Stephany Writes

Categories: Books

What I’m Reading (8.5.19)

Making Up by Lucy Parker (★★★★☆)

I really enjoyed this romance by one of my new faves, Lucy Parker. It’s part enemies-to-lovers, part reunion trope. Trix is a circus performer who has just been given the starring role in a production after the previous girl falls during a performance and breaks her arm. Leo is a makeup and special effects artist who is going through a rough time career-wise and joins the production to start building his career back up. Trix and Leo were close friends in school but had a falling-out and are now sworn enemies. While I didn’t love this romance as much as her previous novels, it was still a fun read with such a unique setting!

Hooked On You by Kate Meader (★★★★☆)

I loved this hockey romance, which wraps up the Chicago Rebels series from Kate Meader. Bren and Violet have been dancing around each other for the past few books and it was nice to finally get their story. However, the book did make me emotional because of Bren’s relationship with his daughters. He’s a recovering alcoholic who went to rehab and is doing all he can to be a better father to his girls. It gave me a lot of feelings as my father also struggles with addiction but was never able to beat them for my brother and me. His addictions always came first. Bren works so hard every day to stay sober for his daughters and I loved watching their relationship with him blossom throughout the book. I think that was the strongest element in the novel, even though the chemistry between Bren and Violet was evident on the page and I loved how they broke down their walls to let love in.

Selfish, Shallow & Self-Absorbed: Sixteen Writers on The Decision Not to Have Kids, edited by Meghan Daum (★★★★☆)

Oh, do I have thoughts about this book. So many thoughts that I’m planning on writing a post about being childless (and maybe wanting to remain that way) this week. This is a book of 16 essays with writers from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences, talking about how they came to terms with being childless and what it means for them today. Some of the writers went to great lengths to get pregnant, while others never felt the compulsion. There were a lot of opinions in this book that I didn’t agree with but I came away with a lot of food for thought and I appreciate reading about such a wide range of experiences.

What I’m reading this week…

> Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. I’m nearly halfway through this novel and only started reading it on Saturday! I was immediately drawn into the story and am finding it hard to put it down.

> A Prince on Paper by Alyssa Cole. Yay! My hold for this romance finally came in. I love Alyssa Cole’s contemporary romances and this one features two characters that were present in the other books, so I’m excited to finally read their story!

> Rules of Civility by Amor Towles, on audio. I abandoned the audiobook I was reading last week (The Last Romantics) because I just didn’t find the story compelling enough. Also, I didn’t love the narration. Anyway, this means I get to start Rules of Civility! Fingers crossed it works better for me than The Last Romantics.

What are you reading?

Categories: Books

What I’m Reading (7.29.19)

Happy Monday, friends! I had such a great weekend – the perfect mix of downtime and being social, which I haven’t gotten for a few weekends in a row. Lately, there have been plans on plans on plans so it was nice to take it easy this weekend.

I finished four books last week – woop! It was a very good reading week for me and – spoiler alert – all my reads were four or five stars! Let’s review

A Conspiracy in Belgravia by Sherry Thomas (★★★★☆)

I wish I had read a physical copy of this book rather than listening to the audiobook. I think it would have been a better experience for me. This is the second book in the Lady Sherlock series. Charlotte Holmes has earned a bit of notoriety in the papers (although everyone thinks a man named Sherlock is solving the mysteries) and attracts the attention of the wife of Charlotte’s would-be love interest. She comes to Sherlock’s home (where “he” conducts “his” business) to ask about finding an old lover that she thinks might be dead. What I loved most about this novel is how much I couldn’t guess how the plot would unfold! It concluded in a completely different way than I expected, but was so satisfying, too. And the last line of this book has me wanting to rush out and get the third novel ASAP.

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren (★★★★☆)

Christina Lauren is an all-time favorite for me, and they did not disappoint with this novel. Olive and Ethan, mortal enemies, are the only people at a wedding (Olive’s sister married Ethan’s brother) who didn’t get sick from the buffet. (Olive has food allergies that prevented her from eating the buffet and Ethan thinks buffets are gross, so they had separate meals.) Olive’s sister implores her to take the honeymoon she was supposed to go on – and Ethan’s brother does the same to him. So, they have to spend 10 days with each other and try not to kill one another in the process. And, as it turns out, they don’t actually hate each other. They actually really, really like each other! It’s a sweet romance that had me laughing out loud throughout the novel, and I was actually pleasantly surprised by how it all turned out in the end.

Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery (★★★★★)

Anne of the Island is the third book in the Anne of Green Gables series, following Anne as a young adult in college. She navigates education, her growing feelings for Gilbert Blythe, dating, and friendship throughout the novel. I know people have said that the Anne books aren’t worth reading past the first novel, but I vehemently disagree with that opinion. There’s something so human and relatable about these novels as Anne begins to grow up and recognize how different life is going to be as you say goodbye to childhood and enter adulthood. Friends grow up, get married, move away, become parents. I remember struggling so much with this passage of time when I started college. Anne struggles in the same ways and there was something so beautiful about how she came to terms with it.

White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo (★★★★★)

It’s hard to wrap my mind around this book to give a coherent review, but it’s a book that I think all white people need to read. We all must come to terms with our racist assumptions and behaviors because no matter how “good” you think you are or what an “ally” you think you are, white people grew up in a society that puts them ahead of people of color. All white people – rich and poor alike – have benefited from this system and it’s only by understanding our racial bias, listening to people of color when they try to educate us on our racism, and working hard to challenge our internalized beliefs that we can begin to build a society that helps rather than harms people of color.

What I’m reading this week…

> Selfish, Shallow, and Self-Absorbed: Sixteen Writers on the Decision Not to Have Kids edited by Meghan Daum. I’m still on the fence about having kids myself (most days, I just don’t think I’d enjoy motherhood all that much), so this collection of essays has been really comforting to read.

> Making Up by Lucy Parker. My faaaaaaave! Lucy Parker books are the best, most especially because the settings are so unique! This book follows Trix, who is a circus performer, and Leo, who is a makeup artist, and I am thoroughly enjoying it.

> The Last Romantics by Tara Conklin, on audio. My hold just came through for the audiobook of this novel that’s getting some major buzz. I’ll start it on my commute this week.

What are you reading?

Categories: Books

What I’m Reading (7.22.19)

Hello! Happy Monday. 🙂 Whew, I had such a busy weekend and I am definitely on the struggle bus this morning. Give me all the coffee! There was a reading date, a pool party, a pottery event, a writing date, and axe throwing. Typically, I like 1-2 weekend events so I’m feeling very introverted-out right now. I’m longing for a weekend with zero plans on the agenda. Maybe someday!

Last week, I only finished one book since I didn’t have a ton of reading time over the week. Too many plans! Here’s my review:

Elliott Redeemed by Scarlett Cole (★★★☆☆)

This was a sweet romance, but everything felt just a little too “perfect” and even the dark moment wasn’t as intense as I expected it to be. It follows the story of Kendalee, whose 14-year-old son is in the hospital dealing with serious burns on his legs after he burned down their home. On top of dealing with all that, Kendalee is separated from her husband after she found out he was cheating on her. And then Elliott, guitarist for a rock band, stops by the hospital to cheer up the kids and meets Kendalee’s son. Elliott and Daniel form an instant bond – and then so do Elliott and Kendalee when they meet for the first time and sparks fly. As the novel progresses, Elliott and Kendalee become intertwined in each other’s lives and Elliott does whatever he can to make her life easier: giving her a room in his large home to stay in (she was essentially homeless after the fire), giving her money so she could quit her minimum wage job at a grocery store, etc. It just all felt a little too perfect for me and I was left wanting more.

What I’m reading this week…

> White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo. I’m reading one chapter a day in this book, and it’s been incredibly enlightening and thought-provoking. I have highlighted the hell out of it and have dozens of Post-It notes sticking out of the pages.

> A Conspiracy in Belgravia by Sherry Thomas, on audio. I thought I would fly through this audiobook this week because it’s just over 10 hours, but since I listen to it while I’m driving, sometimes my mind wanders. And you can’t really let your mind wander while reading a mystery! I have to constantly rewind the audiobook, so I’m thinking mysteries might not be the best for me on audio. TMYK, right?

> Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery. I’m about halfway through the third book in the Anne of Green Gables series and like all the books, it’s been such a breath of fresh air to read.

> The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren. Enemies-to-lovers might be my favorite romance trope (which is why The Hating Game is my all-time favorite romance), so I’m just delighted by this novel. Plus, it takes place in Hawaii!

What are you reading?

Categories: Books

What’s a Silent Reading Event?

A few people asked for more details about silent reading parties and what they entail, so I thought I’d write a post about my experience attending one in my city and how you can go to one in your city! 🙂

I first heard about these silent reading parties from a Bookstagrammer I follow whose city throws pretty epic silent reading parties once a month. They usually take place on a Saturday morning or afternoon at a fun bar in the city, and it looked like so much fun.

So, I did a quick Google search for silent reading parties in my own city and found one that a local literary society throws on the second Tuesday evening of every month. I bookmarked the date in February, thinking I’d go by myself and check it out. Buuuut… I chickened out in February. And also in March. And again in April.

Finally, I brought up this event to my book club, knowing if anyone was going to be as excited about attending something like this, it would be them. Most of them were interested, which filled me with so much glee. I knew I would be able to finally attend this event if I had a friend or two to go with!

I planned to go to the June meeting, and it was really fun! I’m glad I finally had the courage to go. Here’s what the event entailed:

Our silent reading event took place at a meditation center and started at 7:30pm. My friend and I got there maybe 10 minutes prior to the starting time and there were four people there: the host, the person who runs the meditation center, and two other women. We were instructed to sign in, take off our shoes, and find a comfortable place to sit. There were a few chairs scattered around the room, along with an assortment of large pillows and BackJack floor chairs. One woman was seated in one of the chairs, two other women were using BackJack chairs, and a man had constructed what is essentially a bed out of a bunch of pillows. My friend and I chose BackJack chairs along with pillows to rest our legs on. (Halfway through the event, I ended up adding a second pillow to rest in my lap and found it much more comfortable to read that way.)

We were asked to silence our cell phones and the man walked around the room with a basket to take them from us. My phone was in my purse across the room so I said it was already stowed away. My friend didn’t want to give up her phone (she didn’t use it, but she just felt better keeping it near her just in case), and they didn’t badger her to give it up. It was more of an encouragement if you wanted to be tech-free during these 90 minutes.

And then, the man rang a gong (yes, really!) to signal that we were entering the period of silence. Everyone stopped talking, opened their books, and started reading.

It was so calm and peaceful for those 90 minutes of reading. Nobody was whispering or checking their phones or walking in and out of the room. The only sounds were people turning the pages in their books or opening a highlighter to highlight a page they were reading.

I’ve mentioned before how I’m not the type to sit down for an hour or two and just read. I read in short snippets, 10-15 minutes at a time. The longest period I tend to read is when I read on my lunch break, but even then, I take breaks to play a game on my phone or scroll through Instagram for five minutes. With this silent reading event, though, I was forced to sit down and read for 90 minutes straight.

And it was glorious. I was shocked when the man rang the gong to signal that time was up because I wasn’t prepared for it to be over so soon.

After our silent reading period was finished, we went around the room sharing what book we were reading. I’ll admit I felt a bit out of my depth with the books these other people were reading; just… not the kinds of books I like to read and very highly literary. I felt a bit silly showing my Louise Penny mystery, even though I’m not ashamed of my love for cozy mysteries. It would have been really fun to shock this group with a romance title, though!

But that’s what our silent reading event was like! My friend and I have talked about having our own little “events” together every once in a while – just getting together on a random weekday evening and meeting in a park to read. But I also think I’ll return to this silent reading event again. I wasn’t able to make it to July’s event, but hopefully, I can go in August!

If you’re interested in checking out one in your city, I’d suggest doing a google search (“silent reading party + your city”) because that’s exactly how I found mine! You could also check out Silent Book Club, which has chapters throughout the world. Another option is to check Meetup.com to see if there are any silent reading meetups around you. (My city had one for a while, but it’s now disbanded.) If none exists where you are? Why not create your own? All you have to do is find a venue willing to host your event and spread the word!

Have you ever been to a silent reading event? If not, would you want to?

Categories: Books

What I’m Reading (7.15.19)

Happy Monday, my friends! How is it already mid-July? Time is a-flyin’! This weekend was so good for my soul. I got a massage, spent some time at a bookstore (and if you don’t think I came home with more books to add to my overflowing shelves, you don’t know me), and went bowling with the fam. My older nephew is in a bowling league and he impressed me so much with his skill. He certainly put me to shame, but he was so encouraging and supportive, it melted my heart.

Anyway. Let’s talk books! I finished three books last week and here are my reviews:

Christmas Ever After by Sarah Morgan (★★★☆☆)

This was a sweet romance that followed the enemies-to-lovers trope and took place over the Christmas holiday. It was essentially one of those beloved cheesy Hallmark Christmas movies (the kind where a man brings a woman home for his family’s Christmas gathering and shock! They have to sleep in the same room because all the other rooms are occupied!) It was great fun, although I felt that the author did a little too much “telling” and not enough “showing” for certain plot points.

Normal People by Sally Rooney (★★★☆☆)

This book follows two characters – Marianne and Connell – over the course of a number of years, beginning in high school and continuing through college. They have an on-again/off-again relationship, going months and months without seeing each other and then suddenly finding each other again. It’s a quirky book with the kind of writing style I don’t normally love, but it somehow worked for me in this instance. (Maybe because I bought my copy of the book while in Ireland, so it gave me lots of happy feels remembering my trip!) I didn’t love that the author didn’t use quotation marks when people were talking, but it didn’t end up bothering me too much. I wavered between 3 or 4 stars for this book, ultimately settling on 3.5, because there was a certain melancholy element to this novel that I didn’t love. It’s the type of book I won’t be recommending to everyone, but I think there are certain people who would really enjoy the writing style and melancholy.

Miracle Creek by Angie Kim (★★★★★)

Oh, I loved this novel. It was so well-written and it’s shocking that it’s the author’s debut. It’s a courtroom drama filled with mystery and intrigue, as a woman is on trial for allegedly setting fire to the hyperbaric chamber where her son was enclosed. The fire killed her son and another woman and seriously injured three other people, but was it her? Or someone else? The courtroom scenes in this novel were so good and they played like a movie in front of my eyes (which is troubling, since I listened to the audiobook during my commute, but I promise I paid attention to the road!) I also loved the scenes with the mothers who were taking their special-needs children to this hyperbaric chamber. These scenes were so brutally honest about the reality of taking care of a special-needs kid, and I ached for these mothers. I would love for this to get picked up for a miniseries, but until then, please do yourself a favor and pick up this book. It’s incredible!

What I’m reading this week…

> Elliott Redeemed by Scarlett Cole. I’m a little more than halfway through this romance and it’s fine. Some of the plot reads a little cheesy and too perfect, but it’s entertaining me still.

> White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo. I’ve seen this book everywhere lately, and it’s inspired me to pluck it off my shelf and finally dive in. It’s a short book (under 160 pages) but not one to rush through. My plan is to read two chapters a day and take lots of notes.

> A Conspiracy in Belgravia by Sherry Thomas, on audio. I read the first book in the Lady Sherlock series in October and wasn’t sure when I was going to get around to reading the next book when I discovered it was available on audiobook through my library. Perfect! I’m starting this today.

What are you reading?