Zero stars = hated it
One star = did not like it at all
Two stars = eh, it was okay
Three stars = liked it
Four stars = really, really liked it
Five stars = absolutely loved it
1-Star (1)
*Ikigai (Non-Fiction). Ugh. I picked this book up because it was recommended by Marie Kondo (my organizing guru). The authorS (yes, apparently it took TWO authors to write this nonsense) could have saved themselves a lot of time and just wrote two words on a page for this book: Stay busy. That is the secret for the people in Japan that have super long life expectancies. Stay busy. They somehow managed to throw in tai-chi exercises and ancestor worship and a whole bunch of other garbage into the mix too (including exotic fruits that you should be eating but can’t be found anywhere but Japan). Bye-bye book!!
2-Stars (2)
**Hillbilly Elegy (non-fiction). I would not recommend this book. Although I learned a few things, for the most part I felt it was a waste of my time and the writer contradicted himself all throughout the book. (audiobook borrowed from Hoopla)
**What I Saw and How I Lied. YA. It was just okay. I found most of the characters unlikable, therefore I didn’t really care what happened to any of them. (audiobook borrowed from Hoopla)
3-Stars (10)
***Mrs. Piggle Wiggle. A blast from my elementary school past. Still good. (actual book, owned, but passed along to a Little Free Library)
***A Man Called Ove. This one was good, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that the story has been done before. Grumpy old man gets won over by his next door neighbors that have two little girls. (owned, but I listened to a free copy of it from Hoopla. Passed owned copy on to a Little Free Library)
***The Stars Beneath Our Feet. This was an ARC YA book. It was good. Sad, but good. A quick read dealing with some heavy issues. (owned, but gave away to Little Free Library)
***Baker Towers. This one was kind of all over the place for me. I LOVED Mrs. Kimble by Jennifer Haigh, so I was hoping this one would be just as good. It WAS good, but not 4-star worthy in my book. (owned, donated to Little Free Library)
***See What I Have Done. This one was also good, but it was told in the perspective of multiple people. Which I am usually totally okay with, but I found myself skimming the chapters that weren’t told from Lizzie’s (as in Lizzie Borden) perspective. Maybe I’m morbid? But still really good. (e-book borrowed from Hoopla)
***Peter Pan. I had NEVER read this book, unless you count the Little Golden Book ha ha. It is awesome. A little slow at the end (hence the 3 stars and not 4), but it’s really good. Although there is some swearing! And did you know that Tinkerbell was MEAN? Like, really mean. Ah, the things Disney covers up ha ha. (audio book borrowed from Hoopla)
***The Stars Are Fire. Anita Shreve has always been hit or miss for me. Her last few that I’ve read have been misses. But this one I would consider a hit. It kept me listening! (audio borrowed from Libby)
***It’s Not Yet Dark (Non-Fiction). This was another ARC I picked up about a film-maker from Ireland that gets diagnosed with ALS. It is heartbreaking. A very quick read. A lot of people are comparing it to When Breath Becomes Air, but to me, When Breath Becomes Air was WAY better and much more substantial. I literally could not put When Breath Becomes Air down. And while this one was like 1/3 of the size, it still took me about a week to get through it. (owned, but donated it to Little Free Library).
***The Four Tendencies (Non-Fiction). I am a big Gretchen Rubin fan (The Happiness Project, Happier at Home, Better Than Before AND her Happier podcast) so I HAD to get her newest book. It was good. I found myself primarily only interested in MY tendency (Obliger), and the book has substantial chapters on each of the four tendencies. That’s why it got 3 stars instead of 4. (owned, keeper)
***Body Love (Non-Fiction). Mixed feelings….I love the concept (very Keto, which is great) and the recipes, but….it seems like a LOT of work (even though she insists it isn’t). So we’ll see. I’m going to try a couple of the smoothies she recommends, but even that will require a trip to Whole Foods (which I try to avoid like the plague). (owned, keeper)
4-Stars (2)
****Little Women. A true classic. If you haven’t read it, go read it NOW. And watching the movie doesn’t count. (Owned, keeper)
****The Light Between Oceans. From what I’ve gathered online, people either love this book or hated it. Obviously, you can see where I stand. It’s about two good people who made one bad (devastating) decision that changed their lives forever. It pulled at me in every which way and I am STILL thinking about it. You root for one person, but you understand the pain of another person and then root for them. The writing is really, really good. They made a movie out of it, and I want to see it now, especially because it takes place on an island off of Australia. It is heartbreaking. But….everything ends up how it should be, even if you’re torn about how things should have ended up (I still am). Sooooo good. (audio borrowed from library, but want to get a real copy for my collection.)
Total Books Read: 15 (5 non-fiction, 10 fiction)
Formats:
E-Books: 1
Audio: 8
Real Books: 6
Abandoned books: Zero (yay! I hate abandoning books….although I almost abandoned Ikigai…thankfully it was a short book of nonsense.)
All in all, a great month! No five-star books, but look at all those three and four star ones!! That makes me happy.
