FEBRUARY 2019

1) The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo / A / ***1/2 / Kindle
Who knew Reese Witherspoon has a book group? Kerry does. Of course Kerry does. She is like my book muse.  She is like those people that dress the celebrities by finding them clothes except she finds me books and I'm not a celebrity and she doesn't get paid. Okay maybe that is a bad example.  But anyway Reese Witherspoon does in fact have a book group and "The Light We Lost" was the first I've read of her book group books and it won't be the last even though I don't think I "felt" this story as much as I should have.
It is a story of two young lovers full of passion and the need to live a remarkable life, especially after witnessing the horror of 9/11.  This need to make a difference causes one of the couple to part ways, creating another disaster in the life of the book's narrator.   Through the years she picks up the pieces of her life and finds happiness but can't quite ever let her feelings go.
This book was a bit of an enigma for me as it as a story where I didn't love the main characters and sometimes I outright detested them. I can't love characters that treat other people horribly. To me it didn't feel like love between the two but rather self-centered obsession.  I guess maybe they were both so horrible they deserve to be together? But seriously WHAT KIND OF ROMANCE IS THAT?? It was like a modern day Wuthering Heights!!   But despite that I found I couldn't put the stinking story down. Go figure. Sigh.

2) Midnight Without a Moon by Linda Williams Jackson
Oh my. This book. It is the story of a 12 year old African American girl living in Mississippi in the 50's.  She has it hard on all sides. from parents that abandoned her, a grandma that is raising her but doesn't love her, and a society that is in chaos due to the South's resistance to the Civil Rights movement.  You found yourself really feeling for this character and rooting for her.  

3) Flamecaster (Shattered Realms book 1) by Cinda Williams Chima / YA / ***1/2 / Kindle
I was a few pages into this book and realized I had read it before.... but it was good to read it again as the fourth of the series is coming out next month. It takes up the story that was begun in the Seven Realms series and the main characters are the children of the original characters. The author has created a whole new plot line and crisis with enough new characters and lands that it was still super interesting.  Anyway, I have really enjoyed this author... especially her world building and her character development. I didn't find myself rooting for these new characters as much as her other books, but we'll see what develops.

4) Of Mess and Moxie: Wrangling Delight out of this Wild and Glorious Life by Jen Hatmaker / A / **** / Kindle
I first found Jen Hatmaker through a blogpost shared to me by my sister, Ashlee. I have followed Jen's blog off and on through the years but have never read any of her 12 books.  This book was just available on pioneer so I checked it out to see what her writing style was like. I laughed. I cried. I felt all the feels.  I was totally uplifted, took about 300 pages of notes, and finished it feeling hopeful and determined to show this world a bit more love.  Good job, Jen.

5) CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE by Tomi Adeyemi / YA / ***1/2 / Kindle
* Read for Goodreads Best of 2018 Challenge
Four unlikely teens unite to save their country. Two are children of a cruel king, and two are commoners who have greatly suffered from the king's rule. The king's goal for the last 13 years has been to eliminate the native magic of the land.  The four are trying to restore it before it is too late.

You would think this would be my new favorite book as this story had great world building and was full of epic adventures. I'm not sure why exactly, but this book was just off for me. I had to force myself to read it. The pacing was just off and while I could appreciate the different characters I didn't love any of them. Even the chemistry was just meh to me.  


6) Orphan Island by Laurel Synder / JF / *** / Kindle
Nine children live on an island. Each year a green boat arrives, taking away the oldest child and leaving a toddler.  This has been going on for decades until one year, the oldest child refuses to leave.  This sets into motion a series of events that affect everyone.  The food sources start to dry up. The weather gets erratic.  The sky changes.
The great part of this book was the whole sinister island aspect combined with the mystery regarding the back story. The bad part of the book is that IT NEVER EXPLAINS IT.  So frustrating. I looked up the author and she said she may write a prequel but really wanted to leave us hanging to promote discussion. RUDE. The other thing is that the main character was super annoying.

7) The Mountain Between Us  by Charles Martin
A small plane crashes in the mountains of Utah.  Two strangers survive the crash, but are trapped in miles of snowy wilderness.  The book tells their story to survive while also visiting the lives that led them to this point.  It was really beautifully written and I liked it even though no one got eaten in this book.

2019 READING GOALS

2019 READING GOALS

This year my reading goals are to:

1) FINALLY finish the Goodreads Books to Read Before You Die List (started in 2016 hahaha). I only have 1.5 books left to go:

- THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV (I read 1/2 of it about 2 years ago... sigh)
- Catch 22

2) FINISH the Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge that I started last year ( I have like 30 more to do on this one... yikes)

3) Read the following list of books voted as the "Best of the Best" in their category for 2018 by Goodreads

I chose this challenge as the whole reason why I DO these challenges in the first place is to read things I normally wouldn't. 
                                                           

FICTION	STILL ME	JOJO MOYES
MYSTERY/THRILLER	THE OUTSIDER	STEPHEN KING
HISTORICAL FICTION	THE GREAT ALONE	KRISTIN HANNAH
FANTASY	CIRCE	MADELINE MILLER
THE BEST OF THE BEST	THE HATE U GIVE	ANGIE THOMAS
ROMANCE	THE KISS QUOTIENT	HELEN HOANG
SCIENCE FICTION	VENGEFUL	V.E. SCHWAB
HORROR	ELEVATION	STEPHEN KING
HUMOR	THE LAST BLACK UNICORN	TIFFANY HADDISH
NONFICTION	IN THE DARK	MICHELLE MCNAMARA
MEMOIR/AUTOBIOGRAPHY	EDUCATED	TARA WESTOVER
HISTORY/BIOGRAPHY	THE GOOD NEIGHBOR	MAXWELL KING
SCIENCE and TECH	THE RISE and FALL OF THE DINOSAURS	STEVE BRUSATTE
FOOD/COOKBOOKS	HUNGRY FOR MORE	CHRISSY TEIGEN
GRAPHIC NOVELS	HERDING CATS	SARAH ANDERSEN
POETRY	THE WITCH DOESN’T BURN IN THIS ONE	AMANDA LOVELACE
DEBUT AUTHOR	CHILDREN OF BLOOD and BONE	TOMI ADEYEMI
YA FICTION	LEAH ON THE OFFBEAT	BECKY ALBERTALLI
YA FANTASY	KINGDOM OF ASH	SARAH MAAS
MIDDLE GRADE	THE BURNING MAZE	RICK RIORDIAN
PICTURE BOOK	I AM ENOUGH	GRACY BYERS

RICHFIELD LIBRARY READING CHALLENGE

The local library put out a poster in 2018 with a list of book categories. Kerry and I decided to give it a go. 

This was a fun one as it was diverse but not impossible. If you are looking for a book challenge, this is a good one.

Here are the books I read in each category:

1.  A book by an author you've never read before: American Street by Ibi Zoboi

2.  A book from an author you love: Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

3.  A book written by someone under 30: Didn't do this one :(

4.  A play: Othello by William Shakespeare

5.  A memoir: Flat Broke with 2 Goats by Jennifer McGaha

6.  A non-fiction book: Stiff by Mary Roach

7.  A book that might make you cry: Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

8.  A funny book: Emily the Strange: Stranger and Stranger by Rob Reger

9  A book with magic: Snow and Rose by Emily Winfield Martin

10.  A classic romance: Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

11.  A graphic novel: El Deafo by CeCe Bell

12.  A banned book: The Color Purple by Alice Walker

13.  A book with a one-word title: Middlesex by Jeffery Eugenides

14.  A book that has a color in the title: Silver in the Blood by Jessica Day George

15.  A book set during Christmas: The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brudabaker Bradley

16.  A book your Mom or Dad loves: Endurance by Alfred Lansing

17.  A book a friend recommended: The Girl Who Wrote In Silk by Kelli Estes

18.  A book with a love triangle: The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig

19.  A book based entirely on its cover: Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

20.  A book that was translated from a different language: Britt Marie was Here by Fredrik Backman

21.  A book at the bottom of your to read list: The Bell Jar by Sylvia Path

22.  A book you can finish fairly quickly: Summerlost by Ally Condie

23.  A book with a number in the title: 90 Days of Different by Eric Walters

24.  A Pulitzer prize winning book: Empire Falls by Richard Russo

25.  A book you own but have never read: Candy Shop Wars by Brandon Mull

26.  A book about a TV show: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon

27.  A book that takes place in your State:  Dangerous by Shannon Hale

28.  A book with non-human characters: Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lisah McBride

29.  A book set in the future: Dune by Frank Herbert

30.  A book you never got to finish: Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain

31.  A book with more than 500 pages: Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes

32.  An author's first book: Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

33.  A book based on a true story: The Inquisitors Tale or The 3 Magical Children and their Holy Dog by Adam Godwitz

34.  A book set in high school: Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum

35.  A book that became a movie: Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt

36.  A book set in a different country: Balza and the Little Chinese Seamstress

37.  A book from your childhood: Where the Wild Things Are by Sendak

38.  A mystery or thriller: One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus

39.  A book more than 100 years old: The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

40.  A book published this year: Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman

41.  A book by a female author: Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson

42.  A book with bad reviews: Into the Water by Paula Hawkins

43.  A book by an author with your initials: didn't find one

44.  A book of short stories: Mostly Void, Partially Stars / Welcome to Night Vale by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranon

45.  A book you were supposed to read in school but didn't: As I Lay Dying by Faulkner

46.  A book with antonyms in the title: Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai

47.  A trilogy: The Magicians by Lev Grossman

48.  A book that scares you: Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

HERE IS KERRY'S LIST:

 1. A book by an author you've never read before:  A ROOM OF ONE'S OWN by Virginia Woolf 

2.  A book from an author that you love:  THE GREAT ALONE by Kristen Hannah 

3.  A book written by someone under 30:   MILK AND HONEY by Rumi Kaur 

4.  A play:  THE CRUCIBLE by Arthur Miller 

5.  A memoir:  YOU ALL GROW UP AND LEAVE ME by Piper Weiss

6.  A non-fiction book:  I'LL BE GONE IN THE DARK by Michelle McNamara 

7.  A book that might make you cry:  LOVE STORY by Erich Segal 

8.  A funny book:  ME TALK PRETTY ONE DAY by David Sedaris 

9.  A book with magic:  CHRYSTALLIA AND THE SOURCE OF LIGHT by Paul Michael Glaser 

10.  A classic romance:  ROMEO AND JULIET by William Shakespeare 

11.  A graphic novel:   SPEAK: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL by Laurie Halse Andersen 

12.  A banned book:  BLUBBER by Judy Blume 

13.  A book with a one-word title:  BRAVE by Rose McGowan 

14.   A book that has a color in the title:  MY LIFE IN ORANGE by Tim Guest 

15.  A book set during Christmas:  LESS THAN ZERO by Bret Easton Ellis 

16.  A book your Mom or Dad loves:   BEFORE WE WERE YOURS by Lisa Wingate

17.  A book a friend recommended:   THE STORY OF ARTHUR TRULUV by Elizabeth Berg 

18.  A book with a love triangle:   HIGH FIDELITY by Nick Hornby 

19.  A book based entirely on its cover:  EAT CAKE. BE BRAVE. by Melissa Radke 

20.  A book that was translated from a different language:   BEARTOWN by Fredrik Backman 

21.  A book at the bottom of your to read list:  LOU REED:  A LIFE by Anthony DeCurtis

22.  A book you can finish fairly quickly:  WHITE HOUSES by Amy Bloom 

23.  A book with a number in the title:  20th CENTURY BOY by Duncan Hannah 

24.  A Pulitzer prize winning book:  BREATHING LESSONS by Anne Tyler 

25.  A book you own but have never read:  GIRL, INTERRUPTED by Susana Kaysen 

26.  A book about a TV show:    VULGAR FAVORS: THE ASSASSINATION OF GIANNI VERSACE by Maureen Orth

27.  A book that takes place in your hometown:  THE EXECUTIONER'S SONG by Norman Mailer 

28.  A book with nonhuman characters:   CHASER: AN INTERPLANETARY TALE OF A BOY AND HIS DOG by Scott W. Taylor 

29.  A book set in the future:  A CLOCKWORK ORANGE by Anthony Burgess 

30.  A book you never got to finish:   KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL by Anthony Bordain 

31.  A book with more than 500 pages:   GONE WITH THE WIND by Margaret MItchell 

32.  An author's first book:  THIS IS ME by Chrissy Metz 

33.   A book based on a true story:  THE DIRT: CONFESSIONS OF THE WORLD'S MOST NOTORIOUS ROCK BAND by Tommy Lee, Mick Mars, Vince Neil, and Nikki Sixx 

34.  A book set in high school:  TELL ME THREE THINGS by Julie Buxbaum 

35.  A book that became a movie: GIDGET by Frederick Kohner 

36.  A book set in a different country:  MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING by William Shakespeare 

37.  A book from your childhood:  TRIXIE BELDEN AND THE MYSTERIOUS VISITOR by Julie Campbell 

38.  A mystery or thriller:   THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW by A.J. Finn 

39.  A book more than 100 years old:  PYGMALION by George Bernard Shaw--published in 1912 

40.  A book published this year:   THE WIFE BETWEEN US by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanan

41.  A book by a female author:  LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE by Celeste Ng 

42.  A book with bad reviews:  ALL-AMERICAN MURDER: THE RISE AND FALL OF AARON HERNANDEZ by James Patterson 

43.  A book by an author with your intitials:  QUEENISMS:  101 JOLTS OF INSPIRATION by Kathy Kinny and Cindy Ratzlaff 

44.  A book of short stories:  THE WHITE ALBUM by Joan Didion 

45.  A book you were supposed to read in school but didn't:  THE TAMING OF THE SHREW by William Shakespeare 

46.  A book with antonyms in the title:  UNCOMMON PEOPLE: THE RISE AND FALL OF THE ROCK STARS by David Hepworth 

47.  A trilogy:  STILL YOU by JoJo Moyes--book # 3 in the ME BEFORE YOU trilogy 

48.  A book that scares you:  HELTER SKELTER by Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry 

JANUARY 2019 BOOK LIST

1) Learning to Swear in America by Katie Kennedy / YA / ***1/2 / Kindle
He's a famous Russian physicist on loan to the United States to help stop a comet from hitting the earth. Too bad the United States plans on never letting him go home. Too bad their plans are not working. Too bad he is only 17 and along with saving the world he would really like to take his new girlfriend to prom.  This story was implausible but really kinda fun.  It had a Rainbow Rowell feeling to it that I liked
2) Beyond the Bright Sea by Lauren Wolk / YA / **** / Kindle
When Crow was an infant, someone put her in a rowboat and put her out to sea.  Found by the reclusive Osh, she has lived a life of isolation on a secluded island.  When she turns 12, she becomes determined to determine where she came from and who let her go.  Her actions start a trigger of events with a surprising ending.  What I loved about it was the scenes of island life and her attachment to the few people that are HER people. The familial scenes of love and belong were really beautiful.

3) Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain / A / **** 1/2 / Kindle
I have never had any interest in Anthony Bourdain.... never watched any of this shows... I don't like to cook and I don't like spending ridiculous amounts on food.
I picked up this book as part of the Rory Gilmore challenge and (pun intended) I literally DEVOURED it. It was fascinating to take a peek into a world that is literally so foreign to me - the world of culinary professionals.  Bourdain shares the good, the bad, and the ugly... and even though he doesn't hold back on some of the disgusting things that go on in professional kitchens I found the entire book just so captivating. 

4) Into the Water: A Novel by Paula Hawkins / A / **1/2 / Kindle
Hawkins is good at writing eerie and chilling but I ended up hating most of the characters. Not EVERYONE can be that damaged and evil, right?  Hawkins does have a great ability to slowly layer up the story, I just didn't like this one as much.

5) Lincoln in the Bardo: A Novel by George Saunders / A / **** / Kindle
This book was SO UNIQUE. It told the story of the death of Willie Lincoln, the beloved son of Abraham Lincoln. He has been placed in a borrowed tomb but for some reason has not moved on.  The book uses historical facts (often poking fun at all the conflicting historical narratives) to build a story that is very strange, very random, very conflicted, and very NEW.  I've never read anything like it.  It was just the right amount of odd.... I couldn't exactly explain WHY the author did some of the things he did... but it was fascinating in that I've never read anything like it.

6) Little Fires Everywhere by Celese Ng / A / **** / Kindle
This author is so engaging. She builds such real characters that are carefully nuanced and could be people you know.  She tells their stories and intertwines their lives in such a convincing way that you totally GET why the characters do what they do and you love them because of their flaws.  Honestly not much HAPPENS in this book, but it is a great study in character development.

2018 SUMMARY

I finally finished blogging my 2018 books - thanks to the support of my dear friend, Kerry.  

It was a slow year for me.... I only recorded 67 books which is the lowest year ever for me that I remember anyway.  I know I actually read more than that and did not record them but I also know I had long periods where I didn't read ANYTHING.

Here is my summary for 2018:

Best book I read: 
American Street by Ibi Zoboi

Worst book I read: 

Flat Broke with Two Goats by Jennifer McGaha

Favorite New (to me) Author: Celese Ng


Favorite Audio book: 
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie

Most Talked About Books in my family: 
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds and 
Britt Marie was Here by Frederick Backman

Book I am the proudest of have finished:
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes

Book I read the most: 
The Book of Mormon (six times ... I'm kinda addicted lately).

Total books recorded: 67

Books read on Kindle: 50

Books with a rating of 4: 27

Books with a rating  more than 4: 3 (American Street, The Color Purple, and Middlesex)

Books read on The Rory Gilmore List:  18 ( I was supposed to read 50... woops ... I don't even know why Kerry agrees to do book challenges with me anymore...)

Books read on Goodreads 100 Books to Read Before You Die List: 8 (only 1.5 more to go!)

Books read on the Richfield Library Reading Challenge: 46 out of the 48. I didn't find a book written by someone under 30 or with the same initials as me.

AUGUST - DECEMBER 2018 BOOK LIST

I didn't read a lot last fall.... mainly because every free second I had I was working on planning our trip to Europe in November and doing DuoLingo for french lessons.
After that trip we were lucky enough to go to Disneyland for Thanksgiving... and after that I had surgery and discovered to my surprise that sometimes you really can be just too sick to read. I NEVER thought I would say those words in my life, but found them to be true.

Here are SOME of the books I did read in that time period ( as I didn't keep up-to-date on my blog I can only go by my electronic check-out history on Amazon and RichfieldLibrary.com). It doesn't count any hard copy books that I read either from my own collection or that the kids brought home from somewhere.



1) Dangerous by Shannon Hale / YA / Kindle
This was one of few books in my life that I almost quit reading. It was just super slow-starting for me.  I did keep going as I had nothing else to read and ended up enjoying the book for the most part. It is a story of a smart girl at space camp that ends up saving the world. There was a surprising amount of death and sexual tension for a Shannon Hale book. There were also some weird sub-plots (i.e. her mother's past) that didn't make any sense unless there is some type of sequel planned??
2) The Magician King (The Magicians Book 2): A Novel by Lev Grossman / YA / Kindle
I read the first book several years and thought the story took too much from Narnia and Harry Potter. Plus I just thought the main character was just kinda gross and icky.  I'm not sure why I picked up the second book but I LOVED this one. It had the right amount of personal challenge and growth which all took place in magical worlds.
3) The Magician's Land (The Magicians Book 3): A Novel by Lev Grossman / YA / Kindle
This is the last of the trilogy. Again, I thought this was brilliant writing. I really liked the narrative style of the author and his skill at dialogue. The writer still took from other series, but it made sense why he did so. I liked this trilogy especially as it really focuses on growth / the messiness of life / and learning to move on after tragedy.

4) One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus / YA / Kindle
This is a YA Novel that had a fascinating story line but kind of a ridiculous premise.  Four high achieving High School students are accused of the murder of a classmate. They all have a motive and they all claim they are innocent.   It had great character development and felt mildly addictive.

5) Before We Were Yours: A Novel by Lisa Wingate / A / Kindle
This book reaffirms to me my suspicion that things are missed up in the South. This was the story of poor children stolen from their parents and adopted out to wealthy families.   I know this book gave a lot of people the feels, especially as it was based on true events, but to me I just ended up feeling a little ambivalent about the whole thing.  It was a little too formulaic, overwrought, and contrived. I found myself rolling my eyes half the time.
6) Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly / JF / Kindle
This was the Newbery winner for the year. It tells the story of a group of middle-schoolers whose lives unexpectedly come together when one of the boys pulls a potentially life-threatening prank on a classmate.   I admit the book was just okay to me but really had a good lesson about the groups we put ourselves in or let others put us in.  The characters were real and well written and had the right amounts of bravery and friendship.
7) The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig / YA / Hardback
I don't remember this one a ton but I remember thinking the premise was super interesting. It is a YA fantasy book about a girl that can time-travel as long as she has an authentic map of the time/place.  I remember thinking it had the right amount of adventure, a strong female heroine, and some teenage angst (good stuff) but also some plot holes and some scenes where it just kinda plodded along.
8) The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay: A novel by Michael Chabon / A / Kindle
This book was so well written, full of detail.  The narrative covers the lifetime of two friends who are comic book artists during the post WWII boom of this genre. It explores their hopes and dreams and the choices they each make.  I am not interested in comic books AT ALL but the author was able to capture the artistic process and make it fascinating to me.  I'm watching the Marvel movies with Nathan and it gave me some insight into this world and the cultural significance of the comic book.
9) The Cruel Prince (The Folk and the Air Book 1): by Holly Black / YA / Hardback
Again, I don't remember much about this one ... I remember a fantasy faerie land and a strong female lead.  If I remember right the main character is human but was kidnapped as a child and lives among the fairies. This has made her an outcast. Her deepest desire is to win the approval of the King and be made a faerie herself.  I remember a cruel boy that she secretly loves ( I don't like this kind of story line... I feel it is a bit unhealthy... ).  Anyway, I am not sure if I will read the next one.

10) Children of Earth and Sky by Guy Gavriel Kay / A / Hardback
My favorite author ever. He writes fantasy fiction based periods of our earth's history (this time Renaissance Europe).  His stories are so rich in detail that it can sometimes weigh you down.  He is a brilliant author and I'm still devoted even though his most recent books are not my favorites.