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this book.
i did not know
anything about this book
and bought it on a whim
but holy catfish
it was good.
i read it back
in april
so i can’t remember
hardly anything about it
but i know i loved it…
and that it reminded me of
mulan
a little bit…
i loved it so much
i want someone to make a
movie of it.
♥♥♥♥♥ 5 out of 5
NEXT UP:: WHISKEY IN A TEACUP - REESE WITHERSPOON
I picked this book up
while I was still in Halifax
but at the tail end of my dad’s stay
in the hospital…
it’s not my usual kinda book purchase
but it ended up being a pretty good choice…
a lot of twists
a lot of turns
a lot of thinking you know
what’s going on
and then a lot of realizing
you don’t actually know
what’s going on….
so…
kinda like life
in a nutshell.
(seriously
every time I write about a book
I have read
I feel like I need the disclaimer
that this is
obviously not a
real book review…
this is just me saying
hey, so I read this book
and then going completely
off topic
with whatever seems
to be currently occupying
the space in my
brain….)
3♥♥♥’s out of 5
NEXT UP:: THE HENNA ARTIST - ALKA JOSHI
To tell you the truth,
I didn’t know what this book was about
when it was given to me.
I trade books a lot
so I don’t always have a lot of
control/insight
into what I am reading
and…I kind of like that.
I read this book
while sitting in hospital family rooms,
on hard benchs opposite the hospital elevator,
in hotel rooms and air bnbs,
and in a creaky chair
beside my dad’s bed
while he slept.
He would wake up from a 2 minute or
a 2 hour nap and say
Arlene! you’re still here!
and I would say yep,
just reading my book
and he would try not to laugh
because it hurt
and would say
always reading your book. ♥
I know this post is supposed to be about this book
but thinking about this book
will always make me think of dad.
And how when I was in my 20’s or so,
dad told me that he remembered
when I was a kid
and how I would come into the shed where he was working
to sit in a corner in the
sawdust and the sunshine
with a book I had read a hundred times before
that was probably overdue to the bookmobile
and how that made him feel
happy to think that I just wanted to be
in the same area as him…
him doing his thing, working on a skidoo or building a windmill,
me always reading my book.
Now. That said….
you should read this book.
You should have your daughters read this book
but if you can, you should have your sons
read this book.
The story is painful to read,
it is frustrating and maddening and occasionally infuriating
but also so beautifully written…
and smart.
I often think “what would I do, what would I have done?”
and I am a little ashamed to say
but I fear I would not be even a fraction
as brave as this girl was
to step forward, to push, to fight, to take on
the assumptions, allegations, abuse, opinions
that were flung her way…
as a person who has always blacked out
from drinking…no matter how much or how little alcohol I consume,
I always lose a portion of the night…
when I was younger, it was often a whole night.
So I can empathize with her on this point.
Her writing is both powerful and vulnerable.
Anyway. Read the book if you can.
5♥♥♥♥♥’s out of 5
NEXT UP:: HER LAST GOODBYE - RICK MOFINA
I had no expectations for this book.
I knew nothing about it.
Someone had passed it along to me
and so I gave it a try.
And it was so good.
It is a memoir…it is real
and gritting and
full of emotion
and a-ha moments.
I had a little a-ha moment of my own.
I am very, very bad at
being able to stay mad at anyone.
I just can’t.
And it’s not even that I can’t
stay
mad…but I have a hard time
even getting mad.
I can be rant-y or annoyed,
aggravated, irritated, sour,
cranky, snarky with a person
but I really struggle with actual anger.
I have lost my temper before
but not many times, by my count…
not REALLY lost my temper.
Usually, if someone really makes me mad
I just disappear. I withdraw. Retreat.
Until the bad feelings pass…
which they pretty much always do.
But in the book, the author learns
that she can’t be intimate
until she learns to express anger.
And immediately,
my brain was like “are you listening?
did you hear that? pay attention!”
So anyway,
I haven’t really decided what,
if anything,
to do with that lightbulb moment so…
yeah….this was a really great book. :)
Off to a good start for
whatcha readin’? 2022 edition!
5 ♥♥♥♥♥ out of 5
NEXT UP:: BECOMING - MICHELLE OBAMA
Playing catch up once again….
I know I have written about this author here before,
actually, just last week :)
I do really like her writing.
It reminds a little bit of the books
I read when I was younger…
I loved Jackie Collins…and books
that were glossy and glittery
and maybe a tiny bit smutty…heh.
Anyway. These last two books by
Taylor Jenkins Reid
remind me slightly of that time
in my life…but
without the smuttiness
:)
Rich people, famous people,
rock stars, celebrities
and secrets behind the screens…
Not really a subject I am good with reading about…
anything that has to do with children
really, really hurts my heart…it always has.
The note I had written myself about this book was:
”I did not expect to love this so much
but the writing was very beautiful and tragic and
sweetly sad like a fairy tale.”
Another quick read that was a bit of a thriller,
a bit creepy (which is not usually my thing) and also involved a kid…
but it was well worth the read.
and welcome to the
self help portion of my reading list….
:)
I actually really liked this book.
I appreciated his no-nonsense way of
looking at things…I liked that he said the eff word a lot.
I felt like a lot of this was not new to me,
but did reaffirm some thoughts I had…
but I did also have some epiphanies while reading this.
The truth is I am pretty happy on my own
and I knew this going into the book…
I do not require a relationship to be happy.
I am not opposed to one but
I am also unwilling to settle for anything less
than sparks and butterflies. :)
“Asking myself where I am going
before I ask
who is going with me.”
This.
This book. This was one of my most favorite books
this year. And yes, it’s a bit of a self-help-y kinda thing
but it’s the kinda self help-y thing I like…
Also, it has the eff word in the title.
Which I always like.
I made sooooo many notes while reading this.
And when I finished it, I wanted to start it over again.
It is not a “give away for trade book”
it’s one I know I will re-read…
and I just like seeing it on my shelf.
* also the author is adorable
and my bestest friend now cause she left
a comment on Instagram…heehee