Friends, I feel as if I am having a minor midlife crisis. I’ve completely checked out of my usual life for the summer.
Things I am doing:
Spending time puttering in the garden
Thinking about NEXT year’s garden
Posting Instagram stories about the garden
Doing crossword puzzles
Doing jigsaw puzzles
Mixing fruity cocktails for myself
Listening to music as the dogs run around
Going out and enjoying outdoor summer activities – parades, concerts, beach/boardwalk
Going blonde again
Things I am not doing:
Reading
Blogging
And everything is completely fine. I’m happy and smiley and got a little bit of a tan going, but the last 3 times the SUYB linkup comes around I feel guilty because I’m only dropping in for that these days and not writing about my tan or the garden or the dogs or the fact that WM is refinishing old furniture LIKE A BEAST. Or that we have an aquarium now with EIGHT fish and Harry-the-fish-who-lived has a friend named Fred in his little tank. And then I log into Goodreads and see this:
And omg whoo boy do I feel like a slacker.
Anyway, I’m here now. With the books I’ve read. As always I use the Goodreads ratings scale which is:
Onto the books! I use the Goodreads rating system, which is:
- One star: did not like it
- Two stars: it was ok
- Three stars: liked it
- Four stars: really liked it
- Five stars: it was amazing
Crazy Rich Asians – Kevin Kwan
After an interminably long time in the holds list I got this book and … it’s okay? I get that Nick is our romantic lead but I thought he was a complete asshole and could have nipped a LOT of drama in the bud by just talking to Rachel like 2 adults. “Bee Tee Dubs my Gran is SUPER RICH and has ladies in waiting and a giant secret-ish palace.” And Rachel could have done a bit on her part by letting him know what she was experiencing. But this is all on Nick. Despite my griping it was a fun read because of the description of the food and the excess.
Three stars and I bet the movie is more fun.
The Little Paris Bookshop – Nina George
This was on my list and it was on a table at Barnes and Noble during one of the every-other-weekends that I get paid so I picked it up. Jean Perdu is our heartbroken protagonist. He’s mourning the woman who left him 20 years prior. He has named himself a literary apothecary and owns a bookstore that’s based a boat — his superpower is prescribing just the right book to a person to fit their personality or mood. After opening his heart ever so briefly to a woman in his building, he DRAMATICALLY FLEES on his boat to find himself, to find what happened to his ex-lover, and to find the author of his favorite book. Along the way he picks up male passengers who are also looking for SOMETHING. It was a nice enough escape, but all of the women except one were complete manic pixie dream girls — pixie maniaque filles de rêve since this is a French book.
Trois etoilles.
Evvie Drake Starts Over – Linda Holmes
I’ve been following Linda Holmes and her work since her days of recapping at Television Without Pity. I was so excited about this book that I preordered the Kindle version in February. It arrived as I was 30% through a book about math and statistics. So…just in time.
Evvie Drake is a young widow in a small town in Maine. Dean Tenney is her best friend’s friend – a former major league pitcher who develops “the yips” and ends up retiring in disgrace. Dean needs a place to stay to get out of the limelight. Evvie needs the rent money because her house is too large for just her. And… yeah.
I really liked this book. This is a story about actual adults! Who talk to each other and make mistakes and figure things out and fail and try again! Real people! Evvie and Dean are the anti-Nick-and-Rachel! I finished this book on the train on Tuesday and I sniffled a little that it was over.
FOUR STARS and a giant homerun for a first book.
In Book Limbo:
Given my book goal crisis, do I just take the DNFs on these 2 and move on?
How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking – Jordan Ellenberg
Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men – Caroline Criado Pérez
Neither book was bad at all, and I usually am 100% into nonfiction like that but I just couldn’t plow through either of them.
Currently Reading: This Fight Is Our Fight: The Battle to Save America’s Middle Class by — Elizabeth Warren. I have Elizabeth Gilbert’s City of Girls sitting in hard copy on my end table after that.
And thus, I humbly submit my book roundup, 5 days late.
All of my book lists and reviews are on Goodreads.
This a part of the Show us Your Books linkup from Jana Says and Life According to Steph. If you want to read more bloggers gush about the books they’ve read this month, click the button below and have fun!
Other SUYB posts:
2021:
January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October
2020:
February | March | Spring/Summer | September | October | November | Year-end review
2019
January | February | March |April | June | July | August | December
2018
January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December
Your midlife crisis sounds very healthy and fun. Gardening! Doggies! Better than buying something ridiculously expensive only to regret it.
I want to read that Evvie Drake book.
I’d probably DNF the other two books but I’m way better at DNFing fiction than non-fiction.
I have completely forgotten about Television Without Pity. Wow.
Your summer sounds awesome.
I couldn’t finish Crazy Rich Asians but the movie looks much better than the book.