Thursday, May 14, 2020

Quick Lit - May

I think I've hit my quarantine reading stride.  I've gotten used to reading more digital books (never right before bed so it takes some planning to make sure I always have a physical book to read and that my two books, if they are both novels, aren't too similar of settings so I don't get them confused).  Our library accepted returns again last week which meant I got a big pile out of the house with the possibility of curbside pick-up of holds soon (I'd REALLY like my holds, even though I only have one of my books available, the rest of my precious holds are tied up with books coming out later this summer).  So, progress!

I'm on Instagram here where I sometimes talk about books, Goodreads here which I keep very updated.  Linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy here.  A few other book posts in the past month:



Why I Log All the Books I Read to My Kids

Everything else I've been reading!





Tweet Cute by Emma Lord
This was a cute YA story about a teenage girl and teenage boy who, coincidentally, end up communicating in a couple different ways over teenage drama but also their families' respective restaurants in a Tweet war.  It was a fun and pretty innocent YA story.  3.25 Stars

From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks
Middle-grade about a pre-teen girl who wants to be on a kid baking competition but also wants to learn more about her biological father who is imprisoned for a crime he says he didn't commit.  Heavy things there but also told from a 11? 12? (I forget how old she is) perspective so it's not super heavy. 3.75 Stars

The Self-Driven Child: The Science and Sense of Giving Your Kids More Control Over Their Lives by William Stixrud
This is definitely something we need to work on but also hard to give our 1st grader complete control over his homework when most of it involves reading to us.  It's hard to know how to apply this advice to younger kids like ours.  But a lot of good info that I've read in different places from other authors.  This was a more academic/science-y approach. 3.25 Stars

One of Us is Next by Karen McManus
YA, one of the many books I read on my phone since I've mostly exhausted my physical library copies.  This is a sequel and the first book I kinda remember the plot of but not real specific on the characters so I was a little confused going in but caught up.  Followed a handful of high schoolers as they were subjected to a "truth or date" game over their phones.  Makes me, even more, glad that cell phones were barely a thing when I was in high school. 3 Stars

Happier at Home: Kiss More, Jump More, Abandon a Project, Read Samuel Johnson, and My Other Experiments in the Practice of Everyday Life by Gretchen Rubin
This is a reread and felt appropriate for this time when we are constantly at home (included in this list)!  Always appreciate strategies for trying to be happier at home and little ways we can improve things here.  A quick but nice read. 3.5 Stars

In a Gilded Cage by Rhys Bowen
Continuing my Molly Murphy reads but it's been a few weeks so I don't remember the whole plot.  Safe to say she barely got out of scrapes and managed to solve some mysteries.  I'm almost half way through these! 3 Stars

Picking Up: On the Streets and Behind the Trucks With the Sanitation Workers of New York City by Robin Nagle
This continued a surprising and unplanned string of books set in NYC.  I am interested in NYC but even I thought a whole book about its sanitation workers might be a stretch.  BUT every time we've visited we've commented on the piles of trash at the curb for garbage day and wondering how trash is ever collected in Manhattan.  It was surprisingly interesting and now I have a plethora of facts for our next visit. 3 Stars


Grace Grows by Shelle Sumners
Another reread, another one set in NYC.  I so enjoy this book and it was a lovely comfort read.  It was one of my favorite reads of 2013, back before I did a dedicated post to that!  4.5 Stars

 
Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore
The fifth and final book in my unintentional NYC May reads.  This is about a woman who time travels every year at the stroke of midnight and then spends the entire year in some other year of her life.  The format made it a little easier to track the time travel but I also tried not to think too much about what she knew at which points in her life.  It was a fun read though and made me appreciate living my life chroniclogically (not that I have a choice to live it any other way!). 3.75 Stars

You're Not Listening: What You're Missing and Why it Matters by Kate Murphy
Fantastic read and one I'd recommend to pretty much everyone.  I went in thinking it was more of parenting book, how to listen to your kids more.  I don't know why I thought that.  It turns out it was much more over arching - how most of us are pretty bad at listening and how to work to be better at it.  I really think almost everyone could benefit from this, also it was fairly short (under 250 pages maybe?  I read it on my phone.)  4.75 Stars

Most Likely by Sarah Watson 
I just finished this one and was yet another book I read on my phone (managing my reading life has gotten even more complicated with a lot of digital books too!).  This was about 4 girlfriends one of whom, we learn in the first couple pages, becomes President of the United States in about 30 years.  Then it goes back to their senior year of high school and the people, outside of the 4 of them, and experiences that shaped who they become.  I couldn't exactly keep all the details of each girl straight but I also don't think it completely mattered.  I really enjoyed it. 3.75 Stars
 
Our Stop by Laura Jane Williams
Charming rom-com (heavier on the rom) about two people who keep almost meeting but never quite make it.  They briefly communicate in a "Missed Connections" part of the London newspaper after he sees her on the Tube on their commutes into work.  It took me longer to read this than it should have, since I was only reading it right before bed (and a couple morning when I was procrastinating working out at 5:45am).  It was charming and cute but a little more cussing than I expected.  3.5 Stars

A Short Guide for a Happy Life by Anna Quindlen
This was a short guide all right, I think I read it in 10 minutes, which is faster than I read some picture books so this barely counts as a book read BUT, I make my own rules.  It may have been given as a commencement address some 20 years ago and was mostly of the "work less, tell people you love them, live like you are dying" type of advice.  The cover is really cute. 3 Stars

Read with Luke
Back to School with Betsy by Carolyn Haywood
Continuing our reading of the Betsy books, these all kinda blur together but I know Luke and I both enjoy them.  They are dated but still mostly fun. 3.25 Stars
 

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald 
I have vivid memories of reading the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle to myself when I was a little older than Luke is now so I was excited to read these with him.  I found Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's cure to contain some good parenting advice and Luke always liked the absurdity of some of them.  We will continue these when we can get them from the library. 3.25 Stars

What have YOU been reading lately? 

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