Anyhow, even though it's January 2017, I still wanted to share with you the books I read in October. So here goes. In October I read 6 books, which sounds like alot, even to me. And I'd have to say, my favorite book this month was probably Love Warrior.
The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende
You guys, I can't really remember this book, so I don't have much to say about it unfortunately. I remember appreciating the rich history the couple had, but that's about all I can recall.
Goodreads blurb - "In 1939, as Poland falls under the shadow of the Nazis, young Alma Belasco's parents send her away to live in safety with an aunt and uncle in their opulent mansion in San Francisco. There, as the rest of the world goes to war, she encounters Ichimei Fukuda, the quiet and gentle son of the family's Japanese gardener. Unnoticed by those around them, a tender love affair begins to blossom. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the two are cruelly pulled apart as Ichimei and his family, like thousands of other Japanese Americans are declared enemies and forcibly relocated to internment camps run by the United States government. Throughout their lifetimes, Alma and Ichimei reunite again and again, but theirs is a love that they are forever forced to hide from the world..."
Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover
I should say now, I really like Colleen Hoover's books, and I tend to fly through them as I'm always dying to know how the story ends. And yes, the genre is romance, but most of them are like a good romance story, and this one was just alot of sex! And I found myself skipping pages to find out how the story ended. I liked this, but not nearly as much as I liked It Ends with Us (SOOO GOOD!!).
Goodreads blurb - "When Tate Collins meets airline pilot Miles Archer, she knows it isn’t love at first sight. They wouldn’t even go so far as to consider themselves friends. The only thing Tate and Miles have in common is an undeniable mutual attraction. Once their desires are out in the open, they realize they have the perfect set-up. He doesn’t want love, she doesn’t have time for love, so that just leaves the sex. Their arrangement could be surprisingly seamless, as long as Tate can stick to the only two rules Miles has for her. Never ask about the past. Don’t expect a future. They think they can handle it, but realize almost immediately they can’t handle it at all. Hearts get infiltrated. Promises get broken. Rules get shattered. Love gets ugly."
All Things Cease to appear by Elizabeth Brundage
You know, I remember this one. Kind of reminded me of Gone Girl with the darkness of it all, but the likeability and the audacity of the psychopath still leaves me unnerved. If you're into that kind of thing, then you'd enjoy this alot. It just left me really sad, for the wife that was murdered and for the daughter at the loss of her mother. Ugh. And I remember thinking it felt long, like 400 pages long.
Goodreads blurb - "Late one winter afternoon in upstate New York, George Clare comes home to find his wife murdered and their three-year-old daughter alone--for how many hours?--in her room down the hall. He had recently, begrudgingly, taken a position at the private college nearby teaching art history, and moved his family into this tight-knit, impoverished town. And he is the immediate suspect--the question of his guilt echoing in a story shot through with secrets both personal and professional. While his parents rescue him from suspicion, a persistent cop is stymied at every turn in proving Clare a heartless murderer. The pall of death is ongoing, and relentless; behind one crime are others, and more than twenty years will pass before a hard kind of justice is finally served. At once a classic "who-dun-it" that morphs into a "why-and-how-dun-it," this is also a rich and complex portrait of a psychopath and a marriage, and an astute study of the various taints that can scar very different families, and even an entire community."
Love Warrior by Glennon Doyle Melton
I should start off by saying I'm a Glennon fan. I love her writing and the way she writes with such vulnerability. She just puts it all out there, nothing to lose, everything to gain, so much truth. And I appreciate that. And I'm a sucker for a good memoir. I love reading about others journeys with their past to get to where they are today. I love reading about their growth and their whole self discovery. I really enjoyed Carry On Warrior as well.
Goodreads blurb - "Just when Glennon Doyle Melton was beginning to feel she had it all figured out—three happy children, a doting spouse, and a writing career so successful that her first book catapulted to the top of the New York Times bestseller list—her husband revealed his infidelity and she was forced to realize that nothing was as it seemed. A recovering alcoholic and bulimic, Glennon found that rock bottom was a familiar place. In the midst of crisis, she knew to hold on to what she discovered in recovery: that her deepest pain has always held within it an invitation to a richer life. Love Warrior is the story of one marriage, but it is also the story of the healing that is possible for any of us when we refuse to settle for good enough and begin to face pain and love head-on. This astonishing memoir reveals how our ideals of masculinity and femininity can make it impossible for a man and a woman to truly know one another - and it captures the beauty that unfolds when one couple commits to unlearning everything they’ve been taught so that they can finally, after thirteen years of marriage, fall in love. Love Warrior is a gorgeous and inspiring account of how we are born to be warriors: strong, powerful, and brave; able to confront the pain and claim the love that exists for us all. This chronicle of a beautiful, brutal journey speaks to anyone who yearns for deeper, truer relationships and a more abundant, authentic life."
The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer
Another memoir, and she is hilarious. I did find myself skipping through some parts, but I also found myself laughing outloud at others. And I really appreciated just how candid and honest she was about her life and all the happenings in it.
Goodreads blurb - "The Emmy Award-winning comedian, actress, writer, and star of Inside Amy Schumer and the acclaimed film Trainwreck has taken the entertainment world by storm with her winning blend of smart, satirical humor. Now, Amy Schumer has written a refreshingly candid and uproariously funny collection of (extremely) personal and observational essays. In The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo, Amy mines her past for stories about her teenage years, her family, relationships, and sex and shares the experiences that have shaped who she is - a woman with the courage to bare her soul to stand up for what she believes in, all while making us laugh. Ranging from the raucous to the romantic, the heartfelt to the harrowing, this highly entertaining and universally appealing collection is the literary equivalent of a night out with your best friends - an unforgettable and fun adventure that you wish could last forever. Whether she's experiencing lust-at-first-sight while in the airport security line, sharing her own views on love and marriage, admitting to being an introvert, or discovering her cross-fit instructor's secret bad habit, Amy Schumer proves to be a bighearted, brave, and thoughtful storyteller that will leave you nodding your head in recognition, laughing out loud, and sobbing uncontrollably - but only because it's over."
The Year of Living Danishly: My Twelve Months Unearthing the Secrets of the Worlds Happiest Country by Helen Russell
I love these types of books! I love learning about what it's like to live as an outsider in another country. I love learning about the systems and the social benefits and how the culture and the country operate. And I imagine, if I was to ever write a book someday it would either be a memoir or a book about living in another culture, or both! But I felt like this book kind of dragged on, or perhaps I felt like I didn't really get to know the author and her husband all that well? Or maybe it's because I literally read it right after Amy Schumer's book where she's baring her entire soul and I finished the book thinking we were besties. Truly though, it doesn't even compare to Bringing up Bebe,
a book I love written by an American mother living in France. I think I secretly wanted it to be that, and it wasn't. But I learned alot about Denmark!
Goodreads blurb - "Denmark is officially the happiest nation on Earth. When Helen Russell is forced to move to rural Jutland, can she discover the secrets of their happiness? Or will the long, dark winters and pickled herring take their toll? A Year of Living Danishly looks at where the Danes get it right, where they get it wrong, and how we might just benefit from living a little more Danishly ourselves."
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