My Week in Books {4/22/20}

While it looks like I read a lot last week, it’s a little deceiving. I was on the verge of finishing two of these but just didn’t get them done in time. I gotta say: not a lot of the books I’m reading lately are very memorable. It makes it kind of hard to find the motivation to pick a book up, but I also think it’s important to just go with the flow that life offers right now…whatever that may look like.

Before moving onto some #minibookreviews, here are a few links to some recent posts in case you missed them:

• Do You Like Dark, Gritty, and Intense Novels? Here’s Some Recommendations!
• My Week in Books {4/15/20}
• My Week in Books {4/8/20}
• Nonfiction Reader Challenge 2020 (Vol. 2)
• Q1: Unread Shelf Project 2020

What have you been reading (and loving) this week?

Last Week’s Reads:

📖 *** Recipe for a Perfect Wife by: Karma Brown

Told between alternating perspectives of Nellie Murdoch (a 1950s housewife) and Alice Hale (a 2018 newlywed), this book really emphasized how far women have come from the 1950s…and also emphasized how far we still have to go. I enjoyed the first half but slowly lost interest as the story progressed. It was a great distraction read, but not something I will jump to recommend.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ | Dutton | Pub Date: December 31, 2019 | 336 Pages | Purchase via Bookshop

📖 *** Dancing at the Pity Party by: Tyler Feder 💔

I loved this graphic memoir that dealt with grief and loss of a mom. The story really touched me as it made me think of all the things I love and miss about my own mama. The illustrations are beautiful…the whole book is fantastic!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | Dial Press | Pub Date: April 14, 2020 | 208 Pages | Paperback (ARC) | Purchase via Bookshop

📱 *** All Adults Here by: Emma Straub

I’m on the fence about this one…on the one hand, I loved the characters and their  role in the disfunctional family. On the other hand, there was no real plot to speak of so I was kind of left wondering what the point of the book was. It also felt like there was every single “hot topic” issue in the story – almost as if Straub wanted to relate to every person in the world without really giving any topic its fair development. Having said that, this was also a great distraction read that I did enjoy overall…but it certainly won’t land among my favorites or be a book that I find myself thinking about again.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 | Riverhead | Pub Date: May 5, 2020 | 368 Pages | Ebook (ARC) | Purchase via Bookshop

🎧 *** Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators by: Ronan Farrow 🗞

The first night I started this audiobook, my attention was captured! I know a tiny bit about the background of Harvey Weinstein, but I wouldn’t say I’m an expert at all, so all of this information was new to me and I  could not believe my ears! Seriously, the first night alone, I listened to the first 40% of the book.

But as I kept returning to it over the course of the next few days, my interest started waning. It kind of felt repetive and drug out…though those issues could be related to my attention span. I also found Farrow’s different accents and voices totally irritating…and it started detracting from the story for me. I can’t put my finger on exactly what lost my interest, but I found it a struggle just to finish.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | Little, Brown and Company | Pub Date: October 15, 2019 | 448 Pages | Audiobook | Purchase via Bookshop

Currently Reading:

📱 *** The Book of Longings by: Sue Monk Kidd 💑

I’m not sure about my thoughts yet. I’m about halfway through and it’s definitely interesting and engaging…but I’m not sure how I feel about the premise.

Viking | Pub Date: April 21, 2020 | 432 Pages | Ebook (ARC) | Purchase via Bookshop

📖 *** Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties by: Tom O’Neill

Right now, I’m a little confused on what I’m reading. There’s a lot going on in this book and I hope as I continue, it will come together. Basically, it’s about Charles Manson and his cultish followers, referred to as The Family. They murdered several people and were all sent to jail. The most sold true crime book ever sold, Helter Skelter, was written about the crime, but O’Neill becamse obsessed with what happened…and as he dug deeper, nothing about the crime was as it seemed.

I’m sure you can tell, this book is interesting. Again, I’m a little confused and I hope I start to put the pieces together because I don’t want to miss a thing!

Little, Brown and Company | Pub Date: June 25, 2019 | 528 Pages | Paperback (ARC) | Purchase via Bookshop

(#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.)