I used to regularly write these book round up posts on my own site, but have decided to focus more energy over here, so from here on our we’ll be combining our book reviews – perhaps quarterly?
Sisterland – I love Curtis Sittenfeld and like a lot of this book but not whenever I think about it I make a frowny face. At one point I said out loud, “What are you DOING?” and found myself still thinking that at the end of the book. This brings me back to the question of if I can like a book while strongly disliking the characters or the choices they make. I still don’t know.
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda – LOVE. This is YA perfection and is a book I would be happy to own and reread.
The Martian – Also, YES. I did not expect to like this book as much as I did and now I want to tell everyone to read it. It was the perfect mix of science and humor and I couldn’t put it down. I watched the movie immediately after finishing the book. Of course the movie doesn’t hold a candle to the book – they change things in ways that I didn’t much like – but it was a nice companion to the book. If you’ve only seen the movie, do yourself a favor and READ THE BOOK.
The Rumor – Hard to go wrong with an Elin Hilderbrand beach read. Just like all of her books, this one made me want to summer in Nantucket.
Blue Lily, Lily Blue – This is the third book in the Raven Cycle Series and I’m only glad I waited to read this one because the next and final book, The Raven King, comes out this month. I’m loving this series.
I have no shame in my book game. I like Audible. I thought it would be fun to add my Audible picks that I’ve listened to recently. Plus, Megan and I have vastly different tastes in books so this should be fun.
You and Hidden Bodies – these romantic thrillers by Caroline Kepnes are narrated by Santino Fontana and he is straight up perfection as Joe. I got lost in the tone of his voice as he describes his obsession with the girl that comes into his book shop. I really liked You but thought Hidden Bodies was far-fetched. Joe’s crimes and the extent he goes to to cover them up were just not believable compared to the first book.
Wonder – My 8 year old daughter and I listened to this together and we loved it. I know it’s been out for several years now but it’s definitely worth listening to. The story about a boy born with facial anomalies is told from various perspectives. It’s given us the opportunity to talk and connect about how people might look different but are the same on the inside. Beautiful!
All Fall Down – I tried reading this one by Jennifer Weiner a year ago and sadly lost interest. I thought it might be my lack of time but now having listened to it, I think the story moved way too slowly for me. I was attracted to the book because the main character was a successful blogger and busy parent dealing with life (or not) by taking prescription pills to cope. The narrator’s voice of Allison’s daughter Ellie was like nails on a chalkboard. No wonder she was taking Oxy to deal. Woof.
What are you guys reading or listening to?
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