Read This Month

I can’t believe tomorrow is already October. We’ve been in Dallas a month and a half, and things are finally starting to cool down. Or…at least as much as Texas cools. The State Fair just opened up, and my lucky husband gets to take a work trip over there today. I’m so jealous! Hopefully we can make it over there soon.

I read a ton of books great books this month. Now that I’ve set a schedule for myself, I’m getting quite a variety again. And I’m allowing myself to ditch books if they aren’t up to par, which I had stopped doing at one point. Gotta stop wasting time. Some books just aren’t blog-worthy.

(Which, on that point. Aaron’s Rod is on the list below, but I’m not going to do a post about it. I got about 65% through it before I had to give it up. Far enough to count it as “read” but I’m not going to bore you guys with a terrible post. Not DH Lawrence’s best work, let’s leave it at that.)

And now, the books!

 

Read this month:

Throne of Glass by Sarah Mass

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling

Justine by Lawrence Durrell

The Innocent Man by John Grisham

The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling

Atlantia by Ally Condie

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco (which didn’t make it onto the list in the picture…oops!)

Bird Box by Josh Malerman

Aaron’s Rod by DH Lawrence

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A Man Called Ove

“Loving someone is like moving into a house. At first you fall in love with all the new things, amazed every morning that all this belongs to you as if fearing that someone would suddenly come rushing in through the door to explain that a terrible mistake has been made, you weren’t actually supposed to live in a wonderful place like this. Then over the years the walls become weathered, the wood splinters here and there, and you start to love that house not so much because of its perfection, but rather for its imperfections. You get to know all the nooks and crannies. How to avoid getting the key caught in the lock when it’s cold outside. Which of the floorboards flex slightly when one steps on them or exactly how to open the wardrobe doors without them creaking. There are the little secrets that make it your home.”

 

When I saw A Man Called Ove on the list for my new book club, I was a little concerned. It was not a book I had heard of, which is rare because I’m obsessive about book lists and reviews. And when I started asking around, no one else had heard about it either.

But then I started reading this very simple, Swedish novel. Fredrick Backman has written a masterpiece of a man’s life. This is not a epic, or a fantasy. This is not even a “Save the World” kind of story. But Ove will quickly become your hero. This is the story of a grumpy, lonely old man who just wants to die. He even has a plan. Multiple ones. And the universe is absolutely against him.

This is a story about love. And organization. And how love completely tears organization apart in a beautiful, magical way. How love adds color into a life that is black and white.

You absolutely want to read this book. I already want to reread it. The emotions in this story are very real, even as simple as it is. Everything is just so relatable and human.

From looking at Goodreads, it doesn’t look like any other of Backman’s works are translated into English, but I really hope they are soon! I would love to read more of his writing.

People on the Cover

The next meetup (and my first) for the Books & Brews book club I just joined is on Wednesday, so I’m rushing to get the books read in time. Middlesex was easy to find, but the second book was newer, and one I hadn’t heard of before. Neither had any of the people at the used bookstores I had gone into…which is how I found out it was a new book! Oops.

Then…kismet. The benefit of being a Barnes & Noble Member, a perfectly timed 20% off coupon. Yay! So, while I’d have rather spent it on something I actually wanted to add to my collection, at least I didn’t have to pay full price for one I haven’t read yet. And how terrible…I had to buy a new book (a little heavy on the sarcasm there, if you couldn’t tell!). At least the cover looks interesting. I’ll let you know what I think!

 

 

Have any of you read this one yet? What did you think?

WWW Wednesday 9/17/2014

 

 

What are you currently reading?

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling

 

What did you just finish reading?

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

Atlantia by Ally Condie

The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs

 

What do you think you’ll read next?

No Goodbye by Georgie Marie

Aaron’s Rod by DH Lawrence

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Bachman