My Week in Books {9/25/19}

I’m just sitting here wondering if fall is ever going to show up. Last week, we had 3″ of rain in four days and larger than golf ball-sized hail.

THIS IS FALL, COLORADO; NOT SPRING!

For now, I’ll just have to settle for warm fires and cozy blanket reading in my mind. (Also, I’m fully aware that I will be wishing for this exact kind of weather in January. Don’t @ me.)

Anyway, on to books! What have you been reading (and loving) this week?

Last Week’s Reads:

The Institute by: Stephen King (Scribner) – Pub Date: September 10, 2019

I’ve only read a few books by Stephen King, and each one has left me disappointed. I feel like SK spends a lot of time building up to a big reveal, but the climax always falls flat for me. The Institute was no exception. I was intrigued by the synopsis, but it never delivered for me. I personally think SK’s writing is better suited to movies and may need to keep that in mind the next time I think I want to read one of his novels.

Disappearing Earth by: Julia Phillips (Knopf) – Pub Date: May 14, 2019

This was my pick for my monthly read along (#HWRbooks), and if I’m being honest, I HATED it. It totally would have ended up in the DNF pile had I not been hosting the read along. I thought the chapters were boring and confusing; there was an assumption that it would all come together at the end, but for me, it really didn’t. I thought it was poorly executed and was really just a series of short stories that pretending like they were intertwined.

Currently Reading:

The Most Fun We Ever Had by: Claire Lombardo (Doubleday) – Pub Date: June 25, 2019

I picked this up a few weeks ago and then got sidetracked by other books…but I’m back. I like this one so far. There’s a whole lot of family drama and complicated relationships – all things I LOVE in a novel!

🎧 *** Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by: Casey Cep (Knopf) – Pub Date: May 7, 2019

I’m just starting Part Two and it is incredibly fascinating! There’s a lot of factual information interspersed between the actual murder story. I really like the narrator as well, which makes it a whole lot easier to listen to!

DNF (aka: Not For Me):

If Beale Street Could Talk by: James Baldwin (The Dial Press) – Pub Date: 1974

I’m sure this book is great, but I just can’t get into it. I picked it up and read to about 10%, put it down for the night, and had to reread that 10% because I hadn’t remember what was going on at all. I finally decided to DNF at 12%.

(#partner #freebooks: All books noted by asterisks (***) indicate I received the book for free from the publisher, the author, or another promotional company to review. All opinions are my own.)