Big Reads: May(ish) Recap

Hi guys! I'm back! I can't believe it's been so long since my last post. I feel like I've forgotten how to do everything. It makes sense though... I started a new job in March (which I love), but things have definitely been different. For starters, I fell down the Outlander rabbit hole and didn't think I would ever emerge. I've been reading a ton, but haven't had (made) much time for blogging and instagramming.

Let's dive back in with the best books I've read lately. All in May, except for Outlander. Hence the May(ish) update.

Exit West by Moshin Hamid. Can a roller coaster be slow moving? Or is that just hills? Either way, that's how this book felt to me. It was very interesting - I love Nadia and Saeed and the journey they took. I loved how strong and fierce Nadia was. Saeed was ok. I didn't love him as much as Nadia.  Even though this had some fantastical elements (just one really - doorways that become portals to different parts of the world,) it's pretty much a refugee story. One that is pretty timely and eye opening.

The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan. The title is misleading. It's actually a book van. Apparently this is the U.S. title, but the U.K. title is the name of the book van, The Little Shop of Happily Ever After. Granted, the U.S. title is a better title, but the U.K. one makes more sense with the story.

The Dry by Jane Harper. There has been so much buzz surrounding this book! I thought it was pretty good. The whodunnit twist caught me entirely by surprise. I really likes Falk, though I had a hard time picturing him as he's described. (White blonde hair, blue eyes, super pale skin - I feel like he wouldn't survive in the Australian outback. Wouldn't he just be one giant sunburn?) The atmosphere in this book though - made me hot and thirsty just reading it. This is the first in a series and I can't wait to see where it goes.

One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I didn't want to like this book. I definitely had no intention of ever reading it, even though readers I love highly recommended it. But then it was a kindle daily deal, and I just can't resist those. I frickin loved it. I think I read it in one sitting, it was so engaging. It's the story of Emma Blair who marries her high school sweetheart and they live happily ever after. At least until just before their first anniversary, when his helicopter goes down over the Pacific ocean and he's presumed dead. A few years later, Emma has moved on and is engaged again when she gets a phone call from her husband saying that he's alive and he's coming home. Cue gasp. I loved this story so much. I though the bookshop was fantastic. I loved the evolution of her relationship with her sister was wonderful. I loved her parents and both of these wonderful men in her life. I loved Emma and her growth and change as a person from a young newlywed to a woman who has experienced the hard things life has given her and come through not just in tact, but stronger than before. Plus there was some top notch flirting in this book. Just a wonderful read. Also, the only reason I picked The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo as one of the Book of the Month picks for June. I must read more Taylor Jenkins Reid.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. What is there to say about Outlander that hasn't already been said. If, like me, you've been holding out on reading these books for whatever reason, just read them already. They're endlessly entertaining. They're funny and dramatic and romantic and suspenseful and Jamie Fraser is the best fictional man that has ever been written. The show is ok - the books are way way better. I especially loved the ending of the latest book.

10 Books That Are Just Plain Fun

You all were sooo encouraging on my post earlier this week about being in a reading slump! I gave up on Anna Karenina. For now, at least. Maybe I'll try again another time. But for me right now? I'm done.

The day after that post went live, I was listening to one of my new favorite podcasts, Awesome with Alison. In Episode 3, she talked about how important having fun is. A lightbulb went off, guys. That's why I read. That's my fun activity. So without further ado, here are 10 books that are just plain fun to read (plus the one I'm reading to get me out of my slump.)

The Harry Potter series. Can you talk about reading for fun without mentioning Harry Potter? I certainly can't. I absolutely love these books. Especially on audio. I've mentioned them on the blog several times, but Jim Dale's narration of these books is magical and utterly without fault. I just finished listening to Deathly Hallows and I'm strongly considering starting back over at the beginning.

Shades of Grey - no, not that one. Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde. Jasper Fforde is better known for his Thursday Next series, which I haven't read, but Shades of Grey? It's fantastic. Society is divided up into a cast system based on what colors you can see, and there's a hierarchy based on those colors. Eddie Russet (a red) wants to move up in the hierarchy, but his plans to marry into a powerful family are derailed after meeting a grey named Jane. This book is fun and fast paced and I want more, but there hasn't been any news about the previously promised sequels in a long time.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? and Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling. These books are hilarious. I love Mindy. I thought she was brilliant as Kelly Kapoor on The Office (only my favorite show of all time) and I love her new show The Mindy Project. She's so funny and so smart and so talented, and I basically wish we were best friends. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? is more memoir while Why Not Me? is a series of essays about life in Hollywood. Both amazing. Both hilarious. And you should read (or listen - read by Mindy herself!) to both of these books.

Contrary to the contents of this list, I don't read a ton of chick lit or romance novels, but Agnes and the Hitman is one of the few books I have read multiple times. What do you get when you put together a food critic, an actual hitman, a dognapper, and a big southern wedding? Zany is the best way to describe it. Zany, funny, and fun.

The Assistants takes a crazy premise and makes it almost believable. Tina Fontana is a thirty something executive assistant to the CEO of a multinational media conglomorate. One day after seeing said CEO spend the entire balance of her student loans on a single flight, she accidentally double submits his expense report and pays off her loans. This quickly spirals out of control as more people find out about it, but what a ride we take along with Tina. Can you imagine being able to pay off your student loans in one fell swoop?

Dark Matter - talk about a page turner! This was probably the most fun and exciting book I read last year. Jason Dessen is walking home from a bar one night when someone whacks him over the head. When he comes to, a familiar voice asks him, "Are you happy with your life?" Then he wakes up in an entirely different world. Completely insane. Super fast paced. It left me breathless until the last page.

The Stephanie Plum series. This series has a lot of books in it. A lot. 23 at last count (plus 4 holiday books, I think) I haven't read all of them, I think I've read through 18 or 19 of them. But you guys, they are so so funny. No one gets in so much trouble as Stephanie and Lula. These are fun and funny and each one revolves around a single mystery. They're quick, easy reads and the main dudes are delish. (Team Ranger forever.)

The Royal We by the Fug Girls (Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan) is a basically Prince William/Kate Middleton fan fiction. And I loved it. This was one of the first books I checked out when I discovered my local library (it took me too long.) I'm not super into the royals, so I don't think you have to be to enjoy this story. Will and Kate are instead Nick and Bex and Bex is American. There's a Pippa (Bex's twin sister) and a Harry too (called Freddie here.) This book was fun and funny and was everything that a good romance novel should be.

Another series - The Raven Cycle. YA, mystery, fantasy, magic, ghosts, psychics, cute boys, and badass girls. What's not to love?

And finally, the current front runner for favorite book of the year (I know it's only February, but it's going to be hard to top this one.) The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. When I first heard about this book, I was very hesitant. I like quirky, but that title seemed just a little too quirky to me. I didn't know much about it and I think that made all the difference in my ultimate love for it, so I'm not going to talk about the plot. I will tell you only this: this story was so heartwarming and charmingly told that when I finished it, I wanted to go right back to page one and start it all over.

So what am I reading now to get out of my slump? I'm so glad you asked! My Not So Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella.  I'm not too far into it, but it's light and fun and just what I needed to revive my reading life.

Tell me about your last reading slump and how you got over it.

Big Reads - January Recap

 

Well, the first month of 2017 is over. The news and social media have been crazy, so I've been hunkering down and introverting hard with some really good books. I read eight books this month - let's get into them.

 

My husband loves the Lightbringer Series and has wanted me to read it for a while, so I checked out the audio from my library. And it was awful. But it was recorded later by Simon Vance, so I got that version from audible. It was so much better! The Black Prism is the story of Gavin Guile, The Prism, the most powerful man in the world. He has been ruling for 16 years after the False Prism's War and things are starting to fall apart. When he discovers he has a son in a kingdom left with no men after the way, he sets out to find him in order to protect all of his own secrets. There were several OMG moments, a few strong female characters (metaphorically and literally), and many just plain interesting characters. The battle scenes were too long for my taste, but I am interested to see where the story goes from here. If you plan to listen to this on audio, definitely get the Simon Vance version.

The Trees was my first read of 2017. And what a way to kick off the year! I love Ali Shaw. I read The Girl with Glass Feet a couple of years ago, and it had such a wonderful, dark, haunting, fairy tale feel to it. The Trees has a very similar atmosphere. In it, a dark, spooky forest erupts from the earth one night destroying every man made thing in its path (a many people as well.) The main character, Adrien, is kind of fat and pathetic and in an unhappy marriage in an unhappy life, but when the trees come, all he wants is to see his wife, who is away on a business trip. His hippy neighbor convinces him to go find her across the sea in Ireland. So off he sets with the neighbor and her teenage son. He's not happy about it, but he can't think of anything else to do. The Trees is dark and creepy and the imagery of the trees so densely covering the world that you can't see the sky is terrifying. There's wonderful character growth and happy endings for all but one of the characters, but the ending couldn't be more right. Or more fairy tale like.

I got this from Book of the Month Club a few months ago, and it won best book of the year from them, but I have strong mixed feeling about it. All the Ugly and Wonderful Things is the story of Wavy and Kellen and all the people in their lives. They meet when Wavy is eight and Kellen is in his twenties and they develop a friendship. Wavy is extremely neglected and abused by her parents, so Kellen looks out for her and takes care of her. Their relationship develops into a romance when Wavy is much too young, but they're both so damaged and abused by people who are supposed to love them, that I found myself rooting for them. Much of this book made me extremely uncomfortable. Then I found myself hoping for them to end up together through all their trials, and that made me even more uncomfortable. I read somewhere that the point of this book is that love is love and it doesn't always look like we think it should. But it was still super squicky. It was a super fast read, though. I couldn't wait to find out what happened next. But I would do careful research before deciding to read this one.

Hillbilly Elegy has been everywhere leading up to and following the election. I don't know who decided that this book explains why Trump was elected, but I don't think that's accurate. Hillbilly Elegy is a memoir. It's the story of J.D. Vance's life, and the life of his family, living in the Rust Belt. I loved J.D.'s crazy Mamaw. I loved reading about how he escaped an impoverished life with her help and encouragement. I even loved all of the crazy family drama. It reminded me a lot of All Over but the Shoutin, and it felt very familiar to me, being from the South.

Holding Up the Universe was fantastic! For the first 75% of the book, I thought, "This is ok." But the end totally changed that. I loved it. It's the story of Libby, the fattest teen in America, and Jack, a boy who cannot remember faces, even the faces of those he loves. I think when you get older (not that I'm old - I'm not even 30 yet.) A least, as I have gotten older, I've forgotten that the problems that young people deal with are so real and huge to them, even if they may seem trivial to me. And sometimes they have very real battles they are fighting. Libby is my hero. So is Jack, for being such a man with his dad. I just loved this one. That's two for two from Jennifer Niven, because All the Bright Places slayed me. PS - I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.

You guys, I love Newt Scamander so much. (Who doesn't, right?) I so enjoyed this movie that I saw it twice. And this cover is so beautiful, how could I not pick it up? This a screenplay, so it only took a couple of hours to read, but it was like watching the movie again. Also, on March 14th, new editions of The Hogwarts Library are being released. Along with this, Fantastic Beasts is being released for the first time on audio, recorded by none other than Eddie Redmayne. #EddieRedmayneIsBAE. I know where my book budget is going in March!

The Cozy Life was a kindle daily deal recently. Have you signed up for those from Modern Mrs. Darcy? They're dangerous. Those nearly daily $1.99 purchases add up! But they're totally worth it. Anyway, I picked this one up because of all the hoopla about hygge. It was ok. Not fantastic. I now know how to pronounce hygge (hooga, btw.) But the basic principle is make your home cozy, slow down, and enjoy your life. Don't try so hard. Put the phone down and turn off the TV every now and then. It did make me want to go buy more throw pillows, blankets, and candles, though.

My Life in France was the January pick for my Mother Daughter Book Club. And it made me hungry while I read it. A lot. I thought this book was very funny at certain points (when she and her friends went to a speakeasy during prohibition, drank one of everything, and got violently ill on the way home) and disjointed at others. I also thought that Julia Child was quite the brave and adventurous woman to travel the world like she did and undertake so many new things at not-such-a-young-age. Also, that Valentine's Day card that she and Paul sent out of them in the bathtub was quite scandalous! Overall, I enjoyed this one, but I didn't love it as much as I thought I would.

If you made it to the end of this super wordy post, thank you! Virtual high five!

What did you read in January that I need to add to my TBR?

Big Reads: The Sun Is Also A Star

The first thing I have to say is, "That cover tho...."

There's just something about a beautiful cover.

The second thing is - I haven't read Everything Everything, which is what put Nicola Yoon on the map, but after reading The Sun Is Also A Star, I'm going to have to change that.

The Sun Is Also A Star is the story of a Daniel and Natasha and their whirlwind love story that spans a single day - the day Natasha is to be deported because she's an undocumented immigrant. Daniel is a poet and believes in love at first sight. Natasha is a scientist and isn't sure she believes in love at all. The entire book spans the course of twelve hours and it is a dang roller coaster.

Their love story is everything YA should be, while also hitting tough issues like illegal immigration, the difficulties that arise with legal immigration, parents who don't understand their kids, kids who don't understand their parents, siblings who hate each other, cultural identification, dreams, regret, and acceptance. While I'm not Korean, or Korean American, or Jamaican, or Jamaican American, I felt like those cultures were represented in a very real and respectful way. I also really loved the back stories given to almost every tertiary character you meet.

I don't read a lot of YA romance because it usually feels super cheesy to me, but this was super well done and had just enough real life to balance out all the feelings.

Bottom line, The Sun Is Also A Star lives up to the hype. It was pretty darn good.

I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this honest review. 

Best Books of 2016 - Big Reads Edition

I'm back, guys!

I took a little unintentional-that-turned-intentional blog/insta break, but I'm glad to be back!

These are the best books I read in 2016 (not necessarily published in 2016, just read by me in 2016. Also, they are in no particular order.)

A Man Called Ove was so bittersweet that it had me sobbing in my office at work by the end of the book. It's the story of a grumpy old man who loses his wife and isn't sure how to carry on without her.  I listened to it on audio, and I think that made all the difference.

Life After Life is a book that I bought for my kindle many moons ago and never really grabbed my attention when I tried to read it. Until this year. Excellent proof that there's a big difference between a book not being right for you and not being right for you right now. When I finally read it early this year, I was definitely kicking myself for not reading it earlier. It's fantastic and just so darn creative. Completely unlike anything else I've ever read. And definitely one I kept thinking about after I finished it.

The One-in-a-Million Boy was a What Should I Read Next? recommendation that was mentioned several times on the podcast, I think. Anne Bogel said repeatedly that she never would have picked this one up had it not been recommended to her by a trusted source, and I'm right there with her. It was a kindle daily deal one day, so I figured I would give it a shot and it was well worth it.

Inside Out and Back Again will make you realize that you don't have real problems. This was another What Should I Read Next? pick, and another kindle daily deal. It was also the first novel I've ever read in verse. I loved it and it won't be the last. I'm thinking One next...

A Monster Calls absolutely gutted me. I was NOT prepared for how sad and beautiful this story was. The movie is coming out next month, but I don't know if I'm going to see it in theaters. I'm quite sure I would embarrass myself by ugly crying through the last half of it.

Everything I Never Told You was the best book we read for our Mother Daughter Book Club this year. Great discussion followed. It was sad. Very sad. The story opens with "Lydia is dead. But they don't know this yet." and it just gets sadder as the story progresses. My mom doesn't usually like sad books, but she liked this one.

The Girl You Left Behind hit all my usual faves. WWII fiction? Check. Beautiful cover? Check. Little bit of love story but not a romance novel? Check. Intrigue and mystery? Check. Happy ending? Check and check.

Station Eleven is one I just read last month and it was so interesting! A flu wipes out ninety something percent of the population. Fifteen years later, a traveling symphony and acting troupe performs Shakespeare for settlements where survivors have gathered. This is one of those stories where the less you know about it going in, the better.

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry was another grumpy old man story that was recommended on What Should I Read Next? Can you tell where I get all of my book recommendations? Seriously, if you're not listening to that podcast, you need to get on it. It's awesome. It was also another that was bittersweet and wonderful and if you like books about books, read this one asap.

Dark Matter was a freakin roller coaster. The ultimate "what if?" story. Plus that cover looks amazing wherever you put it.

What are the best books you read this year?

Big Reads: The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

I have been on a roll with one day reads lately.

Three in a row, in fact. The Girl You Left Behind, Kids of Appetite (review coming later this week,) and this one - The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry.

This is my favorite kind of book. One that I simply can't put down and read in one day. Also, I love books about books. Especially when I've read the other books mentioned in the book. It feels kind of magical to me. This one in particular was just delightful (and strongly reminded me of A Man Called Ove and we all know how I felt about that one. I frickin loved it.)

Lets get into it - The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry is about a bookseller (the titular A.J.) who has recently lost his wife and is a bit of a curmudgeon. (Sound familiar, Ove-readers?) The story opens with publishing company sales rep Amelia Loman making her first sales call to Island Books (owned by A.J.) They have a horrible first meeting, A.J tries to drink himself to death every night, a priceless first edition is stolen, and a package is left in his store one night (hint - cover art. I didn't even see it until I was writing this post and looked at the photos I took.)

The story is a bit of a roller-coaster. I especially loved the book "review" A.J. writes at the beginning of each chapter. He's writing a letter to someone about each book and they give a small hint about the forthcoming chapter. There are plenty of ups and downs and I was fully invested for all of it. This was a truly wonderful book. If you love books like I do, definitely add this one to the top of your TBR.

Come back tomorrow for another Christmas gift idea for the little people in your life. (This one is actually for my little person, so I have to wait until she isn't home to shoot it.)

Big Reads: The Raven Cycle

Do I even have words for these Raven boys?

I love Maggie Stiefvater. I loved her Wolves of Mercy Falls series. I loved The Scorpio Races. But I was very hesitant to give The Raven Cycle a chance. I think that's due to all the hype it gets on instagram, but the series definitely lives up to the hype.

Plus all three boys are bae.

I listened the these books instead of reading them. They're narrated by Will Patton (best known by me for being the white coach from Remember the Titans.) He's fantastic. Just wonderful. It took me a second to get past the extra southern accent he gave to Adam, but it works.

I'm not sure what else to say about The Raven Cycle. It's got psychics, psychic mirrors, friendship, ghosts, hit men, dreamers, family drama, a quest for a sleeping king, feminism, a cursed romance, and true love (or two.) What's not to love?

These are definitely going on my reread stack.

Big Reads: The Girl You Left Behind

I stayed up way too late last night finishing this book.

Like everyone else on the planet, I read Me Before You and ugly cried through the ending. I still haven't seen the movie because Sam Claflin is just so darn cute that I'm not sure I could handle it.

But after Me Before You gutted me so thoroughly, I was interested in reading more of Jojo Moyes work, but I wasn't in a super big hurry to do so. Then I saw The Girl You Left Behind at Barnes & Noble for around $5, so I had to pick it up. Plus look how beautiful that cover is! I definitely have a type and it's this one.

I was reading The Secret History, but set it aside when I brought this home. The Girl You Left Behind is all kinds of up my alley. Romance, Germany-occupied France (WWI this time instead of WWII), secrets, bravery, hope, and questions up until the very end.

The Girl You Left Behind is the story of a painting. A portrait of young woman, Sophie Lefevre, by her husband and the path it takes through history until it ends up in the hands of Liv Halston almost a century later.

The story begins with Sophie, running her family's hotel in a small town in France that is occupied by the Germans. Sophie and her sister are forced to serve the Germans dinner every night and it's then that the new Kommandant notices her portrait and becomes obsessed with her.

Jump to present day London with Sophie's portrait lives on the wall of Live Halston's bedroom. The one she shared with her recently deceased husband. Enter a handsome American former detective whose job it is to return stolen artwork to family members who lost said art during war times.

The story moves swiftly and has the most perfect ending you could possibly hope for - quite the neat little bow everything is tied up in. Sometimes we need that, right?

I loved The Girl You Left Behind. So much. Have you read this or any of Jojo Moyes other works?

Big Reads: October Recap

Oh October... It felt like such a slump month for reading since I only read two books on my TBR for the month, but overall, I read quite a bit. Let's break it down:

• A Monster Calls - I did a full review of this one here. This has to be one of the most emotional books I've read all year. And one of the most beautiful. I highly recommend reading in one sitting, if you have the time.
• The Sea of Tranquility - This was a kindle daily deal a while ago, but I just got around to reading it this month. I enjoyed this one, but not enough to do a full review. It was a little too teen for me, I think. It's a girl meets boy story, only this girl doesn't speak and no one speaks to this boy, yet somehow they are drawn to each other.
• Modern Romance - A wonderful Instafriend sent this to me on audible. Did you know you can send audiobooks? I didn't either, but it sure was nice of @mogeorgie. I LOVE Aziz Ansari, and he definitely lives up to my expectations of this book. It was surprisingly research based. I was anticipating essays of dating anecdotes, but instead it's more about how people meet each other and date in the tinder era. And how having all these options might be making it harder for people to find love. My favorite part was how Aziz stops to tell you how lazy you are for listening to the audio instead of reading the book yourself. This happens at several points, usually when there is a visual (chart/graph) in the book that you obviously can't see in the audio format.
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - I have so enjoyed revisiting the world of Hogwarts these past few months (these are what I'm using my audible subscription for.) I say it every month, but Jim Dale is a fantastic narrator and as soon as I finish one book, I count down the days until my next credit is available. November will be my favorite Harry Potter book - The Order of the Phoenix and I can. not. wait.
• Lumberjanes - My library recently linked up with a new digital content service, Hoopla. And they have comics! So I decided to check out Lumberjanes since I've seen so much about it on #bookstagram and it looked super cute. Guess what? It totally was. The only thing I didn't like about it is that I read four issues in about 20 minutes. (I wish they lasted longer.) Friendship to the max!
• The Black Dagger Brotherhood - These are my guiltiest of guilty pleasures, but I love these freaking books so much. They're about a race of warrior vampires and the ladies they fall in love with. They're super steamy and the vampires names are always emotions or adjectives with unnecessary Hs in their name (Wrath, Rhage, Phury, Vishous, etc.) I revisited these this month and read through Vishous's book, I think. They're worth checking out if you're looking for something extra steamy.
• A Man Called Ove - I reviewed this one here. This is another What Should I Read Next? pick that I hope you read because I loved it so much. Have your tissues on standby when you check it out.
• The Raven Boys and The Dream Thieves - After seeing so. much. hype. on #bookstagram, I decided to look into The Raven Cycle books. I love Maggie Stiefvater. I loved The Wolves of Mercy Falls book AND The Scorpio Races. It took me a while to get into these (I'm listening to them on audio as well) but once I did, I was IN IT. It helps that it's narrated by Will Patton. I put The Raven Boys on one night last week as I was going to sleep and now I will need Will Patton to read me a bedtime story every night, please and thank you. 
• Rebecca - I haven't quite finished this one. It was my pick for my Mother Daughter book club this month. I chose it for October because I've heard it was a wee bit spooky. My mom finished it already and not only did she not love it, but she said it's not spooky at all either. I'm enjoying it so far, so we shall see. 

In November, I'm going to try to catch up on my unread Book of the Month Club books. I've got about six waiting for me. What did you read it October?

Big Reads: A Man Called Ove

A Man Called Ove is another What Should I Read Next? recommendation. And boy is it a good one.

I was hesitant to try this book, even with the glowing recommendation on my favorite podcast. After reading the summary, it just didn't seem like something I would like to read. But it was available on audio from the new digital media service my library connected with, Hoopla. I decided to check it out since it was free. If I didn't like it, I definitely didn't have to finish it and I wouldn't be out any money. Very low risk, you see.

Then I started listening to it and I was just not feeling it. It's about a man (called Ove - duh) who is a huge grump. Enormous grump. Utterly insufferable grump. It was... not appealing... to listen to. But then it's revealed that Ove has decided to kill himself, but each attempt keeps getting interrupted by his nosy new neighbors. That's when things got interesting.

Ove, though he remained a huge crumedgeon, drew together an entire neighborhood and made the residents a family. He became an honorary grandfather (the kind that spoils his grandchildren rotten.) He provided a home for an ousted teen. He reunited a father and son. He punched a clown and got kicked out of a hospital. He stood up to the man and won.

A Man Called Ove is a book that will make you laugh on one page (about something completely unfunny, like suicide) and cry on the next (about something that should never make you cry, like an iPad.) And when I reached the end, I was at work, sitting in my office, and I just cried. Like boo-hooed, tears streaming down my face, ugly cried. And there was nothing I could do about it. So if you read A Man Called Ove, and I hope you do, have your tissues ready. Please excuse me while I go read everything Frederik Backman has ever written.

Big Reads: The Wolf Road

The Wolf Road was very different from anything else I've read this year.

Different in a good way.

Told through the eyes of a young woman known as Elka, whose reliability as a narrator continually breaks down over the course of the story. Elka has grown up in what I assume to be Canada. I assume it's Canada because the its called the BeeCee, its very cold, and the Ruskies walked there during the Damn Stupid (the apocalyptic war that has ruined the world.) While The Wolf Road is technically a post-apocalyptic story, it's not dystopian. It feels more as if it's set in the past. And though I believe it to be set in Canada, the Appalachian accents Elka and others speak with greatly remind me of the deep south.

So, we've established that Elka is unreliable, but she has good reason to be. Her parents left her with her Nana to head north to find gold - they never returned. Elka never got along with her Nana and got separated from her during a storm. She wandered off assuming that her Nana didn't survive the storm and meets a man she calls Trapper. Trapper takes her in and teaches her how to live off the land and in the wild. Elka soon begins to refer to him as her daddy in her mind.

One day while in town, Elka sees a wanted poster with Trappers face on it. She can't read, but a magistrate sees her looking at the poster and asks her if she knows the man pictured as he in wanted in connection with a murder. As you can imagine, things spiral out of control from there.

This book was dark and twisted and takes a look at all the darkest parts of people. Characters change as you learn more about them and as soon as you think things might get better for Elka, you quickly find yourself to have been very wrong. And though this book opens at the ending, there's a pretty big twist that will change everything you've read. No one can be trusted... not even Elka.

If you have a chance to read The Wolf Road - absolutely take it. You won't regret it.

Now that I've finished The Wolf Road, it's on to the ever persistent reader question... What should I read next?

I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review, but all opinions are honest and my own.

Big Reads AND Little Reads: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Illustrated

Let's talk about Harry Potter, shall we? It's kind for all ages, I think. Though, that may be because I started reading it as a young person, but I'm not so sure. I've been listening to the audiobooks and it's just as amazing as an adult.

I'm not going to get much into the story of Harry Potter because we all know it well. If you don't, WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?!?! Please stop everything you're doing and read those books. Take a reading vacation from work. Pretend you have mono. Run away for a couple of weeks so you can get some peace and quiet in order to read. I don't know... do something and read these books. 

If you haven't been living under a rock, you probably know that there are illustrated editions out now. I believe the plan is to release a new book once a year until they're all done. This weekend I picked up Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. In case you were wondering if this book is worth the $40 it costs in store, let me help you decide. The answer is yes, btw. Just putting that out there. Also, it's much cheaper on Amazon, if that's your thing. Let's take a peek at this beast of a book. (after the jump)

Book of the Month Club - October

It's that time again. The best day of the month - Book of the Month Club unboxing day! Here's what was in my box this month:

After book mints. 

Cute quote bookmark. (I adore John Green even though I'm not the biggest fan of his writing.)

And here are the books I chose this month (after the jump):

Big Reads: A Monster Calls

I need to interrupt all of my planned posts to tell you guys about A Monster Calls.

I picked this book up from Target last night. I went home, put on my comfy clothes, sat down on my couch, and read the whole. dang. thing.

And I am IN my feelings about it.

Brief synopsis:

At seven minutes past midnight, thirteen-year-old Conor wakes to find a monster outside his bedroom window. But it isn't the monster Conor's been expecting-- he's been expecting the one from his nightmare, the nightmare he's had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments. The monster in his backyard is different. It's ancient. And wild. And it wants something from Conor. Something terrible and dangerous. It wants the truth. From the final idea of award-winning author Siobhan Dowd-- whose premature death from cancer prevented her from writing it herself-- Patrick Ness has spun a haunting and darkly funny novel of mischief, loss, and monsters both real and imagined.

 Feelings:

Warning - this is NOT spoiler free. If you haven't read this book, DO NOT CONTINUE READING THIS POST. Quickly go read A Monster Calls and then come back and cry with me. It'll be worth it.

Back to the feels... Obviously I loved this book, since I couldn't put it down and read it in one sitting. (That's a common thing with this book, I've read.) It was completely and utterly heartbreaking, and touches on what is probably my second biggest fear.

See, Conor's mom has cancer. She's been undergoing treatment for a while, and nothing is working. She keeps getting sicker and sicker and sicker. She knows this. Conor knows this. But neither of them wants to admit it. One night, the yew tree by the church near his home comes to life and appears at his window. Conor isn't at all afraid because it's not the monster he's worried about. The monster/tree says that he will tell Conor three stories and after the third story, Conor must tell his own story - his truth.

While all of this is going on with the monster, and his mom's cancer, and his grandma (who he doesn't get along with) coming to stay/take care of his mom... On top of all of that, he's being bullied at school. But he doesn't do anything about it because he feels like he deserves it because of the monster he faces in his nightmare (not the yew tree.)

Conor's mother continues to get sicker, his absentee father returns from the states for a very disappointing visit (due to his new family taking priority over Conor and his dying mom.)

The three stories the monster tells Conor are tricky - they all have a little bit of a twist to them that leave Conor feeling frustrated with the unjustness of the world (as if he needs any more proof that the world is unjust.)

After the third story, it's time for Conor to tell his truth. He did summon the monster, after all. I don't want to give everything away, so I'll stop there.

But his truth? It gutted me. And thinking about being in his mother's place gutted me too. Basically, I'm just super gutted. But it was a truly wonderful reading experience. And the book itself is SUPER well written. I'll leave you with a few of my favorite lines:

"But what is a dream, Conor O'Malley? the monster said, bending down so its face was close to Conor's. Who is to say that it is not everything else that is the dream?"

"Stories are the wildest things of all, the monster rumbled. Stories chase and bite and hunt."

"Stories are wild creatures, the monster said. When you let them loose, who knows what havoc they might wreak?"

These are all within the first 50 pages. I stopped taking note of them then because I was too engrossed in the story.

So, what stories have wreaked havoc with you lately?

Big Reads: The Underground Railroad

Ya'll.

This book.

It was... hard to read. But very, very good.

Let me begin by saying that I'm not an Oprah fangirl. I don't love Oprah. I don't hate her. I nothing her, so the fact that it was one of her book club selections did not influence me to pick up this book.

You know what did?

There were two copies of it sitting on the very empty new release shelf at my library. My library, where I hardly ever find new releases. So I grabbed it. I didn't have time to read it, but I checked it out anyway. (New releases are only for a week at my library.) I didn't finish it in time, of course. And I had to physically go back to the library to renew it. But I did and it was worth it.

The Underground Railroad was a very challenging read due to the subject matter, so there was no breezing through this book. But it is pretty darn unputdownable. The twists and turns and surprises keep coming up until the last few pages.

The Underground Railroad centers around Cora, a slave on a plantation in Georgia. Her mother was the only slave to ever escape the plantation. As you might imagine, plantation life is horrible. After a particularly terrible beating, Cora decides to flee the plantation in search of the underground railroad, which in this story is a real live locomotive train that runs underground. From there the story is a non-stop, can't relax for a second, keep you on the edge of your seat, peek into the worst of humanity. There's a slave catcher named Ridgeway, a couple of friends along the way, and too many people out to get her.

If you've read this already, when we finally learn Mabel's story, I was heartbroken. Also, tell me what you thought about this book - I'd love to discuss.

If you haven't read this yet, pick it up and read it asap. You won't regret it.

October TBR

It's October! It's just beginning to feel a little bit like fall here in the south. Still pretty warm during the day, but the early mornings and late evenings have been downright cool.

Which makes me want to read fall books. Whatever that means. I do have one kind of spooky book on deck this month in honor of Halloween.

Here's what I'm hoping to read this month:

• Wolf Road - I've heard wonderful things about this book and I've been excited to read it. I think it will be first up.
• All the Ugly and Wonderful Things - I'm trying to catch up on my Book of the Month Club books and can't wait to dive in to this one. I've hears it's tough to read, but just so beautiful.
• Behold the Dreamers - another BOTM book, and one that will help me diversify my reading. I'm hoping it wont be as tough as The Underground Railroad, which I finished last month. It took me forever to read that one, but I'm so glad I did.
• Rebecca - this is my somewhat spooky/creepy read. On a recent episode of What Should I Read Next? a reader described Rebecca as the best reading experience she's ever had. Not gonna lie; I'm kind of nervous, but I'm really hoping I'll have the same experience.
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - I'm listening to one Harry Potter book per month (audible subscription - holla!) I've been enjoying it so much. Jim Dale is fantastic. 

I'm sure I'm going to read more than this (I think I read 10 books last month, but it's hard to plan for the audiobooks I listen to, since it depends on what's available from the library.) What are you planning to read this month?

Big Reads: A Tree Grows In Brooklyn

Last week when I was reading The Assistants, I forgot it at work one day. I'm usually a one book at a time person, but come bedtime, I needed something to read. A Tree Grows In Brooklyn won.

I picked this up from the library and as you can tell, it is a very well worn copy. It's so worn, it was almost fluid in my hands, which I absolutely loved.

Just like I loved this book. A Tree Grows In Brooklyn is a hard book to talk about because the plot summary boils down to "It's about a poor family trying to survive in Brooklyn at the turn of the century." Doesn't sound too interesting. Plus not much happens. But at the same time everything happens. Most of it is sad, but hopeful at the same time.

Clearly I don't have much to say about A Tree Grows In Brooklyn except read it, if you haven't already. It's beautiful and bittersweet and definitely one to be savored.

Let's Talk About Audiobooks

I always thought I wasn't an audiobook person. I always had a hard time focusing and could never remember what was going on in the story and they're so expensive!

Then one day, The Green Ember was an audible deal of the day (discovered through Modern Mrs. Darcy, of course.) It was only $2.99, so I figured, why not give it a shot. The only book I had ever tried to listen to previously was The Good Girl and something about male narrator in that story didn't sit well with me. Plus it had some iffy language, so I couldn't listen to it at work, which is where I do most of my listening.

I gave The Green Ember a shot and.... I didn't love it. The story would be beautiful if I were reading it myself, but the audio and I just didn't fit well together. So to me, this just reinforced my "no audiobooks" mentality.

Then I got an email from Amazon about an Audible free trial including two audible credits, so I decided to give it a shot. I signed up and chose Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone as my first book because I've heard such wonderful things about the narrator, Jim Dale. It definitely lived up to the hype. I thought it was fantastic and I loved it and I immediately got Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets with my second free credit and loved that as well. So to me, this mean that I could enjoy books that I've read previously and still follow the story, but no new friends, ok?

BUT THEN, I was flipping through my libraries digital library looking for anything else that might strike my fancy figuring that I had nothing to lose since they were free. I chose Mindy Kaling's Why Not Me? since it was read by the author and I love her. It was amazing! Just so so good! So to me, this meant I could enjoy fiction that I've read previously AND author read memoirs. To test this further, I checked out Troublemaker by Leah Remini. That book is INSANE. I always thought that Scientologists were crazy - but I never knew just how crazy they were until listening to her story. It was honestly kind of heart breaking.

AND THEN, I learned that the first Veronica Mars book was read by Kristen Bell, and we all know how much I love Veronica Mars. I absolutely loved it. I wish there was more Veronica and Logan, but what can you do? So to me, this meant I could enjoy fiction I've read previously, author read memoirs, and light, fun, nothing-too-deep fiction. Then I picked up Landline and Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. Landline was a little whiny for me. I'm not sure if it was the writing or the reading, but I thought it was just ok. I'm listening to Fangirl now, and I'm enjoying it more. I think it might be the same narrator, but I really identify with Cath.

So to me, this means that I should stop trying to pigeonhole myself and just listen at my whims. Because I am infinite.

Are you an audiobook listener? Or strictly eyes only?

Big Reads: The Assistants

What a fun read that left me wondering, why can't this happen to me?

Tina Fontana is a college grad working as an executive assistant to basically the biggest big wig in new media. And she's not exactly happy about it. She's overworked, underpaid, and drowning in student loan debt, so when the opportunity arises to her to erase her debt with what her boss would pay for a tie clip, she takes it (with some hesitation, but not much.) Of course, she doesn't exactly get away with it, and soon women are approaching her from all over wanting in on the scheme. This leads her to create "The Assistance," a non-profit organization that chooses women via lottery to pay off their student loans. The story follows true chick lit format where everything spirals out of control and then works out perfectly in the end. Even the romance part.

The Assistants was a fun, quick read. Definitely worth checking out for something light-hearted. And seriously - why can't this happen to me?

** Linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy's Quick Lit this month here. **

Book of the Month Club - September

It's the best day of the month - BOTM unboxing day!

I got my Book of the Month Club box yesterday and I CAN. NOT. WAIT. to read this book. I chose Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue. I mentioned in my Instagram story yesterday (are we instafriends? Find me here.) Anyway, I mentioned in my story yesterday that I've been wanting to diversify my reading a bit. I find most of the books I read are about white people by white people. I don't think it's intentional. I think it just happens, but I've been trying to be a little more intentional about the diversity of what I'm reading.