…on the bookshelf…

Oh man, August has been such a good month for reading, helped along by my travels for my dōTERRA business. I had a five hour stop-over in Sydney on the way to Adelaide, which saw one book finished, and another started. It got finished at the airport on the way home, and a third book started. I can’t remember how long it’s been since I’ve had such quality reading time! It was so nice just to chill and lose myself in a story.

Truly Madly Guilty – (Book Depository | Amazon America | Amazon Australia | Kindle America)
This book was loaned to me by AJ, and I must confess, it wasn’t my favourite book by this author. I felt the plot points were rather belaboured, the flashbacks slowed the pace too much, and the hints of the “twist” were not exactly subtle. I gave it three stars on Goodreads, but it was probably more a 2.5.

Perfume River – (Book Depository | Amazon | Amazon Australia | Kindle )
A find from a Kindle sale (maybe Kindle First? Not sure!), it took me a while to get into it, but in the end I loved it. An emotive look at the war generations, and how the effects of the past generation transmit to the next, and set expectations that can lead to fractured relationships. From a WWII vet, to his two sons, one taking up a non-combat role in Vietnam, and the other dodging the draft, the fall out of their service echoes down the years until their final moments. I rated this one 4 stars, and look forward to revisiting it to pick up on all the little moments I missed in the first reading.

The Book Ninja – (Book Depository | Amazon America | Amazon Australia)
A gift from Bec, I couldn’t wait to hook into this one. Based on the blurb, it sounded right up my alley for a light weekend read – a romance centred around classic literature? YES PLEASE. But sadly, the book failed to live up to it’s promise. The characters were hard to connect with (some to the point I would consider irredeemable), and many went straight past OTT and into caricature territory. I gave this one 2 stars.

This Bright Beauty – (Book Depository | Amazon | Amazon Australia | Kindle)
Gripping. The only word I can think of to summarise this book. Again, it was another find via the kindle emails, and I read it in a day. It was compelling, haunting, heartbreaking. A beautifully written examination of relationships, mental illness, support, denial, and growth. I gave it 5 stars on Goodreads, and will be revisiting it soon.

This weekend we have visitors, so my reading time is on the lower end of the scale, but I have a new book loaned by a friend that I can’t wait to get hooked into next week. We are on school break, and also expecting some desperately needed rain most of the week so it will be a delight to listen to the rain on the roof and chew through a new book while the children play. Today, as much as I would love to be getting hooked in, it’s all about cleaning for our guests. My craft room needs a whip around after sewing book week costumes for a homeschool meet-up. The school room is a hot mess after a big couple of weeks finishing our work, and I have a list of chores and shopping and baking a mile long, all the while I have project ideas whipping through my head. Fingers crossed we can get our to-do list knocked over quickly and get the weekend started a couple of hours early. It has felt like the longest week, so I am very glad to say hello to Friday and slide on into the weekend and school break. But first, a coffee and 5 minutes of silence before the whirlwind of the day begins…