The Last Anniversary

The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I love Liane Moriarty - even her less amazing books still hold my attention. I ran through this one, totally hooked to find out about the Munro baby and whether Sophie would meet Mr. Right. I confess I wasn't as enamored with some of the characters in this story (Sophie being one of them), and it was a little disconcerting to read about a new mother who didn't connect with her baby as I was in my first days with a newborn. However, the first big twist was predictable, but the second more subtle twist was so clever and made it so the book is just shy of a four star read for me.

If you like Moriarty, this one is worth reading even if it's just to carry you over until her next book comes out. Happy reading--

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets...Again

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

With Aidan in the NICU, I needed a story that was familiar and where good would win the day. This, of course, fit the bill. Happy reading--

You're Not Listening - Round Two

You're Not Listening: What You're Missing and Why It Matters by Kate   Murphy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I don't usually reread books so close to when I read them the first time, but I reread this one for a book club. I was a little less enamored the second time around, but the conversation especially during this social justice movement and during the pandemic seems even more important.

Pretty Things

Pretty Things by Janelle Brown
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I don't usually read mysteries - Louise Penny being the recent exception. But the description of the book was intriguing. Still I was on the fence because I was days away from having a baby, and my reading time was getting short. Then the book opened with a well written and very creepy scene in Lake Tahoe, and I was hooked. The confused morality of who is in the wrong and who is in the right is cleverly constructed by Brown. My loyalties never fully shifted, but I didn't anticipate liking certain characters and hating others. Brown did a great job weaving her story, and now I wish that I was in Tahoe, albeit for a much more relaxed and less dramatic visit.

Read it-- it's like a juicy Access Hollywood meets a high school reunion meets contemporary fiction. How's that for a description? Happy reading--

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--