20th book in 2018

A Man called Ove (pronounced OOva) is one of the books that has been highly recommended on a number of sites I peruse to get inspiration for selecting books. So I added it to my audible app. Ove is a likeable character due to the influence of the other characters in the book. He is quite lonely after the death of his wife and after finishing up at his work. Parvana, his new neighbour injects a new lease of life into him despite his quirks. Parts of the book were quite sad, and some entertaining.

This book was originally written in Swedish, so I’ve changed my selection to this title for the category Read a book that was originally published in a different language than your own. It is also set in 🇸🇪 Sweden, so I’ve added it to my read around the world challenge. 

Week 12

I changed my mind for one of my books in the Book challenge by Erin for the category “Read a book with a character’s name in the title”. Originally I selected Huckleberry Finn, but after struggling with finishing it, I have chosen Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine, to replace it.  I read this as one of books I “read” during my daily commute through my audible app. This book has some twists as Eleanor is not fine and has suffered through a traumatic experience in the past which doesn’t come to the surface until an incident occurs during the book. It has some twists, and if you have read it, let me know, as I want to talk with someone about the ending.

The other book I “read” in my commute is The fall of marigolds by Susan Meissner. I find it extremely difficult not having the novel to physically look at, as I have a habit that if I think I know how a book will end, I flick to the end to see if I’m right. Listening to an audiobook, you have to wait the entire 10+ hours to confirm you initial predictions. This was another historical fiction, based on the tragic events of the Twin tower collapse in 9/11 and the Triangle Shirtwaist fire in Manhattan in 1911. This story is told in the viewpoint of nurse Clara Wood, and in the more recent tragedy viewpoint of Tarryn. The book does not cover each time period evenly, telling more about Clara’s story, at times I pondered how do the two stories connect, when I felt the author had forgotten to revisit Tarryn and her story. It has some twists, that I didn’t see coming. I throughly enjoyed this new author to me.  

So I am ticking off the categories for the Ultimate reading challenge, a book with a name in the title and a book with a colour in the title. 19 books total for the year so far.

Week 11

I took a moment to check the actual weeks and I must admit that I was a bit eager posting somewhere along the way. This is now the 11th week, and I have managed to complete 3 books since my last update. The first book was Ship of Brides by Jojo Moyes. This was chosen as part of Erin’s book challenge for read a book where most of the action takes place on a form of transportation ie. bus, boat, car, plane etc. I’ve read quite a few novels by Jojo Moyes and this is quite different. It is historical fiction based on the transportation of war time brides. The story tells about the friendship of three brides, Avice Radley, Frances Mackenzie and Maggie O’Brien. An absolutely beautiful read.

The second title was an audiobook, The subtle art of not giving a f@#$&. This was chosen for a book about philosophy. It was on the New York’s Bestseller list however I think it only made the list due to its sensational title. I felt the book was written by someone who was high, it would go from topic to topic without any clear links. Three of the author’s values we need to embrace are responsibility, uncertainty and failure. I really couldn’t relate to the author and his message.

 The next book was another title for Erin’s book challenge. Read a book with a mostly read cover. This book has a few covers but the one I’ve purchased in the past is red. The hypnotist’s love story. This is written by an author I’ve read and enjoyed quite a few titles from, Liane Moriarty. It was one of her earlier reads, and it didn’t disappoint. About a hypnotist, Ellen, her new partner, Patrick and his stalker, Saskia. Written in two voices, Ellen and Saskia. I found it hard to dislike the “stalker”.

That's 17 titles read since the beginning of the year and a few more crossed off the Ultimate Reading Challenge.

Week 10

This is the tenth week in a row that I’ve managed to complete a book. This week I finished another audiobook. I had added the title after seeing the 2015 goodreads choice winners. This book won the romance category. Confess by Colleen Hoover is written in two points of view - Owen Gentry and Auburn Reed. The novel has quite a few plot twists which grab your attention, make you fall in love with the main characters, and wish for the typical happily ever after ending. 

I loved loved loved this book! Another title for the ultimate reading challenge and the goodreads challenge.

Week 9

The Girl Before has been waiting for me on my Audible.com app for a while. I was interested to see if this thriller lived up to its expectations. Told in two viewpoints, Then - Emma, and Now- Jane, it tells about the lives of these two characters before and while they live at 1 Folgate street. The house is a techno architect design house which monitors your wellbeing through regular psych assessments. The book flashes back and forth to uncover what happened to Emma.

A totally thrilling story. Another book read for my goodreads reading challenge, and at a stretch I’m going to count it as a Fiction book about psychology as the characters complete regular psychometric assessments while they live at 1 Folgate street, and without revealing any spoilers the main characters state of mind is in the fore front of your mind as you read.

Week 8

Still reading.... I am surprising myself. I am making time to catch up with a good book. Work is at its most hectic, but I’m still finding the time. This week I wanted to tick off another book from Erin’s reading challenge. This is the furthest I’ve ever progressed with this challenge. I’m halfway through reading 5 books. The secret keeper by Kate Morton is on Book Riot’s 100 must read books. I had grabbed this one last year after suggestions after reading a Kimberley Freeman novel.

This a bit of a saga set in WWII and in 2011, it tells about the story about Laurel Nicholson and her mother with dementia. Through shifting through the timeframes you get to know Dorothy Nicholson (née Smitham) and her friend Vivien Jenkins. A really beautiful story that left me weeping in the final chapter. This was a true saga written over 560 pages, it has helped me tick off another title in the Ultimate reading challenge.

In my commute, I managed an audiobook, Comedian Tina Fey’s Bossypants.

I was really hoping that it would be a rip roaring laugh out loud kind of comedic book. I like Tina Fey, she is intelligent and I find what she writes about interesting. I just don’t find it LOL funny. In fact, the only time I laughed aloud was when I was listening with my son and it was awkward moment about tampons. We both looked at each other and laughed about the awkwardness. I don’t know if I’m gonna find that kind of a book, having read three female comedians’ stories this year. But I’m going to label it a funny book, funny in an intelligent way.

I am at 12 books for the year. I can't believe I'm a third of the way through my reading goal on goodreads. Its amazing how much I read last year for my Masters. I am spending the same amount of time but reading purely for pleasure this year. I think I can complete the Ultimate reading challenge this year. 

Week 7

I chose Keepers of the House by Lisa St Aubin de Terán for my read around the world challenge. This story is set in Venezuela 🇻🇪. My first book set in South America. It is about the Beltrán family who have lived at the Hacienda La BeBella estate for many years. It starts with the character Lydia marrying Don Diego and moving to the estate, befriending Benito. Benito has been loyal to the family for many years, and tells Lydia the history of the family and estate. After he dies, the recounts the history Benito spoke of. The book has many descriptive passages of the land where the story is set.

This title also fits the criteria for Erin’s book challenge as a title with “house” or “home” in it. And so now I’ve read 4 books towards the challenge. I could have picked many categories for the Ultimate Book challenge, however I selected a book written in the 20th century as it was written in 1982. So that’s a total of ten books towards the Goodreads and ultimate book reading challenges.