Reading is one of my most relaxing pastimes. I love the escape that a really good story provides. I love it when I finish a book and it stays with me for days or even longer, the characters sticking with me as I go about my usual routines. When the story is that good, I will hear their voices and see their faces over and over as my subconscious mind tries to move on. Oftentimes I can’t move on until I’ve started another story. I guess you could say I love it when a book haunts me. Most of the books in the March reading list did just that.
What kind of books haunt you? Lately I’ve been reading some rather, well, I don’t want to call them “downers,” but realistically harrowing tales. I do tend to gravitate towards darker, scarier, creepier stories. I’m not sure what that says about me. (awkward chuckle) Maybe nothing. Maybe I’m just interested in the motivations that drive people to do what they do. When people do the worst things, I want to know why. I want to try and understand what drives an otherwise average person to do something so unbelievable. The human psyche has always fascinated me. When it comes to fictional portrayals of said individuals, I want to be led on by the author until the very end. How do you hook me? Have me guessing the entire time. Wrap it up in a neat little bow at the end. And leave me going, huh…wow…that was…I have no words.
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And please tell me what you’re reading, too! I love getting book recommendations and adding to my TBR pile!
The sequel that I thought was better than the first…
The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
Not that I didn’t really love The Handmaid’s Tale. I thought it was excellent. But what I enjoyed about The Testaments was that you got a little more of the story. Atwood goes into the history of Gilead and you get more character development. I especially enjoyed getting to know Aunt Lydia a little better. I ripped through this story in no time! It alternates between 3 different characters’ perspectives, and I can’t really say more than that without giving away too much. But what I can say is that it’s a page-turner and likely one I’ll revisit again in the future. If you read The Handmaid’s Tale and felt the world was a little bleak afterwards, then definitely follow it up with The Testaments. Atwood gives us hope in the end.
The train wreck you can’t steal yourself from…
The Wives by Tarryn Fisher
This book goes on my “crazy book shelf.” If you can get past the terrible writing (I’m so sorry to be so critical but this is not going to win any Pulitzers), then the story has enough of an interest to keep you occupied while at least sitting by the pool or social distancing. I have to say that there is a pretty big twist worth sticking around for. The Wives reads like a bad Lifetime movie. You know the ones. The movies that suck you in with drama, despite the truly terrible acting. It’s a train wreck you can’t tear your eyes from. This story involves 3 women who are all in a plural marriage to the same guy. At first, I was thinking that these women knew what they got themselves into and so I didn’t really feel sorry for them. Then I realized that there are a lot of women in non-plural marriages and relationships with the exact same insecurities and hardships. It becomes difficult not to feel a little pity for them. This one is worth a library loan or at the very most a paperback purchase.
The gripping fictional mystery for fans of true crime…
Case Histories by Kate Atkinson
Kate Atkinson is one of my favorite writers. If you haven’t read Life After Life or A God in Ruins, stop what you’re doing and read those books. I purchased Case Histories from Next Page Books and Nosh, a cute little independent bookstore in Frisco, Colorado. This book has been out for awhile and I was surprised to have not been aware of it. Not sure where I’ve been! As with other Atkinson novels this book is gripping! It’s almost like three different mysteries in one, but she entwines them all together like the roots of old trees. You have an ax murder out of nowhere, a missing girl from a troubled family, and a lawyer’s daughter slain at his own practice. I couldn’t put this book down!
The most haunting new-ish release from an old favorite…
The Reckoning by John Grisham
John Grisham has been a favorite of my husband’s since his teenage years. He has read just about everything the man has written. Most recently we watched The Innocent Man documentary series on Netflix, adapted from Grisham’s nonfiction book of the same name. Wow, was that crazy good! But fair warning, it’s pretty graphic and disturbing. Anyway, whenever Paul recommends to me a Grisham book, I know it’s going to be a little more special than most. The Reckoning was one I was completely taken by surprise with. I figured it would be good, but I just could not get over HOW good. As I began to read it, I felt like a little pebble was growing in my gut and by the time I reached the end, that little pebble had become a heavy stone that I carried within me for days. This story weighed on me deeply. The book is told in three parts, and Grisham doesn’t reveal it all until literally the very last few pages. In a nutshell, you have Pete Banning, a decorated hero of World War II who returns from the war and murders the town minister in cold blood. He won’t tell a soul why he did it, and the reader is left completely dumbfounded. It makes absolutely no sense. Mr. Banning won’t even give his reasoning in exchange for a life sentence rather than the electric chair. The story slowly reveals deep family secrets and the ultimate betrayal along with a good deal of small town gossip and an illustration of race and class differences in the south in the 1940’s. I highly recommend this one.
The new release I’m currently reading…
The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz by Erik Larson
Already, this one is off to a tremendous start. I love Erik Larson’s work. A couple of my favorites include The Devil in the White City and Dead Wake. This book is his newest and if you’re a fan of World War II stories, then you’ll love the in-depth look at Winston Churchill during that time. I love the way Larson writes nonfiction so that it reads more like a novel.
What are you currently reading?
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xo – Erin
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