Best Fiction of 2020

It's so hard to select the best books I read in 2020 when there were so many great choices.  This is the first year in several that I read whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted.  No blog tours, no reviews for Amazon.  And it has been great.  I've also read less this year than many others.  I finished the year having read 200 books.  That's a lot by most people's standards, but it certainly isn't my best reading year.  At least in terms of numbers.  But maybe it has been one of my best reading years in terms of my enjoyment of what I read.  So, I was a little bit generous with my list this year.  Instead of picking ten fiction titles, I've allowed myself 16.  And even with that, there are still more that I think are great that aren't getting mentioned.  

Maybe you've read a few of these, or maybe you're looking to add to your TBR.  

Enjoy!

 

1. White Ivy by Susie Yang - this was a Jenna Bush Hager pick; Ivy isn't a likeable character, but she is one I'll be thinking about for a long time.  Ivy tries her best to distance herself from her Chinese family - trying to fit in to American society. She also isn't above lying and stealing to get ahead in life. 

2.  The Gifted School by Bruce Holsinger- I love books with school settings. This is a perfect story about ambitious parents who will go to great lengths to help their children succeed.  Class, ambition, talent, and ethics are all a part of this novel.

3.  A Wild Ride Up The Cupboards by Ann Bauer- I've had this one on my shelves for years - and it was well worth the wait.  Somewhat autobiographical, Bauer's story is of a mother whose oldest child is having some undiagnosable issues and the way that impacts her marriage.

4.  My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell- this is a story that you won't soon forget.  Disturbing is the word I would use to describe it, but I found I couldn't put this down, as Vanessa, a high schooler begins an affair with her high school teacher that impacts her entire life.

5.  The Last Christmas In Paris by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb - this is an epistolary novel that despite the word 'Christmas' in the title has nothing to do wit the holiday and can be read year round.  Taking place during WWI, Evie writes her brother Will and his best friend Tom after they leave to fight.  She continues to write Tom for years and their relationship develops through letters.

6.  The Last Flight by Julie Clark - I read this novel in one sitting and loved the suspense.  Claire Cook's life looks perfect from the outside, but she's been plotting for a long time how to leave her politically ambitious husband without him finding her.  When she is approached by a woman at an airport, the two change places on flights going to different destinations.  There is secret upon secret that continue to come out as the story develops.

7.  Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi - Gifty is trying to hold it all together and understand the suffering that she and her family have endured. Her mother is suicidal, her brother died of a drug overdose, and somehow Gifty has managed to succeed as a neuroscience student at Stanford -a feat that is amazing considering her background.  This has been on every "Best Book" list in 2020, which is well-deserved.

8.  The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J Ryan Stradel- I don't like beer at all, but I do love this book which features various members of an estranged family that are all drawn into the business of beer brewing and running a successful business.

9. Hour of the Assassin by Matthew Quirk - a quick, suspense-filled novel with short chapters that all seem to end on a cliffhanger.  Nick is a Secret Service agent who has a new assignment: protecting the former CIA director. But from just moments into the initial meeting, things go wrong and Nick isn't sure who he can trust.

10. Friends and Strangers by J Courtney Sullivan- this is another Jenna Bush Hager book club pick; a character-driven novel about two women and their uneasy friendship. Elizabeth is a new mom who has moved to the suburbs from the city in need of friends. When she hires Sam, a college senior to care for her child she and Elizabeth grow close, but it soon becomes obvious that there are differences in the lives of these women that may be too big to bridge.

11. The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix -this sooo out of my wheelhouse and I loved every page.  From the 90s setting that was nostalgic to the vampire that shows up as a friendly, handsome stranger in their neighborhood, I loved absolutely everything about this book.  

12.  The End of October by Lawrence Wright - this story rings so close to our current reality.  I might have called it dystopian before 2020, but when a pandemic sweeps the globe, the characters in this novel do their best to survive.

13.  Always The Last To Know by Kristan Higgins - I love a good family drama and this fits the bill. I can't believe I haven't read anything by Higgins before. As Barb and John near their 50th anniversary, Barb can't help but think about how unhappy their marriage is. Their daughters Sadie and Juliet have never exactly been close, either, and when John suffers a stroke the family struggles through their differences.

14.  A Good Neighborhood by Therese Fowler- Xavier is a biracial boy growing up in a North Carolina suburb with his single mom. He's planning on heading to college in the fall. When the Whitman family moves in next door and Xavier and their daughter secretly start seeing each other, it quickly becomes obvious how the Whitmans feel about skin color.  This book is heartbreaking.

15.  Recipe For a Perfect Wife by Karma Brown - Alice leaves her job in the city and moves to the suburbs with her husband.  It's boring sitting around the house while her husband is at work, but when she comes across a cookbook from a previous owner written in the 1950s, Alice becomes curious about the woman who lived there before her and whose notes in the cookbook provide some clues about her tumultuous marriage.

16.  The Vanishing Half by Britt Bennett - this is Bennett's sophomore novel and is perhaps even better than her first book.  The Vignes sisters are identical twins but as their lives unfold and they lose contact with each other, one sister lives in her hometown with her black daughter, and the other lives with her white husband because she's been passing.  Their lives are still intertwined despite both time and distance.  

Have you read any of these books? What are the best books you've read in 2020?

Best Middle Grade and YA of 2020

 Despite some initial issues with reading during quarantine, I read a lot of really great books. Maybe this is partly because this is the first year in a long time that I read whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted and didn't have blog tours to worry about or books I needed to review by a certain date.  So instead of keeping books I wanted to read in a stack when they came out (which is what I had been doing for years), I actually got to read some of them right away.  

I am in love with middle grade novels and am lucky that my job allows me to be surrounded by this type of book.

Here are ten MG and YA winners from 2020:

1.  Recommended For You by Laura Silverman - this is a totally G rated rom com that I love....Shoshonna works in a bookstore and can't believe the new hire (who is quite cute) doesn't read!  I love that this brings back a wave of nostalgia for the mall bookstore which seems to be a thing of the past.

2.  Echo Mountain by Lauren Wolk -historical fiction; this is a quiet novel about Ellie and her family who are forced to move to the mountain when they lose their home. They are barely making ends meet and then Ellie's father is in an accident that leaves him in a coma.  Despite warnings against it, Ellie travels to the mountain top to see "the hag" who may know how to help her father.

3.  Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley -Bradley is a must-read author for me and I love her historical fiction.  I also love this realistic fiction story about two sisters, Della and Suki. Suki has always protected Della from the men her mother has been with, but who has been protecting Suki? When Suki tries to commit suicide the secrets they've been carrying come out. This is such a well-done novel of some very sensitive matter. Every school counselor should read this one.

4.  This Is My America- by Kim Johnson - my students still ask for The Hate U Give routinely. Johnson's new novel is a alternative to that story, and is every bit as thought provoking.  Tracy is doing everything in her power to try and get her father off death row. He's innocent of the crime he's been convicted of and the clock is ticking before his execution date. Meanwhile, her brother also finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Despite the fact that he's an upstanding, honest and talented high school senior with a lot going for him, he is suddenly on the run as he fears a future much like his father's.

5.  The List of Things That Will Not Change by Rebecca Stead - Bea has kept a list in a notebook of things that will not change- something she needs to remind herself of from time to time since her parents' divorce.  This is a sweet story about a girl who is finding life full of changes and learns that not all changes are bad.

6.  10 Blind Dates by Ashley Elston - Sophie is devastated by her boyfriend Griffin's desire to breakup, but her family won't let her despair for long.  It's the Christmas holiday and Sophie is staying with relatives while her parents are out of town taking care of her older sister who is on bedrest while pregnant.  These relatives all take turns setting Sophie up on some blind dates....and there's plenty of interesting dates she goes on...but maybe love is right under her nose after all. I love a good rom-com.

7.  The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed- this novel takes place during the Rodney King Riots in 1992.  For one of the first times, Ashley, a wealthy black girl finds herself thinking about her skin color and whether she fits in with her white friends.

8.  Admission by Julie Buxbaum- I love pretty much everything Buxbaum writes.  This one is a loose adaptation to the Lori Loughlin admissions scandal, which I find fascinating. Chloe is getting ready to head off to college in the fall and things look pretty perfect in her life....until the FBI shows up at her house and arrests her mother for her part in a college admissions bribery scandal.  Now not only is Chloe's future in question, she's lost her friends as well.

9.  Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams- Genesis has a list of 96 things she hates about herself.  One of them is the fact that her skin is too black.  This is a heartbreaking story about one girl who must come to terms with her appearance and realize that she's beautiful despite what society seems to tell her.

10. The Blackbird Girls by Anne Blankman - a story that weaves together the events of Chernobyl with the Holocaust is right up my alley.  Valentina and Oskana aren't friends - especially because Valentina is a Jew and there is no way Oksana should have anything to do with her or her family.  However the girls end up with Valentina's grandmother after the explosion in Chernobyl.  Oksana has a different perspective after she gets to know Valentina and her grandmother, and maybe her parents aren't right about things after all.

I loved these books and am hoping that there's something in here that appeals to you as well.

Waiting on Wednesday: That Summer

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature where I highlight a soon to be released title I can't wait to read.

This week's pick: That Summer by Jennifer Weiner

Due out: May 4, 2021

Synopsis taken from Amazon:

Daisy Shoemaker can’t sleep. With a thriving cooking business, full schedule of volunteer work, and a beautiful home in the Philadelphia suburbs, she should be content. But her teenage daughter can be a handful, her husband can be distant, her work can feel trivial, and she has lots of acquaintances, but no real friends. Still, Daisy knows she’s got it good. So why is she up all night?

While Daisy tries to identify the root of her dissatisfaction, she’s also receiving misdirected emails meant for a woman named Diana Starling, whose email address is just one punctuation mark away from her own. While Daisy’s driving carpools, Diana is chairing meetings. While Daisy’s making dinner, Diana’s making plans to reorganize corporations. Diana’s glamorous, sophisticated, single-lady life is miles away from Daisy’s simpler existence. When an apology leads to an invitation, the two women meet and become friends. But, as they get closer, we learn that their connection was not completely accidental. Who IS this other woman, and what does she want with Daisy?

From the manicured Main Line of Philadelphia to the wild landscape of the Outer Cape, written with Jennifer Weiner’s signature wit and sharp observations, That Summer is a story about surviving our pasts, confronting our futures, and the sustaining bonds of friendship.

Best Non-Fiction of 2020

 In 2020 I read (or will have by December 31) 200 books. Of those books 35 were non-fiction.  I feel like I could definitely read more than that because I have lots of non-fiction titles I would love to get to.  But, fiction reads faster as do middle grade and YA books, and I like switching things up and reading a wide variety of books.  

These ten are the highlights of my year, books I want other people to read and enjoy and would love to talk about with them.

In no particular order here are my best non-fiction reads of 2020:

168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think by Laura Vanderkam- there's nothing like some non-fiction that makes you think about your own life.  This is probably considered self-help, but Vanderkam's writing is interesting and full of good information and had me reflecting on how I use my time. This is a book that could be revisited every little while because it's got plenty to think about.  

Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Minds of An American Family by Robert Kolker - I loved this book which alternates chapters with medical information on mental illness and schizophrenia and the story of the Galvin family who had six sons (they had twelve children in all) that all suffered from schizophrenia. The story is heartbreaking but fascinating.

Four Friends: Promising Lives Cut Short by William D. Cohan- I feel like this book is misnamed - instead it should be Four Men Who Attended the Same College.  Friends is a stretch, but I guess that is more marketable. Anyway, Cohan writes of four men who all attend Andover and who all died tragic deaths. One of these men was JFK, Jr., and one was Harry S. Truman's grandson if you need name recognition to pick this one up. It's divided into each man's story, all of which were fascinating.

A Knock At Midnight by Brittany K Barnett - if you read Just Mercy and enjoyed it (perhaps not quite the right word for finding it amazing and important but horribly tragic), then you also need to read A Knock At Midnight. This book falls in the social justice category and Barnett tells her own story intertwining it with how she came to represent people who have been wrongly convicted.  This is another must read, and the fact that this is reality for some people is heartbreaking.

The Sound of Gravel by Ruth Wariner -a backlist title that I've put off reading because as soon as I read the word 'polygamist' in the description, I just never felt in the mood to pick it up. But, it is a great memoir.  If you liked Educated or Glass Castle, both fantastic memoirs about dysfunctional families, this one is perfect for you.  I'm always amazed by how resilient some people are. 

Dare by Barry McDonough - this is by far the most important book I read this year as I have had issues with anxiety for much of my life, but it was noticeably worse the past eighteen months.  I felt like everything McDonough said was something I needed to underline, like he knew every single thing I was thinking.  I'd recommend this to any anxiety sufferer along with his app and daily recordings.

Everything Beautiful in Its Time by Jenna Bush Hager- I love JBH and the Bushes, and I loved reading her reminiscences of her grandparents. I loved reading the various anecdotes of the privates lives of the Bushes, but I also walked away with a great respect for this family and the love JBH has for her parents' parents.

Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham - I remember this happening when I was a child, walking downstairs one morning to watch the news. Seeing this panicked me.  And then so little was ever known or said about it because the Russians tried to keep it under wraps. I am fascinated by this event, and will pretty much read anything about it. There is more technical information in it than I need because I'd much rather read about the people affected and their lives, but this is solid nonfiction that will certainly provide more details than you had previously.

We Keep The Dead Close by Becky Cooper - I don't read a lot of true crime, but this is part true crime, part memoir, part a history of Harvard at the time....the murder of Jane Britton was never solved, so Becky Cooper does a great deal of research during her time at Harvard, piecing a few things together.  My uncle was a student at Harvard when Britton was killed, making it a little more personal to me as he does remember the murder from the news.  This is a book enjoyed by both my husband and me - a rare occurrence.  

And one last non-fiction selection I read just a couple weeks ago and loved:

Gildiner is a therapist who tells the story of five of her patients who she successfully treated. I loved each patient and was totally amazed by the resilience each of them displayed.  

Monday Mini-Reviews: Catching Up On Some BOTM Titles

I have books piled up everywhere it seems - and not a chance of catching up.  I love getting my monthly Book of the Month selections, but are of course, behind on them as well.  I'm feeling quite proud of myself for getting through three of them over winter break, although it has certainly been a mixed bag.   

The Chicken Sisters by KJ Dell'Antonia was a delight to read.  Sisters Mae and Amanda have not gotten along for years.  Mae hasn't even been home in six years, having done her best to run away from a childhood she would rather forget.  Amanda married the son of a rival restaurant owner and doesn't have much to do with her family, either.  But she does need their help when she applies to be a contestant on Food Wars which is a reality show pitting the two restaurants that specialize in chicken against each other.  There's so much to like about this story which is a lot of fun, but which also has some deeper messages if you're wanting to find them.

Leave The World Behind by Rumaan Alam has been controversial since the day it was published.  I have loved Alam's other novels, and although I knew the writing style of this one was different, had high hopes for this one as well.  I will admit I was disappointed.  A family that rents a home for vacation is unhappy when the owners return late one night, needing to stay there as well since the power is out in New York City and they don't feel comfortable staying in their apartment there.  There's very little plot movement and although I love character driven novels, I never felt like I even knew any of the characters or cared to.  This is one I could happily have passed on, yet felt the need to know what all the fuss was about.

The Office of Historical Corrections by Danielle Evans is a story collection, something I don't often pick up.  I do try to try them from time to time, and as with this one, I find myself enjoying some of the stories and not others.  There were several stories in this collection I loved, and wouldn't have minded Evans fleshing out a bit more, but the story for which the collection is named was the longest story in the book, and one I didn't enjoy much at all.  I'll still happily pick up something Evans writes to try her work again, and for anyone needing a good story collection, this one fits the bill.

The January selections are already available from BOTM and I happily picked three books - which means that I'm right back where I started as I checked three off of my BOTM stacks and am adding the same amount right back on.

Friday Five: The Saturday After Christmas

 There are lots of post-Christmas sales going on right now, I'm guessing.  This post was written prior to Christmas and even without sales I still have found a lot of things I wouldn't mind buying.

I've done a lot of online shopping this holiday season, and I love to come home to packages on my front porch, but I wouldn't mind getting to do some in-person shopping someday soon as well.  I'm hoping that in 2021 I get to visit a shopping mall (Mall of America? Jordan Creek?) more than once.

For now, enjoy my online finds:

1.  Aerie Flannel Pajama Shirt - my girls and I discussed the fact that none of us really have great jammies.  We are all fine with wearing sweats to bed in the winter because we are all freezing cold and need a lot of warm clothes on, and shorts and a t-shirt in the summer when we are hot and not wanting to be wearing too much clothes. I offered to buy them pajamas for Christmas and was quickly shot down. But, if I were to get a pair, I do like these.

2.  Women's Long Sleeved Smocked Button-Front Top - a little buffalo-plaid-like shirt. This would be great with black jeans.

3. Lacy Platform Wedges - and I love a good plaid pair of wedges.

4.  Scotch Sequin Flares - there is no reason on earth that I would ever need - or wear- this pair of sequin flares. But, boy, do they look fun!

5.  Boyfriend Crewneck Sweater - this sweater is more my style than sequined flares will ever be.

6.  Shoulder Bag with Tassel - this bag is just $13 and although it's not big it actually is a really nice faux-leather bag.  

7.  Pearlized Puff Sleeve Top -I've been attempting to find some pearlized sweaters and I like this one, but it is also the only one I've come across. Weren't these popular last year?

8. The Clog -I feel like I could definitely trip and fall while wearing these, but that doesn't diminish how much I like them.

9.  Kickoff Trainer Sneakers in Leather and Spot Mix Calf Hair - I'm loving the different prints on these sneakers

10.  100 Novel Bucket List Scratch Off Poster -I'm tempted to buy this so I can scratch off the book titles as I read them. However, I'm not sure the books on the poster are actually ones I want or plan to read ever, so this might not be the best plan.

That's it for me this week. What's caught your eye?

Waiting on Wednesday: Good Company

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature where I highlight a soon to be released book I can't wait to read.

This week's pick: Good Company by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney

Due out: May 4, 2021

Synopsis taken from Amazon:

A warm, incisive new novel about the enduring bonds of marriage and friendship from Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, author of the instant New York Times bestseller The Nest

Flora Mancini has been happily married for more than twenty years. But everything she thought she knew about herself, her marriage, and her relationship with her best friend, Margot, is upended when she stumbles upon an envelope containing her husband’s wedding ring—the one he claimed he lost one summer when their daughter, Ruby, was five.

Flora and Julian struggled for years, scraping together just enough acting work to raise Ruby in Manhattan and keep Julian’s small theater company—Good Company—afloat. A move to Los Angeles brought their first real career successes, a chance to breathe easier, and a reunion with Margot, now a bona fide television star. But has their new life been built on lies? What happened that summer all those years ago? And what happens now?

With Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney’s signature tenderness, humor, and insight, Good Company tells a bighearted story of the lifelong relationships that both wound and heal us. 

Christmas Reading: In A Holidaze

 This may be the most Christmas reading I've done in years, and I have thoroughly enjoyed it.  Christina Lauren is an author duo whose work I've read occasionally and enjoyed.  In A Holidaze has been everywhere this holiday season and I am happy to report that it is worth the hype.

There's an element of magical realism to this story and although I'm not a huge fan of anything that doesn't seem realistic, this worked for me.  

Maelyn and her family are leaving their annual holiday get together where they refresh and recharge with lifelong friends.  This time they know it is the last time they will be together in this beautiful mountain location as their good friends are putting this mountain retreat up for sale.  As the car takes them further from their holiday get together, Maelyn thinks to herself that she wishes she could find what makes her happy.  And with that, she is transported back in time six days to an airplane taking her to the holiday destination she had just been leaving moments before.  As Maelyn relives the holidays, she has to start them over a few times, each time allowing her to revise her actions in order to do what she can to find happiness.  

Of course there's a great romance thrown in which I enjoyed and a variety of challenges that Mae and Andrew must overcome before they can truly be together.  But this is a fun read that's easy to get into and hard to put down.  

I've left this one out on our counter in hopes that my oldest daughter will pick it up and read it. She's read The Twelve Dates of Christmas and enjoyed it, and this one may also be one she enjoys.

Monday Mini-Reviews: Trying to Read 2020 Releases Before The End of the Year

 Here it is, December 21, and I'm trying to finish the year strong in terms of reading. I've read some great books, but I already know that for however many great books I've read, there are just as many great ones sitting on my TBR stacks.  I read a good number of books, but feel like a week where I've only finished two is rather lackluster.  And yet, the two I read this past week were great.  I've enjoyed reading at a little slower pace this past year because it has allowed me to sit and enjoy what I'm reading, not just rush through and as one book's last page ends, already be reading for a new book.  I've taken time to think about what I've just read and enjoy it along the way.  Both of these books are definitely worth enjoying.

Good Morning, Monster by Catherine Gildiner is a non-fiction book featuring five different patients Gildiner worked with in her therapy practice.  The book starts with Laura and her story which I found fascinating, and then moved to Peter. And I found his story fascinating. In fact, I found all five stories absolutely hard to put down.  I love reading about people and learning about their lives and how they think and act.  These patients were all in therapy for some very serious things that had happened to them in their past and I found it interesting to see how they were able to overcome the challenges they had.  Last year I read Lori Gottlieb's Maybe You Should Talk to Someone which was one of my favorite non-fiction books of the year.  My enjoyment of this book ranks right up there with that one.

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell - I have not really ever thought about William Shakespeare's wife or family, but I was totally enthralled with Hamnet which is a fictionalized story of the life of Shakespeare's wife, Agnes.  Hamnet, which sounds an awful lot like Hamlet, is the name of Shakespeare's son who dies at the age of eleven of the plague. This story was just devastating and I could feel Shakespeare and Agnes' grief over the loss of their beloved child.  At first this one was a slow start for me, but that may have been because I was only able to get two or three pages read before being interrupted. Finally on Friday night when I had some time to myself I read all but the last fifty pages of Hamnet before I couldn't keep my eyes open to finish it off.

If you still want to get a few more books read before the end of the year and you're looking for something that you will love, I'm happily recommending either of these two (or both of them).

Friday Five: Counting Down

 There's a whole bunch of counting down going on right now....counting down how many more days of school we have left before Christmas break....counting down how many days until Christmas, until my birthday, until the end of the year.... I'm trying very hard to enjoy these days right here and now and not focus on counting down.  I am envisioning that Christmas will fly by quickly as will winter break.  When it starts it seems like we have endless days ahead of sleeping in and lounging around and then suddenly it's the night before school starts up again, and we're right back at it.  

This is still my favorite shopping season and there are plenty of things I continue to find for myself.  Check out what I found this week:

1.  Pilcro Lily Longline Cardigan - I love this cardigan. I'm not tall, though, so longs cardigans aren't something I necessarily buy.  

2.  Whisper Cotton Turtleneck in Esme Stripe - I already ordered this and have worn it once. I'm loving Madewell turtlenecks (this is my second I've purchased this year).

3.  Beaded Fair Isle Sweater - you know how I feel about Fair Isle sweaters....and this one even has beads on it.

4.  Boyfriend Colorblock Crew Sweatshirt - this takes the color block idea and adds a little flare to it.

5.  Herringbone City Coat - These coats on JCrewFactory have been heavily marked down for a few weeks They come in a variety of colors, but I'm partial to the herringbone one.

6.  Swingy Alpaca Blend Turtleneck Sweater -I also would love a good basic turtleneck sweater.

7.  Alpaca Sweater - I've been listening to a podcast chronicling Diana's life - and reliving some of the early days of her royal life.  Seeing this sweater now for sale takes me back to 1980/81.  And as a fan of the royal family, I'd love to have it for myself.

8.  Lara Sparkle Sweater - a little bit of sparkle adds some excitement and dressiness to a sweater. 

9. Upcycled Midweight Puffer Jacket - I already own a winter coat or two, but our winters are brutal and I like the floral pattern.

 

10.  You Light Up My Christmas - one of my friends texted me to let me know that she was watching a show that featured the gals from Facts of Life. I definitely need to catch this when they play it again.

That's it for me this week. What's caught your eye?

Waiting on Wednesday: Remember

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature where I highlight a soon to be released book that I can't wait to read.

This week's pick: Remember by Lisa Genova

Due out: March 23, 2021

Synopsis taken from Amazon:

A fascinating exploration of the intricacies of how we remember, why we forget, and what we can do to protect our memories, from the Harvard-trained neuroscientist and bestselling author of Still Alice.

Have you ever felt a crushing wave of panic when you can't for the life of you remember the name of that actor in the movie you saw last week, or you walk into a room only to forget why you went there in the first place? If you're over forty, you're probably not laughing. You might even be worried that these lapses in memory could be an early sign of Alzheimer's or dementia. In reality, for the vast majority of us, these examples of forgetting are completely normal. Why? Because while memory is amazing, it is far from perfect. Our brains aren't designed to remember every name we hear, plan we make, or day we experience. Just because your memory sometimes fails doesn't mean it's broken or succumbing to disease. Forgetting is actually part of being human. 

In Remember, neuroscientist and acclaimed novelist Lisa Genova delves into how memories are made and how we retrieve them. You'll learn whether forgotten memories are temporarily inaccessible or erased forever and why some memories are built to exist for only a few seconds (like a passcode) while others can last a lifetime (your wedding day). You'll come to appreciate the clear distinction between normal forgetting (where you parked your car) and forgetting due to Alzheimer's (that you own a car). And you'll see how memory is profoundly impacted by meaning, emotion, sleep, stress, and context. Once you understand the language of memory and how it functions, its incredible strengths and maddening weaknesses, its natural vulnerabilities and potential superpowers, you can both vastly improve your ability to remember and feel less rattled when you inevitably forget. You can set educated expectations for your memory, and in doing so, create a better relationship with it. You don't have to fear it anymore. And that can be life-changing.

Christmas Reading: The Twelve Dates of Christmas

 It took me a chapter or two to get into this story, but once I had some time to myself and could get more than a few pages read without interruption, I was all in for this fun holiday rom-com.

Kate is thirty-four and ready to settle down. The problem is that she hasn't met the right guy yet. So, during the Christmas season she takes part in a Twelve Dates of Christmas program hosted by a dating agency.  She'll get to meet twelve different men in the twenty-plus days until Christmas and maybe one of them will be Mr. Right.

However, each date is a disaster.  There are some glimmers of hope every once in a while, but overall it seems that each man is worse than the one before.  As Kate reflects on the different men she's met, there is one guy she can't keep her mind off of.  The only problem is he's off limits.  

I knew where this was going almost from the first page. But if ever there is a time to enjoy some fun predictability, the Christmas season is it.  My daughter who is home from college also read this one and we had a good time talking about it once I'd finished it up.  I can think of plenty of friends who would think this book was a lot of fun, and considering I'm somewhat resistant to holiday reading, I'm finding plenty of enjoyment in these stories this year.

Monday Mini-Reviews: Mysteries To Curl Up Wit

There are just a few mystery series that I am caught up with.  Matt Goldman's series (which has only four books so far) and Linda Castillo's Kate Burkholder series are two of them.  I know when I read them I will be catching up with old friends and familiar places.  

 

Dead West by Matt Goldman is the fourth installment in this series featuring Nils Shapiro.  I've read these all in a fairly  short period of time which has kept these characters fresh in my mind and I've been happy to learn more about them each time.  This mystery moves from snowy Minnesota to California as Nils is hired by an older couple to investigate their grandson and his Hollywood dealings.  Nils quickly determines there is more going on than meets the eye and the death of Ebben's girlfriend is most likely a murder.  This story is full of suspense and by the books' end I was already checking to see if the fifth mystery had a release date (it doesn't as far as I can see).

Outsider by Linda Castillo -Castillo brings in a person from Kate's past in Outsider- a young woman who had been Kate's roommate after they became police officers.  Gina is injured in a shooting when cops break into her house one night.  She has a getaway vehicle at the ready, but crashes the truck in the middle of a snowstorm and is rescued by an Amish man that Kate also knows.  When Kate is called to see Gina, Gina shares a story of police corruption that is hard to believe, and Kate knows she is holding something back..... this one is a page turner right down to the very last page.  I've already seen that Castillo has two books coming out in 2021 and I'm excited about both of them.

I've taken a little detour from mystery reading to work in some Christmas books I have been saving up for the season, but there's nothing more enjoyable than curling up with a mystery- especially one from a beloved series.

Friday Five

With only two weeks until Christmas, I still need to do some serious Christmas shopping.  This is causing me a little stress since I am not sure what I even intend to purchase for a few people at this point.  Of course, I have no problem finding things for myself.  Here are a few things I'd like for myself: 

1.  Delancey Herringbone Tight - I love a good herringbone pattern and these would be nice to wear with a variety of dressier tops.

2.  Pearlized Mock Neck Sweater Dress- most sweater dresses wouldn't do much for me since they'd hug all the wrong spots, but I really liked this pearlized one which seems a bit looser.

3.  Plaid Yourself A Merry Little Christmas Dress- I have absolutely nowhere to wear a cute Christmas dress but I do like this one.

4.  Tissue Turtleneck- my turtlenecks have long needed a rejuvenation.  I usually opt for a very plain neutral color, but this one would be fun.

6.  High-Rise Bistretch Slim Leg Pants- and who doesn't need a good pair of red and black plaid pants?

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7.  Feliz Navidad Graphic T- I have a cute JCrew Factory plaid skirt that this would be perfect to pair it with.

8.  Merry Everything Pillow- my pillows could also use some sprucing up.  I hate to buy a pillow that I could only have out for a few weeks each year but I do love this one.

9.  Twas the Night Before Christmas Puzzle- we've started getting out puzzles after Thanksgiving and this one might be a good challenge for us.

10.  Books and the City - I've found another podcast to listen to (as if I didn't have enough already).  I'll listen to pretty much anything about books, and this also includes some NYC info as well, which I find interesting since I'm experiencing withdrawal after getting to visit NYC.

That's it for me this week. What's caught your eye?

Three New Christmas Picture Book Purchases

One of the downsides of having older kids and working in a middle school is the lack of picture book reading that I get to do.  I've tried to find some new Christmas books this year and actually sat down to read them.  Two of these three are definitely for a younger crowd, but all are delightful. 

Dinosaur Christmas! by Penny Dale - is colorful and cute. Rhyming text tells the story of dinosaurs who help make Christmas happen.  The end pages provides pictures with the names of dinosaurs (in the front) and pictures with vehicle names in the back.  This would be perfect for the PK-1 crowd.

One Wild Christmas by Nicholas Oldland -I love this series by Oldland and this is a cute Christmas story about Bear, Moose and Beaver who have forgotten about getting a Christmas tree - and then set out on the search for the perfect one. That's a hard task....especially when they can't agree on anything.  

Everybody's Tree by Barbara Joosse  - this is another cute picture book for the primary (Pre-K) population.  Rhyming text shares the story of a young boy who picks a tree that grew from a sapling that he planted to a large Christmas tree that is eventually part of a town's holiday celebration.  

I am still looking for more Christmas book to enjoy this holiday season including some adult fiction titles.  Maybe because of a global pandemic I am turning to comfort reads and enjoying these sweet stories.  

Waiting on Wednesday: Early Morning Riser

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature where I highlight a soon to be released book I can't wait to read.

This week's pick: Early Morning Riser by Katherine Heiny

Due out: April 13, 2021

Synopsis taken from Amazon:

A wise, bighearted, boundlessly joyful novel of love, disaster, and unconventional family from the celebrated author ("like Cheever mixed with Ephron" --The New York Times Book Review) of Standard Deviation.

Jane easily falls in love with Duncan: he's charming, good-natured, and handsome. He has also slept with nearly every woman in Boyne City, Michigan. Jane sees Duncan's old girlfriends everywhere--at restaurants, at the grocery store, even three towns away. While she may be able to come to terms with dating the world's most prolific seducer of women, she wishes she didn't have to share him quite so widely. His ex-wife, Aggie, still has Duncan mow her lawn. And his coworker Jimmy comes and goes from Duncan's apartment at the most inopportune times. Jane wonders how the relationship is supposed to work with all these people in it. Not to mention most of the other residents of Boyne City, who freely share with Jane their opinions of her choices. But any notion Jane has of love and marriage changes with one terrible car crash. Now her life is permanently intertwined with Duncan's, Aggie's, and Jimmy's, and she knows she will never have Duncan to herself. But is it possible that a deeper kind of happiness is right in front of her eyes? A novel that is alternately bittersweet and laugh-out-loud funny, Early Morning Riser is Katherine Heiny's most astonishingly wonderful work to date.