Waiting for Tom Hanks by Kerry Winston
A pretty standard rom-com. I am personally in love with Tom Hanks myself (go watch You’ve Got Mail) so I am pretty biased toward anything that idolizes him the way I do. The main character had a complex background and her venture into love is round-about but not in a predictable way. I can’t remember the main character’s name now but I do know the book gave me warm fuzzies. 4 stars.
Shadow and Bone by Leah Bardugo
My first ‘Grishaverse’ novel. I picked it up in anticipation of the Netflix series based on her novels. I would file this under ‘standard YA fantasy.’ The main character is a bit older than YA but the themes weren’t very complex. I ran into a weird situation here where I thought that the book had a lot more left in it (I read this on my Kindle) but the book technically ended at the 72% mark. The rest of the ‘book’ was previews for her other book. Honestly, this annoyed me a little. I am not going to finish the series unless I see something online that really compels me. 3 stars.
A Sky Painted Gold by Laura Wood
A YA Great Gatsby read-alike that was very unoriginal and had way too much drinking (and for me to be saying that is a lot). 1 star.
The One by John Marrs
Sci-fi with a little romance with a dash of thriller. The premise of this book is that everyone has a perfect DNA match and then it takes that in all the directions. There’s murder, plot twists, non-hetero relationships, suspense! I really loved this book and it left me thinking for a while after. 5 stars.
You by Caroline Kepnes
You probably know of this one because of the Netflix series. I couldn’t finish the Netflix series because I was too terrified. So of course I thought, I’ll just try it on audio! That worked well until I listened to it at night on a walk with my dog. BAD IDEA. Anyway, it was good but I wished I had known about all the sexual talk beforehand. 3.5 stars
Delicious! by Ruth Reichl
I am a HUGE sucker for any book about the food industry. Cooking, writing, growing, eating — you name it, I’ll read it. A few criticisms of this book were that Ruth was ‘writing what she knows’ but, honestly, she knows it better than I do! I loved the food imagery and felt like I was actually in the old house she works in. 4.5 stars.
An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green
Years ago I read ‘Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore’ by Robin Sloane and have been looking for a read-alike ever since. I found one in ‘Ready Player One’. And now I’ve found another in ‘An Absolutely Remarkable Thing’ ! This was my favorite book I read in September. Smart, witty sci-fi that had good world-building and also tackled some real-world issues. Everyone needs to read this. 5 stars.
Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty
The second installment in the City of Brass series. High fantasy, lots of magic and blood lines and plotting. It’s definitely a big book but a lot happens without it dragging. I am itching for the next installment to find out what happens. 4 stars.
After The End by Clare Mackintosh
I almost DNF’d this book at the 50% mark and am only sort-of glad that I didn’t. It was a very classic ‘my kid has a terminal illness’ and ‘what is the value of a life’ which are topics that have been covered over and over again. However, it took a twist and did a alternate universe thing (what if it went one and what if it went another) for the second half of the book that redeemed this. Do not hand this to a mother who has ever had a child with a serious illness. 2.5 stars.
The Bone Season (Bone Season #1) by Samantha Shannon
Fantasy elements set in a futuristic Earth. The beginning confused me a bit, but she was setting up for a multi-book series, so I can understand wanting to get into the details. The story picked up with a secret society defending the Earth from evil creatures (which I am very here for) and left you on a not-to-tall cliffhanger. Already picked up the next book. 4 stars.
The Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll
I am a journal nerd. I love routine and straight lines and perfectly designed pages. This book took the nebulous ‘bullet journal’ method that I didn’t totally understand and put it into simple terms. I would recommend this to anyone who struggles with organization. And, for type 1’s like myself, it does make a big point of ‘it doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to get done’ which is a reminder I always need. I will do my best to report back on how bullet journaling is going for me. 4.5 stars.
SJP Books 