Introducing My BookStack!
A "stack" of books I've read, reviewed, and might recommend.
Hey friend,
If you completed my recent reader survey…thank you! If you didn’t, here’s the link to the 3-minute survey (for subscribers only, free or paid.) To better serve you, I need to hear from you!
Those who did complete the survey have overwhelmingly noted that they love to receive book recommendations. In the past, I’ve posted book reviews sporadically, or all at once, as I did when I looked back on all of 2023.
That’s about to change.
Introducing My BookStack!
This year, I plan to share my recommended reads with you more regularly. I’m going to shoot for an every-other-month schedule, and we’ll see how it goes.
My BookStack (an offshoot of my “Substack”) is the stack of books I’ve read, reviewed, and might recommend to you. Even though many of the books I “read” are audiobooks or on my Kindle, I like to imagine a BIG stack of books I’ve finished on my nightstand or bookshelf at the end of each month.
Seriously though, I’m not a fast reader. My 2024 annual reading goal is 36 books (three books/month), so my BookStack is like pancakes, i.e. a short stack. 🥞
In the first two months of 2024, I finished seven books. (Yay, me! I’m ahead of schedule!) There were some real gems and I can’t wait to tell you about them! So, without further ado…
BookStack, vol. 1. Jan-Feb, 2024.
Counting the Cost: A Memoir (Jill Duggar) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Recommend. I was curious about this book after watching the documentary Shiny, Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets. The memoir was interesting and shocking at times. Jill Duggar quite vulnerably shares the difficult family dynamics she grew up with in her ultra-conservative home with skewed Christian values, while the world watched on through the family’s reality TV series. I’m glad Jill was able to speak out but I had mixed feelings about whether she was still holding back for fear of retribution. (Audiobook)
Tom Lake (Ann Patchett) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Highly Recommend. This might end up being one of my favorite reads of 2024. Ann Patchett is a wonderful storyteller, and although this book may not be for everyone, I was all in! I loved the story of the mother and her three daughters thrown together during COVID, as I could relate to having my two daughters home during that time. Her descriptions of Northern Michigan and the cherry orchards near Traverse City were gorgeous, and true, based on the couple of weekends I’ve spent in that part of our state. The story of young love, sister squabbles, reminiscing, and a healthy marriage, all with the backdrop of theater and cherry-picking, was masterfully told. (Hardcover)
The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store (James McBride) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Highly Recommend. If I had put this one down for long in the middle, I would have had to start again at the beginning. The author weaves a complicated web of characters—Jews, Blacks, Protestants, and others in Pottstown, Pennsylvania in the 1920s and 30s—whose differences either tear them apart or pull them together. The mystery of a skeleton found during excavation is slowly unraveled, as the book draws the reader into the drama surrounding the plight of a young deaf boy and those who try to protect him. I loved the ending, and the themes of diversity, disability, acceptance, love, and community shine through. (Kindle)
It. Goes. So. Fast.: The Year of No Do-Overs (Mary Louise Kelly) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Recommend. Mary Louise Kelly tells the heartwarming, and at times heartwrenching, experience of watching her children grow and prepare to leave home while questioning decisions she's made along the way—decisions and questions that all mothers, especially mothers who work outside the home, consider. I loved and could relate to many aspects of her story. Her experiences as an NPR reporter were interesting and I was moved by her recounting of her father's illness and death, but the many directions and tangents in the book felt slightly disjointed. (Audiobook)
Together is a Beautiful Place: Finding, Keeping, and Loving Our Friends (Bailey T. Hurley) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Recommend. A sweet book about friendship among women in a Christian community. Although I appreciate the author’s advice and insight, I would have gained more from this book in my 20s and 30s, when the angst of friendship was more of an issue in my life. If you’re struggling with finding and keeping good friends, or if you’re in that “tricky friendships” stage of life (in my experience, my 20s and 30s), this book would be an excellent resource! (If my daughters are reading this, I’m looking at you!) (Audiobook)
A Thousand Splendid Suns (Khaled Hosseini) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Highly Recommend. Published in 2007, this book has been on my TBR list for years. I’m so glad I finally picked it up at our local library. This beautifully told story of two women growing up under different circumstances in Afghanistan opened my eyes to the history, as well as the struggle women face in this part of the world even today. It’s graphic and disturbing as it deals with the reality of war, however, the themes of love, hope, and forgiveness stay with you long after you close the book. (Hardcover)
You Could Make This Place Beautiful: A Memoir (Maggie Smith)⭐️⭐️⭐️
You might like it, but it wasn’t for me. I was disappointed in this book, as I had heard rave reviews. While Maggie Smith's writing and poetic style are lovely, and her metaphors moving, I struggled to get through the book. She hashes and rehashes her marriage struggles, her ex-husband's faults and infidelity, and the process of her divorce. I appreciated the stories of her children and her deep love for them, as well as anything that pointed toward her healing and the book's title. But those "beautiful" parts seemed to make up 20% of the book, with the rest devoted to her dysfunctional marriage and divorce. I kept reading, waiting for the pivot and finally found it in the last few pages. Not sure it was worth the wait. 🤷♀️ (Kindle)
Wrap-up.
I hope you’ve enjoyed my first BookStack post! While I had already rated these books, this post forced me to sit down and write the reviews, which I’ll add to my Goodreads profile. Authors count on ratings and reviews to help them sell books and improve their writing (Hint, hint: If you’ve read or are reading my book, Lent through the Little Things, could you take a minute to rate and/or review it? It would mean so much to me.)
What’s next? I’m ready to start Everything Sad is Untrue (a true story) by Daniel Nayeri.
Now it’s your turn! I’d love to hear about your bookstack!
What are you reading? Got any recommendations?
Have you read any books from my stack? What did you think?
I'm curious, too, about Jill Duggar's memoir. It must be hard to reveal all the truths when so many players are still living and so many watchers are still watching.
Love your new Bookstack post, Linda. I really enjoyed Tom Lake, and overall I enjoyed It Goes So. Fast. Both of these tugged at my mother hearts strings which are very tuggable right now and also the tendency lately to reflect back on earlier seasons of life.
I'm also in the unpopular category of not falling in love with You Could Make this Place Beautiful. I thought her writing and framework were excellent but I kept putting myself in the shoes of her kids who would one day read the book and I couldn't enjoy it. But I think that's a me-thing, my friend read it and said it never occurred to her to thing about that aspect at all. I didn't stick the landing on that one so maybe there was more beauty in the later chapters.