In September, I read nine books. Will I read more in October? Maybe. Maybe not.

Books reviewed at Becky's Book Reviews

64. Speaker for the Dead. Orson Scott Card. 1986. 382 pages. [Source: Library] [audio book, science fiction, sequel]

Books reviewed at Young Readers


68. Scaredy Squirrel. Melanie Watt. 2008. Kids Can Press. 42 pages. [Source: Bought] [5 stars, picture book, emotions and feelings, animal fantasy]
69. The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the BIG Hungry Bear. Don and Audrey Wood. 1984. 32 pages. [Source: Bought] [5 stars, picture books, animal fantasy]
70. Turtle with a Toolbox. Beth Ferry. Illustrated by Dudolf. 2026. 32 pages. [Source: Library] [picture book, 3 stars]
71. Cheeky Book of Bear Butts. Jonathan Fenske. 2026. 36 pages. [Source: Library] [picture book, 3 stars]
72. The Secret Life of Dog Toys. Kelly Dipucchio. Illustrated by Jennifer Harney. 2026. 40 pages. [Source: Library] [picture book, 4 stars]
73. Starman: The Cosmic Voyage of David Bowie. Matthew Cordell. 2026. 48 pages. [Source: Library] [nonfiction biography for young readers, 3 stars]


Books reviewed at Operation Actually Read Bible

none

Bibles reviewed at Operation Actually Read Bible


7. New American Standard Bible Reference Edition. 1971. Lockman Foundation. 1730 pages. [Source: Bought]

8. New Marked Reference Bible (KJV). God. 1983. Zondervan. 1753 pages. [Source: Bought]

Yearly Totals for 2026

Totals for 2026
Books Read in 2026	166
Pages Read in 2026	42442
January Totals
Books Read in January	21
Pages Read in January	5119
February Totals
Books read in February	24
Pages Read in February	4225
March Totals
Books read in March	18
Pages read in March	4099
April Totals
Books read in April	16
Pages read in April	6386
May Totals
Books Read in May	11
Pages read in May	4067
June Totals
Books read in June	26
Pages read in June	4767
July Totals
Books read in July	18
Pages read in July	3239
August Totals
Books read in August	23
Pages read in August	6965
September Totals
Books read in September	9
Pages read in September	4095

© 2026 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

September I watched twenty-four things....but only two were five-star movies! I DID finish my Century of Viewing challenge!

My two five star movies were Beginning of the End and The Trespasser.

The four and four and half star movies I watched were:

• Leanne Season 2
• You Can’t Take It With You
• Our Dancing Daughters
• Zotz!
• Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion
• Project Hail Mary
• Return to Babylon

Since I've finished the century of viewing challenge, I thought I'd share some of my favorites from each decade. If last year's century of viewing challenge focused on SILENT movies particularly silent comedies. This year's challenge I watched a good many k-drama series.

1920s:

I gave three five-stars for this decade. Metropolis. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The Trespasser.

1930s:

I gave one five-star for this decade. Modern Times.

1940s:

I gave two five-stars for this decade. Dance, Girl, Dance. Du Barry Was a Lady.

1950s:

I gave nine five-stars for this decade: Sunset Boulevard. Limelight. Call Me Madam. War of the Worlds. You Can't Run Away From It. No Time for Sergeants. 4D Man. Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Incredible Shrinking Man.

1960s:

I gave three five-stars for this decade: Twilight Zone season 1. Music Man. If A Man Answers.

1970s

I gave two five-stars for this decade: Towering Inferno. The Sunshine Boys.

1980s

I gave six five-stars for this decade: Steel Magnolias. Overboard. Can't Buy Me Love. Clue. Back to the Future. Ivanhoe.

1990s

I gave twelve five-stars for this decade: What About Bob. Strictly Ballroom. Groundhog Day. Forrest Gump. While You Were Sleeping. Star Trek First Contact. You've Got Mail. Ever After. The Thirteenth Floor. Galaxy Quest. Frequency. Blast from the Past.

2000s

I gave six five-stars for this decade: Return to Me. Shrek. The Gospel of John. Bride and Prejudice. Shrek 2. Zathura.

2010s

I gave four five-stars for this decade: It's You I Like. Boss Baby. Lego Batman.

2020s

I gave five five-stars for this decade: The Moon. Strong Girl Nam-Soon. VHS Christmas Carols. Wonderfools. Teach You a Lesson.

© 2026 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

No books finished this week.

Century of Viewing #40

1920s

• 1920 Why Change Your Wife? Gloria Swanson is always enjoyable to watch. The plot of this one, well, is morally questionable and exceedingly ODD but extremely very SOAP OPERA melodramatic. Husband (soon to be Cheating Husband) is tired of his wife not wanting to foxtrot and dress....scantily. He leaves her for a lingerie model. Wife #1 overhears gossipers calling her frumpy decides to wear as few clothes as possible. Cheating husband sees wife #1 looking amazing. Decides wife #2 was a mistake. A banana peel gets involved....obviously...because why wouldn't it. And the two women end up fighting--literally--over Injured Cheating Husband. He divorces Wife #2 who moves on to another guy EXTREMELY quickly. Wife #1 becomes Wife #3. And now she loves fox trotting....scantily clad.
• 1922 Blood and Sand. My second Valentino movie, I think???? Set in Spain. He's an el matador. He makes bad choices. Though to be fair, he does try a bit at least to resist temptation. But not too terribly much. His character definitely could have profited from reading the book of Proverbs.
• 1923 The Pilgrim. Charlie Chaplin stars in 'The Pilgrim' as an escaped convict who finds himself posing as a minister--a terrible misunderstanding, though he does deliver a sermon on David and Goliath--when he plays the hero, he's given a second chance....in Mexico. But the end credits showing him walking along with one foot in Mexico and one in Texas.

1970s

• 1977 Valentino. This was a LONG biopic of Rudolph Valentino. It is absolutely rated R. I do want my two hours back--mostly. If it was a musical--which it is not--I'd say it has Evita vibes. VERY melodramatic. VERY over-the-top. I have extreme doubts that it's true to his actual life.

2010s

• 2013. Return to Babylon. A silent movie about silent movie stars. This movie features biographical sketches--though facts may be disputed here and there--of the first Hollywood celebrities. Focusing more on 'scandals' and tragedies than anything else. THOUGH not always. (There wasn't anything particularly scandalous about the sketch of Gloria Swanson). It is a very intriguing film. Because it was filmed on a hand-cranked camera and it captures the style of that era. The soundtrack was fabulous.

2020s

• 2022 Moonfall. Is it a great movie? No, no it isn't. Could it have been better if it was trimmed up and a bit shorter? I say yes. Was it enjoyable to watch my best friend? DEFINITELY. I had been wanting to watch this one for a while. And I'm so glad I finally did. It's predictable but fun enough if your expectations are not high. Science fiction. Moon is not the moon. Earth in danger. From the director of Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow.

© 2026 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

This week I finished three books. Two Bibles and a science fiction novel.

64. Speaker for the Dead. Orson Scott Card. 1986. 382 pages. [Source: Library] [audio book, science fiction, sequel]

7. New American Standard Bible Reference Edition. 1971. Lockman Foundation. 1730 pages. [Source: Bought]

8. New Marked Reference Bible (KJV). God. 1983. Zondervan. 1753 pages. [Source: Bought]

Century of Viewing #39



2010s

• 2013-2014. Flip or Flop seasons one and two. I haven't added this to my spreadsheet. It feels so shallowly fluffy that it's not worth the add. Each episode is about twenty minutes. A couple buys houses to flip them. DRAMA happens each episode as problems with the house are found. Will they make money or will they lose money. I find myself yelling at them a LOT. But the show is strangely addictive precisely because it's not very intelligent.

2020s

• 2026. Project Hail Mary. I am glad I read the book first. I think it does help viewers make sense of the movie. The movie is definitely centered on one or two characters. And much of the 'story' is told through flashbacks. If you've read the book, you know everything and there isn't much of a reveal or surprise--for better or worse. But it also helps the film make sense. What I disliked most has nothing to do with the story or the acting--but the soundtrack. I'll clarify, the VOLUME or lack thereof of the soundtrack. If you turn it up so you can hear the dialogue, everything is way too loud. Not a loud that is easily tolerated. It isn't just a few scenes where it's too loud--like you'd expect in a science fiction movie or an action movie. But the score of the movie itself is overpowering. The score is good, mind you, but it doesn't have to be louder than the dialogue to move you. As for story, man wakes up alone on space ship....later he comes across another person alone on a space ship....they become friends and together save the universe. It is definitely all about the relationship between these two. It is EMOTIONAL in places.

© 2026 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

64. Speaker for the Dead. Orson Scott Card. 1986. 382 pages. [Source: Library] [audio book, science fiction, sequel]

First sentence: Rooter was at once the most difficult and the most helpful of the pequeninos. He was always there whenever Pipo visited their clearing, and did his best to answer the questions Pipo was forbidden by law to come right out and ask.

Premise/plot: Speaker for the Dead is the sequel to Orson Scott Card's Ender Game. But you may not know--though you certainly may know--that there would be no Ender's Game novel if Card had not had this novel in mind, Speaker for the Dead was THE STORY Card wanted to tell. And the character Ender Wiggin needed a bit more fleshing out than a short story could provide. Hence he set about writing the novel Ender's Game. This one is set THOUSANDS of years later, but Ender is still young. Young being relative. Probably in his thirties? Andrew Wiggin is THE SPEAKER OF THE DEAD. The original, though he travels from planet to planet being "a" speaker of the dead. No one guesses how old he really is and ALL of his life's experiences. He's lived long enough that his heroic actions are seen as anything but heroic. Though he has wrestled with his conscience for centuries and doesn't need the praise or condemnation of others.

The book is set on the planet Lusitania. It's a colony with humans--Catholic colony, for the most part--and pequeninos, the "piggies." Readers meet colonists--several families--and the families readers get to know are the ones most interested in the science, biology, and culture of the piggies. Quite a few things happen that lead to SEVERAL people calling out for a speaker of the dead to visit their world. Though just a few weeks have gone by since the first message came through requesting his services--in the meantime two more, I believe, go through. But Andrew's arrival isn't met with applause and appreciation--not at first. But his coming will change EVERYTHING....for better or worse.

My thoughts: I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this book. I do think it is better than Ender's Game. Ender's Game is one I've read more often. I know the scenes, the characters, the plot. But it is Speaker for the Dead that is RICHER and more nuanced perhaps. It has DEPTH. It is so good.

This is what Orson Scott Card has to say about the book,

"How did Speaker for the Dead come to be? As with all my stories, this one began with more than one idea. The concept of a "speaker for the dead" arose from my experiences with death and funerals. I have written of this at greater length elsewhere; suffice it to say that I grew dissatisfied with the way that we use our funerals to revise the life of the dead, to give the dead a story so different from their actual life that, in effect, we kill them all over again. No, that is too strong. Let me just say that we erase them, we edit them, we make them into a person much easier to live with than the person who actually lived.
I rejected that idea. . . No, to understand who a person really was, what his or her life really meant, the speaker for the dead would have to explain their self-story--what they meant to do, what they actually did, what they regretted, what they rejoiced in. That's the story that we never know, the story that we never can know--and yet, at the time of death, it's the only story truly worth telling."

There are many things I loved about Speaker. I love how Ender has matured into Andrew. I loved seeing how much he's grown...changed. He is wise. But his wisdom doesn't make him less human, it makes him more human. I love how this novel is about taking broken things, messy things, ugly things--and making them whole, making sense of the chaos, making them beautiful. In some ways, it is more philosophical than Ender's Game. Again, it is the characters that make Speaker for the Dead such an outstanding novel. His characters aren't perfect--far from it--but they're real.

Sickness and healing are in every heart. Death and deliverance are in every hand. (240)

Of all of the humans, he is the one who will understand us. (347)

When you really know someone, you can't hate them. (370)

Once you understand what people really want, you can't hate them anymore. You can fear them, but you can't hate them, because you can always find the same desires in your own heart. (370)

© 2026 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews