what i’m reading

Categories: Books

What I’m Reading (3.2.20)

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?

Categories: Books

What I’m Reading (2.24.20)

Happy Monday, my friends! What a weekend. Between Lila’s appointment at the vet (she did beautifully!), baby snuggles, catching up with Lisa over lunch, a reading date with a friend, and a birthday party for my nephew, it was quite a busy weekend. So it goes! 🙂 It was a weekend that really filled me up, though, so that’s always wonderful.

I finished four books last week, what! Two romances, one audiobook, and a long character-driven novel. All were wonderful, so let’s dive into the reviews:

Books Finished

Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren (★★★★☆) – I loved this contemporary romance, mostly because the majority of the book took place on a film set and I found that setting to be fascinating! Twelve years ago, Tate was betrayed by Sam, a boy she met during a trip to London after graduating high school. They fell in love during that trip… until he sold her story (about how she’s the daughter of a legendary actor) to the gossip rags. In the ensuing years, Tate became a household name in the entertainment business, starring in TV shows and movies. She’s ready to start filming her next movie… until she finds out that the screenwriter is Sam. It’s a beautiful story about second chances, the power of family, and trust.

A Nearly Normal Family by M.T. Edvardsson (★★★★☆) – This was an inventive thriller that’s told in three parts. In Part I, we get the point-of-view of the father whose 18-year-old daughter has just been accused of murder. In Part II, we get the point-of-view of the daughter while she’s in prison awaiting her trial. And in Part III, we get the point-of-view of the mother during the trial. I enjoyed all three sections equally, although I felt like Part III was the weakest and I wanted more showing, less telling. But definitely add this one to your list if you love a good family drama/thriller!

This Must Be the Place by Maggie O’Farrell (★★★★☆) – Man, I really loved this novel! It wasn’t what I was expecting at all, following the lives of two people—Claudette, a reclusive movie star, and her husband, Daniel. Together, Claudette and Daniel have two young children. Claudette also has an older son from a previous relationship while Daniel has two older kids from his first marriage that he hasn’t seen in years. The novel is essentially a series of vignettes with different protagonists, sometimes Claudette or Daniel, sometimes one of their children, and sometimes a completely random person (like Claudette’s assistant), but all with the centering focus of describing who Claudette and Daniel are, both together and separate. It is a character-driven novel, which isn’t typically my favorite, but I found myself able to sink into this story and fall in love with these incredibly flawed people. The writing was phenomenal, too, and I’m so excited to read more of O’Farrell’s work!

Good Guy by Kate Meader (★★★★☆) – I loved this book, especially the way it dug into misogyny and sexism in pro sports. The novel follows Jordan who is a sports reporter and podcaster who finally gets her big break—interviewing the “oldest rookie in the league,” Levi Hunt. Hunt has joined the Chicago Rebels, a pro hockey team, after a stint in the military, and he was deployed with Jordan’s husband, who died overseas, so there’s an extra-special connection there. It was a fun read but also an impactful one because misogyny in pro sports is a real issue and I’m glad Meader explored it in this book.

What I’m Reading Now

I’m currently listening to the audiobook of How the Light Gets In, the ninth book in Louise Penny’s incredible Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series. We’re back in Three Pines in this book and it’s so lovely to be reunited with my favorite characters.

Last night, I started Black Man in a White Coat: A Doctor’s Reflections on Race and Medicine by Damon Tweedy, MD. I’m only about a chapter in so I don’t have much to say about it right now, but I imagine it will be a really eye-opening read. And since I know I’ll probably need to take some breaks with that book, I’m going to pick up Under Fire by Scarlett Cole sometime this week. It’s romantic suspense and I’ve really loved Cole’s other novels so I have high hopes for this one.

What are you reading?

Categories: Books

What I’m Reading (2.17.20)

Happy Monday! I had a really strange weekend, ha. I spent all day Saturday on a road trip. Mom and I drove to the other side of the state and back in one day, which ended up being 12 hours of driving. For two people who hate driving, this was stressful for both of us, but we got through it and I spent all day Sunday recuperating. I’ve also been having really disturbing dreams lately (like: a nightmare where I found someone murdered in my bathtub!!) so sleep has been less comforting. Whew. I’m glad I have a low-key week ahead of me (no plans until Friday!) so I can try to recover as best as possible.

On that note, let’s dive into my reading recap! I finished three books this week, and all of them received 4 stars from me so that’s a fantastic reading week. Yay! Let’s review.

Books Finished

> Forever and a Day by Jill Shalvis (★★★★☆) – I loved this sweet contemporary romance so much! It was just the kind of light-hearted read I needed. It follows a woman named Grace who stopped in the small town of Lucky Harbor after leaving a job where she was sexually harassed. She was basically destitute and needed a soft place to land. Over the past few months, she’s been working odd jobs around town while also interviewing for jobs in her field (accounting) at nearby bigger cities. She gets a dog walking job from Dr. Josh Scott, an ER doctor and someone Grace has been crushing on. Over the course of the next few weeks, Grace takes on nannying duties for Josh’s young son and, well, you can see what happens from here. It’s the “forced proximity” trope that I dearly love in romance novels and it was incredibly well-executed in this one. Another winner from my fave romance author!

> The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver (★★★★☆) – I loved this slim novel (it’s under 240 pages). It was such a lovely, heartwarming story about Taylor, a girl whose only goal is to leave her small town after high school. And she does just that. Not even a few weeks have passed since she left home and she ends up with a three-year-old girl who has been through obvious trauma. The toddler was shoved in Taylor’s car at one point, and there was nothing else for her to do but keep the girl. What follows is a beautiful story about love, abandonment, and found family. There’s also this immigration subplot that feels startlingly close to today’s reality. (The book was written in 1988—had it been written today, I would have thought the immigration storyline to be a little over-the-top and trying too hard to be relevant.) Anyway, I loved this novel immensely and encourage others to pick it up!

> Sisters First: Stories from Our Wild and Wonderful Life by Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush (★★★★☆) – My mom and I listened to this audiobook (it’s 6 and a half hours long) during our long Saturday drive. It’s hard to find books that will meet both of our tastes, but I figured she’d be interested in this story, and I was as well. This is a memoir from former President George W. Bush’s daughters, Jenna and Barbara, about their life growing up in a political family, their time as First Daughters while they were in college and their incredibly strong sisterly bond. I really, really loved this memoir and the stories they told. (Giggling over the story of Jenna’s first date with her now-husband, Henry, whose car was parked in the exact spot Air Force One was about to land; having deep respect for what these women went through on and after September 11th; feeling appalled at Barbara’s college professor who told Barbara she could change her grade if Barbara would tell her father to vote against the war. !!) It’s a reminder that there is so much more to political families. Jenna and Barbara may be linked to their father’s presidency forever because of their last name, but they are truly their own people with their own political views, ideals, and motivations. The story of Barbara having a spirited debate with her father about gay rights was eye-opening, to say the least. I just really loved this memoir and even if you’re no fan of President Bush (I sure am not), I encourage you to pick up this book, if only to get a glimpse into what it’s like being part of a presidency.

What I’m Reading Now

I’m halfway through A Nearly Normal Family by M.T. Edvardsson. I’m listening to it on audio and it’s been a really intriguing read so far. I can’t wait to listen on my commute this week! I’m nearly finished with Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren, which I am loving, and planning on picking up Good Guy by Kate Meader (a new hockey romance series!) when I’m done. I’m also working my way through This Must Be the Place by Maggie O’Farrell, an Anne Bogel recommendation that is much different than I was expecting but in a good way. I’m about halfway through and really enjoying it. (What I’m not enjoying is the cigarette smell emanating from my library copy. Ugh.)

What are you reading?

Categories: Books

What I’m Reading (2.10.20)

Happy Monday! I had an excellent weekend. On Saturday, my mom and I did our mud run and it was so much fun! I honestly wasn’t looking forward to it (especially when we realized it was going to be cold—it was 38 degrees when we got to the race site), but it wound up being a really fun time and I’m so glad we did it. The rest of my weekend was spent recovering because, oof, my body is not used to that kind of activity.

Let’s switch gears, though, and talk about my week in reading because, well, I ended up abandoning a book that has gotten rave reviews from trusted sources, Shoe Dog by Phil Knight. The book just wasn’t fully resonating with me and I found myself not excited to pick it up, so after giving it a good 100ish pages, I abandoned it. I can understand why people love the book, especially runners, but it just didn’t hold my attention.

Here are the reviews for the books I did finish this week.

Books Finished

Headliners by Lucy Parker (★★★★★) – Another 5-star romance from Lucy Parker. She never, ever lets me down and I’m just sad I read her newest release so fast and it’ll be months and months before I get a new book from her. This is the typical enemies-to-lovers trope that I love so much. Nick and Sabrina are forced to work together on a morning show after their own broadcasting contracts are canceled due to scandals. They have to figure out how to put aside their differences in order to save their careers and, of course, wind up falling in love in the midst of all this. I loved Nick and Sabrina’s chemistry and rapport and care for one another (after they stopped hating each other, that is). But what I really loved about this novel is that there wasn’t really a dark moment (aka, the part in a romance where the characters break up and all hope for their relationship appears lost). I was waiting for one of them to misinterpret the other’s intentions and have a big blowup (that could have been solved by them just listening to each other and being grown adults), but that never happened. There were multiple misunderstandings along the way, but each time, Nick and Sabrina acted like adults, listened to the other’s side of the story, and moved on. This novel is really making me rethink the dark moment for my own novel—while I love dramatic dark moments and I think they deserve their place in romance novels, I’m starting to come around to the idea that maybe there doesn’t need to be this dramatic scene. Maybe there’s a better way to create stakes for the relationship without having a huge breakup. Hmm. I’ve got some thinking to do!

Jane Doe by Victoria Helen Stone (★★★★★) – I read this book in less than 24 hours, something I can rarely accomplish. (I’m not a particularly fast reader—I just devote a lot of time to reading.) But this psychological thriller sucked me in from the beginning and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. It’s about a female sociopath named Jane who has decided to exact revenge on a man named Steven for reasons that are revealed throughout the novel. I loved Jane’s character so much! She was introspective in a way I didn’t expect and so much fun to read about. I thought the book was well-paced and the ending satisfying. All I want from a thriller!

Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone (★★★★☆) – This was an easy, quick YA book about a girl in high school who has OCD, something she hides from her close-knit group of girlfriends (who belong to the “popular” crowd at school). It’s only through meeting a new friend and learning about a secret poet’s society at school that she begins to discover a new side to herself and see herself as “normal.” I thought this book did a great job of discussing the intricacies of having a chronic mental illness, although there were times when the book veered into problematic territory of “girl with OCD finds love and suddenly her OCD is healed.” Let’s not do that, authors.

What I’m Reading Now

Currently, I’m dipping in and out of Forever and a Day, a contemporary romance by fave author Jill Shalvis, as well as my February book for the Unread Shelf Project, The Bean Trees. Today, I’ll start the audiobook for A Nearly Normal Family by M.T. Edvardsson during my commute to work. It’s a psychological thriller that may be a little too intense for me, but I’m intrigued enough by the premise to give it a shot.

What are you reading?

Categories: Books

What I’m Reading (2.3.20)

Happy Monday, friends! I’m off work today (the day after the Super Bowl is a holiday, in my opinion) and planning a fun ladies’ day with my mom. We’re going to paint pottery, get massages, and get pedicures. Definitely a great way to spend a Monday, for sure. 🙂

I didn’t put up a What I’m Reading post last week, but I’m back in action this week with three books to review. I loved two of them and was rather “meh” on the third one.

Books Finished

The Hollow of Fear by Sherry Thomas (★★★★☆) – The third book in the Lady Sherlock series (a gender-bending mystery series that imagines Sherlock Holmes as a woman), this novel follows the mysterious death of Charlotte Holmes’ dear friend, Lord Ingram’s, wife. He’s obviously the one being suspected of killing her and it’s up to Charlotte to clear his name. I loved this book from start to finish and couldn’t have guessed the whodunnit for the life of me. Another great mystery!

Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert (★★☆☆☆) – This romance novel has been getting a lot of buzz so I excitedly picked it for Book of the Month a few months ago. And… it was just okay. While I enjoyed the romance between the two main characters and thought the portrayal of chronic illness to be really powerful, the story arc was a bit disjointed and there were many times I was just… bored… with the story. I think this is more of a case of “good for you, not for me” – the story just didn’t meet my expectations for a good romance, but definitely pick it up if you want to add more diverse romance into your reading life!

Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators by Ronan Farrow (★★★★☆) – What a fascinating read! Catch and Kill is the story of how Ronan Farrow was able to get his investigative journalism piece revealing Harvey Weinstein’s serial sexual abuse (which includes rape allegations and sexual harassment). At first, Farrow wanted to publish the piece on TV as a special for NBC News, but his reporting quickly got squashed by the higher-ups when they learned what he was doing. He eventually took his reporting over to The New Yorker where it was published. This book is a horrifying, insidious look into a corrupt organization and the tactics powerful men will take to keep an even more powerful man happy. It sometimes veers into silly spy novel territory (this is why I dropped my rating from 5 to 4 stars), but is still an incredible read and I am so grateful for journalists like Farrow who seek the truth no matter the stakes and for the women who spoke up, laid out their trauma, and helped bring to light Weinstein’s despicable behavior.

What I’m Reading Now

Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message so Customers Will Listen by Donald Miller – I’m reading this for work and it’s about as exciting as you can imagine. 😉

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy – I’m reading this on an app called Serial Reader, which I heard about on a podcast. This app helps people read classic novels by delivering them in bite-sized, magazine-style issues. Each issue only takes about 10 minutes to read so it’s a great way to read that classic novel that’s been on your TBR forever. I’m really enjoying the experience of taking such a big book and breaking it into these tiny passages. I feel like it’s helping me sink into the novel and understand it better than if I was trying to read it all at once. My plan is to provide a monthly update on my progress, so stay tuned. 🙂

Headliners by Lucy Parker – New Lucy Parker! New Lucy Parker! I pre-ordered the e-book for her latest release the minute I knew about it and was so delighted when it downloaded to my Kindle a week ago. It’s so much fun—exactly what I expect from a Lucy Parker romance!

Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone – My current audiobook, about a 16-year-old girl struggling with OCD. It’ll be a quick listen (it’s 8 hours) so I should breeze through it this week.

Up Next

Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of NIKE by Phil Knight – Lisa recently read and raved about this book so I thought I’d give it a try myself since I’m really into narrative nonfiction lately. I’ll start it sometime this week.

What are you reading?