Everything I Read in October
2022 Book Goal- 52 books in 52 weeks
Current status- 43 books (and right on target!)
I had high hopes for October! While the weather was generally peak fall and gorgeous, this month flew by in a blur of busyness. Work seems to be a constant state of feeling overwhelmed and as soon as one thing is crossed off my to-do list, two more things are added. As you can imagine in sans-mask school life, germs, bugs, and illness is everywhere. It finally caught up with me at the end of the month. I am hopeful things are turning a corner for November and December! In November, I have some fun plans for a vineyard day and friends visiting and December brings my birthday, the holidays, and a trip to Austin! I’m keeping my eye on the prize to stay motivated. Despite the insanity of October, I did manage to read 4 books- 1 suspense, 1 memoir, and 2 books based on relationships. Enough of my whining about work, let’s talk about these books….
Local Woman Missing- Mary Kubica
It is no secret if you regularly read my book posts, but I LOVE a good suspense book! Local Woman Missing repeatedly showed up on book recommendation lists, and I fell prey to its constant exposure. While the premise sounds familiar and over done (a mother of 2 children disappears and her family is looking for answers), I 1000% did not predict the ending. It was full of twists and questions, which held my attention to the end!
I’m Glad My Mom Died- Jennette McCurdy
I have to admit…I did not know who Jennette McCurdy was and I certainly was too old for the iCarly tv era, so this was not a likely choice for me. However, the book cover seemed to pop up everywhere I turned. Walking through a small bookstore in Richmond last month, I stumbled upon this book for the 100x time. At this point, I decided by the title alone that it was worth a try! I am so glad that I purchased this memoir, because this is the book I can’t stop thinking about. Jennette was a teen television star, who got pushed into acting by her mother when she was in elementary school. While well-intentioned (that is a generous description), her mother was emotionally abusive, introduced and reinforced an eating disorder to her daughter, and pushed her to act to support the family. Jennette is raw, honest, and self-deprecating as she highlights the struggles she faced in adulthood as a result of her upbringing. Yet this isn’t a story of sadness, it truly highlights her resiliency and the journey of healing. This might be my MUST READ of 2022!
It Starts with Us- Colleen Hoover
It Starts with Us was my most anticipated book for 2022! If you are a Colleen Hoover fan, this is the follow up to one of her most beloved books, It Ends with Us. Told from Atlas and Lily’s perspective, this continuation was focused on how they reconnected and fell back in love despite distance and other surmounting odds. While I didn’t love this sequel as much as the original, this felt like the heart-warming piece that I needed in a hard month!
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow- Gabrielle Zevin
Ugh, I hate ending on a so-so note, but I reviewed these books in the order that I read them and this one just didn’t do it for me! I strive to be honest on this blog, so in the spirit of full disclosure, this book came way over hyped in my humble opinion! The premise is based on 2 friends, who bond over their shared passion of video games and become partners in creating/producing games as adults. I appreciated that this book didn’t follow your stereotypical format of a friendship turning into love; however, it largely dragged on to make a point. I may have a rare negative opinion of this piece, because it seems to be written up everywhere. It just was a no for me!
I love writing these book review posts, since it gives me an opportunity to share my passion for reading! I hope you discover a great recommendation from these posts and find yourself curled up with a great book this fall!
xoxo,
L