Wow. I couldn’t even keep it within a year! Let’s get to work.

August 2018: The Cabin at the End of the World, by Paul Tremblay.  It’s obviously been a while since I read this one.  It’s an apocalyptic scenario, and I gotta say, not my preferred scenario to read about, haha.

September 2018: Circe, by Madeline Miller.  This book has the same author as The Song of Achilles, which I LOVED.  I also really enjoyed this book.  It’s an engrossing story, and I loved learning a little more about Greek mythology through it.

October 2018: Sharp Objects, by Gillian Flynn.  We’ve read a couple books by this author before.  Also not my favorite category of books, but an easy and entertaining read.  Definitely had some good twists and turns.

December 2018: Still Alice, by Lisa Genova.  This book was heartbreaking and heart warming.  I loved the “insider’s” perspective of someone going down the path of Alzheimer’s.

January 2019: Priceless: How I Went Undercover to Rescue the World’s Stolen Treasures, by Robert K. Wittman.  This was an interesting, historical book.  The writing wasn’t as enthralling as some other books, but the topic was interesting.

February 2019: Tin Man, by Sarah Winman.  Another book that was entertaining, and an easy read.

March 2019: What Dreams May Come, by Richard Matheson.  I skipped this one, and can’t really remember the movie, haha.

May 2019: Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens.  This book has made it to some pretty popular book clubs, including the Literate Lushes!  A good read – although I have to agree with some critics that some of it was unbelievable to the detriment of the story.  But intriguing and definitely kept me hooked to the end, which I kiiiiiiinda saw coming.

June 2019: Eva Luna, a Novel, by Isabel Allende.  I’m a huge fan of Isabel Allende, but not a fan of this book.  It was sometimes fiction, sometimes surreal, and the mix was just confusing (not sure I’m using the right literary terms…).  It also seemed at times like a collection of vignettes rather than a novel.

July: Small Great Things, by Jodi Picoult.  I had read this book a while back and chose it as my pick for the month.  It was a big hit, and provided for some great conversations.

September: The Power, by Naomi Alderman.  This book was giving me the major creeps until I realized what the author was doing, and then it was genius.  I thought it was a very clever way to show the challenges and disadvantages some women have in our world.

October: The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America, by Erik Larson.  I’m not big on criminal/murder mysteries, and I was pretty pregnant at this point, haha, so I skipped this one as well.

December: The Vine Witch, by Luanne G. Smith.  I felt like the wine metaphors and descriptions were a little over done, but I guess to be expected from the title!  A nice, easy read.

January 2020: Educated: a Memoir, by Tara Westover.  With the holidays and a baby in the house, I didn’t have a chance to finish reading this one, but enjoyed what I did read.  The challenges some humans overcome amazes me, and makes me so thankful that my life is not book-worthy.  A really good read from what I read, and from the discussions at book club, very relatable for many people on the front of domestic violence and family relationships/dynamics.

February 2020: Less, by Andrew Sean Greer.  Not gonna lie, it was hard to believe this is a Pulitzer Prize winning book, ha!  An easy enough read, but I didn’t think the writing was that great, nor the story super entertaining.  I never grew to like the main character, which makes it hard to stay engaged.

March 2020: A Murmur of Bees, by Sofia Segovia.  One of my new favorite books!  I read this book in the original Spanish version, but heard that the English version translates just as well.  This book was heart wrenching and also, oddly relatable to our times since some chapters talk about the original Spanish influenza.  We actually had to cancel our book club meeting for this book because of the COVID-19 developments, and ended up eventually doing it via Zoom once we realized we wouldn’t be able to do it in person for a while.  The writing was spectacular, I loved so many of the characters, and loved the surrealism that was woven into the story.

April 2020: The Silent Patient, by Alex Michaelides.  This felt like a super quick read, but maybe that’s just because I’ve had a lot of down time while nursing all the time at home!  I enjoyed this book and definitely was surprised by the ending.

Extra reads:

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine: A Novel, by Gail Honeyman.  I think I’m coming to realize that I really like European novels.  This was a great read!  Funny and sad, light and heavy.

The 100-Year-Old-Man Who Climbed out the Window and Disappeared, by Jonas Jonasson.  I loooooved this book!  So quirky and silly, and adorable.

Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore: A Novel, by Robin Sloan.  Another fun read!  This one involves book stores, mystery solving, and secret societies – what’s not to like?

Beartown, A Novel, by Frederik Backman. How have I not written about this book yet?!  I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I love everything this author has written.  This book is heartbreaking, and beautiful. “We are the bears, we are the bears, we are the bears of Beartown!”

Us against You, by Frederik Backman.  A sequel to Beartown.  My review is the same as above.

Things my Son Needs to Know about the World, by Frederik Backman.  Super short and adorable read, with little “life lessons” on parenting.  Super relatable for me.

The Century Trilogy, by Ken Follett.  I read book 1 (Fall of Giants) and 2 (Winter of the World).  I love historical fiction, and really enjoyed reading these books and the historical moments surrounding them.  I loved that the characters spanned generations.  I read some pretty terrible reviews about book 3, and given how long they are, I just couldn’t invest the time based on the reviews.

Girl, Wash Your Face, by Rachel Hollis.  I had mixed feelings about this book.  Part of it was motivational, another part felt like high school peer-pressure to be a cool kid.  It didn’t change my life, haha.

Handcrafted: A Woodworker’s Story, by Clint Harp.  En enjoyable read.  My take-away: sometimes you just have to be in the right place, at the right time.  It does give me some hope that maybe someday Jeff and/or I will strike out on our own to do whatever it is that we find our passion for.

Currently reading/listening to: The Education of an Idealist, a Memoir, by Samantha Power. As someone who dreamed of being an ambassador as a child, I’ve been avoiding reading this book.  I’m afraid it will point out how I’ve fallen short in my professional achievements.  Which leads me back to “letting go of expectations,” and it becomes a vicious circle, haha.

What are you reading these days?  What’s been your favorite?

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