Catching up on book reviews

Hey friends. It's been approximately one million years and 5 books since I've updated you all on what I've read. Some of that was unintentional (finished a couple at once and just forgot to update the blog) and some of it, I'll confess, was intentional ("eh...I'll wait till I have more and just do a big post"). At any rate, I'm back. Here's some very brief thoughts about what I've been reading.

taken from Goodreads.com

I really loved Gayle Forman's original two-part story, If I Stay and Where She Went. Like, really really loved them. So I always kind of had this two-part story, Just One Day and Just One Year, at the back of my mind. Here's the short version of my opinions about this first book: I hated the first 30%, enjoyed the next 50ish%, and then grumbled and rolled my eyes dramatically throughout the last 20%. My sister was visiting me for a long weekend while I read it and I would update her on all the obnoxious, teenagery things that I was reading. She left to go back home before I finished and I called her and left a ten minute voicemail telling her the end in great detail. Her response? "As soon as I heard how it ended I thought 'Oh crap, now she has to read the second one.'" YUP. Gayle, darn you and your cliffhangers. So, yeah. It was fine. Whatever. But I have to read the second one now.

taken from Goodreads.com

I have listened to Shauna on the Relevant podcast for years but really hadn't read much of her stuff until recently. I read Cold Tangerines last year and now I've finished Bittersweet...Bread & Wine will be read soon and JT and I are working our way through Savor together. I've already preordered her new book, Present over Perfect, though, and cannot wait. That being said: I really really love her books and love the depth at which she writes and the things that she's willing to explore and wrestle with...but I also have found that in both this one and Cold Tangerines, there's always a moment about 75% through where I just kind of get bored. Maybe I feel like she's already reached that point where she's said what she needs to say and she's just kind of repeating herself. Regardless of that, I really did love this book. A lot of the subject matter really hit close to home; she spends much of the book describing the pain and emotional journey she and her husband went on in the wake of a miscarriage. I obviously cried a lot of tears over this book as I was forced to remember our own similar journey and recovery. She covers some really hard subject matter with a whole lot of beauty, grace, and encouragement.

taken from Goodreads.com

So you remember Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events from back in the day? There were 13 books that were made into a movie and is now being made into a Netflix television show? Well my brother and I LOVED that series - and read a lot of them together, taking turns reading aloud - and we now officially love this series. It's a prequel to the Series of Unfortunate Events, explaining Lemony's childhood and how he ends up in a position where he's writing about the Baudelaire family. I'd actually already read this one about 4 years ago when it came out, but then time and life got away from me and I'd never read the rest. They're all out now - there are only 4 in this series, which is much easier to handle than 13 - and they're ridiculously easy and quick reads. Also, they're HILARIOUS. So so so funny. I highly recommend them.

taken from Goodreads.com

I read this one because it felt like everyone was reading it, and everyone was loving it. I'm not sure how much I really loved it, to be honest. I liked it a lot, and I fully appreciated the master storytelling and the beautiful writing. Beautiful. But I also didn't miss it when I wasn't reading. I wanted to finish it, but I didn't have this burning desire to see it through. I just kind of liked it, that's all. That being said, it is a really and truly beautiful story with complex and beautiful characters and a fresh perspective on a time in history that is so thoroughly covered in so many ways.

taken from Goodreads.com

Guys, I LOVED this book. I have now read all of Rainbow's work (not counting her brand new book that I have no interest in), and every one of her books I've liked so much more than the last. I kind of liked parts of Fangirl, I liked Eleanor & Park a lot, I loved Landline, and I LOVED Attachments. Very quirky and realistic characters living in a pre-Y2K world where the rules of the internet are fuzzy at best? So. Good. I laughed (a whole lot, sometimes out loud), and I cried. And I super duper loved these characters. Rainbow's gift is dialogue, which I appreciate because I feel like I suck at it. Read this one. All the gold stars and thumbs up.