April 2018 Reading Wrap Up

The Sinner by Petra Hammesfahr - Book Review

"The Sinner" by Petra Hammesfahr
Book Review and Discussion

This book gets *super* weird - lets go ahead and start with that - and it was a buddy read for me, so sorry buddy. BLERG lol you can pick next time! Okay, so it gets weird, but the premise is still pretty neat, and it's why I read the book, so lets discuss. "The Sinner" by Petra Hammesfahr follows a woman named Cora, she is a wife and mother, and she goes to the beach with her family one day and while she is there having a wonderful time with her family - she stabs a man, to death. When the investigators ask her why she did it, she claims that it is completely random, she doesn't know why. The rest of "The Sinner" follows Cora and the investigators as they try to unpack her life and find out exactly what her motivations could have been that day. This is one of those rare times when the the adaptation is better than the book. The narration style of "The Sinner" was just completely chaotic and really took away from the suspense that the mini series was able to successfully build.

goodreads // amazon // library

Before I Let You Go - by Kelly Rimmer - Book Review

March 2018 TBR

February 2018 Reading Wrap Up

Check out the video above to learn about the books I read in February 2018, or keep reading this blog post to find out what I loved and disliked in this reading month. 

Cozy Reading Book Tag

Watch the video above to learn more about how I make reading cozy and why I think that cozy reading is the best type of reading, or keep following along with this blog post to learn more about my cozy reading life!

The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant - Book Review

"The Boston Girl" by Anita Diamant is a historical fiction novel and follows main character Addy as she describes her life to her granddaughter. The synopsis of this book sounds amazing and I was so excited to read it, I really wanted to like it - and I don't dislike it, I gave it three stars. Addy is telling her life story to her granddaughter, so a lot of the writing feels conversational, but it also started to feel like a list of all of the things that had happened to Addy. There wasn't that much exploration - not just in time, but also emotionally, it didn't feel like there was any exploration there. There wasn't much in terms of turn of phrase, and that was a disappointment. And it also didn't dive very deeply into any one historical event, the books starts in 1915- there's a lot to work with there! 

Have you read "The Boston Girl"? Comment down below and let me know your thoughts on the novel!

The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater - Book Review

"The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater is a non fiction book that I discovered through Book Riot ( god bless you, Book Riot). This book follows the lives of two teenagers - Richard, a black male teenager, and Sasha, a white agender teenager. One day, while Sasha was napping on the bus, Richard lit Sasha's skirt on fire which resulted in severe injuries for Sasha. Of course, Richard is arrested and then asked why he committed the crime, and when pushed to give reason to his thoughtless crime, his answer boiled down to hate. Richard is then charged with multiple hate crimes, and is facing life imprisonment. I loved the journalistic approach that Dashka Slater brought to this story. Each side of the story is presented in a way that is so relatable and understandable, and for that, also heartbreaking and incredibly confusing.

If you have read "The 57 Bus" I would love chat with you about it, please comment down below!

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil DeGrasse Tyson - Book Review

This non fiction book covers a wide range of topics in the field of astrophysics. And for someone who is not in the field of astrophysics professionally, or even as a hobby, I feel like this book covered a lot of information in a fairly deep manner, in a hurry - but it didn't provide a lot of how and why for the field, which negatively affected my reading experience. I tried to listen to the audiobook, because Neil deGrasse Tyson reading this to me should be a pleasure, but nope - couldn't do it! This book is under two hundred pages, but as I was reading it I had to go over each page two or three times. Until reading this I don't think I had a full appreciation for just how abstract all of these ideas are and how hard it is to wrap your brain around them. I do think I learned a lot from reading this book though and enjoyed the experience when I felt that the information was explained in an accessible manner!

goodreads // amazon // library 

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman - Book Review

I love this book SO MUCH! And I think that it might be my new favorite fiction novel, and I can not possible tell you all of the reasons why, but you have to read this book! It follows a woman named Eleanor and she is wonderful, but she is definitely not "fine". Something terrible happened to Eleanor as a child and as a result she really struggles socially and also emotionally. And this book explores her experience, and how she might be able to heal from that trauma. You know those books, that you feel if everyone read them the world would be a better place? This is that book. I finished this books week ago, and let it sit with me before reviewing - I still think about it, and the things that it taught me.

goodreads// amazon // library

Need more Eleanor? Click here to check out my Top 5 Favorite Quotes from "Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine"!

Five Quotes I Loved from "Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine" by Gail Honeyman

Every now and then a book comes around that I don't just like, I LOVE - obsessed, even. It is my new favorite, and I want to tell the whole world about it, screaming from the internet rooftops about the glory that is this amazing book. And that's definitely the case with my recent read, "Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine" by Gail Honeyman. SUCH an amazing book, which SO MANY breathtaking moments that I want to share with you! These quotes also might be helpful if "Eleanor Oliphant" was your book clubs pick for the month. These quotes could facilitate a great book club discussion session about the novel. Check out the video above, or keep reading, for quotes from "Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine" that I love!