on to april...though posting in june (oops):
every day, by david levithan (this is a YA book that had been recommended to me a few years ago - a teenager wakes up every day in a different body and has to navigate that life. some days he's male, others female, gay, straight, popular, isolated, etc. i liked this book but it didn't change my life! high quality YA, though.)
warlight, by michael ondaatje (i read this because ondaatje did an online lecture in this pittsburgh lecture series that i really like (and am planning to subscribe to in some capacity next year). i really like listening to authors talk about their craft, and going to these lectures is just one more way in which i've become a contented 75 year old lady. i also loved the english patient, so this one had been on my list for a little while. i really liked it - he's such a beautiful writer - and this mysterious story of siblings and the odd family around them really held my attention, and then it was rewarding to hear the author talk about different aspects of the book. i'd definitely recommend this one!, though it isn't super plot driven and you'd have to be okay with a lot of character building.)
the splendid and the vile, by erik larson (i listened to the audiobook of this, which i had been eagerly anticipating. i wasn't let down - i really like larson's narrative nonfiction writing style, and enjoyed a deeper dive into winston churchill's first year as prime minister.)
untamed, by glennon doyle (did i love this book or did i hate this book? i can't tell. parts of it really spoke to me and parts i had a hard time connecting with - especially when she talked about the struggles of balancing yourself and your obligation to your children, as i'm not a parent. do i hate her as she goes through this self examination that i've done much of already...or do i love her for her vulnerability and wise words? not sure, but i've had a lot of conversations about this book with friends since i read it, so i'm definitely glad that i did. she's no brene brown, but she reminds me of her.)
one day, by gene weingarten (oh, i loved this book - please read it! it's nonfiction - the author is a journalist, who picks a date out of a hat and then follows some of the stories of what happened on that day in 1986 through to the present. i loved the way he told these stories, many of which were quite ordinary and he found the interesting twist within it. a great concept, and a well-fleshed out book. parts of it - the two house fires that he follows up on, for example, and the woman who had the first heart transplant at a hospital in DC - i'm still thinking about.)
valentine, by elizabeth wetmore (oh, i loved this one, too. the story of a bunch of women in a west texas town who are tangentially connected to each other and tangentially connected to a girl who is raped (the book begins with her escaping her rapist the morning after the crime). i loved how vividly constructed the time and place were, and i always love books where characters are connected in interesting ways that unfold over the course of the story. it's not a light read, but i really liked it - this was my book of the month pick in april.)
