christianreader | 2018 January Books

Forever Mine by Erin Nicholas 3/5

The second of three "Opposites Attract" books. I liked this story even more than the first one. This one focuses on Maya. She's into martial arts and training with weapons like swords and bo staffs. She used to be a police officer, but she was injured in the line of duty. Now she owns a studio where she teaches weapons training and stuff. She meets Alex, a hunky doctor and they immediately hit it off. However, Alex has recently learned he has a 9-year-old daughter, the result of a one-night stand. He's trying to not let anything distract him from catching up on the nine missed years of being a dad. But he lets Maya distract him anyway.

Someone to Love by Mary Balogh 3/5

I liked this one okay, but it wasn't that great. I guess I gave it 3 instead of 2 because I liked it well enough to want to read the second book about the Westcott family. The setting is England in the late 1700s. Anna Snow is 25. She grew up in an orphanage, never knowing who her parents were or where she came from. She learns from a lawyer that her father, an earl, has recently died, and she is to inherit his fortune. She goes to London where her new-found family members (a grandmother, some aunts, and cousins) intend to refine her appearance and manners so she will fit in with high society. Surprisingly, she catches the eye of the Duke of Netherby. She seems to think he's pretty great too, although I don't know why. He's always talking (or thinking) about how bored he is with whatever people bring up as a topic of conversation. Very standoffish. I'm guessing the rest of the series is about other members of the family, so maybe their love interests will be more likable.

Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love and Heartbreak in the Stacks by Annie Spence 3/5

This author is a librarian, and she's weeding the collection, removing books that are no longer being checked out, or are in too poor a condition to continue being checked out. The first part of this book is full of letters to certain books. Some are love letters, some are break-up letters. It's witty and entertaining, especially when I've read the book she's writing to, but even still when I've never heard of it. Then the second part of the book takes on a different format and it wasn't nearly as interesting. She basically has some different lists of books, and she tells a little about the plot of each one, or just gives reasons why you should read it. A little paragraph, much like the one I'm writing now. I added several books to my "to-read" list - books from both parts of her book. But I wish she'd kept up the letter format instead of switching to lists and descriptions.

My Italian Bulldozer by Alexander McCall Smith 3/5

My first thought about the title was that the bulldozer must be a metaphor for something. But no. There is a literal bulldozer in this story, and the main character drives it around the Italian countryside. The main character is Paul, a well-known Scottish author of books about food and wine. His next book features the cuisine of Tuscany, so he travels there to get first-hand knowledge and to have peace and quiet for writing. Also, his girlfriend of four years has just broken up with him, so it's a good time to get away on a retreat. When there are no rental cars available, he ends up renting a bulldozer.

Like so many of AMS's books, this book is cozy and interesting and a little funny. The plot is light. There isn't much action. There's a feeling of taking life slowly, savoring all the beautiful pieces. Strangers end up having intriguing conversations with each other, and at least one of them comes away knowing more truth about life. It would be nice if that happened in real life with strangers.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan 5/5

This story has two characters named Will Grayson. They are both 16 (I think) and they both live near Chicago. They both have teenage troubles, but for different reasons. One Will is trying to navigate adolescence with two rules: don't care about anything and shut up. But he finds it difficult especially because his best friend Tiny is very large, very loud, and flamboyantly gay. The other Will hates everyone and everything, except for his online friend Isaac. This Will hasn't told anyone he's gay, except for Isaac. The two Wills don't know each other until a chance encounter in the city. After that, their lives are a little more intertwined. It's just the kind of heart-wrenching, character-driven story that I love.

At Home in the World by Tsh Oxenreider 4/5

I took a trip around the world this month by listening to this book. Tsh, her husband Kyle, and their three kids (ages 4, 6, and 9) spent 9 months (one school year) traveling around the world. Tsh and Kyle were both able to work from anywhere, and they were already homeschooling the kids, so really, the kids could have school anywhere. They sold their house in Oregon, put most of their belongings in storage, and packed one backpack each. I probably won't remember all the countries they visited, but the list includes: China, Thailand, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Morocco, France, Italy, Kosovo, Turkey, Germany, and England. It was fascinating to hear about the different places and how the kids handled all the traveling. I imagine my kids wouldn't handle it nearly as well. I'm not sure I would handle it either. I would enjoy traveling to different parts of the world, but my ideal situation would be to go to one place for a couple weeks and then return home. And I could do that 2 or 3 times a year. (In this hypothetical scenario in which I have lots of money to travel.) Spending 9 months traveling doesn't sound fun to me. But it was fun hearing about it from people who enjoy that kind of thing.

I also really enjoyed the meet-cute flashback of when Tsh and Kyle first met on a country road in Kosovo.