10.24.18 2

Reading List: No. 5

Fall Reading List

After taking a six week break, I’ve been on a big fall reading kick. When we moved to Colorado, we quickly became members at our local library. It’s been a game changer. I keep track of the books I want to read in my Amazon cart and then request them at the library. The only downside is when I get a bunch at one time!

I added a rating for each book this time. I always think it’s helpful to see from others. I hope you like it!

Fall Reading List

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan is the first in a 3 book series about, you guessed it, crazy rich Asians. I read it before the movie came out and have to admit I didn’t love it. I have no doubt the crazy rich really do live the kind of lifestyle portrayed in the book. It’s so extravagant and far from my life that I couldn’t completely get into it.

  • Rating: C- (I was this close to quit reading it, which I rarely ever do)

Lilac Girls by Martha Hal Kelly is the one WWII book I read. It’s my favorite genre and Lilac Girls did not disappoint. It follows three woman throughout WWII: a New York socialite working for the French consulate, a Polish teenager sent to a concentration camp and a German doctor working at that concentration camp. Every time I read a WWII novel, I learn another horrific part about that time in history.

  • Rating: A

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah is the best book of this bunch. I was a huge fan of The Nightingale, which I talked about in my last reading list, and immediately bought this one. It’s set mostly in Alaska and chronicles the story of a family’s survival during the harsh winters. It took me 50-70 pages to get into The Great Alone, but then I couldn’t put it down.

  • Rating: A+

The Shortest Way Home by Miriam Parker is a fun read about not settling for the path in life that everyone else might expect. Based in Sonoma, I was itching for a return trip to wine country by the time I finished this book. The Shortest Way Home isn’t the deepest book I read this fall, but it was a fun, easy read to balance out the more emotional ones.

  • Rating: B

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng has the best ending of all the books I read the past couple of months. Certain aspects reminded me of The Truman Show movie, but with more interesting characters. Little Fires Everywhere is the story of two families, one led by a free-spirited artist mother and the other by a mother that plays by the rules.

  • Rating: B+

Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton was a surprise winner for me. My knowledge of Cuban history was almost non-exist before reading Next Year in Havana. I didn’t realize how much Cubans, both those that stayed behind and those that escaped to the US, suffered under Fidel Castro.

  • Rating: A-

Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win by Jo Piazza is such a timely book. It’s about a woman running for Senate during the midterm elections in a political environment reminiscent of the one we’re living in now. I didn’t anticipate the ending at all, which I’ve come to appreciate. I was unsettled (maybe even upset)

  • Rating: A-

Next up I’m reading Ghosted and Love and Other Words. What else should I read?

P.S. You can find all of my reading lists here.

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