Here is a collection of everything I read over the last six months!
Rating details — 3 stars – liked it | 4 stars – loved it | 5 stars – life changing — I double starred** the ones I think would be good for a book club and single* starred the ones I read in my own book club!
I use an Audible monthly subscription (and return A LOT of books if I don’t like them) as well as Libby which is an app that attaches to your library card. They have a place in the app called “It’s Your Lucky Day” where highly coveted books get dropped there and I’ve read a lot of super popular books without waiting at all by checking that!
HUMOROUS or HEARTWARMING
— Anxious People*- 4 stars – Backman is really good at capturing humanity in small and unifying ways.
— The Flatshare* – 4 stars – If you just need a light read (trigger warning: there is some retold emotional abuse, PG rated) to get you back into it, THIS is it. Loved it!
— French Exit – 3 stars – Dewitt is so funny, I love his writing. Such good characterizations. I liked it!
— Everything Sad is Untrue** – 5 stars – Amazing voice from this writer. Hilarious. Poignant. The present woven with ancestral myth and legend. We should live connected to our ancestors like this. (As of post date, the kindle version is on sale for $3!)
— The Other Boleyn Girl – 4 stars – Such a good audio book. Praise be I wasn’t in 1500s royal court. I know it’s not historically accurate, but still a fun tale!
— Midnight Library– 4 stars – Capture and propelled me right away. Love a story that makes you really think about your own life.
EMOTIONAL + GRIPPING
— Columbine** – 5 stars – GRIPPED. Its a piece of American history that has been so bungled. Read what really happened.
— A Mother’s Reckoning** – 5 stars – Shortly after I read Columbine I read this book, written by the mother of one of the shooters. Hard in many parts but so so good. She does a really good job of telling the events but then you have the angle of her heartbreak and how she picked up the pieces.
— The Gown*- 3 stars – A 3 arc story about a woman who made Queen Elizabeth’s wedding dress. Meh. One of the story lines was really good and interesting, I didn’t care for the others. It has crazy good ratings so don’t take my word for it!
SELF AWARENESS + IMPROVEMENT
— The Choice** – 5 stars – a memoir of an Auschwitz survivor turned therapist. SOOOO good. Had me in tears several times. 13k 5 star reviews.
— Women Who Run with the Wolves** – 5 stars – It should just be required reading. Fantastic and empowering.
— A New Earth – 5 stars – This book is so heavily dogeared I need to go back and re-read it. Chapter 9 alone earned it 5 stars. I am experiencing a lot of what Tolle describes and that made it even more important to me.
— Hot Young Widow’s Club – 4 stars – The title is so dumb and deterred me, but I am glad I read it. Not just for widows, but it taught me a lot about what a widow in my life might be going through and from my experience, really spot on.
CLASSICS + HISTORY
— Brave New World – 3 stars – In Pandemic times, with all the horrifying things that happen each day, reaching for this book is not ideal. If you want to be uplifted, this is not it. Also written in 1932 and scarily prophetic. I think it’s important to read the classics so I grab for one every 5 or so books. Check it off the list!
— The Bell Jar**- 3 stars – Fascinating and eerie. Darkly funny and also just dark. It starts slow and picks up (hence the 3 stars) Maggie Gylenhaal is an excellent narrator, I loved hearing it read aloud, it sounds like poetry. Heartbreaking when you line it up with what was happening in Plath’s real life.
— Destiny of the Republic – 3 stars – James Garfield’s story is WILD and worth knowing. But maybe in like 30 minutes on a podcast, this was just too long for me.
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