This month I took my first jump into the world of audio books with Girl Wash Your Face, and I found myself a new favorite way to consume books, BUT only certain types of books. I think I’m only going to select non-fiction books, read by the author, for listening. The first reason for this is that I think I will totally become sidetracked and distracted by multitasking if I’m trying to listen to a story with elaborate details unfolding. Secondly, a book read by the author feels like you’re listening to a Podcast, sermon or simply having a conversation with the person who wrote the book. Rachel Hollis’ book was a great foray into audio books because her blog post-like story telling was succinct, broken down by chapter, changed topic frequently, and always had a Put On Your Big Girl Pants and Go Do It message behind it, which I liked. Her personality is hard not to like (which would explain her huge social media following and massive success as a lifestyle brand). I would highly recommend this book to a book club or any individual who just wants to breezily skim through a light but catching read. Since this was my first audiobook, I went ahead and got the Audible membership so that I could get discounted audio books along with monthly credits, and I now listen to about 1-2 books per month while driving (alone; you never know when a stray profanity or adult concept will come up and I’ve learned by now that the little ears in my car pick up on everything) and while mowing the lawn once a week. It has totally become my guilty pleasure and I feel like I’m still tackling my lofty reading list while doing other productive things (which, ok, feels slightly like cheating but I’ll allow it).
My second book this month was We Are All Made of Stars. This one was sad! About a young girl with cystic fibrosis, her recovery from an infection takes place in a palliative care facility mostly for end-of-life patients. While her own life was not necessarily on the brink of expiration during the entire book, her encounter with mortality was all too real for her young age. Lots of coming of age themes in this book including young romance with the added twist of terminal illness. One of the themes that shows up throughout the book is reading people’s dying letters to loved ones, estranged friends, secret lovers, etc. and reading the parting words of those whose lives were coming to an end was heart-wrenching time and time again. I believe this book is classified as YA, but I would recommend it to anybody.
Whew, ok after that sob-fest book, I needed something light. Also, the morning I began this next book started on very rocky terms (my neighbor sent out a 5am text message that there were “prowlers in the neighborhood” and to “lock our doors” and my husband IN FREAKING SCOTLAND at the time, had to call me to make sure I had secured the house before bed. Screw falling back asleep. I poured a cup of coffee and started looking for my next distracting Kindle purchase). Perfectly, this book appeared in my “Suggested for you” section on Amazon and it was just what the doctor ordered (a thriller might have sent me over the edge given the morning’s tense wakeup call). Furiously Happy, a Funny Book about Horrible Things, was laugh-out-loud hilarious. Jenny Lawson is such a lovable lunatic. From her obsessions with taxidermy to her wild tales of dressing up as a koala in Australia, this chick is something else. I was belly laughing throughout the whole book. If you haven’t read any of Jenny’s books, she is very open about her struggles with mental illness but has used her gift of good humor to turn every hilarious and ironic experience in her life into a story worth telling. Her writing is not for the prudish reader. If you’re clutching your pearls just by thinking about the possibilities, then move right along. If you’re a fan of David Sedaris’ genre of humor, Jenny’s your girl.
My fourth and final book for the month was read while on vacation with my entire family in North Captiva, Florida. I was slightly distracted while reading this novel, but let me give you the background on why I even purchased it. Magnetic is the debut novel of a blogger and interior designer from Tulsa, Oklahoma who I have recently stumbled upon and just find absolutely charming (@ccandmikecreative on Instagram). She is a mom of three, and creativity oozes out of her pores. I mostly read this book because I’m just so darn impressed by her chutzpa to take a desire to wrote a novel (born of her own real life story of her mother’s attempted murder) and make it a reality. I admire that so, so much. Someday it would be a dream of mine to do the same (omg, did I really just say that out loud on the internet??). So Carissa is really just an inspiration to me and I was eager to read her novel and support her dream. The book itself was pretty good (especially considering it was her debut novel and she has not labeled herself as an author!). It is a YA story about a teenage girl who finds herself in a new town where her dad is a teacher at a prestigious academy (where she, also, will be attending). There is a typical girl-meets-boy theme, but the story is based around her quest to find out the truth in her mother’s murder which happened when she was just a young girl. A bit of a mystery, the book chronicles the romantic relationship of Maverick and Elle (hence the title, Magnetic) and the clues that gradually unfold themselves. I’m not the biggest YA fan, so this was not my favorite plot and story, but again, I admire and respect the author a TON, so if you’re a YA reader and love cruising through a light, modestly romantic novel, check this one out and show Carissa your support.