This is just a quick look at books I read in February. This was a big reading month for me. I don’t typically read this many books in a month’s time! Look for upcoming posts for more about some of these books.
Big Little Lies
By Liane Moriarty
Reading for Fun Reading Challenge Category
A Book in a Genre You Usually Avoid
This was the first Liane Moriarty book I’ve read. It was recommended to me by a friend who said it was un-put-down-able. And was she ever right! I don’t typically read mystery novels (in fact, I generally avoid that genre); but this one I couldn’t put down. While the mystery is part of the story, the real focus is the lives of three ladies in a small beachside community. Moriarty crafted the novel with such precision that the reader is drawn in from the very beginning and the characters seem real. In addition, Moriarty does a superb job of mixing humor amid heavy, heart-wrenching issues. (Heads up for strong language)
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The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
By Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Reading for Fun Reading Challenge Category
A Book You’ve Already Read
When I saw this category on the Reading for Fun reading challenge, I knew that one of the titles I’d totally re-read would be The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I loved this book when I read it last year. In fact, it should have been in my blog post about favorite books I read in 2016. Reading it again, I was reminded once again of just how much I love this book. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is an historical novel centered around the German occupation of Guernsey in World War II. It blends the hard, terrible, and sad details of this time in history with plenty of humor and sass. It is by far one of the best World War II historical fiction novels I’ve read. READ MORE
The One-in-a-Million Boy
By Monica Wood
Reading for Growth Reading Challenge Category
A Book by an #ownvoices or #diversebooks Author
This book had been on my to-read list for awhile. I was intrigued by the description on Amazon; but just hadn’t taken the plunge to read it yet. When I saw that it qualified for this category in the reading challenge, I finally decided it’s time to read it and I’m so glad I did. The One-in-a-Million Boy is a moving story primarily focused on an unlikely friendship between an elderly woman and a father whose son died. This book would be a great pick for a book club because when you read it, you’re going to want to talk about it! There are lots of themes that can be discussed such as loss, grief, redemption, and second chances.
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The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry
By Gabrielle Zevin
Reading for Fun Reading Challenge Category
A Book about Books and Reading
I love reading books about books and reading, and The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry is just that. Yet, it’s also much more than that. It’s an heartwarming story of loss, finding love again, and the power of books to bring people together. READ MORE
The Enchanted April
By Elizabeth von Arnim
Reading for Fun Reading Challenge Category
A Book You Were Excited to Buy or Borrow but Haven’t Read Yet
The Enchanted April is about the complexities of the lives of four women who decide to go on a holiday and share an Italian villa. I love the BBC movie adaptation of this book (starring Polly Walker, Miranda Richardson, Josie Lawrence, and Joan Plowright) and have seen it many times. I was really looking forward to reading the book; but for some reason, it sat on my Kindle for months. I’m so glad I finally got it read! There are definitely some movies that I like better than the books; that’s not the case with this one. While there may be some things I do like about the movie better, overall I loved the book more because I found that the novel had even more depth to it than the movie portrayed. (brief language)
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And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer
By Fredrik Backman
Reading for Growth Reading Challenge Category
A Book in Translation
I don’t know about you, but something about many of Fredrik Backman’s book covers draws me to the books. In fact, I could easily put this one down for the category “A Book You Chose for the Cover.” When I saw the cover for And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer I immediately picked it up, read the description, and knew I wanted to read it. I loved A Man Called Ove and have been wanting to read more of Backman’s books. This is a very quick read, but packed with lots of heart. READ MORE
The Language of Flowers
By Vanessa Diffenbough
Reading for Fun Reading Challenge Category
A Book with a Reputation of Being Un-put-down-able
The description of this book was intriguing to me when I first read it. I jotted the title down as a possible book to read and then out of the blue, the very next day a friend asked me if I had read this book and said that she loved it. I bought it and immediately started reading. When reading reviews of this book, it was described as un-put-down-able. So I chose it for this category. And indeed, I didn’t want to stop reading it. In this novel, Victoria has a knack for matching the right flowers with the right person. But where did she learn so much about flowers? And what role did flowers play in her own life? This novel is about dealing with the past and finding healing. (heads up for brief strong language) READ MORE
Children’s Literature I Read This Month
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
By Roald Dahl
Such a fun book…especially after having watched both movie productions many times. It was interesting to compare both movies to the book.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
By Lewis Carroll
This is one that I simply finished in February. I had begun reading it awhile back and needed to finish it. Then I followed it up with Through the Looking Glass.
Through the Looking Glass
By Lewis Carroll
Both this and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland were among my favorites I read aloud to my daughters several years ago. Not all books work well as read-alouds; these did. It was fun reading these again. Humorous and at times lyrical, these books will have you laughing out loud.
