Quick Lit - April

When I wrote this post a month ago I was pretty proud of how many books I had been getting through, mostly thanks to not watching tv in the evenings with my husband (less than a week to go on that!).  Then we spent a large portion on March sick and reading (and blogging) just didn't happen as much.  This feels like a shorter list than usual!  Will I be less wordy?  Probably not.

I'm on Goodreads here which I keep very updated with my current reads and on Instagram here where I sometimes post about books.  Also linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy who is one of my favorite books and reading gurus.

A couple other books posts in the past month, I lost my consistency streak with sickness and spring break!

Living Lightly and with Outer Order, Inner Calm

 Little House Book Flight

And now everything else I've been reading!

 Field Notes on Love by Jennifer E. Smith
I've read most of her books and this one wasn't my favorite of all of them (one got it's own post back here).  It's two strangers being thrown together for a cross-country train ride - New York to California.  We've done the New York - (almost) Chicago Lake Shore Limited ride many times and reading about it brought back fond memories of countless hours spent on the Amtrak.  It made me want to take the train from Chicago all the way out West.  As for the story, two teens in that summer between high school and college, figuring out some things about themselves and how they want their lives to go.  If it didn't have the train backdrop I probably would have liked this less but it was fine.  3 Stars



I'll Have What She's Having: How Nora Ephron's Three Iconic Films Saved the Romantic Comedy by Erin Carlson
You've Got Mail seems to be a favorite movie among bookish people but I've for sure only seen it once (just last year) but maybe years ago too.  I have seen Sleepless in Seattle many times (again, last year, I was prepping for our New York trip, but also many times before) and that movie did make up the biggest portion of the book.  It was a fun look behind the scenes at RomComs in the 80s-90s and just movie making in general.  I appreciate that RomComs were saved because I have enjoyed a good many of them in my life.  3 Stars



The Rule of One by Ashley Saunders and Leslie Saunders
This is a book I got for free through Amazon Kindle First Look deals but I ended up reading it on paper from the library.  Dystopian YA where each family is only allowed to have one kid but the director of family planning for Texas secretly has twin daughters who trade off whose day it is to go above ground.  The premise was fascinating to me but the actual story was a little eye roll-y.  But the last chapter or two drug me back in and now I may pick up the sequel.  We'll see.  2.25 Stars
 

Year of No Sugar by Eve Schaub
I found this book endlessly fascinating.  A woman who describes her family's eating habits as pretty normal, maybe slightly healthier than the majority but nothing crazy, decides they are going to give up all sugar for one year.  They get one dessert a month (such as one slice of pie at Thanksgiving and a birthday cake or dessert for each of them) but otherwise, NO added sugar.  Guess what is in almost everything we eat?  Sugar.  It made me want to try this myself but also scared at how much work it would be.  You have to make so much from scratch!  It did make me wish it was easier to find staples (bread, sauces, condiments, etc.) without added sugar and wonder why it has to be in everything.  Definitely an interesting read.  3.75 Stars

The Huntress by Kate Quinn
I have so many World War II novels sitting on my TBR that I've had to limit them to one a month just to space them out.  This one was about a (fictional but based on real women) woman who was known as the Huntress for the Nazis.  Then a small team of people trying to find her and bring her to justice after the war.  It flashed between two timelines, about 10 years apart and from 2 or 3 different perspectives.  This was a longer one, 500+ pages but I actually think that was ok. I felt like I really knew the characters by the end.  Even though it took awhile to get through I enjoyed it, as much as you "enjoy" a book like this.  4 Stars


Whiskey in a Teacup: What Growing Up in the South Taught Me About Life, Love, & Baking Biscuits by Reese Witherspoon
Sometimes I think I'd really like to live in the South but that might just be my affection for sweet tea. This was a very easy and beautiful lifestyle book about Reese's life growing up in the South. There were recipes and details about parties and fashion and the like.  It made for easy pick up and put down reading over spring break and I did enjoy it, for the most part.  The pages talking about how everyone in the South just LOVES dogs and they run all over the place convinced me I am good in the Midwest (even though there are plenty of people who love their dogs too much here too). 3.75 Stars

The Fated Sky by Mary Robinette Kowal
This was the second in a series about an alternate timeline where a natural disaster happened in the early 50s and the space program was greatly accelerated.  In this book we are in the mid-60s with a station on the moon and a mission happening to put a person on Mars.  It took me a bit to get into the world for the first book but this one was easier, being more familiar with the people and the settings.  I've read a decent number of space related novels and this one was different (alternate time line) and interesting.  I'll pick up the 3rd when it's out next year.  3.5 Stars

The Library of Lost and Found by Phaedra Patrick
I really enjoyed The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper, so much it was one of my favorite reads of 2016.   This one was a similar format: older person comes in possession of a mysterious gift, they set out to find the answers and along the way have their perceptions of someone changed.  It drug a little and there were a few characters I just wanted to set straight but it was fine.  The cover really appealed to me and I was reading so much historical fiction or sci-fi-ish that it was refreshing to have a contemporary one in the mix too. 3 Stars

Walkable City Rules: 101 Steps to Making Better Places by Jeff Speck
I read the author's first book on this top: Walkable City, over three years ago.  This had some of the same information but laid out differently.  It gave me pride that we do live in a very walkable area with downtown an easy bike ride away.  It's not perfect and there is plenty of room for improvement but our city seems to be on the right track (and got one small mention in the book.  Ok, just in a list.  But it was there.)  Some of it got too technical with the correct turning radiuses for corners and lane widths but overall, it was a very interesting read.  It made me feel like an expert in city planning even though I am most definitely not.  It made me want to walk and bike around even more (except that Target is too far and I couldn't fit all my purchases on my bike).  3.75 Stars

Salt to the Sea by Ruth Sepetys
Another World War II novel but quite different from The Huntress.  This was categorized as YA, following 4 teens from 4 different countries, all fleeing Prussia towards the end of the war.  They all have different experiences bringing them together and all end up on the Wilhelm Gustloff which was then sunk by Russia torpedos shortly after departing.  An estimated 9,000-10,000 people died on the ship, which was way over capacity, taking many more deaths than the Titanic and Lusitania but nearly as well known.  The chapters are very short, many just a page or two, rotating between the four teens.  It was a very quick read and so fascinating.  3.75 Stars

Chapter Books with Luke
The BFG by Roald Dahl
I read this one many times as a kid and Luke really enjoyed the recent movie when we watched it with him last year (or the year before?) so this seemed like an obvious chapter book to read to him.  He really did get into it and still talks about Snozzcumbers and asks questions about the giants. It was a fun one to share with him.  I promised him we'd rewatch the movie once Matt can again. 3.5 Stars 

Better Together by Kallie George, illustrated by Stephanie Graegin
The first book in this Heartwood Hotel series was the first chapter book I tried with Luke.  It's about a group of animals who live in an animal hotel in Fernwood Forest, all told from the Mona the Mouse's point of view.  This is the 3rd book in the series and takes place in the spring.  These are sweet and charming with just enough adventure and "suspense" to make them fun reads with Luke.  He's really enjoyed them and we'll finish the series once summer is here! 3.5 Stars

What have YOU been reading lately?  I'm always curious!