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Hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
W00t! W00t! I finally finished two books in a week. That seems crazy, but between reading long books and the start of school I haven’t finished more than one a week in what feels like a very long time. Does that mean my life has calmed down a bit? Maybe, but it doesn’t really feel like it, and with a grandbaby three days overdue, I suspect this next week is going to be very, very full!
Last Week’s Reads
The start of the school year probably wasn’t the best time to take on a long southern saga. Because of that, I don’t feel like I truly gave The Twelve-Mile Straight by Eleanor Henderson all the attention it really required. Never-the-less, I liked most of her book and will be reviewing it tomorrow. I haven’t read an entire book in a single day in a long time, but did with Kaira Rouda’s psychological thriller, Best Day Ever. It featured one of the creepiest narrators ever and reminded me a little of Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris (my review). I plan on reviewing Best Day Ever sometime next week. I also abandoned two books last week: The Exact Nature of Our Wrongs by Janet Peery and We Are All Shipwrecks, a memoir by Kelly Gray Carlisle. Neither one seemed to be going anywhere and I grew bored.
Currently Reading
At about halfway through, I am loving the audio version of Little Fires Everywhere, Celeste Ng’s sophomore novel. The story is great and the narration by Jennifer Lim? A-maz-ing! This book is an absolute pleasure to listen to. I just picked up The Ninth Hour by Alice McDermott last night and read about 12 pages before falling asleep. I’m anxious to delve further into this story of a widow, her child and the Brooklyn nuns whose lives are intertwined through much of the twentieth century.
Likely to Read Next
After hearing that Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan was nominated for the National Book Award last week, I’m not going to be able to hold off any longer. “With the atmosphere of a noir thriller, Egan’s first historical novel follows Anna and Styles into a world populated by gangsters, sailors, divers, bankers, and union men.” That sentence alone is enough to draw me in. I have something of a foodie family; my sister is food blogger with a pretty significant presence (RecipeGirl), one of my son’s is a chef, and we all like good food. So, Alice Waters is chef we admire. Her memoir, Coming to My Senses was released earlier this month and I plan on making it my next audiobook. Waters does her own narration which hopefully will add to her story.
I hope you have a great week in books!
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A great reading week for you Susie. I may have to try Little Fires on audible since the wait at the library for the ebook is pretty long. Early congrats on your new grandchild, how exciting!! Hope you have a great week
Thanks, Renee. I really like the audio. It’s a good option.
I am in the middle of Little Fires as well and I am absolutely enjoying it also. Best Day Ever is on my TBR but I’m not sure how soon I will get to it. Manhattan Beach sounds interesting to me too. It looks like you’ve had a wonderful week in reading. I love your blog too. Thanks for visiting me too.
Thanks for stopping by, Bill. I enjoyed checking out your blog.
I’m particularly curious about the Alice Waters book.
I’ve been seeing Little Fires Everywhere on lots of blogs. I’ll be eager to read what you think of it. Come see my week here. Happy reading!
Thanks for stopping by.
Oh my gosh – how did I not know your sister was a food blogger?! That’s so cool…did she convince you to start your blog? How nice is it to have someone to bounce blogging ideas/issues off of?!
I’ve got Manhattan Beach coming up too – how did I miss that it got nominated for the National Book Award? I’ve got 1 more Sept book before I can start on October, but that one will be first up for me.
And the Alice Waters sounds like it would be right up my audio alley…I’ll let you vet for me!
My sister did encourage me and also was a big help in answering questions and showing me how to navigate WP, etc. It’s been really fun watching her career take off.
I’m on my last September book and really hoping for a more exciting October!
Little Fires Everywhere is on my wishlist but I probably won’t get to it this year. Come see what I’m reading
Little Fires Everywhere and Best Day Ever look like really intriguing reads. I’ve been seeing a lot of praise of Celeste Ng’s novel and would love to check it out, but the wait at the library is super long. I may have to purchase the book! Check out what I’ve been reading here!
The Ninth Hour is the one that looks more appealing to me (Brooklyn <3) so I'l be waiting for your thoughts!
Right now it’s a little slow going, but my life is crazy so that’s probably the bigger issue!
I’m about to start Little Fires Everywhere. I’m hoping it lives up to all the hype. I’ll have to check out Best Day Ever. I love books that you just can’t put down. Thanks for the suggestions!
I just finished Little Fires Everywhere and it really was great!