I’m bringing my reading updates back! I will post the books I read in groups of three dependent on my reading pace, so there will not be a set cadence to these posts.

[1] This Time Next Year by Sophie Cousens
Fiction / Women, recommended by Val, read Kindle version

Synopsis: Minnie and Quinn were born in the same hospital on New Year’s Eve, one minute apart, then don’t see each other again for 30 years, when they end up at the same party. Minnie only knows Quinn as “the boy who stole her name” and is hesitant to start a friendship with him. But it turns out he’s a much different person than the Quinn she’s created in her head all her life.

Review: Hmm. This story had a lot of potential and a really interesting premise and interesting characters but Minnie drove me crazy. I couldn’t stand her character for most of the book. And I hated the relationship she had with her mother and how negative her mother was (her mother was so bitter Quinn was born first and won the “first baby of the year money” and that Quinn’s mom took the name she wanted to use for Minnie). I wanted to finish it to see what happened, but meh.

Recommend? Nah

[2] The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary
Fiction / Women, recommended by my snis, read Kindle version
Trigger Warning: psychological abuse

Synopsis: Tiffy and Leon are flat mates, but they’ve never met! Tiffy lives in the flat at nights and on the weekend, and Leon lives there during the day. Tiffy is an editor with a demanding client and is trying to get over the trauma of her last relationship, and Leon is a night nurse who’s spending all of his free time trying to get his brother out of jail and find the long lost love of one of his patients. Despite their busy lives and the fact that they’re never together (or have even met!) they build a relationship through notes and each starts to sense they’re might be more there…

Review: Another interesting premise and I really wanted to love this book. I did. Tiffy is lovely and colorful and fun. Leon is… I could not fall in love with Leon. He’s nice, but I just did not care much about his character! I think part of that was the way his chapters were written – more stream of consciousness than Tiffy’s. It gave you insight to how quiet and introverted he is and that turned me off. Ha. That’s a me problem.

Also, there are dark parts to this book with Tiffy’s ex-boyfriend that really made me feel anxious and icky. I think I was expecting a more saccharine love story. Again, a me problem.

Recommend? If you can get past the two turnoffs I mentioned, yes!

[3] Hello, Molly! by Molly Shannon
Memoir, saw available in audiobooks, listened on Libby

Fun fact – this is the first audiobook I’ve ever listened to!

Synopsis: Molly Shannon’s mom, sister, and cousin died in a car accident that she, her sister, and dad were also in when she was four, and the grief from it shaped the rest of her life. Her father raised her to be dramatic and break the rules, which gave her the boldness and drive she needed to succeed as an actress. The memoir covers the time from when she was a kid to past when she left SNL, and includes lots of insider stories.

Review: This whole post is a bit of a downer because I did not really care for any of these books. Molly Shannon is maybe… not for me. I found her reading of this book to be heartfelt, but also obnoxious. Like, I felt secondhand embarrassment for her. And so much of her story made me feel sad, which makes sense – look at how her life started. Most of the book focuses on her relationship with her father, and losing her mother. It hardly got into her relationship with her husband, or much about her from the last 20 years.

I really liked the behind the scenes look into the performance industry, and all the fun stories, especially from her time on SNL. It looks like what I was looking for when I read all of these books was something more light-hearted!!!

Recommend: If you like memoirs and Molly Shannon (and feeling sad?), yes!