Recipe for Persuasion

Recipe for Persuasion by Sonali Dev
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I devoured this book, and even though it wasn't amazing, I really enjoyed it. There's definitely some repetitive descriptions (like how many times can Ashna's hair be put behind her ear) and some overly simplified emotions, but reading it is like watching your favorite cinematic love story. I just can't help but hope that the characters fall in love. Like Dev's previous update of Pride & Prejudice, Recipe for Persuasion is very loosely tied to Jane Austen's original Persuasion. That said, Dev stays true to Austen's style and ensures that things work out for her hero and heroine. And let's be honest, we need more happy endings (and delicious descriptions of food) in our lives.

Happy reading and happy falling in love--

ps. More of 3.5. :)

Why We Sleep

Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew Walker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was both enlightening and a bit horrifying. Like Michael Pollan's "Cooked" documentary, Walker's discussion of sleep is going to stick with me for a long time. It was so interesting and informative that I bought the physical book while listening to the audiobook so that I could return to certain chapters again in the future. The short version is that we need more sleep. In a culture that celebrates working all hours of the day and night, our lack of sleep hurts us in more ways than we know.

Ironically getting married is what profoundly changed my sleep habits since I married a man who loves to sleep, and I wanted to be where he was so I stayed in bed when in a previous life I would have been up and working away at my "to do" list. It's not enough though. Walker gives solid research and reasoning for why we need more sleep individually and collectively. Perhaps the timing was off in my choice to read the book since I am currently up with an infant at all hours of the night, but Walker also gives profound insights into why babies and teenagers need sleep alongside how lack of sleep contributes to ailments in older people.

Full disclosure though that Walker is a scientist, so at times he gets long-winded or the research gets technical. I'm rounding up though to five stars because this book is a game changer.

Happy reading and happy sleeping--

Lovely War

Lovely War by Julie Berry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was such an interestingly told story. That said, if some of my trusted book friends had not encouraged me to keep going, I might have stopped. The Greek mythology details were initially off-putting for me since they seemingly had nothing to do with the story itself. With time though, Julie Berry's storytelling methods made sense, and the overall tale of Hazel, James, Aubrey, and Colette won me over. So now it's me telling you, read "Lovely War". You'll be glad you did.

Ps. The ironic thing about my change of heart is that I actually really like stories of gods and goddesses alongside the ideas of fate and freewill. Those elements came through. It just took time. Happy reading--

Shoe Dog

Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of NIKE by Phil Knight
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Utterly fascinating and inspiring- The overall book was a four star read with a five star conclusion. I knew very little about Nike's origin story, and this background on its founder made me appreciate how much has gone in to making the average person feel like they too can be an athlete. Great, great book--

Happy reading and as always, don't wait -- just do it.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

When you hear that one of your favorite series is getting a prequel, you're pretty excited. Then when you hear that the prequel is about the villain of the series, you're not so sure. And honestly, Collins did a good job making President Snow a sympathetic character for a chunk of the book. I thought the background of an early Hunger Games (it's the 10th year) was fascinating, and I loved the character of Lucy Baird Gray. That said, Snow had to become the villain, and the tension between making him sympathetic and then an emerging villain was tricky.

This book started as more of a 4 star read, but the last third was less engaging...so it's 3.5 star rounded down. I would still recommend this book to people who loved the Hunger Games series, but it's important to remember that Katniss is a huge part of why we love those books, and she's not here. Neither are Gale and Peeta or Haymitch and Effie Trinket. So, go in with appropriate expectations, and I think you'll be entertained.

Happy reading and may the odds be ever in your favor--


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Three Wishes

Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

You know I love Liane Moriarty to the point that I reread What Alice Forgot every year, but this is not her best. I've slowly worked through most of her backlist, but this one is largely left out of the conversation for a reason. The characters are two dimensional or just mostly unlikable. In fact, many shadows of future plot lines in other Moriarty books are here, but not as well done executed. I finished it because sometimes Moriarty shadows are better than nothing, but I wouldn't recommend it. It's more a 2.5 star read, and I think rereading some of her others would be time better spent.

Happy reading--

Rodham

Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I picked Rodham up because I was so intrigued by Sittenfeld's "American Wife", which is loosely based on Laura Bush's life story. There is nothing about Rodham that is "loosely based". The details of this book are rooted in Hillary Clinton's life, but the premise of what if Hillary had not married Bill is a good one. On her own, what potential did she have? I confess that I thought about putting this book down for the first quarter of it. The audiobook reader is not great (though I wonder if she was chosen because she sounds a bit like Hillary), borderline annoying really, and I have no interest in how Bill and Hillary got together. Once the story, however, ventured into the alternative reality, I was much more intrigued.

I'm not sure I would recommend this book to many people. If I'm honest, it felt a bit like I was reading something for homework, but Sittenfeld has done her due diligence in research (hence the rounding up in my four star rating). I cannot separate fact from fiction on this one, and that's a job well done. Though I'm not a huge Hillary fan, I still wish she had been elected in 2016. The fact that she was not still haunts me as we've undergone the tumultuous years with he-who-shall-not-be-named as president the past few years. Enough politics for now. Call me if you read it. I'll be interested to hear what you think.

Happy reading and make sure you're registered to vote--

The Jane Austen Society

The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is everything I needed in a book right now - good characters, a small English village, love and loss and triumph of the human soul. In essence, this book is a love letter to Jane Austen and the affect books, specifically her books, can have on a person's life. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the way that good ultimately wins the day just as Austen would have wanted.

Happy reading--

ps. I think you do need to at least like Austen to like this book, though you do not need to have read all her books. A cursory knowledge is enough, but knowing the characters of Austen's most popular novels will enhance the characterization that Jenner creates. 

Daughter of the Reich

Daughter of the Reich by Louise Fein
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Ummm - there were some interesting moments, but mostly this book felt like a patched up version of a few other books I've read lately. Just like last year was the year for female WWII spies, this year seems like the year for books told from the German perspective during WWII. And this one is just not as good as the others. It's not bad. It's just not great, and all of our To Be Read lists are too long to get muddled in books that are just okay.

Happy reading...just maybe not this one?

ps. More of a 2.5 star read, but I rounded up because I was engaged enough to keep reading.