Reading Lately – 2/11/20

Happy Tuesday! I am linking up with Steph and Jana for Show Us Your Books today. Yesterday I told you I had three books I loved and one book that was just ok. All of the books are Jolabokaflod book club books.

The first three books I read were all by Elizabeth Berg. They are all set in Mason, Missouri, a small town full of good small town characters. The three books in the series are The Story of Arthur Truluv, Night of Miracles, and The Confession Club. I LOVED these books!! As I finished each one, I put my kindle down and gave a big happy sigh. Usually turning to someone near me saying, “that was a great book”! I cannot recommend these books enough. They start with Maddie, a troubled teenager, meeting Arthur, a devoted widow, in the cemetery. Throughout the three books, you meet Arthur’s neighbor, a waitress at the diner, the town taxi driver, and a group of women who started a confession club. I absolutely loved the small town feel of the books. I also really loved how the series featured many of the same characters, but each book was focused on someone different in Mason. Before you pick up another book to read, start with Arthur Truluv and read straight through The Confession Club. They left me wanting more and thinking about moving to lovely Mason, Missouri.
All 3 books: ☀️ ☀️ ☀️ ☀️ ☀️

The fourth book I read was The Adults. The premise of the story is divorced parents with their new significant others take their child on a vacation for Christmas. The timing of the story jumps around telling what happened before the accident and interviewing suspects and witnesses of the accident. I heard about the book at the publisher’s book talk at my local bookstore. It sounded great, but I thought the story was just ok. Throughout the book I found myself saying “oh for goodness sake” or “get your act together” to the characters. My mom wasn’t thrilled with the book either. I almost encouraged her to stop reading, but she was about 75% of the way through so i told her to finish so she can see how the book ends. She was so close at that point. Rating: ☀️ ☀️ ☀️

Guest book reviewer Jeff finished his Jolabokaflod book while we were in Aruba. He kept us all entertained with interesting facts about the human body. The Body Book by Bill Bryson was a long book but it was full of so much information about our body parts, how we treat our bodies, and how our bodies work. I thought he’d give it 5 ☀️ based on how quickly he read it and how many cool things he shared/learned from it. He gives it ☀️ ☀️ ☀️ ☀️ 1/2 (4.5 sunshines). That’s a pretty glowing endorsement from Jeff. 😎

Yesterday was a big reading day at my school. We kicked off our school wide book club, where everyone family and staff member reads the same book together. This year we are reading Frindle by Andrew Clements and I got to hand out over 450 copies of the book to our eager students and staff members. We followed it up with Family Reading Night at school to read the first chapter together. Readers unite and get ready for three weeks of reading fun!

That’s all for this month. I am reading two books for my summer beach reads post and they are wonderful!! I can’t wait to share them with you!! I am excited for February reading. I have two plane trips and will hopefully read a bunch this month.

Have a great day full of sunshine and books!

22 thoughts on “Reading Lately – 2/11/20”

  2. sara says:
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    I love the Elizabeth Berg and Bill Bryson recs! I’ll probably save Bryson for audiobook as I’ve loved his other books on audio for my commute.

  7. Jana @ Jana Says says:
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    My daughter had to read Frindle as a school-wide read when she was in third or fourth grade and she HATED that book so much when she was done, she buried it in the bottom of her closet.

  12. Pingback: Let’s Look – 2/12/20 – Sunshine and Books
  15. Becki says:
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    I love school-wide book clubs! Our elementary did it a few years ago. I also love all the Elizabeth Berg books I’ve read, but I think it’s been a few years since I’ve picked one up. Thanks for reminding me.

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