Quick Lit: Mini Reviews of Some Recent Reads – September 2017 Edition

I’m trying to read more books that I choose for my own reading enjoyment. Not for review, but because I’ve been wanting to read them or they caught my attention. Most of them have been talked about ad nauseam or have been on my to-read list for a long time so they don’t really need a full review. But, I’d still like to give them some space here on the blog.

I’ll be linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy and her monthly Quick Lit link up. Be sure to head over to see others link up their Quick Lit posts.

Right now audio books are a great way for me to read the books I’ve been wanting to read. I either get them through the Bridges account through my library or I purchase them on Audible. It’s a great way to always have a book on hand! I frequently have more than one book going at a time. That way I always have something that sounds interesting and when I get bored with one, I can move onto another one. This month I’m featuring mostly audio books because that seems to be how I can read (listen) to books that I want to read for my own enjoyment rather than for review.

BEARTOWN

By: Fredrick Backman

Published: April 25, 2017

Publisher: Atria Books

Format: Audiobook

This is my first Backman novel and now I want to read them all immediately. I began this book on audio but since my time expired on my library account, I had to finish the last 15 chapters by checking out the physical book from my library. (Thank goodness it was available!) This riveting story of the town of Beartown in Finland (I think) is centered on its inhabitants whose lives are consumed with hockey. But, it isn’t just a hockey story, but a story of coming of age, perseverance, and so much more. Gosh, I really loved this book. Read it. Listen to it. It doesn’t matter.

The book starts with a teenager holding a gun to someone’s head and then takes you through the previous year to find out how the teen got to that point. There is tension and heartbreak and friendship and hatred. But, most of all there is love….love shown many different ways by people who maybe weren’t loved much themselves and others who love so much they would put their own lives in jeopardy.

THE BRIGHT HOUR

A Memoir of Living and Dying

By: Nina Riggs

Narrated by Cassandra Campbell and Kirby Heyborne

Published: June 6, 2017

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Format: Audiobook

I’m not sure how I heard about this book, but I knew it was something I wanted to read. It reminded me of some of my latest non-fiction reads including THE MIDDLE PLACE, WHEN BREATH BECOMES AIR, and WHERE THE LIGHT GETS IN. I listened to it on audio and it was quite beautiful. If I would have read a physical copy I am quite sure I would have highlighted several passages.

Riggs is a direct descendent of Ralph Waldo Emerson and a poet in her own right. Throughout her memoir Riggs shares lines from poems that exquisitely portray her thoughts and emotions while struggling through her mother’s cancer as well as her own.

Riggs is told she has “one small spot” on her breast and she tells herself, “no one dies from one small spot”. But as you can tell from the title, this does not have a happy ending. As a daughter, sister, wife, and mother of two young boys she explores living with the diagnosis for herself and watching her mother struggle through her own diagnosis. It really is brilliant, emotional, and full of prose worthy of reading.

OPTION B

By: Sheryl Sandberg

Narrated by: Elisa Donovan

Published: April 24, 2017

Publisher: Random House Audio and Knopf

Format: Audiobook

This was recommended to me by several people and it came up quite quickly in my library holds. I listened to the audio version which was read by Elisa Donovan and very well done. She has an easy voice to listen to and surprisingly, didn’t get caught up in the emotions of the book.

Sandberg is an author and Facebook COO and while on vacation with friends, her husband dies suddenly. She is faced with returning home without her husband and telling her young children about his death. She is faced with starting over and learning to live as a single parent.  But, I want to tell you that this book is about more than her grieving process.  It’s about how she chooses to live again. Her advice is good for anyone that is recovering from a traumatic event (death, loss of job, move, health crisis) as well as those of us who know someone recovering. She helps us understand the process, tells us what to say, and not say. What to do, and not do. She offers research and most definitely, hope.

I took away many tips from Sandberg (3 joys from each day, do one turn, then another, then another) and am very glad I listened to it. I plan to keep it in my “back pocket” for recommendations and future gifts. At the very least, you will have a new resolve for living each day to its fullest as we never know how much longer we have on this Earth.

YOUR MORNING MANUAL

By: Emily @ MorningMotivatedMom.com

A short eBook that offers tips and downloadable resources for getting your mornings under control. Do you want to build in quiet time in the morning? Or maybe start getting up to workout early before everyone else is up? Whatever you want your mornings to look like, Emily can guide you to down the path. By walking through her steps and using her printable resources, you can map out what you want your mornings to look like and then work your way back to starting your morning. It isn’t a full-proof system but offers a starting point and gives you tips for prioritizing.

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