A brief summary of what I’m currently reading or have recently finished, why I read it, and whether I’d recommend it. Although really, it’d have to be truly terrible for me to bother writing about a book I wouldn’t recommend……
Rebecca (Daphne du Maurier) – a Gothic crime-mystery-slight-romance-psychological-thriller novel. I had set a reading challenge for myself in my 30th year, and this was one of the recommendations from a well-read and trusted source. I really picked it up though, because Anne Bogel (Modern Mrs. Darcy) mentioned that one of her One Great Book recommendations (The Likeness, by Tana French, which is also worth reading) had a strikingly similar opening. Different portions of this book left me confused as to what was really happening, angered by the assumptions, or emotionally manipulated at the end – much in the same way the narrator is.
Where the Crawdads Sing (Delia Owens) – I’m not usually a fan of split timelines, but it works for this one. It’s a little reminiscent of A Girl of the Limberlost (Gene Stratton-Porter) – an abandoned girl living on the edge of the marsh finds a way to thrive. It does contain some non-explicit adult content; most probably wouldn’t find it bothersome, but it’s something I would have liked to know about before I started reading.
In the Shadow of Statues (Mitch Landrieu) – a memoir of sorts, focusing on Landrieu’s time as governor of New Orleans in the years following Hurricane Katrina. The statues referenced by the title are Reconstruction-era memorials to prominent figures of the Confederacy; the book chronicles Landrieu’s efforts to remove these statues.
Running for My Life (Lopez Lomong) – one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, who escaped and lived in a refugee camp in Kenya until he was sponsored to immigrate to the US. Once here, he became a professional runner, competing in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.
So there you have it: 4 books I’m reading right now or have recently finished. If you’ve read any of these (or decide to after reading this post), drop me a note and let me know what you thought of them! And let me know what you’re reading right now too.