As I was getting ready for Book Club last night I remembered that I hadn’t written a post for today yet. And I thought, crap, I don’t have anything to blog about. I mean, there’s always stuff to blog about, but I needed something fast as I was getting ready to head out the door. To Book Club.

Oh yeah. I could do a reading update. Amazing how my mind was able to put two and two together like that. Heh.

(this picture has nothing to do with reading. but it’s pretty and I needed a picture for the post. forgive me.)

So, the books I have read since mid October:

4 3 2 1 by Paul Auster
5 stars
This book is super long but so worth the time invested in reading it, the story revolves around Archie Ferguson and four variations of his life. It’s fascinating to see how his life changes and evolves based on a variety of both good and bad events and it’s equally interesting to note the things that stay the same despite those events. Set during the 50s and 60s, mostly in NYC, it’s a brilliant novel and completely dese3rved of the Man Booker. Highly recommended.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
3 stars
Compelling and highly readable but still not a book I can say I enjoyed. Truthfully, the whole premise made me shudder. I won’t say more because I don’t want to give anything away. Recommended for those who enjoy dystopian fiction.

The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson
3 stars
This book, while brief, is charming and inspirational and really made me think of things I could do right now to declutter and downsize. The author’s approach is charming and practical and offers some great tips on approaching the task of eliminating the stuff that you just don’t need. Thanks to Net Galley for providing me with an advanced copy of this title.

See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt
1 star
I did not care for this book one little bit. I was excited about the premise – a fictional account of Lizzie Borden and the unsolved murder of her parents – but the whole thing just fell flat. I expected some revelations with regards to the details of the event and there were none. In fact, I feel more confused and uncertain about the crime since so much was alluded to but nothing was really explained. The alternating perspective of each chapter was annoying and felt contrived since it seemed like every character had the same voice. And they ate a lot of mutton. And pears. A LOT. I get it, there was mutton for lunch and a lot of pears and some dead pigeons, too. Those details just made it gross, though, and not creepy. Perhaps I’m just not the right reader for this book but I don’t recommend it.

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
5 stars
I really enjoyed this book and the author definitely created little fires everywhere – so much going on – and yet all interconnected. The characters are interesting and believable and the timeline is non-linear and very well mapped out. Highly recommended, I liked this better than Everything I Never Told You.

Caroline by Sarah Miller
3 stars
This book is a must read for fans of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books, illuminating what life was like for the Ingalls family from Caroline’s perspective. It’s a little tedious and could have used some stronger editing but I enjoyed it.

It can’t be all baby all the time around here so how about a reading update? Here is a list of the books I have finished since the end of Summer Book Bingo:

(I totally staged this photo of me with my kindle in my office at the library. I don’t even wear my glasses for reading! But I felt like I looked more authentic with them on!)

Into the Water by Paula Hawkins
3 stars
The writing is good and the story starts out strong with an eerie setting and a creepy feel. However, there are too many characters (and they are universally unlikable) to track and that made it difficult for me to enjoy the book thoroughly. I’d recommend it with reservations for those who enjoy this type of story.

Beartown by Fredrik Backman
5 stars
Fredrik Backman has such a beautiful way with words and he inserts amazing and deep observations into the middle of a paragraph and it always blows me away. Darker than any of his previous novels, but still uplifting and hopeful, I feel that Backman has hit his stride with Beartown and now I can’t wait to read his next book. Highly recommended.

History of Wolves by Emily Fridlund
3 stars
The writing quality is excellent and some parts of the story are great but there are holes in the plot and it just never comes together all that well. Great potential but it fizzled out for me at the end.

All Things Cease to Appear by Elizabeth Brundage
3 stars
A thriller that’s very well written but could have used a good editor as it’s just too long. There are also a few holes in the story and some weird instances of current styles/habits being referenced in 1978. As in, someone is described as wearing “yoga pants” but it’s 1978 and I don’t think anyone was calling casual stretchy pants yoga pants then. Despite the flaws, though, the story is compelling and the writing is quite good, particularly if approached as a character study and not a mystery. Recommended but with reservations.

Y is for Yesterday by Sue Grafton
4 stars
While this series started out as light mysteries, the books have evolved into well written novels with great returning characters. I was pleased with this one, involving two different storylines, and I have to admit I will be sorry to say goodbye to Kinsey Millhone when Z is published. Highly recommended for those who have read the series so far and even more so for the lucky ones who can start with A and read them all for the first time!

Glass Houses by Louise Penny
5 stars
Louise Penny has hit it out of the park again and this one might be the best one yet! I don’t know how she makes the same characters and setting fresh and interesting over and over again but she does. I recommend the entire series highly!

George & Lizzie by Nancy Pearl
2 stars
I read this book because Nancy Pearl is THE reader’s advisory librarian and I admire so much her ability to suggest the perfect book for someone to read. I somehow translated that into thinking a book she wrote would be perfect for me and I was wrong about that. This book has moments that are quite good but the overall story didn’t really interest me and Lizzie, the main character truly annoyed me. It came through with a satisfying ending but that felt like too little, too late at that point.

Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
5 stars
A beautifully written story about love, loss, nationality, migration and life. Highly recommended.

Forest Dark by Nicole Krauss
3 stars
While I didn’t like this book all that much I’m still giving it 3 stars because the writing is excellent. It’s really beautiful in parts but I had a hard time connecting with either of the main characters and always felt like I was missing . . . something.

The Burning Girl by Claire Messud
3 stars
I read this super fast – almost in one sitting – and truly enjoyed the writing style and story. I did feel there were a lot of plot points left dangling and, while that didn’t bother me, I do prefer a story that is more resolved. I also felt like the characters acted much older than the age they were supposed to be. Still, it’s a well written coming-of-age story with moments that felt very believable and brought me back to that time in my own life.

I was feeling like I hadn’t read anything great in a while but looking back at this list I see that I’m just forgetful! Three 5 star books plus a 4 star book is pretty good reading. Plus, I think I’m pretty harsh with my ratings – most books I read get 3 stars and it’s rare for me to give a 2 star rating because if I don’t like it enough to give it 3 stars I probably won’t even finish it. That said, I curate my reading list pretty carefully so there just aren’t a lot of duds on there in the first place.

What are you reading these days? And what’s your system for rating what you’ve read?