Sunday, January 10, 2016

It's Monday and January is weird

Hey friends! Here we go with another week! The past few days has had a lot of normal, with a fun touch of a chest cold for me, going to a birthday party for BG's buddy, and finally having Christmas with my husband's side of the family. If you need me, I will be trying to figure out where to put these new clothes and toys!

On the blog, I reviewed Bonhoeffer, talked about my experiences with the first few chapters of Alexander Hamilton, and wrote my giant "Best of 2015" post. David reviewed The Map to Everywhere and City of Thirst, which he really loved.

This week, I read When Women Were Birds and Twain's End. I know a lot of people adore the first book, but I didn't find myself in that camp. While I certainly appreciated some of Williams' insight and beautiful phrases, it was too angry and disjointed for me. Twain's End was good historical fiction. Samuel Clemens is one of my favorite writers, so it's fun to imagine a little bit (although I don't think Cullen portrays him in a very flattering light).

               When Women Were Birds: Fifty-four Variations on Voice  Twain's End

Next on my list is The Only Ones, in which Inez survives by being a test subject since she is immune to the disease that has decimated the world. After that, I'm going to give Elizabeth Gilbert's Big Magic a whirl.

             The Only Ones  Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear


What are you reading this week? 

22 comments:

  1. Never heard of any of these books. I do like the cover on The Only Ones. You can see mine here: http://theresaraymer.blogspot.com/

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    1. Thank goodness we have "It's Monday." How would we grow our tbr lists otherwise?? :)

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  2. I hope your cold clears up quickly

    Have a great reading week,
    Shelleyrae @ Book'd Out

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  3. Hope you feel better soon.

    All your books are new to me!

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  4. It's a shame when you don't enjoy a book that you know others loved a fair bit... But that's the thing with books, there's something for everyone - what works for one may not work for another.

    I hope you enjoy this week's titles; I have Big Magic on my wishlist.

    I hope you're feeling better!

    Reading With Jade

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    1. What did you think of Gilbert's other books? I have to confess I didn't adore Eat, Pray, Love.

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  5. Haven't heard of these, but Twain's End looks like a possibility for me. Here's my reading list for this week: http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/2016/01/what-im-reading-january-11-2016.html

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    1. I have trouble resisting historical fiction about writers I love. I suspect that is true for many readers. :)

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  6. When Women were Birds has me a little intrigued, I look forward to reading reviews on this one.

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    1. I'm not sure I'm going to be reviewing that one, but it's an older title. I'm sure you could find a bunch of reviews.

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  7. Hope you feel better soon....I'm curious about Twain's End. Enjoy! Here are MY WEEKLY UPDATES

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    1. Thank you! It's tough to chase after the kids when you feel like an elephant is sitting on your chest...

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  8. I picked up Big Magic in the bookshop just to have a quick browse. Heard varying views on it. Maybe I'll get it at the library sometime.

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    1. I've heard it's a bit much for some people, but I like what she said in her related podcast.

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  9. I've heard so much buzz about When Women Were Birds...interesting to hear it didn't do it for you. I've never really been tempted to pick it up...

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    1. It sounded so intriguing. I don't think I do very well with narratives like that, though. I like a little more structure!

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  10. I finally got my copy of Alexander Hamilton yesterday so will try to catch up. Can imagine your week has been weird with all the action still. Hope you will have a great week!

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    1. It's very readable! I'm glad you are joining in the fun. :)

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  11. The cover on When Women Were Birds is stunning.

    ENJOY all of your books, and I hope your reading week is going well.

    Elizabeth
    Silver's Reviews
    My It's Monday, What Are You Reading

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