One of my goals this year was to stop buying books online and instead only buy books from bookstores. While it’s only been seven weeks, I’m proud to say that I’ve been able to stay on track. I did buy one book online – something I needed for work and wasn’t going to be able to find in a brick-and-mortar store – but otherwise I’ve confined my book shopping to Barnes and Noble and Half Price Books.
Here’s are the four books that have come home that I haven’t gotten a chance to read yet:
Tell Me More by Kelly Corrigan – This collection of essays all about the difficult conversations we need to have with one another is one of my more anticipated books of the year. I’ve been putting of starting it because I want to have time to just sink in.
Grief Works by Julia Samuel – I keep amassing books on grief and resilience, I think because reading is one of the only ways I know to make sense of senseless experiences. This one caught my eye because of the subtitle, “stories of life, death, and surviving.”
The Rocks by Peter Nichols – I’m going on a trip to Mexico in a few weeks, and this book just felt like a beach read to me. It’s been on my radar for awhile, so I was excited to snag a copy at Half Price Books.
Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew Sullivan – This is another book I’ve been thinking about for awhile. Who can resist an “intriguingly dark, twisty” novel about a mysterious suicide in a Colorado bookstore?
And here are two quick reviews of recent purchases that I just finished:
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin – I think the word I’ve heard most often used to describe this book is “charming.” And yes, it’s a very charming novel. When the novel opens, A.J. Fikry is a cantankerous independent bookstore owner, mourning the loss of his wife and the theft of his most prized possession. But then a baby girl is abandoned in his bookstore, and his whole life changes. The whole book is a love letter to books and reading and literary life, along with an emotional story about family and secrets and the decisions we make for the people we love. I read this one really quickly, but also had to put it away while reading on my lunch break due to the threat of excessive tears. It’s a little on the nose in parts, but I still liked it quite a bit.
Jane, Unlimited by Kristin Cashore – After her Aunt Magnolia’s death, Jane feels directionless. Her job isn’t fulfilling, she’s not sure what to do with her passion for making umbrellas, and she doesn’t have any family to turn to for help. When she runs into a wealthy acquaintance, Jane gets unexpectedly invited to a fancy gala at a remote island mansion, Tu Reviens. When Jane arrives, her story begins to take several unexpected turns. I don’t want to say more than that and ruin the surprise of this book, so I’ll just tell you that I tore through this genre-bender of a novel in just a few days and loved every minute of it.
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I adored Tell Me More. I feel like Corrigan just gets it. And there are definitely some places in there were tears are a risk!
Since I wrote this post, I read and finished the book and wow, am I glad I read the last few chapters at home! I was a mess.
Good for you! I rarely buy anything on line because I want to keep the money and jobs in my community. I loved Tell Me More too.
Exactly. I’m hoping to do something similar, although I haven’t made as much of an effort to visit independent bookstores as I could. Baby steps.
I’m interested in Jane, Unlimited, She has a passion for making umbrellas? That alone would warrant a look. Ha!
I do understand your attraction to books on grief. I recently picked up one that I haven’t read yet, but have heard some good things – Modern Loss by Rebecca Soffer and Gabrielle Birkner. You probably already know about it, but thought I would include it here.
It’s such a lovely, quirky thing, the umbrellas. I just loved that detail. And thanks for the recommendation! That book is on my radar, but hasn’t come up with me yet.
I love this goal! Good luck Keeping to it. I’m trying so hard to be a library girl but when I walk past my independent book store it hurts not to go in.
I’m still not over Jane Unlimited. I didn’t love it as a whole the way I wanted to – but I loved pieces of it so much. I adored the umbrellas I have to say.
Working at a library has certainly helped. Most of the time if I get the urge to browse or bring a book home, I can just stop upstairs and look around.
I’m with you that I am not sure if the book totally holds together… but the parts I loved I just loved so much I don’t really care 🙂
You are doing so well on your goal! The Grief Works title looks very intriguing. And, I understand what you mean about looking for these types of books to help us make sense. Enjoy your new books!
Jane, Unlimited sounds amazing. Just placed a hold at the library!
I’ll be curious to hear if you like The Rocks novel — as I recently read a nonfiction book by Peter Nichols which was quite good. I get about 90% of my books from the library these days — as I am getting cheap, LOL.
Nothing wrong with being cheap! My library reads are way up this year too.
I’ll confess, I had to Google what “a little on the nose” meant. And yes, there were definitely parts of Storied Life that qualified as such. (Not one of my favorite reads, unfortunately.) I’ve been saving Tell Me More for the same reason — it definitely feels like a book you really want to spend some time with. Love the umbrella angle of Jane, Unlimited. Might have to check that out.
I liked it, but there were parts where I just felt like it was really obvious and kind of in-your-face, although perhaps if I were a person not as connected to the book industry I’d see it differently.
Jane, Unlimited sounds really intriguing. I’ll have to check it out! I really enjoyed Glitter and Glue by Kelly Corrigan, but I haven’t picked up any of her other books yet. I’ll have to do that sometime.
Wasn’t Jane Unlimited great? I had no idea what to expect when I started it, and the book just blew me away. What a weird and wonderful follow-up to her Graceling series. I loooooove not knowing what to expect when an author releases a new book.
It was so weird and great! I loved the way it just kept getting weirder and weirder and you never totally knew where it was going. And yes, so cool that she wrote something that’s such a departure from her last book. It’s exciting to think about what might be next.
Yesterday I was in Barnes and Noble for the first time in months (maybe more). They just didn’t have the books I want to read. I hate a lot that amazon stands for, but they do make it easy to read just what interests me just when I want it, buying e-books. And the price difference is considerable. Sad. I admire your commitment, and willingness to spend more.
best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
That’s definitely one of the drawbacks of a bookstore, the selection can be limited in a lot of different ways. And yeah, the price difference can be a big deal. Buying only from physical stores definitely isn’t something for everyone, but it’s been a good goal for me this year.
You had me at “remote island mansion.”
Jane, Unlimited sounds great!
Congrats on sticking with your support-your-local book buying resolution; I’m glad to hear it’s added so many good books to your shelves and I’m sure you are inspiring others to try something similar! The only overlap between our reading here is the Gabrielle Zevin book, and I agree with you and the commenter above, that it was a little overdone at times, but the bookishness of it was still delightful. When I reminded myself that she is actually a YA writer, and imagined younger readers reading the story, it seemed to fit, whereas I had been expecting something a little more nuanced I think. Hope you have more good reading ahead of you this year!
Oh interesting! I didn’t now Zevin was a YA writer. That makes a bit more sense with the tone of the book, since it was definitely lighter than I was expecting.