My Week in Books// 8-19-21

To say I had a pretty mediocre week of reading would be an understatement. I was excited for these books, but for various reasons, they fell on the flat side for me! I’m hoping next week my reading picks up because August has felt a little disappointing ovearll.

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune

Many have praised this book as one of their all-time favorites, and while I’m usually a fan of a whimsical books that are full of deeper meanings, this story just didn’t do much for me. Yes, it’s a totally feel good story. Yes, it has a cast of chararacters that are magical and unique. Yes, it deals with themes of inclusivity and acceptance and chosen family. But, for me, it was just too saccharine and too wierd. I found it bizarre to name a child after Lucifer and then to glorify that connection to the Devil…maybe it’s just me, but it was hard for me to overcome this aspect to be able to enjoy the book. I am still willing to give Klune’s next book, Under a Whispering Door (out on 9/21/21), a chance and I really hope it works better for me.

Laundry Love: Finding Joy in a Common Chore by Patric Richardson

This would never have been on my radar, but Anne Bogel added it to her Summer Reading Guide and raved about it on a podcast episode. She made it sound like I was somehow missing out on laundry enjoyment and I wanted in on all the secrets of how to like this chore! But honestly, I learned little to nothing new and I was quite disappointed. I figured at the very least Richardson would tell me what products to use since he basically lambasted common commerical products, but nope! (Don’t be discouraged though…there are recipes at the back of the book! Which is awesome, but unexpected from a laundry book??)

*** Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr

Hmm…how to record my thoughts on this one? It feels like a masterpiece; the scope and depth of what Doerr accomplished in this book was incredible. Through 650 pages, he was able to demonstrate that we’re all connected – past, present, and future. He created a beautiful storyline and he proved to be, once again, a masterful storyteller. But, I was also really bored. I hate saying that because this is such an epic undertaking, but it failed to capture my attention and I realized that I was forcing myself to finish it. I wanted to love this one – I even expected to given my love for his previous book, All the Light We Cannot See – but ultimately and sadly, I just didn’t.

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

This was a spur of the moment choice as my aunt is a fifth grade teacher and she recommended it. It didn’t take long to read and I appreciated exploring the theme of living forever, but it’s classical fiction and that’s just not my favorite. It felt a little boring and I kept wondering if fifth grade kids would really like this story. To me, this is the kind of reading I remember as a kid, but it’s not that engaging and it’s not that exciting and I feel like this is why so many kids don’t really get into reading when they’re younger. So basically, I spent more time evaluating why we make our kids read such uninteresting stories and how we can change the curriculum to be much more engaging than I actually thought about the story itself.

(#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.)