Podcasts:
Friendships on The Simple Show - I really enjoyed Tsh Oxenreider's podcast about friendships. They discussed how to make time for friendships in the midst of being in a busy season of life. Some of their scheduling techniques would not work for me (the guest host doesn't plan anything in advance - I would not see any friends if I did not make plans in advance), but it was interesting to hear how 2 women make time for friendships.
Back to School and Neighborhood Spying on The Girl Next Door - Kelly introduced me to this podcast awhile ago and I have been loving it! Even though I don't have kids, I really enjoyed their "back to school" episode. I always love the back to school season as I loved going back to school at the end of the summer. It brings back all kinds of nostalgia! They each have things they do to make back to school time special for their kids. I'll have to keep this podcast in mind when we have kids of our own.
Books:
In Twenty Years by Allison Winn Scotch - 2 stars - I bought this off an kindle deal email and decided to read it as I needed something lighter. It was a disappointment. It's about a group of college friends that rendezvous when they turn 30. I was disappointed by how immature the characters were and how little self-awareness they had.
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee - 4 stars - This was my favorite book that I read in September. I got it this spring from my Book of the Month Club subscription. It's is a sweeping saga of 4 generations of Koreans that emigrated to Japan. I learned so much about the relationship between Japan and Korea and was saddened to read about how awful Koreans living in Japan were treated. For example, even though 2 of the generations of this family were born in Japan, they were still required to get a Korean passport and were not treated as full members of society. Apparently this is an accurate depiction of how Koreans are treated in Japan.
No One Can Pronounce My Name by Rakesh Satyal - 3 stars - This is September selection for my local book club. It's about a group of Indian immigrants living in Ohio. The narration shifted from character to character, which I liked. I liked this book, but there was something missing and I didn't exactly love it. I think it will make for a good book club discussion, though.
Miller's Valley by Anna Quindlen - 3 stars - I usually ADORE Quindlen's books. This one was good, but I didn't love it as much as I usually love her books. It's about a family living in an area that consistently floods. The government wants to use eminent domain and purchase the land from the families so they can flood the area.
Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty - 3 stars - I debated between 2 and 3 stars for this book, but settled on 3 as the final quarter of the book was really good. I usually like Moriarty books more than I liked this one. But in this case I felt that she over used suspense. There was an excessive build up to something that happened at a BBQ and I just wanted to know what it was. It took until about 1/2 way through the book to get a glimpse of what happened and even then it slowly unfolded with flashbacks between the BBQ and the current time. I think suspense is a good tool that can engage a reader but in this case it just annoyed me.
8 comments:
Miller's Valley sounds very much like what is going on around the Fargo area. It would be so hard to have your homes, farmland, cemeteries etc flooded to save another area. Even though I understand the concerns, it would just be so difficult! I hope & pray we don't have floods like that for another 100 years!
Thanks for reminding me about the simple show. I accidentally deleted my podcast app and can't get it back, so when I downloaded a new one I forgot about some I like haha. I'm like you and a total planner when it comes to getting together with friends but I have to say sometimes the last minute stuff does seem to work better when kids are involved! I'll probably always still be a bit of a planner though ;)
I enjoyed that episode of the Simple Show as well, especially since I've been struggling a bit with friendships since we moved last year. I do find it nice to sometimes last minute get together with my friend who lives near me for a walk, but for the most part last minute plans don't work well for me as I prefer to have a bit of a plan. I remember being a bit annoyed with that Moriarty book as well because of ALL THE BUILD UP around the BBQ and then what actually happened wasn't even *that* huge (from what I can remember). The biggest thing I like about Moriarty books is that I find she gives her characters more depth than most thriller / chick lit books like that.
Looks like a good and diverse selection, Lisa. Love hearing your take on things -- the Quindlen being especially interesting.
I think I gave Truly, Madly, Guilty 4 stars because the last 100-150 pages were so hard to put down, but yeah, the buildup was rather insane and unnecessary. I hope it's not something Moriarty is going to start doing with all of her books (she did this with Big Little Lies, but it didn't feel as annoying in that book), because it isn't my favorite.
Sorry that most of your books were only 3-stars this month... I am always hoping for at least one book that blows me away, but it doesn't always happen. I will put Pachinko on my to-read list.
I always loved back to school time too (when I was a kid). It's a bit harder to go back now as an adult, haha! But, one or two days in and it feels like I never left, and I am back into the swing of things.
You just reminded me I have to finish Homegoing by tomorrow night for book club tomorrow!!
I got the Pachinko book from my Book of the Month subscription too but haven't read it yet!
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