July Book Review

I have always been a big reader. When I was younger, it was all the Mary Downing Hahn books...Wait 'Till Helen Comes, anyone? That book scared the pants off of me in the 3rd grade. Then it was all the Harry Potter books, and once I got to college I really started to read anything and everything I could get my hands on, and never really stopped. Like most parents will probably admit, once the baby came along, finding time to read was difficult, and truthfully it wasn't really high on my priority list. But now that Hadley is out of her newborn stage and we have a good flow to our day, I decided I needed to get back into my reading rhythm!

Here's the thing...it's a little truth that nobody tells you before you have kids: Kids make you soft. In college and immediately after, I was all about reading books that made me think, question,or probe into some pretty heavy topics, and truthfully...I became a bit of a book snob. If you met me between the ages of 19-25 and told me you were reading anything by Sophie Kinsella...I judged...just a little. Devil Wears Prada-judgement. Eat, Pray, Love-judged. (Although, in the interest of full disclosure, I did read Eat, Pray, Love after a breakup and thought Elizabeth Gilbert was speaking directly to me. I mean, I truly thought this book was the most emotionally insightful thing I'd ever read. Second time reading it, I was in a healthy relationship with my now husband, and found the author to be extremely whiny and self-centered.) I guess timing and emotional stability are everything. 

This literary judgement streak continued on until one day halfway through my pregnancy I decided to read The Book Thief. I'd heard wonderful things about The Book Thief so I thought I would give it a try. To those of you who haven't read it, the book is narrated by death and takes place during WWII, so...not exactly an upper. I was so hormonal and ridiculously pregnant that couldn't finish it. I thought this was a temporary setback, and that once my postpartem mood swings were in my rearview, I could once again merrily resume my binge reading of Where the Red Fern Grows with nary a tear to be seen. Lies. I can't read anything anymore that involves death, families being separated, terminal illness, divorce or dead animals-I'm looking at you Marley and Me!!! So for all you high brow literary folks out there looking for a deep, philisophical reading list...this ain't it. You want something fluffy, and fun with a fast moving plot...pull up a seat, because I got books to review!

1)The Traitor's Wife- Allison Pataki

I'm usually not one for historical fiction, but this one sucked me in from the very beginning! It's about Benedict Arnold and his wife Peggy Shippen, and her role in his betrayal of America-as told by Peggy's maid. I usually lose steam with historical books because I feel like their descriptive parts can be kind of long for this ADD girl, and I don't like books that take 100 pages to "set the scene." This one jumps into the plot right away, and even though I knew how it was going to end (SPOILER: HE'S A TRAITOR!!) I was still speed reading all the way to the end. Johnathon and I have been watching Turn on AMC, and this book coincides with the plot of the show nicely. If you like Philippa Gregory books (The Other Boleyn Girl, etc) then this book is for you!

2) Washington's Spies-Alexander Rose

Can you tell I'm a fan of Turn? When we first started watching the show, I had no idea it was even based on a true story!!! (Sorry to all my history teachers...I was listening I PROMISE!!) I've always liked Revolutionary War history, but I was really not familiar with the Culper Ring, and how in depth the spy network was during the Revolution. A lot of what is in the book is touched on in the show, so I felt like there was a lot of repeat information, but if that time period and specific topic interest you, then this book is right up your alley!

3) The Girl on the Train- Paula Hawkins

I mentioned this book when I blogged about our Book Club, but this was the last book our club read. As you can tell from the picture I chose...I found this book suspiciously similar to Gone Girl. Think mysterious disappearance of a girl, some seriously evil/unlikeable characters, psychological thriller type book. It was pretty good, and a quick read, but I personally thought Gone Girl was better. I give it a solid B. 

4) The Rumor- Elin Hillderbrand

This book is the definition of fluff, and I couldn't put it down! I felt my judgmental side creeping in at the introduction of several characters ( I kid you not, some of the character names are Sultan Nash, Calgary, and Allegra). However, as previously mentioned...softie over here! I'm looking for happy, easy reading and this book made me want to throw on my finest cable knit sweater and Sperry's and go pay $50.00 for a lobster roll sandwich on Nantucket. All of her books apparently take place on Nantucket, so it is the perfect escape book. I'm already on to another one of her books, and I can tell already I'm going to like it just as much as this one! 

What are you reading these days? I need suggestions!  Our book club hasn't picked out our next book yet, so I'd love some good titles to throw out there!