I recently read Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano. As soon as I finished it, I texted my best friend, Erika, and said YOU HAVE TO READ THIS! (yes, in all caps).
It’s funny because one of the main characters of the book, I didn’t really like… but I found that maaaybe I didn’t like her because she reminded me of some of the things about myself I don’t love. The book is a modern re-telling of Little Women (only not in the kitschy way a lot of modern re-tellings do it) so it made me think a lot about relationships and how I interact with certain family members... and maybe even the way I try to "manage" situations. 😂
I absolutely love this book and am about to dive into one of her earlier novels — Dear Edward.
I also recently read Hello Beautiful and loved it! It was a book club choice for one of the book clubs I am in. It was interesting because people either loved it (like gushed over it level of love) or found it hard to get into and didn't care for it. There was no in between. I really enjoyed it!
I wonder if some people had the same reaction I did to Julia - she was hard to love sometimes. But I felt like she really reflected (at least for me) how we sometimes want to control our lives so much, we end up making a little bit of a mess of them.
Immediately googled and am intrigued! Being a book lover is soooo difficult because the question: Do I buy yet another book to add to the list of like 50,000 books I’ll never get to read before I die because life is too short? Lol. Maybe………….
Such a great book! My daughter is reading it now (she's kinda obsessed with becoming a chemical engineer). What I think is funny is that she's so annoyed with Elizabeth. I personally LOVED Elizabeth but it's created some really interesting conversations with K.
LOVED this book! It was my 2nd favorite book of 2022. (Second to The Lincoln Highway) At first, I was very hesitant to watch the Apple TV series since I loved the book so much and had heard the series changed quite a bit with the story. After the first 2-3 episodes, I was upset about all the changes and in disbelief over how they changed a good thing that didn't need changing. But then my sister told me to just accept that the show would be different and have the mindset that I could love the book for what it was and I could love the series for what it was, even if they are two different things. I ended up enjoying the series. But as the saying goes, "the book was better"!
“The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.” I read it in a day, I bought it for my mom, she read it in a day, and then I bought it for my bestie, who ALSO read it in a day. Just so compelling to think about the possibility of what we THINK true freedom means but how there are very real complications and consequences that come with gaining what we all think we want. I don’t know if I should say more? It is a bit of a difficult story to talk about because the main plot is told in the first few pages. Just know it is a fantasy that is set in the real world about a girl who forms a relationship with something otherworldly so as to experience “freedom.”
Just wait until you get further along. I read a TON (I’m an English high school teacher), and this is one of those few(ish) books that just gets better and better and better as it goes along. I’m excited for you to finish it!!
I just went on my library app to check it out - the first line says "In the vein of The Time Traveler's Wife..." and that's all I had to read. Already added it to my waitlist. Totally intrigued by the premise of living forever but always being forgotten.
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt - so many people said it was their best book of 2023 and I listened to the audiobook on Hoopla and just loved it! My friend was starting a new book club so I suggested it and it will be our first book. My friend also listened to the audio and finished in just days! Such a sweet story with rich intertwining characters.
That book has been on my waitlist for FOREVER (I'm currently number 43 in line... I started out 107th 😂) I've heard so many good things about it - can't wait to read it.
I know quite a few people who read library books so as to save money on books. Parts of me fall so in love with the books themselves as I’m reading the story, that to not be able to keep it forever, and all the memories of all the feelings, makes it impossible for me to do anything other than buy and keep. I wish I weren’t so tied like this as I have more boxes of books when I pack to move than anything else.
I’ve tried audiobooks in the past, and it’s really interesting because I can listen very well to podcasts but to books? Uh uh. I just can’t stay focused. I wish I could!
The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams. It has a Man Called Ove vibe to it and is a great story that connects different generations around a list of books to read and has a nice come full circle moment. Very heartfelt and feel good.
If you are a book-lover, you'll adore No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister. This book is a book-lovers dream. It’s on ode to stories, to those that write them, to those that publish them, to those that read them and to those that live them. After a hard time, Alice finally wrote her debut novel. It cracked her soul open wide and personally touches each reader who encounters it. For each character, the book is medicine. For some, it soothes. For some, it creates. For others, it heals and awakens. As we explore the different characters’ lives and the ways the book has made an impact, we gain insight into the actual story that started it all and the train of transformation that follows in its wake…along with some subtle connections, too. I absolutely adored this book. If you love books, you will, too.
When you replied to my newsletter last week, I immediately went and looked it up and knew I had to read it. As someone who has written books - I feel like this will TOTALLY speak to me. I've got it on my list!
I have so many, it is hard to pick!! Many have been mentioned and I also got some ideas for new ones from this thread! My reading picked up a few years ago and I have become quite the bookworm. I find getting lost in fiction actually helps calm my busy mind and reduce stress.
The Five-Star Weekend from Erin Hildebrandt! I'm not a fiction reader, but after many people told me to read it, I'm glad I did. It was a captivating read that transported me to another world for a couple of days!
I just finished Go As A River by Shelley Read. SO GOOD! This will go down as one of my favorite books. As @Tanya Dalton says below, YOU HAVE TO READ THIS! (yes, in all caps). :)
I really loved The Unmaking of June Farrow. There was something about the setting in the Blue Ridge Mountains and this overall sense of remembering and forgetting all at once which was enchanting.
This is on my TBR list - I love that title. That word "unmaking" feels filled with possibilities. Also, you had me a Blue Ridge Mountains (obviously!).
The one book that really stuck with me that I've read recently was "The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell" by Robert Dugoni. I've read a few books by him and have liked his work but this one has been my favorite!
I just read that a few months ago and loved it too. I felt like it gave me so much perspective about what happens that leads someone to the life Demon had. It really made me think. Being set close to where I live was an added bonus and I loved the historical insights into this area of the country.
All I read is non fiction 98% of the time…. Fiction I just got back into Janet Evanovich’s series the Stephanie Plum novels, I was listening to one today while driving and I was literally laughing so hard out loud!!
I was the same for a long time - I almost exclusively read non-fiction for years. After the pandemic, I made the move add fiction back in. It's been nice to just read for fun, but I still do love a good non-fiction!
Do re-reads count? My favourite book of all time is The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. It is not a new book, but I re-read it for the third time a few months ago. It is such a hauntingly beautiful story. Every time, I’d swear I can actually smell the cinnamon popcorn…
“A Reason for Waking” by Karen Foster. Every time I thought I had the story figured out it would shift and I would be proved wrong. What was so amazing was that the story was so well written and flowed so smoothly that each time it shifted and changed I remembered all the hints along the way that predicted the shift. Hints that went unseen until brought to the forefront by the shift. I loved it.
I recently read Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano. As soon as I finished it, I texted my best friend, Erika, and said YOU HAVE TO READ THIS! (yes, in all caps).
It’s funny because one of the main characters of the book, I didn’t really like… but I found that maaaybe I didn’t like her because she reminded me of some of the things about myself I don’t love. The book is a modern re-telling of Little Women (only not in the kitschy way a lot of modern re-tellings do it) so it made me think a lot about relationships and how I interact with certain family members... and maybe even the way I try to "manage" situations. 😂
I absolutely love this book and am about to dive into one of her earlier novels — Dear Edward.
I also recently read Hello Beautiful and loved it! It was a book club choice for one of the book clubs I am in. It was interesting because people either loved it (like gushed over it level of love) or found it hard to get into and didn't care for it. There was no in between. I really enjoyed it!
I wonder if some people had the same reaction I did to Julia - she was hard to love sometimes. But I felt like she really reflected (at least for me) how we sometimes want to control our lives so much, we end up making a little bit of a mess of them.
Immediately googled and am intrigued! Being a book lover is soooo difficult because the question: Do I buy yet another book to add to the list of like 50,000 books I’ll never get to read before I die because life is too short? Lol. Maybe………….
@Drmn2Cllge that is SO true!! The struggle is REAL!
Lessons in Chemistry is a must-read for anyone in a STEM field!
Such a great book! My daughter is reading it now (she's kinda obsessed with becoming a chemical engineer). What I think is funny is that she's so annoyed with Elizabeth. I personally LOVED Elizabeth but it's created some really interesting conversations with K.
It is on my reading list!
LOVED this book! It was my 2nd favorite book of 2022. (Second to The Lincoln Highway) At first, I was very hesitant to watch the Apple TV series since I loved the book so much and had heard the series changed quite a bit with the story. After the first 2-3 episodes, I was upset about all the changes and in disbelief over how they changed a good thing that didn't need changing. But then my sister told me to just accept that the show would be different and have the mindset that I could love the book for what it was and I could love the series for what it was, even if they are two different things. I ended up enjoying the series. But as the saying goes, "the book was better"!
Weyward by Emilia Hart is absolutely amazing. So glad I picked it up from the book store the other day.
“The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.” I read it in a day, I bought it for my mom, she read it in a day, and then I bought it for my bestie, who ALSO read it in a day. Just so compelling to think about the possibility of what we THINK true freedom means but how there are very real complications and consequences that come with gaining what we all think we want. I don’t know if I should say more? It is a bit of a difficult story to talk about because the main plot is told in the first few pages. Just know it is a fantasy that is set in the real world about a girl who forms a relationship with something otherworldly so as to experience “freedom.”
This is on my TBR!
I am listening to the audio book of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue now. It is great and I'm loving the story line.
Just wait until you get further along. I read a TON (I’m an English high school teacher), and this is one of those few(ish) books that just gets better and better and better as it goes along. I’m excited for you to finish it!!
I just went on my library app to check it out - the first line says "In the vein of The Time Traveler's Wife..." and that's all I had to read. Already added it to my waitlist. Totally intrigued by the premise of living forever but always being forgotten.
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt - so many people said it was their best book of 2023 and I listened to the audiobook on Hoopla and just loved it! My friend was starting a new book club so I suggested it and it will be our first book. My friend also listened to the audio and finished in just days! Such a sweet story with rich intertwining characters.
That book has been on my waitlist for FOREVER (I'm currently number 43 in line... I started out 107th 😂) I've heard so many good things about it - can't wait to read it.
I know quite a few people who read library books so as to save money on books. Parts of me fall so in love with the books themselves as I’m reading the story, that to not be able to keep it forever, and all the memories of all the feelings, makes it impossible for me to do anything other than buy and keep. I wish I weren’t so tied like this as I have more boxes of books when I pack to move than anything else.
I was always the one to get the book because I usually read non fiction but now I actually started listening to audiobooks and getting from library!!
I’ve tried audiobooks in the past, and it’s really interesting because I can listen very well to podcasts but to books? Uh uh. I just can’t stay focused. I wish I could!
The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams. It has a Man Called Ove vibe to it and is a great story that connects different generations around a list of books to read and has a nice come full circle moment. Very heartfelt and feel good.
I like the sound of that Kathleen!
If you are a book-lover, you'll adore No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister. This book is a book-lovers dream. It’s on ode to stories, to those that write them, to those that publish them, to those that read them and to those that live them. After a hard time, Alice finally wrote her debut novel. It cracked her soul open wide and personally touches each reader who encounters it. For each character, the book is medicine. For some, it soothes. For some, it creates. For others, it heals and awakens. As we explore the different characters’ lives and the ways the book has made an impact, we gain insight into the actual story that started it all and the train of transformation that follows in its wake…along with some subtle connections, too. I absolutely adored this book. If you love books, you will, too.
I agree with you. I loved every word!
When you replied to my newsletter last week, I immediately went and looked it up and knew I had to read it. As someone who has written books - I feel like this will TOTALLY speak to me. I've got it on my list!
I have so many, it is hard to pick!! Many have been mentioned and I also got some ideas for new ones from this thread! My reading picked up a few years ago and I have become quite the bookworm. I find getting lost in fiction actually helps calm my busy mind and reduce stress.
The Joy of High Places by Patti Miller
A beautiful read.
It’s a memoir about her own long-distance walking over hundreds of kilometers in Europe and of her brother’s obsession with paragliding.
An accident changes their relationship. The story intersects Patti’s long-distance journeys, and her brother’s recovery.
It’s so well written and uplifting. I found it a mediation in book form.
That's so intriguing - meditation in book form. I like that. I need to go check it out!
The Five-Star Weekend from Erin Hildebrandt! I'm not a fiction reader, but after many people told me to read it, I'm glad I did. It was a captivating read that transported me to another world for a couple of days!
I read something else by Erin Hildebrandt... I can't remember what it was. Adding this one to my list!
Apparently, she's a very big writer, with lots of books. 😂 You'll love it. It references NC a lot!
I just finished Go As A River by Shelley Read. SO GOOD! This will go down as one of my favorite books. As @Tanya Dalton says below, YOU HAVE TO READ THIS! (yes, in all caps). :)
I like the all caps!! Going to take a look at in my app now!
I really loved The Unmaking of June Farrow. There was something about the setting in the Blue Ridge Mountains and this overall sense of remembering and forgetting all at once which was enchanting.
This is on my TBR list - I love that title. That word "unmaking" feels filled with possibilities. Also, you had me a Blue Ridge Mountains (obviously!).
The one book that really stuck with me that I've read recently was "The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell" by Robert Dugoni. I've read a few books by him and have liked his work but this one has been my favorite!
“Demon Copperhead” by Barbara Kingsolver - Pulitzer Prize winner, 2023. It made me want to read everything she’s ever written.
I just read that a few months ago and loved it too. I felt like it gave me so much perspective about what happens that leads someone to the life Demon had. It really made me think. Being set close to where I live was an added bonus and I loved the historical insights into this area of the country.
All I read is non fiction 98% of the time…. Fiction I just got back into Janet Evanovich’s series the Stephanie Plum novels, I was listening to one today while driving and I was literally laughing so hard out loud!!
I was the same for a long time - I almost exclusively read non-fiction for years. After the pandemic, I made the move add fiction back in. It's been nice to just read for fun, but I still do love a good non-fiction!
Do re-reads count? My favourite book of all time is The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. It is not a new book, but I re-read it for the third time a few months ago. It is such a hauntingly beautiful story. Every time, I’d swear I can actually smell the cinnamon popcorn…
Totally counts! I'm a big re-reader too! I've heard of The Night Circus, but I've not read it. Going to check it out now!
“A Reason for Waking” by Karen Foster. Every time I thought I had the story figured out it would shift and I would be proved wrong. What was so amazing was that the story was so well written and flowed so smoothly that each time it shifted and changed I remembered all the hints along the way that predicted the shift. Hints that went unseen until brought to the forefront by the shift. I loved it.
Oh, I like the sound of that! I love a good book that totally shifts like that!
I love the Maisie Dobbs series from author Jacqueline Winspear. It's historical mystery set during WWII where Maisie solves murders in England.
I love historical fiction - I've not heard of this series. I'll have to go check it out!