If you were to look at my music library on my iPhone you
would probably laugh. I have everything from old time hymns to gangster rap. It’s
quite schizophrenic. Recently I’ve noticed that my reading list looks about the
same. It includes various genres and the subject matter ranges
from potty training to post-apocalyptic survival stories and quite a lot in
between.
I’ve recently surpassed my reading goal of 40 book in 2015. Right now
my count is 44.5 books, and while I’ve enjoyed most of them to some extent,
recommending them is a whole ‘nother ball game. I feel like recommending a book
comes with a lot of pressure, especially since I’ve cultivated quite a
reputation as someone who reads, like, a
lot. What if I rave about a book that falls flat for someone else?
It’s something
I take very seriously, so I usually preface my recommendations with ‘I enjoyed
it but it might not be your cup of tea…’. The following is a list of my
favorite books of the last few months, but they may or may not be your style.
However, I always recommend reading outside of your comfort zone! Historical Fiction
is my go-to fall back genre, just like singer/songwriter is my singular music
of choice. However, reading 40+ historical fiction books in a year would get
boring the same way that listening to the same Ed Sheeran Pandora station does
after a while. That’s why I love getting recommendations from you guys and I
hope that through me you may discover one of your new favorite books.
I feel
like I also need to preface this by admitting to the fact that I am in no way a
book critic and my descriptions leave something to be desired. Because of this I
have linked all the titles to their summaries on Amazon in case you want to
know more. Let’s get going !
To me this
book proves that an author can surprise you. I had several trusted friends
recommend this to me before I took the bait. I had read one Kristin Hannah
novel before and found it totally cringe-worthy. I could hardly even finish it
and swore to never read another title by her again. But my friend Jillian told
me to trust her on this one and I’m so glad I did! First off, it a historical
novel that centers on Europe in WWII, which y’all know is probably my favorite
period to read about. This one deals with occupied France and is an expertly
told and emotional tale of two very different sisters and their role in the
resistance to Germany’s rule. I don’t even feel like I need to preference this
one with a ‘it might not be your cup of tea’ statement, because I truly think
this one has universal appeal. Trust me on this one;)
2) GI Brides: The Wartime Girls who Crossed the Atlantic for Love by Duncan Barrett and Nuala Calvi.
Fitting in
with the Europe in WWII theme, this nonfiction books follows 4 English women
who met and married American soldiers based in England during the war effort.
It tells of their courtships and eventual moves to America. As an ex-ex-pat, I’m
always intrigued by tales of those who relocate to a different country, especially
those who do so to America. Unfortunately it wasn’t a happy ending for all of
them, but still a captivating read.
I was late to the game
on this one too. While I wouldn’t give this book a 5 star rating, I still
enjoyed it immensely. I think the hiker/nature lover/Californian in me was
intrigued by Strayed’s solo journey across the west coast wilderness that is the
Pacific Crest Trail. I’ve always had a desire to do a long distance hike,
namely the West Highland Way in Scotland, and this memoir allowed me to catch a
glimpse of what that might realistically look like.
The narrator was slightly
unlikable and I found her lack of research and preparedness maddening but
certainly I applaud her accomplishment in both hiking the trail and writing a
book about it. Well done!
Oh my goodness. This
book. I think it has dethroned The Book Thief as my new novel against which to
measure all others. It was absolute perfection which was odd given that for
some reason the title, synopsis and cover did not grab my attention at all. But Ann Patchett is a genius and has quite possibly written the perfect
novel in Bel Canto.
I really feel like I can’t do the story line justice but
basically it starts at a private birthday party in an unnamed South American
country where a prestigious Opera singer is entertaining several well-to-do
patrons. A militant group breaks in and takes everyone hostage and complicated
relationships ensue. It didn’t sound that interesting to me, but take my word
for it, it was beautiful and uplifting and heart breaking and complicated and
everything you could possibly want in a novel.
This was a labor of love for me, and you can tell it was for the author as
well. It’s quite lengthy and slow, but I think it needs to be to get the reader
invested and confused enough to really feel the frustration facing the aid
efforts in Sudan and throughout Africa. It basically follows several different
characters and the incidental role the play in eventually smuggling arms to the
Sudanese resistance army in their fight against the Islamic government in power.
Certainly not a fluffy feel good novel but deserves a read, for sure.
This is an interesting take on post-apocalyptic science fiction. It
follows a theater tour as they travel through a population decimated by a
modern day plague, performing classical music and Shakespearean plays under the
motto that survival is not enough. It
didn’t knock my socks of but it was a fun read and different style than my
usual stuff.
Phillipa Gregory is my ‘guilty
pleasure’ author and my go-to when I’m in a reading slump and need something to
get me going again. She’s known for her historical novels centered around the
English Royal family during the 15th-17th century. This
particular novel is the second in her Cousins’ war series and follows Margaret
Beaufort as she protects her son, Henry Tudor, a legitimate claimant to the
disputed English throne, until he comes of age.
Jonathan and I are currently
watching ‘The White Queen’ which is a STARZ series based on these books so I’m
trying to binge read them all. Next on the list is The Kingmaker’s Daughter,
though apparently The Lady of the Rivers is the prequel to them all so I need
to go back and read that one as well. Currently there are 6 in total.
This is a true memoir about a 24 year old
journalist who started displaying symptoms of paranoia and psychosis in
addition to seizures. Instead of being put into psychiatric care, she was hospitalized
on an epilepsy unit where she was kept for nearly a month while doctors tried
to solve her mysterious case. They eventually figured out that she was
suffering from a rare form of encephalitis that had only been discovered 2
years prior. This memoir follows Cahalan’s descent into madness and her slow journey
to recovery but leaves you questioning how many people (historically and
present day) have fallen through the cracks and their mental health issues are
actually stemmed from a physical cause that goes un-diagnosed. Chilling.
Okay,
that’s about all I have for you today. I hope that gives you a few reads to get
you through the holiday traveling season. Currently I’m reading The Magician’s
Assistant by Ann Patchett and next I’m planning on moving through the rest of
the Cousins’ War series by Philippa Gregory, but I may need to break that up a
bit. Any suggestions for me?
Thanks for sharing! Will def keep some of these in mind. I always say I need to get back into reading but it never happens, ha!
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