It's been a LONG time since I've updated what I've been reading here on the blog. I was in a terrible book rut for most of 2020 - starting and quitting books or just never starting. For many people the pandemic has been a great way to reconnect with their love of reading, for some reason, that just didn't happen for me. Of course I still read a little almost every single day, but I wasn't consuming books like I usually do. So far 2021 is off to a better start and I've been reading much more and really enjoying it again.
I usually pull together ALL the books I've read recently when I do these posts but today I'm going to only revisit the favorites. I'm way too behind to mention them all and also there were a few in there that were just so-so in my opinion so I will leave those out. If you want more book content regularly, be sure to subscribe to my email newsletter - I include the book I am currently reading every Thursday! You can subscribe here.
Now let's chat a few of my favorite reads over the past few months...
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab - In the 1700's a woman makes a deal with the devil. In return, her curse is that no one will ever "remember" her. Until one day almost 300 years later, a book seller remembers her face. This story scans continents and centuries and breaks your heart and heals it again. This was the book that got me out of my terrible 2020 reading rut. It is probably one of my all time favorites. I don't usually go for fantasy, but this has just a touch of it to make it truly magical.
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia - The main character Noemi Taboada is a socialite and debutante from a wealthy Mexico City family. Her newlywed cousin writes a desperate letter from her new families' home in the mountains to Noemi's father spurring Noemi's father to send Noemi to the mountain to check on her cousin. What happens next is so spooky and unbelievable that even a month after having finished this book my mind is still spinning. There were parts of this book that seemed monotonous and frankly just SO strange. But I loved that it was something different than what I usually read.
Emotional Agility by Susan David - If you are looking for a great non-fiction to start off 2021, I highly recommend this one. This was my second time reading it and I enjoyed it just as much as the first. I'm trying to read more non-fiction this year and this book reminded me how enjoyable it can be. The concept of emotional agility stems from a TED talk by Susan David and is a helpful and encouraging book for navigating the difficult times we are in right now.
Group by Christie Tate - I couldn't decide whether to include this book or not. I will admit that I devoured this book. It's like a train wreck, you can't look away. But also I felt deeply troubled by it in many ways too. The confidentiality stuff immediately was a red flag for me and also I was troubled by the idea that tens of thousands of dollars of therapy could help the author find "the love of her life" which by the end of the book is what seemed to be the overarching theme. I also come to the book with an undergraduate degree in Social Work where it was powerfully drilled into us that confidentiality is the ONLY way to have a successful relationship with a client or clients. This book throws that idea in the trash. Overall, I see what the hype is about with this book and while I don't know if I wholeheartedly recommend it, I will admit it's very interesting to read.
Other books that I've read recently that were just so-so in my opinion: (take this with a grain of salt since I seem to be very picky about books lately, so maybe I'm not giving them enough credit)
Catharine House (This was an interesting read but the story line dropped off in the second half in my opinion.)
The Heir Affair (A boring and bizarre follow up to The Royal We.)
The German Heiress (A solid WWII fiction, but I've read so much of that genre I'm a little burnt out on it.)
The Woman Before Wallis (A decent story based on the true history of David, the abdicated King of England, and his wife Wallis. But I found this story to be annoying and over privileged in that he abdicated the throne and then spent the rest of his life complaining about it.)
