Books I Read This Week 2017 – 31

I read a bunch of books this week but most of them were short. I started my week with The Reason You’re Alive which was wonderful. Matthew Quick is so good at creating memorable characters.

Then I read Words in Deep Blue and  When Dimple Met Rishi, two very different YA novels but both about love. I enjoyed both of them.

I skipped a bunch of my queue and jumped to Watch Me Disappear hoping it would be a fast-paced novel and it was. I swallowed it up and it was okay in the end.

I then read A Beautiful, Terrible Thing knowing it was going to be sad and it was but it was also a bit annoying. 

I’d started Normal a while back but never got into it. I finally finished it this week but I will say that I still didn’t fully get into it.

I ended it with Who is Rich which was better than I thought though I wouldn’t say I loved it.

Here’s to more books next week!


Books I Read this Week 2017 is a year-long project for 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.

Books I Read This Week 2017 – 30

I started my week with Sycamore which is sort of a mystery but really so much more. I really enjoyed this story.

Then I read What We Lose which was a quick read but also tough. I have mixed feelings about this story.

I was looking forward to reading We Are Okay which had been on hold for a long time and I loved loved this cover so much so I hoped the book wouldn’t disappoint. And it did not. I really enjoyed this, too.

I’d waited a long time to read All Grown Up too. I got lucky and found a copy at the library and read the entire book in one single sitting (as i took a bath even!) It was very good. (even if i disliked parts and characters.)

And finally it was time for some Pema Chodron again, so I grabbed Don’t Bite the Hook in my Overdrive queue and let myself bask in some of her wisdom and kindness again. Love her.

I finally enjoyed Hello, Sunshine which I knew would be a simple and easy read. It was and it was still enjoyable. 

Lovely week with fun books!


Books I Read this Week 2017 is a year-long project for 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.

Books I Read This Week 2017 – 29

True to my word of not reading as much, I read fewer books this week. I started with the short story from Stories of Your Life and Others that the movie Arrival was based off of. I then tried to read some of the other stories but that wasn’t working out so I decided to put it down.

Then I read The End of Men which is the book Maggie’s Plan is based on. It was an okay read but I don’t think it’s going to leave a permanent imprint on me in any way.

I was looking forward to reading Spoonbenders but it was so hard to listen to the story, so I decided to switch to reading and it made it a thousand times more enjoyable. I loved this story and I am so glad I stuck with it. 

And finally it was time for some Pema Chodron, so I grabbed Making Friends with Your Mind in my Overdrive queue and let myself bask in some of her wisdom and kindness. Love her.

It felt good to slow down and enjoy the books this week.


Books I Read this Week 2017 is a year-long project for 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.

Books I Read This Week 2017 – 28

 

 

 

 

 

 

I didn’t like Arundhati Roy’s previous book so I was determined not to pick up  Ministry of Utmost Happiness despite all the press about it. But then Amazon listed it as one of the best books of this year and for some reason that was the tipping point for me. I committed to reading it. I wish I hadn’t. Yes, it was well written. Yes, it was an important story and has valuable points/perspective/insights but it’s so brutal. So difficult. So tough. The story just got worse and worse and I couldn’t deal with it. I should have put it down. 

I then read The Shack which is stupid because I knew it was also very sad. and it didn’t disappoint on the sadness. I just couldn’t get past the dying of the girl. I was so sad as a mom and kept imagining the worse case. It was a good book, though and I’m also watching the movie, now.

I then moved on to Void Star which I’d checked out an returned several times previously. So I decided this was the time to actually read it. I will admit though that I was still on vacation and listened to this book a but half-focused. Nonetheless if science fiction is your thing, this one is a good read. 

I had also returned The Fifth Season a bazillion times so I decided to also buckle down and read it. I read it on my last day in Sydney and on the airplane. I retained probably half of this book and would have to read it again if I want to read the sequel. However, if fantasy is your genre, this one’s a winner.

I finally got to read Hunger after patiently reading the books that came before it on my queue. I had been wanting to read this book since I heard about it. I love Roxane Gay. I knew this book would be honest. And I knew it would be tough. I was right on both counts. But I was also wrong. It was much tougher than I thought. So so tough. I am glad i read it but if you get triggered, I would not recommend this one.

When I got back I dove into Fireworks because it’s the next book in our Young Adult book group. It was a super-fast read and I am glad I read it instead of listening to it. It was eh. 

Next on my library queue was F*ck Feelings. I started listening to it but quickly moved to book format because I knew i wanted to be able to jump around and only read the sections that were interesting to me. There was nothing new in this book for me.

I then listened to Windfall for something fun. It was okay. Not as fun as I hoped it would be but not bad either.

And I ended the week with Body Love, thanks to Ali. She’s been quoting Kelly’s book for a little while now so I decided to order it on my kindle and see how I felt. I already mentioned this one in the Nourish post yesterday so I won’t add more here.

A lot of reading this week. Hunger was the most profound one.


Books I Read this Week 2017 is a year-long project for 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.

Books I Read This Week 2017 – 27

I read good reviews about  Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore which was ok but not amazing. there was a bit of a twist and it wasn’t super annoying like many twists can be. So I liked it. 

I then read  You Don’t Look Your Age…and Other Fairy Tales. I knew nothing about Sheila Nevins but apparently she’s famous so this book is read by super-famous actresses. I really enjoyed the short, simple but poignant stories.

I then tried Dear Cyborgs which was a quick read but I can’t really tell you what it’s about. It was quite weird, even for me. Meh.

I read Allegra Goodman’s Cookbook Collector for bookclub in the past so I picked up The Chalk Artist which was okay. I enjoyed bits of it but overall it wasn’t really amazing.

And I ended the week with A House Among the Trees, my first Julia Glass novel. It was okay. Not amazing but not bad either.

A bunch of not amazing reads this week. Bleh.


Books I Read this Week 2017 is a year-long project for 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.

Books I Read This Week 2017 – 26

I read The Bright Hour on the airplane to Sydney. It was sad but beautiful and I really enjoyed it. It also reminded me to be grateful for my life. More and more.

I then read Do Not Become Alarmed without knowing much about it. I’d read Meloy’s short stories years ago and they were sad. This book wasn’t as sad but it was still really sad and I am not sure that I am glad I read it.

I knew nothing about Meredith Maran but Anne Lammot has a blurb on the cover and I love her so I checked out  The New Old Me. It was okay. It made me feel hopeful but it definitely wasn’t as wonderful as Anne Lammot’s non-fiction. To be fair, that’s a really high bar.

I then read The Answers but it was really weird. I kept thinking about putting it down the whole time. But I didn’t. In the end I am not sure I liked it. Interesting in places but not worth all the time in the end.

Can’t wait to read some great books again.


Books I Read this Week 2017 is a year-long project for 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.

Books I Read This Week 2017 – 25

I really enjoyed Standard Deviation as a pleasant surprise. It was sweet, easy and yet not simple. A lovely book.

I then read Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team for book club at work. I enjoyed this book even more than the original “Five Dysfunctions of a Team” and found the practical tips to be fantastic.

I had a bunch of other books waiting but I decided to read Touch which which was really lovely and endearing and a quick, easy read. 

I finished White Fur on the airplane. I am not sure what I think of it. Mixed feelings, I guess. I will have to sit with it for a while and then see how I feel.

Not many this week and I expect the next few weeks will be the same. 


Books I Read this Week 2017 is a year-long project for 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.

Books I Read This Week 2017 – 24

 

 

 

 

I read The Barrowfields because I’d already returned it to the library once and didn’t want to again. It was an interesting and worthwhile story but it’s not at the top of my list for 2017.

i read almost no non-fiction last week so this week I read four! It started with Radical Candor which I loved. I don’t manage people and I had checked this out before and returned it but this time I decided I wanted to give it a try and it was very interesting, thought provoking and worthwhile. I passed it on to a few managers 🙂

I moved on to Chemistry which was wonderful. Very different in style and challenging to listen on audio. But I liked it. It was very sad at parts and very lovely in others.

On a whim, I ordered Craft a Life You Love this week. I am not a follower of Amy Tangerine, I only knew a tiny bit about her and while I like her style, it’s different enough from mine that I didn’t really feel a strong connection to her. I am so glad I got the book. It was awesome. I really really loved it. I loved the thoughtfulness around it. I loved all her ideas, stories, writing. It was a great book and related to so much more than crafting. I am so glad for this random purchase!

I then read No Time Like the Present. So many lessons here for me and I wanted more so I moved on to Bodhisattva Mind. Pema Chodron is amazing. And she was no less amazing here than usual. These two books made for a very thoughtful but peaceful Saturday.

And finally, A Million Junes which I loved. Lovely magical realism. Sweet story. I really enjoyed this one.

here’s to another great week of reading, especially on the airplane!


Books I Read this Week 2017 is a year-long project for 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.

Books I Read This Week 2017 – 23

I had loved Graeme Simsion’s first novel so I grabbed The Best of Adam Sharp when I saw it on the library list. It was nothing like the Rosie Project and it wasn’t even funny. However, I still liked it. It was thought provoking and an enjoyable story.

I then moved on to Golden State which had been in my list for some time. It was supposed to be a prescient novel written about the times and about California wanting to secede. It was in fact, a personal story about a VA doctor and her patient and also her sister and her husband. It was okay. 

I moved on to Tenth of December which is our next book club read. I had attempted this short story collection and put it down. This time I made it all the way through and I loved a few of the stories but it’s still not really my style. I think I don’t have enough of a sense of humor.

I had also wanted to read Miranda July’s The First Bad Man for quite some time. I have conflicting feelings about this story. In the end, I am glad I read it but it was not an easy read for me.

I then decided to take on something light. So I chose The Heirs which was indeed quick and light and enjoyable. 

Trajectory was coming up due in my list and I decided to give it one more try. Short stories are a hit or miss for me but I enjoyed this collection. I tend to like stories that take place on a college campus. 

I then moved to Ramona Blue which is a Young Adult book. I hadn’t read her previous one and I knew it came with mixed reviews. This one was okay except for one paragraph that really resonated with me and ended up making the whole book that much more meaningful for me. It’s random and amazing where you might find something that changes your whole perspective on life.

I didn’t feel like reading any non-fiction this week, even though I have 12 checked out from the library. Maybe next week I’ll be more in the mood.


Books I Read this Week 2017 is a year-long project for 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.

Books I Read This Week 2017 – 22

 

 

 

 

I started this week with New Boy. It’s a retelling of Othello and it’s one of the few Shakespeare books I haven’t read. This is one of the series of retellings like the Anne Tyler one that came out last year. This particular story takes place in middle school and is about racism. It was a short, powerful read.

I then moved on to One Day We’ll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter because I was looking forward to it and it didn’t disappoint. I’ve read a few books like this, this year, and I’ve liked all of them.

I moved on to Loving What Is. I’ve read Byron Katie before and I knew what to expect but it was still worth it. This is the kind of book I need to read once a year. I need to think, journal, process, learn, and relearn all of this. I find her work to be one of the easiest and most powerful.

I was conflicted about reading House of Names which is a retelling of the story of Clytemnestra (which I didn’t know.) I kept wanting to stop reading it but I didn’t. It was about revenge. About how things go so wrong. It was a tough read, for me.

I then moved on to Woman No. 17 which I also wasn’t sure about reading. But it was much easier to read than The House of Names. Though I didn’t love it. It had a few interesting bits but overall I am so done reading these stories about these women. Characters I can’t connect with, stories I can’t relate to, people I don’t like.

Then I grabbed Startup thinking it would be light and fun. It wasn’t. It was a mess. It was too cartoonish. I wish someone would write a smart novel about the current Silicon Valley culture. Not something sensationalist but something interesting, thought-provoking and worthwhile. But alas, maybe that won’t happen.

I kept picking up One of the Boys and putting it down. I knew I was going to be so sad. And I was. it was so sad. I am not glad I read it. 

My library just got in Giant Steps even though it’s an old old book. I didn’t realize it was a 365-day book and it was weird on audio but it was great. So great that I put the actual book on hold at the library so I can read it again. It was thought provoking and promises some amazing journaling questions, I think.

And my last book was Ferris’ short story collection: The Dinner Party. There was one story I really liked called The Breeze, I enjoyed several others but short stories are always tough for me. I am glad I stuck with this one.

I guess this was another week of okay books but not many great books. Here’s to hoping next week is better.


Books I Read this Week 2017 is a year-long project for 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.

Books I Read This Week 2017 – 21

I started this week with Garden of Small Beginnings. It was cute and sweet but didn’t really fill me up. I am not sorry I read it but I could have done fine without it, too.

I then moved on to Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine which I’d read was like the Ove books but even though I did like it, I don’t think it was as lovely as the grandmother one I read a few weeks ago. I sort of guessed the small twist in the end but all in all it was okay.

I then picked up The Dance of Anger because it had been a while since my last Lerner. I liked this book. I need to listen to it again and I know I will learn more each time.

I then moved on to The Boy on the Bridge which is a prequel to The Girl with All the Gifts which was such a sweet, lovely surprise of a book. This one was different, more science-focused for most of it but in the end it was a lot about what it means to be human. I liked it.

I then moved on to The Light we Lost which was an okay book but I am not sure the time I spent on it was worthwhile. I sort of guessed the ending of this one, too.

And finally, the next book in line from the library was Windfall. It was okay but also not amazing. 

I guess this was a week of okay books but not many great books. Here’s to hoping next week is better.


Books I Read this Week 2017 is a year-long project for 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.

Books I Read This Week 2017 – 20

I started this week with The Book of Joy. This book is one I have to read again and again. Lessons here are wonderful. All of it thought-provoking. I am so grateful for these two amazing people and for a book that captures a bit of them.

I then moved on to Beartown which I knew very little about and in the end it ended up being a tough book to read. But it was very well done and I am glad I read it. Even though it was tough and sad.

I then picked up Ginny Moon which I also knew nothing about. This cute, sweet book was also frustrating at times and I wanted to kick some of the adults in it. But it was one I didn’t regret reading.

I had a lot of books checked out from the library but I wanted to read The Leavers even though it wasn’t next on my check-out list. This book is so layered and there are so many subjects the author tackles. But the one that resonated the most with me was about belonging because it’s something I grapple with a lot. I loved it.

I was so looking forward to Men without Women too since I love, adore Murakami. I love him. Have I mentioned I love him? Even though I don’t love short stories, I still wanted to see if I could like this. And while I don’t love all of the stories, I really liked several of them and I’ll take whatever Murakami I can get.

I am in this weird space where I have a lot of books checked out but many of them aren’t speaking to me so we’ll see what happens this week.


Books I Read this Week 2017 is a year-long project for 2017. You can read more about my projects for 2017 here.