1- Unleashing Mr Darcy by Teri Wilson (print) 4/3
A modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice, this story takes place at least in part on the dog show circuit in England. The story set up felt pretty far fetched. Elizabeth is suspended from her teaching job at a private school on Manhattan. She decides to take a job with a couple she just met at a NYC dog show- as a dog nanny, and traipses of to England to live with a virtual stranger for a month. She then of course becomes entangled with Donovan Darcy, a wealthy dog show judge.
It was OK- didn't love it, didn't hate it. I had hoped to love it more being that it was a Jane Austen retelling and also had dogs in it but... I hear its been made into a Hallmark movie somewhere along the line so I may have to look into that ;-)
Update: Watched the movie- pretty mediocre; typical hallmark movie
2- The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez (kindle) 4/9
I picked this up because I heard it on a the Currently Reading podcast- featuring
Romance Reads. I decided to read it because it is the first book to The Happy Ever After Playlist which is on my to-read list from last year's MMD Summer Reading Guide.
I really enjoyed it. Then I read some reviews and I started 2nd guessing myself. It actually made me question myself and the type of reader I am. But anyway...
This story features Kristen and Josh- who meet because their best friends are getting married and they are the maid of honor and best man respectively.
There is a lot of gratuitous use of the F-word in this book. Which I found annoying. A lot of the angst in this book was Kristen's refusal to openly communicate with Josh- also annoying. Overall the book was pretty funny- despite dealing with issues like infertility and grief.
3- Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come by Jessica Pan (kindle) 4/15
So much of this book resonated with me. Jessica finds herself quite dissatisfied with her life and lonely. She decides to spend a year saying yes to doing extroverted things- like talking to strangers, stand up comedy, hosting a dinner party... I really enjoyed this book, her wit and her journey.
The famous Shakespeare quote is “To thine own self be true.” Yes. But I didn’t want to be tethered to my insecurities and anxieties for eternity. I didn’t want to stay stunted. We’re humans—we have the capacity for growth and change.
The time had come to break free of my increasingly uncomfortable comfort zone. I knew that I wasn’t depressed because of being an introvert. I was an introvert who happened to be depressed. I hated who I had become. I wanted to start over.
The reality of it was this: I felt that my life was passing me by.
Other shy introverts step up and conquer this fear every day. Why not me this time?
4- Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid (kindle) 4/21
This book was not what I expected at all. I heard about it on WSIRN podcast, plus it seemed to be all over the place and hyped up last year. It deals with a lot racial and class/privilege issues.
Emira is a young black babysitter for a wealthy white family. In the opening chapter Alix (the mother) calls Emira to come take the little girl out of the house. They were dealing with a crisis. Emira ends up being confronted by security at the store where they go and accused of kidnapping. She ends up calling the Dad who comes and settles everything. The more or less sweep it under the rug and the story goes from there with this looming in the background the whole time.
It was a pretty fast read for me and I enjoyed the story. More or less. I did feel it was a bit dramatic.
“Alex was alone, and the one thing she still had was the freedom to follow the narrative that suited her best.” -this bothered me- she found out the truth but still clung to the lie as her "truth"; it spoiled Alix for me.
5- Wild by Cheryl Strayed (kindle) 4/27
I read this book (in part) because I saw it on
Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life.
It is also a movie which I have requested from my library.
I rather liked the book, I enjoyed the story despite not caring much for Cheryl's character. But if I lost my mother at 22 who knows where my life would have lead. But I'd like to think I was (even at 22) a bit more grounded than she was. I found it interesting and telling that Strayed; in fact was not even her name- it's the last name she chose for herself when divorcing her husband - whom she completely betrayed and married "too young" (insert eye roll) and idealistic. So maybe appropriate.
That being said- I did enjoy reading about her journey on the Trail.
Fear, to a great extent, is born of a story we tell ourselves, and so I chose to tell myself a different story from the one women are told. I decided I was safe. I was strong. I was brave. Nothing could vanquish me.
They were books I’d read and loved, their covers like familiar faces to me, the mere sight of them making me feel as if I was somewhere like home.
Miles weren’t things that blazed dully past. They were long, intimate straggles of weeds and clumps of dirt, blades of grass and flowers that bent in the wind, trees that lumbered and screeched. They were the sound of my breath and my feet hitting the trail one step at a time and the click of my ski pole. The PCT had taught me what a mile was. I was humble before each and every one.
6- The End of October by Lawrence Wright (print) 4/29
I was not crazy about this book and definitely would not call it "fast paced" or a "thriller" as it was told to be. I thought it dragged a bit and nearly gave up a few times but felt compelled to finish it for some reason. Without giving spoilers- I will say I did not like the ending and felt it jumped there without giving some much needed info. This story takes place during a pandemic- it came out last year but was written obviously in a pre-covid world. The pandemic in the book (I feel) was much worse and much deadlier than COVID 19.
The main character Henry, is this big wig for the CDC, he is overseas for a "quick" conference or something when the disease first comes to notice. He ends up being trapped in the middle east in the midst of this pandemic, both because of shut downs and his "importance" in fighting the pandemic and finding a cure/vaccine.
This month: 6
Total read in 2021: 30
Kindle/Ebook: 4 Print: 2 Audio: 0
Library: 6 Owned: 0
Favorite this month- Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come
Thank you Grammy for all you taught us, for the love and acceptance we always felt from you and Pa. You will be missed.
