Oof. October was a rough reading month. At the end of September I finished a very long book that I loved (The Ink Black Heart by Robert Galbraith) and was having an issue with my library card. It had to be renewed, in person, and in the meantime the library was not allowing me to place any holds. As I finished The Ink Black Heart I realized I had NOTHING TO READ. It was an emergency!
I rushed to the library, renewed my card (phew! life can continue!) and grabbed these two books:
I read somewhere that Liane Moriarty’s favorite author is Elizabeth Berg. This kind of surprises me. I mean, if I’m going to say someone’s my favorite author, then I want to be gasping with surprise at plot twists and/or crying because I’m so moved (hello, J.K. Rowling.) Like all Elizabeth Berg books, this one was fun. I got immediately engrossed in the character’s lives and wanted to know what would happen in the end. And, a couple months from now I probably won’t remember anything about it (it’s about a group of people going to their 40th high school reunion.) It was an enjoyable read, but nothing life-changing.
Binti. I really wanted to love this one, and there were things I did love. The world-building is incredible and there were fascinating aspects to it. I just… I guess I wanted a more intricate plot. I was reading this during a stressful time and I think I needed a book that was more un-put-downable, if you know what I mean. NGS highly recommends this book, and I trust her recommendations. But she also said the first book in the trilogy was the best, so I ended up only reading that part. At that point, a library hold came in, and I switched over to this:
I first saw this book on Modern Mrs. Darcy, and it sounded intriguing. When I looked on Amazon, one of the reviewers said it was the best book he’s ever read in his life. Well! I take Amazon reviews with a grain of salt, but that’s quite a recommendation.
Babel is described as “historical fantasy.” It reads so much like real historical fiction, with magical elements that are woven so seamlessly into the story that you have to remind yourself, “No- that part couldn’t really happen.” I can’t say it’s the best book I’ve ever read in my life, but then, I’m not finished yet. The ending could possibly be incredible, and shoot it right up there. I’ll let you know.
So, last month was really a reading slump. Between the problem with my library card and everything else going on in my life, I didn’t even get through three books- honestly, I can’t even think of what I was doing other than reading, so I’m not really sure how that happened. But I’m ready to kick things into gear for November!
What’s the best book you’ve read lately?
33 Responses
I haven’t read any of these, and I am looking forward to checking them out! I really liked Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin– also the new Elizabeth Strout (and the whole Lucy Barton series if you haven’t read them).
I read Zevin’s book and loved it. I haven’t read anything by Elizabeth Strout, but I should.
I’ve read some really good books lately, but I’m not sure if I’d recommend them ALL to you. The best novel I’ve read was Consent, the best nonfiction book was Unmask Alice, with honourable mentions to novel Book Lovers (so fun and sweet) and nonfiction Run Towards The Danger.
Ha ha… you’re probably afraid to recommend too many books to me after I trashed that one (can’t even remember what it was now.) In general I trust your opinion though!
I’m in a bit of a reading rut right now and am desperate for something to pull me out of my “meh” reads. I am currently reading two books I thought I would love, but it turns out that I do not love either of them and I am sad. Oh, well. There are more books out there.
A while back, I lost my library card and the librarian was more than happy to get me a new one, but it meant I lost all my holds! I had to start all over again and some of the Libby holds had been for months. It was such a disruption to my reading life. Things are sorted now, but I am so sorry you’re having library card issues!
Oh, that would be AWFUL! Especially for you, you rely on the library so heavily. Sounds like you managed to recover though.
I’ve just about finished “Don’t Cross the Wolf” — I don’t remember when I bought it, probably an Amazon First Read (and hence free) — it makes me realize what a wonderful life I have. It’s about a girl who’s abused by her father as a child, her subsequent descent into alcoholism and promiscuity (with really, really bad choices). IOW, not at all my kind of book! And yet it was oddly compelling and I couldn’t put it down. It’s a really tough subject matter though.
Glad you got your library card renewed!
Ugh, that sounds like a tough read- but I know what you mean. Those books can be compelling.
Three books sounds good to me. I am still working myself through the Outlander series and I’ve been stuck on book 5 for a few months!
I actually have the first Outlander book but haven’t read it! I’m looking at it on my shelf right now. One of these days…
Argh, nothing like when the library cuts you off until you go for an in person visit. I’ve had my card for 30 years at this point, it’s not like I’m going to skip town with a stash of library books.
I’ve been on a reading lull for a bit but I did some digging and came up with The Accomplice by Lisa Lutz so that will be my next. I really liked her other book The Passenger so we’ll see how this one turns out.
Yes, that really messed up my life- temporarily, until I managed to get to the library and take two minutes to renew the card. I don’t think I’ve read anything by Lisa Lutz- I’ll be interested in your review.
I read Ink Black Heart in October too – I really wish ALL books were that long and engrossing.
Yes! Now I can’t wait for the next one in the series.
Reading slumps are tough. I feel you. But I believe some books need to come to us at certain times. If the wrong book is opened It all goes downhill. Hope your next month has a few more choices that are right
Yes- getting the right book can make all the difference. And the wrong book can send you into a slump. I think i have some good ones lined up for November!
I would have a real problem if my library card expired 😉 I almost never make it to the libray these days but I use their online catalogue almost daily (newspapers) and am always glad when I can get a new audiobook short notice or restock the kids shelf (they both have a kindle) in the evening when they ‘don’t have anything to read’. I actually had to remind myself what books I read lately and the only one I could vividly remember without that was Circe by Madeline Miller. I liked to read the story from a different persepective.
Yes, I was actually a little startled when that happened. It seemed kind of… prehistoric?… that I couldn’t just renew it quickly online!
I read My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout and loved it, but I think it is very much a love/hate book. I thought after the first few chapters I was going to hate it…but it was a 5 star book to me. That said, it covers some VERY tough topics, which I didn’t realize when I started reading. It wasn’t graphic, but things like child abuse/neglect feature HEAVILY. But it was beautiful writing and a very short book, too, so I read it quickly.
I recommend it…but with the caveat that it is heartbreaking in some ways, too.
Well, everyone is talking about Elizabeth Strout and I haven’t read anything of hers… so I should probably try it.
I have had the exact same experience with my library–and since I read E-books, it is a true emergency! Fortunately, I also have downloads from Amazon and those are always great backup books.
I used to read Elizabeth Berg and Anne Tyler religiously. I love their takes on human nature and quirky characters, but yes, they are predictable. Sometimes that is nice, though.
Yes- that happened to be the perfect time for me to read an Elizabeth Berg. I also used to LOVE Anne Tyler, but haven’t read any of her recent ones.
Running out of books!! Nooooo! Hard for that to happen to me, I have to say …! I have read some really good ones recently. Kamila Shamsie’s “Best of Friends” was an excellent one that I’ve just finished and I highly recommend.
Okay, I’m going to look that one up! Thanks!
Ha, you read 3 more books than me. Finally got two from the library and need to make time to read them.
Yeah, I know- and then there are people who are like “I only read seven books last month!” We’re all on a different schedule.
I listened to Binti on audiobook after hearing about it from Modern Mrs. Darcy and enjoyed it but not enough to want to read more. I think I liked the narrator more than the story itself? I’m going to stick Babel on my library holds though – If you hate the ending you’ll have to post an update 🙂
Ha ha, I’ll definitely post an update on how I liked the ending! And I would say I felt the same way about Binti.
I get so many books from the library so would be screwed if something went wrong with my card!! I do have my husband’s card as a back up but I don’t have his number recognized like I have mine memorized. I actually lost both of our library cards – or really the kids probably lost them. They were in our library book bag. But I had the numbers written down and have gotten by without cards since I just need to enter the # to check out books. I don’t want to replace my card because I think I will lose all my holds!
I liked a lot of my October reads. Carrie Soto was so great! I also really liked ‘corrections in ink’.
Yes, it really messed me up not to be able to place any holds. But all is well now.
I’ve been reading more lately. Just read a Colleen Hoover book that started out blah but ended up really good.
I’ve lost my card but we can just show our drivers license.
I generally give a book a chance if it starts out blah, for that very reason.
I just had to renew my library card, which was a surprise to me. And why do we have to do it IN-PERSON? It’s so strange! There should be a better system for this.