Here are some quick takes of some of the best (and not) books I read last month. It was a busy month of moving, and not to mention a short month, but I did pretty well here even though there were more flops than I normally read.
Commonwealth by Ann Patchett
This was a reread for my bookclub this month, as I read this when it first came out in the fall. It is one of my favorite books of 2016, and was even better the second time around. Ann Patchett is one of my top authors, and I’m trying to make my way through all her books, but this is probably my favorite of hers along with The Patron Saint of Liars.
Where Am I Now? by Mara Wilson
Matilda = life, so this has been on my library waitlist for so long, and I was so happy to finally get my hands on it. I tore through it in just a couple days and really enjoyed it. Mara Wilson is fairly close to me in age, and I related a lot to her teenage and post-college experiences, and delighted in learning more about my favorite childhood film and life as a child actor. There were so many unexpected revelations about what Mara was going through in her childhood (illness and death of her mother, OCD), and it made me want to hear more stories about her past and present.
A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny
I’ve been slowly making my way through the Inspector Gamache series over the last year, but since I discovered the audio versions of these, they have been my go-to for audiobooks. This wasn’t my favorite in the series, but since I started listening to these, I’ve enjoyed each book that much more. The French accents and narration are superb.
The Year of Living Danishly by Helen Russell
Reading nonfiction about happiness and improving one’s life is always enjoyable, and this is another great one, especially if you have an interest in Europe and Scandinavia. This book goes into incredible detail about life in Denmark, at times almost too much detail, but it was inspiring to learn about the systems the Danes have created and the factors that play into such a happy society. By the end I was so jealous of the many positive attributes of Denmark, but also left feeling unsure if I would like living permanently in such an insular country, since diversity of culture, race and thought is one of the most wonderful things about living in the United States.
Worst
Today Will Be Different by Maria Semple
I picked up this book because I loved Where’d You Go Bernadette, and was pretty disappointed. Toward the beginning it was okay, I really liked the parts with the graphic novel pages and descriptions of New Orleans (I just visited last month), but by the end I was done. The book just felt like such a random collection of events and characters, and had no conclusion, nor did it make me wonder what happened the the characters at all after it was over. I was so excited for this one, and so disappointed.
The Fall Guy by James Lasdun
I was hoping to a page turning triller in this novel, but I was disappointed sorely by the end. Not much to say other than was turned off by every single character, even the one that I guess you were supposed to be sympathizing with. It started very slowly, continued slowly and ended suddenly, though I was thankful to be done. I should have stopped reading midway through, but I assumed it would have a clever ending, which it sort of did, but not enough to redeem the whole slog.
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