Books | On My Nightstand | September 2015

 

I absolutely love the library here in town, the public one. It doesn't have every book, but it has a pretty good selection and with access to the college's libraries and inter library loans - I think I am in a pretty good book situation. Here are the books waiting to be read (from top to bottom).

1. Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter

I actually purchased this book in May and still haven't read it. So maybe if I put it on here I will feel more obligated to read it and share my thoughts. I have seen and read varying reviews of this book so we will see what my thoughts are. Honestly, I tried to read the description and couldn't even focus on it. That's not a good sign for the plot...

2. The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

 This book was purchased on the same trip as the previous one. I got this because I have read a book(s) by Waters before and really enjoyed them so I picked this one up to try it.

3. On The Run: Fugitive Life in an American City by Alice Goffman

My husband read this book for, I believe, a book club he was in during graduate school. He told me that he thought it was something that I would enjoy reading. I haven't read it yet (obviously) but the idea behind it is totally my scene. The author spent 6 years living in a poor neighborhood in Philly; she observed, researched and interviewed the people living there. I'm excited to read it. Here is a quote from the Goodreads description: "Arrest quotas and high-tech surveillance techniques criminalize entire blocks, and transform the very associations that should stabilize young lives—family, relationships, jobs—into liabilities, as the police use such relationships to track down suspects, demand information, and threaten consequences."

4. Top Secret Twenty-One by Janet Evanovich

I have read the first 20 books in this series and found, maybe, the first 5 funny. But now I just kind of want to know what happens and how it all ends. 

 

5. Simply from Scratch by Alicia Bessette 

 This book is about a woman, Zell, whose husband died during a post-Katrina relief mission. She's been grieving for over a year, and is still unable to enter the attic which is full of memories and belongings. She hasn't even turned on her own oven, because cooking was his chore. She decides to enter a baking contest, which (obviously) will force her to turn it on. She hopes to win and donate the winnings to Katrina survivors in her husbands memory. As a parallel story, she has a 9 year old neighbor named Ingrid who is growing up without a mother and obviously is struggling with that. She begins to plot how to help her doting father find the next love of his life, and well I'm sure we can all figure out where this will go. Seems like a nice, light read.

6. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty 

This book follows three women who are all at a crossroads in their life. Madeline's ex husband and his new wife have recently moved into her beloved beach side community. Their child is even in the same class as Madeline's youngest, and to top if off Madeline's teenager is siding with her father and his new wife. Celeste is the mom of twin boys, and they are starting school. Celeste and her husband are set to become the "king and queen" of the school parent body, but how much more is Celeste willing to give? Lastly is Jane, a single mom who is young and often mistaken as the nanny of her little boy. Jane is sad beyond her few years, and is concerned about her son. Madeline and Celeste take Jane under their wing, not realizing how her son will affect them all.

Have any of you read any of these books? What did you think? And recommendations of books to read next?