whatcha readin'? 2019 {book 7::goal 25}

I probably wouldn’t have noticed this book
if it hadn’t been for Reese Witherspoon
(who I adore by the way and now I kinda wanna
watch Sweet Home Alabama again…)
and her Hello Sunshine bookclub…

Anyway, I digress…often…heh.

I will just tell you
that I loved this book.
Loved.
Like capital L loved it.
Her writing was beautiful.
I adored the characters and might have had a
small crush on Tate.

(To be added to my list of crushes on fictional characters:
Gilbert Blythe and Mowgli from the Jungle Book)
(Again, I digress…)

The writing, the story, the characters…
everything was just flawlessly and poignantly beautiful.
Go read this one.
Do it.
When have I steered you wrong?
Ok…there was that one time but
you promised you wouldn’t bring
that up again…
heh.
(what? oh yeah. I digressed. Again.)

5 ♥’s out of 5 ♥’s
NEXT UP: THE DRY - JANE HARPER

whatcha readin' 2019 {book 6::goal 25}

When I went back and looked at my quick “book-notes”
that I sometimes make when reading a book
because a) I am totally a geek and b) I immediately forget a book
after I have finished reading it so I always like to have something
to refresh my memory, I found this:
”The whole part about being in your 40’s and realizing
that this situation requires a grown up to handle it,
and realizing that YOU are the grown up” really hit home
for me. This happens to me all the time and I love knowing that I am not alone
in feeling inadequate and panicky and soooo not prepared.

Also
”Will my mind ever catch up to my face?”
which I just talked about with a best friend last night….
how it seems improbable that you will ever feel your age.

I definitely do not feel my age.
I’m not saying I don’t look it, but…I definitely don’t feel it.
somehow I thought at pretty much 50…I mean really…
I may as well say I am 50 now…
I would have thought that I would’ve felt
wiser…more secure…less anxious…confident.

Anyway. This is not to self diagnose my neuroses.
That’s a whole other blog post.
:)

I enjoyed this book. It was ok. The part about the threesome was…
surprising. Otherwise, it was amusing and relatable (except
the part about the threesome…just…clarifying…not relatable…haha)
I am not sure that I will go back and read her other books
as they are about parenting and I’m beyond that stage…
:)

4 out of 5 ♥♥♥♥'s

NEXT UP:  WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING - DELIA OWENS

whatcha readin' 2019? {book 5::goal 25}

a while ago, i read jess kidd’s
first book
”himself”
and i broke my own rule for the
first and only time ever
and wrote about a book i was reading
BEFORE
i had even finished it….
raved about it actually.

this is her second book
and it totally did not disappoint…
mysterious and gothic,
saints and stories,
characters that just draw you in so hard
you wish they were real
so that you could go visit them…

i 110% recommend this book.
i was sad to see it end.

oh! and she has a new book coming out this month!!!

5 out of 5 ♥♥♥♥'s

NEXT UP:  THERE ARE NO GROWN UPS HERE - PAMELA DRUCKER

whatcha readin' 2019 {book 4::goal 25}

Years ago, I read Writing Down the Bones
by Natalie Goldberg and it pushed me to write
more than I have in a long time.

I had hoped that this book, The Great Spring,
was going to have the same effect on me
but instead
it was more of a collection of short stories/essays…
which, honestly, is never my thing.

So….meh.
Nothing against the book…
just…
not my thing.

3 ♥’s out of 5 ♥’s
NEXT UP: MR FLOOD’S LAST RESORT - JESS KIDD

whatcha readin' 2019 {book 3::goal 25}

I just realized I have never actually read
Still Alice…
I had only seen the movie.

But now that I have read Every Note Played,
I think I would like to read Still Alice as well.

I was a little prepared for this book,
but still,
totally not prepared for this book.

I mean, I knew what it was about
but, I really wasn’t that familiar with ALS
and what it does to a person.

What a heartbreaking, terrifying disease.

And she writes about it in a way
that makes you really understand
the scope of its entirety,
of its paralyzing progression…
I felt constricted and panicky just reading about it,
I cannot imagine what
it must be like to be living with it
or watching a loved one deal with it.

That said, it was a beautifully written book
and well worth the read….
just, keep some kleenex handy.

5 ♥’s out of 5 ♥’s
NEXT UP: THE GREAT SPRING - NATALIE GOLDBERG