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The Winter Olympics have begun and my enthusiasm for the games has not! I used to be a devoted fan of the Olympics, but in recent years my interest has waned. I find the summer Olympics a bit more appealing, but two years ago I didn’t watch much of those either. I’m not sure why, but perhaps it’s because I’ve seen so many Olympics in my lifetime that now they sort of feel like reruns. So, I’ll be tuning in here and there, but I don’t expect to lose much reading time to the games. How do you feel about the Olympics?
Last Week’s Reads
Educated, a memoir by Tara Westover, was the first book I finished last week. In it, she tells of growing up in a survivalist Mormon family who didn’t believe in school, so she had very little education. Westover went on to attend BYU and obtain a doctorate from Cambridge, and that’s only the beginning of her amazing story. (Review to come soon.) Brianna Wolfson’s debut Rosie Colored Glasses was a very fast read about a 10-year old girl, the unstable mother she adored, and the father who didn’t quite know how to love her. I’m still processing this one and will have a review up next week. I finished listening to a backlist book, Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny, on Saturday. Overall, I really enjoyed this book, though I find myself hard pressed to say exactly what it was about. I will say I laughed out loud many times and thought narrator, Cassandra Campbell was great. Sadly, Sadness is a White Bird by Moriel Rothman-Zecher turned out to be a DNF for me. I just couldn’t develop any lasting interest in the story or the storytelling.
Currently Reading
Promise by Minrose Gwin is an historical fiction built around the real life story of an F5 tornado that devastated Tupelo, Mississippi in 1936. Told through women who survived the disaster, the entire story takes place in only few days. This is not a fast paced book, but at about 40% I’m finding the story is drawing me in more and more.
Likely to Read Next
My next big reading decision is what’s up next on audio. I’m wavering between Daphne by Will Boast and The Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore by Kim Fu. Daphne is a modern take on the Apollo and Daphne myth and sounds both sweet and fun. The Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore follows the lives of 5 girls who spend a frightening night together lost at a remote camp. In print, I’ll try Speak No Evil by Uzodinma Iweala next. I’m really looking forward to this book about love, secrets, violence, and expectations.
I hope you have a great week in books!
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Educated is on my list…glad you loved it! And I definitely LOL’d at some parts of Standard Deviation (a kids-club style drop-off for houseguests?? Yes, please!).
Am probably reading Lost Girls with you this week…
If Educated had been fiction, I’d never have believed it!
I haven’t heard of most of the books you featured so lots of possibilities for my tbr. I think I did try Standard Deviation last summer but couldn’t get into it. I prefer the Summer Olympics but may watch a little of the Winter if my husband has it on.
Happy to help, Renee.
My interest in the Olympics has waned over the years, too. I used to be a total fanatic, but so far this year have only watched a bit of the opening ceremony. Initial buzz about Educated has been very positive and I’m intrigued – will look for your review.
I’m definitely more of a summer Olympics fan, so I think I will be reading even more than usual for the next couple weeks! Promise is something that’s new to me, but sounds really good, think I’ll be adding that to my TBR! I only just heard about Lost Girls recently but already put myself on my library’s wait list. Have a great week!
I finished Promise and will review soon, but it did have flaws.
Oooh, I am very intrigued by your description of Promise! I’m so glad to hear that you are finding it interesting; I will certainly look forward to your final thoughts. I’ve started seeing The Lost Girls around quite a bit, but have yet to pick up a copy; maybe the audio will be a good option! Hope you have a great week, Susie!
Thanks, Tara. You have a great week, too.
As the Olympics have become a cesspool of corruption and doping my interest has dropped to pretty close to zero.
I just finished Standard Deviation too! I’m surprised the audio was done by a female as the narrator was male. It was laugh out loud funny, which isn’t easy, but I was also left wondering exactly what it was about. It was a nice interlude after a couple of intense psychological thrillers. Stillhouse Lake was great!
None of yours are otherwise on my radar so I look forward to you reviews. Next up for me is Olaf Olafsson’s “One Station Away.” Loved his “Walking Into the Night.”
I thought that about the narration of Standard Deviation, too. I think they used a woman because Audra did so much of the talking!
I haven’t read Olafsson yet. Sounds like I need to give him a try.
Promise looks good! I have Lost Girls on my list and hope to get to it this week.
Sounds like a big week for Lost Girls. I’ve seen mentions all over.
The lost girls of camp forevermore actually looks exciting! I’m going to check it out. I hope you enjoy it as well.
Laura 🙂
My Monday Post
Thanks for stopping by, Laura.
I have had the Olympics on each evening but I only really watch the figure skating. All of your books are new to me. I hope you enjoy the ones you picked for this week. Come see my week here. Happy reading!
I can’t wait to read Educated. I’m hoping to start it soon! I also have Sadness is a White Bird and I keep skipping it for other reads. I probably should not have requested it, but I still hope to give it a try.
Maybe Sadness will work better for you than it did foe me. Please let me know what you think if you do read it.
The Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore and Speak No Evil are both on my wishlist. Come see what I’m reading this week.
I started Speak No Evil and am enjoying it very much.
I watched the Olympics for a few hours while I was working today. I’m not a huge fan of them, but some of the sports are interesting. Have a great week!
I’m not a big watcher of the Olympics. I prefer the Cliff Notes version in my news feed. I’m going to be reading The Promise soon too so I’ll look forward to your review.
I’m looking forward to your thoughts on Promise. I liked some parts a lot, but also ended up doing some skimming.
I admit I’ve been sucked into the Olympics and they really are a great reprieve from all that is Trump and the bad news. I’ve found watching the events to be terrific, although all the high winds there have delayed many of the ski races. Hmm. The Westover book sounds inspiring – thank goodness the author broke free of her family & went on to get an education. Good for her!