This past week I returned to the early morning routine and it’s unbelievable how quickly it improved my mood! Jogged several mornings with my awesome neighbor — it’s always nice to have someone to motivate you. If I didn’t have a jogging partner, I’m pretty sure I would continue to sleep in and thus continue with my previous funk. Also, I kept the ball rolling with journaling, practicing yoga and reading! In fact, these past three months were extremely productive with reading for fun:
- Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco {3 stars}
- Save Me the Plums by Ruth Reichl {4 stars}
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen {5 stars}
- Carnegie’s Maid by Marie Benedict {4 stars}
- Becoming by Michelle Obama {3 stars}
- Recursion by Blake Crouch {4 stars}
- Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens {4 stars}
Let’s start with the 3 star reads: Hunting Prince Dracula was a fun, mysterious read, which I recommend to any who like supernatural mysteries, and I plan to read the first book in the series {you do not have to read the first to enjoy the second}. It may not be the first book I run to, but it was good and had a unique plot. Becoming was extremely interesting and I wanted to love it, but I was disappointed overall. It was the second audiobook that I listened to and I expected it to be phenomenal because Michelle Obama is such a dynamic speaker. However, part of me thought the writing was too descriptive and her reading was not as dynamic I expected. That being said, her history is fascinating and I wonder if this book would improve upon physical reading. I can only imagine me trying to read what I wrote off a page; I doubt it would sound as fluid as me speaking with others, and in my mind, I honestly think that was the issue. I plan to read it in the future and see if it improves upon actual reading rather than listening.
FAVORITES: The other audiobook, the first one I listened to EVER, Save Me the Plums, was absolutely incredible. Ruth Reichl writes and speaks about food in such a delectable way, that I become instantly hungry and satiated at the same time! Her history as the editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine was fascinating and complex. I highly recommend this book for any foodie out there! My other favorite book of these past three months was Pride and Prejudice, by the one and only, Jane Austen. This was a re-read, as it was an instant favorite back when I read it in high school. It’s slightly terrifying to think, but it’s probably been about 15 years since I last read it {insert shocked face here}! It took me a bit to get back into it, because I kept thinking about the 6 hour BBC special, starring the lovely Colin Firth, but once I got over the comparisons, I loved it as much as my teenage years.
My other three reads were impressive as well: Carnegie Maid was a quick, light read, with a nice balance of history and fiction. Where the Crawdads Sing was an emotional, heartbreaking story with several twists along the way. Out of these last reads, I especially enjoyed Recursion by Blake Crouch — this was the first book I ever read by him, and it was full of surprises and was especially thought provoking. I will definitely be reading more of his work in the future.
These books help to keep me motivated and I am currently borrowing Normal People by Sally Rooney from the library. It was highly recommended on Instagram from several bookstagrammers and it’s interesting so far; definitely a different writing style than I’m used to and I’m curious to see what I think at the end. Will let you know in the next book review post!
Enough about me, though — I am not the only one reading and receiving library books! Our public library has a summer reading program, where if kids read 20 minutes a day {or for my toddlers, if someone reads to them for twenty minutes} you mark it on the calendar and for every six days of reading for twenty minutes, you get a sticker, until you reach 36 days. We completed our summer reading challenge this week and Bird was super stoked to receive all her stickers — and the prize?! A new book from the library! Bird was thrilled to pick out a book from their selection and chose Jamberry, which is cute. Lulu, was less excited; he also loves books, but really didn’t understand the summer reading program {gosh, grow up already}, so Mama picked Barnyard Dance for him! Haha, I love that my kids are ‘readers’; we really do enjoy it as a family and often throughout the day, I see Bird and Lulu walk over to the stack of library books or to our bookshelves and just delve into stories, which makes this bibliophile mama’s heart burst! Oh, and talk about proud mama — Bird also acquired her first library card! This is probably my favorite milestone by far and she was so proud of it, walking around with it for the remainder of the day. It’s currently in our library bag {the one that looks like an old school library card… sigh, nostalgia} so that it doesn’t disappear, but I know she’ll be excited to check out our next books on her personal card next week!
What about you? What are you reading? Do you have a library close to you and do you utilize it? What are your favorite recent books?
Thoughts du Jour 