Long Post Alert.
It's been six months. How have you managed without knowing how I spent my Audible.com monthly credits?
March Picks
Jonathan Miles's Anatomy of a Miracle was fantastic. I've enjoyed all of his books but this one was my favorite by miles (pun intended). Faith, family, friendship, love, war, reality tv, neighborhoods. It's all there and his eye for detail is noteworthy. I really liked Tanya, the sister character.
Laura and Emma by Kate Greathead was just okay. Some nice, interesting moments but it didn't add up to much, and I found Laura such a frustrating character. This book does not live up to any of the Gilmore Girls comparisons posited by some reviewers/bloggers/bookstagrammers.
April Picks
My Animals and Other Family by Clare Balding -- Not one person who knows me would use the phrase "animal lover" to describe me and yet I loved this book and continue to love Clare Balding's writing. She's honest, compassionate, funny, and positive. She does a great job with this memoir framed around different animals in her life. I shed a few tears.
Meg Wolitzer's The Female Persuasion -- I'm a Meg Wolitzer fan and she gives you plenty to think about here in terms of women in the world, friendship, mentorship, power, etc. It wasn't heavy-handed or aggressively political. I enjoyed following the lives of Greer, Faith, Cory, and Z and cared about them. That being said, this novel is one where the parts are greater than their sum. Glad I listened to it, but not my favorite title of hers.
May Pick
I think Stephen McCauley's My Ex-Life was my only (or maybe my first) pick in May. Looking back at my Goodreads, I see that I didn't write anything about it which either means I hated it but didn't want to be mean, was feeling lazy, the book included a hot button issue of mine and I didn't want to grapple with liking/disliking a book that includes this issue, or it was just fine. My Ex-Life was fine. It filled the time. I didn't not enjoy it. Twas fine.
May Pick #2 (but chosen in June)
Using an Audible credit to purchase Elin Hilderbrand's latest is a summer ritual for me. The Perfect Couple, her first murder mystery, was not a big departure from her usually delightful Nantucket novels. I was worried it would be a disappointment, but it was another glorious trip to Nantucket (for everyone except the novel's Maid of Honor).
June Credits? July? No clue.
Okay, I'd really love to discuss Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win but I can't say I really loved it. I did like the inside look into a campaign and the toll it takes on candidates and their families. I thought the ending was a cop-out, and it kind of pissed me off.
A friend recommended A Polaroid Guy in a Snapchat World by David Spade. I just cracked up. Spade is a really funny guy, self-deprecating and seemingly honest. I tracked down the audio version of his previous memoir after reading this one. Need a laugh or company for a boring drive or household project? Spade's Your (Polaroid) Guy.
July Credits? August? No clue.
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh was a real change of pace. Sublimely funny in a few moments. Details and observations that feel real and familiar. But dark, dark, dark and at the end, either devastating or kind of hopeful. I'd love to discuss it with someone. I listened to it late summer, but having just experienced another anniversary of 9/11, this book strikes me as even more poignant.
All We Ever Wanted by Emily Giffin would be perfect for book clubs. So much to discuss. A real bubble burster in terms of what we may not know about the "good kids" we know, especially in this new(ish) age of social media. What are we teaching our kids, especially by example? Giffin's best book in years. (Side note: the narrator for the male character in the book had a voice that sounded too old for the character, in my opinion.)
The Ruin by Dervla McTiernan is a title I listened to very recently. I liked the Galway setting and will check out the next installment once it's available. This new detective series has potential.
August Credits (I think).
I really liked the The Family Tabor by Cherise Wolas, though maybe not as much as I liked Wolas's The Resurrection of Joan Ashby. Poses good questions about negotiating life without faith and the dangers of trying to bury, discount, or otherwise deny one's past.
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens is a book I resisted. I don't like the title, am tiring of Southern novels with secrets, and am sometimes less tempted by books with too much buzz and multiple #bookstagram posts. Nevertheless, I went for it and I'm glad. Kya and her beloved marsh were easy to root for and the novel gives you a real sense of time and place as you read.
Okay then, all caught up on Audible credits until I spend my September ones. Apologies for the massive post.
