It’s the new year which means a new
reading goal. I’ve gone a bit lofty this year and aspire to read 40 books in 2015,
which comes to an average of 3.3 books a month. So far I’m on pace so I hope to
have lots of reading recommendations for y’all in the coming year. But
something I will need in return from you guys is book suggestions. When you are reading
about a book a week, you tend to run out of ideas of what to read next, so if y’all
read anything good please pass the info my way. I’ll go ahead and pay it
forward with a few recommendations of my own. I'll forewarn you that I am in no way a professional book critic so I have linked the summary for each of these books. Just click on the title if you want to read more about them.
1)The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.
I feel like I’m a
bit late to the party on this one, but I thought this wartime story of the
German occupation of the English island of Guernsey during World War II was
utterly charming. Fantastic characters with a humorous narrative made a heavy
subject seem fresh and light. I have to admit I am a sucker for WWII historical
fiction, but I think this is one most everyone would enjoy.
2) I Am Having SoMuch Fun Here Without You by Courtney Maum.
I didn’t find the protagonist (a pretentious cheating scoundrel of a husband) very likable, but the prose was heart felt, honest, and realistic so I still managed to enjoy this one. Plus this is set in Paris and the main characters are a middle class Brit and a wealthy Parisian, and I thought the authors capturing of the separate cultures was really masterful.
3) The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion.
So for some reason I’ve been reading a lot of Australian novels lately and they are quite good! I didn’t even know Australian Lit was a thing, but so far I’m loving it. This novel follows a man with Asperger’s as he tries to find a perfectly compatible wife. It’s funny and heart felt and just an all-around fun read.
4) All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.
This one is quite the doozy. Falling in my beloved ‘WWII historical
fiction’ category, this book is epic in it’s scope. It simultaneously follows a
blind French girl during the German occupation of France as well as a genius
orphan recruited by Hitler’s Youth until their paths fatefully cross on the island
of St. Malo. It’s beautifully written
and a book I would like to see played out on the big screen one day.
5) Where’d You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple.
This book was recommended to me by some of the ladies in my book club since I enjoyed The Rosie Project so much. I agree that the two are similar in style and both equally enjoyable to read. This one regards an eccentric, pseudo-agoraphobic ex-architectural genius who suddenly goes missing as her teenage daughter tries to piece together the evidence to help find her again. Charming, funny, adventurous and heartwarming.
6) Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
Ordinary Grace is an Americana coming of age novel that is ultimately a tale of forgiveness. It follows a family struck by tragedy when their daughter/sister is murdered and how they move forward. It’s both powerful and humbling, not to mention beautifully written.
7) Rooftops of Tehran by Mahbod Seraji.
So in addition to WWII historical
novels, I also enjoy historical novels set in the Middle East, especially
during cold war times. It’s a fascinating period of history which pertinently
deals with many of our current foreign policy situations. Rooftops of Tehran is
set in Iran during the 70s. It’s a coming of age story of a 17 year old boy who
falls in love with his mentor’s betrothed. Their innocence is shattered by the actions
of the Secret Police of an ever-oppressive government.
8) The Law of the Jungle by Paul M Barrett.
This journalistic non-fiction book follows the largest ever environmental
law suit in prosecution of Chevron over the environmental damage caused by
Texaco (later bought by Chevron) in the Ecuadorian Rain Forest. I thought this
was a pretty insightful and fairly balanced narrative, which is pretty hard to
come by when discussing the villainized Oil Industry. It gave plenty of insight
into the legal battle while also exposing that the seemingly well-intentioned environmentalist
cause can become perverted and quite villainous in itself. I won’t go into
details but I was quite shocked to read about the prosecution's unethical
tactics and outrageous greed, not to mention they had little (if any) legal grounds
in which to go after Chevron. Not that I’m biased or anything...;)
9) The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton.
I
read this recently and rated it 4 stars but then as I thought about it a bit
more I realized I was actually a bit underwhelmed. Still, it’s worth a read. Set in 18th century Amsterdam this
book follows young bride Nella as she tries to adapt to life in the city while married to a widely unavailable man. Meanwhile, a miniaturist keeps sending her small scaled items which gleam impossible insight into their private lives. The historic aspect of this novel shed light on the development of the Amsterdam trade industry and the limited role of women in (then) puritanically
devout Amsterdam. Oh how times have changed...
10) State of Wonder by Ann Patchett.
Opposite of The Minaturist, at first I only rated this 4 out of 5 stars but as I processed the book over the following days, I fell more in love with it and had to give it a perfect score. Oh I just loved this adventurous book about a woman’s quest into the Amazonian rainforest to solve the mystery of the death of her work colleague. Beautifully written and impeccably tied together.
11) BigLittle Lies by Liane Moriarty.
This is another one of those Australian novels I was telling you about. Recently I have been reading everything I can by Moriarty. Do you ever get on those kicks? Whenever I am feeling uninspired by my reading list I usually pick up one of her novels and it gets me in the groove again. Her writing style is a bit formulaic so after a while it can feel redundant, but nonetheless her stories are always witty and her characters are real and relatable and there is always a mysterious plotline to unravel, which she seems to always allude to in masterful foreshadowing. Not all of her books are as good as the next but they are always enjoyable.
This one in particular follows several of the kindergarten moms at a well to do public school in beachfront Australia. They each have their own secrets and mysteries which Moriarty artfully unravels at the perfect pace.
12) Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty.
See above. Love her! This one follows the same formula but follows three triplets in their early 30s as they find themselves in completely different stages of life.
That’s about all the recommendations I have for today. I’ll post more once I’ve accumulated a few. Here is what’s up in my reading queue for February if you’re looking for additional ideas:
1) The Expats by Chris Pavone.
2) The 7 Experiment by Jen Hatmaker
3) Heft by Liz Moore
Now it’s your turn. What must I read next???
 |
| Buy on Amazon |
I didn’t find the protagonist (a pretentious cheating scoundrel of a husband) very likable, but the prose was heart felt, honest, and realistic so I still managed to enjoy this one. Plus this is set in Paris and the main characters are a middle class Brit and a wealthy Parisian, and I thought the authors capturing of the separate cultures was really masterful.
3) The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion.
 |
| Buy on Amazon |
So for some reason I’ve been reading a lot of Australian novels lately and they are quite good! I didn’t even know Australian Lit was a thing, but so far I’m loving it. This novel follows a man with Asperger’s as he tries to find a perfectly compatible wife. It’s funny and heart felt and just an all-around fun read.
4) All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.
 |
| Buy on Amazon |
5) Where’d You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple.
 |
| Buy on Amazon |
This book was recommended to me by some of the ladies in my book club since I enjoyed The Rosie Project so much. I agree that the two are similar in style and both equally enjoyable to read. This one regards an eccentric, pseudo-agoraphobic ex-architectural genius who suddenly goes missing as her teenage daughter tries to piece together the evidence to help find her again. Charming, funny, adventurous and heartwarming.
6) Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
 |
| Buy on Amazon |
Ordinary Grace is an Americana coming of age novel that is ultimately a tale of forgiveness. It follows a family struck by tragedy when their daughter/sister is murdered and how they move forward. It’s both powerful and humbling, not to mention beautifully written.
7) Rooftops of Tehran by Mahbod Seraji.
 |
| Buy on Amazon |
8) The Law of the Jungle by Paul M Barrett.
 |
| Buy on Amazon |
9) The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton.
 |
| Buy on Amazon |
10) State of Wonder by Ann Patchett.
 |
| Buy on Amazon |
Opposite of The Minaturist, at first I only rated this 4 out of 5 stars but as I processed the book over the following days, I fell more in love with it and had to give it a perfect score. Oh I just loved this adventurous book about a woman’s quest into the Amazonian rainforest to solve the mystery of the death of her work colleague. Beautifully written and impeccably tied together.
11) BigLittle Lies by Liane Moriarty.
 |
| buy on amazon |
This is another one of those Australian novels I was telling you about. Recently I have been reading everything I can by Moriarty. Do you ever get on those kicks? Whenever I am feeling uninspired by my reading list I usually pick up one of her novels and it gets me in the groove again. Her writing style is a bit formulaic so after a while it can feel redundant, but nonetheless her stories are always witty and her characters are real and relatable and there is always a mysterious plotline to unravel, which she seems to always allude to in masterful foreshadowing. Not all of her books are as good as the next but they are always enjoyable.
This one in particular follows several of the kindergarten moms at a well to do public school in beachfront Australia. They each have their own secrets and mysteries which Moriarty artfully unravels at the perfect pace.
12) Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty.
 |
| Buy on Amazon |
See above. Love her! This one follows the same formula but follows three triplets in their early 30s as they find themselves in completely different stages of life.
That’s about all the recommendations I have for today. I’ll post more once I’ve accumulated a few. Here is what’s up in my reading queue for February if you’re looking for additional ideas:
1) The Expats by Chris Pavone.
2) The 7 Experiment by Jen Hatmaker
3) Heft by Liz Moore
Now it’s your turn. What must I read next???
No comments:
Post a Comment