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?
I really liked This Must Be the Place. It was different but once I got a feel for what was going on, I really enjoyed it (I recall that it sort of jumped around a bit and you weren’t really sure what was happening!). That sucks that it smells like cigarette smoke, though. Yuck. I would say something when you return it so they take it out of circulation. Ick ick ick!
I started “The Confessions of Frannie Langton” over the weekend but gave up around the 10% mark when it wasn’t grabbing me. I am trying to be more ruthless about abandoning books that aren’t grabbing me. I often push through and then regret it in the end. After giving up on that, I started “Truth and Beauty” which is a memoir about a friendship by Ann Patchett. It’s really really good so far! I just read her collection of essays “This is the story of a happy marriage” and she talks about how Truth and Beauty was selected by a southern university for the freshman class to read before they started freshman year and how controversial it was,. I guess there was a huge uproar as they talk about sex in the book. Now that I’m reading it, I can’t believe it was so controversial because they were both in their 20s. Man the south is weird sometimes (no offense to you as a Floridian!).
Um. I would also be very disturbed if I was having dreams about finding people murdered in my tub! Hopefully the nightmares calm down — sleep disturbances are never any fun!
Ugh, I have been slacking hard on reading lately. I think it’s because I was sick last week. I did get the audiobook of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix from the library, which I’m going to start tomorrow. I’m also reading Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist in the morning — it’s an essay collection about…essentially celebrating the small things in life? I really love Shauna’s writing. She wrote Present over Perfect is one of my favourite faith books.
Excited to see your review of Twice in a Blue Moon! I’ve seen mixed things — some people love it, others, not so much.
Gosh, I am glad I’ve never had a cigarette smell from any of my library books! That smells gives me headaches and I would not be able to read it!
Gah, that is a long arse drive. Glad you had an awesome book to listen to. That sounds like something I would like! I love memoirs and sneak peeks in to the White House.
Do you think The Bean Trees is the oldest book you’ve read this year? I have been thinking about how I really need to try to read things a bit older 😉
I am reading How Not to Die Alone, which I see you read last year!