December Reads 2017

Happy New Year's Day!  So excited for this upcoming year of reading, but before I post my "year in review" I wanted to share what I read in December.  Here in no particular order is my last month of reading for 2017...

When Christmas Comes by Debbie Macomber

I'll tell you a secret... I'm addicted to  Hallmark Christmas Movies.  I rarely watch TV and occasionally will watch movies, but the month of December I've DVR'd more movies in one month then I have all year.  I love the easy story line of the Hallmark movies- boy meets girl, girl or boy has something happening in life to complicate a relationship starting, there sometimes is a mystery, and always, always the couple will get together at the end.  I know super cheesy, predictable and not real life. I know Hallmark also needs to diversify their actors (almost all are Caucasian and mid socioeconomic class). However, I like a little cheesy/predictable break from the real world.  So I made a request of my Page Habits FB group and asked if anyone had suggestions for "Hallmark movie" type reads.  Debbie Macomber was an author suggested.  So I took out a few from the library and this one was my last read of 2017 and I was so happy with it.  I gave it 5 stars because it was cleanly written, two different story lines, yet not overly complicated and easy to follow along and not have to "think to hard" while reading.  There are three main characters, all women and all strong with great personality- Faith a divorced, 30 something, kindergarten teacher that decides to go to Seattle to surprise her friend for Christmas, Holly (friend Faith plans to surprise with a xmas visit)- 50 something, widow, and librarian who decides to take her own little trip at Christmas to surprise her college age daughter Emily who is at Harvard, and of course Emily (Holly's daughter) who is trying to find her way with men and life and decides not to go home for Christmas, but instead take a motorcycle trip to Florida with her new boyfriend.  So I think you know where the story line will go- Faith goes to Seattle, but Holly isn't there.  Holly goes to Boston and surprises her daughter who isn't happy and leaves her mother in Boston alone to head on a Harley trip with "biker boyfriend".  You'll have to read the book to find out how the story ends.  Easy, quick, and delightful read!  Perfect way to end 2017.

A Christmas Journey by Anne Perry

This was another author suggested for my "Hallmark movie" book request.  I started with this first book in a series of Christmas mysteries.  The book takes place during Crimean War. However, the Crimean war is far from where the book's characters are.   A group of elite, high brow people meet at Applecross Mansion to celebrate Christmas.  A death occurs during the holiday weekend. Due to the circumstances around the death the protagonist Lady Vespasia Cunningham-Gould travels with Isobel another lady present at the mansion for the Christmas festivities to right what went wrong at the Christmas Dinner.  I was heavily disappointed with this read.  There wasn't much mystery and the story drug on and luckily wasn't a very big page count.    

Cry of the Sea by D.G. Driver

This is the first in the Juniper Sawfeather series.  I was sent this book to read for the Multicultural Children's Book Day in January 2018.  It is a YA read and I wanted to make sure and get this book done prior to the Multicultural Children's Book Day celebration.  So I won't be posting much right now on this book, but stay tuned for January's MCBD celebration post.  Sorry to leave you hanging...

Into the Water by Paula Hawkins

I had been waiting to read this book for awhile.  I was hesitant to read it, because I read "Girl On the Train" by Paula Hawkins and it was one of the few times I felt the movie was better than the book.  I found the book to drag on.  So fast forward and I get an offer from Book of the Month Club to get this book for discounted price, so of course I take it.  Well it was a totally different reading experience with Paula's 2nd book.  I really liked it.  It was what a psychological thriller should be. It should make you want to stay up all night long and read.  It should make you feel a little afraid to be alone when reading it.  It should have strong characters, well written story line, moves through the story process easily and not forced.  This book, I feel, has all of those characteristics.    Nel and Jules are sisters and don't have great history.  So Jules' world is turned upside down when she is contacted and told her sister is dead.  Her sister's death isn't the biggest surprise, but the way in which she died-jumping into the water.  Pick this book up if you want a good page turner.  5 stars I gave this one.  So glad I looked past her "Girl on the Train" and found "Into the Water".

Tell Me Three Things By Julie Buxbaum

One of my audiobooks for December.  I LOVED it!  It was a YA read and there is something about a well written love story with teenagers involved.  I loved the premise of this book.  Jessie moves to a new town and starts receiving texts on her phone from "somebody nobody"- SN.  SN helps her find her way in her new prep school in LA.  This is a big change from her previous city of Chicago and her school and friends back home.  The dialog is great and I loved the use of texting to bind two people together.  You will have to read it to figure out who SN is.  Great coming of age story.

The Little French Bistro by Nina George

I loved "The Little Paris Bookshop" so much I couldn't wait to get my hands on this read.  I also listened to this book during December.  I was disappointed with this book, especially since I so loved the first book I read by Nina George.  This one was OK, but not as great as my first Nina George read.  I wonder if authors struggle with that... how one reader's taste or "liking" can put a lot of pressure on 2nd books, or even 3rd or 4th, etc.  This one didn't do it for me, because I honestly didn't really like the main character- Marianne.  Marianne has hit rock bottom in a loveless marriage and so she decides to end her life.  Jumping into the Seine is the start of the story.  There are some redeeming characters that Marianne meets along the way, but throughout the book I just really struggled to connect with Marianne.  Just not what I was expecting after my first experience with Nina George and "The Little Paris Bookshop".  Oh the expectations a reader can put on a book.

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*CK by Mark Manson

As you know I wrote about this book earlier this month.  It was one of those books that I just couldn't wait to post on.  So I won't be redundant and bore you with further posting on this excellent book.  Again, no offense to those who don't like the F*CK word.  Pass over this book if that word offends you.  If it doesn't offend you I highly recommend you pick this one up. There were so many great lines/ideas in this book that I copied so many into my "quote book"- hence why I had to post early.  I encourage you to look back at previous post on this book if you want to see some of those great quotes/ideas  

The Andersens of Eden by Ethel Barker

I am so grateful to call Ethel my friend.  She is an amazing woman who I know through my church.   She is in her 80's and has published two books and is working on her third.  Her first book "For the Love of Pete" is about a orphan who came to Iowa on the orphan train.  This, her second book, is a story about an Iowa farm family during WWII.   There are four boys and one girl who make up the Andersen family.  The children's grandparents also live on the farm, in a separate home.  It is a realistic view of what life was like for those in the Midwest during WWII.  Ethel does a great job pulling in so many different topics from wartime, both stateside and abroad.  This is an appropriate read for junior high and high school students along with adults.  My 7th grade son read it and thought it was good. He is very into WWII history and reads a lot of  WWII nonfiction and fiction and so this book was perfect for him.   He especially liked Stanley, one of the brothers, and was concerned about his fate during the war.  I think that is a sign of a good book when a reader becomes vested in what happens to the characters they are reading about. "The Andersens of Eden" another  great way to learn about history through historical fiction.  Thanks to my friend Ethel many adults and young adults will have a broader understanding of what life was like for Iowans during WWII.  Thanks Ethel!

Well that's all for December.  It was a great way to end this year of reading.