A Book a Week – Being Mortal

I read Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End because it was a book club pick. I would never ever have read this one on my own. I just felt it was too morbid. I don’t like nonfiction often and will rarely choose to read it. So I resisted this one.

But I read it. And I am so glad I did.

It was a powerful, thought-provoking book that was incredibly worthwhile.

I’m told Gawande’s other books are wonderful too so maybe this is the sign I need to pick one up.

A Book a Week – Never Let Me Go

I read Never Let Me Go because I knew I would love another Ishiguro and I was not disappointed.

I have now read a literary fiction, a fantasy and a scifi from this author and every single one of them has been amazing. How is it possible for an author to seamlessly write so well across genres? It blows my mind.

If you haven’t read any Ishiguro, I’d still start with Remains of the Day but if you like scifi, this is your book.

It’s sad, beautiful and just exquisite writing.

A Book a Week – There’s Something I Want You to Do

I read There’s Something I Want You to Do because it was a book club pick. I rarely read short stories so it was a nice change of pace for me.

I wasn’t crazy about the book but I also didn’t hate it. If short stories are your thing, I think you might like it. Then again, if short stories are your thing, I would easily recommend Adam Haslett’s book first. It’s extraordinary.

But I am still not sad I read it.

A Book a Week – Enchanted

I read Enchanted because my friend Marcus’ wife wrote it.

How cool is it that I have friends who are writers? I love that so much.

I read this one in one breath. If fantasy is your cup of tea, I think you will like this book. It’s a quick read and I am looking forward to reading more of her books 🙂

A Book a Week – The Remains of the Day

I read The Remains of the Day because I picked it as our book club pick after reading Buried Giant and loving it last year.

And this might easily be one of my very favorite reads of 2016/2105. I loved every little bit of this book. I loved reading it, I loved listening to it. I loved everything about it.

Such exquisite writing.

Ishiguro is quickly becoming my very favorite author. I so wish he were more prolific.

Highly recommended.

A Book a Week – Maybe in Another Life

I read Maybe in Another Life because I read about it somewhere and it sounded lovely.

And it was.

I love the Sliding Doors movie and I loved the idea behind this book.

And it did not disappoint. I read it in one sitting, I cried. I loved it.

It’s light reading, it’s sweet, it’s relatively predictable (though not 100% which was a nice surprise for me.)

Lovely summer read.

A Book a Week – The Name of the Star

I’ve had so many of these book reviews on draft for months now, so I decided it’s better to write just a few words and post them than to keep sitting on them. Excuse my brevity.

I read The Name of the Star because of a random whim. I read about it somewhere and then jumped in.

It was a super fast read. I think I might have read it in one sitting. I loved it but not enough to feel compelled to read the next two. Maybe one day. If this is your cup of tea, it’s not bad. Recommended.

If not, there are many others to choose from in the world of books.

A Book a Week – The Wrath and the Dawn

I read The Wrath and the Dawn for my young adult book club. I would never ever have picked this book up in a million years and I will say that I absolutely, truly loved it. I loved the writing, the characters, the take on 1001 Arabian nights. It was all lush and beautiful and well told. I really enjoyed it so much. (In fact, I was lucky enough to just read the ARC of the sequel and I enjoyed it just as much which is rare and amazing.)

Loved this little gem.

A Book a Week – Mindspeak

I read Mindspeak due to a random whim of buying it on amazon. It looked like a fun plot and I was looking for something easy to read. And it’s been a while since I read it. Like a long while. So it’s time for a confession:

I don’t remember anything about this book.

I even read the blurb on amazon and while it stirred some tiny thoughts in my memory, I still can’t remember a thing. Literally.

Which I guess is all you need to know.

A Book a Week – First Frost

I read First Frost because it looked sweet. I was on a long flight and this was on my kindle. Once I started it I read it all the way through. I had never read this author before and I didn’t realize this was actually a sequel to a story she published before but it didn’t bother me one bit.

If sweet, a bit magical family stories are your thing and you’re looking for a relatively quick read, this one is recommended.

A Book a Week – The Last Time We Say Goodbye

I read The Last Time We Say Goodbye on a long flight. I wanted something simple, quick to read and this was it. Amazon kept recommending it and I knew it was going to be kind of a tear jerker. But I read it anyway. I don’t remember enough of it to tell you how great it was but I do remember it wasn’t bad. Nothing amazing either.

A good book for a long flight.

A Book a Week – Mosquitoland

I read Mosquitoland because it looked really interesting. I didn’t know the premise as well as I should have and it’s indeed a heavy subjectmatter (as much of YA lately) but I still read it all in one sitting. I found myself hooked into the story, attached to the main character and even though there is a lot of disturbing content, I didn’t want to put it down.

There were a few books that came out around this time that I read in a row and each of them left an impression on me. Mosquitoland was definitely one of them.