So far this year I’ve read ten books. This time last year I had only read six. My reading goal this year was to read at least one more book than I did last year. I read 39 books in 2020, so I’d say I’m off to a good start. You can see what I read in January 2021 here and here. Let’s dive into the ones I’ve just wrapped up.
The Sound of Gravel by Ruth Wariner
I’m not sure I started the month on a high note with books. Not that this book wasn’t fascinating, because it absolutely was. I just mean that it was very sad, and I can honestly say I was gutted from this one. I first heard about this book from Laura Tremaine, who is one of my favorite podcasters and is now an author (currently reading her book). I was listening to one of her book review podcast episodes, and she mentions this memoir that has really captured her attention. I made a mental note, and a short while later she shares on her Instagram that it’s a Kindle deal. I decided to go ahead and download it, and I had it in my queue for a while. Well, I finally got going with it, and honestly, I didn’t want to put it down. It was well written and totally fascinating to hear about this woman’s life as she grew up in a poverty-stricken polygamist community in Mexico. Things were very hard for her family as she grew up, and though it was very hard to read at times, her story is one of resilience and perseverance. The epilogue at the end does give a glimmer of hope, so that was nice to read. I gave it 3 solid stars just because it was such heavy subject matter and broke my heart a little, but it is a completely compelling read. If you like memoirs and like reading about other cultures and you don’t mind a sad read, pick this one up. Then come talk to me about it. 🙂
Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld
After such a heavy read, I needed something completely different. Curtis Sittenfeld has been an author I’ve wanted to read for some time now. I went in search of her books on the Overdrive app to try to find an audiobook, and this was the first one available. The premise of the book is basically this: What would have happened if Hillary had never married Bill? It’s obviously a work of fiction, and I don’t know enough about Hillary Clinton to know which bits were factual. It was a very entertaining read, and I enjoyed it a lot. Sittenfeld paints Hillary to be a very likeable character in this book. Bill not so much. I’d like to know if the real life Hillary Clinton has read it and what her thoughts are about it and if she wonders if her life could have actually been like the fictional version in this book had she just said no to marrying Bill. Luckily, Curtis Sittenfeld turned out to be an author I like, and you’ll see I read another of her books as you continue down the page. I also have one more on my bookshelf that I picked up in a thrift store years ago called American Wife, which is loosely based on the life of Laura Bush. Maybe I’ll get to that one soon. 4 stars for Rodham.
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
My book club chose to read The Rosie Project for our February read. It is a wonderfully quirky novel about a man, who is very much like Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory. Don, the main character, is on a mission to find a wife and has created a questionnaire to discover candidates for “The Wife Project”. A woman named Rosie enters the picture and essentially upends his whole life in many ways. The way Don talks is very smart and Sheldon-like. It was funny and thought-provoking at times, and I found his relationships with the other characters in the book intriguing. It was a cute book and an easy read. It’s actually the first book in a trilogy, but I think I’m actually fine leaving the story after reading book one. I liked how it ended, but I’m okay not going any further with these characters. 3.5 stars for me.
Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld
Eligible is a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice, which I’ve never read, so I don’t know how true that is. The characters names are the same, and having watched the movie, Pride and Prejudice, I did see many similarities between the two, but I know that’s not the same as reading the book. Eligible did not leave out the part about Lizzie’s cousin, and I was laughing out loud at those parts. It was really funny. I loved how independent Jane and Elizabeth were in Eligible. All of the sisters tackle many modern day issues, and I thought it was done quite well. I found this one in audiobook format and enjoyed it that way. 4 stars.
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
At the beginning of the year, a group of us teachers decided we wanted to maybe start a book club. Since I’m the only one who is currently in an actual book club, they asked me to get the ball rolling with some book options. We set rules, which has turned out to be a brilliant idea, and we decided on a book that would hopefully facilitate interesting and intellectual conversations related to the themes of the book. *Nerd Alert* 🙂 The Vanishing Half was our first book. It’s about two sisters, twins, from a small town in Louisiana. While they are black, they have very light skin, which allows one sister to live her life as a white woman while the other sister lives hers as a black woman. While race plays a huge part in the story, there’s so much more to unpack as you read. The sisters have children, and their lives are impacted by their mothers’ decisions on how they chose to live. It’s a fascinating read, and a good one to read alongside a friend or to start a book club with. 4 stars.
As I mentioned before, I’m currently reading Laura Tremaine’s first book, Share Your Stuff. I’ll Go First: 10 Questions to Take Your Friendship to the Next Level. So far so good. I’m waiting for my next audiobook to come in, and my other book club picked a book I’ve already read (Hillbilly Elegy), so I’m focusing all my attention on Laura’s book until my teacher friends and I start 1984 by George Orwell. Not gonna lie, I’m a little intimidated by this one. I’ll let you know what I think. What are you reading right now?
