This Time Next Year

This Time Next Year by Sophie Cousens
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I already had "This Time Next Year" on my radar when I was offered an advanced reader copy through G.P. Putnam & Sons publishing and NetGalley. Of course, I would appreciate a free copy. A British writer, a book timed around New Year's (I love seasonal reading), and a love story - what's not to be excited about? The premise of a birthday twin, a stolen name, and fate are clever and a fun twist on what can be a played out romantic genre. Cousens added lots of layered details to her characters and settings and made me wish over and over that I had a pie in the oven. My only complaint is that the main character Minnie sometimes came off as a little whiny or petulant. Overall though, the book is a really fun read, especially as it moves between current day and past New Year's holidays and a better way to experience New Year's Eve than actually going out.

Happy reading and Happy New Year!

ps. Reading Sophie Cousens is like reading a less sad Josie Silver (who you know I love) or a more substantive Sophie Kinsella. Also, this book would make a great movie. We can only hope it gets optioned soon.

Dearly

Dearly: New Poems by Margaret Atwood
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I don't typically read collections of poetry, but Margaret Atwood is worth trying. There are poems in this collection that are amazing - five star for sure, but there are others that are just not my taste. Her commentary on the environment and on aging was thought provoking and haunting. I'd love to read more of this book again in print, so I could appreciate more of her structure and language. Atwood truly has an incredible gift for writing--

Keep Moving

Keep Moving: Notes on Loss, Creativity, and Change by Maggie Smith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A perfect set of thoughts for wrapping up a strange and hard year. Smith compiled some short notes that she wrote to herself while in a tough season of her life, and so much of what she shares can be applied to 2020 or our own personal struggles. I appreciated her sentiments and myself making notes as I reflect on what I want 2021 to be like.

Happy reading and keep moving--

*This book would be great to gift someone who is going through a hard time or an unexpected life change.

Thoughts of note:
*Don't just be positive, do positive
*Keep moving
*Prepare for luck
*Let go of old narratives
*Commit to trying
*The power of yet
*The hopeful person will try

A Homemade Life

A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table by Molly Wizenberg
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am a sucker for food memoirs - so much of our lives takes place in the kitchen preparing food or around a table eating and laughing with family and friends, so I was delighted to go along with Molly Wizenberg as she reflected on her food experiences over the years. I am new to her work though I know she's been a popular food blogger for a very long time. The only drawback to my constant reading of these food memoirs is that I never make the time to prepare the recipes they talk about. I may need to work on that.

Happy reading and happy cooking--

The Middle Place - Round Two

The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was in a funk, and Kelly Corrigan was the remedy. I love her work so, so much.

Happy reading--

Greenlights

Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Ummmm - wow. I've never read anything like it. Borderline stream of consciousness at times with some of the most outlandish personal stories I've ever read. You don't doubt for a second that they're true, but you find yourself shaking your head over and over. I do appreciate his originality and voice - no ghost writer here, but as Charlie Sheen once said, some portions were like a "sober acid trip". This book makes me want to be a better journal writer. So much of what McConaughey included came from notes and diaries he's kept since he was fifteen.

Happy reading and here's to lots of greenlights in 2021--

When You Were Everything

When You Were Everything by Ashley Woodfolk
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My friend Anna said I should read this, so I read it. Halfway through, I texted my three high school librarian friends and said it was a must for their libraries. All the way through, and I wish I was still teaching so I could recommend it to students. It's a book that features kids of colors as the protagonists. It covers friendship, divorce, disability, expectations, and so much more without being an issues book. Those topics are just woven in through the story. It also features a lot of fun Shakespeare references and a quality dating relationship that doesn't just build to sex. I like that Woodfolk validated the struggles so many teens deal with without oversimplifying or overdramatizing them. The overall book reads like a less lyrical Elizabeth Acevedo, who you know I love. Really well done-

One other thing to note is so few books discuss when friendships end - it's actually a common experience that we outgrow or end up parting ways, but it's rarely acknowledged in fiction. I appreciated that since so many teens (not to mention adults) go through it.

Happy reading--

ps. 4.5 stars

Queenie Malone's Paradise Hotel

Queenie Malone's Paradise Hotel by Ruth Hogan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really liked Queenie Malone's Paradise Hotel. It was like a less stressful "Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine". Tilda is quirky, but loveable and the characters around her are delightful just like in Eleanor Oliphant. The difference for me is that Eleanor's world views and, in turn, her behaviors are sometimes too awkward for my comfort level, and Tilda's issues are more relatable. This book is a powerful conversation starter for the need to share our stories more and to give people the benefit of the doubt. Plus it's set in a delightful coastal in England. What's not to love?

Happy reading--

ps. I read this in a single day so clearly I was hooked, and Seth was working late. 

Lift - Round Three

Lift by Kelly Corrigan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is my favorite book on motherhood. I think I'll read it at least once a year for the rest of my life.

The Ten Thousand Doors of January

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Clever, unique, and imaginative - it just wasn't quite for me. I can see why other people love it. I just wasn't as intrigued by some of the fantastical elements as I should have been. Good writing though.

Happy reading and happy almost January!

ps. This was the second book in short succession where the main character's name is January. So uncommon, but this book had a great set up for why January is named that.

pps. 3.5 stars, so can we all start begging Goodreads for half star options again?

In a Holidaze

In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I was looking for something season and light, and this was a bit too much for me. It was my second Christina Lauren book, and I just can't get on board with how juvenile her protagonists are. Exhibit A: the main character spends a whole chunk of the book figuring out that she should be helping in the kitchen at the holidays...and she's in her late 20s. Really?! I kept reading because I liked the premise (reliving the same holiday week "Groundhog Day" style) and the setting (Park City, Utah at Christmas) and honestly the ending was redeeming, but the overall book was just "meh". I won't be doing another one of these books. Too many others I want to get to.

Happy reading and happy holidays--

ps. 2.5 stars

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Modern Mrs. Darcy aka Anne Bogel mentioned this book on her podcast a few months ago - simply recommending it as a book about a girl who makes a bargain with gods who only come out in the dark, and that bargain allows her to live forever but be forgotten by everyone she meets. To be honest, when I picked it up again, I only remembered that Anne had recommended it, and that there was an element of magical realism to it. I am wary of books that edge on fantasy, but I really liked this one. The centuries of details and people met are fascinating and the questions of what it means to be remembered and what time means to a well lived life are thought provoking.

Full disclosure that there were times were I wasn't sure where the book was going, and I was getting a little bogged down in Addie's somewhat repetitive struggles. That said, the story is so unique and the atmospheric details so well set up, that I am rounding from 4.5 stars to 5. This is another book where the less you know, the better, and yes, this book has made me crave France, London, and New York in a major way. I think COVID is making me stir crazy.

Happy reading--

Florence Adler Swims Forever

Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I honestly didn't have any clue what this book was about going in, and I'm glad I didn't. I might not have picked it up because there's a lot of sadness wrapped up in well constructed characters and the unique setting of Atlantic City in the 1930s. Still, those characters helped drive the story, and I was hooked from the moment Florence and her red swim cap went off for a swim in the ocean.

The thing that this book does well is show characters worthy of our love and attention that are still hopelessly flawed. It's more real that way because no one is all good or all bad. We're all somewhere in between.

Happy reading and happy daydreaming of swimming--
(Can't wait for COVID to be over so I can take my boys)

ps. I read this in a single day so to say I was hooked is a bit of an understatement.