reading + eating
I’m shocked to report that I’ve already read 20 books this year! At this rate, I should probably up my 2021 reading goal, but I’m kind of loving that it can give me the luxury of finally checking out some of those reallllllly long books that have been sitting on my TBR forever — so for now I’m leaving it. This last month also gave me my first AND second 5-star reads of the year, which is awesome. Let’s dive into what I read and see if there’s any you’d like to check out.
I can’t remember when I first heard of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab, but no sooner than I did, it was suddenly everywhere. People couldn’t stop talking about it, and with the description, I could see why. Still, I was a little hesitant to pick it up because we all know how I feel about high expectations — they can ruin many a reading experience.
Addie LaRue is about a young woman in 18th century France who makes a bargain with the devil to live forever — and in that bargain she is doomed to never be remembered by anyone she meets. Until someone does remember her.
[Read more...] about The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue + Sweet and Savory MadeleinesWhen Henry was still a very tiny baby, we fell in love with a book I’d never even heard of before — Thank You and Good Night by Patrick McDonnell. We insisted on starting a bedtime routine around 3 months old and settled on: bottle, pajamas, book, bed. Almost a year later, bedtime remains the same (except the bottle is replaced with teeth brushing). We also always read two books, and this is often one of them.
In this book, three friends have a sleepover. Jean the elephant and Alan Alexander the bear spend the night at their friend Clement the bunny’s house. They play and play and eat and play until they are exhausted enough to finally go to bed.
[Read more...] about Kids Edition: Thank You and Good Night + Peanut Butter CookiesEven though I read Oona Out of Order almost a month ago, I’ve thought about it almost every day since. I love time travel novels, because not only are they usually very interesting but they also get me thinking. When I closed the book, I wasn’t ready to be done with Oona. I seeked out a podcast interview with the author Margarita Montimore. It also just so happens that last week Netflix announced that it would be adapting the novel into a series (so excited!).
The concept of Oona Out of Order isn’t one I’ve encountered before — in it, the main character Oona experiences her adult life (you guessed it) out of order. Her birthday is on New Year’s Day, which is quite symbolic I’d say, new beginnings and all of that. Every year, at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve she abruptly leaves the current year and "wakes up" in a completely random one; it could be the future, it could be the past. The first time it happens, she turns 19 but is suddenly living in her 51-year-old body. She’s also leaped forward from 1982 to 2015.
[Read more...] about Oona Out of Order + Chai LattesHappy February! I hope you’re staying warm! It’s freezing here (literally, below freezing for most of this week, according to the forecast). It’s the kind of weather that makes you want to curl up under a blanket and read a book — I would say it’s great weather for reading, but what weather isn’t, really? I read a lot of great books this month, including some long-awaited reads that didn’t disappoint. Let’s get to them!
The Bean Trees is a book I’ve been wanting to read for a while. I picked up a copy years ago at a used book sale. It sat on my shelf untouched. In early 2020, I received another copy in the mail from a friend, and though that should’ve been the catalyst I needed, it wasn’t. So, in pursuit of my "read my shelves" goal this year, I chose it as my book club’s latest read — and finally, mission accomplished!
Barbara Kingsolver’s novel follows Taylor Greer, who grew up in Kentucky with a focus on avoiding pregnancy and getting out of town in the future. She heads west in a beat-up car and finds herself caring for an abandoned child, an American Indian girl she calls Turtle. The story is about their life together as they settle in Arizona with a group of friends who becomes family. It’s a short book, but one that I thought was perfect for a book club discussion.
[Read more...] about The Bean Trees + Roasted Tomatillo Salsa