At this point last year, my mom had finally been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer (of uncertain origin) and we were scrambling to figure out how long she had left (as it turns out, she had about six weeks) and how to make the most of our time together. From last Easter celebrations to early Mother's Day memories before the cancer really took her down, one year ago I was in no brain space to read. I would sit in waiting rooms, holding a book or staring at the Kindle on my phone, but my brain couldn't process words on a page. I would read and re-read the same page, only to close the cover or exit the app and just stare into space.
Fast-forward twelve months and I've managed to knock out over 60% of my reading goal for the entire year in the first four months. What a difference a year makes. While my dad continues to age and we discuss what (if anything) we need to do to help him more during this season, it's not taking the mental toll that watching my mom waste away from cancer did. And for that, I am grateful. Reading continues to be my happy place, my way to step back from the stresses of aging parents, almost-adult teens, college paperwork, and so much more. I am grateful for the opportunity sneak moments throughout the day to read a few pages or move forward a couple of percentage points in an ebook before the world, once again, reclaims my attention. Here's to reading more.
I continued utilizing my three-month Kindle Unlimited trial ($0.99) and reading all the ebooks (which, honestly, are not my favorite form of literature, I honestly do prefer a paper book, but needs must!). This included finishing the entire Emma M. Lion journal series (at least, up to the most recent book), and now I would love to get my hands on the paperback versions of those for my physical shelves. So good!
Books #1-7 of the month...don't ask, just read them. It's like a mix of Jane Austen, P.G. Wodehouse, and the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society all rolled into one delightful story, written in journal entries from the point of view of one Emma M. Lion, so far covering the years of 1883 and 1884. It struck a chord with me as it reminded me, in many ways, of my own unique friend group in my teen years (younger me...plus a handful of older college guys, all of them, but one, dear as brothers, and one who became much more). May there be more to come, because these were so incredibly easy to read...it took me less than a week to start and finish seven books, and I laughed out loud, repeatedly. {Amazon Associates Link}
- The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol 2 by Beth Brower - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Love. Read in a day. Highly recommend.
- The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol 3 by Beth Brower - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Love more. Also read in a day. Actually, stunned by how much I'm enjoying this series.
- The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol 4 by Beth Brower - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Loved even more. Hard to believe they just keep getting better.
- The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol 5 by Beth Brower - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Sad to think I'm already half-way through the series. This is a must read.
- The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol 6 by Beth Brower - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Loving the growth in the various relationships and looking forward to seeing where this is going.
- The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol 7 by Beth Brower - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Yes, but how can there only be one more book! This is killing me. Also...read it in a day.
- The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol 8 by Beth Brower - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Not sure how I'm going to wait for book #9 to come out, and no idea where the author is going with this. The real question at this point (especially if you've read them): are you Team Pierce, Team Duke, or Team Hawkes? I started out favoring one, but I think I've slowly changed as the series has continued. I'll let you guess which one I'm favoring now...
- At Home by Bill Bryson - ⭐⭐⭐ Having read several of Bryson's other books and thoroughly enjoying them, this one was...confusing. Perhaps it was because I was expecting something entirely different based on the title of the book and the premise. When I saw that it went through the history of each room, I had a different idea in mind than where we ended up. There were times when we would get to the end of a room and the story we ended on was so far out of the context of the room that I closed the book, unsure of how we got there. I might have enjoyed it more if the title was, "Random Oddities and Other Strange Tales from History." The book gets three stars because it felt disjointed to me. If I took my preconceived ideas out of it and just rated the writing, I'd probably give it four stars. {Amazon Associates Link}
- The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ I am not, in general, a fan of "fan fiction," but this was well done. Poor Mary, so overlooked and sad in Austen's original work (Pride and Prejudice), really blossoms in this story. To observe her begin to learn things about herself, to make mistakes and recover, rings true to life. This was one of my favorite passages, because it resonated with how I have often felt about myself in life: “But good things don’t need to be showy or gaudy, you know. Sometimes the very best stuff can seem quite plain, until one examines it closely. It is only then that one sees its true quality.” As a bonus, this book is currently available through Kindle Unlimited (if you have a subscription). I'm making the most of my $0.99 three-month trial! Side Note: If the BBC version (coming to BritBox on May 6!) maintains even half of the book, I think it will be a delightful addition to the Austen film genre. {Amazon Associates Link}
