Well, it’s that time of the month again. (No, not that time, sheesh.) It’s time for my once a month book recaps, and of course the fun Goodreads link up so that you can meet fellow book lovers! I’ve actually been slacking pretty hard on reading this summer. I just haven’t been into reading books, and I think part of my problem is that the good books have been few and far between.
Stiff by Mary Roach – ★★ – This was dreadful, because well, it’s about cadavers. I mean, it’s well written and very scientifically accurate and whatnot, but who really wants to read about dead bodies while relaxing on the beach? Not this girl. Sorry not sorry, I just couldn’t get into this one.
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty – ★★★ – I honestly expected to love this one, but really, it wasn’t as good as I expected it to be. With that said, it’s not a bad book by any means – just wasn’t quite as thrilling or engaging as I wanted it to be. Perhaps it was because I just didn’t feel particularly connected to any single character. I did really like Moriarty’s The Husband’s Secret, and recommend that over Big Little Lies if you’re choosing between the two.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote – ★★★★ – Love loved this. So good, it’s whimsical, wistful, and dreamy and kind of silly, but I love the movie and I loved this book too. What was great about this is that it’s super short, and the audiobook version on Audible is narrated by Michael C. Hall and is perfection. (It goes on sale for time to time for a couple of bucks, which is totally worth it!)
The Here and Now by Ann Brashares – ★★ – I was so looking forward to reading this. I loved Ann Brashares’ Sisters of the Traveling Pants series. And I like the concept of time travel, and let’s be real, the cover is pretty good looking. But this was so boring! I gave it until about 25% of the way through, and I still had no idea what was happening or why, and I just didn’t care. What a bummer.
c/o NetGalley
Big Girl Panties by Stephanie Evanovich – ★★ – I honestly have NO clue why I had this on hold from the library, but I got a notice that it ready to be picked up, and still didn’t know why. So that was a bad omen… and again, another one that at 25% I gave the good old heave-ho to. It was just not interesting, the characters were immature and obnoxious, and I really was not enjoying myself.
Ten Tiny Breaths by K.A. Tucker – ★★★★ – For the first half, this was a solid 3 stars. Good, but not great. Then, a huge, and I mean, HUGE twist presents itself and I was so excited about the rest of it that it turned it into a 4-star. I’m not a big romance reader, and I will say this has quite a bit of romance lovey-dovey going on here, but it wasn’t too graphic and was done well.
The Summer Experiment by Cathie Pelletier – ★★ – This middle-grade novel is what I was supposed to read for the SBSBC14 challenge… and I definitely did not finish that. I did start this before the deadline but it was just so slow that I never got into it and put it down. I picked it back up while on vacation and remembered why I put it down in the first place… it’s just really slow and too young for me.
What was your favorite book that you read this summer?
Love these recommendations! I’ve been bad about reading recently and need to get back into it.
With summer ending, I’m hoping that fall will spark the reading excitement again… I haven’t been good about reading daily like I used to!
I agree on big little lies … not that great esp the end. Meh
I’m glad I’m not the only one to feel that way! With all of the 4 and 5 star reviews on Goodreads I was feeling a bit critical!
It’s kind of funny to me that we both read Big Little Lies and Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Weird coincidence!
Haha, that is too funny! I see you’ve read more from Moriarty – I’m curious about the Last Anniversary but am not a big fan of whiny characters either… do you think it’s worth the time to read?
i just finished big little lies, and i liked it better than the husband’s secret. i found that the backstories were so important in this one, and the backstories in the husbands secret weren’t revealed until the secret, so it got to the point where i was skimming a little, like enough already. my whole office seems to be reading big little lies. did you notice all the typos? my copy had 4 typos or mistakes, and it really burns me up. “s.chool” “rememembering” really?! don’t you have an editor and copywriter and proofreader? yeesh!
i can’t get into rainbow rowell, but i’m going to try with telephone, i think that’s the one i have now.
yay for book talk.
b
Haha, I was impatient during The Husband’s Secret too, but I listened to both via Audible so it’s harder to skim! ;) I do agree the backstories were more important, I guess I just didn’t really feel connected to anyone in particular so I had a harder time getting into this story. That’s so weird about the typos – the book was so hyped you’d think there wouldn’t be any! Eeek.
I’m assuming you mean Landline? I just started that during our plane ride back and am liking it so far, though it’s kind of a slow starter.
I love Breakfast at Tiffany’s! I just finished Me Before You by JoJo Moyes and it was fantastic!
Yessss, that was my pick last month, totally one of my favorite reads this year! Have you read anything else by Jojo Moyes?
Hi! I just read Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols and Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple. Both were awesome reads; I gave them 5-star rating in Goodreads. :)
Jae
SCATTERBRAIN
I loveeedd Where’d You Go Bernadette! I’ll have to check out Going Too Far – thanks for the recommendation! :)
You’re welcome! :)
oh my goodness, i dont know what my favourite book i have read this summer is – i have definitely read some shockers, but i read some good ones as well! i quite like janet evanovich books for mindless reads, they are especially good to listen to while i run, though i know they aren’t for everyone. i wanted to try the here and now, that sucks you didnt like it. adding breakfast at tiffanys and ten tiny breaths to my (never ending) list!
I do like Janet Evanovich books (I think that I mistakenly thought that the Stephanie Evanovich book was one of hers? Who knows.) also, the Stephanie Plum series was my favorite, though I haven’t finished yet. I was really bummed about The Here and Now, but I really just was not interested or engaged while reading. It appears I wasn’t the only one with those sentiments via Goodreads reviews :/
I’ve been wanting to read Breakfast at Tiffany’s but it just looks so short! I get sad when I get in to a book and it doesn’t last long enough.
That’s a good point – it was kind of a bummer, but at the same time its the right time for the story to end too.
OOO Dexter narrating Breakfast at Tiffany’s?! that sounds fun!
Yesss, it’s so good! Totally makes the reading experience even better.
I am still on the wait list for Big Little Lies at the library. I need to read The Husband’s Secret (it’s up next in the queue), but I really loved What Alice Forgot. And The Hypnotist’s Love Story wasn’t bad, either.
I’ll definitely have to try What Alice Forgot – sounds like a good one!
Unfortunately I didn’t get too much reading done this summer, because I seemed to keep picking duds that I just couldn’t get into. But I LOVED the Divergent series, which I finished while I was on vacation last month! I’m working on If I Stay right now, and I’m really enjoying that one too!
That’s kind of how I’ve been feeling too. It’s hard to get into reading when the books you’re reading aren’t so awesome. If I Stay has been on my TBR list forever… I really need to start it! Glad to hear you’re liking it so far!
I read Big Girl Panties and agree that it was slow in the beginning; but I think it picked up and ended well. I felt the sex scenes to be a bit awkward though. I’m the type that has to finish a book whether I like it or not. I’m always afraid of what I’ll be missing if I don’t finish it haha. This one was just alright to me. I’m currently reading The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street and am about halfway through…it’s pretty good. You should check it out if you haven’t.
Just added you on Goodreads by the way. I love your suggestions!
Yay, love having more Goodreads friends! :)
That’s good to know – it was really slow to start, and you’re right, the sex scenes turned me off of the book completely. I have The Ice cream Queen of Orchard Street on my TBR list – glad you’re liking it, I’ll have to read it soon!
I read Breakfast at Tiffany’s a few years ago and absolutely loved it. I’ve been wanting to read it again!
It’s definitely a good one – probably my favorite read from last month! :)
Now you know why everyone loves Breakfast at Tiffany’s! I have Big Little Lies on my list so will need to see if I feel the same as you.
I loved the movie, but this is my first time reading the book! I liked it better than the movie, besides missing Audrey Hepburn of course! :)
You’ll have to let me know how Big Little Lies goes for you!