I have finally hit the 500 mark AND met my 2017 Goodreads Challenge goal. As of last week, I have now read (will officially tracked as Read) 500 books in my life. Obviously there were tons of children’s books I don’t account for, and I’m sure I’ve forgotten a few over the years, but there is something intensely satisfying to see the proof of such a milestone. With my recent resurgence of love for audiobooks (it comes in waves), I have also managed to hit the goal of 55 on the year and am actually at 59. How you ask? Audiobooks and keeping a very, very disorganized house. Seriously y’all. No one can come to my house but darn’it if I’m not well read! I love physical books but I always have something on my kindle app I can sneak on elevators or long waits in line. Without further ado, here’s what I’ve been reading of note:
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
If you want a book with ALL the feels, this is for you. It’s a story of an unlikely friendship and an an even more unlikely love between teenagers from different worlds. Eleanor’s mom married an abusive drunk of a man so she could provide a semblance of a life for her many children after their dad left. There is never enough money, they live in constant fear, and Eleanor has been kicked out once already. Park is from a wealthy family whose parents love and dote on him. Thrown together by chance on a bus, their fates twist together as they try to navigate first love, life, and heartache. There is a lot of cursing and sexual language so FYI if you’re thinking of it for a younger reader. This is just a really touching story of love, hope, and perseverance. When I finished this book, I wanted to just hug it to my chest. I highly recommend it!
A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
This was one of the Book Babes choices for summer reading but I would not add this to your beach read list if you’re looking to stay happy & light. Overall, Ozeki is a wonderful story teller and I don’t exaggerate to say you have to really invest in these characters. Trigger Warning though, there are very heavy themes of depression, suicide, sexual assault, and extreme bullying. There are 2 main characters: Ruth, a modern author who discovered a diary on the beach in what is expected to be the beginnings of belongings washing in from a Tsunami, and Nao the 16ish year old diary author. Nao’s family were living in CA when she was a young child until the dot.com bubble burst, her father lost his job, and they were forced to move back to Japan. She struggles with not belonging, her father’s depression and many suicide attempts, and understanding her great grandmother who is a nun with quite the history. I do not think I can say I enjoyed this book necessarily because there were many times I had to stop reading to take breathe and get out from under the oppression for a few minutes. The best way I thought to describe it was, when I was done I felt like I had read something. Something of substance or importance maybe, but not something tossed aside. I wish she had stopped short of the explanation of how it all worked though. Once we got into quantum physics and Schrodinger’s cat, I glazed over and she lost me. The look into the Japanese culture is worth it if you’re willing to dig in but it’s not for the faint of heart.
When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon
I heard about this one on a favorite podcast of mine “Get Booked”, Book Riot’s customized book recommendation show and “All the Books!”, Book Riot’s new release podcast and thought it sounded simply fun. Dimple and Rishi are both graduating high school and have Indian parents who want to arrange their marriage. Dimple balks at this idea because all she wants is a career and a life of her own, not to be bogged down by a constricting marriage. Her parents suddenly agree to let her go to a computer app coding camp over the summer with little explanation and she is thrilled. Unbeknownst to her, it’s because they’ve found her a potential husband who is also going. Enter Rishi who is an amazing artist but very traditional and set for an engineering degree from MIT. He is on board with the marriage idea and is willing to meet her and give it a shot. He thinks she knows and agrees. His first words to her are are a playful “Hello, future wife. I can’t wait to get started on the rest of our lives.” She throws a drink in his face and runs. It only gets better from there. This story is so cute as they get to know each other and push one another to go after their dreams. Maybe they’ll fall in love in the process? This is a MUST for your beach reading list! Super enjoyable, quick read for the summer time!
Camino Island by John Grisham
Then there was Camino Island. It’s a story about a book heist, a book seller, and an author recruited as a spy. Sounds great right? It’s Grisham so surely there’s action and great storytelling. It delivers to some degree. The original manuscripts of F. Scott Fitzgerald have been stolen from Princeton. The main suspect is a book seller on an island with a penchant for having a roving eye. A young author is out of a job and happens to have a cottage on the island so an insurance company wants her to go spy on the bookseller because she’s pretty. It basically works until it abruptly ends. All wrapped up and over and I had to check to make sure I wasn’t listening to the abridged version. There’s just not much there. It felt like he was contractually obligated to write a book and he did the minimum to get one out. That being said it isn’t a bad read, I just found it unsatisfying. Then again, I’m not a huge fan of Grisham endings in general. I know, blasphemy. So overall, this isn’t a bad read, it’s just okay.
Paper Cathedrals 