On the bookshelf -- April

Whew. Weeks of quarantine makes you realize how long every single second in the day is. Am I right? As awful as this sounds, I was a teeny tiny bit thankful for being forced to slow down. I mentioned in last month's book review that due to my grad classes I wasn't able to do any reading (besides my textbooks that are as thick as my abdomen -- if you're interested in these, drop a comment below ;) ). I finally had some free time to dive into some good books! Not that The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy isn't incredibly entertaining, because it totally is, but ... you get my point. Keep scrolling to see some of the books we read during our time of "the modern day apocalypse" quarantine.

My mom got It's a Love Story: From Happily to Ever After by Lincee Ray a couple of months ago & we were both super excited to read it because in December we read Lincee's book Why I Hate Green Beans & both really enjoyed it! Why I Hate Green Beans was a great, light & funny read! My mom finished the book in just a couple of days. It's a great reminder that no matter what someone's life looks like on the outside, we all struggle with our own insecurities. The book is very raw (some parts are heart-wrenching), real & absolutely hilarious! We both had high expectations of It's a Love Story & unfortunately, we were pretty let down. It just wasn't awesome. Each chapter Lincee tells a different story of love: from what it feels like to love your favorite furry little creatures (Sophie (my cat) I'm talking about you here, girl) to loving Patrick Swayze in Dirty Dancing *insert drooling face emoji here* & everything in between. Neither of us were able to really get into it & we were pretty disappointed by that. I read a good chunk of the book one warm day while sitting outside. It was good enough to keep my attention for a couple of hours (& developing a rockin' tan line) but I just couldn't fully invest in it.

We both very much want to be friends with Lincee! Her books are written in a manner that it feels like you're just having a chat with a girlfriend. I like switching up my genres & since her books are so short & easy to read, they've been great to throw into the mix.

Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine was a very strange book, I'm not gonna lie to ya. I actually enjoyed it quite a bit, but my mom did not. I owe my enjoyment of this book to my social work / school counseling mind. My undergraduate and graduate professors all deserve a solid pat on the back (or maybe a turn in the timeout chair?) for brainwashing me to be in the constant mindset of analyzing people & trying to figure them out.

Disclaimer: if I've ever been around you, I've probably done this to you too. Just bein' real. No worries though, I won't blab your *assumed* problems here on the blog. Just in my personal diary. Totally kidding, y'all! Your *assumed* secrets are safe with me. ;)

Eleanor Oliphant is a quirky girl who's got quite a few skeletons in the closet which have unfortunately scarred her deeply. She lives a pretty lonely & unique life. The book follows Eleanor through a period of her life full of self-discovery, healing, & even a bit of a love story. Gail Honeyman did a great job of leading you to believe that everything is completely fine, until you suddenly realize it is so not.

Overall, I would recommend this book to people that are pretty curious about the human race and people's resilience. If you're the type of reader who likes a light read & doesn't want to do much deep thinking, this may not be the book for you.

I had to read & write a book review on You Are Here: Discovering the Magic of the Present Moment for one of my graduate counseling classes. I'll spare you my four page paper & just write a simple recap here. ;)

This short book is written by a Vietnamese monk, zen master, & peace activist named Thich Nhat Hanh. His book "distills the essence of Buddhist thought & practice, emphasizing the power of mindfulness to transform our lives."

Fun fact: Martin Luther King Jr. nominated Hanh for the 1967 Nobel Peace Prize, but there was no award given out that year.

Hanh focuses on finding inner peace & therefore, peace within the world. He also talks a lot about creating your own happiness & ways to do this. The piece of the book that I loved the most was where he discussed the importance of being fully present in the moment. He asks, "how would you live your next days if you were told you only had three left?" He then challenges us to live every day as if it were one of our lasts. I know this is such a cliche, but I don't think we can ever have too many reminders! While I do not consider myself Buddhist by any means, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book & looking for growth within myself.

Life is short. Be present. Find your peace.

A Man Called Ove was the selection for my mom's book club last month. Here's what she had to say:

I have to be honest & say that I struggled through the first few chapters of it, HOWEVER, no one else seemed to, so maybe it's just me?! Ove is a very grumpy old man, but throughout the book you get more glimpses into his life & have a better understanding of why he acts the way he does. My guess is that you'll end up falling in love with the old guy just like I did! The book is written in the same way many other popular books are right now -- flopping between his past & his current life & how his neighbors deal with having such a grumpy old man for a neighbor. Just a heads up... I UGLY cried.

After my mom read this book, she gave it to my dad & he read it in TWO DAYS! & if you know my dad, then you'd know this is a huge accomplishment! My dad is the type of reader that can read about one paragraph before falling asleep & then the next time he reads, he reads the same paragraph & repeats the process so it takes him quite a while to make some real progress in a book lol.

I read this after my dad & boy was it a good one! Totally recommend this to any adult who's bored & needs a good read to keep you interested!

My mom, Bethany, & I read this book back in January & gave a recap, but with all this new free time, we finally convinced Avery to join in! Talking through the plot of this book with Avery reminded us just how good it is & we decided that it's worth sharing again! Here's my mom & I's original recap:

HUGE fan of Kristin Hannah right here so I was really excited to read Night Road. Woof. Kristin Hannah used her characters to reach outside this book, cut open my chest, rip my heart out & stomp on it. That may sound dramatic but that’s because this book was dramatic. Seriously. Broke my heart into a million pieces & then put it back together by the end. I was truly invested in the lives of the characters & couldn’t put this book down. I read it in less than a week! The story line follows a set of twins, Mia & Zack, & their friendship with a broken girl named Lexi. This book is all about friendship & forgiveness & loss. It’s definitely not a light read. I cried multiple times while reading the book & then felt almost lonely when I finished. That’s how close I grew to these characters & how invested I was in their story! Well done, Kristin Hannah.

Avery completely agreed with my recap, but wanted to share a few thoughts of her own:

I don't consider myself a reader at all, but I seriously could not put this book down! I fell in love with each character. I had moments where I was mad at each one of them for different reasons, but by the end, I was friends with them again. This book broke me & fixed me all at the same time. I think I need a little while to grieve before I can read again.

Truer words have never been said. Don't judge our dramatics until you've read this book yourself!!

Bethany read this book recently & here are her thoughts:

At First Sight is written by Nicholas Sparks so obviously it's a romantic book. It's not predictable at all & kept me hooked. It's an easy read & easy to pick back up if you have to set it down for awhile to do other things.

The book follows a young couple, Jeremy & Lexie, from North Carolina. The couple must work together to overcome different obstacles & challenges, many of which broke my heart. I don't want to share too much because some big things happen & I don't want to give anything away. I would say this book would be appropriate for adolescents & up.

I loved Nicholas Sparks books when I was in high school so I think I'll read this one soon! It's not like I have anything but time lately lol.

After further research, this book is apparently the second in a short series. The first is called True Believer. Bethany had no idea & said she didn't feel like she was missing anything from having not read the first book!

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Have you ever heard of the "goodreads" app? It's a free app that lets you track your reading progress, rate books you've read, keep a list of your want-to-read books, set yearly reading goals & follow along with what your friends are reading as well! It even gives you suggestions based off of your ratings & the types of books you read. We both really like it. You should check it out!