Does anybody care why it's been 47 days since my last review and 30 days since my last post?...didn't think so. Suffice it to say that it's been nothing more dramatic than simply too busy with my "real" job. So, having said that, what I'm going to do is simply list the nationally known books I've read since my 2/3/18 review of The Life Intended, along with a rating and a couple of lines for each. These are in the order read:
1. before i go, Colleen Oakley (women's fiction). I read this because I LOVED her Close Enough to Touch. This one is also very good. 3.5/4
2. The Women in the Castle, Jessica Shattuck (historical fiction). I saw Jessica live at Rakestraw Books with Chloe Benjamin. I decided to read Jessica's 1st because it looked more interesting. It was. 3.5/4
3. The Immortalists, Chloe Benjamin (contemporary fiction). She is obviously the other author I saw at Rakestraw. This is good too. I didn't go gaga for it. But it's still solid. 3/4.
4. THE HATE U GIVE, Angie Thomas (young adult). This was recommended by an RBC member, Diana. She said it was must read. She was right. 3.625/4
5. The Night Trade, Barry Eisler (thriller). This is book 2 in Barry's Livia Lone series. I liked #1 a little better (Livia Lone, 3.5/4). But I will read anything Barry writes. 3.25/4
6. The Love Goddess' Cooking School, Melissa Senate (women's fiction). This is the other book (along with The Life Intended) that my blogging guru, Melissa, sent me. And she was right on. This was also so good. 3.75/4
7. How to Stop Time, Matt Haig (fiction/fantasy). I read this because I went to see Matt at Rakestraw (methinks there is a pattern developing here). Michael B., the owner of Rakestraw, told me when I was at Chloe and Jessica's event that I needed to come back for Matt. So I did. He is definitely very engaging in person. And the book was good. 3.25/4
8. The French Girl, Lexie Elliott (mystery). I got this as an ARC from Berkeley, Penguin Random House. It's a debut novel, and I liked it. 3.25/4
9. The Mark of Wu, Stephen M. Gray (fiction/thriller/historical). I got this ARC from Stephen's publicist, Stephanie Barko. It's book 1 in a series. For most of the book, I was pretty sure I wouldn't read #2. But it turns out that the book grew on me. And now I think I would. I want to know what happens to the main characters. 2.75/4
10. Where'd You go, Bernadette, Maria Semple (contemporary fiction). I used to go to the Los Gatos Library Tuesday Night Book Club all the time. But since our leader, Melissa, left, I haven't been there. When I saw on an email that the club would be doing this book in March, I decided to get it and show up. I had seen this book around a lot, and it was an excuse to finally read it. It didn't blow me away, but I liked it well enough. 3/4
11. the family next door, Sally Hepworth (contemporary fiction). This is Sally's 4th, and latest. If you recall (and why would you?), I read Sally's 1st 3 books last year and gave them all a 3.75/4. This one was a smidge below those but still absolutely a very worthy read. 3.625/4
Hopefully, I will be able to resume some kind of normal blogging schedule. We shall see.
