Spoiler Alert…It’s a mess

I have a confession to make.  If you read my post from way back in January of this year, you know that I intended to exclusively read books I already own.  I have a shelf in my library (and on my goodreads account) dedicated to 30ish books that have been sitting around after some time waiting to be chosen.  Like a weirdo, I sometimes personify the books and imagine that they are glaring at me as I stand in front of the shelf.  Their eyes wide in anticipation of being the chosen one. 

From January to May, it was going really well.  I really enjoyed The Mothers by Britt Bennett, I LOVED The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, American Dirt was incredible (but it gave me nightmares).  I finally read Pachinko (so great, but long) and Untamed (liked it more than I thought I would) and while Ready Player Two was a disappointing sequel, I’m glad I read it.  In May, I read the only Elin Hilderbrand novel I had available (Here’s To Us) and while it wasn’t my favorite novel by the queen of beach reads, it was just what I needed while missing my favorite island.  Then, I fell apart.  In my defense, I was very pregnant, very uncomfortable and very tired.  Also, my family was managing some stressful health issues that was incredibly distracting. 

I picked up Wild by Cheryl Strayed since the length of the book looked manageable and Lorelai Gilmore seemed to like it.  At this point I was 37 weeks pregnant and falling asleep on the couch moments after putting my toddler to bed so reading at night was not happening.  I tried picking up the book any free time I had but it turned out that the book was not right for me due to some triggers I was not prepared for.  I decided it was best for me to just let it go. 

My daughter Quinn was born in late June and there was no picking up a book the first couple of weeks of managing a newborn. In July I thought I might be ready to devote some time to something other than nursing or rocking or rescuing her from her brother so I picked up The Shell Seekers by Rosamund Pilcher.  I have wanted to read this novel since it was on my mother’s bookshelf in the eighties but I never made it past chapter two.  I would get through maybe a page or two at night after putting both kids to bed but I was so exhausted, and brain fried that I wouldn’t remember anything that I read.  Unlike Wild, I’m not giving up on this one but it’s getting benched for a bit.

I’m going to make some excuses here before I dive into my confession.  My summer was ridiculous.  If I told you the story of my life between May and September of 2021 then said it was a novel I was working on, you would tell me there were too many plot points.  I’m not going to share specific details, but to give you an idea, our newborn daughter was by far the easiest part of our lives.  Focusing on Quinn and her big brother kept us sane and gave us joy, but it was hard.  I have always found books and reading to be the answer when I needed an escape from reality but there was no escape and the list I limited myself to this year was not providing me with the relaxation I was looking for.  My reading life was suffering and needed a reset so I decided to break my own rules and take (not at all) drastic measures. 

I went shopping. On Amazon. I didn’t even give myself the pleasure of going to a bookstore because I didn’t have an opportunity to get to one without dragging along my 3-year-old and an infant which was not the experience I was looking for.  Very early one morning while up nursing the baby I was reminded by the mind-reading internet that Liane Moriarty’s brand new novel, Apples Never Fall, was about to be released in the U.S. “Want to pre-order it?” the internet asked. “F*ck Yeah”, I answered back in a sleep deprived, spit-up covered moment of weakness. Once those flood gates opened I kind of went insane also purchasing a handful of Elin Hilderbrand backlist novels and WWII historical fiction book that’s been sitting in my ‘Saved For Later’ sub cart for over a year. Yes, it was a detour from the plan but my hope was that going back to authors and genres that I love and would read quickly was the tune-up my reading life needed. And I was right.

BTW – with the exception of Moriarty’s new release all the other books purchased were used paperbacks so at the very least I was giving an old book new life.

Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty arrived on its US Release Day, September 14 and I started it right away. It was everything I hoped it would be and just what I needed. In my opinion it is her best work since Big Little Lies. It’s funny heartwarming, great characters, a little mystery and just the right amount of dark to remember that Liane Moriarty goes deep. Speaking of Big Little Lies, it was that particular novel that dug me out of a reading slump several years ago when I needed an escape. She rescued me then (I wrote this article about it a few years ago) and once again this year.

Immediately after finishing Apples Never Fall I grabbed Blue Bistro by Elin Hilderbrand, a backlist title from 2006. Finished it in a week.  Loved it. Exactly what I needed.

Now, it’s the end of October so I returned to the waiting shelf to see what might be a fitting ‘mood read’ for the fall.  Since it’s spooky season, I picked up Stephen King’s Eyes of the Dragon.  Halfway through, I’m realizing it’s not particularly spooky but it’s brilliant because well… King, and I’m really enjoying it.  It’s been raining the past few days here in Boston so I really wish I could crawl into bed and spend more time with it but life isn’t allowing that right now.  That’s okay.  I’m reading every day again and my reading life is back to life.  It’s even improving my writing – I’ve been trying to get this particular blog post up for 5 weeks!

Clearly, I’m not going to hit any impressive quantity goals for reading this year, but that’s never the point (I say, raising my fists to my Goodreads Reading Challenge).  The quality goals of learning and finding joy are what really matter, and in that department, I’m back on track.

Comment with what you are reading lately and what authors or genres you come back to in order to reinvigorate your reading life. 

As always…thanks for reading!