You guys, I'm not pregnant anymore. You have no idea how much this fact fills me with glee. In the hospital, right after I pushed that baby out, they handed me the room service menu because I hadn't eaten anything since the day before (hate how they do that to pregnant women, cruel and unusual making you labor on an empty stomach). I ordered a cheeseburger with fries and the chocolate cake. And it tasted SO GOOD! For the first time in nine months, food tasted normal! I wanted to cry from happiness. I feel like myself again, hallelujah! Just had to share that.
On to the books I read in September. Yeah, yeah, I know October is 2/3rds of the way over, but I still need to report this. September was my best reading month in a long time. Apparently being on semi-bed rest gives you lots of time to read (cleaning, not so much).
Delicious! by Ruth Reichl
I have several food-themed books on my to-read list, and I must have gotten this one confused with another one because for some reason, I thought this book was a non-fiction memoir until about half-way through, when I realized there was no way this scenario could actually be real life. I felt a little silly after that (I mean, it says it's a "novel" on the cover, how did I miss that?) but it didn't change my enjoyment level much. As far as stories go, this one was nice and well-plotted, but also pretty predictable and not very substantive. However, this one is worth reading for the food descriptions alone. My main impression coming away from this novel was how much I wish I worked in the cheese shop she describes. Cheese is the number one reason I will never commit to a paleo/vegan diet, it is my kryptonite. It sounded so good.
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
This book, published in April, made a bit of splash early in the summer and was recommended to me by a few trusted sources as a "book-lover's book." Obviously I love my books, so I was intrigued and put it on hold at my library, finally getting around to it last month. And my opinion is: meh. Yes, it is a sweet little story. Yes, the main character owns a bookstore and makes lots of interesting short story recommendations. But I doubt I will remember this book in a year. It just didn't stick to me.
The Gift of Giving Life by various authors
This one! Thoughts, lots of thoughts about this one! I will write more about this one later (I may even give it it's own book review, I have that many thoughts), but just know that I highly recommend this book to any woman who is pregnant or in the middle of child-bearing years (it is directed to the LDS community, but has great insights for any mother). Five stars for sure.
Daring Greatly by Brene Brown
If you haven't heard of this book, perhaps you've seen the TED talk. I've been hearing about Brown and her books for years now, but only finally got around to reading this one last month. And now I own this book. Lots of thoughts on this one too, but I think I need to read it again (and maybe again) to really let these ideas sink in. Highly recommend.
And now, in the unusual category of Did Not Finish:
The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
I loved The Secret Life of Bees when I read it a few years ago, so I was excited when I read some positive reviews of Kidd's latest book. It took forever to get it on the holds list at my library, but then, I didn't love it at all. I mean, the concept of it was good, and I was very interested in the historical details. But her characters were so unbelievable, I couldn't stand their contrived voices. It just didn't feel like quality writing to me, to the point that I just didn't care about finishing it. If you can look past the poor writing, the story itself is an interesting one.
So have you read "Garlic and Sapphires" by Ruth Reichl? It's nonfiction, and I LOVED it. I've been interested to know what her fiction writing is like. It sounds like it contains a lot of mouth-watering descriptions, just like her memoirs.
ReplyDeleteAnd you reminded me that I was totally planning on reading The Gift of Giving Life before Clark was born, but I completely forgot about it. Sad! I'll still read it at some point. I can't wait to hear your thoughts on it!