This was a book club choice. It took me 3 attempts to finish this book, but I truly was glad I kept trying to get through it. The true story is absolutely astounding, but the writing is a little choppy. It really did peek my interest into North Korea which left me with a lot of unanswered questions.
A friend recommended this book. I don't think I would have other wise picked it up. A novel yet the story is really bore out of truth of living in Colombia in the 1990s. Also, quite eye opening to what living in another country is like. It drug on a bit for me and was on the slower side, but I also was glad I stuck with it and completed.
I loved this book. The main character is super awkward but so relateable. I was drawn to her journey through her friendships and really connected with that.
I knew nothing of this author when I picked up this book. Turns out he writes odd story lines. I really liked this though it was weird. Mystical and magically which I wasn't expecting at all.
This was a book pick for the parenting book group I'm in. The title sounded so refreshing and I was so excited to read it. In the end there wasn't really very much enlightening information. I found that most of what the author talked about we already did on some level. I would say it could be a great beginning parenting book. The information wasn't bad at all, just on the basic level.
This was another parenting book club book. This author wrote Queen Bees & Wannabes which I have sitting on my book shelf but haven't read. I couldn't get into the boy version of that. It was Long. So long. What felt like long that wasn't needed. I have another book that is specifically written to raising boys that I liked a whole lot more. In the end I couldn't get through this one and let it go.
I'm not usually drawn to books about wars. This one was a last minute grab from the library before we all got shut in. The main character ends up enlisting in the Civil War disguised as a women so that she doesn't have to through with an arranged marriage her abusive Dad made. The history about the Civil War and the life they led was really interesting. The story line was intriguing with a mixture of a love story along the way. As well as a theme of photography.
Also, a last minute grab from the library before life became something out of the Twilight Zone. Another historical book that takes place in the 1930s. Now that I think about it Where the Dandelions Bloom and this book are oddly similar but set in a different time. This book also had a love story theme, hardship and photography. The middle of this one was really slow.
This was a grab off the library readers choice shelf that I picked up because sometimes you just want an easy fun read. A super odd story line about a girl who makes a robot so she can have a date to her sisters wedding. In the end, though odd, I liked the tale it told.
A friend mentioned this book because her sister wrote it and it instantly caught my eye because my children are HUGE grumblers! I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. I enjoyed the honestly the author writes about with her family and things they tried to lessen the grumbling. We tried some of the items mentioned. In the end though I didn't walk away with a lot of solutions though it did shine a light on how I may be grumbling in ways I didn't think I was. I liked reading about another family who deals with the same challenges as us.
Another grab off the readers choice book shelf. I think I was drawn to the hot pink bring sparkly book cover. I figured out a few chapters in that I have read this authors previous books (The Proposal). It's very much a contemporary romance novel!
This was the 2nd most talked about book in our book club when I joined (Glass Castle being the 1st). I've wanted to read it for years but just for a million reasons hadn't. Finally I found a copy at a thrift store and gobbled it up in a couple days. I loved this story and could see why it was such a well discussed book in book club.
Another book club pick. I was able get an ebook via the library during our shut down. I much prefer reading books versus the ereader but desperate times call for desperate measures. Commonwealth covers 4 generations of people. The story was enticing though at times hard to keep track of all the people. It really highlighted that the decisions we make as people and parents there is a great effort towards our children and their lives.
I read this book aloud to Adalyn. The author write a favorite of mine: The One and Only Ivan. I didn't realize that until we were a bit into the book. This was such a sweet whimsical story of trees, animals and humans. I can't help but hope someday that a tree or animal stops and talks to me.
This book!! This was book clubs April pick. Which was technically the 1st pick of our new reading list year. We held book club over zoom due to our shut down situation. I gobbled this book up in 1 day. The characters and the story line are like nothing I've ever read before. Yes, it's about twins who burst into flames when they are in some form of emotional turmoil. There is so much more to that though, families, parenting, friendships. To boot, my book club got to zoom with the author Kevin Wilson during our meeting!! What!?? It was the coolest thing. He's insight to the book really was the cherry on top of the whole story. Easily could be my top pick for the whole year.
Since I was in love with that Nothing to See Here, I desperately wanted to read another book by Kevin Wilson before we had our Zoom meeting with him at book club. I was so happy to get this quickly from the library as an ebook. Also, a story about families and parenting, the concept was really interesting to me. It was a longer read and a bit more cumbersome for me to get through. He just has fabulous character development and I really see and feel these characters. I even got to ask him about who the father of Dr. Kalina Kwon's baby was (it's not revealed in the story). He didn't tell me but he said it would have defiantly effected the research project. I'm still left hanging.
This book was hard to get through, slower then I like. Similar to the plot of Commonwealth...a novel that covers different generations of multiple families. Also, similar are those choices made by one generation that effect the next group's lives. Another random similarity to The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson with face injuries in both of these two books. Overall I found it sad, depressing and long.
I'm on a Kevin Wilson kick. This book opened with a bang and I thought, oh, going to be a killer like Nothing To See Here. Unfortunately, it fizzled quickly and got really long and slow. The concept was oddly wacky and fun. It picked back up briefly at the end. The middle just didn't cut it for me.
Adalyn received this book for Christmas recently. We picked it up last year to read as a read aloud together but she just wasn't into it. The book got abandoned on her bookshelf though I longed to pick it back up because I really wanted to know what Bob was. Finally, during our government shut down she said we could start reading it again. We both enjoyed how it came together though I'd say it was a little long winded and drawn out.
This book was a bit to unrealistic for me overall. Though I wanted to keep reading to see if it all made sense in the end. It didn't in the end all add up. The time travel and her out of order life I just couldn't wrap my head around. What happened to the years when she wasn't there? Who was living those years in her place? Or was she just "missing"? Why did she just start doing this at 19? Too many questions in the end. Entertaining enough in the long run. Easy enough of a read that held my attention.
I read this in about 24 hours. An easy page turning thriller. I knew there was going to be a twist at some point, but when it happened, man it smacked you right in the face! Talk about childhood trauma, abuse, mental illness, abuse of power...lots of interesting topics that were touched on.
I also read this one in about 24 hours (shut down life = more reading time). It was a page turner as well. Also, potentially a thriller. Similar that you were waiting for the other shoe to drop and when it does you also go holy, cow! Then you just read faster to put it all together. Not a happy tale by any means. The choices made at the end by the main character are very interesting. Abuse, marriage, and being a parent are topics touched on in this book.
An interesting tale of a man that literally keeps things that he finds laying around that are "lost". He passes his "collection" onto his housekeeper and she is left to find homes for them. It's a sweet story with some tangents that I didn't love (the random side stories related to the belongings) and then there was a whole ghost-haunting part of it, too. I loved the relational part of the story between the characters. Also, a story-line of Down Syndrome that was beautiful.
Read these book also during lock down and loved the ties I felt between life as I was living it and historically. The history in it was rich and I truly felt like I was there in the middle of it. Made me want to visit Kentucky! The topics of poverty, literacy, politics, mining, land usage, power all hit so close to home in our current lives. Then toss in love, marriage, friendships and even potentially a gay character. Truly loved this book.
A fun summer read. The idea of being authentic was nice though not a fully reached idea. The characters were fun and it ended all wrapped up in a nice little happy package. There were a few little twists in the plot that kept you on your toes. I wanted them to be my friends and people and I would have totally hung out at Monica's Cafe. It made me miss community and friends.
I've always wanted to read this book and tried to read it with Shane but we just couldn't do it. I'm in a FB group book club and one of the book choices for this year was to read a graphic novel. I don't do graphic novels. Adalyn ONLY reads graphic novels. A friend was loaning us some of her graphic novels for Adalyn to read while locked down. I was excited to stumble onto this find. It wasn't to bad overall as a graphic novel. We watched the move this week, too. The movie is a bit different from the graphic novel and now I'm curious how different the graphic novel is from the book??
We walked into the cabin we had rented on Lost Lake in Shelton late June and I instantly went to the book shelf full of hard covered books. It was like a candy shop to me! This one caught my eye. Instead of reading the 2 books I brought with me, I jumped into this guy and finished it while we were there for 3 days. It was a different story for sure. An interesting read. The characters were sweet. The idea being old and lonely and how to keep living a full life as one ages. Actually, a them in the Authenticity Project book, too.
This book has been on my book shelf for years! I grabbed it finally one night during lock down when I just wanted to read a real book and not something on the kindle (where all my books from the library go these days since the library is shut down). It was a fast read. Also, a translated book which I need for my online FB group book club. Two birds with one stone kinda book. In interesting story of a boy in love with a older lady. Later in the boys life he discovers her again and find out she has quite the past. The German history entwined in the story is eye opening as always.
Another book sitting waiting to be read on my bookshelf. A big one...397 pages. Three main characters: 2 sisters and the Mom. All going through big life changes. The story of addition, divorce, marriage, affairs, love and parenting. It's unnecessarily long. An easy summer read.
Another book sitting on my shelf waiting to be picked up and read. Interesting take on someone being held hostage and the emotional destruction and ties that happen.
After watching the series on Netflix called Waco, I was super curious to learn more. This book followed suit. I liked hearing directly from the FBI negotiator that was involved in Waco. He take was slightly different then the series. This book wasn't all about Waco, it includes lots of other cases.
After the above book, I moved onto this one to get a view of Waco from the inside. The epilogue covered the siege and after that it turned into a long tale of his life which I wasn't as interested in. I didn't end up reading any more after the epilogue and a quick skim of the 1st chapter. His perspective of what went down at Waco was different then the series and from the FBI agent. In the end, Waco was a tragic event that took place that government leaders could have easily stopped from happening.
A cheesy summer read. With a mystery twist to it and toss in some romance.
I loved this book in all of it's cheese and juiciness! It's saucy and could certainly make you blush at times. I loved the characters though. It's a fun happy ending summer read.
Adalyn and I read this book together over the summer. It was a long read and very slow to start. In the end though, it covers animal rights and that all creatures big and small were made in God's eyes. A sweet story of love and acceptance for all.
Another pretty cheesy summer read, but I liked it. It had an easy flow to it and sometimes it's just nice to have everything wrapped up in a pretty happy little package at the end.
I have tried reading this book twice. I can't make it past the first couple pages. The words are a jumbled mess because the character speaking doesn't speak clear English. It's a version of survival that she's picked up, but it's impossible to read.
A fictional story based on true events which that aspect I found really interesting. In the 1930-50s in Tennessee there was a horrific system of stealing children and then selling them for adoption. The book was ok, a quick and easy read. Another wrapped up in a pretty package at the end kind of read.
This was sort of a miserable read. A book about two people that loved and hated each other. About popular crowds and fitting in. Basically a horrible cycle of them not communicating well and their relationship in and out of friendship and more. A quick read, but just didn't do a whole lot for me.
I had checked out this devotional right before lock down happened in March. One of the few upsides to the library being closed for months was that I got to complete this whole devotional before I had to return it. Lysa TerKeurst has amazing simple messages to really ground you through all of what life throws at you.
This was just not my book at all. Luckily, it was a short book which kept the boring down to a minimum. It's a lot of lack of communication between a Husband and his Wife then toss in a twist with when the Husband has a gay partner he had while at war. Blah. Maybe slightly interesting with some historical war and being called to duty along with life as a black women during that time.
One of my top favorite reads of this year! I loved this book and when I finished I wanted to read everything else by this author. I've never read anything that depicts marriage so perfectly. Then toss in side political commentary viewed as one of the main characters as a Republican. Though I'd never go to sea for any length of time, the adventures they had were just dreamy! Along with some very terrifying as well, hence you'll never find me on a sail boat out in open water!
A true story about a Father and his journey with his Son as a drug addict. Very eye-opening in the world of drugs and rehabilitation. I learned a ton. Along with being so sad and depressing on how little we do to help those with a drug disease.
I was drawn to this book because of the title. I've always wanted to do a potluck club or those traveling dinner things. Overall, though the book was about grieving, cancer and death. Though how one deals with it and how friendship can support that. I really didn't like the main character. She was so annoying and whiny. The book was readable but not good.
This was written in 2014, yet an amazing homerun in 2020. The historical information laid out in this book was amazing and the statistical information was outstandingly clear. A read that all people need.
I read a book earlier this year by this author (Sea Wife) and loved it so much that I wanted to try her other books. Sadly, this one didn't hit home with me as much. About a father who kidnaps his daughter after an long and ugly custody battle, your heart goes out to all the people involved in such a hard situation.
I'm not sure how this book ended up on my to read list, but I didn't know what I was in for and was blown away by how I ended up reading about a school shooting. Though it is a novel, it reads like a true story, because I can only imagine how these tales could so easily be true of families that have gone through these horrific events. A fast and intense read.
A suspense thriller book, where I found the main character Ella to be greatly annoying. Kept me reading and on my toes.
Shane read this last year and when I was scratching around for a book to read he said you should read this. Then he went to read me the back cover and stopped and said I can't it will make me cry. I read it in an evening. A heart warming true story of a relationship between a 11 year old boy basically living on the streets and a lady. Though heart warming, it was also gut wrenching to see what this kiddo went through. A story we should all read and be grateful for what we have and to remember to be kind, caring and helpful to those around us.
I picked this one up at one of our free little libraries in our area back in March when the lockdowns were started. I hadn't watched the movie, so figured maybe I'd give the book a go. It sat on my shelf for a few months until my book options became bare bones at which I picked it up and did truly enjoy the read. There was so much to the Asian culture I had no idea about! I found so much of it fascinating and was awestruck by the wealth. I look forward to seeing the movie soon.
Kenny has been asking me to read this book for years! I heard so many others talk about this book. Even our elementary school had a whole year themed around this book. I just couldn't do it, even with all the local history. Finally, after literally I had nothing else to read in the house I picked it up. It's a dense and long read. Way to many words for my liking. The history is interesting and the grit people had during this era is truly amazing. Something that I think all current Americans need a better understanding about how much we take for granted. I'm happy I read it, but I was so glad when it was over.
Adalyn and I read this retold and shorter version together. I had never read the original book story. Both of us found this tale to be delightful. Even Shane enjoyed it when he was book desperate. The characters are a hoot and who wouldn't want to have those amazing gardens to hang out in?!
I picked this up also from one of our local free little libraries (I just love them!). Having had my eyes opened to human trafficking this year as we raised money for our Freedom Hike through Rescue:Freedom, I was really interested in reading this book. A story, based on realistic information, about a 13 year old girl in Nepal that is sold by her step-father. A harrowing tale of survival and truly open your eyes to a world of pure evil.
The main character was a bit bothersome to me. She lacked a backbone overall, but the story was easy enough. A mediocre read overall.
Not a person that has ever been on my radar until late in the year she started a podcast that caught my eye. I was really enjoying the content of it when a friend mentioned that she had liked her book. Figured I'd give it a try even though I'm very much not an autobiographer reader. It was okay, a bit long at times. Parts of her career I found interesting and putting things together having listened to her podcast.
Another mediocre, silly, easy, romance read. About a girl trying to put her life in line and ends up helping a hoarder artist clean up her house.
Christmas Book Binge: I started this year's binge with an fabulous read! A perfect Christmas read! The people, traditions and the scenery, all just a perfect read of the Christmas season. It's even a movie now...I may just try to get that in, too.
I believe this character has her own series with this author. This character drives me bonkers! I'm not a shopaholic and more then anything she annoyed the heck out of me.
Turns out this is book #4 out of the wedding date series and I just so have happened to read book #2 and #3 out of the series. All the books really stand out on their own, especially this one because it's not really about any of the main characters from the 1st 3 books. It's a cute romantic Christmas read.
Such a Hallmark movie book here! Another cute Christmas love story.
This one I could wait to be over because the relationship between the two main characters was so slow and just silly. I mean, come on grown adults, just talk to each other instead of acting like high schoolers with crushes.
I wouldn't consider this a Christmas read even though they did meet in December. It takes place over 1 year with brief touches on Christmas. It takes place in London (I think I read numerous books that were set in London this year) and I swear I read them with an accent in my head. This follows the relationship of two people. It was an okay read, not a favorite overall.
Another Christmas book package here. This is the stuff Hallmark makes their movies from. Takes place in North Carolina, which I also seemed to be another location I read about numerous times this year.
This easily made the top 5 favorite books that I read this year. Such a page turner. My mind was spinning with ideas of where things were headed. It also hit on a lot of topics to pondering and thinking about. Community, neighbors, neighborhoods. bi-racial marriages, wealth, politics, spun narratives, racial tensions, teenage love, college, religion; all the hot topics in 1 book! I'm going to end 2020 with this one.
That ends this year with 74 books read (plus 3 books I tried to read but couldn't get through them). My goal was 50. Eck! Not sure I'll be able to top that in 2021.
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