In case any of you are looking for a good Spring break read, I’m sharing the best of what I’ve read lately. As always, there’s no theme here; just a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Hopefully, you appreciate the variety. . .
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones This is the book getting all the buzz, thanks to Oprah (who I don’t necessarily trust for my reading picks). I loved it and read it in a couple of days. The storyline was intriguing to me: a young and prominent African-American couple is married for only 18 months when the husband is accused of a rape he didn’t commit and sent to prison. The story is about how their lives and relationship transpire after the sentencing.
Yellow Crocus by Laila Ibrahim This might actually be #1 on the list. A friend recommended this to me, and I can’t believe I hadn’t heard of it until now. It’s been out for a few years and I think it deserves way more attention than it has received. It follows the life of Mattie, a slave girl who who is taken away from her own baby to become a wet nurse for Lisbeth. Their relationship is sweet and heartbreaking, and I loved them both. I don’t want to give too much away, but I can almost promise you’ll love it.
Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe I told you all there was variety in my reading. Before I left for the vacation that didn’t happen, I searched “best celebrity memoirs” hoping to find a fun, light read. This was perfect. I didn’t know if I was a Rob Lowe fan or not before reading this, but I just loved learning about all of the behind-the-scenes movie set details and his Hollywood friendships and romances.
The Wife by Meg Wolitzer If I’m honest, I might have chosen this book because I liked the colors on the cover. . . (Deep, I know.) I didn’t know anything about it, but it’s the story of a marriage and the lifelong sacrifices one wife made for her author husband’s career–and inflated ego. There’s just enough humor in the mix, and the ending caught me by surprise, which made me like the book even more.
The Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson This is the second book I’ve read by this author. She has a knack for tackling hard subjects (in this case, murder and racism) with small-town Southern charm and humor. The “almost sisters” weren’t who I thought the title was referring to for most of the book. . .
Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay I should’ve read this sooner. I loved it as much as everyone said I would. Heartbreaking and mesmerizing, bouncing back and forth between present day and World War II. While it’s hard to read, it’s beautifully written. One of my favorites.
Empire Falls by Richard Russo If you like to settle into a long book and really get to know the characters, you’ll like this one. It’s about a small town that’s seen better days and the families who’ve lived there for decades and how their lives are interwoven. There’s no huge plot twist but I kept thinking “someone should make this into a tv series.” Oh wait, they did.
A Very Fine House by Barbara Cofer Stoefen This is a true story written by a mother who has come through the meth addiction of her only daughter. It was definitely eye-opening to see how someone who appears to have it all together can spiral down into the scary world of addiction and the effects it has on the people who love her.
Now, tell me what you’re reading (and loving)!
Check out my last book recommendation post here.
Oh, wow…. can’t wait to dive into a couple of these. The only one I’ve read is Empire Falls. It’s been some time ago but I remember liking it a lot which is probably why I picked up Bridge of Sighs a year ago or so. I had to stroll over to my bookcase, find it, and read a few pages to remind myself of the story. Oh, it’s a good one, too (thinking I may have to read it again now that I’m 3 pages in)… but… I’ve spent the last several weeks wading through Crime and Punishment. No kidding. It’s a love hate thing while my unread stack is beginning to look like the last few seconds of an exciting game of Jenga My unread stack? The first two are We Were The Lucky Ones and A Gentleman in Moscow.
I’m reading A Gentleman in Moscow now! I recently read Rules of Civility and just loved Amor Towles’ writing style and had to try another of his novels.
Emily, I love this series. We seem to have the same taste in fiction and I am always looking for a good book!
I read Sarah’s Key before a trip to Paris a few years ago. While in Paris, we visited the Jewish quarter and the stunningly heartbreaking holocust memorial. A life changing experience and a story that must be told. I was so glad I had the context of the book. I felt like I was walking in her steps.
That must’ve been amazing. And hard…
Just finished A Man Called Ove. Laughed out loud…and teared up, too.
Almost finished with Little Fires Everywhere – great read!
I have this on hold at the library!
I just finished this, too! It was very good! I lucked out because my library has a “lucky” shelf with single copies of some best sellers that can’t be put on hold so if you go and see a great new find-you are lucky. :) I also snagged Kristin Hannah’s new book, The Great Alone. It was excellent. Another good one-Bear Town by Frederik Backman-he also wrote A Man Called Ove.
The Woman in Cabin 10; The Wife Between Us; and, The Woman in the Window. All great books, but I don’t recommend reading them back to back to back as I did. They were all in the genre of Gone Girl, and Girl on the Train. I began to feel a bit in need of a therapy session myself after my “psycho thriller overload” reading marathon!
I am currently reading Tiger Pelt, written by my friend’s sister, Annabelle Kim. A beautiful read!
Kristi Woodson Harvey, a young southern author, has written 3 books and is now promoting her 4th. My adult daughters and I have loved them all. Sweet Carolina is the first, then Lies and Other Acts of Love, followed by Slightly South of Simple. They are all great books and all very different. Her most recent book is The Secret of Southern Charm. They are appealing to all ages but just wonderful books. Another book I loved is the Invention of Wings, a book about slavery in the south. A couple years ago, after reading the book, I had a trip to Charleston, SC and took the Grimke Sisters Tour which included many of the areas written about in the book. It was totally awesome!
I have not read Yellow Crocus yet, but will be adding it to my stack. After two moves, one of them cross country, I haven’t read as much as I’d like to. However, two of my favorite books are by Kathleen Grissom. The first is called The Kitchen House and the sequel is called Glory Over Everything. Both are amazing.
Loved Kitchen House. A very similar feel to Yellow Crocus…
Thank you Emily for posting your latest reads. I’m always searching for recommendations and as I’m part of a book club it is great to have some choices that I wouldn’t necessarily pick on my own. I have read Unraveling Oliver by Liz Nugent. It is about wealthy children’s author Oliver Ryan who at the start of the novel has assaulted his wife and left her for dead. It is marketed to catch the popular psychological thriller wave but actually it is much more complex and really left me thinking about it days after I had finished. Another book I loved was Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. It was a bookclub choice but being over 600 pages I couldn’t tackle it during a busy work time,so read it over the Christmas break and I was hooked. It is about a young boy who is visiting an art gallery with his mom when a bomb explodes. He takes an old painting by an old master and the plot explores his life into adulthood with the stolen painting. It won the Pulitzer Prize but is very readable. I also loved A Man Called Ove. Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan is on our bookclub list so I will be reading that soon, it has excellent reviews? Have you read that one?
I’m currently reading Little Fires Everywhere, and I like It so far. I just finished What She Knew and couldn’t put it down.
I really enjoy your reading posts!
I just Finished Little Fires Everywhere, and I didn’t end up loving it.
I wanted To finish it, but it just wasn’t my cup of tea.
I just finished A Gentleman in Moscow and loved it.
I heard the author, Amor Towles, speak about the book before reading it and was completely enthralled by him and had no trouble getting started with the book. But a few friends who did not hear him speak said they had a hard time getting into it but once they did that they couldn’t put it down.
I have not read the others (yet) but I loved Yellow Crocus…what a great story. I could actually picture the scenes in my mind as I read it .
Beartown by Frederik Bachman (so so good!), Spoonbenders by Daryl Gregory, The Identicals by Elin Hildebrand, The Stolen Marriage by Diane Chamberlain–these are my recent top picks. Can’t wait to check out your recommendations!
I just finished Sarah’s Key and loved it – it was so powerful! I’ve recently read Orphan Train and that tugged my heart strings, too.
Just read Yellow Crocus (in one day) after reading your recommendation. Amazing! Saw there was a sequel so I will be checking that out next. Always love your book recommendations.
So glad you liked it! (You’re fast!!) I didn’t know there was a sequel.