It’s a “snuggly coffee, look out at the snow, and read a good book” sort of day. Which is exactly what I’m planning to do today. I have today off in honor of Martin Luther King Day and plan on having a cozy day at home, doing things I’ve been wanting to do but haven’t for the past four weeks or so. But before that, I wanted to share some of the books I’m reading lately.
My view from the kitchen table this morning. Lots of snow!!
I’ve already read five books this month. I’m surprised by my progress, but some of this is because I flew to Milwaukee for a day last week and spent a lot of time at the airport and flying and did what I do best – read. Thank goodness for my Kindle and good books! That being said, the books I’m reading lately have been great – quick reads, that don’t require a lot of thinking, but are still well-written.
Books I’m Reading Lately – January 2018
This book was amazing. Ah-mazing. I liked Everything, Everything (also by Nicole Yoon) but this book. This book! What a great way to kick-off my 2018 reading journey.
Essentially, this book is about two teenagers who serendipitously meet and spend the day together in New York City. They fall in love. Oh, and one of the teens is about to be deported back to Haiti. I loved everything about this book – the premise was unique, the characters were believable, the build-up of tension and pacing of the book was superb. To me, this is an example of what really good, YA-writing is and is supposed to be. This doesn’t pander to its audience or talk down to it, but rather embraces the characters and story, and it is written well. Love, love, loved this book!
This book took me by surprise. I’ll admit – I was resistant to read it because everyone was talking about how good it was and it sounded cliche to me.
Premise – a young (21-year-old) professional has an affair with the married Congressman she’s working for and it becomes public. Slut-shaming ensues.
This book was so much more than that. It’s told from different perspectives – the girl’s mother, the Congressman’s wife, etc. The book doesn’t focus on the affair, but rather the consequences of the affair and poses questions that typically aren’t answered after something like this happens – what happens to the girl/woman after a public affair? Why are men and women treated differently? How does this impact the families?
I loved this book and highly recommend.
Young Jane Young inspired me to start reading Gabrielle Zevin’s other books. Wow – The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry is equally as good (dare I say better) than Young Jane Young.
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry is about a man who owns a bookstore. Each chapter focuses on a time in his adult life, starting with him living in the aftermath of his wife’s death and dealing with the appearance of baby who is abandoned in his bookstore. This is a beautiful story. I loosely felt a familiar feeling as when I read A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman – a different story, but a feeling of evolution and change. This story was beautiful and I loved it.
This book was a perfect, light read. I’ve been reading a lot of palate-cleansers aka books that don’t require me to think too much. This book was great for that.
Essentially, this book is about a 28-year-old guy working at a newspaper that has recently adopted the internet and email in 1999 and is charged with monitoring peoples’ emails to ensure they are behaving appropriately. He starts to fall for someone whose email he is monitoring but doesn’t know who she is. Mayhem ensues.
(And all the 1999/Y2K references are fantastic!)
This was a cute and quick read. I loved it and will check out some of Rowell’s other books now too!
I enjoy listening to Reza Aslan talk about religion, however, I didn’t love this book. I’ll be the first to admit that my relationship with religion is troubled at best and that may have colored my reception of this book. This book focuses on the history and historical context of Jesus. Honestly, I had a hard time following the book and felt it was a bit unfocused. Overall, not my favorite.
There you have it – my round-up of what I’m reading in January 2018. I’m about to start listening to Priestdaddy by Patricia Lockwood and reading Acceptance by Jeff VanderMeer to finish the Southern Reach Trilogy. Here’s to the books I’m reading lately – there have been some great ones!
What are you reading lately?
