother died of an overdose a few weeks before I read it. It helped me to understand what…

Why I’m Standing On My Front Lawn in the Middle of the Night — I recently had to send my Samsung Galaxy watch back to Samsung to get repaired. The backing plate on the watch slipped off as I repositioned the watch on my wrist — something I do 90 hojillion times per day. And not having my watch on has been driving me…

BJ’s Standout Reads March 2021 — The Last Flight by Julie Clark I was obsessed with this one. Claire is trying to escape her high profile abusive husband. She has a plan in place, but her husband throws a monkey wrench in her plan and she ends up having to fly to Puerto Rico instead. When…

The Closing From Hell — On March 28, 2008 we closed on the house we currently live in. We’ve been super happy living here, and we’ve had fun throwing parties and making improvements. Getting into our happy home was over the top, however. The process to buy the house was annoying, challenging, and ridiculously dramatic. …

It All Happened on North River Street — My parents are the classic immigrant success story. They came to America with nothing, busted their butts, saved, raised 5 children and put them through college. My dad is a brilliant machinist and basically an engineer without the fancy degree who can build literally anything out of a block of…