This is my TBR (To Be Read) bookshelf. Plenty there to keep me occupied. But as it turned out April was one of my worst reading months in a very long time. Usually, I can breeze through at least two books a week, but I barely finished four books all month. For some reason, my concentration just wasn't what it typically is.
The Guest List by Lucy Foley is a mystery is written in the style of an Agatha Christie book. Remote location, lots of points of view, plenty of suspects and a surprise ending. A wedding is planned on a remote island off the west coast of Ireland. As the guests gather, past resentments, petty jealousies and big egos come together and what do you suppose? Someone gets murdered. And for a good part of the book, not only do you not know who was the killer, but you also don't know who got murdered! And if you think you guessed right, you are wrong. I enjoyed this one and found it a good distraction for the current state of world events. Some folks are saying it had too slow a build, but that didn't bother me. 4 stars.
The Red Lotus by Chris Bohjalian. I enjoyed this book. The story is set in Vietnam in the present day, as well as New York City. I, like many people my age have strong associations with Vietnam due to the War. It was a pleasant surprise to learn what a beautiful country it is now and how friendly the people are. Alexis and Austin are in love, and vacationing in Vietnam where Austin can follow his passion for long bicycle rides. He goes on one and doesn't come back. Alexis goes back to New York without him and is determined to find out what could have happened to him. Turns out her boyfriend had a heck of a lot of secrets. The subject of biological warfare is part of the story, so keep that in mind if it isn't your cup of tea right now. I would give it 3.5 stars.
The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams. Well. Where do I start? The concept was cute. Gavin, a major league baseball player is having marital problems. He discovers that some of Nashville's biggest movers and shakers have a secret book club designed to help the men with their relationship issues with women. The idea is, they read romance novels to understand what it is that women really want from men. I found the characters hard to relate to, and particularly the women characters were annoying. The sex scenes were way too "open door" (explicit) for me. Kind of icky actually. Ugh. I finished it, but kind of wish I hadn't. 2 stars.
You Are Not Alone by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen. I was mainly intrigued by the two authors of this book. They are hugely successful and write their best selling books together. One of them lives in New York and the other in Washington DC. Every day they sit at their desks and FaceTime together- all day long! Every idea, every concept, every plot twist and character development is worked out between them. Anyway, I bought the book to see what the hype was about, and have to say I did enjoy it for the most part. Shay is lonely and looking for love. Her life seems empty until she meets two sisters who are successful and pizzazzy and seem to want to take her under their wing. "Shay would die to have them like her. She may have to". You have to suspend rational belief, but this book was a distraction all right. 3 stars.
So that is it for me for this month. Not so much.
Now, this was a 5 star read for me. Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate Di Camillo was a book I read to Eva. It was absolutely excellent. We both looked forward to reading time every day and couldn't wait to see how this story unfolded. I recommend it to people of all ages. If you are a grown-up and aren't familiar with this book, do pick it up. It's not just for kids, and there is even a movie made from it that we watched and adored. I am not alone in raving about this book. Over 1800 people on Amazon have ranked this book as a five-star book.
The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan is a book that I did not finish. I hope to get back to it when I can concentrate better. I guess the concept was just too complex for me to focus on right now. The magic of objects, the promises we make…This was really a good book but I just couldn't focus properly. I will pick it up again. Go read the review on Amazon. You might love this one.
Murder in an Irish Village was just blah for me and I gave up on it too.
Are you able to read much lately? Anything good?
UPDATE: Sorry this post was published late. Typepad was down half the day!
45 responses to “Books of April”
I have also been having a hard time concentrating on a book. I’ve noticed it also with sudoku puzzles, where I’m either getting forgetful or just not concentrating. I did finish one book recently that I really enjoyed – The Dry by Jane Harper. It is her first novel – a murder mystery set in Australia. I’ll definitely be ordering her second book to read.
I have also been having a hard time concentrating on a book. I’ve noticed it also with sudoku puzzles, where I’m either getting forgetful or just not concentrating. I did finish one book recently that I really enjoyed – The Dry by Jane Harper. It is her first novel – a murder mystery set in Australia. I’ll definitely be ordering her second book to read.
I have also been having a hard time concentrating on a book. I’ve noticed it also with sudoku puzzles, where I’m either getting forgetful or just not concentrating. I did finish one book recently that I really enjoyed – The Dry by Jane Harper. It is her first novel – a murder mystery set in Australia. I’ll definitely be ordering her second book to read.
Reading has been tough, I really want to read more and plowed through several books on vacation in Nov. Then this happened, and I just haven’t been able to focus either. I did pick back up The Handmaids Tale, ended up re starting from the beginning as it was Nov when I originally started it and just finished it yesterday. I think my rating might be higher if we weren’t in the middle of a national shut down, shelter in place kind of world. Where the Crawdad Sings is next up for me.
Reading has been tough, I really want to read more and plowed through several books on vacation in Nov. Then this happened, and I just haven’t been able to focus either. I did pick back up The Handmaids Tale, ended up re starting from the beginning as it was Nov when I originally started it and just finished it yesterday. I think my rating might be higher if we weren’t in the middle of a national shut down, shelter in place kind of world. Where the Crawdad Sings is next up for me.
Reading has been tough, I really want to read more and plowed through several books on vacation in Nov. Then this happened, and I just haven’t been able to focus either. I did pick back up The Handmaids Tale, ended up re starting from the beginning as it was Nov when I originally started it and just finished it yesterday. I think my rating might be higher if we weren’t in the middle of a national shut down, shelter in place kind of world. Where the Crawdad Sings is next up for me.
I read the Keeper of Lost Things a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it. Definitely worth revisiting in a bit.
I read the Keeper of Lost Things a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it. Definitely worth revisiting in a bit.
I read the Keeper of Lost Things a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it. Definitely worth revisiting in a bit.
You’re not alone in the feeling. I don’t think many of us have the ability to focus & concentrate for long right now. There’s information overload if you turn on the tv or read the news on the internet. We’re all distracted by too much information & worrying about too much information. I’ve been making masks & find doing the same thing over & over almost soothing. Thanks for sharing your book reviews & for being so consistent posting your blog! Missed you this morning! Stay well!
You’re not alone in the feeling. I don’t think many of us have the ability to focus & concentrate for long right now. There’s information overload if you turn on the tv or read the news on the internet. We’re all distracted by too much information & worrying about too much information. I’ve been making masks & find doing the same thing over & over almost soothing. Thanks for sharing your book reviews & for being so consistent posting your blog! Missed you this morning! Stay well!
You’re not alone in the feeling. I don’t think many of us have the ability to focus & concentrate for long right now. There’s information overload if you turn on the tv or read the news on the internet. We’re all distracted by too much information & worrying about too much information. I’ve been making masks & find doing the same thing over & over almost soothing. Thanks for sharing your book reviews & for being so consistent posting your blog! Missed you this morning! Stay well!
I always love reading your recommendations even if I don’t get to them right away. I’ve been loving audiobooks lately, especially Liane Moriarty. I think her style is what I’m really craving right now.
I always love reading your recommendations even if I don’t get to them right away. I’ve been loving audiobooks lately, especially Liane Moriarty. I think her style is what I’m really craving right now.
I always love reading your recommendations even if I don’t get to them right away. I’ve been loving audiobooks lately, especially Liane Moriarty. I think her style is what I’m really craving right now.
I enjoy your book reviews. If looking for a fun series to read to Eva try “three times lucky” by Sheila Turnage. It’s a four book series with six graders as the heroine/hero. I found these books to be laugh out loud funny.
I enjoy your book reviews. If looking for a fun series to read to Eva try “three times lucky” by Sheila Turnage. It’s a four book series with six graders as the heroine/hero. I found these books to be laugh out loud funny.
I enjoy your book reviews. If looking for a fun series to read to Eva try “three times lucky” by Sheila Turnage. It’s a four book series with six graders as the heroine/hero. I found these books to be laugh out loud funny.
Also read to Eva “the summer of the monkeys”. It’s by Wilson Rawls, where the red fern grows. Disney made a terrible movie based off the book, the book is 100 times better. I read this book every single year since I read it for the first time with my kids over 35 years ago. Every year it gets better.
Also read to Eva “the summer of the monkeys”. It’s by Wilson Rawls, where the red fern grows. Disney made a terrible movie based off the book, the book is 100 times better. I read this book every single year since I read it for the first time with my kids over 35 years ago. Every year it gets better.
Also read to Eva “the summer of the monkeys”. It’s by Wilson Rawls, where the red fern grows. Disney made a terrible movie based off the book, the book is 100 times better. I read this book every single year since I read it for the first time with my kids over 35 years ago. Every year it gets better.
You are not alone in your inability to focus. We are all so distracted by everything around us! I throughly enjoyed This Tender Land. Check it out.
You are not alone in your inability to focus. We are all so distracted by everything around us! I throughly enjoyed This Tender Land. Check it out.
You are not alone in your inability to focus. We are all so distracted by everything around us! I throughly enjoyed This Tender Land. Check it out.
Thanks Nicole! I love your book posts, always find something to add to my library list. I was having a rough time concentrating on anything earlier this month as well. I’ve been picking up a book at 3 am instead of staring at the ceiling worrying. I just finished The Giver of Stars that you reccomended and it was a welcome distraction, I very much appreciate that! Stay well and give Ozzie a pet for me.
Thanks Nicole! I love your book posts, always find something to add to my library list. I was having a rough time concentrating on anything earlier this month as well. I’ve been picking up a book at 3 am instead of staring at the ceiling worrying. I just finished The Giver of Stars that you reccomended and it was a welcome distraction, I very much appreciate that! Stay well and give Ozzie a pet for me.
Thanks Nicole! I love your book posts, always find something to add to my library list. I was having a rough time concentrating on anything earlier this month as well. I’ve been picking up a book at 3 am instead of staring at the ceiling worrying. I just finished The Giver of Stars that you reccomended and it was a welcome distraction, I very much appreciate that! Stay well and give Ozzie a pet for me.
I know you like mysteries and I recently discovered the works of Dervla McTiernan. She is Irish, living in Australia, and writes a mystery series set in Galway, Ireland. There are only 3 so far; the first is The Ruin. I like them a lot.
I know you like mysteries and I recently discovered the works of Dervla McTiernan. She is Irish, living in Australia, and writes a mystery series set in Galway, Ireland. There are only 3 so far; the first is The Ruin. I like them a lot.
I know you like mysteries and I recently discovered the works of Dervla McTiernan. She is Irish, living in Australia, and writes a mystery series set in Galway, Ireland. There are only 3 so far; the first is The Ruin. I like them a lot.
I agree Nicole! My consumption of books is very reduced. But I just l finished American Dirt and I absolutely loved it although it was a difficult read at times.
I agree Nicole! My consumption of books is very reduced. But I just l finished American Dirt and I absolutely loved it although it was a difficult read at times.
I agree Nicole! My consumption of books is very reduced. But I just l finished American Dirt and I absolutely loved it although it was a difficult read at times.
I generally read between 75 & 80 books a year. By this time I have at least 25 new books read or in progress (gotta love the online libraries). Since the lock-down I have had problems focusing on anything new, so I have gone back to my standby, feel good books from the past 45 years. I can still get lost in them so that is a good thing. New works seem to be too much to focus on right now.
I generally read between 75 & 80 books a year. By this time I have at least 25 new books read or in progress (gotta love the online libraries). Since the lock-down I have had problems focusing on anything new, so I have gone back to my standby, feel good books from the past 45 years. I can still get lost in them so that is a good thing. New works seem to be too much to focus on right now.
I generally read between 75 & 80 books a year. By this time I have at least 25 new books read or in progress (gotta love the online libraries). Since the lock-down I have had problems focusing on anything new, so I have gone back to my standby, feel good books from the past 45 years. I can still get lost in them so that is a good thing. New works seem to be too much to focus on right now.
I’ve read the last two on your post. Winn Dixie was wonderful.
I’ve read the last two on your post. Winn Dixie was wonderful.
I’ve read the last two on your post. Winn Dixie was wonderful.
I have been listening to anything by P.G. Wodehouse on Audio books. He wrote the Jeeves books and many others. The stories are funny and a nice distraction when I’m sewing.
I have been listening to anything by P.G. Wodehouse on Audio books. He wrote the Jeeves books and many others. The stories are funny and a nice distraction when I’m sewing.
I have been listening to anything by P.G. Wodehouse on Audio books. He wrote the Jeeves books and many others. The stories are funny and a nice distraction when I’m sewing.
Faithful Place by Tana French. This is the first book of hers I have read, though I have seen her books recommended on many lists. I love it so far….she is a terrific writer. I am also rereading The Secret Life of Bees after many years. Our book club is reading it this month. I had forgotten most of it! Carol in Texas
Faithful Place by Tana French. This is the first book of hers I have read, though I have seen her books recommended on many lists. I love it so far….she is a terrific writer. I am also rereading The Secret Life of Bees after many years. Our book club is reading it this month. I had forgotten most of it! Carol in Texas
Faithful Place by Tana French. This is the first book of hers I have read, though I have seen her books recommended on many lists. I love it so far….she is a terrific writer. I am also rereading The Secret Life of Bees after many years. Our book club is reading it this month. I had forgotten most of it! Carol in Texas