Be sure to check out the link-up with Steph or Jana to see what others have posted/read/recommended and let me know if you've read/liked/disliked any of the following.
Please note - the links are only to Goodreads and the off-chance that I actually put a review on there.
The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd
Not sure how this one came to be in my possession - I'm thinking it was a purchase from the Friends of the Library's book sale. It was really good though and I recommend it. I think I thought it'd be similar to The Bees by Laline Paull that was written from the bee's perspective - but, nope. Actually, I recommend The Bees too.
On the Come Up, by Angie Thomas
This is a standalone and only mentions the events of The Hate U Give a couple times, so don't feel like you have to have read THUG before you read this one. Read them both, but in whichever order you want. Just read them both. This one was just as good and as unputdownable.
Mischling, by Affinity Konar
I borrowed this one from the library when I stopped by to pick up On the Come Up. An Auschwitz survivor was on the schedule to speak locally so the library had a table dedicated to the Holocaust. Being a Germanic Studies major/European History minor in college (still, why??), I stopped to see what books they were promoting and selected this one. It was OK, but I don't recommend it. If you have any interest in survivor stories, read one from an actual survivor - not a romanticized artsy version that was just too syrupy/mucky. Not really sure how else to describe it.
The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood
Ooh - this one was good and I'm going against personal belief by recommending you see the Hulu series first and then reading the book. I think if I had read this first and then saw the series, I'd be lost while reading. It was good - it really was, but it time-jumped around (much like the series did) and I was glad I had seen the show first to help explain what was going on and vice versa. And apparently there's a second book coming out this year called The Testaments. This was also in my personal collection but I kept skipping over it for something else.
Currently reading:
You, by Caroline Kepnes
Does anyone else's library do this?
Also, shout out to Kristen at See You In A Porridge ... I got an email from Amazon about expiring credits for ebooks and I knew to go to her Instastories to find some good deals. I haven't figured out if I can share ebooks (someone, please tell me if I can) so I'm pretty picky about what I spend those credits on since I'll likely have that book forever.
Also-also, I can't remember whose post I read that mentioned the Unread Shelf Challenge (if you're reading this, please let me know if it was your post last month!). This is definitely a challenge I can get behind and will be doing this year. I need to pare down my book stacks and this is a good motivator. In the three months of SUYB posts, I'm about 50-50 on reading my own unread books vs. reading library books. Not bad ... not bad at all ... of course, we've already bought books this year so the Unread Shelf stays about even. I figure if I can read just one book per month of what I already own, I'll do better than what I have in the past. Trying to find a balance between supporting my library and reading-then-donating my books to keep going with the decluttering.
