Once again I was late attempting to post my October books that I had read. I did start to write but never finished. At some point, probably around November 16-18 I decided to call it a day and combine October and November together. So here we go!
October Reads
October was not a great reading month for me. In fact, I feel like I have slowed down throughout the entire second part of the year. I am having more trouble sitting still and finding the time or desire to get lost in a book. For me that is pretty sad, and I have decided to try and find my own peace and happiness with reading again as it is something that brings me joy! It has just taken me much longer to really dive in to any one book. This year of Covid has been trying for all and I think if I take a deep breath and relax I can get lost in a book again.
With that said, I finished four books this month. While they were all ok for the most part, nothing really stood out to me.
The One-In-A-Million Boy – Monica Wood
You know from the get go that the boy has passed on. Before he died, he befriended 104 year old Ona Vikus through his Boy Scout project. His dad, Quinn, starts visiting after his passing and learns about the special relationship the boy and Ona had built. It was touching but very sad and I just can’t say I loved it. I do think timing is going too be everything on this one and it wasn’t the right time for me.
🍷🍷🍷1/2
Don’t Overthink It: Make Earlier Decisions, Stop-Second Guessing, and Bring More Joy to Your Life – Anne Bogel
So this is hard to review. I am guessing for some people this would be a 5* read. I am just not that person. While I am sometimes struck with indecision, it is not something that I struggle with often or intensely. I make decisions in 2 ways – examine the facts and possibilities and swiftly decide – or I go with my gut, largely based on emotion. Generally speaking, I am not paralyzed in an inability to decide. I also don’t look back on decisions and waste much energy with regrets or “What Ifs.” Therefore, the book was not meant for me and I couldn’t understand much of what was discussed in depth. It also seemed pretty general and superficial – I don’t think it would be extremely helpful for those that struggle deeply with indecisions that effect their overall mental health. There were a couple of minor tidbits I found interesting, but nothing more than that.
🍷🍷🍷
The Night Swim – Megan Goldin
This is a slow burn suspense that follows two crimes, one from twenty-five years ago and one that is current. Rachel Krall is a true crime podcast reporter covering a current sexual assault in a small coastal North Carolina town. A second sexual assault and murder from the past is woven in. I thought I would like this more but it was too graphic at times and very predictable. The author does handle victim shaming well, and is a topic that always needs to be addressed more. Warning – graphic content that could trigger. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing this copy in exchange for an honest review.
🍷🍷🍷1/2
The Home Edit – A Guide to Organizing and Realizing Your House Goals – Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin
During the summer Covid Quarantine, I stumbled on The Home Edit on some streaming channel. It was being promoted by Reese Witherspoon – who I like quite a bit. She’s a strong, relatable celebrity that has used her stardom to build an empire to promote women in business of many industries. The show was entertaining enough for a rainy weekend and so I reserved the books from the library. This was Book 1, I believe to be published before the show. Lots of glossy pictures, many of the closets of celebrities. I did like looking at the book and photos but can’t say I learned anything substantial about organizing my home from it. I would recommend the real book vs kindle for this one or you will probably miss the impact of the pictures. Additionally, this would be a good library choice.
🍷🍷🍷
November Reads
November was a much better reading month for me. I finished eight books and had a DNF. I had 2 strong 4🍷s and a handful of 3🍷s. I really had been hoping for a 5🍷 to blow me away – but hopefully that will happen in December. Here are the books that I read in November:
Stay With Me – Ayobami Adebayo
This one packs an emotional punch right to the core. Taking place in Nigeria, it is a heartbreaking, powerful story of Yejide and her husband Akin and their path to becoming parents. This is not a light, easy read by any means and was one of the only heavier books that I really enjoyed this entire year.
🍷🍷🍷🍷
The Mother-In-Law – Sally Hepworth
From the moment Lucy falls in love, you can tell she wants to love Diana, her future Mother-In-Law. But instead, we follow their tense relationship from past narratives that occur after Diana’s death, an apparent suicide. Everyone loves Diana so much, but Lucy can’t see why and can’t receive the same adoring love from Diana that everyone else does. This was an entertaining twisty domestic drama that reminds us that not everything is what it seems.
🍷🍷🍷🍷
The Home Edit Life – The Complete Guide To Organizing Absolutely Everything at Work, at Home, and on the Go – Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin
Lots of pretty pictures like book 1, but not a lot of good suggestions for the average person. If you want to see and read about closets of celebrities then this is for you.
🍷🍷🍷
One To Watch – Kate Stayman-London
Very goofy butt a good, quick read – think – The Bachelorette in a book. Except Bea isn’t your regular reality star people are accustomed to seeing on “The Main Squeeze”, she’s a plus sized fashion blogger still pining over her long time love for her best friend Ray. This isn’t my normal pick at all but was a fast, cute book that was very light. Additionally, there are strong, positive messages throughout the book about body image. I’ve had a ton of trouble with deeper books this year and found this entertaining enough to keep going.
🍷🍷🍷1/2
Summer Longing – Jamie Brenner
This one delivered what I had hoped. A page turning fluffier read that didn’t make me think too much. It did make me feel, and that is always nice in this year of frozen time. 😂 Full of likable characters, which seems rare these days, I traveled back to my memories of east coast summers and Cape Cod. It’s a character driven chick-lit read with much to like. Not too deep, not too heavy, just enjoyable.
🍷🍷🍷
Little Disasters – Sarah Vaughan
Many triggers in this family drama/domestic thriller – engaging enough but ultimately didn’t care for the writing style or the story very much – gut wrenching. Overall just an ok read for me. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Atria/Emily Bestler Books, for providing this title in exchange for an honest review.
🍷🍷🍷
Love Your Life – Sophie Kinsella
This one wasn’t for me. I was hoping for a fun, light read to help me out of a reading slump. What I got instead was a cheesy, unrealistic mush of a book that felt forced. There were a few parts that I liked, but not many. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this copy in exchange for my honest opinion.
🍷🍷
Sea Wife – Amity Gaige
A funny thing happened recently. In an online group where I tend to get many ideas for books to read, a fairly successful author made a recommendation to read Sea Wife. She exclaimed it was the best book of the year she had read. Being so late in the year, this seemed exciting to me, for sure it must be amazing. I should have known better because I generally am not drawn to this recommending author’s own books. Well, it wasn’t amazing. Not for me. Two people that probably shouldn’t be married decide to sail for a year – well, actually the husband pretty much coerced the wife into it. Getting on an itty bitty boat for a year with 2 little kids and a husband that you don’t seem to have a great relationship with at all, when you are already depressed, doesn’t seem to be a good idea. But what do I know. This was boring, depressing and riddled with way more than I ever want to know about sailing. I gave it 2 🍷s instead of one because I thought the writing style was a tad creative. And I finished it. There are many people in said online group gushing over it though, so maybe it IS for you. But it wasn’t for me.
🍷🍷
DNF: Invisible Girl – Lisa Jewell – It wrecks me to DNF a Lisa Jewell book. But I knew very early on that is just wasn’t the right time for me to read this book. I hope to come back to it at a later date.
Book of the Month:
Stay With Me – Ayobami Adebayo
