A Few More Good Books

The reading tear continues!  The library has kept me awash in books and some have been great, others just so-so, but my “Books I Read in 2016” list continues to grow.  Here are the ones worth talking about.  (Also, I'm linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy this month on her Quick Lit post.  She's given me most of my book recs this year and her blog is fantastic!)

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

I flew through the Rainbow Rowell favorites Fan Girl and Carry On, quickly adding this one to my list as it’s one of those “everyone recommends it as a sweet story that won’t change your life, but is a great read nonetheless.”  And that’s exactly what it was.  Super sweet story about two teens who fall in love on the bus rides to school.  One has a troubling home life, the other feels out of place everywhere.  It was an easy read and I found myself not quite ready to leave the characters once I turned the final page.  (Another good Rainbow Rowell read from the past seven weeks: Attachments.  It was pretty predictable, but the characters are endearing and once I got into it I flew through it.)

The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith

This is the first in a detective series by J.K. Rowling (writing under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith).  Rowling spins a great story and her two main characters endear themselves to you pretty quickly.  The mystery in this one was intriguing and though the final “whodunit” had crossed my mind early on, I’d ruled it out because it seemed so unlikely.  But then there it was at the end and I must admit it still surprised me even though I’d half-heartedly predicted it.  I’ll definitely read the rest in this series.

Present over Perfect by Shauna Niequist

I need to read this one again, more slowly.  I devoured it in less than 48 hours and it’s a book that needs a more thoughtful pace.  I want to read it again, sitting with some of the essays.  I have a lot of thoughts about this book-I may write another post on it.  I’m a huge Shauna fangirl and this one is both a departure of her normal style and also more deeply her.  I had some problems with it, but at the same time what she is writing about here is a conversation I’m having over and over with my girlfriends so she’s obviously touched a nerve.  She’s thought provoking and an incredibly talented writer.  I’m eager to hear what others take away from this one.

Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty

In my last post I’d mentioned that I was looking forward to this one.  The reviews all echo the same refrain: it’s good, but it’s not Moriarty’s best.  I’ve read all her other works, What Alice Forgot being among my most favorite books.  It took me longer that usual to get into this one, but once I did I found it pretty satisfying.  Three families have a bbq, something terrible happens (that isn’t revealed until later) and the rest of the book is them dealing with the consequences. Like all of Moriarty’s books it touches on deeper themes of jealousy, and intimacy and blame.  I strongly identified with one of the characters to an almost uncomfortable point; it was hard to watch some of my own flaws play out so clearly on the page.  Despite its weaknesses, I still really liked the book and will continue to read her stuff as soon as it comes out.

That’s the best of what I’ve read over the last seven weeks.  There are others but none worth mentioning here.  I’m 2/3rds of the way done with The Girls (which I’m liking so far) and Curtis Sittenfield’s Eligible is waiting in the wings.  More next month!