My Week in Books (2/25/19)

(#partner #freebooks. Thank you, Scribner, for free books to review. All opinions are my own.)

Last Week’s Reads:

• Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Daughters: A Memoir by T Kira Madden (Bloomsbury) – Pub Date: March 5, 2019
• Vacuum in the Dark by Jen Beagin (Scribner) – Pub Date: February 26, 2019
  • I’m truly not sure how I felt about this book…I’m still trying to work through some of my thoughts. I’ll post a more comprehensive review soon, so stay tuned!
• Louisiana’s Way Home by: Kate DiCamillo (Candlewick Press)
  • My daughter (11-years-old) and I still love to read books aloud with each other. It gives us an easy way to open up some great discussions. She liked this one a lot; it was okay to me. I’m usually a fan of middle school books, and this one has received great reviews, but I felt disconnected from it.
• The Beantown Girls by Jane Healey (Lake Union Publishing)
  • I read this one soon for an upcoming Instagram feature via TLC Book Tours. I’ll have a full review for you later this week!
• The Huntress by Kate Quinn (William Morrow) – Pub Date: February 26, 2019
  • I LOVED Quinn’s novel, The Alice Network, from last year so it was a no-brainer for me to pick this one up. I’m about 200 pages in and enjoying it, though it has started off slower than The Alice Network did for me. With about 300 pages to still go, I’m hoping it picks up steam! Stay tuned for a review soon!
• Survival Math: Notes on an All-American Family by: Mitchell S. Jackson (Scribner) – Pub Date: March 5, 2019
  • This is an #DNF for me at 56%. I loved Part One, felt super confused (maybe not smart enough?) for Part Two, and disinterested by Part Three. I gave it a valiant try, but it just wasn’t for me.

Currently Reading/Listening:

• **Shameless plug** I was a guest on Sarah’s Book Shelves Live podcast last week, and I still can’t get over how much fun it was! At first I was terrified, but Sarah made it so easy and I felt like I was chatting away on the phone with a good friend. I’d love if you checked out my episode here!
• Social Creature by: Tara Isabella Burton (Doubleday)
  • After DNFing Survival Math, I needed a palate cleanser. I usually have luck with the thriller/mystery genre. I was excited to see my digital loan from the library came in for this one. I’m about 34% in and it’s quick paced and entertaining. I’m invested enough to see how this one ends, though I have my suspicions.

• Audio: Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar by: Cheryl Strayd (Random House Audio)
  • Sarah from Sarah’s Book Shelves recently recommended this book on audio to me, and she nailed this recommendation. I am loving it – though it’s taking me f o r e v e r to get through because I don’t have a commute time and I generally have my kids in the car (and this isn’t quite appropriate for younger ears!). I have loved the Dear Sugars podcast for awhile and this feels like a wonderful extension of the show!

Likely to Read Next (can you tell I’m a total #moodreader?):

• The Island of Sea Girls by: Lisa See (Scribner) – Pub Date: March 5, 2019
  • I haven’t read The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane, but I have yet to see a bad review. It’s on my list, but in the meantime, I’m going to try this novel by See. Stay tuned!
• Dying: A Memoir by: Cory Taylor (Text Publishing)
  • I’m a sucker for memoir, especially ones about cancer and dying. Morbid? Maybe. But I soak these up after losing my own mama to cancer five years ago. Somehow, it makes me feel closer to her as I relate some of the things back to my (our) experience. She wasn’t a writer, so this feels like I’m gaining insight to what she possibly felt/dealt with. Also, the cover of the copy I have is so good!
• The Queen of the Night by: Alexander Chee (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
  • Chee’s memoir, How to Write an Autobiographical Novel, was one of my favorite books of the year last year! I’ve heard this book is phenomenal, but I had no idea how thick it is…I may only be able to “speed date” it and come back to it later if I’m enjoying it, but who knows? If I get sucked in as fast as I did with his other book, I’ll have it finished before I know it!
• We Cast A Shadow by: Maurice Carlos Ruffin (One World)
  • Yes, this is STILL on my list!! Already getting rave reviews from Liberty Hardy, I have to read this one ASAP! From the synopsis: This electrifying, suspenseful novel is at once a razor-sharp satire of surviving racism in America and a profoundly moving family story.

Tell me, friends, what’s been your favorite reads lately?