My Week in Books {5/27/20}

Last week I mentioned that my grandpa was sick and I needed to put reading and blogging on hold as I helped care for him. Unfortunately, he passed away last Saturday. As anyone knows who has lost someone they love, it’s been an incredibly tough week. I don’t know when things will return to “normal”…it never will, but “normal” enough to have a satisfying reading life…I’m just going to take it day by day.

Thank you for all the words of encouragement last week. They truly helped me feel the good of this bookish community.

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

• My Week in Books {5/20/20}
• Top 5 Tuesday: Opening Lines
• My Week in Books {5/13/20}
• Top 5 Tuesday: Worst Rulers
• Top 5 Tuesday – Cute Romances

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

Last Week’s Reads:

📖 *** Big Summer by: Jennifer Weiner

This book did what it was intended to do – distract me and keep me reading. But overall, I wasn’t engaged in the story at all and thought it was poorly executed. I mean, a self-love advocate who caves to her mean ex-best friend from high school without barely any persuasion? The characters were flat and the back story was jumbled. It was quite a detour from Jennifer Weiner’s previous book, Mrs. Everything, which I read and loved last year.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ | Atria | Pub Date: May 5, 2020 | 368 Pages | Hardcover | Purchase via Bookshop | via Amazon

📖 When All Is Said by: Anne Griffin

I took a big chance on this one because I knew it would have many similarities to my grandpa, who just passed away. However, instead of being too hard for me, it made me smile and remind me what a special man I got to call Grandpa. I think this was the right book at the right time for me, as I believe I probably would have DNFd it had I read it any other time…It has vibes of A Man Called Ove, which I wasn’t crazy about. It was a little long at times and sort of dragged on a bit, but Maurice’s similarities to my Grandpa – a farmer with a deep love of the land, a pure devotion and affection for his wife, and even the neighbor fued that lasted for years – felt close to home and gave me comfort.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ | Thomas Dunne Books | Pub Date: March 5, 2019 | 326 Pages | Paperback | Purchase via Bookshop | via Amazon

Currently Reading:

📖 Rodham by: Curtis Sittenfeld

I’m fascinated by the premise of this!

Random House | Pub Date: May 19, 2020 | 416 Pages | Hardcover | Purchase: via Bookshop | Amazon

(#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.)