Oh, you guys. Yesterday I realized that I haven’t been receiving your comments via email for about a week. I have always prided myself on responding to all of your comments and due to this glitch I haven’t been doing that. I have a good friend working with me to help straighten this out but please know that I am reading them even if I’m not emailing you back at this time. Technology is grand, isn’t it? 

Okay, onward to today’s post.

I shared a month of photos, how about if I share a month of reading? Links are to GoodReads followed by my rating and review of each book.

In January I read:

A Year of Living Danishly by Helen Russell

3 stars
This was a great first book of the year read. And the concept of hygge is really appealing to me right now as I face the dark cold days of January. Sounds like the Danes have a lot of things figured out quite well.

The Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny

5 stars
Oh, Louise Penny. I don’t know how you do it but even 11 books into the series you managed to make this one fresh and new and yet, at the same time, comfortable and familiar. I can’t recommend this series enough. Read it.

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler

4 stars
audio
A thoughtful and well written book on family dynamics, siblings and the fall out that occurs when relationships fall apart. I won’t say more because there are a couple of surprises in this one that I didn’t see coming and I sure don’t want to give anything away. Recommended.

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

5 stars
Charming and sophisticated, this novel is simply wonderful. The life of the Count, as he lives in the Metropol hotel in Moscow under house arrest for years, is full and dedicated to service. The people he encounters, the rules of civility he lives by, the ways he orders his life, are all fantastic. The story is built slowly, layer upon layer, until it culminates in the absolutely perfect ending. Highly recommended.

The Notorious RBG by Irin Carmon

4 stars
Inspiring! And perfect for right now. Hang in there, RBG, we need you more than ever.

Geek Love by Katherine Dunn

5 stars
audio
Stunning and captivating, this book is an excellent read. The premise, while creepy, is fascinating and the story is alluring and compelling, making you really think about beauty and tragedy, fate and free will. I’m late to the party on this one but I highly recommend it if you missed it when it came out almost 30 years ago.

I’ve set the bar for 2017 pretty high already with 3 five star and 2 four star books. I will say, though, my to-read list is very carefully curated and I think that leads to a high rating for most of the books I read.

Here’s what I’m reading right now:

The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman

Stoner by John Williams (audio)

What are you reading?

 

 

This is probably the longest blog post I’ve ever published. And not because of lots of words but because of lots of books. Which actually is lots of words now that I think about it.

Anyway.

Behold the books I read in 2016. The image is huge because it’s a screen capture from my Goodreads page listing all 92 books I finished last year. Be patient and scroll on through, it’s a very long image.

I’ll spare you any further details because I’ve probably already mentioned most of those books on here anyway. If you’re really curious to know how I rated a particular book, just check my Goodreads shelf for details.

I’ve set the same goal of 75 books for 2017. I thought about upping it but I think last year may have been a fluke and I’d rather surpass a goal than not meet it, overachiever that I am.

Here’s to lots of great reading in the year ahead!

Since dropping Ten On Tuesday I’ve been struggling with a weekly topic for Tuesdays. I mean, I don’t have to have the same thing every week but sometimes it’s nice to have a plan. You know?

Anyway.

This week Tuesdays are for talking about the books I’ve been reading. It’s been almost a month since I updated you on the books I’ve finished and it seems like as good a time as any to do it again.

1. How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny. 4 stars. Another wonderful Inspector Gamache story. Beautifully written, it makes me just want to go and live in Three Pines with these fantastic characters.
2. 11/22/63 by Stephen King. 4 stars. Very entertaining and with quality writing, I enjoyed this book immensely. It’s long but the pace never lags and the ramifications of time travel are certainly interesting to contemplate. If you think Stephen King is all blood, gore and scary stuff, think again and read this one.
3. The Long Way Home by Louise Penny. 4 stars. Another winner from Louise Penny. Gamache is retired and finding joy in Three Pines but he’s still an investigator at heart and can’t turn Clara away when she needs his help. The writing is beautiful, the setting is vivid, and the characters feel like old friends. Highly recommended.
4. Burial Rites by Hannah Kent. 3 stars. Bleak, depressing and cheerless, this book is full of words like greasy, grisly, bloody and dirty. I did not enjoy the story but did appreciate the excellent writing.
5. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. 4 stars. I want to give this 5 stars, I really do, because part of it deserve the highest rating. The blog excerpts on race and white privilege, the portrayal of life in Nigeria and life as an immigrant in America are all fantastic. But part of this felt a bit tedious and dull and that is what made me pause and only give it 4 stars. And really, 4 stars is an excellent rating and this is an excellent book that I know will stick with me for a long time.
6. Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. 3 stars. Fast paced and entertaining, I read this book in practically one sitting. The writing isn’t elegant and the story is far-fetched but it kept me interested right up until the end. As I was reading I kept thinking this would make a great movie and it turns out that’s the plan. Recommended for those who enjoy suspense, science fiction and thriller stories.
7. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer. 4 stars. This is a delightful and endearing story. While an epistolary novel can sometimes feel contrived this one manages to stay fresh and utterly charming. I’ve meant to read it for ages and I’m glad I finally did. Definitely recommended.
8. Better than Before by Gretchen Rubin.  3 stars. Excellent advice on creating and keeping habits. Tedious at times and perhaps a little bogged down in minutiae but recommended for fans of Rubin’s writing.
9. The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena. 2 stars. Ho hum. Think Fargo meets Gone Girl meets Truly Madly Guilty. In other words – it’s been done before and with better writing. It started off well enough but the story got so convoluted (and yet not surprising, which is odd) and the characters all felt flat to me.

Things are pretty quiet around here this week. And you know what quiet is good for? Reading. Here are the books I’ve finished since we last discussed books. Which, by the way, was in mid August when I announced my book bingo cover all.

 

1. Sweet Bitter by Stephanie Danler
2. A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny
3. My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout
4. The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny
5. A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon
6. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
7. Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty
8. Pax by Sarah Pennypacker

All links go to my GoodReads page where you can read what I thought of each book. A mixed bag, there.

What are you reading these days?

I experienced great distress when the Books on the Nightstand podcast ended. Seriously. That was my go-to source for book recommendations. I know you probably think I should get my ideas from working in a library but nope. That podcast was pretty much it for me.

This is all just a long way of saying that when it ended I started looking for other podcasts about books. I found 3 that I wanted to try and now that I’ve been listening to them for a couple of months I’m ready to tell you what I think.

All the Books This one is from Book Riot and it’s my favorite of all the new ones I’ve tried. The pace is lively, the discussion intelligent and they (mostly) discuss new books coming out – perfect for adding things to my to-read list on GoodReads. Most episodes are 30-40 minutes and that’s just right for me.

Get Booked Also from Book Riot, each week this podcast answers questions sent in asking for book recommendations. I like it because they discuss books that have been around for a while as well as newer books. I don’t like that it’s long-ish (usually close to 60 minutes) and they seem to recommend a lot of dystopian fiction and science fiction. But I’m still listening each week because it’s Mary’s favorite and I have gotten some good titles, too.

What Should I Read Next? I am uncertain about this podcast right now. I love the concept – each week Ann Bogel has a different guest. She asks them to tell her 3 books they love, 1 book they hate and what they are currently reading. She then makes recommendations for them based on what they have told her. The premise is great and actually an excellent reader’s advisory tool. But the podcast is long. Honestly, too long for the amount of content, in my opinion. I may or may not keep listening to this one.

And there you have it. If you’re looking for a good book podcast I would recommend any one of these three. While I don’t love them all equally I have gotten great ideas for reading from each of them and, as always, your mileage may vary.

Let me know if you check them out. And, if you listen to something you think I’d love, I want to know that, too!