Sep 16

Sep 16 Quick Lit | September 2018

Adult Fiction, Monthly Wrap Up, Published in 2018, Quick Lit

Have you started watching You on Lifetime? I pictured Beck as a bit different but I think the Joe is pretty spot on. A lot of the book was Joe’s internal thoughts, but I think they’re doing a good job with bringing it to the screen.

Here’s what I’ve been reading!

Us Against You | Fredrik Backman

This was the sequel to Beartown, and did the almost impossible; the sequel was as good, if not better than the first book! The town is still reeling after the events from last year and, making matters worse, nearly all of the star players for Beartown were recruited by rival team Hed. Backman is so talented- there are a lot of characters and a lot of story lines going on, but he manages to make the entire thing cohesive. This is a heartbreaker- so I'd advise against reading this in public. Rating- 5

When Life Gives You Lululemons | Lauren Weisberger

I've loved Lauren Weisberger's stories since her Devil Wears Prada days. Her latest focuses specifically on Emily Charlton, Miranda Preiestly's senior assistant. She’s been away from the agency for ten years working on her own image consulting business. Business isn’t what it onced was and she needs a big break. She gets involved with Karolina, a supermodel who’s amid a huge domestic scandal and works to help her get her life back. I thought the book was fine- a breezy beach read, but I honestly can’t remember much of the meat of the plot so that says something. Rating, 3.5

I’d Rather Be Reading; The Delights and the Dilemmas of the Reading Life | Anne Bogel

I was lucky enough to be on the book tour for this one so I had an Advanced Reader’s Copy. I wrote a full review on it so I won’t stay here too long, but all in all I think it would make a perfect gift for any bibliophile. Rating, 4

There There | Tommy Orange

I had this on my list for the ten buzzy book I want to read in 2018 list, and I’m so glad I got to it. I loved it! It's got 12 narrators and I had to take extensive notes to help me keep things straight, but it was so worth it. It was moving and powerful, but also accessible. I loved reading stories about today’s Native Americans. Great debut! Rating, 5

Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald | Therese Anne Fowler

Even though I read a lot of thrillers/ contemporary fiction, I do like historical fiction when it's well done. Z - A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald is a great example of the kind of historical fiction I like. The author did such a good job of bringing Zelda to life. It was fascinating to read about her husband's writing process and to see how many other famous people they associated with, but it was also pretty depressing to read about their downfall. Zelda was talented in her own right but didn't get to fully follow her own dreams because she always had to be Scott's muse. Still, this was well done and made me want to read more of Fitzgerald/ Zelda's/ Hemingway's works. Rating, 4.

Cross Her Heart | Sarah Pinborough

You might know the name Sarah Pinborough from her book last year, Behind Her Eyes with the fitting tagline of #WTFthatending. Cross Her Heart is different from Behind Her Eyes, in that it’ more of a slow burn and domestic drama than straight thriller, but I really enjoyed it. Her writing is gripping but know going in that it’ a bit slow for the first third. There’s no weird twist in this one, so if Behind Her Eyes wasn’t to your taste I’d recommend giving this one a try. Rating, 4.75