I recently had a lot of free time to read… because I was lying in bed (when I wasn’t watching Game of Thrones). I finished four books in four days, something I’ve never done before. Here’s what I read:
The Library Book by Susan Orlean (non-fiction, heard about it from Reese Witherspoon’s book club)
I loved this story about the 1986 Los Angeles Public Library fire, the history of the library, how the library works, and the stories of the people that work there. If this is how Orlean writes most of her books, I want to read more.
I especially loved her personal connection to the library. She had fond memories of going to the library with her mom as a kid, and she was struggling with her mom losing those memories from dementia. As Orlean wrote the book she pondered what the point of life is if we we’re just going to live and be forgotten. Why experience or learn or imagine if it will be lost when we’re gone? But then she thought about the library, and how if we share the stories and lessons learned, and read other stories and lessons learned and connect with those, we see how we’re part of “a larger story that has shape and purpose.”
That was only one small part of the book (literally, one page) but it really spoke to me. Cheesy, but that’s kind of why I blog, and read blogs…
The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory (romance fiction, heard about it from Reese Witherspoon’s book club)
Another book set in LA that I heard about from Reese Witherspoon’s book club! Does anyone else read books from her recommended list?
This was the first romance fiction novel I’ve ever read! It was a stark contrast after reading The Library Book. The style was hip and conversation heavy – which was fine – it just took me a bit to get in to the swing of it.
It’s the story of Nik, whose NOT serious boyfriend proposes to her on the scoreboard at the Dodgers game. She’s humiliated, and says no, and the boyfriend storms off with his bros. She stays at the game, and when camera crews are about to bombard her, a stranger, Carlos, pretends to know her to help her out. Then she develops a relationship with him, but gasp! – they both think they don’t want anything serious, but are connecting more with each other than they have with anyone else in years, etc. etc. It was cute! A fun fluff read!
Looker by Laura Sims (“thriller” fiction, saw it on the new books shelf at the library)
Whoa, Looker was intense. It’s a quick read under 200 pages, and most of it is stream-of-consciousness from the seriously troubled narrator’s mind. The narrator is a middle-aged woman who is OBSESSED with the “actress” (we never learn her name) that lives on her street. The narrator’s husband recently left her, after years of them trying to have a child and being unable to, and she’s barely getting by, financially. She has a lot of time on her hands and spends most of it thinking about the actress, walking by her house, looking in her windows, and taking things out of her yard (that the actress has placed there because she doesn’t want them). The whole story is a crazy downward spiral that makes you feel icky but you can’t stop reading. The writing was clever, and raw – you really felt what the narrator was feeling. (But still questioned her and wanted to say “NO! STOP! DON’T DO THAT!”)
(I put “thriller” in quotes because while it’s labeled this way, many people on Goodreads thought that genre wasn’t quite right. It’s more of a psychological… mental… something or other.)
Falling into Place by Amy Zhang (YA fiction, recommended by Stephany)
Falling into Place begins with Liz, a high school junior, attempting suicide with a car crash meant to look like an accident. The book is non-linear (with a mysterious narrator), and jumps back and forth as it tells her story, and why she decided this was something she should do (because she’s a mean person and thinks everyone in the world is better than her).
This book is really well done. The non-linear story telling adds suspense to wondering if she’s going to make it. It also lets the reader put the story together like a puzzle, which I enjoyed.
A few reviewers on Goodreads said they struggled with it because they disliked Liz and what a bully she was. I didn’t feel that way. I felt sad for her.
A few reviewers also said Zhang wrote this book when she was in high school, and just, wow. I definitely recommend it!
And that’s everything I read in the last four days! I have another book to start on the train today which I’ll share with you Thursday!
Thanks for the recommendations, the last 2 books i grabbed at the library were duds, so I’ll definitely find one of these next. Feel better!
You’re welcome! I definitely recommend the first and last one in my post! (and the other two too, but after those, ha).
What did you read? Did you make it through them?
Thanks, I am!
That’s a lot of reading. I’m impressed! I love how you used your sick time to do something you enjoy.
Thanks! And I did – watching GOT, napping with kitties, and reading! (But not much of my all time fave activity, eating.)
That library book sounds so good – I’ll have to put that one on my list. I’ve been knitting and watching TV lately so no reading over here – but I did finish the second season of Mrs. Maisel and now I’m sad.
Let me know if you read it! 🙂
What are you knitting? Steven just started watching that!
Socks! I’m on a roll and working on completing a pair this week. 🙂
Awesome! Can’t wait to see them!
4 books in 4 days, impressive! Though sorry to hear you were sick 🙁 The books all sound pretty different from each other.
Thanks, I feel a lot better now! They were! I think that helped me fly through them!
Wow! That’s an impressive amount of reading! Bummer about the circumstances that gave you that much free time, though 🙁 I hope you’re feeling better now! The part you called out about The Library Book reminds me a lot of Hamilton. The idea of leaving something behind so people will remember you is a huge theme throughout the whole musical. I should see if The Library Book is available on Libby – it sounds really interesting! Though I won’t be reading it any time soon. I’m just over halfway through The Goldfinch (highly recommend, if you haven’t read it yet), and it is a LOOOOOONG one. I’ve been reading it for 12 hours and I’m only 58% of the way through O.O
Thanks, I do feel better!
I have no idea what Hamilton is about so it interesting to me that that’s a huge part of it! Are they focusing on leaving behind their legacy or culture or good deeds or…?
Holy cow that must be a long book! I will check it out!
The general plot of the musical is Alexander Hamilton’s life story, but the legacy you leave behind comes up over and over and over again. It’s really what ties the whole thing together: what do you leave behind that people will remember you by when you’ve died? I don’t know if that’s what actually drove Hamilton in real life to do everything he did, but it’s certainly what drives him in the show!
Ahh cool! I obviously like that theme! Funny that this has been such a hot thing for years and I had no idea what it was about, lol.
I’m so sorry that you’ve been sick. I am FINALLY getting over this stupid cold – I usually bounce back quickly, but this was a rough go. I didn’t read 4 books, but I read 2 books over the weekend – “Educated” (which is on everyone’s must-read list, it seems) and “A Separation” (by Katie Kitamuro). “Educated” was super interesting; “A Separation” was okay – not thrilling, but interesting.
Your recommendations are great – I’m especially curious about “The Library Book”. I read “The Orchid Thief” a few years ago, and it’s an excellent read. The movie is quite different but good.
Hope that you are back to full strength!
I am sorry that you are too! Did the coughing phase last forever?! UGHGHGHGHGHGHGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Ahh, I hadn’t heard of Educated and that sounds interesting! I will probability request it after I get through the few I have.
I was reading about how Adaptation was so different than the book! I will have to check out that book, too 🙂
Sorry that it took being sick to give you so much time to read, but at least you had something to do to while away the time…and thanks for the recommendations! I will have to see if any of them are in our library. I’ve not followed Reese Witherspoon’s book club at all but I heard about it from my mom.
Thanks! And this gave me some enjoyment while I was lying around!
Let me know if your library has any!
ooh, I’m so glad you liked Falling Into Place! I’m always so nervous when people read books I recommend, haha. That book has stuck with me, even though I finished it in early January!
I’m sorry for the circumstances for reading four books in four days, but that’s so impressive too! I usually can’t do much more than watch tv when I’m under the weather. I guess I need to turn my brain off?
I’ve been thinking about it a lot too. Kind of like Little Fires Everywhere, I wonder what’s happening to everyone after the book.
I did a lot of watching TV too 😉
Wow, you covered a lot during your sick days! I didn’t realize Reese Witherspoon had a book club, so I’ll have to check it out. I find it so overwhelming to pick a book to read because there are so many and I’m also kind of picky. Book lists help me a lot (and defining which genres I like/dislike).
I had to give up on Goodreads though. Now, I’m just trying to track it with a spreadsheet.
I have only read these two books from her list and they were so different! It’s fun to see someone else’s list. Do you know some of the genres you like/dislike? I am super in to apocalyptic stuff (surprise, surprise), historical fiction, memoirs, and some non-fiction.
It’s just not that enticing, right? I am using it and a spreadsheet but Goodreads isn’t doing much for me yet.