2018 Reading Round Up

I have been a TERRIBLE blogger and not a great reader in 2018. My last reading blog post was in February 2018 with this post. Sigh...

In 2018, I read 15 books. For me, that's almost nothing!

In 2017, I finished 23 books. Better, but also not my norm.

In 2016? 40 books! And, I know I missed a few on my log in 2016 too--that was the year I got serious about tracking my reading, but I also found out that my library didn't automatically keep an accessible history of your check outs! You had to request that they turn on tracking! So, there were several books that I meant to list, but forgot to write down or photograph and they weren't in my library history because I didn't know that I had to request that it be turned on.

So, back to 2018...

2018 was a stressful year on many fronts. The actual work of my job was great, but the management was terrible and grew rapidly worse over the course of the year to the point that many people quit, two people were hired and fired after turning out to be complete disasters, and a few others are planning to quit.

My job was so stressful that, combined with other stresses related to dealing with my uncle's estate and his debts, I simply didn't have the energy for much more than simply existing. I certainly couldn't focus on reading as much as I used to read. I couldn't focus on my Etsy shops. I couldn't focus on writing. 

I just simply could not focus.

As the year started to come to a close, I began to realize just how much I missed reading and creating and how off-kilter life was feeling as a result.

I became more intentional about setting aside time every morning to create. And, I became more intentional about setting aside time for reading in the evenings. 

Over the last couple of months of 2018, my morning routine was, as often as possible:

• wake up, stretch, use the bathroom
• feed the dogs, cat, and fish
• make coffee
• gather creative materials
• turn on YouTube
• craft while listening/watching

In the evenings, my routine was often:

• feed the dogs and cat, and turn off the aquarium light
• make coffee, tea, or hot chocolate
• run a super hot bath with lavender infused epsom salts
• stretch while the bath filled
• read while in the tub

These two routines made such a huge difference in my life! I felt calmer and more centered, even though things were still chaotic otherwise!

Going into 2019, well, a lot is changing! First and foremost...

I QUIT MY JOB! 

Thankfully, my uncle left me in a position where I could do so and go for quite some time without worrying about money (although I do worry about health insurance after my son and I both had health scares over the past few years). I'd rather have my uncle alive and in my life though....

I'm signed up for an EMT course that begins in January, and I'm looking forward to learning a new medically related skill set after years and years of secretarial and reception type work in healthcare (but also three years as a medical scribe which was insanely fun and inspiring, but doesn't pay enough to cover living expenses!). 

I'm also committed to taking my Etsy shops (links at the end of this post) up several notches and earning real money from them, as well as to earning an income from my several blogs. Plus, I'm committed to revamping my writing career--in the past I have been a ghostwriter and a blogger for others. Time for mama to write for mama! 

But....back to the whole point of this post: my 2018 reading list!

I like to keep track of my reading in an album on my personal Facebook page (no, I won't add you as a Facebook friend -- instead follow me on Instagram HERE, HERE, or HERE). I rank each book on a 0-5 scale with 0 being the absolute worst drivel you could possibly put eyes to and 5 being a book I likely will read again or that I highly recommend you read because it was just so fantastic!

Here are the books I read in 2018--each is linked to Amazon where you can purchase the books, but I found most at my local library:

5/5 -- You should definitely read these books:
Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward (Read my review HERE.)
Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum (Read my review HERE.)
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro
Tumble and Blue by Cassie Beasley (This is actually a book for middle grade schoolers, but I still loved it!)
Crafty Superstar by Grace Dobush (Non-fiction for crafters wanting to earn money from their handiwork)
Not Tonight Josephine by George Mahood (So freaking funny! A great look at my country--the USA--through the eyes of a Brit!)
Less by Andrew Sean Geer

4.5/5 -- Not quite as amazing, but you should still read these books, er, book:
The Whistler by John Grisham (Much better than the last few Grisham novels I've read!)

4/5 -- Still pretty darn good:
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (Not to be confused with Girl on a Train by A.J. Waines which I actually thought was better -- read my comparison HERE.)
Umami by Laia Jufresa
Pancakes in Paris by Craig Carlson (I got to visit Carlson's restaurant in Paris this past summer!)
Saturday Night Widows by Becky Aikman

A few photos from the real 

Breakfast in America from Pancakes in Paris:

My London and Paris travel companions -- one of my dearest friends and her daughter (who is also a treasure).

3.5/5 -- A nice diversion, but not the best I've ever read. Think entertainment rather than brain nourishment:
The Strange Disappearance of a Bollywood Star by Vaseem Khan

2/5 -- Ugh! Why did I bother? 
The Crooked Staircase by Dean Koontz (This was actually great until the last chapter when it became obvious that you had to read the sequel to find out what happens. I don't like cliffhanger novels. Note: I don't link to books that I rate lower than a 3/5!)

What were the best and worst books you read in 2018? What are you looking forward to reading in 2019? Comment below!

Since I mentioned my Etsy shops above:

Marbles and Jam: A shop for coloring pages and stationery

 Vintage Goods MB: A shop for vintage finds for self and home

 The Crafty Hernitress: Hawking handmade crafty goods made in the silence and privacy of my own solitude

(Please note: Amazon links are affiliate links -- if you make a purchase after clicking my links, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you!)

Book Review: Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum

I'm not a big fan of reading via electronic devices, but I have significant down time at my job and am not allowed to have a regular book at my desk during work hours. One day, I was perusing Amazon, just goofing off, when I stumbled upon a cool perk that comes with Amazon Prime: Prime Reading!

Prime Reading is a cool bonus perk that comes with an Amazon Prime membership, allowing you free (outside of your Prime membership fees) online access to books, magazines, and other reading material. Most (maybe all?) are compatible with Amazon Kindle, although Prime Reading is NOT part of the Kindle Unlimited program. 

I've read a few books online through Prime Reading, and most recently finished Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum. Those Who Save Us is a fictional novel shifting between the modern, Midwestern United States and Nazi Germany. It also shifts between a mother and daughter's stories. 

Anna, the mother in this novel, is a young woman in Nazi Germany, living under the roof of her brutish, Nazi-sympathizer father. She begins an affair with a Jewish doctor whom she hides in her home -- practically right under her father's nose -- and by whom she becomes pregnant. Ultimately, Anna ends up seeking refuge for herself and her baby girl with a female baker who turns out to be baking bread for the Nazis while also smuggling messages out of concentration camps and work crews for the Jews. Eventually, Anna is pulled into an affair with a high ranking, but brutal Nazi officer -- an affair she continues in order to protect her child from starvation and other horrors of Nazi Germany. 

In the modern, Midwestern United States, Anna's daughter, Trudy, has many questions about her father and her mother's life before they found their way to the USA. Trudy knows nothing of the true identity of her father and knows very little about her own mother, even after moving her mother into a senior citizen's home and then into Trudy's own home. Together, the two lead quite separate and quiet existences under the same roof, even after Anna discovers and is upset by the nature of Trudy's research project as a college professor, interviewing former Nazi sympathizers (and the occasional Nazi victim). 

Ultimately, through Trudy's interviews, she learns to understand and appreciate her mother, even as her mother refuses to confirm the truth about Trudy's childhood and parentage.

Overall, Those Who Save Us is a poignant, well paced novel that is worth reading. It is both contemporary and historical fiction. I highly recommend it! 

What are you reading and enjoying right now?

If you want to try Prime Reading, you'll need an Amazon Prime membership -- get a free 30-day Prime trial HERE. 

Book Review: Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

Whoa!

If there is one book I want you to read this year, it is Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward. I was BLOWN AWAY by the lyricism of Ward's mastery over the English language combined with such an incredibly compelling story involving multiple generations, blurred lines between the living and the dead, and the interplay of race and privilege.

Sing, Unburied, Sing takes place in the modern South in the United States, specifically in rural Mississippi. It is a story covering multiple points of view--and is told from several points of view-- with overlapping and diverging concerns, goals, and experiences. The character at the heart of it all is young Jojo, a boy on the cusp of manhood, caught in that uncomfortable space of the early teen years where one often feels like a child while being expected to live up to adult-like expectations. Then, you have Jojo's little sister, three year old Kayla, their meth-addicted mother, Leonie, inmate father, Michael, and their grandparents. Woven throughout are two ghostly characters, Given and Ritchie, both of whom have passed away but whose souls are bound to earth.

Jojo, his sister, and their grandmother clearly are able to interact with the souls of the dead--those bound to earth--but in different ways and oblivious of each other's abilities. Leonie, as well, seems to possess this power, although she attributes her visions to drug-induced hallucinations.

Ward weaves multiple tales into one with an attention to detail that leads to well rounded characters, so real that I almost felt Kayla in my arms when reading from Jojo's point of view.

But, above it all, the real reason you need to read Sing, Unburied, Sing is purely for the love of language. Ward is a master. Her novel is poetic in ways that you must read to fully appreciate.

I just love this description of young Kayla speaking:

"'Hi,' Kayla says, drawing the word out so that it's two long syllables, her voice rolling up and down a hill. It's the same thing she says to her baby doll when she picks it up first thing in the morning..."

Or a description of the children's father:

"When he started getting skinny, I thought it was because of his nightmares. When his cheekbones started standing out on his face like rocks under water, I thought it was because he was stressed out over money. When his spine rose under his skin, a line of knuckles punching up his back, I thought it was because of his grief and the fact he couldn't find another welding job anywhere..."

You may realize from the two bits of text above that Sing, Unburied, Sing is not a particularly upbeat novel. When I was a teenager, my mom once told me that she won't read anything I recommend because I only like to read, as she described it, "depressing novels." I don't know that I would go that far, but Sing, Unburied, Sing is definitely heavy.

And, I loved it.

Have you read Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward? What did you think?

Haven't read it yet, but really want to? Buy it HERE on Amazon.

This post contains affiliate links.

Book Comparison: The Girl on the Train vs Girl on a Train

In July 2016, I was perusing the stacks at my local library when a book caught my eye...

Whoa! How is the hottest book of the summer actually on the shelf? How does this not have a hold list a mile long? I couldn't believe my luck and snatched the book immediately! I took it home and started to read...I was totally drawn in and couldn't put the book down.

But...

It wasn't the book I thought it was!

I thought I had picked up The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. In reality, I had picked up Girl on a Train by A.J. Waines. Talk about similar titles! I assumed that the cover was different than what I'd seen all over social media because sometimes publishers put out more than one edition, changing the cover art from edition to edition. No big deal, right?

I'm not sure when I realized that Girl on a Train and The Girl on the Train were two different books, but as I read through the first one, I realized that I actually didn't care.

I LOVED Girl on a Train! I couldn't put it down and was annoyed when I had to stop reading to do those pesky tasks like going to work, sleeping, or taking care of my life. I was enthralled and couldn't get enough of the story. A.J. Waines put together a gripping mystery and thriller. At several points I thought I knew what was going to happen next only to be proven wrong. It was a page turner and I will definitely be reading more by Waines in the future!

Now, fast forward to this past month. I found myself stuck at the airport, my flight delayed, and nothing but boredom ahead. I hadn't brought a bunch of books or magazines or other distractions as I was taking a fast trip and wouldn't have much downtime. So, what does a girl do? She heads to the travel mart and picks up a few books, among them The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins.

I remembered what a huge hit The Girl on the Train had been and a few friends with similar reading tastes had greatly enjoyed it. Why not give it a read?

I wanted to love The Girl on the Train.
I wanted to put it down and exclaim, "That was totally worth it!"
I wanted to agree with my friends that this had been an amazing book purchase!

I couldn't do any of those three things.

In fairness, I did enjoy The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. I found the novel's style and storyline interesting. I would recommend it as an interesting read.

While Girl on a Train by A.J. Waines was a straightforward novel told from one point of view, The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins was told from alternating points of view, bouncing among three female characters and two timelines. Each character was well developed and thus it was pretty easy to keep track of who was narrating each section. Unfortunately, I didn't find The Girl on the Train as suspenseful as I had hoped it would be. Both are worth reading, but ultimately, The Girl on the Train was at least entertaining.

I originally rated Girl on a Train by A.J. Waines as a 5 out of 5 must read in THIS blog post. I'm giving The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins a 4 out of 5.

Have you read either? Both? What did you think?

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