“Reading is a way for me to expand my mind, open my eyes, and fill up my heart.” – Oprah Winfrey

Then She was Gone by Lisa Jewell – A mother copes with the disappearance of her daughter several years prior, the dissolution of her marriage, and her struggle to maintain good relations with her other children. One day a stranger walks into her life and she opens herself up to loving him and his daughter, who eerily reminds her of her lost child. This was a twisty thriller and super engaging to read. However, I saw the twist coming and wasn’t super surprised by any of the reveals, so keep that in mind if you hate not being surprised by surprised endings. Anyway, I’d recommend this if you’re looking for a quick weekend read for a cozy fall weekend!

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid – This book has a really promising premise of exploring many aspects of racism (harassment from police, micro aggressions, fetishism, performative white allyship, etc…) I came into it with an open mind, but I did not end up finishing this book. I really tried and read about halfway through but it was just taking me so long and I wasn’t excited to pick it up again after setting it down. The storyline wasn’t compelling to me and one of the main characters was just exhausting. She was (purposely) unlikeable but I my opinion she had no redeeming qualities. I assume this character was supposed to help people examine their white privilege and reflect on their internal intentions, but there was no nuance to the character that allowed me to relate to her. So it was easy to just put her in the villain category without my own world view feeling challenged. I usually don’t like to quit books, but this one just didn’t click for me.

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry – Okay, this book was really cute! The main character is a travel writer who has become estranged from her best friend from college. She invites him to join her on a The characters were a little overly quirky and some events were a little too convenient, but it worked for this book and this genre. Really a perfect vacation read, it was pure confection and serotonin. Highly recommend if you are looking for a quick, fun and easy romcom read.

Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot – I feel a little late to the party, I think everyone I know read the book several years ago when it was first published. But WOW. I knew a bit of the story of Henrietta Lacks and how her cells were taken without her consent. How they kept growing outside of her body and were used for experiments that led to incredible medical breakthroughs. But I really appreciated how much research the author did into who Henrietta was, how she was loved by her community and family, and how she is remembered by those who knew her. Her personal story was intertwined with the story of her cells and layered into that was a lot of commentary on inequality of healthcare for people who are poor and/or Black. And then you are left with the philosophical question of whether it is ethical to use a sample of someone’s tissues without their consent if the intention is progress in medical research. It was a surprisingly easy read for a book so packed with history, politics, social and ethical commentary. Highly highly recommend. Anyone and everyone should read this book. I hope it’s found it’s way onto high school curriculums as well!

The Magic of Found Objects by Maddie Dawson – Another quick, fun, easy read. The main character is a single woman in her late thirties living in New York City. After a year of leaning into online dating and having zero success, her best friend proposes an unconventional marriage, one without romantic love. He argues that none of their friends who married for love have been completely happy or stayed together, so why not marry your platonic best friend? This leads our main character to question her belief in love and examine her parents failed marriage a little closer. This book was full of really interesting characters and the story moved pretty quickly. As with most romcoms, there are some all-too-convenient plot points, but it’s all in good fun. Another feel-good vacation or weekend recommendation.

Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia – OMG. I can’t remember the last time I read a book as poetic and heart-breakingly beautiful as this one. The book centers around the women in a Cuban/Cuban-American family, what they fight for, and the struggles they face. Each chapter is an up close snapshot of life and jumps between characters and through time. If you struggle with following books like that, this might not be for you. But also, you can just step back and take them as short stories or vignettes without trying too hard to follow the timeline and I think it would still be just as impactful. Content warnings for drug use/addiction, sexual assault, and other violence. I would recommend this, especially if you’ve not taken time to consider the female immigrant experience. While I’ve read news stories, this was fairly eye-opening and impactful to me in the way that sometimes only a fictional account can be.

“The person who deserves most pity is a lonesome one on a rainy day who doesn’t know how to read.” – Benjamin Franklin

While August didn’t give me many (or any) rainy days for reading, it did give me lots of days where it was too hot to do much else but sit still inside. I was able to finish five books this month! One I had started much earlier, but I’ll still count it as five books read in August. This will also be the last time you’ll see Brandon Sanderson on the reading list for awhile. Although he has several other books, I’m going to explore some other series while I wait for the next of the Stormlight Archives to be published. Enjoy my thoughts and happy reading!

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer – I’ve been listening to this book for a couple months actually, usually when I’m doing chores around the house or on a walk with the dog. I can’t remember exactly how I can across this book, but I really enjoyed listening to it in small snippets. It’s not quite gripping enough to listen to for hours, but nice little 30 or 45 minute chunks worked for me. To be honest, I’m not sure I’d have liked reading it as much as I liked listening. The author herself narrates and she has a beautiful soothing voice. Kimmerer is a native Potawatomi woman who works as a biology professor in upstate New York. The book is part memoir, part ecology activism, and part cultural history. She tells the story of growing up apart from her Potawatomi culture and the story of her rediscovery later in life. She also very eloquently conveys the connection she feels to the land through her cultural ties and mythologies along with her academic training in biology. At one point she explains the tenets of the honorable harvest. The ones that stuck out to me the most and I think will stay with me are to never take the first one you see, as it may be the last one; take only what you need and only what is given; take no more than half; and give in reciprocity for what has been given.

Dawnshard by Brandon Sanderson – This (relatively) short novella fits into the one year gap between Oathbringer and Rhythm of War in the Stormlight Archive series. While it doesn’t seem like it moved the larger story forward much, it helped in the world building of mythology for the story. It was a pretty quick read and I enjoyed it, but it isn’t a necessary inclusion if you are interested in getting into the series. In fact, there was another novella that took place earlier in the timeline that I opted to skip and I don’t think I missed much because of it. In Dawshard, one of the characters we met during interludes of an earlier book opts to go on a voyage to try and save her pet/companion. Their trip comes up against many obstacles before they determine someone is deliberately trying to stop it from happening. Eventually they get to their destination and find much more than they bargained for.

Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson – This is the fourth novel installment of The Stormlight Archive and it was just as good as the last three! Unfortunately, this is the most recently published so it’s as far as I can go with this series for the time being. We see our characters split up into different groupings to achieve various objectives. Kaladin is put through grueling tests yet again, we learn a lot more about the nature of the tower, and Shallan and Adolin go on a journey in Shadesmar. While overall I really enjoyed the book, a couple of the characters seem to take a very long time to overcome their inner demons. I get that things aren’t nice and neat when it comes to addressing inner darkness and mental health issues in the real world, but I do think dragging them out for too long can wreck havoc on the pacing of a good novel. However, I’m happy to forgive Sanderson that one sin when the rest of the story marches along very nicely.

The Push by Ashley Audrain – Whew! This book was…complicated. I had read a review of this that called out the heaviness of the topics. Post-partum depression, loss of a child, divorce, mental illness, etc… And it was a lot at times. The story follow a young mom who struggles to bond with her first born daughter and then finds her second born, a son, incredibly easy to connect to. A terrible tragedy happens that rips the family apart and causes all kinds of suspicion and accusations. I would 100% NOT recommend this to any of my young mom friends!!! I felt like this book was 80% of the way to being perfect. The main character narrates much of the story through 2nd person perspective as she writes her side of the story to her ex-husband. There was such a great opportunity to make her more of an unreliable narrator, but even when she starts doing some crazy strange stuff, I never found myself not believing her. Which made the “twist” ending not seem very twisty to me. So…I don’t know. I don’t think I’d recommend it.

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins – Now this one! 100% enjoyed reading. It’s a retelling of Jane Eyre, kind of. You’ll recognize the trope of a young woman hard on her luck who catches the eye of an older and richer widower. But things aren’t what they seem and a lot of twists and interesting past details are uncovered throughout the book. The ending irked me a tiny bit, I just felt that the premise wasn’t built on a super firm foundation, but other than that I found this book very readable. I think I finished it in just a couple days actually. Would recommend to anyone looking for a kind of romantic, kind of thriller-ish book!

“The worst thing about new books is that they keep us from reading the old ones.” – Joseph Joubert

June ended up not being a huge reading month for me. I had several books I had hoped to finish in addition to this list…and it just didn’t happen. The good news is, I really enjoyed the three books that I did read!

Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson – Second book of the Stormlight Archives series. Again… if you aren’t into fantasy worlds feel free to skip. But I am really liking this series even more than the Mistborn series. The characters feel more complex and world feels more real and comprehensive. In this second book a little more of the lost and distorted history of the world is made clearer. Many characters discover their powers and start to learn more about what they can and cannot do. Many of the main characters who have been disconnected are brought together and we get to see them interact. There are a lot of characters to keep track of, which some people don’t appreciate but I personally love seeing all the different perspectives on a story.

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott – I read this book in a college class that was about teaching writing to high schoolers. I loved it then and I love it again now. Anne Lamott is very irreverent about everything…but especially about what it means to be a writer. She lays all of the difficulties and insecurities that writers have out in the open in a successful attempt to make you feel less alone about your perceived shortcomings. In the midst of her humor and self-deprivation, she also provides a very real and tangible approach to writing, including things like writing in “small assignments” by focusing on one scene at a time. Or as the title says “bird by bird.” Highly recommend if you are looking for something on this subject.

Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah – This was an entertaining little fluff of a novel. It definitely deals with some difficult subjects (rape, parental neglect, terminal illness) but there are also a lot of fun scenes as we watch two best friends grow up just outside of and then right inside of Seattle. The book takes us from their childhood in the seventies through each decade until the early 2000s. I mostly really enjoyed this novel, but I also found it hard to root for the main characters sometimes because of their inability to stand up for themselves. It makes sense when they are younger, but it becomes less forgivable the older they get. There is also a lot of theming around career vs. family that I think is a little too binary. But other than that, I would recommend as a good vacation read!

“If you don’t like to read, you haven’t found the right book.” – J.K. Rowling

Tyler and I spent last week visiting his side of the family in Florida. I was hoping to get this book report pushed out during the week as well as hit my usually scheduled Friday post, but we didn’t really have much downtime! In any case, here are the books I read last month!

Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde – This is a heavy, dense collection of speeches, essays, and letters that I’ve been reading for the past few months. Because it’s a collection, it’s easy to read a little at a time and I’d recommend doing it that way to make sure you have time to reflect and absorb. Audre Lorde was a Black, lesbian poet and she talks extensively in these writings about intersectional feminism, the differences of what white women face vs. what Black women face vs. what gay women face. While I am not the intended audience for all of these writings, several are directed at her fellow Black women, I found it a super interesting and informative look at her experience and peeling back the layers past what we typically see or read about in the mainstream anti-racism books. Audre was a poet so her language is not strictly academic, but she was also a teacher so you definitely catch that in her writing as well. I would recommend if you are interested in personal experience with intersectional feminism. But I know this book won’t be for everyone.

The Cousins by Karen M. McManus – This book was a fun, quick read. I won’t call it totally light-hearted, because it deals with some ugly and brutal family secrets. But it is about a group of teenaged cousins set during the summer on a remote island somewhere off the coast of New England. So there’s plenty of teenage drama and fun mixed into the heavier stuff. I read it pretty quickly and would definitely recommend if you are a fan of mystery/suspense, but are looking for something that isn’t a twisted as Gone Girl! Good summer read.

The Lost Girls of Devon by Barbara O’Neal – The story follows a family of women who struggle with mother/daughter relationships and a mysterious disappearance in their small town on the coast of England. I found the intergenerational dynamics of each woman’s story intertwined with the others to be really interesting and realistic. And the way their personal stories were set against the over the background story of a missing woman raised the stakes. This is the second book by O’Neal that I’ve read and mostly enjoyed. The conclusions that I’ve drawn is that she knows how to write a really good and engaging book, but not really how to end a book. This one was similar to When We Were Mermaids in that I was so drawn into the story and the mystery and drama that I couldn’t put it down. And then all of a sudden everything gets wrapped up neatly in a bow in the last 30 pages or so. So if you like a really interesting quick read without an intricate and sophisticated ending, you will love this book!

Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson – I started a new fantasy series by Brandon Sanderson that I’ve had recommended to me several times. Way of Kings is the first book and, as with almost all new fantasy or sci-fi series, it takes a bit to get into the new world and the new rules of the world. I found this one kind of skipped over a lot of exposition to set the scene, but that meant it leaves the reader responsible for putting things together based on the action. The world has been shaped by intense storm fronts that sweep through the landscape at fairly frequent but not regular intervals. These highstorms dominate the landscape, so all soil has been scoured away and plants grow directly out of the rock. They also have the ability to retract to escape the destructive winds and rain. There is a war that has been waging for 6 years, a dominant religion in the region, old forgotten history that made it’s way into common lore, and mysterious powers that manifest. I’d say this book was super slow to get going but once it did, it really picked up speed fast. I am very excited to get into the second book!

The Meaning of Mariah by Mariah Carey – I listened to this on audiobook while cleaning the house or out walking with the dog. I think listening to Mariah tell her own story gives it a little extra punch, with her putting the right inflection and tone in the right spots, even singing at certain points. I had really high hopes for this book, but…I just didn’t like it. While the individual stories are good and I’m sure an honest reflection of Mariah’s personal experiences, the writing was just so bad. It read like a cross between a little girl’s overly dramatic diary entries and a middle schooler’s essay dripping with metaphors and similes. Like…nothing escaped description by simile. Or sometimes multiple similes. It also jumped around a lot as well, so it was difficult to really follow a chronological thread through the book. And, as I listened to it, I was mentally editing the manuscript. Deleting repetitive sentences or rearranging paragraphs so they story flowed better without interruption. I’m sure it would have been even worse if I was actually reading it on a page. My other issue with the book is that Mariah takes every opportunity to blame other people for the scandals and missteps in her career. I’m sure she had people try to sabotage or give her really bad advice, but she really took the time to call out almost every negative headline about her through the years and place the blame squarely on someone else’s shoulders. It just rubbed the the wrong way. So…in conclusion…probably a fun read or listen if you are a big Mariah fan. But maybe a “don’t read” if you are a writer, or even writer-adjacent, because you will pull your hair out and wonder why she didn’t hire a good ghost writer or, perhaps, listen to the one she did have.

As promised, January Book Report right on the heels of last week’s December Book Report! This month the books span a wide variety of genres. I picked the quote above because I think each of these books is helping me to build a connection between and understanding about people very unlike myself.

Becoming by Michelle Obama – To be honest, I haven’t quite finished the whole book yet, I’m about 85% finished. I’ve been listening to the audiobook version which is narrated by Michelle herself. I may have mentioned before that I don’t love audiobooks in general, but I love listening to people tell their own stories! I have been inspired by this book and I’ve learned a lot about Michelle and her family that I didn’t know before. Definitely would recommend if you like memoirs and autobiographies. I always find it so fascinating to learn about the “behind-the-scene” stories of public personas.

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert – This book was brought to my attention via two Instagrammers who also host a podcast called Bad on Paper. One of the ladies has read Big Magic at the beginning of every year for the past 5 years as a way to jumpstart her creativity. I’ve been feeling a bit in a slump so I figured I’d give it a go. It is a wonderful mix of advice, mysticism, practicality, and tough love. If you have any interest in pursuing art or just living creatively, I definitely recommend this book!

The Final Empire and The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson – These are the first two books of the Mistborn series. I’ve had them on my To Read list for awhile. I’ve read Brandon Sanderson books before and enjoyed them, but forgot how detailed and tedious they can be! They’re good, they just take awhile to get through. The Mistborn series is a set of fantasy books based in a universe where some people have magic powers derived from metal. Different metals produce different powers. The books also deal with human rights issues between an upper class and underclass of people, political theory (such as safety under tyranny vs the risks that come with freedom), the purpose of religions, and complicated ideas about manipulation, abuse, trust, and love. If you are a habitual reader of fantasy, I’d say give these a read. I have one book left in the original trilogy that I’m currently on the waitlist for from the library, but I can’t wait to continue the story!

The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus – A few years ago I started meeting with a couple of former coworkers once a week for a breakfast book club. We only read philosophy and try desperately to make meaning of it in our modern lives. Unfortunately we stopped meeting as often and in person awhile ago due to life circumstances, but every once in awhile we hope onto video chat with drinks in our hands to rehash old ideas. This exploration of absurdism was the text of choice for our next meeting and let me tell you…I can’t wait to have the other guys explain to me what the hell Camus is talking about! I would only recommend this if you have ironclad focus while reading and also have a couple of smart guys in your corner to help you understand it!