Show Us Your Books Link-Up: July 2018

Time for show us your books!  Maybe I will actually remember to link-up this month.

 Hot Ice by Nora Roberts

This was one of set my mom grabbed randomly for me from my old local library. It was a decent romance/stereotypical chick-lit without being too cheesy. 

★★★

 

Puddin' by Julie Murphy

This book was a fucking delight from start to finish. I reread Dumplin' last month and Murphy is still a fucking queen. Loved the characters, love the love/hate/both relationship between the characters. I want to list about 342243 other things I like but really just go read the damn book. It's wonderful. 

★★★★★

 

When You are Engulfed by Flames by David Sedaris

This was one of Hubby's books that I grabbed off our bookshelf because I needed something new to read. Not sure why I always think I don't enjoy Sedaris- I have enjoyed his NPR appearances and this book was great! Maybe it's just that neither short stories or nonfiction are usually my jam. But, his dry oddball humor is so appealing to me and I relate a lot to some of the mental quirks he mentions. Highly recommend.

★★★★

 

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

Okay I had the worst timing with this book. It is SO GOOD so far, but I got it from the library right around the time my summer class started. And at 500+ pages...I just couldn't finish it before it was due. And because it's awesome and there is a long wait list, I can't renew it. I'm about halfway done and probably going to just suck it up and buy it. I can see being 100% all in on this series (expected publication for book #2 is sometime in 2019), and honestly I'm surprised it's not more popular! I haven't finished, but based solely on the first half of the book I highly recommend. Obviously things could go south, but I have high hopes.

What have you been reading lately? 

Link-up & let us know!

Show Us Your Books Link-Up: June 2018

Time to talk books! Let's get right too it.

Home to Harmony by Philip Gulley
This was a cute book I found in a Little Free Library. It discusses a Quaker (I think) pastor in a small little town and some of the daily life that the townspeople deal with. It was wonderful quaint read that I didn't expect to love as much as I did.

Safe Harbor by Luanne Rice
This book was fine, for what it is. Although I spent the entire time thinking I had read it already, but I actually think I just read a really similar book which is not great. But overall it was fine. Slightly cheesy but a good beach read.

Because We Are Bad: OCD and a Girl Lost in Thought by Lily Bailey
I highly enjoyed this book. It is told by a young woman and chronicles her journey with OCD. It was fascinating to see firsthand the way someone reacts to a disorder and diagnosis and treatment. I especially appreciated the way she talks about her OCD not being the way it is stereotypically presented and how that was confusing to her and later to others.

Daisy in Chains by Sharon J. Bolton
This was probably my favorite of the month, tied with Because We Are Bad.  I kind of guessed the ending but only like 50% of it, and not until fairly close to the end.

The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine
This book felt like I was reading a Lifetime movie. It was told from two different perspectives, and truly I found the second half of the book much more interesting. I had an idea of what the second half would be, but not the last few chapters. Some parts were really good and others were super simplistic. It was meh at best.

What have you been reading this month?

Link-up & share! 

Show Us Your Books Link-Up: May 2018

Hand to Mouth: Living in Bootstrap America by Linda Tirado

I read this almost immediately on the heels of  reading The Glass Castle, which was both so hard and also so illuminating. I read a twitter thread from Tirado which discussed the psychology of being poor and immediately went "Holy fuck OMG this is describing me perfectly how have I never realized this or seen it put into words?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!" It discusses the psychology and sociology and reality of living in poverty in such a frank and honest and unapologetic way that I wanted to cheer and also growl in frustration during the whole thing. Please, please, please read it. Especially if you have ever wondered why people in poverty don't just "fix their situation" or why kids on those angel trees at Christmas dare to ask for a Play Station. But really just everyone read it.

★★★★★

The Course of Love by Alain de Botton

Someone from SUYB mentioned this a while back. I kind of loved it and also kind of found it boring. This had a lot to do with the way the story was written- it's third person and follows a young couple from dating into marriage and children and middle age. But it alternates between their story, told almost clinically, and basically a psychology manual about love. It's good, and they relate...but it felt very stiff at times.

★★★

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt

 I was in the mood for a steamy, kinda spooky Southern tale and this hit the spot. It's a supposedly true book that reads like an insane fiction story. It spent a ridiculous amount of time at the NYT Bestsellers list when it came out and that's for a damn good reason.

★★★★★

 Talking as Fast as I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls, and Everything in Between by Lauren Graham 
I got this as a free Audible app, because I accidentally realized I had an email I hadn't exploited yet. It was fun and fast and interesting and I love that she loves her work and characters.
★★★★

 All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood

TLDR: If you are a person who thinks in black and white and very specific age of consent, do not read this book.

If you believe in shades of grade and want an emotional roller coaster, read this. It was so hard in so many ways and I still don't know what I think. It follows the child of drug addicts and her relationship with the one adult who takes care of her- it is hard in so many ways but also I didn't get ickies but maybe I should have and I DON'T KNOW. It makes me question whether we can identify someone as a victim if they feel they have agency, and what childhood means and can we actually give that to someone when it has already been taken away or does trying to give that back invalidate their expereince? Does criminalizing something actually treat it- especially when it was one signature (& maybe less than 24 hours) away from not being a crime? It speaks to race and class- would this story be as tragic (even within the story itself) if the girl was black (as stats show African-American females are viewed as more sexual and older, when they aren't) or if the guy wasn't a literal giant Native American? Would it be as acceptable if they were rich- after all, the whole reason the characters met is because her parents never took care of her & mentally abused her, which was at least partially due to struggling with drugs & poverty? When does one person's trauma become more important than another person's trauma? As far as the writing itself, I liked that we saw different viewpoints as the characters aged and they provided outside views and were just as confused as I was.
★★★★
*I read this as a) the child of a teen mom who later entered into a relationship with a large age difference, and b) a psychology major who is deeply intrigued by the way our brains work to protect us and the way our relationships function and making sense of an emotional mess- so if you want to judge this book or talk trash about it, do it with someone else please & thanks kbye*

The Face of Deception by Iris Johansen
My mom picked up a bunch of books for me at the library, because apparently they were giving them away and...she loves me! She did a great job and I really enjoyed this. TBH, I did not see the twist. Like, at all. Totally bought the red herring. Anyway this was a fun and intruiging book- the end was a little pat for me but overall good. Really like 3.75 but we'll round up for the sake of review.
★★★★


What have you been reading lately? Link-up & let us know!

Show Us Your Books: March 2018

It's been a pretty good reading month! I've gotten into the habit of getting up early to drink my coffee and read...my house is messier (that's my normal cleaning time) but my soul is happier.

With that, let's get to the books.

The Other Jesus by Greg Garrett

I enjoyed this. It's about Christianity from a definitely modern and liberal slant. But it delved into some history and went into things like the sacraments which I have been wanting to learn about. I could have used even more of that, honestly (it was a chapter). Being the nerd that I am, I LOVED that each chapter had 3-5 questions at the end, which I used as journal prompts kind of each morning.

★★★★

The Secrets of Midwives by Sally Hepworth

A lovely and wonderful fictional family drama. It really reminded me of different personalities within my own family, and felt so relateable. 100% right up my ally and I loved it.

★★★★  

More than Happy: The Wisdom of Amish Parenting by Serena B. Miller and Paul V. Stutzman

I feel like parenting books automatically make some people go "Nope." And obviously I can't give my children the same type of solid, cohesive community that the Amish have (although it honestly reminded me a lot of the cohesion that was referred to in France in Bringing Up Bebe). But by the end it was really more about learning about the Amish lifestyle, which I really enjoyed and got into. As someone who shares a lot of the Christian values mentioned, I loved how dedicated they were to their beliefs and how they put faith into action. In this day and age of hypocrisy and flip-flopping and news/opinion overload, it was beautiful to read about that type of dedication.

★★★★ 

Pandemonium and Requiem by Lauren Oliver

I read Delirium last year (?) and enjoyed it. Truthfully, just needed a somewhat "easy" read, and reading about any kind of Resistance is kind of awesome right now. Yes, casualties always occur...but hope and durability are powerful things.

★★★★

What have you been reading this month? 

Link-up & let us know!

Show Us Your Books: February 2018

Shout-out to Teh Megan for lending audio books & vastly upping my amount this month...bloggy friends FTW!

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

First things first: this didn't quite rip me to shreds the way her previous book What I Never Told You Did. This could be because I couldn't devour it in one sitting the way I did the first book, or because it ends slightly more hopeful (in my opinion). But holy hell. This book examines family and friendship and the feminine experience and specifically mothers and daughters in a billion different complex and thoughtful ways. The adoption situation was really difficult to consider given that we are hoping to be licensed for foster care any day now.
★★★★

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

Again, a book that examines family and love and friendships and culture and fame and sexuality in an intensely personal and thoughtful way.  Not at all what I expected- but in a great way. It was deep and I loved it.
★★★★★

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

I'm not sure how much I can say about this that hasn't already been said. It's touching, it's relevant, it's a story about family and friendship and tragedy. I avoided it for a while because I thought it would be hard to read, and some of it was. There were parts that were shockingly normal and parts that were heartbreaking- that juxtaposition felt like a poor writing choice at first and then felt very intentional as I thought about it. It's a roller coaster of emotions- I laughed and cried and agreed and questioned. Read it.
★★★★★

Love That Boy: 

What Two Presidents, Eight Road Trips, and My Son Taught Me About a Parent's Expectations by Ron Fournier

I really loved this- although that is a BS long title. Fournier is direct and upfront about all the BS worries and unfair expectations that parents almost always have built-in. He discuses these with experts such sociologists & psychologists and also with parents. He acknowledges his many privileges and the fact that had he not had those privileges, his children's lives may have turned out very different and the challenges his family faced may not have been overcome (or would have caused even more turmoil). I liked the basic "Yep, this was hard, I screwed it up, don't make the same mistakes" feeling of the book. It's written about his son who is an Aspie, but applicable to anyone who is a parent (or has ever been a child, for that matter).
★★★★

 The Arrangement by Sarah Dunn
Now this was a somewhat chic-lit done correctly (see below DNF for context). It was complicated and flawed and weird. I love stories that show the little hidden lives of different people in the community, all these tiny gems that are so easy to miss in real life. It looses points because there were two arcs that I didn't feel were necessary- not because they were bad or frustrating, they just added nothing to the overall narrative. One went on too long but got nowhere, and one was a single chapter that again went nowhere. They seem to be included to showcase more varieties in relationships, which I like, but these were not done well (especially noticeable in a novel where that exact thing was done brilliantly for at least 3 other couples). But overall a good read and one of the first books in a while I have breezed through with pure enjoyment.
★★★★

DNF'd Meternity. I thought it was going to be a different plot, so maybe my fault for having specific expectations. Instead of it being a "women deserve a break other times besides giving birth," it was a stereotypical millennial 30-something lying about being pregnant to get time off. Not as cool, and also I'm sick of the flailing 30 year old trope. You can be charged with murder at age 18, get your shit together. The writing felt very...fluffy. And I'm not trying to talk crap about "chic lit" in general accuse I have read finding-yourself stories and romances that were incredibly well-written, but this just wasn't.

What have you been reading lately? 

Link-up & let us know!

Show Us Your Books: January 2018

Hello, everyone! Hope 2018 is treating you well so far. Here in NC, we got hit with literally record-breaking cold weather that has kept me housebound with a 1 year old for a week. I was honestly planning on getting more reading done...but my library closed early the day the storm hit and I wasn't going out after it hit, so it's been a slow week of too much TV around here. *shrug* You do what you have to survive.

On to the books!

The Paris Review Issue 218

This was a random purchase at my local used book store. I liked the idea of reading more poetry, and this is mainly poetry and short stories and interviews. Most of the interviews were super annoying, dealing with people who tried to convey how important they were while pretending they didn't care about how popular they were and interviewers who constantly blew smoke up their asses. The actual stories and poems were okay, or great...I'd recommend, but be okay with skipping large chunks or hate-finishing the interviews.

South of Broad by Pat Conroy

Beautiful as always. Not quite as captivating as Prince of Tides or Beach Music for me, but...it's Pat Conroy. It was damn good, and a sweeping love letter to a beautiful and complicated city I hold dear to my heart. Also...an oasis to think about hot Charleston summers and even hurricanes when I have 6 inches of snow outside (which is nothing to some, but I literally haven't seen this much snow here for this long in almost 20 years). 

What have you been reading lately? 

Link-up & let us know!

Show Us Your Books: 2017 Favorites

Merry Christmas! Hope it was wonderful!

and if you don't celebrate, hope you had a good day anyway.

As an extra special gift, it's time for a special edition of Show Us Your Books! Today is all about your favorite books that you've read this year. Here's mine:

His Fair Assassin trilogy by Robin LaFevers 

I can't recommend this series enough. Three very different women, all trained assassins, and old gods and myths and love and Death and royal politics and war...a great read.

Beartown by Fredrik Backman

I can't say it any differently- if you have EVER wanted to truly understand the phrase "rape culture," read this book already. It lays it out. It takes a long time to do so- because it's nuanced and important...but the payoff is so huge.

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

This was great in so many ways. Classic John Green and his introspective teenagers, which I am a sucker for. When you add in representation of OCD and anxiety...it's a win. It's a 2017 win.

The Mothers by Brit Bennett 

Ahhhhh OMG I loved this one. It was everything I wanted in a book. The characters were relate-able and lovable and infuriating and I've met those Mothers so many times in my life. 

 Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

Again, everything I wanted in a book. The characters were so real and the relationships were so raw and there was pain and endurance and the slightest hint of bittersweet hope and ugh. Broke my heart so good. 

Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
by Trevor Noah

Sometimes we need a reality check. This is it. Hilarious and insightful- you can't lose.

The Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer

A super fun and cute and vivid sci-fi reinterpretation of several classic fairytales. Touches on stereotypes and mental health and PTSD and lots of other important things.

A Lineage of Grace by Francine Rivers

This is one of those book that has been a slow burn. I return to it often. It's a fictional account of the lives of the five women mentioned in the lineage of Jesus Christ. I never really paid attention, honestly- those "X begat Y" verses are super easy to skip. But every one of these women had their morality questioned...but they lead to a miracle. It's made me so much...less righteous. How do I know the mistakes I believe I witness aren't leading to something amazing?

^{Romans 8:28} And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

 What were your favorite reads of 2017?

Show Us Your Books Link-Up: November 2017

Yay, SUYB! This month was a pretty good month...a lot of books that were okay-ish but a few standouts.

The Connected Child by Karen Purvis

This is really highly recommended in the foster care/adoption blogosphere. It was...okay. There was some helpful tips and coping mechanisms and information, but the presentation was a little dry and repetitive. I took some great notes but also had to force read parts.

★★★

Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter

This has been sitting on my Nook app forever. It was good, a good thriller for October. Some points were a little on-the-nose regarding descriptions and feelings...I like a little more subtext. But overall a good read with some disturbing moments (I skipped some of the violent, sexual descriptions).

★★★★

 

Turtles All The Way Down by John Green

This book is standard John Green in a lot of ways, which I personally love! 

I know some people think John Green is over-hyped as an author; if that's you, I'm not sure this book will change your mind. I'd still go for it if you are really interested in an Own Voices depiction of OCD and anxiety, but much like real life a person is not separate from their mental illness...it's still very much his voice and style and story.

Personally, I really enjoyed this slightly different twist from a favorite author and will re-read soon. I also got my signed copy which is always nice :) 

★★★★★

 

 Pride's Run by Cat Kalen

This has been on my Nook app for ages...maybe a Nook Free Friday? It's a pretty typical supernatural YA novel, about a teen girl who is...basically a type of werewolf. It's okay, held the interest fairly well but I'm not in a rush to get to the rest of the series. 

★★★

 Uninvited by Lisa TerKeurst

This is a somewhat standard self-help Christian book...but there is a reason these keep getting published. It was good to read and remember what my focus in life should be (and it isn't popularity). I'd recommend for the right person at the right time...basically if this sounds like something you'd like to read, do it. If not, you're probably not missing out.  

★★★★

What have you been reading this month?

Link-up & share!