Romi’s Reading Round-Up for April and May

It’s time again to talk about books! I’ve been reading a lot of interesting ones lately and I’m exciting to share with you. So, let’s begin.

Books I Loved

I knew I would love The Two Family House by Lynda Cohen Loigman and I wasn’t disappointed. I love books that are set at the time that my grandparents would have been raising my parents in New York, and this is the backdrop to this lovely and heart-wrenching look at two families and the irreparable choices that they make.

Sweetgirl by Travis Moulhauser was one of those $1 books that I bought on a whim. Wow! It’s an incredible story of a young girl who is challenged to succeed in impossible circumstances. It’s beautifully and realistically written.

The Red Notebook by Antoine Laurain was another of those $1 gems. It started from such a simple premise; a man finds a woman’s purse that has been abandoned after a robbery and he tries to reunite the two. The simple story was so beautifully drawn.

Try Not to Breathe by Holly Seddon was a powerful story told by an admittedly unreliable narrator. I love unreliable narrators.

Finally, I loved The 28^th of Iyar by Rabbi Emanuel Feldman, and I’ve written a separate blog all about this book.

Books I Enjoyed

I can’t love every book that I read, but if I don’t want to throw it across the room, it was probably at least worth the ride.

Mrs. Kimble by Jennifer Haigh was an interesting idea. It’s a look at three women who end up marrying the same man (not at the same time, of course) and the psychological toll he takes on them.

I finished Following Atticus by Tom Ryan (which I mentioned in the last blog). I loved the idea of a depressed, overweight middle-aged man transforming his life by hiking with his dog. I didn’t love the repetitive nature of the hikes and I definitely didn’t want to hear about the dog’s cancer story. Sorry people – but we all have our breaking points.

An Invisible Thread by Laura Schroff was a lovely true story of a wealthy businesswoman who befriended a young destitute child and the relationship they formed. There were definitely places where I wanted to sit the author down and yell at her (as apparently many people did if you look at the book reviews) but it was an inspirational story overall.

If you want to be tortured and have trouble going to sleep at night…then Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris is for you. A bit over-the-top for me, but as thrillers go, I guess it was a pretty good one.

In the Light of the Garden by Helen Burch tried much too hard and fell flat.

This Beautiful Life by Helen Schulman wasn’t the greatest book, but it was certainly interesting to see how one mistake can lead to so many problems; it was quite timely a piece as I raise young boys in this social media infatuated age.

The Doctor’s Wife by Elizabeth Brundage was a bit overdrawn but it was an entertaining psychological thriller about an interesting topic.

Ten Thousand Lovers by Ravel Edeet is certainly not my typical book since it was about a leftist visitor to Israel in the 70s and her experiences, but I did enjoy it quite a bit.

Books I Wanted to Throw Across the Room

Provenance by Donna Drew Sawyer: Good lord! I loved the idea of this book about what it would have been like for a black man passing as a white one. But could this book have been more poorly written or more stupidly plotted?

A Change in Altitude by Anita Shreve : Oh Anita. This book had so much potential about a terrible accident that happens during a hiking trip and how it pulls apart the people who were there. Except that description only accounted for about 5% of the book. The rest made me want to throw it across the room.

A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick: It was hard to care about any of the characters here. Period.

Next Up

I’m currently reading Allie and Bea by Catherine Ryan Hyde. I’m enjoying this book, although it’s not one of her best. If you’ve never read anything by her – do so! Her books are beautiful and cover poignant topics (and incidentally, she’s very accessible on Facebook and writes great posts!)