What I’m Reading (12.23.19)

Happy Christmas Eve Eve! (Christmas Adam, I think we’re calling it now? Ha.) I am working today but then have the next two days off and Thursday, I’m working from home so it should be a very easy work week for me! I’m so excited about it! Also on Thursday, I’m kicking off this year’s “Best of 2019” series! I love doing these posts so very much and I can’t wait to recap my year on the blog. 🙂

I had a good reading week last week, as I finished two books and loved both of them! Here are my reviews:

Books Finished

1) Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan (★★★★★) – This book was fascinating and horrifying at the same time. It follows the month-long psychotic break that Susannah Cahalan had when she was in her early twenties and had no prior history of mental illness. The progression of her illness, from obsessive thoughts to paranoia and hearing voices that weren’t there, was horrifying, and I’m not sure how Susannah was able to write about it in such a vulnerable way. It had to be so hard to remember those dark days, even worse to recognize the toll it placed on her family when she was deep in the throes of psychosis. (There was a lot she didn’t remember so she had to rely on medical notes, footage from hospital cameras, and her parents’ journals.) Susannah ended up being one of the lucky ones, someone diagnosed and treated and able to live a full, healthy life afterward, and it’s frightening to think what could have happened if she didn’t have family fighting so strongly for her and one of the top neurologists in the country consulting on her case. Anyway, it’s a really compelling story that I found hard to put down and I wholly recommend it.

2) Lennon Reborn by Scarlett Cole (★★★★☆) – I really loved this romance, the last in Cole’s Preload series that followed four of the five members of a heavy metal band. This story is about Lennon, the drummer, who was probably my least favorite person before this novel redeemed him. The members of this band met in a group home so they all have very tragic backstories, but Lennon is the one who has never really dealt with the trauma and pain, instead letting it fester and make him an angry person. So I was a little apprehensive about this book, but man, was he redeemed. I loved his character arc and especially loved the way his relationship with Georgia helped to heal him, but not in a superficial way. In a way that showed him he was worthy of love and worthy of giving love. It was a special book and I’m so sad that my time with this band has come to an end!

What I’m Reading Now

1) The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny – I’m six hours into this audiobook and thoroughly enjoying it. (Amber was right – the Inspector Gamache books on audio are excellent!) Unlike many of the other books in the series that take place in a small Canadian town called Three Pines, this book is set at a monastery. It’s a little hard to keep all the characters straight but it’s been an easy, comforting listening experience.

2) Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner – This book is a tome at almost 500 pages so it’s not one I’ll be speeding through. The book follows two sisters throughout their lives starting when they were very young. Character-driven novels aren’t normally my favorite, but this one is keeping my attention so far.

3) Well Met by Jen DeLuca – My romance for the week! It’s a nice change of pace from Mrs. Everything, even if the writing isn’t as good as I’d hoped.

Up Next

I actually haven’t decided what I’ll read when I’m finished with the above books! I have a romance queued up (Hate to Want You by Alisha Rai) but nothing beyond that. After I finish Hate to Want You, I’ll make a decision if I want to try to read something quick (like another romance or a thriller) to finish before the end of 2019, or if I want to start a longer book (I have The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai checked out from the library) that I’ll carry into 2020 with me.

What are you reading?