Reading

Book Club

mildlygranola, 2 Comments

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Last night my book club met for the first time since February. We all finished the book back in March, but life got in the way of the three of us getting together. Between the three of us there were two international trips and one trip to Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. We had a lot to catch up on.

Our thoughts on the book, Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal, were positive. We all enjoyed the book, but also found it slightly discombobulating. You would be reading a dramatic story about a woman teaching in an immigrant community in the UK and then BAM! an erotic blurb was thrown in.

At the end of the night, the book doesn’t really matter. What really matters is having a dedicated evening to catch up with friends. They are amazing listeners. They give me good advice. I always leave book club with my spirit elevated, and not just because of the book inspired signature drink.

April Reads and May Book Goals

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I only read four books in April. The last time I only read four books in a month? May 2016: the month after Elliot was born. I knew April had been busy, and looking at how little I read put it in perspective.

So what did I read?

Not That I Could Tell by Jessica Strawser. This book has the plot line of a psychological thiller, without the tension of one. After a night of drinking with neighbors a woman and her two kids go missing. The book questions where they went, why they went, if they went (were they actually murdered). I was sucked in from the first chapter, but (thankfully) never got to the point where I needed to stop doing everything and finish the last 75 pages. I recommend this book. I give it four out of five stars.

American Princess: The Many Lives of Allena Tew by Annejet van der Zijl. I need to tell you off the bat that this book was incredibly fascinating and well written. That needs to be said first because as I describe it you will roll your eyes and think it sounds incredibly boring. Trust me on this, it’s not. It is really good. It’s about a woman in the Gilded Age who grew up in a small town, married rich (several times), and generally led a life unusual for the times in which she lived. I give this book five out of five stars.

Life in Motion by Misty Copeland. I knew that Misty Copeland was a history making ballerina. I had no idea how rough her childhood was. Reading this book makes me want to donate more money to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Des Moines. I give the book three out of five stars.

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Wow. Just wow. When this book is described it sounds like homework, but it is amazing. It’s about a woman growing up in Nigeria, moving to the United States, and moving back to Nigeria – her relationship with her high school boyfriend, race relations in the United States, the immigrant experience. It was powerful, interesting, and informative. I highly recommend reading this book. I will happily lend you my copy. I give the book five out of five stars.

I still have a big stack of books to read. Not pictured are How to Walk Away by Katherine Center (My Book of the Month selection) and What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty (one of my book club selections this month). I am not setting a reading goal for this month beyond finishing my book club books on time.

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What are you reading this month? Do you have any book suggestions?

March reads and April book goals

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I love reading. I am in two book clubs and subscribe to Book of the Month Club. I thought a fun new addition to the blog would be a monthly update to tell you what I read last month and what I hope to read this month.

I read five books last month. I’ll share my opinion on them from my favorite to least favorite.

The best book I read was Knit the Sky by Lea Redmond. As I have mentioned recently, I’m kind of in a knitting rut. This book was full of project ideas instead of patterns. There were a few projects ideas that I love, and will probably knit in the future. That includes the title project Knit the Sky. For that project you look up at the sky every day at the same time for a year. You knit a row on a scarf that matches the color of the sky at that time. I love that idea. It is such a good reminder to look up. The book was not full of projects that I would knit. Some of them made me roll my eyes a bit, but the book overall inspired me to look at knitting with a more creative lens. I rate this book four stars out of five.

I have Kindle Unlimited, and I tend to read a lot from that list. My second favorite book of the month is an unlimited book: Sweet Tea Tuesdays by Ashley Farley. This is a predictable but sweet book about the friendships of three women in the south. If you are looking for a brainless book that is emotional roller coaster free, this is your book. I give it three starts.

Feast: True Love in and out of the Kitchen by Hannah Howard was a memoir of eating disorders and bad decisions with men. If you can overlook a woman staying in bad relationships long after she should have left this is an enjoyable book. This would have made a wonderful personal essay, but it was a book. I give it two stars.

Beautiful Bodies by Kimberly Rae Miller is another book from the unlimited library. In this book she looks at the history of dieting in society (which was interesting) and her history of dieting (which was not). I think I would have enjoyed this book a lot more if it wasn’t part memoir. She just isn’t that interesting. I give it two out of three stars.

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant was one of my book club selections for March. I never would have finished it if I wasn’t planning on discussing it with others. I would describe this book as boring AF until the last 50 pages. The last 50 were interesting, but not enough to save the rest of the book. This novel is about the sister of Joseph (old testament Joseph – the one with the coat of many colors) who was raped in Genesis.  It turns out I don’t really care about her hypothetical life. I give this book one star. Other people in my book club liked it more.

I have ambitious goals for reading this month. In addition to any kindle reading I do, I would like to read at least three books from this stack. Not pictured is Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, my book club book this month. It’s ordered but not due to arrive for a week. I hope I can finish it in time for our meeting.

20180402_220139820330023.jpgI’m currently reading Not That I Could Tell by Jessica Strawser. I’m about a third of the way through it, and I love it so far. The inside of the jacket hooked me “Drinks in hand a group of neighborhood women gather around a fire pit to enjoy a Saturday night of laughter and shared secrets. The single newcomer. The imperfect mom. The newborn parents. The military wife. The almost divorcee. By Monday morning, one of them is gone. An innocent night of fun has shocking repercussions.”

What are you reading?