Posts Tagged ‘#booklists’

My 2022 Book Report

“Never trust anyone who hasn’t brought a book with them,” – Lemony Snicket

Reading seems to be a topic of conversation at the end of the year. I’ve seen a lot of fancy collages with book covers and articles about the “best books of the year.” Many of the same titles appear on everyone’s list. Other books are new to me. And my biggest problem is that my TBR list is growing exponentially.

I set my Goodreads goal for 40 books in 2023, but I’d like to hit 50 titles by this time next year. And because I have so many unread books, I’ve made myself a promise that half of the books I read next year will be from my current stacks.

As for 2022, I read 33 books—19 nonfiction (lots of memoirs) and 14 fiction. Here are some of my favorites.

Fiction

The Tobacco Wives, by Adele Myers – I love history and reading, 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 also love diving into a book with strong female characters set in a time period that I’ve never explored. This is that kind of 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, share what she knows, or take a stand against corporate greed, risk her livelihood, and more. In addition to this book being a five-star read for me, 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 plays a huge role in how this all shakes out. The author’s note was just as enjoyable to read as the book, so don’t skip it.

The Violin Conspiracy, by Brendan Slocumb – Hands down, this was my favorite fiction book for 2022. When people asked me what they should read next, I pressed this title into their hands. The main character, Ray, is a violinist with his most prized possession stolen from him—a $10 million Stradivarius—the night before the world’s largest classical music competition. There are several suspects and few witnesses to the crime. Did someone in his family steal it for the money? Did a rival family take it because they think it rightfully belongs to them?

I’m not going to tell you. 🙂  But, if you are looking for a well-written mystery with a side order of family drama, this is an excellent book.

Black Cake, by Charmaine Wilkerson – Last year, I wanted to read a book from the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) community. The hot book was “The Other Black Girl,” but I DNF’d it (did not finish) after reading about 2/3 of the book. Instead, I kept looking until I found this wonderful novel. Two estranged siblings come home upon the death of their mother and find she left them an eight-hour recording retelling her life story and a traditional black cake in the freezer. Her children are instructed to listen to the tapes together and share the black cake before they go their separate ways. What unfolds is an amazing story full of friendship, family, betrayals, secrets, and, yes, murder.

Nonfiction

You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories about Racism, by Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar – If you watch the late-night talk shows, you know Amber Ruffin. She is one of the writers on Late Night with Seth Myers. And I think she is hilarious and brilliant. She first caught my attention during the pandemic with her Easter Quarantine Parade video and her “Amber Says What” segments. Amber and her sister Lacey tell incredibly absurd, shocking, and sadly true stories about their everyday experiences with racism. Please do me and yourself a favor, and buy this title as an audiobook. The sisters have a wonderful banter and bond that adds so much to your reading experience. And if you like this book, there is also a sequel.

Bomb Shelter: Love, Time, and Other Explosives by Mary Laura Philpott – I loved this author’s first book, “I Miss You When I Blink,” so I knew this would be excellent. I feel a close connection with this author because she shares my sense of humor, level of parental anxiety, and positive outlook on life. We are both middle age and have two college-age children. We are both trying our best to support them and guide them without interfering in their lives which is a thin line to walk sometimes. Her musings about motherhood and marriage validate my choices while also looking optimistically at the future. The other thing I liked about this memoir was the format she used. It isn’t often that a memoir is written in personal essay form – almost like a blog post. Each chapter tells a different story, and they don’t necessarily connect to each other or follow a timeline. But she weaves together a relatable series of moments that any woman of a certain age (or man, for that matter) would be unable to put down.

Unbelievable: My Front-Row Seat to the Craziest Campaign in American History, by Katy Tur – I’m a bit of a political junkie and a Democrat. (If you are a fan of the former president, feel free to skip this book review). For the rest of you, Katy Tur gives the most riveting account of her time covering the Trump campaign in 2016. She documents his inconsistencies, outright lies and attempts to charm and intimidate her. Her stories are true to the title of her book, unbelievable.

What are some of your favorite books from last year? I’m sure my TBR has room for an

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

December Book Report

If you said to me that I would finish reading 30 books this year, I would have said you were insane. I mean – I do have a life, you know, outside of reading. I have kids, a job, a home, a husband, a dog, friends, family, etc. When will I ever find the time to read 30 books?

Oh, who am I kidding? Apparently, if I cut out enough Netflix and doom-scrolling, I can carve out the time to read. So, I did just that.


I looked back to see what exactly I had read. Turns out, I finished 11 non-fiction – mostly memoirs – and 19 novels. I listened to seven books on Audible, read nine on my Kindle, and the rest were actual books from my bookshelf or local library. I DNF’d two books but only counted one of them in my total because I read most of it before I gave up completely.

It didn’t seem like I read this many books, so I’m glad I kept track of them. Otherwise, I may not have believed it myself.

Honestly, it isn’t about the number of books I read but the quality of the books and what brought to my life. I’ve enjoyed each story immensely, and I have no regrets for passing on both seasons of Ted Lasso to snuggle up with a good book. Although, I’ve heard it’s an excellent show.

This month, I read two books.

The Plot, by Jean Hanff Korelitz

It is so nice to end the year with a five-star read! This book had a lot of hype around it which always makes me suspicious. I’ve read rave reviews, and too often, the book doesn’t live up to the press it gets. I was more than pleasantly surprised when this book delivered the goods. The Plot centers around author/writing instructor Jacob Finch Bonner, a struggling writer who still hopes to write a bestselling novel someday and enjoy all the fame, fortune, love, and admiration that success brings. His last few attempts fell short of this goal, so he decided to teach at a third-rate MFA program in New England. When one of his students tells him about his story idea that will be a sure thing, Jake is envious and resigns himself to his mundane lifestyle.

But, when the student unexpectedly dies, Jake sees the opportunity to tell (a.k.a. steal) the storyline for himself. This fateful decision brings him the life he always dreamed of, along with a nightmare of epic proportions. This thriller is quite the page-turner, and although I did figure out the twist halfway through, I had to know how it ends.

This is a book that is not to be missed. Trust me.

How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be

New Years’ resolutions rarely work out for me (except for when it comes to my reading goals 🙂 ). I have high hopes but rarely commit to a long-term plan to cross the finish line. I’ve read plenty of books and articles about forming sustainable habits and staying motivated, but they haven’t moved me enough to succeed. This book was different.

Wharton professor, Katy Milkman, tackles six reasons one may fail to achieve their goals – impulsivity, procrastination, forgetfulness, laziness, confidence, and conformity. In each chapter, she offers up compelling stories and examples with solid science and evidence showing how each of these obstacles can get in the way of reaching our full potential. Sometimes, these books contain so much science that I lose interest. Other authors tend to tell stories without a valid point. Milkman gives just the right amount of everything and makes a good case for turning each of these negatives into a positive way to make a change.

I’m not big on re-reading books, but I know I will refer back to this one frequently as I try once again to finally achieve some lofty goals.

What’s Next?

I have three books in the queue for January. The first is one that my sister has recommended to me – Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir. I’ve had it downloaded in Audible to listen to since October. But, the book is over 500 pages long, which equates to about 18 hours of listening time. In addition to it being a big book, it is also science fiction which is not a genre I usually read. However, I’ve heard great things about the story, and I’m up for the challenge.

The next book is for neighborhood book club – We Are Not Like Them, by Christine Pride and Jo Piazza. This novel has made the rounds on some of the bookish podcasts I listen to, and I’m looking forward to diving into it.

The third book I want to read is Inheritance by Danni Shapiro. This memoir is about a woman who takes a genetic test for fun and learns that the man she has called dad her entire life is not her birth father. This book has been on my TBR list for quite some time.

A final word…

This is the part of my blog where I encourage you to shop at an independent bookstore of your choice. While I regularly support a few different bookstores, I have also been feeding the Amazon beast by downloading cheap titles on my Kindle. I’m not proud of it, and I wanted to come clean.

I feel much better now. Indie bookstores are still my favorite places to shop for books, but the lethal combination of convenience and affordability are too tempting. I still hope you shop at indies as I do. They need our support, and a bookseller’s recommendations are invaluable – but nobody’s perfect.

Wishing you a happy and healthy 2022!

XO,
Elisa

1 2 3 4 5