Does the new theme make up for the fact I’ve been a D- blogger? *grin* I need to tweak the fonts a bit but I like it – it’s simpler and I need that right now. I also created a process in Photoshop that automatically resizes my photos for the blog and I think not having to do that by hand anymore will help me write more because I won’t be dreading photo editing. No presets though, because my life isn’t a washed-out mauve color.
Here is my bleak Goodreads reading challenge status:
I’ll pick up some Chick Tracts and make up the difference. 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
Evvie Drake Starts Over — Linda Holmes
I have loved Linda Holmes’s writing since her days at Television Without Pity. I cheered when she landed her job at NPR. I follow her on Instagram. I love her dog. And I’ve been waiting for her debut novel since she announced she was writing it. Can a book survive this fangirl hype? YES.
Dean is a pitcher who retires after getting ‘the yips’ — a very real psychological condition where pitchers can’t throw accurately anymore. Evvie is a widow. Both of them have their hangups. Dean moves into Evvie’s attached apartment.
What I liked best about this book is that the adults are adults. They talk about what is bothering them. And there are sentences like this which are beautiful works of art
Shelter bought with death, symphonies bought with broken glass, jars of peanut butter and cans of soup bought with the catered wedding she never should have had.
Evvie Drake Starts Over
Guh. Four stars, which I equate to a home run!
Daisy Jones and the Six — Taylor Jenkins Reid
In this work of fiction that seemed completely real, Daisy Jones and The Six were huge on the music scene in the 1970s. This book is the chronological tale of their rise and fall, based on interviews with the band members and other involved parties. The oral history format was a little jarring for me at first but it didn’t take long to gel. There is a small narrative twist which, even though I predicted, hit me right in the feels. My favorite characters were Karen – a genuine bad-ass – and Warren, the live-and-let-live drummer.
Four stars! This book was at my local library with a 7-day loan stipulation. I was worried I wouldn’t read it in that short of time. I read it in 2 days. I loved this book and kind of wish the band was real. I would love to hear that music. Instead I’ll go track down some Fleetwood Mac.
Agatha Christie: A Mysterious Life — Laura Thompson
This book was a beast and took most of the month for me to finish. I’m not a real Agatha Christie fan, but I thought she lived an interesting life and wanted to read more about it. This book is extremely well researched; however, the author chose to divide the book into thematic chapters and jump back and forth in time. A few lines after Agatha and her first husband marry, we’re told the marriage is doomed. Except we have hundreds of pages ahead detailing the first marriage. So, yay?
The author extensively quotes Christie’s works to corroborate what she thought Agatha was feeling through the years which added a lot of heft to this book. By the time Agatha writes a certain book, you’ve seen it quoted dozens of times. That threw off the flow for me. Finally, the author has academic beef with another Christie biographer and spends a lot of words taking down his 20+ year old book and discrediting his source, who is likely very dead. They’re all dead!
Currently reading: The Perfect Couple by Elin Hilderbrand, which will likely infuriate me in some way yet I will still be generous with the stars because I’m a sucker for beach books in the summer.
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!
Previously:
2019
January | February | March |April | June | July
2018
January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December
Not following the timeline would bother me as well!
Shifting timelines are my Achilles Heel in reading. I was all, “Hey, it seems like Agatha wrote that book 17 times already!”
I heard Daisy Jones is going to be a mini series so they will have to come up with real music!
I was born in the 70s so I have soft spot for the weird 70s rock that my parents listened to. Fingers crossed for a soundtrack!
I’ve been patiently waiting my turn for Daisy Jones to come off holds at the library, but it sounds like I need to pick up Evvie too! I love that it holds up with how excited you were to read it!
I’m probably not the most objective reader of Evvie!
I really liked Daisy but it wasn’t as good as Evelyn Hugo for me. But I do think it’s one of those very rare books that I will love so much more on-screen because it really begs to be seen. I want to hear the songs. My hold for Evvie Drake just came in. It’s gotten some mixed reviews but I’m hoping that I fall into the like/love group!
Evelyn Hugo is on the TBR. I went to the library the other day and put it on hold.
When i read Daisy all I was thinking about was Fleetwood Mac!
I know, right? That picture on the cover is SO Stevie Nicks adjacent, too.
I loved Daisy and am so excited for the TV adaptation!
Currently waiting for the library to fork over Evvie.
I hope you like Evvie. I hope everyone likes Evvie. And Amazon is so smart to distribute Daisy Jones; especially with the book and music tie-ins. They’ll probably start promoting cheap, fast-fashion 70s boho gear in my “Your Deals” tab now.
I love, love, love Agatha Christie and I could NOT get through Thompson’s book. I tried but, reading it was literally painful. Agatha Christie’s own biography however, is a definite must-read! 🙂
Maybe I’ll read hers too, then. I could feel myself wanting to read her own take on things.
I totally agree that I wish I could have heard the music from Daisy Jones and the Sixes! I kept wanting to look up the songs on Youtube! lol
It just all seemed so real!
I put a hold on Evvie Drake for some lighter reading, and I was excited to read in your review that it has some depth to it, too! Of course, my library is way backlogged on releasing all the new titles, so I’ve been waiting for like two months for it (being first in line), but ah well. Lots of other things to read, too 🙂
I pictured Fleetwood Mac the entire time I was reading Daisy Jones. I also wanted to hear that music!