Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Tuesday Check-In



Dear Reader,

I managed to finish two whole books last Thursday, what a red-letter day!  Both about 3 stars for me, I think.

FINISHED:

The Goldfinch turned out, ultimately, to be severely disappointing. It started off amazingly, and I couldn't put it down. What promise! What great characters! (Loved Boris!) But...it lost me about midway through, and then I just couldn't wait to be done with the thing. Too much pointless introspection at the end, which I kind of just half-listened to. For some reason, I just couldn't seem to muster up any interest in Theo's life when he was in his thirties. Blah. It's too bad, because Tartt really is a great writer, but her stories always seem to fall flat for me. I think it's going to take a lot to convince me to read another from her.

The House We Grew Up In was a nice little diversion; more of a light read about a dysfunctional family, stories of which always intrigue me. This book outlined a bunch of memorable characters that made up this family which really fell apart one awful day in the early 2000s, and it took them decades to find their way back to each other, to forgive, to understand, to accept each other again. It was a good diversion read when I couldn't get into my heavier books (read: when I was nursing my daughter at 5 in the morning!).


CURRENTLY READING:

So I've since begun two new books to replace those above. The first is Trevor Noah's autobiography, Born a Crime, which I freaking LOVE. I knew it got good ratings, but I still wasn't sure I was going to like it as much as I do! Oh, my goodness. You'll be sold once you get to the pooping part, hah! Having him narrate his own story is really enjoyable to listen to. And he's just got just a great storyteller's personality. I would recommend this to anyone & everyone.

And the other is My Not So Perfect Life, which I received a ARC of free in the mail - it's my replacement "light read." I haven't read Sophie Kinsella before, but she's typically "chick lit", right? Well, I could use a good, fun, girly read - and I like that this one points out that the grass isn't always greener. It came out in early February, so of course I'm already too late for a preview review, but...ah, c'est la vie. I have barely cracked the cover on this one, though, so I'll let you know whether I will stick with it.

I'm almost done with The Power of Habit, which has been really very enjoyable. I'm still upset, though, by the story about the woman who gambled away everything she had just because she was - Oh, poor me! - a bored housewife. I get that she had a problem that she couldn't control once she was in really deep, but...why did she have to go to the casino in the first place?! What I wouldn't give to have some down time to get chores done, much less more time to pursue all of my interests! She could have taken a class, joined the PTA, started going to the gym, read a freaking book! Man, her story infuriated me. Which, I know was the point - the author draws an interesting parallel between her story and that of a man who murdered his wife while sleepwalking (the horror!). But, still. I found myself yelling at my audiobook in the car all too often while the narrator was relaying her story.

ON DECK:
I'm trying to read more for Black History month. I know it technically ends today, but I feel I didn't get to read enough for it, so I'm going to personally continue it for a while longer. Any must-read suggestions??

Also, I've got to read My Name is Lucy Barton for my book club - I really haven't been keeping up with my book club, and I miss it! That's queued up to follow The Power of Habit.

Well, I'm off to go pick up 1491 for a bit. Happy reading!

Yours,
Arianna


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