More Books!

Have I mentioned how much I love the Audible app?  (Just kidding, I know I have. It's practically all I talk about.) It's my desert island pick if I could somehow also bring along headphones and an iphone with an infinitesimal charge. It's the one app I can't live without. Ok, so that's a pretty strong statement, but honestly, it has been a game changer.

(Audible, feel free to start paying me for these endorsements aaaannnnyyyy time ;)

Anyway, of the six books below only one did I actually read a physical hardbound copy. The rest I listened to while driving, folding laundry and applying my morning makeup. It's the only way to get my book fix while having three children and a full time job. I gotta say, it's pretty nice to have someone read ME a story for a change ;)

First up, Maze Runner! Dystopian YA lit, so of course I liked it. I can be pretty predictable as it turns out. This is the first of a trilogy (aren't they all?) so I'll have to get to the other two here eventually. I didn't love it like I loved Hunger Games or even the Divergent books which is why I'm not rushing out to get the next two, but I'm certainly not opposed to finishing the series. 

 

This is the one book of the lot I actually read the hardbound version of. This is written by a blogger I like, Natalie Holbrook and it's her first crack at a bonafide book. It's written a lot like her blog and from her usual pov which I obviously like. But I have to say I was a little disappointed that it was more a collection of small essays (some of which were taken right from her blog so I'd read them already) and lists of things like "what every nest needs..."  than a cohesive book. I guess I was just expecting deeper, or different, or at least longer, more substantial essays?  I dunno, I wanted to like it but it fell a little flat for me.

Now this is a trilogy I can get down with! The audio version came HIGHLY recommended to me and I have to say Jennifer Ikeda's reading of it was as big a part of my enjoyment as the writing itself. She absolutely killed it switching between characters and accents. So, SO good! I'll admit I was a little leery at the beginning since it's not the type of writing I typically lean to - witches! vampires! forbidden love! But by the end of book three I was a believer. These books are long, but even so I didn't want them to end. If you can allow for a heavy dose of suspension of disbelief and a few minor plot holes than these books can be highly enjoyable and really fun reading (or listening as the case may be). Sucked me right in.

This was another really good one, This is a memoir/coming of age story written by a woman who grew up in the mill town of Mexico, Maine. In the book she recounts her childhood, the sudden loss of her father and the way her family of women came together to cope with the tragedy and forge ahead on their own. It's also quite a lovely time capsule for what life was like in the suburban 60s. I really liked this one.

 

 

What have you guys been reading lately? I just started this mammoth beast and I'm pretty excited about it. As always, suggestions welcome in the comments below!