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Archive of ‘My Reading Life’ category

Summer Reading Plans

Summer is an excellent time to dive into reading (see what I did there?). Debut authors have published fantastic books, and more well-known authors typically pick this time of year to release their latest novels. You can download a summer reading guide from just about anywhere. And there are tons of podcasts with episodes dedicated to the hottest summer titles. I should know. I’ve listened to most of them!

When it comes to my summer reading list, I only have one rule: it has to be a page-turner. It doesn’t matter what genre the book fits into – like historical fiction, memoir, chick-lit, or political thriller. As long as I’m engrossed in a good story, I’m all in. Here are some of the books I’ve been reading lately, and I highly recommend them to you.

Debut Novels

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus – Elizabeth Zott is a brilliant yet unappreciated chemist. Set in the 1950s and 1960s, Elizabeth is a feminist before her time. She wants a career but is sidelined by ridiculous stereotypes and unthinkable misogyny. After being fired from her research lab, she reluctantly agrees to star in her own cooking show – Supper at Six. Determined to bring science into the kitchen, she makes her way to the top of the tv ratings inspiring women along the way. I rooted for Elizabeth from the very start of the book, and she did not disappoint. I listened to it on Audible and enjoyed the narration immensely. This story is perfect for those who have faced career obstacles and are determined to have it all.

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson – Family matriarch Eleanor Bennett has died. She left behind an eight-hour recording for her children to listen to that reveals secrets she kept from them her entire life. Her story is a doozy, and her children – estranged from each other – are initially reluctant to hear it. But they soon realize they never knew who their mother really was, what she went through as a child from the Caribbean, and how Eleanor’s past will impact them for the rest of their lives. I listened to this on Audible, but I think I would have preferred to read the actual book or on my Kindle. There are so many characters, and their accents are hard to distinguish when read by the narrator. I loved the story, but I had to rewind a lot to remind myself who each character was and their connection to everyone else.

Two more things I will say about this book. First, I’ve been looking for books written by authors who have different life experiences. This American author is Black and has lived in the Caribbean and Italy. Her story, which incorporates a lot of cultures, food, and traditions, opened up a whole new world that was a joy to visit.

The other thing is that I’ve seen this book compared to Jonathan Tropper’s book, This is Where I Leave You. His book is also about a dysfunctional family who sits shiva after their father dies. Secrets are revealed, and family drama is abundant. But, the stories differ because, in Tropper’s book, the humor is a connecting thread throughout the story. Black Cake is a much more somber read. Both are equally compelling but with entirely different writing styles.

Other debut novels I’ve enjoyed include:

  • Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
  • The Tobacco Wives by Adele Myers

Memoir

Out of the Corner by Jennifer Grey – Celebrity memoirs are my guilty pleasure. Many of the ones I enjoy bring me back to the 1980s when their faces covered my bedroom walls, and their lives seemed full of glitz and glamour. But as these juicy books reveal, there is more to the story. Jennifer Grey starts her book by addressing the elephant in the room – her infamous nose job that left her utterly unrecognizable as the star of Dirty Dancing. She talks about how her parents made her feel that she could be a more successful actress if she looked the part – meaning to fix her nose. She fought that idea for the longest time and then decided to do it. She talks about how this decision impacted her life and career for the last decade or so and what she learned from the experience. And then, she tells all about her career and relationship with Matthew Broderick and their tragic car accident in Ireland. She also does a deep dive into her professional and often caustic partnership with Patrick Swayze during the filming of Dirty Dancing and what she wishes she could say to him today. This memoir is the perfect beach/pool read. I finished it in less than two days.

Other memoirs I loved include:

Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe
Going There by Katie Couric
Lucky Man and No Time Like the Future by Michael J. Fox
Becoming by Michelle Obama

Random Reads

Book Lovers by Emily Henry – No offense to those who love this genre, but I’m not a huge fan of romance novels. When I was young and single, I devoured everything from teen trysts to forbidden love stories to Jackie Collins and Fifty Shades. To me, the storylines don’t vary all that much, and happy endings are practically a sure thing. The exception to this is when there is another story surrounding the romance, and in this regard, Book Lovers delivers.

Book Lovers is about an editor and an agent who start as rivals and wind up as friends and then, well… I won’t ruin it for you. I liked this book’s parallel storyline about two sisters who take a girls’ trip to a small town to get away from the big city. The sisters’ dynamic is extremely familiar to me. Nora is the big sister, and Libby is the baby of the family. There are themes of being overprotective and underestimating the true gifts that each sister brings to the table. Something that I have been guilty of in the past. While the main story, banter, and sexual tension between Nora and Charlie kept me interested, the sisters were why I stayed to the end. The author captures their relationship beautifully, and the end does not disappoint.

There is one part of this book that did infuriate me. One main character has a medical emergency that I know is not treated properly by her doctors. I almost DNF’d the book right then and there; however, I was already so far into it that I had to see it through. If I ever met the author, I’d tell her that I enjoyed the book but wished she did a little more homework.

Organizing for the Rest of Us: 100 Realistic Strategies to Keep Any Home Under Control, by Dana K. White – Besides reading books, organizing my closets and decluttering has become a big part of my weekends. This author hosts the podcast “A Slob Comes Clean.” (Great title, right?) She is the anti-Marie Kondo and breaks the rules of many organization books I’ve read over the years, and I love her for it! This book gives many helpful hints that also account for people’s time, energy levels, and overall desire to keep a neat (but not perfect) house.

Currently Reading

As you can see, April and May have been productive months for me in terms of reading. At the moment, I’m in the middle of a few books:

Inheritance by Danni Shapiro (actual book)
Front Row of the Trump Show by Jonathan Karl (on Kindle)
Write for Your Life by Anna Quindlen (actual book)
The Lazy Genius Kitchen by Kendra Adachi (on Kindle)

Reviews to come!

Indie Bookstore Plug

I know you have heard me say this a million times, but to me, I don’t say it enough. Please support your local independent bookstore! Last month was Independent Bookstore Day, and of course, I celebrated it by going to Doylestown Bookshop – my go-to indie. I limited myself to buying three books, but when I went to the counter, I spent enough to earn a free book from the Advanced Reader Copies cart. This is a cart of books that may or may not already be published in galley form. So basically, I acquired a fourth book that I had on my wish list for nothing.

This is the kind of magic that happens at an indie bookstore. If you support them long enough, you might get a free book or a coupon off your next purchase, or a cool bookmark. I know these bookstores are not the place to get bestsellers at bargain prices, but you will find yourself in a community that loves books as much as you do. Even if you go in there and buy one book, I guarantee you will feel better knowing you did your part to support a local business.

Thanks for reading this to the end! There will be more blog posts to come this summer – I promise! Until then, let me know what you are reading and enjoy!

XO,
Elisa

March Book Report

Exciting news! I’ve decided to reorganize my bookshelves in a whole new way.

Okay, it’s not that exciting. But let me explain. Right now, tmy books are split up into fiction and non-fiction shelves and arranged alphabetically. It’s kind of boring, and I’m not inspired enough to go there and pick up my next great read. Instead, I shop online, support indie bookstores, and download titles on Audible.

And here’s the problem. I have no self control when buying books. This month alone, I bought ten new titles. Ten titles!

Ugh! Why…why do I keep buying more and more books? It isn’t that I’m lacking in things to read. I have some fantastic books sitting on my shelves at this very moment that are collecting dust. I know I bought them for a reason; I wanted them. And I spent my hard-earned, good money on them. They are deserving of my attention, and quite frankly I think they are starting to get a little jealous.

Sometimes when I’m sitting at my desk, I hear my books whisper, “pick me next.” It’s about time I heed their call.

Okay, maybe that isn’t true, but today I’m declaring a new book buying ban on myself for a few months. I vow to familiarize myself with my ever-growing TBR pile. And maybe I’ll do a little reshelving and redecorating to my shelves to make those books more appealing.

I admit that I’m pretty excited about this endeavor. And just think, my next five-star read could be a book I already own. It could be the new and shiny object I pick up — instead of my credit card.

Anyway, here is how else my reading life has shaped up this month.

What I Read

The Tobacco Wives by Adele Myers

I love history, and I love to read, so it makes sense that one of my go-to genres is historical fiction. There is rarely a novel in this category that I don’t enjoy. I love diving into a book with strong female characters set in a time period that I’ve never explored. The Tobacco Wives is that kind of a book. Set in North Carolina, Maddie Sykes is a young seamstress tasked with sewing exquisite dresses and ballgowns for the wives of cigarette company executives. Maddie must make an important decision when she accidentally learns about the health risks of smoking and the cover-up to keep people – particularly women – in the dark. She can either keep her head down, stay quiet, and do her job or share what she knows, take a stand against corporate greed, risk her livelihood, and more.

In addition to this book being a five-star read, the author has a fascinating background that she brings to the story. She is a public relations professional who grew up in this part of the country. Her focus on how cigarettes were marketed to women by trusted doctors and false advertising play a huge role in how this all shakes out. The author’s note was just as enjoyable to read as the book itself, so don’t skip it.

Everyone Has What It Takes: A Writer’s Guide to the End of Self Doubt by William Kenower

I’ve been writing since I was nine years old, and I’ve suffered from imposter syndrome ever since. Questions like – who will care what I think or write about have plagued me for years.

Today, I can say that I am in recovery from this line of thinking, but I don’t attribute that to this book. It has taken many years of learning about my craft, participating in writers’ workshops and conferences, and talking to and learning from some brilliant writers that have snapped me out of it. There was also something about turning 50 last year that made me realize how much time I’ve wasted wallowing in my anxieties. Life is too short.

Reading books also has a funny way of introducing a new perspective to whatever ails you. It was Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird that was instrumental in breaking my patterns of self-doubt. However, this book served as a good reminder and will remain in my writer’s toolbox. The author focuses on the business of writing and the parade of rejections that are bound to happen when finding an agent, getting published, and selling your work. If you are a writer experiencing self-doubt and frustration about this process, I’d recommend this guide to you.

Paperback Crush: The Totally Radical History 80s and 90s Teen Fiction – Gabrielle Moss

If you asked me what I read as a kid, I’d tell you that my strongest memories were from the Sweet Valley High books. I couldn’t get enough of the adventures of Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield – identical twin sisters in appearance with yin and yang personalities. I can still remember the adrenaline rush I felt when the next book in the series appeared in the bookstores. I had to have them. I’d spend my allowance or beg my parents to buy them.

If you asked me what else I read as a kid, my memory would be fuzzy, but after reading this book – The Paperback Crush – I saw the photos of the book covers and smiled. I remembered definitely hiding copies of “Forever” and “Sooner or Later” under my pillow. There were also so many pre-teen and squeaky-clean romance novels from companies like Wildfire and Sweet Dreams. And my sister read every Christopher Pike book she could get her hands on.

This book was a fun trip down memory lane that digs into the early days of my reading life – and if you are my age – you will enjoy it too.

What I’m Reading Now

Here is what I’m reading now and will review next month.

That’s it for me. Let me know what you have been reading lately. And if you have any good ideas for helping me redecorate my bookshelves, I’m all ears!

Happy reading!
Elisa

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February Book Report

How are you? How is your reading life going? It’s been a good news/bad news situation for me.

The good news is that I have thoroughly enjoyed each one of the four books I’ve read so far this year. Two of them are listed below. You can find the other two books in my January 2022 Book Report post. It is rare when I get on a winning streak like this one. So much so that it makes it hard to pick my next read because I don’t want to be disappointed.

Maybe this is why February has been a slow reading month for me. That’s the bad news. Typically, I like to have at least three books to report on here, but you are only getting two from me this month. I plan to pick up the pace in March and have already selected my next book, Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love.

But before I pick that book up, here are my reviews of the two books I read this month.

Project Hail Mary

The last science fiction book I read was The Hunger Games. It was also the first one I’ve read, although it might be considered young adult dystopian by others. But I’m not going to split hairs here. It was a book that my daughter wanted to read, and we decided to do it together. Side note: I read all three books in the series, and I don’t think she finished the first one. LOL.

The point is that while I enjoyed that series, I prefer historical fiction, family drama, mystery, and the occasional romance novel.

Having said that, I did enjoy Project Hail Mary immensely. It is hard to talk about this book without revealing spoilers. I’ll just say that it’s about a middle school science teacher who finds himself alone on a spaceship with amnesia. With that description alone, you should know that it is a story worth sticking around for to see how it ends.

Here are the things I loved about the book. The bromance between the main characters with their banter, quirks, and sense of humor made me feel like I was right there in the room as this relationship came to be.

Okay, spoiler alert – he isn’t exactly alone.

Also, while much of the story takes place in outer space, there are flashbacks to unravel the mystery of how this teacher wound up in outer space in the first place. I loved this particular storyline and might consider re-reading the book just to see what hints it may have dropped along the way that I missed. By the way, I also loved the ending – which was incredibly satisfying.

I’m glad I listened to the book on Audible because the narrator was so entertaining and kept me engaged even though I found the scientific aspects somewhat exhausting. Every time there was a problem, it took a lot of trial and error, circular logic, and self-talk for the main character to arrive at the solution.

If you have Project Hail Mary on your TBR list, I’d recommend it for the sci-fi fans and even for readers like me who like their stories to be from this galaxy. Amaze! Amaze!

The Personal Librarian

Back here on Earth, I love historical fiction. The Personal Librarian hits all the right notes. The brilliant Belle da Costa Greene is the personal librarian to American financier J.P. Morgan – a lover of the written word. Belle travels the world, securing rare manuscripts, books, and artwork to build an incredible collection. But, she has a secret that she is keeping from everyone – including Mr. Morgan. Belle is a Black woman passing as white. As she mingles with socialites and secures treasures for the library, she must tread carefully so that her true identity is never discovered. If her secret were revealed, the effects would be devastating to her career, her life, and her family.

Historical fiction is at its best when the books are well-researched, and the characters are fully developed. I didn’t know much about J.P. Morgan and had never heard of Bella da Costa Greene before picking up this book. By the end of it, I wanted to know more. I’m seriously considering picking up a nonfiction book about the life of Ms. Greene because she is that fascinating.

The story behind the writing of this book is also equally captivating. Co-written by Marie Benedict – who has written other books about strong but little-known women in history – and Victoria Christopher Murray – one of the country’s top African-American authors, these women are just as impressive as the book itself. If you read this book, do not skip the author notes from each of them.

I can’t recommend it highly enough, and if you read it, I’d love to discuss it with you.

Independent Bookstores

Zibby Owens is a podcaster for “Moms Don’t Have Time To Read.” She interviews authors, recommends terrific books, and supports indie bookstores. So much so that she has put out her 22 in 22 challenge, which is to visit 22 independent bookstores this year. As you know, I love indie bookstores, so this is the perfect challenge for me.

February is my birthday month, and I never work on my birthday. Instead, I drove to The Doylestown Bookshop and spent at least an hour combing through the stacks. I purchased four books, and because I am on their mailing list – I had a coupon for 20% off one title. Guess what – they took the discount off of the most expensive book! Happy birthday to me!

I love this bookstore because they have a large selection of bestsellers and backlist books. The nonfiction sections of the books are also well stocked, which is a bonus for me. If you have young children or teenagers, the children’s section and young adult books have plenty. And if you love jigsaw puzzles, they have an excellent selection in the back of the store.

The other bookstore I visited this month was The Story in Ardmore, PA. This place was more of a cafe than a bookstore. The coffee was excellent, but the shelves were quite limited. The prices were right – $5 for a paperback and $7 for a hardback. While it was nice to browse, I didn’t find anything I wanted that day – even with such low prices. Maybe next time.

I hope this inspires you to skip the big box booksellers and check out one of these stores instead. I’ll keep posting which ones I visit. Here is hoping I reach 22 books and 36 titles by the end of the year.

Happy Reading!

XO,

Elisa

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