I had an unusual amount of time to read last weekend and this week! I don’t expect to keep reading this much (for me), sadly.

• I finished The Woman in the Window. It confirmed thrillers aren’t my preferred genre. I didn’t like the main character, and thought a lot of it was predictable. It was well written (once you got used to the writing style), just not for me. And UGH all the old movie references I DON’T CARE ENOUGH TO LOOK THEM UP AND UNDERSTAND THE RELEVANCE AND HOW THE PLOT MIRRORS THEM. HOW ORIGINAL AND CLEVER YOU LIKE OLD MOVIES AND WINE.

• I picked up The Bookish Life of Nina Hill randomly at the library, to give my eyes a break from the Kindle, and right away I loved the author’s style and sense of humor. What a relief after the previous book! In the story, Nina Hill, an introverted, sassy, trivia-loving, book store employed cat mom who doesn’t know who her father is finds out he died when a lawyer visits her at work. She also finds out she has siblings and is an aunt. And there’s a love story mixed in. I read this in two days because the writing was so damn fun and current. When I finished it I immediately hoped there would be another book about Nina (not that one was implied), and I already have this author’s other books on hold!

• Note: it was weird to go from Kindle to paperback and not be able to touch the page to look up words! I like how much more immersive reading on the Kindle is for me, because I am not grabbing my phone to use the dictionary app.
• After that I started How to Bake a New Beginning, something I saw on BookBub that had good reviews. I made it about 30% in to the book then abandoned it. Reading it wasn’t enjoyable for me; it felt like a chore. I thought I’d like it because it’s about three sisters traveling in Italy, but it was too cheesy and the writing wasn’t well developed.

• So I started Primordial Threat, another Bookbub book that I got because of the word primordial – Apollo has a big primordial pouch so the word makes me giggle as I imagine his swinging pouch each time I read that word. This book is hard science fiction, set in 2066, a year before a bunch of asteroids and a primordial black hole are going to approach earth. The description of the book made me think it focused on one scientist trying to save the earth, but there are lots of characters, and I like how the book is describing what is going on from so many perspectives. It’s sciency, but there is also politics and a bit of religion in it too. I’m enjoying it!

I have a few hard copy books to pick up at the library today, below. Hopefully they’re aren’t all due in two weeks and have renewal options!

• The Chestnut Man, which I think is a creepy killer/thriller book. Not my genre as noted above, but Jamie on The Popcast recommended it, and I always like the books she recommends!
• The Nickel Boys, another Jamie recommendation.
• One of Abbi Waxman’s previous books – The Garden of Small Beginnings. No idea what it’s about, but if her writing style is similar to The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, I will love it. Her book Other People’s Houses is on its way to the library too!