Two stars = eh, it
was okay
Three stars
= liked it
Four stars =
really, really liked it
Five stars =
absolutely loved it
1-Star (0)
2-Star (1)
**Homeland (Fiction, B. Kingsolver)
I should just stay away from short stories. I don’t like them!!!
3-Star (2)
***Bird Box
(Fiction, J. Malerman)
Lots of hype about
this suspense book. It was definitely a
page turner, but you never find out what the entities (monsters, aliens,
something else?) are. And there was a
little weirdness to it (which was not made apparent until the very end). I won’t be recommending it to anyone, nor
will I be watching the movie.
***The Immortal
Life of Henrietta Lacks (Non-fiction, R. Skloot)
The story of
Henrietta Lacks and her HELA cells that were (and still are) used for loads of
research in the 50’s. It was an
interesting book, but it seemed to drag on.
4-Star (5)
****Necessary Lies
(Fiction, D. Chamberlain)
I really enjoyed
this historical fiction novel about the Eugenics program that happened in North
Carolina between the 1920’s and 1970’s.
Eugenics is forced sterilizations.
I had NO clue this happened, I guess it’s not something they teach in
the history books.
****A Rule Against
Murder (Fiction, L. Penny)
The FOURTH mystery
novel in the Chief Inspector Gamache series.
They keep getting better!
****The Reptile
Room (Fiction, L. Snicket, #2 A Series of Unfortunate Events)
These poor
orphans. One unfortunate event after
another. Yet these books are endearing,
have plenty of characters you can root for, and they are HILARIOUS.
****First We Make
the Beast Beautiful (Non-Fiction, S. Wilson)
Sarah Wilson wrote
the book ‘I Quit Sugar’ a few years ago (it was a hit apparently). She was (is?) also one of the editors of
Cosmo magazine. Anyways, this is her
story of anxiety. It is not a self-help
book. It is her story. And how she copes
and doesn’t cope with it. There were SO
MANY times in the book where I was like ‘YESSSSS!!! This is ME!!!’ and I whipped out my
highlighter. There’s even parts of the
book where she says ‘oh, and share this particular part with someone you are
close to who doesn’t understand anxiety’, in the hopes that it will help them
try to understand.
A lot of the
reviews on Goodreads have been negative, stating that the editing of this book
is terrible and it’s all over the place.
I think these reviews are coming from people who don’t suffer from
anxiety. Because to me, the book made
perfect sense. I didn’t feel like it was
all over the place. It felt like I could
have written it myself.
She also doesn’t
get too preachy about the no sugar thing.
She mentions it over a few pages, but that’s all.
I personally think
everyone should read this book, especially people who don’t have anxiety. I think it’s portrays an accurate picture of
how crippling anxiety can be.
I probably should
have given it five stars.
****Food: A Love
Story (Non-Fiction, J. Gaffigan)
HILARIOUS. That’s all.
Here’s a couple of quotes:
“I’m convinced that
anyone that does not like Mexican food is a psychopath.”
“The green chili
addiction in New Mexico is one I understand.
Green chilies are exciting and a little dangerous. If I lived in New Mexico I’d be eating so
many green chilies I’d have to get a haz-mat suit. I’ve heard there’s talk of reshooting all the
episodes of Breaking Bad but instead of meth, Walter and Jesse sell green
chilies. I can’t wait.”
HILARIOUS. I listened to the audio, read by Jim Gaffigan
himself which made it even funnier.
5-Star (2)
*****Crossing to
Safety (Fiction, W. Stegner)
I think I started
and stopped this book six times. But
finally, something clicked. It still
took a while to get into. But around the
halfway point, it just begins to soar and it doesn’t stop. It’s the story of the friendship between two
married couples, the Langs and the Morgans.
Their friendship begins in the 1930’s.
They are all very academic and literary people. The two couples are opposites in many ways,
yet their friendship remains strong throughout the years. Strong enough to see each other through
successes, failures, prominence, destitution and most importantly,
illness. I plan to read this book again
and highlight the multiple beautiful passages that Wallace Stegner has
written. This book (even with its slow
start) is incredible.
*****On Writing
(Non-Fiction, S. King)
Stephen King is
brilliant. Even if you have no interest
in writing anything ever, you should read this book. Or better yet, listen to it. He narrates the audio book himself. He is hilarious. And incredibly smart. And down-to-earth. I loved this book!
Total Books Read:
10 (4 non-fiction, 6 fiction)
Formats
Kindle:
Audio:
8
Real Books: 2
DNF (Did Not
Finish) 9:
South of Broad
(Fiction, P. Conroy) – couldn’t get into it, unlikeable characters
A Secret Kept
(Fiction, T. de Rosnay) – couldn’t get into it
An American Heiress
(Fiction, D. Goodwin) – couldn’t get into it
Transcription
(Fiction, K. Atkinson) – confusing (and boring) from page 1
Driftless
(Fiction, D. Rhodes) – couldn’t get into it
The
Alice Network (Fiction, K. Quinn) – I might revisit this one at some
point. But for now, I am sick of WWII
novels that go back and forth in time.
A
Tale for the Time Being (Fiction, R. Ozeki) – strong start….faded quickly
The
Map of Salt and Stars – it got weird
Fruit of the Drunkin Tree - it got weird
