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I wish I could tell you that I read exactly 52 books in 52 weeks, but it didn’t quite shake down like that. Does it count that I started 52 books this year? I might not have met my goal exactly, but I’m pretty happy with myself. I do wish that number could have been a little larger, but I know this was a pretty big accomplishment for a crazy busy working mom. I debated whether to increase that number for next year or whether to set a different kind of reading goal altogether. I’m planning to share a bit of a reading recap for 2016 on the blog next week, so I hope to have that goal hammered out before I report back. For now, let’s chat about what I almost read the month of December!
I’m using the following scale, courtesy of Goodreads, to rate the books I’ve read. I should probably warn you that I like almost everything I read. I love stories and being transported to a new place, so when books provide a plot I can get lost inside, I almost always like it. It’s much harder for me to love or hate something. When you see a single star or five stars, you’ll know I had a strong reaction to something one way or another.
1 star // did not like it
2 star // it was okay
3 star // liked it
4 star // really liked it
5 star // it was amazing
1. THE LOVELY BONES BY ALICE SEBOLD // 4 OUT OF 5 STARS
This was a book I had read in the past (how was that almost twelve years ago?!) and one of the few novels that set me on a path towards my current love affair with contemporary literary fiction. It was fun to revisit an oldie as a part of December’s Collaboreads link up and you can read more about what I thought here.
2. MY LIFE IN FRANCE BY JULIA CHILD
I bought this book a few months ago, in anticipation of the November Collaboreads link up. I ended up reading something else that worked for the reading prompt, so I didn’t start this one until late in the month. I have heard such great things about My Life in France, specifically the audio version, but I couldn’t get into this one. I’m not sure if it was the timing (I’m a little weird about what I read when) or if late November / early December was just so busy that I never settled in. Regardless, I’m planning to revisit this one later this month. Maybe it will be the perfect running material!
For those of you unfamiliar, Amazon says: “Julia Child single handedly created a new approach to American cuisine with her cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking and her television show The French Chef, but as she reveals in this bestselling memoir, she was not always a master chef. Indeed, when she first arrived in France in 1948 with her husband, Paul, who was to work for the USIS, she spoke no French and knew nothing about the country itself. But as she dove into French culture, buying food at local markets and taking classes at the Cordon Bleu, her life changed forever with her newfound passion for cooking and teaching. Julia’s unforgettable story—struggles with the head of the Cordon Bleu, rejections from publishers to whom she sent her now-famous cookbook, a wonderful, nearly fifty-year long marriage that took them across the globe—unfolds with the spirit so key to her success as a chef and a writer, brilliantly capturing one of America’s most endearing personalities.”
The average rating there is 4.5 stars, so I’m thinking I should definitely give it a second chance.
3. COLUMBINE BY DAVE CULLEN
This book is a little outside my comfort zone, but I am one hundred percent locked in. I was listening to Anne’s podcast in the car last week and a guest put this book in her favorites column. I was a college freshman when the Columbine shooting occurred and I remember distinctly where I was when I heard the news. Not so far removed from high school myself, I found the news coverage brutal to watch. Columbine is a retelling of the story by Dave Cullen, one of the first reporters on the scene. It dispels many rumours and sheds to light stories previously untold. I’m not quite finished with the audiobook, but I am completely entranced by how Cullen tells the story of two high school boys who viciously turn on their friends and classmates. You are surprisingly sympathetic as he weaves the story of their lives, pre-shooting, and gutted when they follow through with their plans.
Now who wants a big, super fun announcement?
I have long loved linking up for Collaboreads with Rachel and Amber, so when Rachel invited me to host with her this year (Amber is taking a hiatus from blogging right now), I was so excited! We’re hoping to grow this little link party in 2017 by inviting all of you to join us in blogging your favorite books this year.
For those of you new to Collaboreads — it is a monthly link-up, perfect for book lovers! Here’s how it works:
- We will pick a random criteria for your book. (It’ll look something like: published the year you were born or mentions a city in your state or historical fiction about an era you really don’t know.)
- You find your book. (at your local used bookstore, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, the library, whatever works for you)
- Read. (You’ll have a month.)
- At the end of the month we’ll review(ish) our books. (Rachel and I will both have places for you to share your links in our posts.)
- Repeat steps 1 – 4 every month this year!
Need help with a review template? Rachel has a perfect mnemonic just for you (or you can review your book however you’d like!)
Riveting. What part of the book could you NOT get enough of?
Elements. How did you relate to/care for the characters? What’s your thought on the plot line and twists and turns?
Associate. What other books are like this one? If none, did it remind you of a particular TV or movie with it’s themes and characters? Does it serendipitous-ly line-up with things going on in your life or the news right now?
Design. You know you judged this book by the cover. What did you think of it? How did it relate to the contents of the novel? And the font and layout of the pages?
Stars. How many out of five do you give this book? Would you recommend this book to a friend?
Be sure to use the hashtag #collaboreads on Twitter, Instagram or wherever else you promote your post and come back here to link up. Don’t forget to invite your friends to join us next month, because: The More the Merrier! For this month’s #collaboreads, the prompt is Same First Name. Find a book by an author with your same first name (I’m finally reading this one), read it in January, blog your thoughts, and then join us on January 24th with your review. How fun is that?!
