I'm so excited to share my April reading! Even though this month was difficult reading-wise because of caring for my mother and her passing, I ended up reading seven books this month. Near the end of the month I was in the car a lot, and I was able to listen to two books fairly quickly.
The first book I read this month was More Than Words, by Jill Santopolo. She also wrote The Light We Lost, which I read last year and loved. In More Than Words, the main character is Nina, a speechwriter for a mayoral candidate. Nina has a boyfriend, Tim, who has been a longtime friend since childhood. Nina has a tragedy, which changes the direction of her life in many ways. Read about her journey of self-discovery.
The Girl He Used to Know by Tracey Garvis Graves really touched my heart. It is the story of Annika, who is awkward in social situations, and Jonathan, whom she meets at the University of Illinois when both join the chess club. The book follows the couple for over a decade, through love, tragedy, self-discovery, and second chances. This story has stayed with me.
A Woman is No Man is Etaf Rum's debut novel. I can only imagine that this novel is just the beginning of a great writing career. Ms. Rum is an Arab-American, and her novel is about the lives of conservative Arab women living in America. The book's main character is Isra, who left Palestine as a teenager to marry Adam in an arranged marriage, who lived in Brooklyn. The book alternates between Isra's life and her daughter, Deya's life. There is a huge secret that looms throughout the book that will keep you riveted until the end.
I had no idea what How To Make Friends with the Dark by Kathleen Glasgow was about until I began reading. It is a Spivey's Club choice for May. Later I read Ashley Spivey's post about the book saying that it dealt with the unexpected death of a parent. I had just lost my mother when I read the book. I can tell you that some parts of the book were very hard for me to read, that I cried during some parts, but it also made me feel grateful. I was grateful that I had my mother for nearly 63 years, and that she was blessed with a beautiful, long life. It made me really feel for children who lose a parent early in life, especially one that is in the main character, Tiger's situation, in which she has no other living relative to take care of her. This books is full of emotion, and even though it was a hard read for me, I'm glad I read the book.
The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See is just an amazing read. It opened me up to Korean history and culture. The book focuses on the life of the haenyeo, the Korean sea women who live on Jeju Island, south of mainland Korea, who harvest the sea. The book describes the life of the haenyeo and how it is passed down to each new generation of women. The main characters are Young-sook and Mi-ja, who meet at age seven, become haenyeo divers, and continue to have a loving bond between them, even when a tragedy affects their friendship. I became invested in the lives of the characters as I was reading the book, especially with the foreshadowing the author uses in the life of Young-sook.
I have wanted to read All We Ever Wanted by Emily Giffin since it came out in June, 2018. This book, to me, is all about values. Nina, the main character, has her world rocked when her Princeton-bound son is accused of taking a sexually explicit photo of a drunken classmate at a party. The picture is also captioned with a racist joke and is texted to friends before going viral. The book deals with Nina's journey as she deals with her privileged life, husband, son, Lyla, the girl in the photo, and Tom, Lyla's father.
The Couple Next Door is a mystery/thriller by Shari Lapena. I listened to the book and finished it in two days. Anne and Marco Conti's daughter is kidnapped while they are next door at a dinner party. This book is a twisting tale of secrets, betrayal, and lies all the way up to the surprise ending.
So there you have it--my April books! I'm two books ahead in my overall yearly goal of 72 books. Right now I am reading Lost Roses, the prequel to Lilac Girls, by Martha Hall Kelly. I am really enjoying this book, and I hope to have it finished by May 7th so I can attend the Barnes and Noble Book Club talk. I'm also listening to Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee, the sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird. It is narrated by Reese Witherspoon, and I'm loving the book. Have your heard about Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep? My sister told me about the book after she watched CBS News Sunday Morning last week. The book comes out on May 7th. It looks fascinating! Happy Reading!
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| My April Reads! |
The first book I read this month was More Than Words, by Jill Santopolo. She also wrote The Light We Lost, which I read last year and loved. In More Than Words, the main character is Nina, a speechwriter for a mayoral candidate. Nina has a boyfriend, Tim, who has been a longtime friend since childhood. Nina has a tragedy, which changes the direction of her life in many ways. Read about her journey of self-discovery.
The Girl He Used to Know by Tracey Garvis Graves really touched my heart. It is the story of Annika, who is awkward in social situations, and Jonathan, whom she meets at the University of Illinois when both join the chess club. The book follows the couple for over a decade, through love, tragedy, self-discovery, and second chances. This story has stayed with me.
A Woman is No Man is Etaf Rum's debut novel. I can only imagine that this novel is just the beginning of a great writing career. Ms. Rum is an Arab-American, and her novel is about the lives of conservative Arab women living in America. The book's main character is Isra, who left Palestine as a teenager to marry Adam in an arranged marriage, who lived in Brooklyn. The book alternates between Isra's life and her daughter, Deya's life. There is a huge secret that looms throughout the book that will keep you riveted until the end.
I had no idea what How To Make Friends with the Dark by Kathleen Glasgow was about until I began reading. It is a Spivey's Club choice for May. Later I read Ashley Spivey's post about the book saying that it dealt with the unexpected death of a parent. I had just lost my mother when I read the book. I can tell you that some parts of the book were very hard for me to read, that I cried during some parts, but it also made me feel grateful. I was grateful that I had my mother for nearly 63 years, and that she was blessed with a beautiful, long life. It made me really feel for children who lose a parent early in life, especially one that is in the main character, Tiger's situation, in which she has no other living relative to take care of her. This books is full of emotion, and even though it was a hard read for me, I'm glad I read the book.
The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See is just an amazing read. It opened me up to Korean history and culture. The book focuses on the life of the haenyeo, the Korean sea women who live on Jeju Island, south of mainland Korea, who harvest the sea. The book describes the life of the haenyeo and how it is passed down to each new generation of women. The main characters are Young-sook and Mi-ja, who meet at age seven, become haenyeo divers, and continue to have a loving bond between them, even when a tragedy affects their friendship. I became invested in the lives of the characters as I was reading the book, especially with the foreshadowing the author uses in the life of Young-sook.
I have wanted to read All We Ever Wanted by Emily Giffin since it came out in June, 2018. This book, to me, is all about values. Nina, the main character, has her world rocked when her Princeton-bound son is accused of taking a sexually explicit photo of a drunken classmate at a party. The picture is also captioned with a racist joke and is texted to friends before going viral. The book deals with Nina's journey as she deals with her privileged life, husband, son, Lyla, the girl in the photo, and Tom, Lyla's father.
The Couple Next Door is a mystery/thriller by Shari Lapena. I listened to the book and finished it in two days. Anne and Marco Conti's daughter is kidnapped while they are next door at a dinner party. This book is a twisting tale of secrets, betrayal, and lies all the way up to the surprise ending.
So there you have it--my April books! I'm two books ahead in my overall yearly goal of 72 books. Right now I am reading Lost Roses, the prequel to Lilac Girls, by Martha Hall Kelly. I am really enjoying this book, and I hope to have it finished by May 7th so I can attend the Barnes and Noble Book Club talk. I'm also listening to Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee, the sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird. It is narrated by Reese Witherspoon, and I'm loving the book. Have your heard about Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep? My sister told me about the book after she watched CBS News Sunday Morning last week. The book comes out on May 7th. It looks fascinating! Happy Reading!
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