Welcome to Quick Lit where I share books that I chose for my own reading enjoyment in a mini-review format. These are not books I received for review, but books that I’ve been wanting to read or that have 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, so instead, I’m offering mini-reviews of the books that won’t get full-page space here.
I’ll be linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy and her monthly Quick Lit link-up. Be sure to head over to see others share their Quick Lit posts. This post contains affiliate links. Click here to read more about that.
I’m currently on vacation this week and took more books than I’ll probably get to. See my Vacation Packing Reel, HERE. Can you relate?
Here’s what I’m expecting to read this week:
A newly published middle-grade novel called FOOD FIGHT that is actually hitting really close to home for our family.
THE ROYAL GOVERNESS by Wendy Holden is my Kindle read. I received this one last year for review and never got to it. Then I received her newest one out next month, THE PRINCESS. So I decided to read last year’s first.
THE GIRL WITH THE LOUDING VOICE
By: Abi Daré
Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
Published: February 23, 2021
Publisher: Dutton
Fiction
Format: Audiobook through Libby and Paperback
I chose this for our book club mostly because it went on Kindle Deal which allowed other book club members to get the book for a lower cost and the book had been on my shelf for a while. I remember hearing good things when the book came out and then I received it in my Jen Hatmaker Book Club. I didn’t expect this book to be quite so amazing. This book blew me away.
Adunni is a Nigerian girl who is forced to marry an old man to help her father pay her debts after her mother died. She believes her dreams of going to school are over and she is destined to live with this old man and his 2 other wives for the rest of her life. Adunni is a smart girl and through a tragedy finds her way to escape. But, more obstacles are in her path until a chance meeting with a woman who just may help her reach her dreams.
This book was powerful, emotional, witty, heartbreaking, and hopeful. I can’t recommend this one enough. The audiobook was beyond amazing. Listen to the audio, read a copy, or both as I did. But, just read it.
GOLDEN HILLS
A Short Story
By: Jennifer Weiner
Published: June 1, 2023
Publisher: Amazon Original Stories
Fiction/Novella
Format: eBook through Kindle Prime First Reads
I like choosing a free Kindle book through the Amazon Prime First Reads program, but I often don’t get to them very quickly. Since this was written by a popular author and a novella (just 53 pages) I figured I could get through it in a couple of nights.
Since it is about rising congresswoman, Ida, you can expect that there will be political themes. Ida is just days away from her next election, but a person from her past has unexpectedly come forward to speak about a certain mistake that happened at “fat camp” during her high school summer. She has never told anyone about it and can’t believe Marissa is going public about it. This will be big and will likely impact her election. Is there anything she can do to stop it from coming out?
This was just an okay read for me. I should have expected the political themes, so I can’t fault the story for that. But, I did enjoy the friendship story and how the relationship between the two women was left at the end of the story. It offers a good lesson on forgiveness and reconciling the past.
REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES
By: Shelby Van Pelt
Narrated by: Marin Ireland and Michael Urie
Published: May 3, 2022
Publisher: Ecco
Fiction
Format: Audiobook through Libby
ALL THE STARS! WOW! What a fabulous story about an octopus, an elderly woman, and a young man who comes into their lives. This will definitely be hard to beat as my favorite read of the year. The audiobook was amazing, but I truly believe reading the book would be awesome as well.
I don’t want to reveal anything because I went in mostly blind and I think that is the best way to read it.
THE GALVESTON DIET
By: Mary Claire Haver, MD
Published: January 10, 2023
Publisher: Rodale Books
Non-Fiction
Format: Hardcover
As I have now entered the stage of menopause, I’m noticing that food affects my symptoms, especially with inflammation and sleep. I’ve been following Dr. Mary Claire Haver on Instagram for quite a while and knew that I wanted to read her book. I found it extremely helpful and have started incorporating some of the food into my regular meals. I can definitely tell when I eat foods from the approved food list, which is actually quite long. I like how she categorizes them like Approved Dairy, Fats, Vegetables, Proteins, etc. My summer has been pretty hectic so I’m hoping to focus on her eating plan more after we return from vacation. But, it’s definitely been helpful.
TO BLESS THE SPACE BETWEEN US
By: John O’Donohue
Published: March 4, 2008
Publisher: Doubleday
Non-Fiction/Poetry
Format: Hardcover
I don’t usually read poetry, but this book of blessings interested me and is one I actually quite enjoyed reading. I remember hearing about it on What Should I Read Next, and it interested me. I started reading it on January 1, 2023, reading one poem/blessing a day. I missed a few days in these past six months but finished it about when I expected to. It easily reads like a devotional or you could certainly read it all the way through.
I loved the end of one of the poems which is actually a perfect kind of prayer for the beginning of each day. This is from the poem, Matins in the chapter Beginnings.
May I live this day
Compassionate of heart,
Clear in word,
Gracious in awareness,
Courageous in thought,
Generous in love.
There are so many sentiments that are perfect for when you don’t know what to say or what to write in a card of encouragement or when you need a bit of hope. From beginnings to endings in life, to happy and sad times, to career changes or life events, there is a poem for everything.
THIS TIME TOMORROW
By: Emma Straub
Narrated by: Marin Ireland and Emma Straub
Published: May 17, 2022
Publisher: Riverhead Books
Fiction
Format: Audiobook through Libby and Hardcover
I wasn’t sure about this book due to the time-travel element in the story. But, I liked KINDRED and decided that this one piqued my interest enough to give it a try. I didn’t love the time travel piece which was actually kind of like a Groundhog Day travel, but I did love the relationship between Alice and her father. I don’t want to give anything away, but the author’s note at the end really sealed the feelings I had about this story. My dad is 90 and not well, but stable, yet I know he won’t live forever. This book offered a nudge to make sure I say and do the things I want to before he is gone.
It wasn’t that she was afraid he was going to die-he was dying, she knew that. It was that she didn’t know when it was going to happen, or what it would feel like when it did, and she was afraid that she would feel relieved, and afraid that she would feel too sad to go to work, and afraid that she’d never have another boyfriend beause she was going to be too sad to meet anyone, and she was already forty, now she was forty, which was really different from thirty-nine…
FOSTER
By: Claire Keegan
Narrated by: Aoife McMahon
Published: November 1, 2022
Publisher: Grove Press
Fiction
Format: Audiobook through Libby
It’s the early 1980s in Ireland and a young girl has been sent to live with distant relatives. She is one of many children and her mom is again with child and times are hard. The relatives, the Kinsellas, are thrilled to have her and open the girl’s eyes to a whole new way of living with new clothes, conversations, and hugs. She is told little about why she is there or how long, so she chooses to enjoy it as long as she can. This novella shares two families at very different spectrums. The girl flourishes with the Kinsellas but her time with them can’t last forever and soon it is time for her to return home.
I preferred her other novella SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE but Keegan does have a talent for sharing big stories with a small amount of words.
SPARE
By: Prince Harry the Duke of Sussex
Narrated by: Prince Harry the Duke of Sussex
Published: January 10, 2023
Publisher: Random House
Non-Fiction/Memoir
Format: Audiobook through Audible
I chose this with some Audible credits and began reading it shortly after it was published. I’m fascinated by the Royals and was devastated when Princess Diana was killed. I know exactly where I was and who I was with the moment it was announced and just remember stopping in my tracks and being heartbroken. Prince Harry narrates the audio and I could feel his emotions at times, especially when he talked about his mom or his deep love for Meghan.
SPARE is broken into three parts with A LOT of chapters in each one, but the chapters are quite short. But it is still a relatively long listen at 16 hours, which is why it probably took me about 5 months to read it. I started it when I had a long drive ahead of me and then stopped for a few weeks and would pick it up randomly over time. Then it was chosen as our book club read for this month so I had to get it finished.
Part One talks about most of Harry’s childhood and life after his mom died. Part Two is more about his military and young adult life which I didn’t find as interesting. This was the time in his life in which I found him to be the most gregarious and immature. Part Three is when he meets the love of his life, Meghan Markle. Parts One and Three were the most enjoyable for me and gave me quite a new perspective on his life as a Royal and how the monarchy works. I wouldn’t give up my everyday life for even a day of being in Harry’s shoes. I can’t imagine a life of hiding from the “paps” or being followed by them constantly. I pray he and Meghan are able to live a happy life with their lovely children. I’m not going to dispute if the conversations in the book were true or not because this is Prince Harry’s story to tell and it is how he remembers it or feels about it. Prince William or King Charles may have different versions and they are certainly capable of telling their side if they choose.
I loved Remarkably Bright Creatures, too! And I just finished The Girl with the Louding Voice a couple of days ago (both audiobook and physical book) and loved that too. For me too it had been on my shelf a while. Always fun to find readers with similar tastes! Happy reading the rest of the summer!