Thursday, September 3, 2015

August Reads and Book Challenge Update

Yay! I finished the book challenge in August before the 9/30 deadline! I enjoyed doing this a lot because it forced me to read some books I might not have otherwise to find a book to fit into some of the categories - I definitely branched out some which is never a bad thing.


This month I read 5 books {although I have this nagging feeling I forgot a book I read, and it's driving me crazy} - 2 of them were ones to finish the book challenge, 1 was for our book club meeting, 1 was the 4th book in a fun series I read that I've been waiting on for a year, and 1 was from an author that is quickly becoming a favorite of mine!


The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey {Read a book with an animal on the cover - 20 points!} - This book was very haunting to me. I definitely wasn't interested in this based on the synopsis, but it's got that pesky fox on the cover {grin}. Set in the 1920s in Alaska, a couple has moved there to restart their life after disappointments {namely not being able to have children} 'back East'. They build a child out of snow and soon after begin being visited by a young girl, named Faina, who appears to live in the wilderness. Is it possible they made her out of snow? Could she be the child they have waited for? I felt it started slow but built until it turned into a very rich story. It isn't going to top my favorites list, but it was an interesting read and definitely out of the norm for me.

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty - I love, love, love Liane Moriarty. This is the 3rd book of hers I've read, and I enjoyed it immensely. I think my favorite {to this point} is What Alice Forgot, but this was such a great, twisty story. Very early on, you know that someone is dead, and the book recounts the 3 main characters stories that intertwine with each other as you try to figure out a) who is dead, b) how they died, and c) what are all the lies. Once again, Liane takes an almost impossible situation and turns it into magic!

The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant {Read a book with the name of a city, state or country in the title - 20 points!} Cue the BIG, FAT tears on this one. Tears of just absolute LOVE. This book just sucked me in, and I couldn't put it down. Written as a granddaughter interviewing her grandmother and writing her story as the family of Russian, Jewish immigrants to Boston in the early 20th century, this story was amazing. It wasn't scandalous, it wasn't funny, it wasn't a romance novel, it was just so real. It felt so real and for some reason reminded me so much of my granny {even though the character's story is nothing like her upbringing} - I could cry thinking about it now. Just such a heartwarming, wonderful read. This is another book I probably wouldn't have read if it weren't for the book challenge, and I'm beyond glad I did!

14 by Peter Clines - This was our book club book selection. We had a lot of heated discussion about this book. Some of us liked it, some HATED it. It was definitely weird and out there and then it got OUT THERE. The story is about an apartment building where weird things are going on - green cockroaches with extra legs, rooms that are cold, fixtures that display black light no matter what type of lightbulb... We all felt it had a lot of potential to be really creepy or unique, and it just kind of went haywire for the last 10%. But still really sci-fi and unique - just maybe not quite as good as it could have been.

Brown-Eyed Girl by Lisa Kleypas - Lisa Kleypas is one of my favorite romance authors. She has written at least 20 books, and I've read them all. This was the 4th book in a series about the Travis family. I really loved the first 3 and thought this one was just okay. It felt kind of like it was rushed to get written and was more of an after thought for the author. I still read it in less than 24 hours and thought it was a fun read but not her best.

What have you been reading? Any recommendations for me?

2 comments:

Kathryn Bagley said...

I wish I had something good to contribute..but im still trying to finish the last book from book club (which is no longer a club) :/

Karen Peterson said...

I REALLY need to read a freaking book!