I should really consider taking an Evelyn Woods speed reading course — do they even exist any more? — because, even though I’m a fast reader, I can’t read fast enough to get through the piles and piles of books on my shelves and my nightstand. There are so many books I want to read! Here are four great ones I’ve read recently.
ME BEFORE YOU by Jojo Moyes
This is the kind of novel you share with all the women in your life, discuss with your book club, try to read slowly so you don’t finish it so soon, then despair when you do because there’s no sequel to follow it. It’s the story of 26-year-old Louisa Clark, a working class girl in a small English village, who is content to be living an ordinary life. She takes a job as assistant to Will Traynor, a former powerhouse businessman now confined to a wheelchair. If you think you know what’s going to happen in this unlikely love story, you don’t. You will laugh, you will sob and you will think about your own life in a completely new way – and then you will want to go back to page one and start the book all over again.
THE SUNSHINE WHEN SHE’S GONE by Thea Goodman
Is there any new mom who hasn’t yearned for time alone or a new dad who wants his pre-motherhood wife back? In this debut novel about a marriage in trouble, Thea Goodman takes that “what if?” to a whole new level when John lets Veronica sleep in one morning and ends up taking their six-month-old baby on an unplanned trip to Barbados for a long weekend. The story is told from both spouses’ alternating points of views, and it’s a fascinating and realistic look at the changes parenthood brings to each partner’s life and to the relationship itself.
THE END OF YOUR LIFE BOOK CLUB by Will Schwalbe
As an avid reader, I love books about books, so I wasn’t surprised to find myself totally immersed in this memoir about a very unique book club. When publishing executive Will Schwalbe discovered his mother was suffering from a fatal disease, he invited her to be part of an exclusive book club – with just the two of them as members. For two years, they shared and discussed the books they loved, learning about life, death and each other along the way. This is a stunning tribute – not just to the inspiring Mary Anne Schwalbe but also to the power of reading as a tool to help us connect, comfort and cope. All of Will and Mary Anne’s book choices are included in the Appendix, and you will want to devour the entire list.
GIRLCHILD by Tupelo Hassman
The writing in Tupelo Hassman’s debut novel is so stunning, I found myself reading certain lines over and over again in awe and admiration. The coming-of-age story – about young Rory Dawn Hendrix, an unlikely Girl Scout growing up in a depressing and dangerous trailer park in Reno – is raw and devastatingly real, and Rory is a survivor whose spirit remains undaunted. Hassman deserves a merit badge of her own for this completely original book. To quote a character named Pigeon, “I expect I’ll be seeing a lot more of you, Rory Dawn.” Readers can only hope.
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A few more to add to my bucket list. Thanks for the reviews,
Thank you so much for these wonderful recommendations! I just added them to my Goodreads to-read list. I love recommendations from good friends. xoxo
I loved Me Without You and the End of Life Book Club. Thank you for the other recs!
I absolutely LOVE The End of Your Life Book Club. I read it and bought it for my mother. She was so moved by it she bought it for 5 friends. Its about the love of books and relationships and how books can bring people closer.
Me Without You is on my TBR pile but I had not heard about the other 2 novels. Must add them to my reading pile. Thanks.
Thanks for the book reviews. I have “Me Before You” on my nightstand, but I have a couple other books to read prior. I need to get busy! Karen (from #GenFab)
Love getting book recommendations from a fellow bookie.Thanks!
Thanks. I love recommendations for books. Me before you entices me!
I have not read any of these. Thanks for the recommendations!
Thank you for such a helpful review. I will tuck these titles away.
LOVED Me Before You!!! Passing it around at work. A rare one that stays with you!!!
Thanks for this list. I love finding new authors.
I want to win Girl Child!!! Tupelo Hassman is the BEST.
I haven’t ready any of these yet. Already had Me Before You and End of Your Life Book Club on my TBR list, but will now add the other two. Thank you!
I’m always so happy when I finish a book at midnight and first thing in the morning you tell me what to read next! Thanks Lois.
Your recommedations are great.I pass them on to my book club. I too need a speed reading course.
Thanks,
Kay
Three of these were already on my “to read” list…but now I will add Girlchild. Just finished The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis and thoroughly enjoyed it. It takes an altogether different look at motherhood and how a mother exhibits the love of her children. The characters are African American and the novel’s time period spans the Jim Crow laws and floats between the North and the South which gives it a solid racial and historical grounding, but I believe the look it takes at motherhood is altogether universal.
I am going to download these on my iPad…they sound wonderful! Thank you for caring enough to share!
Oh my. They all sound delicious. I’m not sure where to start!! Maybe in the order you placed them in. Hummmm…
This is the 3rd reecommendation for Me Before You in less than a week. I’ve got to hurry up and finish the two books I’m already reading and get to it. Thanks much.
This is the first time I have heard about two of these books. I have added all four to my ever growing”want to read” list. Thanks.
Love reading your book recommendations and have added them to my never ending “books I must read before I die” list. Thank you.
These all sound so good! Especially the first and last one. I belong to a book club, so I might have to recommend one of these. Perhaps the one about a book club? 🙂
Loved Me Before you! What a treasure of a story on a topic that
Is rarely written about. So well written and the perspectives of the two main characters is so real and touching. An easy read on a difficult and emotional subject Bravo!
How fun to have such a special group of books to read in one place. Convenient, meaningful, and truly decadent. Reading is sublime. Thanks for sharing!! Bravo 😀