Reading (or Listening to) Lately

I am a huge fan of the Multnomah County Library system; however, some new and in demand books take forever to get, even after placing a hold on them.  Understandably so, seeing as there are a lot of people who use the library's hold system, but still.  So when I knew I wanted to read "Gone Girl," I placed a hold on both the normal hard copy as well as the audio book on CDs to listen to in the car.  The audio book was available about a month before the hard copy, so I've been listening to it on my daily commute.

Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn


While this book is well written, and was entertaining to listen to, it reminded me that I don't really like the mystery genre.  I'm hesitant to say too much to prevent spoiling it for people who haven't read it yet, but the people are messed up.  There are a lot of plot twists, so much so that I think it would have been better for me to have read it, instead of listening to it in the car, because I would often hit some plot twist just as I pulled up in front of my house, and would have to sit there to get to a decent stopping point.  I felt like it was worth the read if only to be able to join the conversation, but I found it kind of disturbing and discouraging.

Where'd You Go Bernadette - Maria Semple


I really enjoyed this book.  It is written in a very interesting style, as a compilation of "primary" sources, with explanation/narration between, so I had a lot of fun thinking through the events and piecing together the story.    It's an easy read and really funny.

My sister, my friend Ellen, and I started a book club.  It feels very house-wifey of us (maybe that's because thus far the only people I've ever known who were in book clubs were my mom and her friends).  So far we've only had our first meeting, but I think it's going to be great.  Our first book was "The Imperfectionists" by Tom Rachman.

The Imperfectionists - Tom Rachman


While it's very well written, it was a little depressing.  Each chapter is written from the perspective of a different character associated with an English-language, internationally-focused newspaper based in Rome.  And while that is an interesting format, and the author is very talented, the characters are all such sad, self-destructive people that it's hard to root for or relate to any of them.

I thought everybody already knew about Good Reads, but apparently not.  It's a great website to track what you and your friends are reading, as well as read reviews and create a list of books you've been meaning to get around to.

Book cover images via 1, 2, 3.