My Week in Books {5/7/20}

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

• My Week in Books {4/22/20}
• Do You Like Dark, Gritty, and Intense Novels? Here’s Some Recommendations!
• My Week in Books {4/15/20}
• Nonfiction Reader Challenge 2020 (Vol. 2)
• Q1: Unread Shelf Project 2020

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

Last Week’s Reads:

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

As I’m starting to wonder what’s REALLY going on with this whole coronavirus situation, this book landed in my lap at the perfect time.

It’s all about conspiratorial thinking and how our government isn’t out to protect any of us. The fact that they have secret agendas and some of us just happen to land in their crosshairs and become their unwilling pawns.

While this book was heavily researched, I think the author had SO MUCH information that a lot of the details bogged down the overall story. It was a dense read and hard to focus on at times, but also so interesting that I couldn’t stop…so I just read a chapter or two a day until I got through it.

This book won’t be for everyone as it is scary, very technical, and a little boring. But if you’re starting to question life as we know it, you may really enjoy this one!

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

📱 *** We Are Not From Here by: Jenny Torres Sanchez

I DEVORED this audiobook…I could not stop listening to it! With a story similar to American Dirt, We Are Not From Here follows three teenagers who are fleeing their home in Guatamala for a more hopeful life in the United States.

As I listened, I was once again reminded of the sacrifices and desparation so many immigrants must feel – to put their lives in danger and  to leave everything they love behind – for a chance at a better life. Many of them know they will not survive the journey, but the alternative of staying home amongst the violence and uncertainty is worse.

I loved reading this story through the eyes of teenagers. They leave home in the middle of the night, not telling their mothers. I couldn’t imagine waking in the morning to empty beds, with nothing but a letter of explanation. And in my grief of now knowing if or when I’ll see my kid again, knowing that their absense may be for the best.

Once again, this was an eye-opening book to the plight of many people in Central America. It’s a story that puts the hope America offers them in perspective for me – a person who has been lucky enough to take those things for granted every single day of my life. These books are important because they allow people like me to gain insight into an issue I have no experience with, and teaches me so I can continue to learn to do and be better.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | Philomel Books | Pub Date: May 19, 2020 | 326 Pages | Audiobook (ARC) | Purchase via Bookshop

📖 Silver Sparrow by: Tayari Jones

I read An American Marriage when it first came out and that was my first introduction to Tayari Jones. It was enough to make me interested in her backlist, and when I saw that Sarah (Sarah’s Book Shelves) included this book in her Summer Reading Guide last year, it was all the motivation I needed. (Sarah’s Summer Reading Guide for 2020 will be released on May 12th, so go to her website to sign up for email notifications so you won’t miss out!)

Silver Sparrow is a totally immersive read. It’s about a man who has two separate families – two wives and two daughters – and only one of the families knows about the other. While the writing was good and I was invested in the characters, this one was just fine for me.

In hindsight, I probably have much of the same thoughts about An American Marriage – totally enjoyable in the moment, but quickly fades from memory as time passes. So while I’ve enjoyed both of Jones’ books, I won’t probably rush out to read her next book. They’re not bad, they just don’t have that memorable quality for me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ | Algonquin | Pub Date: May 8, 2012 | 352 Pages | Paperback | Purchase via Bookshop

📱 *** Beach Read by: Emily Henry

Hmm…I liked this one. It was a great distraction read, the plot was fine, I really liked Agustus, and the lakeside setting. But there were so many subplots that it became a bit irritating, and left a lot of issues half-resolved. It was deeper than the title or cover portray, but overall just a jumbled mess of a story.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ | Berkley | Pub Date: May 19, 2020 | 362 Pages | Ebook (ARC) | Purchase via Bookshop

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Currently Reading:

📖 The Second Life of Tiger Woods by: Michael Bamberger

Just starting, but I’m hoping for an inside look to the competitive nature of Tiger Woods that allowed him to rise from rock bottom to the top of the golf world again!

Avid Reader Press | Pub Date: March 31, 2020 | 272 Pages | Hardcover | Purchase via Bookshop

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(#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.)