Happy Monday, friends! This weekend was my book club’s photoshoot, something our leader has been wanting to do for a really long time now. I’ll talk more about it on my February wrap-up post that I’ll be publishing on Friday. But it was a really great time with my favorite ladies, that’s for sure. 🙂
Keeping on the topic of books, I finished three this week so it was another solid week of reading for me. Let’s dive into the reviews!
Books Finished
> How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny (★★★★☆) – It’s kinda hard to talk about this book without giving away spoilers for the series! It’s definitely a series you have to read from the beginning. (While the central mystery can stand alone, there’s always a subplot involving the Chief Inspector and his homicide department that carries over from book to book.) This book felt a little chaotic at times because of all the different subplots, but it all came together beautifully and in a way I didn’t really expect! This series is just so good and listening to the books on audio has been the perfect way for me to consume them.
> Black Man in a White Coat: A Doctor’s Reflections on Race and Medicine by Damon Tweedy, M.D. (★★★★☆) – This was an excellent memoir about what it’s like being a Black doctor and the way race plays such a vital role in the medical community. Systematic racism plays a role in the way Black people are treated in hospitals, doctor’s offices, and care facilities and it plays a role in the health struggles Black people face. This book is a comprehensive look at race in medicine and while likely not the reason Dr. Tweedy wrote it, it provides a strong case for why we need universal healthcare.
> Under Fire by Scarlett Cole – This is the first romantic suspense novel I’ve read in a fairly long time. It’s probably my favorite genre to read in romance, but very few authors can do it successfully. (Cindy Gerard and Suzanne Brockmann stand out in my mind as the best.) The suspense part of this novel was a little silly and hard to believe, but what I really loved about this novel was the female protagonist, Louisa. Louisa is a research scientist who struggles with an intense form of shyness and she was such a relatable character to me. While I wished the author had carried her shyness throughout the book (it seems she suddenly became badass thanks to the love of a man, which is not how shyness works), it was really nice to see a character who acts as I do and has my same type of anxiety. Anyway, I’d direct you to some other authors if you’re looking for a great romantic suspense novel—this one was just okay.
What I’m Reading Now
I’ll start this section by talking about the book I’m reading on the Serial Reader app—Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. I promised to do periodic updates about my progress with this tome, and it’s going really well so far! I’m enjoying the story a lot and I think that’s because I’m consuming it in bite-sized chunks.
Other than that, I just started She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey. In January, I read Ronan Farrow’s account of breaking the Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment scandal (Catch and Kill – loved it!) so I’m excited to dig into this novel and learn about the reporting these women did. And, since I can never read one book at a time, I’m also going to start The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams. I’ve heard really good things from trusted sources, but time will tell if the book lives up to my high standards.
What are you reading?
A book club photoshoot?! I am so intrigued! That sounds so fun. Looking forward to hearing more.
Can’t wait to hear more about the book club photo shoot! So fun! You have such a great book club. I”m struggling a bit with my local one. Attendance has dropped off so we asked people to invite other friends and then we had 3 people at our first true meeting of the year (January was the meeting when we pick books). Hopefully we get better participation soon. Or maybe I need to lower my expectations…
I finished a memoir about a woman waiting for a heart transplants. I can’t remember where I found the recommendation. It was called “The Glory was I had Such Friends.” The author had to go to CA to wait for a heart transplant as the transplant she had for 26 years was failing. A group of friends set up a spreadsheet so she would have one friend with her every day for the several months she was out there to help her out so her husband could work. It was a really raw account of her experience and it honestly gave me a bit of anxiety because she talks about how her immune suppressant drugs she is on due to her transplant made her more susceptible to cancer… but I am on immune suppressant drugs, too, so I didn’t sleep well one night, thinking about that. I did a little googling and it sounds like I’m not at signficantly higher risk but it’s something I am going to discuss with my doctor.
now I’m reading “Tell Me How it Ends” which is a really short memoir/non-fiction book written by an interpreter that works with child refugees. She translates the answers to the standard questionnaire that is part of the early process of going through the court system. It’s a hard read so I need something lighter next!!
I hope you like The Bromance Club. I really want to read it!
Suzanne Brockmann! Oh, I loved her SEAL Unit 6 books… those were some of my favorites when they were coming out. Sigh. Do you have others of hers you’d recommend? (It’s *possible* I may not have read them all… :>)
Black Man in a White Coat sounds fascinating… I might have to add that to my nonfiction list.