I read a TON of really great books this month that I can not wait to share with you! With spring break and sunny afternoons spent in my favorite chair in my home soaking it all up I found plenty of time to read this month - oh and I also had a terrible cold that made me worthless, which is always a great excuse to go to bed early with a book. All in all it was a great month of reading!
Did you check out our "book club" pick of the month Castle of Water? See what I thought of it below... do we like the book club selection? Is it worth keeping up each month? Let me know your thoughts over on Facebook! I would also love it if you would pop over to FB to let me know what you are reading now or thoughts on any of the books I list here - let's keep the conversation going there!
Without further... here is what I read this month:
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Ready Player One, Even if you aren't into science fiction or don't tend to read it regularly I highly recommend this book. It's 2045 and the world is an ugly place. The virtual utopia called OASIS is where Wade, our main character, spends his days plugged in and gaming. When the OASIS founder passes away and leaves a game to play to win his inheritance, Wade goes all in to win but the stakes are higher than he ever imagined. This book is super fast paced and fun to read and was a great diversion from the usual books I read. I've heard the movie is great but quite a departure from the book - so read the book first!
A Wrinkle In Time, I really want to see this movie so of course I had to read the book first. Somehow I never read this as mandatory reading in school - I know my kids have to read it in 6th grade - so this book was entirely new to me. It follows a father that has disappeared in space while attempting to time travel and his children that go in search of him. I unfortunately had a really hard time getting into the story line and once I did the book seemed to drag on in places, and then pick up and then abruptly end. So for me the way the story was drawn was not appealing. However I have found that the characters have stuck with me and I'm still glad I read it.
Castle of Water, A newlywed architect and former New York City banker/wannabe artist find themselves washed up on a deserted island in French Polynesia is the basis of this page turner of a novel. This novel was brilliantly written with lots of foreshadowing that made it impossible to put down. As Sophie and Barry learn to survive on the island and in the end - leave the island - a moving story unfolds. With lots of high points and plenty of low points that had my eyes tearing up this is a great book that I never wanted to end - and was the perfect beach read on spring break. Some possible discussion questions for this book are: 1) Were you surprised it took so long for Sophie and Barry to become a couple or did the coupling seem unnatural? 2) How did the foreshadowing of the Parisian storyline at the beginning of the book keep you interested or add to the storyline? 3) Why do you think "survivor" or "deserted island" storylines always have so much draw (think: Castaway or Swiss Family Robinson)? I'd love to know what you thought! Chime in on Facebook!
Love and Other Words, This is such an amazing book! I finished it in less than 24 hours because I just COULD NOT put it down. As adults Elliot and Macy randomly run into one another at a coffee shop. The moment is tense and uncomfortable because they were once madly in love with one another as teens and now they haven't seen one another in years. Elliot thinks that Macy eliminated him from her life over a small squabble, Macy can't look at him without too many emotions rushing back. This is an all engrossing love story of two people that met in junior high and it follows their lives until they meet in this coffee shop. I can not recommend this book enough - it packs a serious punch to the gut and you will fall in love with these two very lovable characters. I never saw the twist coming - and it's a good one! If you loved The Light We Lost you will love this book as well! (A complimentary copy of this book was provided to me, all opinions are my own)
Bachelor Nation: Inside the World of America's Favorite Guilty Pleasure, Okay - roll call - who is a huge Bachelor/Bachelorette fan!?!? (My hand is high in the air!) As a huge fan of the Bachelor television empire this book was an absolute delight to read. I loved every minute of it's juicy behind the scenes tidbits and truths and I couldn't put this book down. If you need an easy and fun read - this is for you!
My Dead Parents: A Memoir, I absolutely loved this memoir and it's another that I can't recommend enough. The author dives deep in to her rocky childhood and teen years and when both her parents pass away, separately and of different causes, she is tasked with cleaning out their belongings from her childhood home. What she unearths is two adults that were adventurous, smart and wildly in love - even though there was little evidence of that during her childhood. She begins to relearn who here parents were and how they both met their ultimate demise. This book was an amazing page turner, a heart wrencher and yet also filled with a lot of hope.
Love and Ruin, From the author of The Paris Wife, we have another Hemingway story that is a solid read that releases TOMORROW! This book was a slow simmer for me - I found it difficult to get into at first and by the end I didn't want it to end. Ernest Hemingway's character is absolutely insufferable from the get go - which is to be expected, but was also a little annoying at times. While Hemingway was/is a National treasure he wasn't the easiest person to like - then or now. But the good news is that Hemingway wasn't the star of this book - he was a secondary character to the extremely likable Martha Gellhorn. Martha was Hemingway's third wife and a remarkable and independent woman that was writer and war correspondent during WWII. While this book takes place during WWII - it's by no means a book of the genre - instead it follows the rise and inevitable fall of Ernest and Martha's love story and ultimately the story of of Martha's passion for writing and bravery as a war correspondent. I was truly disappointed when this book was over! (A complimentary copy of this book was provided to me, all opinions are my own)
Jamaica Inn, I’m a huge fan of Du Maurier’s book Rebecca. In fact it’s likely one of my all time favorites. So when I saw this in the shelf at the library I was curious to see what her other work is like. Du Maurier is the Gilliam Flynn of the 1930s. She writes such suspenseful and twisted stories that keep you turning the page and this was no different. When Mary Yellan becomes an orphan she goes to live with her aunt and uncle - we quickly see the situation is dire and villainous. The story unfolds as Mary searches to uncover the truth and is full of great twists and turns. If you love contemporary thrillers but want something a little different this book is for you!
