While I’m not that proud of how much (er, how little) I read in November, I do have a bit of a “unique” reading win: I started and stopped reading a few books that weren’t holding my interest. I’m notorious for trudging along and finishing a book no matter what, even if I know I hate it. I feel like I’m committed and don’t want the time I had read to feel like a “waste.” But life is too short. And my free time is especially shorter with a baby. I stopped reading a couple of books guilt free in November and I’m proud of myself for it!
Here is what I did finish though:
SMALL ADMISSIONS by Amy Poeppel
4/5 Stars
This was such a fun, light read that had me laughing out loud. It’s about a woman named Kate who has gone through a life crisis post-breakup and interviews for a job as an admissions counselor at a prestigious NYC school. It’s a satire on the cutthroat families trying to get their kids admitted to a competitive school. I have to say that I didn’t quite get the humor… at first. But by the end, I found it hilarious and didn’t want it to end. It’s a bit over the top, but in a fabulous way. The characters really come to life on the page.
WE ARE NOT LIKE THEM by Christine Pride and Jo Piazza
3.5/5 Stars
Hmmm… ultimately: meh. I finished it and I thought this could have been really great, but it felt flat, predictable, and also slightly unbelievable? Two best friends, one Black (Riley) and one white (Jen), have their friendship tested after the fatal shooting of a local teenager involving Jen’s police officer husband. The biggest issue I had was that Riley and Jen never really seemed like friends in the first place, which made the rest of it hard to believe.
HOOKED by Sutton Foster
4.5/5 Stars
If you’re a Broadway or Younger fan and love Sutton Foster, you should definitely read her memoir. I love a good celebrity memoir and this one did not disappoint. Sutton Foster talks about her, well, life. Her musical theater and television careers, her relationship with her family (including her agoraphobic mother), her romantic relationships, and her motherhood journey… all tied together by her love of crafting (notably: crochet!). As a lover of Broadway, Younger, and crafting…. it was a GREAT read for me. Content warning for infertility and miscarriage.
PS PLEASE leave me your best reads of the year recommendations in a comment!!!! Need to get out of this reading rut.
READ WITH ME
I was in a total reading rut and Seven Days in June got me out of it. Loved it!
I’ve been in a bit of a reading rut too! The top books I read earlier this year were the Office of Historical Corrections, Transcendent Kingdom, and The Color of Air
Paper Palaces
The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan! One of my favorite books to read this year.
Thansk for always sharing your recommendations! Happy Monday!
http://www.elspethsdaybyday.com
Ditto to the Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo or really anything from Taylor Jenkins Reid!
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo!
The Flatshare and The Switch by Beth O’Leary, The Midnight Library by Matt Haig (I had a rough time getting into it but once I did, it was really good)
I’d say some of the best books I read this year are: The Island of Sea Women, The Silent Patient, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, Searching for Sylvie Lee, Malibu Rising
I am in the middle of the audiobook “Anxious People” by Fredrik Backman and it’s excellent. It’s initially blunt and funny and clever, then you realize how deep and heartwarming it really is. You fall in love with the characters.
The Nightingale
I just finished “I Left My Homework in the Hamptons” and loooved it.
I cross-referenced our Goodreads to bring you some you haven’t marked as read: The Searcher by Tana French (good on audio btw), What You Wish For by Katherine Center, Our Woman in Moscow and Her Last Flight by Beatriz Williams. And if you would like a series or two the Maisie Dobbs books by Jacqueline Winspear (I really love these on audio also) and the Outlander books by Diana Gabaldon. Happy reading — I get a lot of my recommendations from you!
Seven Days in June by Tia Williams was CAPTIVATING. i think it’s my favorite of the year! i also loved Lizzie & Dante for some escapist romance (italy! cooking! gay best friends!), and i most recently read Emily Ratajkowski’s book, My Body, which was extremely interesting and thought-provoking.
Anxious People – Fredrick Backman (anything by him actually)
Beach Read – Emily Henry (very summery read)
Hamnet – Maggie O’Farrell
The art of making memories – Meik Wiking
Project Hail Mary – Andy Weir (author of The Martian, SF)
My favorite books I read this year were The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green and Little Weirds by Jenny Slate. Both are very fun, very light reads and the “chapters” are either short stories or in John Green’s case reviews so it feels quick. I felt revived and inspired by both!
If you read the Hunger Games books, I do recommend the prequel that came out. I didn’t expect to like it but I was enthralled and couldn’t put it down.
I’m reading When We Were Young & Brave (picked it up in my local little library!!). It is an excellent read about students at a missionary school in China when Japan declares war on Britain and America after Pearl Harbor, and the Japanese take control of the school. I knew nothing about this aspect of war – an eye-opening read
I’ve been reading the Bridgerton series!!
The Silent Patient and Malibu Rising were both good. I follow a blog called Mix & Match Mama. Last day of the month she posts the books she read for the month. She had done this for along time. I have read some great books based on her recommendations. I follow Grace the Stripe and of course your blog for book recommendations
I second the Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo….Where the Crawdads Sing…The Other Mrs….Small Great Things (old)…and Every Note Played by Lisa Genova. It seems that we are all in a reading rut.
I’ve been trying to get better about DNFing as well! I’ve found it much easier to DNF after reflecting on my top reads at the end of the year, to remind myself how good books can be! My top reads of November were The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne and The Inheritance of Orquidea Divina by Zoraida Cordova
Yearbook (Seth Rogen)
No One Asked For This (Cazzie David)
Piranesi (Susanna Clarke)
Mexican Gothic (Silvia Moreno-Garcia)
Goodbye, Vitamin (Rachel Khong)
Just finished and loved Circe by Madeline Miller!
There’s such a literary trope of “two super different women who have been BEST FRIENDS since childhood, but are now tested by being so different,” and then the author sets them up so they basically hate each other and are not at all compatible as friends. It’s always a “sibling bond” because they fight all the time. Like are these authors and their siblings ok?? Are they all only children? I bicker with my siblings over really small things but we don’t tell or hurt feelings.
There’s always a happy ending where they realize you can love someone sooo much even though they’re different from you, when the real happy ending would be realizing you don’t need to stay friends with every person you met in elementary school if your values and personalities are totally dissimilar and you don’t get along.
A friend recommended an older book called “The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets” and described it as a warm hug of a book. It was the perfect descriptor! Nothing heavy but great to get out of a reading rut.
My favorites of the year were American Dirt and People We Meet On Vacation! I had heard such great things about Anxious People (re: a lot of people’s comments) but for some reason I’m just trudging through it.
My book of the year is definitely ‘Boy Swallows Universe’ – it’s by an Australian author, and the ending is just incredible!
Thanks for the book recommendations , but honetsly you are way to hard on yourself when I had little ones -I don’t think I read a full bokk for 2 years. Give yourself some grace. You are working and have a baby!
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Its a little out of your usual reads but so worth the read.
It Started with a Dog by Julia London was really cute. Found myself wishing I was a regular at the coffee shop – fun characters. Didn’t like Lucky Dog nearly as much. Love sharing books…. can’t wait to read the comments!
The Kitchen Front – Jennifer Ryan
The Lost Apothecary – Sarah Penner
The Summer Job – Lizzy Dent
Thanks for the Small Admissions rec — it’s right up my alley. I ordered it last week and have been tearing through it!