I’m linking up with Kathryn at Book Date and her It’s Monday…What Are You Reading? hop for this post.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to say this, but I had a good reading week!  It’s no secret that I’ve had more than a few reading slumps in the past few years.  In fact, it’s one of the reasons I gave up book reviewing.  I’m just now finally adjusting to my new reading freedom and enjoying it.  I didn’t finish dozens of books, but I have found the time to read more each day, and that is a win for me.

What I finished last week:

The Book of Essie by Meghan MacLean Weir
This is not only this selection for my book club, but it is the book that I selected.  Breaking with tradition, I actually liked it!  (More often than not, I’ll suggest a book, and everyone will love it except me).  I think that the elevator pitch for this one is “TLC Network’s worst nightmare.”  The Duggar shows, which have been plagued with their own controversies, is very clearly an inspiration for this book.  While there are fewer kids, this features Essie–the youngest daughter of such a family–who is forced to do what she needs to do to break free from her family.   I’m looking forward to discussing this with my book club later this month.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
This title was recommended to me by many, many sources.  I actually had it–and the rest of the series–sitting on my kindle for at least a year.  Here’s the thing, though.  I really didn’t like it.  Flavia alternated between being entertaining and unbelievable.  I never really bought that she would have been able to make the conclusions that she did.  The mystery itself wasn’t anything surprising as I figured it out very early on in the book.  The flow of the book, which started strong, came to a completes stop about halfway through when there are 3 chapters of a monologue which is nothing but an info dump.  I also felt that the writing was overly affected, which distracted from the story.  I understand that I am in the minority here, which is the only reason why I might read on in the series at some point in the future.  But that day is probably far off.

Currently Reading:

• The Last Romantics by Tara Conklin
• Bellewether by Susanna Kearsley
• Devotions: The Selected Poems of Mary Oliver
• Becoming by Michelle Obama
• Uncommon Type by Tom Hanks

I have news!  I wanted to share my new Facebook home.  I had a FB page for my old site, but FB wouldn’t let me change the name to match this blog.  So, I had to create a new one, which you can find here.  You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram.