My December Books
I finally found a few good book to read this month!... but with all the holiday fun I only found time to read 6 books total. I have started a few others but since I haven't finished them they'll be first on my January list instead.
1. Driving Miss Norma by Tim Bauerschmidt & Raime Liddle-- I loved this book so much (in fact it made it onto my favorite books of 2019 list)! When Miss Norma is diagnosed with cancer at the age of 90 she and her son and his wife decided that rather undergo very intensive treatments they were going to hit the road. What unfolded was an unforgettable year of driving around the country and really living life. Miss Norma seemed like a real character and the photos in the book were just priceless.
2. The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen-- I had such high hopes for this book as I have heard so much about it. It's been called shocking, and suspenseful, and filled with lots of plot twists… I don't know if I'm just really good at intuiting book plots or what but I pretty much guessed what was going on around page 20. Now I did finish the book (since I assumed I'd probably be wrong with my guesses) and I did enjoy it but I didn't really find any major plot twists that shocked me which was kind of disappointing.
3. Holly Banks Full of Angst by Julie Valerie-- I had gotten this book as one of my free Kindle First books based on another blogger's recommendation and it was a cute story. A bit far-fetched at times and a bit juvenile now and then but it was cute and an easy enough read that I finished it in just one day.
4. The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo-- Lucy and Gabe meet in college, in New York on the day the twin towers fell. Their lives are thrown a bit off course and they drift in and out of each other lives through the course of the next 13 years. A love story with lots of angst I thought this was a pretty cute read but I did start to get annoyed with the main character at times. Even well into adulthood she seemed to want her husband to just read her mind and know that grand gestures and certain behaviors bothered her without actually talking about it and I thought she really needed to just grow up. Overall I thought it was a pretty OK book but nothing I'd be telling others they have to read.
5. My Sister's Secret by Tracy Buchanan-- I thought this was a pretty good book. Willow was raised by her Aunt Hope after her mother Charity passes away in a tragic accident when Willow was just 7. Now an adult Willow is finding that her Aunt Hope has been keeping lots of secrets from her and begins traveling the globe trying to unravel a mystery or two about their family. Most of what Willow uncovers challenges the memories and views she had of her parents. Told in two parts; as both Charity and Willow's stories overlap we see that there are different kinds of secrets and different types of loves.
6. Married by Midnight by Talli Roland-- I'm pretty sure this would fall more under the category of short story/ Novella but I really wanted something quick and light and somewhat Christmasy and this has been on my Kindle since 2016. I figured it was time to read it and get it off of there. A cute little story about a woman who buys a second hand wedding dress for her upcoming nuptials and get caught up in tracking down the original owner of the dress.
1. Driving Miss Norma by Tim Bauerschmidt & Raime Liddle-- I loved this book so much (in fact it made it onto my favorite books of 2019 list)! When Miss Norma is diagnosed with cancer at the age of 90 she and her son and his wife decided that rather undergo very intensive treatments they were going to hit the road. What unfolded was an unforgettable year of driving around the country and really living life. Miss Norma seemed like a real character and the photos in the book were just priceless.
2. The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen-- I had such high hopes for this book as I have heard so much about it. It's been called shocking, and suspenseful, and filled with lots of plot twists… I don't know if I'm just really good at intuiting book plots or what but I pretty much guessed what was going on around page 20. Now I did finish the book (since I assumed I'd probably be wrong with my guesses) and I did enjoy it but I didn't really find any major plot twists that shocked me which was kind of disappointing.
3. Holly Banks Full of Angst by Julie Valerie-- I had gotten this book as one of my free Kindle First books based on another blogger's recommendation and it was a cute story. A bit far-fetched at times and a bit juvenile now and then but it was cute and an easy enough read that I finished it in just one day.
4. The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo-- Lucy and Gabe meet in college, in New York on the day the twin towers fell. Their lives are thrown a bit off course and they drift in and out of each other lives through the course of the next 13 years. A love story with lots of angst I thought this was a pretty cute read but I did start to get annoyed with the main character at times. Even well into adulthood she seemed to want her husband to just read her mind and know that grand gestures and certain behaviors bothered her without actually talking about it and I thought she really needed to just grow up. Overall I thought it was a pretty OK book but nothing I'd be telling others they have to read.
5. My Sister's Secret by Tracy Buchanan-- I thought this was a pretty good book. Willow was raised by her Aunt Hope after her mother Charity passes away in a tragic accident when Willow was just 7. Now an adult Willow is finding that her Aunt Hope has been keeping lots of secrets from her and begins traveling the globe trying to unravel a mystery or two about their family. Most of what Willow uncovers challenges the memories and views she had of her parents. Told in two parts; as both Charity and Willow's stories overlap we see that there are different kinds of secrets and different types of loves.
6. Married by Midnight by Talli Roland-- I'm pretty sure this would fall more under the category of short story/ Novella but I really wanted something quick and light and somewhat Christmasy and this has been on my Kindle since 2016. I figured it was time to read it and get it off of there. A cute little story about a woman who buys a second hand wedding dress for her upcoming nuptials and get caught up in tracking down the original owner of the dress.
Gah! You are really are superwoman! I had a goal of finishing ONE book this month, and unless I read an entire book in the next three days, it’s not happening.
ReplyDeleteHow do you find the books that you read? When I fly, I’ll pick one off the shelf at one of the convenience stores, but I never know where to find good books when I’m not traveling.
I mostly pick books based on other blogger's suggestions plus I have a huge list of favorite authors so anytime we stop by our library (at least one a week) I check out the new books shelf and usually walk out with a few.
DeleteDefinitely interesting to see our different opinions on many of these. Maybe we do have different book tastes!
ReplyDeleteI thought the same thing; maybe we do!.. sometimes.
DeleteYay for reading lots of books, but I'm sorry you didn't really LOVE any of them.
ReplyDelete-Lauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net
I read the light we lost recently and had a similar reaction. Definitely not my favorite book from that genre.
ReplyDeleteKind of glad to know I'm not the only one. I thought it could have been a really powerful read with the timeline and all but just really didn't like how it played out in the long run.
DeleteAdding My Sister's Secret to the TBR, thanks :)
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome!
DeleteI find I enjoy thrillers much more if I don't go in wanting or needing the twist!
ReplyDeleteI can't even say it was a thriller though; nothing was keeping me on the edge of my seat but I think knowing there was supposed to be a twist made it seem obvious to me what that twist was. Sometimes it is best to just go in blind and read it as it comes.
Deletebummer about the wife between us. i definitely didn't guess any twists, so i enjoyed it. it wasn't super unputdownable though
ReplyDeleteI thought it was an OK book just not something I'd be talking about for weeks to come.
DeleteOh I've got to try Driving Miss Norma!
ReplyDeleteIt was such a heart- warming story and really made me think about how we as a county handle end of life care.
DeleteI figured out the wife between us pretty early on too but still enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed it; just thought it was going to be much better after all the hype.
DeleteI think I got Holly Banks as my Kindle First too but haven't read it yet. Glad it will be enjoyable :) Thanks!
ReplyDeleteIt was really cute; I have so many books piling up on my Kindle! I am awful at reading my Kindle First books.
DeleteI read The Wife Between Us before it came out, so there wasn't a lot of hype and I swear that affected my love for it. I thought it was great, but can see how it's easy to guess what's going on. I kind of want to read it again- I forgot a lot of the plot points!
ReplyDeleteI hate when I can't remember the plot points when people are talking about a book I know I read.
DeleteI have had Driving Miss Norma on my TBR for several years! I think this might be the year I get to it.
ReplyDeleteI hope you get to it soon; it was really good.
DeleteI really liked The Wife Between Us, but I read the ARC before everyone else got to it...high expectations almost always affect my reading!
ReplyDeleteI wasn't impressed with The Light We Lost. I think I read the first 25%. Books about 9/11 are too soon, I think.
Yeah, I find high expectations can sometimes be just a bit too much to live up to.
DeleteHolly banks is my airplane book on friday. Glad to hear it's a good read!
ReplyDeleteIt is really cute and a nice easy read. I think it will make a great airplane book.
DeleteMy Sister's Secret sounds good. I love family mystery type books.
ReplyDeleteI do too! I love reading about family dynamics in general but family secrets are even better.
Delete