Happy Monday, friends! This weekend was a good one, albeit quieter than I would have liked. That’s how it goes sometimes. I was super happy on Sunday, though, because it was the first Football Sunday of the season. It was so much fun to spend the day at my mom’s watching the games (the Dolphins game was a nail-biter—still can’t believe we squeaked out a win!)
I finished two books last week and both were 4-star reads. Woop!
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides (★★★★☆)
This was an excellent thriller, and I can understand why it was such a hyped book of 2019. The story begins as Theo Faber, a psychotherapist, begins a new job at The Grove, a forensic psychiatric hospital. It’s there he meets Alicia Berenson, who was found guilty by reason of insanity of killing her husband. Since the day she killed her husband, she has not spoken and refuses all kinds of therapies. Theo believes he can be the one to get Alicia to talk again (which is the main reason he joined The Grove; Alicia’s story was splashed all over the news and he was intrigued by it). As with all thrillers, there are many twists and turns, revealed through Theo’s sessions with Alicia as well as Alicia’s own journal entries. The ending truly shocked me (and seemed to come out of nowhere), but it wasn’t super far-fetched, in my opinion. It was the right amount of shock that had me wanting to reread the book immediately to see how I missed the clues. Well done, Alex Michaelides!
Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny (★★★★☆)
I don’t want to talk too much about the plot of this book, since it’s the 14th in the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series and these books must be read in order. No ifs, ands, or buts about it, friends. Do not slide into this one without knowing everything that led up to it! It’s just not going to have the same impact. Anyway, I loved this book and the two main mysteries. There were so many great details involved and I’m always happy to be in Three Pines, surrounded by my favorite characters. They have become a comforting place for me. In these books, there is always a plotline involving the overarching police force and Gamache’s place within it, and this time, those scenes lacked a little bit of the intrigue that they usually have. Still, this was a wonderful book and it’s hard to believe that I’m veering closer and closer to being caught up with the series!
What I’m Reading This Week
- Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson (print) – This book is fascinating and horrifying at the same time. I’m reading a little bit every day (25 pages) and I find that’s the perfect pace to digest this dense read.
- Hang the Moon by Alexandria Bellefleur (e-book) – I’ve been slowly working my way through this romance, and I’m not even halfway done yet! It’s fine, but not so good that I’m racing to pick it up every free moment I can.
- A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza (e-book) – I just started this book that’s been on my Kindle for quite a while. Most of my friends give it stellar reviews (while cautioning that it’s a slow-moving novel) so I’m looking forward to the experience.
- I’m Not Dying With You Tonight by Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal (audiobook) – I’m starting this YA novel today. It’s a short audiobook (5 hours) and seems like it will pack an emotional punch.
What are you reading?
I loved the Gamache series so much and can’t wait to get my hands on the newest one. I’m on the hold list for it at the library. They absolutely HAVE to be read in order! When I hear of people reading them out of order I want to say – you are ruining your experience!
I finished “One Last Stop” last night and gave it 3 stars which was probably kind of generous? The long chapters and overdone length of the book kept it from being a must-read for me. But I wanted to find out what happened so felt compelled to finish it. I just feel like I could have skipped a good 1/4 of the book! It was needlessly long. I’m also reading “Ground Zero” by Alan Gratz on my kindle. It’s about 9/11 and is a middle grade book. It’s such a page turner and really well done – but also horrifying so I feel like middle grade is maybe an aggressive age for it? I’d say like 8th grade or older? I’ve felt so drawn to 9/11 content around the anniversary so was glad the book became available late last week. next up I am going to read While We Were Dating, The Other Black Girl, and People We Meet on Vacation as those physical books are available at the library. And then I need to focus on reading Deacon King Kong for book club later this month. Thanks for the tip about finding a way to keep track of the characters!! That makes me want to read it the physical book (which I own) as I like being able to flip back and forth if need be.
Isn’t it wonderful when you find a series that you love? I have never read Louise Penny, but your description made me think maybe I need to track down a new series to read.
OK, I think I am the only person who has not loved the Louise Penny books. I started the first one – I think? – and only got a few pages in before having to stop. Hm. I’m wondering what on earth I missed!
That said, the Silent Patient sounds very good. I might have to check that one out – particularly as you were so surprised by the twist!