True Tales from Up North: Books I Read in 2026, Vol. XIII

 

MAKING A STAKE: A Redneck Love Story
Lynn Tormondson Lindstrom

1964. America was grieving the death of JFK, celebrating  -  or protesting  -  the Civil Rights Act, and idolizing a new British rock group called The Beatles. The largest earthquake in North America, 9.2 on the Richter scale, had devastated a large portion of Alaska, but it barely made the list of iconic events for the year. A small band of men in the blink-and-you'll-miss-it town of Tofte in northern Minnesota paid attention, rallied together, and decided to offer their services to their broken counterparts in Anchorage. Charlie left his wife and four small children behind to see what kind of investment could be made for their future.

Based on Charlie's actual letters home to Junie, you will have a front row seat to life after the earthquake, both in Alaska and on the North Shore of Minnesota. You will discover how the Tormondson family dealt with WWII, the Avon lady, UFOs, and commercial fishing on Lake Superior.

This book was written by one of my nothing-in-laws: The mother of my only daughter-in-law. I confess that, upon reading the first two chapters, I was kind of surprised at how well-written it is. What could have been a dull recitation of facts and events from the real-life ancestry of the author is actually rich in imagery and nuance; a true pleasure to read. And what a gift to Lynn's children to read of their North Shore heritage!

First Line: June watched as the dusty, old Ford pickup bounced down the dirt driveway, gravel crunching beneath the tires, rear brake lights pumping red as the truck approached its turn onto Highway 61.

Page 56 / Line 5: Wish I was with you all.

A Good Line from Somewhere in the Middle: What could compare to the beauty of a mountain, especially on an evening like this, as the sun stopped to kiss its lovely friend goodnight?

Last Line: And it looked nothing like riches, but it looked a lot like love.

Longmire Dispenses Justice AND Takes Revenge: Books I Read in 2026, Vol. XII

 

DEPTH OF WINTER: A Longmire Mystery
Craig Johnson

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and these times certainly are desperate. Sheriff Walt Longmire and Tomas Bidarte, the head of one of the most vicious drug cartels in Mexico, have been circling each other in a deadly cat-and-mouse game for more than a year. Now, Bidarte has kidnapped Walt's beloved daughter, Cady. The American government is of limited help and the Mexican one even less so. Armed with only his trusty Colt .45, a father's intuition, and the keen instinct on which he's staked his reputation and his life more than once, Walt must head into the 110-degree heat of the desert alone, one man against an army.

I don't usually return to Longmire so quickly, but with The Western Star having ended with the cliffhanger of Cady's abduction, I had to press on bravely. This episode in Longmire's saga stands out in that his normal small group of sidekicks/helpers are not by his side. Johnson's skill at making me physically feel every challenge Walt rises to is impressive, to say the least. The movie in my mind that happens whenever I read a book of fiction is well-lit and expertly directed when Johnson writes the script. The other standout with this book is that you're not sure how it's going to turn out until the very last page...and even that leaves us in the midst of an action-packed getaway.

First Line: I turned my water glass in the slick circle of condensation on the smooth, red lacquer of the table between us and studied the man across from me.

Page 56 / Line 5: He turned and looked at me.

A Good Line from Somewhere in the Middle: "There are so many things worth living and dying for, but only a few things worth killing for, and maybe the two are intertwined  -  I don't know."

Last Line: "The bull, he sometimes wins."

Toy Story 5: We Have Found the Enemy and They Are Us

 

Woody, Buzz, Jessie, and the rest of the gang's jobs are challenged when they're introduced to electronics, a new threat to playtime.

IMDB

Bottom line first: This is another great addition to the Toy Story canon. (IMHO, better than TS4.) There were laughs, opportunities for tears, and plenty of action.

This is really Cowgirl Jessie's movie. She carries most of the plot on her small, hand-stitched shoulders. Having been abandoned by children because they outgrew their need for her and her ragdoll ways, she is especially zealous in her fight against electronic devices and "social" media and how they seem to make kids grow up too soon.

In fact, that "us vs them" mentality comes on really strong in the beginning, to the point of making me feel that Pixar was being too Afterschool Special about it. Turns out, that only made the eventual resolution (well...semi-resolution) sweeter.

And now, the morning after, I'm being struck by the irony of Pixar declaring war on tech. They are, after all, the prime instigators of computer technology taking over from hand-drawn animation. But then again, it basically all works out in the end.

While the majority of the classic Toy Story characters had very little to do in this installment, kudos go out to the addition of Conan O'Brien as the electronic toilet training toy, Smarty Pants. His frantic energy and sly humor are a perfect fit. Easter Egg hunt: Look for the scene where the animators get to include O'Brien's rooster-comb hair.

4 out of 5 stars.

Got Hope? Need It?: Books I Read in 2026, Vol. XI

 

DESPERATE FOR HOPE: Hanging on and Finding God During Life's Hardest Times
Bruce W. Martin

With sincere sympathy and ready encouragement, Bruce W. Martin takes hurting readers through a grieving process that helps them reconcile their deep suffering with their beliefs about a good God. He helps them find deep meaning in the midst of tragedy so that they can enjoy a deeper intimacy with God and others.

A unique and compassionate take on the age-old questioning of suffering, this book is perfect for readers who have experienced life-shattering pain, such as divorce, the loss of loved ones, bankruptcy, cancer, addiction, and even violent crimes, giving them real answers to their toughest questions and helping them move forward in life after tragedy.

I met the author at a conference we both attended  -  he gave two keynotes and led two breakout sessions, all of which I happily soaked up before eagerly buying his book. Bottom line is, I'm glad I did. This is a well-told tale, combining lessons from the story of Job with the author's own experience of pain, loss, and grief. I came away forewarned that "in this world, you will have trouble," but also encouraged that "God is always up to something good, because he is good."

First Line: I still remember the phone call five days before Christmas 2002.

Page 56 / Line 5: So far, so good.

A Good Line from Somewhere in the Middle: God is far more intent on perfecting our faith through trouble than on protecting us from trouble.

Last Line: Jesus is with you.

Two Stories, One Sheriff: Books I Read in 2026, Vol. X

 

THE WESTERN STAR: A Longmire Mystery
Craig Johnson

Sheriff Walt Longmire is enjoying a celebratory beer after renewing his weapons certification when a younger sheriff shows him a photograph of a group of armed men standing in front of a large steam locomotive. It transports him back to when, fresh from the battlefields of Vietnam, then-deputy Longmire accompanied his new boss to the annual meeting of the Wyoming Sheriffs' Association, held on a vintage excursion train known as The Western Star. The young Walt did not anticipate being thrust into the center of a mystery himself, as the train bearing 24 veteran sheriffs chugged across his home state, from Cheyenne to Evanston and back.

     But the sheriff isn't in town for the certification alone. He's on his way to the capital for the parole hearing of one of the most dangerous men he has encountered in a lifetime of law enforcement.

This is an exceptionally fine read, even though I had a little bit of trouble knowing which of the two storylines I was in at the beginning of each chapter, and during jumps in the midst of chapters. Johnson does a good job of hiding a major twist at the end that finally connects the two. Obviously, I really enjoy the Longmire series of books, otherwise I wouldn't be reading through all of them, right? A major difference in this one is that it ends with a cliffhanger. (Bring on Depth of Winter!)

First Line: I pressed in on the knurled end of my Colt 1911A1 with my thumb at the same time rotating the barrel bushing a quarter turn clockwise to free the plug and recoil assembly, my hands working from rote.

Page 56 / Line 5: Feeling someone approaching from behind, I whirled with a snarling anger that caused Lucian to step back, whereupon he stumbled and almost fell, catching himself on the railing.

A Good Line from Somewhere in the Middle: The Belvedere wasn't my idea of a dream car, but it had a heater, and beggars should avoid being choosers on I-80 in the winter.

Last Line: "Business."

Life Lessons for the Overachiever I Never Was: Books I Read in 2026, Vol. IX

 

WHAT I LEARNED WHEN I ALMOST DIED: How a Maniac TV Producer Put Down His Blackberry and Started to Live His Life
Chris Licht

"Chris Licht had always been ambitious. When he was only nine years old, he tracked down an NBC correspondent while on vacation to solicit advice for a career in television. By the time he was thirty-five, he landed his dream job: a fast-paced, demanding spot at the helm of MSNBC's Morning Joe  -  one of the most popular shows on cable TV. He felt invincible. Then one day Chris heard a pop in his head, followed by a whoosh of blood and crippling pain . . . .

Another one of those "4 for a Dollar" library finds, this one seemed like it might have some significant life lessons that I could learn vicariously, and yes, I guess it did. The majority of the book told Licht's story, and it was an interesting read. The "lessons learned" mostly resided in the last couple chapters, and they were significant for the author's Type-A personality and driven nature. For me...I was pretty much already there just because of my temperament and upbringing. It feels noteworthy that Licht was encouraged by a friend to write the book before he even had a sense of having learned anything through his experience: He even came up with the title at that lunch, knowing fully that I didn't yet have the answer to the question. Still, it was a worthwhile read. 4 out of 5 stars.

First Line: Lately, if I happen to be looking through my address book for a phone number, I'm apt to stop when I come across the name of someone I haven't been in touch with for a while.

Page 56 / Line 5: Cerebral aneurysms are balloonlike bulges in the walls of arteries, which are the high-pressure freeways that deliver blood from the heart throughout the body, as opposed to veins, which return blood to the heart at lower pressure.

A Good Line from Somewhere in the Middle: To sit passively and bemoan bad luck solves nothing.

Last Line: What a great evening.

One Surprise After Another: Books I Read in 2026, Vol. VIII

 

JACK & JILL
James Patterson

"In the middle of the night, a controversial U.S. senator is found murdered in bed in his Georgetown pied-a-terre. The police turn up only one clue: a mysterious rhyme signed 'Jack and Jill' promising that this is just the beginning. Meanwhile, Washington, D.C. homicide detective Alex Cross is called to a murder scene only blocks from his house, far from the corridors of power where he spends his days. The victim: a beautiful little girl, savagely beaten  -  and deposited in front of the elementary school Cross's son attends.

"Could there be a connection between the two murders?"

My answer to this question? Well, duh. But then I read the book and  -  spoiler alert  -  the only connection is that Alex Cross worked both of them. I will say that my well-of-course response wasn't the last time my plot expectations were wrong. Patterson knows how to write a twisty tale, to be sure. I especially appreciate that the longest chapters were still only 4 or 5 pages. Even if several chapters in a row were part of the same "scene", he breaks everything down into digestible beats. Probably what made it so easy to turn the first two Alex Cross thrillers into movies. Fair Warning: There seemed to be a bit more R-rated language in this third installment, but at least it was character-driven and believable...not just for the sake of making it "grittier."

First Line: Sam Harrison swung his agile body out of the silver blue Ford Aerostar, which he had parked on Q Street in the Georgetown section of Washington.

Page 56 / Line 5: I kept seeing her brutalized face.

A Good Line from Somewhere in the Middle: Always appear to belong, to fit in, and soon you will .

Last Line: Until next time.

Surprise Treat on the Title Page: This library find was autographed by the author!

"For Penny-- Hope this keeps you guessing, J Patterson"