Category: Romance

January 2020 Book Roundup

On By onehappybookwormIn Fiction, Historical Fiction, Lists, Memoirs, Nonfiction, RomanceLeave a comment

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The beginning of the year is always a time to reflect on the previous year and set intentions for the new year, but as usual I’m a little late to that party. I do know how many books I read in 2019 (38) and that only a fraction of them were nonfiction (25%), and both of those numbers mean that I missed my targets (40 and 50% respectively). But the fun thing about reading is that it’s a hobby so it doesn’t matter at all what those numbers are! The only downside to reading fewer books is that my to-read list has grown exponentially faster than the number of books I’m capable of finishing; my list spreadsheet is currently sitting at 351. Oops.

On the upside, I started off strong in January and finished 5 books! This is thanks in part to being sick over a weekend and spending a solid chunk of time on airplanes last month, but I’ll take the win. On top of that, three of them were nonfiction, so if I keep up this trend then I will surpass my goals from last year. I guess we’ll see how long this momentum lasts…

Anyway, my first book of 2020 was In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson. Larson has a special place in my bookworm heart because his The Devil in the White City was the first nonfiction book that I absolutely loved. Thanks to him I had the courage to step out of the familiar literature section of the bookstore, and it’s been an amazing journey ever since. Unfortunately, I didn’t love Beasts as much as White City, but I found it an interesting albeit dark read. It follows a year of events in Berlin starting in 1933, with the focus centered on the US ambassador to Germany and his adult daughter. From a history perspective, it provided more details on specific events and attitudes of various people in the beginning of Hitler’s rise to power. It was eerie to read some of the accounts when I knew what hell and horror awaited the world over the next ten years, but that dark edge is what I enjoyed most in the book. What I didn’t like was that a lot of the source material was based on journals, letters, and unfinished manuscripts, so I felt like I had to read everything with a critical eye and that there might be more to the story that I was missing. Maybe that’s just a byproduct of living in the fake news era, or maybe that just means I’ve grown to be a more critical reader. Also, I didn’t care for the ambassador’s daughter. Had I been alive in 1933 I’m pretty sure we would not have been friends.

Moving on to (fictional) people that I would want to be friends with, my second book of the year was The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes. I really enjoyed this book, which was surprising to me because I was expecting it to be a bit of a dud after all the press it received ahead of publication. It follows a small group of women who run a mobile library in the backwoods of Kentucky, despite facing personal hardships and ire from many of the people in their community. The plotline was a bit much (it covered everything from marital problems and illegitimate children to natural disasters and racy courtroom trials) but the characters at its heart made it worthwhile. I think each of the women, but especially Alice and Margery, were very well flushed-out and felt like they could be real people. I felt connected to their challenges and was totally invested in wanting to know how their stories ended.

Third on my list was Call Them by Their True Names by Rebecca Solnit. This collection of essays fell a little flat for me, but I think that was based more on my attitude and interest rather than the quality of writing. I had been so looking forward to reading this in December, but by the time I started it in January I wasn’t as into it. I enjoyed how Solnit presented her views; she discusses the linguistics of the Trump era and challenges incorrect uses of language to highlight problems in our current society. However, I found myself skimming some of the essays rather than really reading them. I just didn’t feel drawn to what I was reading in the way I thought I would. I think I’ll pick this collection up again at some point in the future, I want to give it a fair shot when I’m more in the mood for this type of content.

Next up on my reading list was How to Stop Time by Matt Haig, which was a little out of left field for me. This is one of those rare books that magically appeared in my life without ever landing on my epic to-read list. I found it in the laundry room in my apartment building. There’s an area where people sometimes leave unwanted items (pots, fans, old Christmas decorations, etc.) and one day I saw a book on the pile. I grabbed it without really looking at it, and it’s been sitting on my shelf for months. When I was sick for a few days I wanted to read something light and fluffy, so I picked it up again. It’s about a man who ages incredibly slowly- he was born in the 1500’s but looks to be about 40 in the 21st century. He’s part of a society of people like him, and their purpose seems to be to live, keep their lives secret, and limit interactions with regular humans. The novel covers his growing disillusionment with the society, his inner conflict about a potential love, and his desperate attempt to find his daughter from his first marriage in the late 16th century. It was a fun sci-fi/romance/history hybrid and was the perfect light read for a sick day.

The last book I read in January was anything but light, but it was easily the best that I read last month and might be my best book of 2020 (yeah, I’m calling it early). The book was Know My Name by Chanel Miller, and damn did I feel things. Chanel was the woman who was sexually assaulted while unconscious by Brock Turner- you know, the piece-of-shit former Stanford student who was found guilty and convicted of sexual assault yet was only sentenced to 6 months in prison because apparently his skin color, wealth status, swimming accomplishments, and male gender made him more important than minimum recommended sentences for sexual assault felons. Chanel, known at the time only as Emily Doe, wrote a profound victim impact statement that was published on Buzzfeed and instantly went viral. I can remember reading it in my office at my old job and feeling like I was punched in the gut. She held nothing back. In many ways her book is an expansion on that original statement. My physical reactions were just as intense; I couldn’t read more than a chapter at a time because I had to get up and move around, try to let out the rage and despair that she had to experience this, that she’s not alone, that 1 of 6 American women are victims of rape or attempted rape, that there are millions of people right now at this very moment grappling with the same reality, and that again and again and again our society says that if you are a white male your life and future opportunities and value as a human being are worth infinitely more than a woman’s. It is impossible for me to accurately describe the undercurrent of fury buzzing through my veins, but Chanel does an amazing job of capturing her emotions and walking us step-by-step through her experience. I could probably go on forever about this book and how much it made me feel and how important her message is, but instead I’ll just end my rant and say that this should be required reading. It’s a fierce criticism of our society and the systems and processes that are designed to protect us but often fail, yet it’s also a personal and eye-opening account of triumph and hope.

Looking forward to February, there are a few Russia-related books on my radar, a novel about immigration and motherhood, a book on feminism and equality, and possibly a classic adventure novel if I’m able to maintain my current momentum. Cheers to 2020, it’s been off to a great start!

 

Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld

On By onehappybookwormIn Fiction, RomanceLeave a comment

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I was super excited to read Eligible this month. Originally, I was planning on reading it before I read The Argonauts, but I was afraid that if I pushed The Argonauts back then I would never actually read it. Like I mentioned in my previous post, The Argonauts was a struggle. And I’m not going to lie- part of the motivation pushing me through was knowing that I had Eligible waiting for me.

I guess I should start by saying that I loved Pride and Prejudice. I was in middle school when I read it for the first time. It was one of the assigned summer reading books for my older brother’s English class, and I had always loved to read, so I found myself picking it up one night when he ignored it for the umpteenth time. It’s hard to describe how I felt reading it that first time, because it seems now as if I have always known and loved the story. I’m thumbing through my copy now, and the pages are yellow and musty (don’t you love the smell of old books?!) and most of the pages have creases where I folded them down, and there are most definitely coffee stains, and the careful underlining of passages in pen made by my brother, and my handwritten notes in pencil when it was time for me to read it for school… I can’t count how many times I’ve read this book, curled up in the corner seat of my parents’ couch or in my college dorm room or first apartment. It’s like an old friend, a well-worn companion that has been with me for over twelve years now.

Needless to say, I was excited when I first heard about Eligible. I was anxious to see how Sittenfeld would modernize the story. How would the Bennets and Bingleys fit into the crazy, modern world we call the 21st century? Pride and Prejudice had always seemed timeless to me, but was it really? I was also a bit nervous- part of the appeal of Pride and Prejudice was Austen’s voice, satirical and clever yet also proper and enchanting. With a different author, there would be a different voice, and would part of the appeal of the story be lost in the change?

Well, I needn’t have worried. Eligible was as perfect as I think it possibly could be. Somehow, Sittenfeld was able to keep the witty tone that Austen had mastered. And the characters were just as dear as they always had been, just a little different. The characters are older (or at least the Bennet girls seem to be about ten years older than their Pride and Prejudice counterparts), Bingley and Darcy are doctors (Darcy’s a neurosurgeon!), and Kitty and Lydia are seemingly egocentric millennial. Eligible also managed to include many aspects of modern society, from seemingly trivial topics like the Crossfit craze and online dating to more serious subject matter like the in vitro fertilization process and transgender relationships.

One of the changes between Pride and Prejudice and Eligible was the portrayal of Lydia’s story. In Pride and Prejudice, it seemed like she never really grew up and continued to be the immature and selfish young girl throughout the whole story. In Eligible, I was happy to see that she did change throughout the novel. She definitely didn’t make a major transformation, but there were some small changes that I identified as character improvements. As I’m writing this now, though, I’m wondering if I’m reflecting on Lydia more positively in Eligible because it’s easier for me to relate to the modern version. It’s not that I identify more with Lydia; I think it’s just a matter of having a better understanding of her experiences.

Probably the most notable difference between Pride and Prejudice and Eligible (other than the time period) is the setting. Eligible takes place in present-day Cincinnati, which really sets the tone of the novel. It felt like Liz spent just as much time and effort trying to defend the city as her hometown as she did trying to stand up for her family in the eyes of Darcy and the Bingleys. Personally, I loved that aspect of the story. I’m from Pittsburgh, so I understand what it’s like to grow up and live in a former industrial city that’s not quite as glamorous as places like New York or Los Angeles. It can be annoying (and sometimes pretty infuriating) when people are quick to judge and criticize the place that I call home. It was nice to read that Liz, despite living in New York for so long, still appreciated Cincinnati for what it is, and felt the need to defend it when necessary.

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Pittsburgh- I can’t resist a little bit of hometown pride 🙂

Basically, I loved Eligible. I really did. I’m trying to think of a nice way to wrap this post up and summarize my thoughts, but all I can think is that I just liked this book so much. There really isn’t much more I can say other than it was absolutely great and if you liked Pride and Prejudice then you would probably like Eligible. Curtis Sittenfeld deserves a lot of credit for writing such a superb modern version. This book is definitely being added to my list of favorites, and I know that I’ll be re-reading it sometime soon.

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

On By onehappybookwormIn Fiction, RomanceLeave a comment

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Earlier this year, on “Galentines Day,” I went to see the movie How To Be Single with my friend Elizabeth. It was a classic girls day out- we had brunch then split a bag of extra-butter popcorn at the movie theater. Now you should know that I don’t go to the movies often (one of my exes insisted on going every week, and I’ve been mildly disinterested ever since). I also don’t watch cable TV; and my Internet time is pretty much limited to reading the news, scrolling through my Facebook news feed, and updating this blog. So when I do actually go to a movie theater, I LOVE the previews. Usually the previews are the first time that I’ve ever heard of upcoming movies. So when Elizabeth and I went to see How To Be Single, one of the first previews was for Me Before You.

I have to admit, the preview made it look great. Daenerys Targaryen (aka Emilia Clarke) as the main character, an attractive (in my opinion) male lead, set in England, and an interesting plot- I mentally added it to my Movies I Might Actually Want To See list. When I went home after How To Be Single (which I highly recommend, by the way) I googled Me Before You and learned that it was based on a novel by Jojo Moyes. I added the book to my reading list right then, and I vowed to read it before the movie hit theaters. Since the movie is going to be released at the beginning of June, I included it in my May reading list so that the story would be fresh in my mind when I go see it.

I was really excited to read Me Before You. With the movie coming out, and so much hype around it, I had kind-of-high expectations. It sounded like the perfect romance novel, and I thought I was bound to like it. Unfortunately, however, it wasn’t what I thought it would be. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy the book, because I did devour it over the course of 24 hours and I still plan on seeing the movie as well as reading the sequel. I just didn’t really love it. It may be because there was so much hype; maybe I was expecting it to be a lot better than it ever really was. Or maybe it’s because for the most part I dislike mainstream contemporary romance novels. (As mentioned in a previous post, I really don’t enjoy anything by Nicholas Sparks, which is what I consider the standard for modern romance). Me Before You just wasn’t what I wanted it to be, and I wanted to like it so much.

I think one of my “issues” with the novel was that if you have any basic understanding of context clues you pretty much know the major plotlines from just the book summary and the title of the sequel. The details were well written, and for the most part I liked the characters, but it felt like I already knew what would happen, which I found kind of boring. It seemed like the climax wasn’t really a climax at all, just another chapter in the novel.   Before I read this, I think in my head I was expecting it to be a bit like My Sister’s Keeper by Jodie Picoult. My Sister’s Keeper was similar in the sense that you felt like you already knew how it would end, but then it completely throws you for a loop. The plot twist in the book (not the movie, the movie was appalling in the sense that it completely changed the plot) left me reeling, and it was one of the only books that I’ve ever shed a tear over because it was just so unexpected. I think I was waiting for something monumental like that in Me Before You, but it never happened.

One of the good things about the book was the main character, Louisa. I thought she was very likeable, but also very ordinary and normal. One thing that makes me roll my eyes is when female characters are described as ordinary but in actuality they’re super smart, or incredibly beautiful, or experience an unrealistic turn of luck, or basically anything that makes them not ordinary. Characters like that give real-life ordinary girls a bad rep, and it’s not fair. But Louisa Clark wasn’t like that; she was just ordinary, and that’s why I liked her. She never really tried to be anything but herself, and I think throughout the novel you were really able to see her grow as a character. I think Jojo Moyes did a great job in the development of her character.

Long story short, I wasn’t really impressed with Me Before You. I felt it was lacking in a lot of ways, but I’m sure I’m a minority in that camp. However, I’m still interested in reading the sequel; I made the mistake of reading the first chapter that was included in my copy and now I need to know what happens. And I’m still hoping to see the movie, as long as I can secure Elizabeth for another girl date. And even though I didn’t love the book, I know that this genre isn’t one of my favorites which is probably a major reason why I wasn’t thrilled with it. It was a relatively quick read, and it kept me company on a miserable Friday night, so I can’t say that reading it was a bad experience. It just wasn’t my cup of tea, but I’m glad I gave it a try.

Circling the Sun by Paula McLain

On By onehappybookwormIn Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance, UncategorizedLeave a comment

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On any given day, there are a lot of things that can go wrong. You can spill coffee on your bare foot in the morning, or you can rear-end someone on your way to work. You can give your job everything you have but be let go without warning for reasons outside your (and maybe your supervisor’s) control. You can enjoy a lovely midsummer dinner with your partner only to have your heart broken when they tell you they don’t love you anymore. A family member that has been crucial to your life since the day you were born can suddenly betray and abandon you, seemingly without a care. Your universe can completely upend on a sunny afternoon when you get the call that your mother, or brother, or best friend, or any loved one has been taken from this world. On any given day, anything and everything can go wrong; but it’s what you do with this fact that determines the course of your life.

Beryl Markham learned this at a young age. Abandoned by her mother at the age of four, then catapulted into an unhealthy marriage at sixteen, Beryl was a seemingly modern woman born well before her time and forced to grow up way too soon. Born in England, her family moved to Kenya when she was very young. After her mother fled back to England, she was raised by both her father and the natives that lived on his estate. She was an unconventional wild child, and as an adult she never really found a way to fit into the mold of society. She made mistakes and muddled through them the hard way, yet she always seemed to make it through with her head up. She was an admirable woman; she built a career as a successful horse trainer, she learned to fly, she became the first female pilot to cross the Atlantic from east to west, and most importantly, she lived and loved on her own terms, regardless of the cost.

It sort of amazes me that Beryl Markham was a real person. When I first heard of Circling the Sun, I don’t think I realized that the characters in the novel were actual people, and that they really did a lot of what was detailed in the book. Then, once I bought the book, I think I was confused at first as to how much was real and how much was fiction. But as I started reading, those questions faded away as I became wrapped up in the story. Beryl was a fascinating character, real-life or not. Once I finished the book and read the author’s note, I did a little bit of research on the real Beryl Markham, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that Circling the Sun truly mirrored her life (at least in the big ways). I was also very excited to learn that Beryl had written a memoir, and I’ve added that to my reading list along with Out of Africa, written by Beryl’s acquaintance Karen Blixen under a pen name. It might be a while before I make it to those books, but it will be worth it to read the true story of her life.

Simply put, Circling the Sun just really clicked with me. It’s got all the makings of a novel that I would enjoy: it’s historical fiction, there’s a romance plot, the main character is an admirable heroine, and there’s a solid bit of adventure. This book was right up my alley and I definitely enjoyed it. It was just so easy for me to get wrapped up in the story; I’m surprised at myself for waiting so long to read it. It’s been sitting on my bookshelf for a while; I originally bought it last fall before my trip to Munich. I planned on reading it on the flight back to the States, but I was too distracted by movies and games on the plane. Then in Newark airport I was way too annoyed about watching my final flight home being delayed every half hour to really enjoy it, so when I finally made it back to my apartment I put it on the coffee table to “read later.” When it sat there for a month it was moved to the bookshelf, and it’s been there until two weeks ago. I was very proactive in April about putting together my reading list for May, but I had a few delayed and missing packages that left me scrambling when it was time for a new book on May 1st. That day I noticed Circling the Sun on the bookshelf and figured it was time to give it another go. I think I finished it the next day, it was that good.

I’m just very fascinated about Kenya’s history and culture, particularly with how the British colonials were able to live in such a different environment than their home country. And I’m interested in the African wilderness- the geography, the animals, the climate, everything. The traveler in me is itching to go there, but realistically I know that it won’t happen anytime soon. A few years ago I read Love, Life, and Elephants, the memoir by Daphne Sheldrick. Her Kenya was a little bit later than Beryl’s, but when I finished Circling the Sun I found myself studying the pictures in Daphne’s memoir and comparing the maps in both books. It was such an interesting time and place in history, and it produced such amazing people. To me, that’s enough to justify visiting in person.

I really, truly enjoyed Circling the Sun. Considering my interests, I realize that I’m a little bit biased but the story was just so engrossing, and the fact that much of the novel was inspired by the real life of Beryl Markham makes it so much better. I’m still kind of kicking myself for letting it sit so long, but I’m happy I finally read it. The weather has been cool and rainy here, so I’m grateful that I had such a great book to curl up with and lose myself in. Now I just have to cross Beryl’s memoir off my reading list and figure out a way to make it to Africa to see her country for myself!

 

 

Girl Underwater by Claire Kells

On By onehappybookwormIn Coming of Age, Fiction, Romance2 Comments

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Girl Underwater was just what I needed this weekend. I’ve been in a funk recently; there’s a lot going on in my life and I haven’t been able to really get into what I’ve been reading. This book was the perfect cure- completely consumed within 24 hours!

Before this, I was trying to work my way through All About Love by bell hooks. It was the March book for Our Shared Shelf, Emma Watson’s feminist book club on Good Reads (of which I’m a member). But things were going slow… First it took me a while to get the book. Then, once I had it, I planned on reading it in the car on the way to my brother’s house, where my family was helping him move. That turned out to be a fail: we made the 5 hour drive after the sun went down, and I completely forgot that I would need sunlight in order to read in the car. Then my life got a little crazy: less than one week after I booked flights for an epic (but kind of expensive) adventure in London and Iceland this summer I found out my rent was going up by quite a lot. Then my car broke down on the turnpike on my way back from a work trip and I learned that I will need to buy a new one. Then I received news that there’s a chance my office could be closed or moved, but nothing is final or confirmed and no one really knows anything. Needles to say, I’ve been a little stressed out and spending a lot of my free time researching apartments, cars, and jobs. And even though I kept trying, I couldn’t get into All About Love (which actually made me stress out a little bit more because I don’t like to be behind on my reading list). I wanted to hear the message, I could tell it was meaningful, but the book is essentially an essay, and I couldn’t calm my brain down enough to focus and take it in. I needed something more engaging, and that’s where Girl Underwater came in.

Girl Underwater was recommended to me by my friend Sam around the time that I started this blog. When I bought it, I didn’t do much research other than skim the book jacket. Basically my mentality is that if a friend cares enough to recommend a book to me, then I should care enough to take the time and read it. So there was no doubt as to if I would read it, it was just a matter of when. And last week when the craziness began to feel like a little too much to handle, I set aside All About Love for another day, I threw a few clothes in a bag with Girl Underwater, and I drove out to my parents’ house to spend the night and read a book. Their house (my childhood home) is one of the coziest, most comfortable, and relaxing places I could think of, and it was the perfect setting for me to de-stress and unwind. Armed with Girl Underwater, I curled up on the couch and spent most of Friday night and Saturday afternoon reading the whole book. And it was awesome.

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My childhood home at Christmastime… so cozy

This is where I have to give Sam a lot of credit- this book wasn’t on my radar at all but it was exactly the kind of story I like to read. It’s a love story but not overwhelming in the romance department, definitely nothing like the Nicholas Sparks type fluff that seems to be popular. (Side note: my eleventh grade English teacher once spent half a class period talking about how Nicholas Sparks is a “fluff writer,” and I’ve referred to his books as fluff ever since). But Girl Underwater is more about the story leading up to the romance part, and it’s full of suspense and adventure. Add in an incredibly smart, strong, and brave female protagonist and I was hooked. So Sam- here’s a huge thank you for the recommendation!

Other than romance, I would categorize Girl Underwater as a coming-of-age story more than anything else. The main character, Avery, is a sophomore in college who is one of a few survivors of a plane crash in the Rocky Mountain wilderness. The novel alternates between her life post-crash and her struggle for survival in the wild with three young boys and her male teammate on her university’s swim team. I thought that the survival part of the story was pretty intense. As an avid hiker, it definitely made me more aware (or re-aware, if that’s a thing) of the dangers I put myself in every time I walk in the woods. Though I always carry a first aid kit and flashlight when I go hiking, this book served as a reminder to brush up on my survival and emergency skills, especially since hiking season is right around the corner where I live.

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Moraine Lake in Alberta, Canada- this is how I pictured the location where the plane crashed in Girl Underwater

Throughout the course of the novel, both in the present and in the flashbacks, you get the sense that Avery struggles with knowing and accepting herself for who she really is. Amidst all the trauma going on, much of the novel centers on Avery finding herself and becoming her own person. That’s something I found incredibly relatable, and my guess is that a lot of people would say the same thing. Looking back at my own life, I don’t think I was being my “true self” when I was 19, and it took me a few years to not only realize that, but also figure out who I am and where I want my life to go. Sometimes I think I still struggle with that, at least to some extent. It’s so easy to get caught up in everything that’s going on around you and forget to put yourself first. And it’s hard when someone you care about has different expectations for you than you do for yourself, because it can feel like you’re letting that person down by just doing what makes you happy. But Avery powered through it (as did I, and I hope millions of other young people all over the world). I think the author did a great job of weaving that coming-of-age aspect into the novel, it was heartening but not overwhelming.

All in all, Girl Underwater was a great book and I’m incredibly happy that I spent a significant portion of my weekend reading it. For someone who likes adventure and a little bit of romance in a book, this was just what I needed to get back into the regular swing of things!