I just finished Jill Savage & Anne McClane's new book on friendship, Better Together. I'll have a more thorough review soon, but here's a taste:
The entire book is full of practical advice. Because, it turns out, friendship is work, just like anything else worth doing or having.
Spoiler alert: I really appreciated this book and took several pages of notes and favorite quotes. So, if you have a chance to pick it up (I saw it at our library just yesterday), I recommend it.
Recently Finished
Hardy is kind of a blank in my Brit Lit wheelhouse. Far From the Madding Crowd is the first of his books I've ever finished. Overall, I enjoyed the wit and humor in many sections. I did feel like it was written by two different authors, because the ending seems so different from the earlier parts of the story. Having read a little about Hardy's life - after I finished - I suspect that's not far from the truth.
So, short take: not a new favorite, but I am glad I finished it.
The Secret Rooms is a nonfiction look at some mysteries around the life of the Ninth Duke of Rutland. Parts of it are fascinating and intriguing. If you like Downton Abbey or similar stories, or if you enjoy British History, you might like this one. I'm not sure the "three mysteries" really hold up an entire book, but Bailey's style is engaging and moves at a fairly steady pace. (The extensive quoting from period letters did cause me to skim a time or two.)
Scarlet, second in a YA series by Marissa Meyer, is a fairy tale - science fiction mashup. When you try to describe it, it's kind of ridiculous, but they are entertaining.
One thing I really hate: the word "thaumaturge". It comes up a lot in these stories and I want to stab my eyes every time. I can handle Fantasy and Sci-Fi vocabulary that tries to give a story an "other-worldly" feel, but that particular word is just ugly and ridiculous, even though it's a real word with a classical root. (Yes, I have strong opinions about words.)
Recently Added
The Disappearing Spoon just sort of jumped into my bag at the library. We've been fascinated by all things Periodic Table ever since the girls took an online periodic table memorizing course.
Death Descends on Saturn Villa by M.R.C. Kasasian. Third in a mystery series. This series is gritty, over the top, and intriguing. If the books were movies, I probably wouldn't watch (definitely too gruesome) but as books they work for me.
Given the current political situation, Saving Leonardo seems like a timely read.
Current Read Aloud
We've been adding to our Puffin Classics collection and The Wind in the Willows is one of our recent purchases. Our bedtime read aloud time has been interrupted a lot recently, but we're a few chapters in now (the chapters are long!) and we're enjoying it.
Our morning read alouds are mostly the same.
Current Book to Review
I'll have a longer review of Better Together up soon.
Current Kindle Deals
A new month means some new deals. Here are two that I recognized:
Let. It. Go. by Karen Ehman is $1.99.
Who's Pushing Your Buttons? by Dr. John Townsend is also $1.99.
What are you reading now?
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