April 11, 2017

March Books 2017



Breathing Room by Leeana Tankersley A+ 
I loved this so much. It's a book that tells the story of how to deal with Hard things (and I love the way she capitalizes Hard, because things that are hard to us are often Hard). Leeana is a military wife and, while I don't have the hauling-three-little-ones-around-the-world as a current problem, I could relate to much that she said. I could picture my low point (sleeping half the day during my first solo winter in Alaska) as I read about her experiences. It was a  99 cent Kindle Daily Deal back in February, only took a few hours to read, and was Christian-based in tone, but not preachy. Also, it was much easier to read/relate to because it wasn't prosy. It was very straight-forward. I would especially recommend it to military wives, but I think anyone could benefit from it.

Eats Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss
I can't rate this. It's a non-fiction book about grammar. I think every learned person should read it though. I honestly can't remember if I finished it but I'd always wanted to try it so I'm glad I did.

My Not So Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella B+
Finally! A new Kinsella book that's not a continuance of the ridiculous Becky Bloomwood saga.
I wasn't into the first 1/3 of this book. It just wasn't compelling; the middle wasn't much better. The last 1/3 of the story, though, glimpsed the real Kinsella and what she's capable of. I had flashes of The Undomestic Goddess and Can You Keep a Secret?, my two favorites. I would recommend this if you are a Kinsella fan. It's her best of recent years. But it's not absolutely amazing.

The Chosen (Book 1) by Denise Grover Swank B-
This was sci-fi thriller-esque kind of book. I got it for free last fall because I subscribe to the DGS newsletters (obviously) and it was a giveaway one month. It's not a bad story; one of her first. Pieces of it really pulled me in (especially around the 40% mark) but it wasn't the most awesome thing I've read lately. DGS does supernatural in an interesting way. I would read the rest of the 4-book series but likely wouldn't prioritize it.

Still Life by Louise Penny C+
As many of you assured me it would, this book picked up toward the end. I also didn't figure out what happened until the story actually wrapped up so that part alone kept me at least a little interested. This was not a thrill ride, though, and it was actually work to read. If you're looking for a foreign mystery, I would definitely go with In the Woods, the Tana French book that I read in February. I have the second Gamache book on my Kindle, so I'll give it a go.

Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough A-
This book was.... It's not about what you think it's about. As I told my friend, it was good, but I wanted as far away from it as possible at the end. I do appreciate that it wasn't about what I thought it was about (insert backwards logic here), but with 18 minutes left (via Audible), I figured out exactly where it was going and I turned it off because I didn't want to hear it. I finished it later that day and then came the part where I wanted to be as far away from it as possible.
The narration was great though, so I'd recommend the audio.

For the Right Reasons by Sean Lowe A-
(I know, right?) So I got this because I genuinely like Sean Lowe. His tweets are amusing and I've heard he was a great Bachelor. I didn't watch the season, but I also don't particularly know much about him or care that much, to be honest.. I like behind-the-scenes books and that's what this is. I read it in two days so I'd say it was a worthwhile $2 spent.

The Coincidence of Coconut Cake by Amy E. Reichert B-
This was an easy listen. I wish there'd been more character development? I feel like everyone was halfway written. However, I liked the story, the setting, and the descriptive food-writing. It was definitely a bit You've-Got-Mail-ish/27-Dresses-ish but not entirely. I just wanted more from the characters. Also, I wasn't impressed with the overall narration. I wish they'd switched back and forth to different narrators for the different POVs. I would recommend this book though...it was a good story!


And a kid's book...

The War with Grandpa by Robert Kimmel Smith
Not going to rate this because it was short and it's for kids. However, the kid in this was horrible and he got better as it went. I really only read it because 1) I have a class set and needed to preview it and 2) A former coworker did it with her class every year and loved it and I'd never gotten around to reading it. It's good for a lesson on empathy if you have a 3rd-5th grader.


And I didn't finish...
One Thousand Gifts by Anne Voskamp
Blech. I was gifted this with the disclaimer of "I hated this. Let me know what you think.", which was enough to color my opinion from the start. I can't resist a good bad review though: it was prosy in a gross way. I have the same issue with Shauna Niequist books. They're not bad as memoirs but the try-hard really shows. It's absolutely wasted on me. I do think that it also impairs understanding and comprehension because, if she only speaks in metaphors (and yes, Voskamp only speaks in metaphors), her message gets lost. It's terrible.

Red Rising by Pierce Brown
This wasn't what I thought it would be. I found myself really enjoying and visualizing the beginning and then I just didn't like it anymore. I expected to like it and I didn't, so that made me sad. It was physical work to read, so then I moved onto another book I couldn't put down and thought, Ah, this is what reading should be. It was very clear that this should be a DNF after that.

Linking up with Jana and Steph! And also with What I've Been Reading Lately!

27 comments:

  1. I've yet to be convinced that I need to read a Sophie Kinsella book.
    I've got Behind Her Eyes on my tbr already. That may need to jump into the sooner, rather than later category.

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  2. I have My Not So Perfect Life on my TBR. I keep reading/hearing good things about it, so I may have to bump it up higher and get to it sooner.

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  3. Oh I really enjoyed Red Rising, I thought it was a really fast read. I always find it interesting when some people DNF a book that I really enjoyed. It just makes talking about books so much more interesting. It does have some Hunger Games feels to it, but after the first book it takes off in a whole different direction.

    But, defintely not worth slogging through it if there's something else to enjoy!

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    1. If it was the only book around and I needed something to read, I'd have finished Red Rising. It's all about the context of having a bunch of other books lying around, you know? haha

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  4. I haven't read a Sophie Kinsella book since getting burned out on Becky Bloomwood in college. It's good to know that there are some better options...

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  5. You're allowed to do class set read alouds of books? (chin to floor) haha the reading curriculum we use now doesn't allow for that, which is a shame!

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  6. I haven't read any Sophie Kinsella, I worry that I won't love it, but undomestic goddess sounds interesting, so I just added it to my TBR. I'm always looking for more fluff. Bummer that you didn't enjoy Red Rising or Still Life, but it happens. XO - Alexandra

    Simply Alexandra: My Favorite Things

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  7. Had to laugh at your Kinsella comments...I read some of the Shopaholic series but they definitely get a little monotonous.

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  8. I'm glad you liked My Not So Perfect life. Kinsella books are just so easy to read. I had to add Behind Her Eyes to my list because now I need to know what's up! haha

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  9. I can't do Kinsella after Shopaholic. Too much.

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  10. I haven't read Still Life, but I will agree that In the Woods was a good one. I have the second one on my TBR list as well, just haven't been in the mood for it yet.

    I haven't even bothered trying an Ann Voskamp book because I already know I'd hate it. Aside from the awful prose and metaphoric speak, I've also heard her theology is pretty skewed, and that's enough to make me skip her books entirely.

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  11. Glad you were a bit surprised by the end of Still Life. I hope that if/when you get to the rest of the series, it picks up a bit for you! I really think book 4 on was what got me 100% hooked and I think if I were to go back and read any of them (which I likely won't), I wouldn't do the first 3 but they are sort of necessary as back story. I haven't read any Kinsella books but have heard good things about that one. I totally see where you are coming from with Red Rising...I almost DNFed that one myself and although it did get WAY better about halfway through, it didn't 100% live up to the hype for me - although I will continue the trilogy at some point. I have heard SUCH mixed things about Behind her Eyes!!

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  12. I've been waiting for the new Sophie Kinsella book to come in from the library.

    I just finished book #11 in the Gamache series, and will echo everyone else who says that they get so much better.

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    1. Alright, I'll be starting A Fatal Grace soon!

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  13. I like Still Life but hated the character Nicol and she's the reason I haven't picked up book 2 yet. I loved Behind Her Eyes so much. I was also a big fan of Red Rising and the series overall. I love how people respond differently to stories. And I agree - if you're not digging on a story, drop it. It's something I'm working on for myself because I tend to be a book masochist and keeping plugging to the bitter end.

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    1. It depends on the book. I could finish Red Rising if I had to...I just knew there were others I wanted to get to.

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  14. My Not So Perfect Life was my first Sophie Kinsella book, and like you, I really liked the last third of it. I think I need to read Can You Keep a Secret, though!

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  15. I just finished Behind Her Eyes and will in my next month's book post. I watched Sean Lowe's season so I may have to check his book out! I recently read Andi Dorfman's book and enjoyed the behind the scenes stuff. I will have to check out The War with Grandpa. I'm always looking for books for my two kids to read.

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  16. I have Behind Her Eyes on my list to start soon. I'm definitely intrigued by it.

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  17. i think Can You Keep a Secret? was my favourite of sophie kinsella's so far. that one is on my kindle, hopefully getting to it eventually. i quite liked the coconut cake book. super cute. bummer about red rising, but that feeling of ahhh this is what reading should be is worth it no matter what you're reading (or not reading).

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  18. Behind Her Eyes is on my bookshelf. I'm hearing great things. I hope to get to it this month. fingers crossed.

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  19. I do want to read My Not So Perfect Life at some point - never read Kinsella before.

    -Lauren

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    1. Start with a different one!
      Maybe Confessions of a Shopaholic #1 or The Undomestic Goddess?

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  20. I think we talked about this last month, but I was the same way with Still Life and I just started In The Woods this week and am loving it so far! Is Coconut Cake the book where the person can tell someone's feelings based on what dessert they make (or something along those lines?). I know it's one I want to read, but can't remember if I'm mixing it up with something else.

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  21. I picked up Coincident of Coconut Cake at a book sale recently. Behind her Eyes is in my TBR pile. I enjoyed Still Life but took me a while to finish. I keep hearing they get better after book 3. Pam :)

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  22. The Louise Penny series gets much better after book 3!!!

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