In the month of March I completed 7 books and read approximately 2,528 pages. Not every book I read deserves its own blog post (like this one), but I always love hearing what other people have enjoyed. Or better yet, what they have NOT enjoyed. So I thought I’d share some of my recent reads (and my ratings for them) here.
How I rate books
Here’s my simple star rating I’ve been using. I tend to give out 4 stars very generously. I suspect that the more I read, and the more I rate and pay attention to what I liked and didn’t like in a book, the less generous I’ll be with those stars. But only time will tell!
It was amazing
Really liked it
Liked it
It was okay
Did Not Finish and/or really disliked it
Books I’ve read recently
A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny
I love love love Louise Penny’s series. This particular book almost felt like there were too many different narratives going on. At the same time, she has such a way of capturing people. I love that she shows you how they’re perceived by other people and then later how those misconceptions can be so, so wrong. This book definitely plays a lot with perception and reputation. Also, this is the second time I’ve read it and I remember there being a totally different murderer, so obviously I did not pay close attention the first time around. Ha.
HRH: So Many Thoughts on Royal Style by Elizabeth Holmes
This book was a delight. I’ve been following Elizabeth Holmes on instagram for a couple of years now and LOVE her commentary on royal fashion. It’s made me so much aware of how much your clothes speak for you! She included so many gorgeous pictures in this one too. I bought this before Christmas but didn’t dive in until this interview. And then I spent the next week obsessing over all things British royals. Thus the next book….
Diana: Her True Story in Her Own Words by Andrew Morton
This biography was written after Diana top secretly recorded herself sharing all about her life. With that in mind, I had to keep reminding myself that it was definitely biased to her point of view. Even so, I found it so tragic and beautiful. What stands out to me is the legacy Diana has left vs the legacy Prince Charles will leave. In part, I’m sure it’s due to her martyr status. If she hadn’t been killed at such a young age, the world might remember her differently.
But I think that it’s also so much more. He scoffed at the way she spent her time and felt that she should put “duty” first like him. She poured herself into her boys first and marginalized people groups second and accomplished so much more in her short lifetime. Those are the kind of upside-down principles that Jesus talked about so much, so I love to see real-life examples of them. She’s definitely an example of how “feminine” traits (such as compassionate, people-centric, and intuition) while seeming to be weaker, can actually accomplish so much more in the long run, and always have a lasting impact on the hearts of people.
Upstairs at the White House by J.B. West
This book was written by the Chief Usher of the White House, who worked closely with the first families from 1956 to 1969. It was so fascinating to see how the different presidents and their families lived – their different personalities and how they coped with the presidency. J.B. West definitely held back when he could have been more salacious, which I have mixed feelings about. I love that he protected their privacy even when he wasn’t required to, but also I would have liked to see more truth brought to life I guess? He certainly made Kennedy seem like a family man when he was quite the opposite. Even so, I still highly recommend the book!
Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
I finished the last book that Diana Gabaldon has released in the Outlander series last year and have gone back to re-listen. I love what Gabaldon has done with this series. It’s fantasy and historical fiction and romance. The characters are believable and interesting. And I learn so much listening to them! I actually see the length of the books as a plus, too. Sometimes it’s tough to start new books and get introduced to new characters and settings while multi-tasking. Since I LOVE to listen to audiobooks while cooking, cleaning, driving, etc., relistening to really long series makes me really happy.
This particular book feels like it goes so fast at times and SO slow at others. Finding out who the main antagonist of the book is at the end was quite a surprise. I’ve learned from reading this book that I enjoy a good twist.
This series is NOT rated PG and there are a number of trigger warnings.
The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny
The first time I read the Louise Penny books, I raced through all 12 that were out (at the time). Now I’m going through them a bit more slowly and looking forward to 2-3 whole new books I’ve never even read. This particular one starts off a little slow and then the last 2-3 chapters fly by and I’m immediately looking for the next book in the series to read. It has to do with murder at a monastery, which opens up all kinds of life questions. 100% recommend this series for anyone who loves mysteries!
Books I Abandoned
Historically I have not been great at abandoning books I’m not enjoying. I definitely want to get better at that! There’s way too many quality books out there for me to spend time reading something that makes me miserable. I only have one officially abandoned book out of the books I’ve read recently:
Queen of Sorcery by David Eddings
Charles and I were listening to this fantasy series together and grew pretty bored with it. The first book showed a lot of promise, though we weren’t totally satisfied with it either. The main character never knows what’s going on and just seems to get dragged along from place to place. There are also A LOT of made up gods and races in this series that we were having a tough time keeping track of. Perhaps it would be better if we weren’t listening! But we finally called it quits and now we look forward to listening to books together again.
