Show Us Your Books: February 2019

February was a decent month of reading for me. The first two books were pretty heavy, but the third was slightly lighter. They all had a theme of family though, which was not at all intentional.

This book is one that will stay with me for a long time. I was warned of this by Jana, who featured it on her blog last month. The story follows the journey of a father who's son has been accused of shooting a prominent political figure. It's intriguing to see a crime from this angle -- not the shooter or a victim or a family of one of the victims. I think the family of the perpetrator is often forgotten or at least pushed to the back of our minds when things like this happen.  In a way, they are victims too. Throughout the father's journey to find answers, we learn that he has not been a perfect parent and he wonders how he missed the signs in his son. We also learn about other (real) shooters and their backgrounds. I powered through this book pretty quickly, anxious to find out how the story ends and whether or not the father finds any answers or closure.

After her husband has passed, Pival books a trip to America and a cross-country trek to find answers about her son, Rahi. He had come out to his very traditional parents a year earlier and then they learned he had died. Pival wanted to know how and why her son died ... and also how he lived in America. I'll admit it took me a little while to get into this one. I had a hard time caring about the characters at first. I think that's because there were so many of them to learn about, so the author could only touch on them a little to start. But as the story continues, I began to have more affection or at least understanding for the characters and I cared about how their journeys turned out. It was also interesting to see America from the viewpoint of the travelers.

I finished the month with a slightly lighter read. There was still a family theme here -- a daughter and father who run a failing orchard, a brother who thinks they should sell the orchard, and a father and son who spend a summer at the orchard, hiding from their own life's disappointments. I was almost immediately invested in these characters, and the author had a beautiful way of describing the landscape and conveying the importance of the orchard to this family. I also loved the slow burn of romance between two characters. It wasn't the focal point of the story, but it was a pleasant and relevant part of it.

Currently reading:

What's one of your favorite recent reads?

Show Us Your Books: January 2019

I fell into a bit of an author hole during the first month of the year. I read three books from the same author. It was not a bad thing. I am loving the writing of Sarah Addison Allen. I had to keep myself from checking out her other books from the library this month (but I'm sure I'll be going back for them soon). The author was recommended to me last year or so by Katie. I read one book back then and liked it, but for whatever reason, I didn't get around to picking up more until this year.

I was quickly drawn into this story about the Waverley family. They have a magical apple tree in their yard and Claire uses edible flowers to evoke certain emotions or reactions from whomever eats the baked goods. When her sister returns with a daughter in tow, Claire's routine is rattled, but the sisters reconnect. I loved the characters, the setting, and the touch of magic.

Josey lives beneath her mother's thumb -- eating sweets and reading romance novels kept hidden in her closet. It's easy to see it's not the life she wants, but she does it anyway ... until a mysterious woman takes up residence in said closet and challenges Josey to figure out who she is and live a little more. Much like in Garden Spells, there is still an air of magic and a lot of mystery. 

I think this is my favorite of Sarah's books so far. I sped through the story quickly, simultaneously wanting to see what happened and not wanting it to end. Emily Benedict arrives in the town where her mother grew up, hoping to learn more about her mother's mysterious past. She meets a grandfather she hadn't known existed along with a whole cast of people who give her different looks at her mother's life. Among those is Julia, who is searching for someone as well and hoping her delicious cakes will bring that person to her. I loved all of the characters and the town so much. I wish there was a sequel to this one.


I also finished two non-SAA books during January.

These Is My Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901

by Nancy E. Turner

Kristin read this one recently and mentioned it on her blog. I was intrigued, so I got on the wait list at the library. I had to wait a few months to get the book, which I took as a good sign. The story is told in diary form, so it took me a little while to get used to that. But once I adjusted and got attached to the characters, I flew through the book. I was anxious to find out what happened next as Sarah and her family settled in on the wild frontier. They battled diseases, Native American tribes, and lots of other dangers. I kept forgetting how young Sarah was until she would remind me in her diary entries. With all she went through, she always seemed much older. It was an inspiring and thought-provoking story, and I'm very glad I picked it up.

The Four Tendencies

by Gretchen Rubin

I had read "The Happiness Project" but hadn't really kept up with Rubin since then. This book came up in some of my networking sessions at work and also with a friend. I wanted to find out what my tendency was and how it affected my goal-setting and life in general. I am an Obliger, which didn't really surprise me.

Currently reading: The Good Father by Noah Hawley

I've hit a pretty good stride with reading so far this year. I'm hoping I can keep it up.

Show Us Your Books: December 2018

I fell one book short of my reading goal in 2018 (which was 36 books), so I'm attempting the same number again this year in hopes of better results. That said, I did have some good reads in the final month of the year.

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

This one made it onto my short list of favorites at the end of 2018. So I clearly enjoyed it. I've already said everything I think I can say about it.

Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah

I wanted something lighter after reading "Sadie" and "An American Marriage" back-to-back. I mistakenly thought this would be the answer. It was only slightly lighter. But there were a lot of emotions as I read about how Meredith and Nina learned the hard truth about their mother's youth after their father's death. Anya grew up in war-torn Leningrad and had to do some impossible things and make difficult choices to help her family survive. It was an engrossing read with a satisfying ending.

The Off-Season by Megan Green

I read the second book in this sports romance series earlier in the year, so I decided I should go back and read the first to get some background on the characters. It was a mostly light read. I had some issue with the fact that the main male character is a major league baseball player who goes to a small town to hide after he's accused of sexual assault. Even though the allegations are false, and you know that from the beginning, it was very hard to like him and root for him. The female lead is also heavily flawed with a questionable past, so they are a good match, and together they work through their demons.

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai

I ended the year on a very heavy note. This book was hard to get through. It flips between 1986 Chicago and 2015 France. In the former, several of the characters are dealing with the AIDS crisis and LGBT rights. In the latter, a woman is searching for her daughter, who left home and joined a cult years earlier. The stories eventually weave together and make sense in tandem, but it was very hard to keep up with. I was a kid during the AIDS crisis, so I was unaware of all that was involved. I found it very eye-opening and heartbreaking to hear how these patients were regarded and treated. Hopefully things have gotten better than those years. We certainly don't hear much about it.

Show Us Your Books: Favorites of 2018

Today, Steph and Jana are hosting a special edition of Show Us Your Books to feature our favorite reads of the year. It was fun going back through my books from 2018 and remembering which ones I liked the best.

It's really hard for me to read about people who are wrongfully incarcerated. But I think they're important stories to read. They remind us that we need to continue to work to make our justice system better and more fair. It was both fascinating and heartbreaking to read about how Roy's incarceration affected his marriage to Celestial and his life as a whole. The characters were well-written and imperfect. I didn't always like them, but I found myself rooting for them regardless.

A serial killer was caught, in part, due to this book. While reading about the crimes was interesting, I was most enthralled by the snippets about Michelle's life and her research methods as she wrote the book. It's crazy to think how much time and energy she devoted to this case. I hope wherever she is in the afterlife, she's pleased to see the guilty party has been caught.

This story was so heartbreaking. I got teary-eyed more than once as I read the tale of siblings who were taken from their parents and put in an orphanage and then eventually separated through adoptions. It was a tragic tale and one that I'm sure really happened to some children during a period of time. It's probably still happening today.

The main character in this book is braver than I could ever be. And also a bit reckless. I almost called her foolish, but I don't think her mission (getting revenge for her sister's death) is stupid. I just couldn't believe the danger she put herself in to achieve it. I plowed through this book quickly, anxious to see if she was successful.


Whew. My favorite reads were all pretty heavy. In my next year of reading, I'm hoping to dive into some equally poignant reads but also balance it with some entertaining ones. I think both are important for me.

Show Us Your Books: November 2018

November was a busy month. I wrote 2/3 of a novel for National Novel Writing Month. I changed my part-time employment (which required interviews and some new scheduling adjustments). And yet I still managed to read three books. Ideally, I would have finished four, but sometimes life isn't ideal.

This is the latest in my newest favorite series (True North). I just love the characters and community Ms. Bowen has created. These books will always be auto-buys for me. I'm starting to think I should look into her other series and books as well.

A blogger's life is turned upside down when her husband unexpectedly leaves her. She works through her divorce via her blog and finds a second chance at love in a place she didn't expect. This was a nice, light read and I really enjoyed the characters. The family is completely dysfunctional, which I always think makes books more real. I'm definitely going to be looking at other books in the series so I can keep up with the family.

I stumbled upon this via Jana's Instagram feed. It was an incredible story. But also very dark. There's very little to celebrate in the story. I was terrified for the main character for most of her journey. She seemed so determined to get revenge for her sister's death, yet her age made me scared for her. I wasn't sure she could handle the people she was up against. I was also very sad for her as it seemed like there was no one in her support system. Then again, after reading about her childhood, there probably weren't many people she could trust.


I'm currently reading "An American Marriage" by Tayari Jones. A lot of bloggers have been reading it and enjoyed it, so I picked it up. I do not regret it. It's kind of a heavy read. And it's making me feel a lot of different emotions. I'm almost done with the book, and I'm sure I'll be thinking about the Celestial and Roy and Andre long after I close out the story.

After that, I'm not sure what I'll read. I think I'm going to try to swing a bit lighter after these last two.

Show Us Your Books: October 2018

In October, I had to say farewell to a faithful friend of more than a decade. My kindle. It's a second generation and apparently it decided to just give up on life a few weeks ago. So so sad. RIP Kindle.

Even with that sad time, I did manage to finish some books last month.

I cannot get enough of this series (True North), which follows individuals in the very northeast. It started with a family and has branched out into neighbors and friends. I love the characters and it's nice to revisit those from earlier in the series to see how their lives have progressed. This is the fifth book and features Alec (a bad boy bartender) and May (the younger sister of Alec's rival). They are a strange match at first, but as the story unfolds, the reader sees just how good they can be for each other.

I love reading books set in my home state. Especially when they fit into genres that already capture my interest. This suspense/mystery features Arden, who has returned to her family home in Keokuk, Iowa, for the first time in several years. The place holds some sad memories for her -- notably, the disappearance of her twin sisters -- but she feels drawn to it nonetheless. While she's there, she begins to uncover family secrets that help her learn the truth about what happened to the toddlers. The book moved a bit slow at first, but once it got going, it was a really captivating and easy read.

Writer Anthony Peardew spends years of his life collecting lost objects, hoping one day these items will be returned to their rightful owner. When Anthony dies, he leaves his collection of lost objects to his caretaker, Laura. She must fulfill Anthony’s mission and try to reunite the lost objects with their rightful owners. I was intrigued by the story, wanting to know more about why Anthony would collect lost things and how he hoped to return them. The stories behind each of the objects are what kept this book going for me. I read it fairly quickly.


National Novel Writing Month is underway, so my reading time has taken a bit of a hit. I'm trying to stay strong though. I'm hoping I can finish at least three books this month.

Show Us Your Books: September 2018

Happy fourth anniversary to Show Us Your Books!!! I'm so grateful Steph and Jana host this link-up every month. It allows me to share my book discoveries and find great recommendations from others.

A lot of my friends were reading this book and talking about how it made them feel and think. I decided I needed to check it out as well. As I read through Rachel's words about lies she's told herself and how she had to learn from them, I found myself relating a lot. I plowed through the 20 chapters in just a few days. They were short enough to absorb and think about without being too overwhelming. Some made me think more than others, but that's not unexpected. Just because we are both women doesn't mean we've experienced the same things.  The chapters about parenthood, for example, didn't apply directly to me, but I still enjoyed her perspective. Some people aren't happy with Rachel's writings, and think she is doing a disservice to the Bible's teachings. But I'm not really religious, so that didn't bother me one bit.

I connected with Caroline Moss (one of the authors) years ago on Twitter through her brother, who at the time was touring with one of my favorite Broadway shows, "Spring Awakening." Over the years, we've exchanged laughs and encouragement. I was so happy when she announced she'd written a book. She's very witty and her humor definitely shines through in "Hey Ladies," which documents the life of eight friends over the course of one year and lots of emails and texts. It's a work of fiction, but I could definitely see myself and some of my friends in each of the characters. It was too real. I laughed a lot while reading this and the format made it easy to breeze through. It was the perfect lighthearted read right when I needed it.

Jennifer is an author I've admired for quite a while. Her debut, "Good in Bed," remains one of my all-time favorite books, and this memoir of sorts gave me a little more background on who she is and why she writes what she writes. I related a lot to her struggle with body image and some of her tales of social awkwardness. I learned more about her relationship with members of her family and her journey to achieving her dream -- becoming a published author. I will certainly read her fiction works through a new filter now.

Show Us Your Books: August 2018

August was a busy month. Then again, they all feel busy anymore. But, truly, I worked a lot last month and had a lot on my social calendar. But I somehow found time to finish three books.

 

Told from varying viewpoints, this is a story about two women -- one with a polished, perfect life and the other with a traumatic past. Throughout the story, their lives become intertwined. Even though I sensed some of the creepiness, there were still twists I didn't see coming. And I was still kind of shell-shocked as it ended.

My friend, Rena, is back with her second novel. Her debut ("The Girl Before") shed some light on the world of human trafficking. Even as a work of fiction, I knew some of it was rooted in truth and it was a lot to take in. This novel is about Julia, a woman who so badly wants to do everything -- have the big job, find the right guy, etc. Bryce sweeps into her life and looks like he can help her achieve everything. But things aren't always as good as they seem. I will admit, Bryce bugged me from the beginning, but I was waiting to see how it would play out. The ending was not at all what I expected. Much like with Rena's first novel, I was left with some questions and some uncertainty about how to feel about certain things. But I don't mind that kind of aftermath. I think I enjoyed her debut more, but I still really enjoyed this book too.

I shifted gears considerably after those two reads. To an Emily Giffin novel. It's the story of two sisters who have different memories and ways of coping with a tragic event in their past. As the anniversary of the event comes around, both women find themselves dealing with some big changes in their lives. Meredith's marriage is shaky and Josie is ready to skip marriage and go straight to having a baby. But they both realize they need to work through their past to make any headway with their futures. It was a dramatic read, but a nice break after the two thrillers.

Show Us Your Books: July 2018

My reading took a nosedive early in the summer. I could blame the wedding, I suppose. Or any number of other things. But it's probably a combination of a lot of things. I missed it though and fortunately, my reading time has been picking up a little more steam lately. All it took was remembering one of my favorite authors had a whole series I hadn't yet explored.

The Wishing Well series by Melanie Shawn

 (These are pictured in the opposite order in which I read them, but that's a minor detail.)

It's set in a small town in Texas and mostly revolves around the Briggs family and a few of their close friends. I love series like this because if I love the characters, I get to keep up my relationship with them beyond the book that's only focused on them. And I almost always love the characters created by Melanie Shawn -- they're real and relatable. And the love stories are just sweet. There are eight books in the series, and I made it through five. I'll get to the other three. Soon. The books are a nice break from reality and my other favorite genre -- thriller and crime (which I've recently returned to).

Currently reading:

I'm only a few chapters into it, but I can already tell it's going to have some messed up twists.