Lydia's Reading List
Books to Ease Back Into Reading as an Adult
I've read many classical literature books during my school days and although I'd love to read them again and start to explore some of the books that were still above my comprehension level at the time, I'm a bit burnt out from the serious reading. I haven't read books in years but I'm trying to get back into it so I'm starting with easy reading. I've never read much in this style of writing so its a completely different experience for me. I'll be listing these books in the order I read them. I am curious to see how my interest will develop as I read more.
The book summaries are either from Good Reads or the cover of the book itself.
The Art of Racing in the Rain
by Garth Stein
Enzo knows he is different from other dogs: a philosopher with a nearly human soul (and an obsession with opposable thumbs), he has educated himself by watching television extensively, and by listening very closely to the words of his master, Denny Swift, an up-and-coming race car driver.
Through Denny, Enzo has gained tremendous insight into the human condition, and he sees that life, like racing, isn't simply about going fast. On the eve of his death, Enzo takes stock of his life, recalling all that he and his family have been through.
A heart-wrenching but deeply funny and ultimately uplifting story of family, love, loyalty, and hope, The Art of Racing in the Rain is a beautifully crafted and captivating look at the wonders and absurdities of human life ... as only a dog could tell it.
This book felt a bit slow to start off for me, but I was determined to get back into reading so I stuck it out. It certainly was a way of storytelling I had never heard before so it did pique my interest. I admit I skimmed through some of the parts about racing history but the story was captivating after I got over that. I am so glad I read this! It was a good start to reading I think.
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake
by Aimee Bender
The wondrous Aimee Bender conjures the lush and moving story of a girl whose magical gift is really a devastating curse.
On the eve of her ninth birthday, unassuming Rose Edelstein, a girl at the periphery of schoolyard games and her distracted parents’ attention, bites into her mother’s homemade lemon-chocolate cake and discovers she has a magical gift: she can taste her mother’s emotions in the cake. She discovers this gift to her horror, for her mother—her cheerful, good-with-crafts, can-do mother—tastes of despair and desperation. Suddenly, and for the rest of her life, food becomes a peril and a threat to Rose.
The curse her gift has bestowed is the secret knowledge all families keep hidden—her mother’s life outside the home, her father’s detachment, her brother’s clash with the world. Yet as Rose grows up she learns to harness her gift and becomes aware that there are secrets even her taste buds cannot discern.
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake is a luminous tale about the enormous difficulty of loving someone fully when you know too much about them. It is heartbreaking and funny, wise and sad, and confirms Aimee Bender’s place as “a writer who makes you grateful for the very existence of language”
What a bizarre book! This one had me gushing to a friend about the plot and restraining myself from giving away spoilers. I don't know how to describe it other than bizarre. Oh, the formatting. That is weird... I ignored this book the first time I saw it because I couldn't stomach reading dialogue that wasn't in quotations. Curiosity got the best of me though and I picked it up eventually. I will say, reading it in that format did give me a feeling of distance. I think that's a big reason it felt bizarre. It was like I was observing a strange phenomenon from afar. This one has my mindful recommendation, you'll need to let the story get you and not think too much about it being unconventional.
After Annie
by Anna Quindlen
When Annie Brown dies suddenly, her husband, her four young children and her closest friend are left to find a way forward without the woman who has been a linchpin of all their lives. Bill is overwhelmed without his beloved wife, and Annemarie wrestles with the bad habits her best friend had helped her overcome. And Ali, the eldest of Annie's children, has to grow up overnight, to care for her younger brothers and even her father and to puzzle out for herself many mysteries of adult life.
Over the course of the next year, what saves the all is Annie ever-presnt in their minds, loving but not sentimental, caring but nobody's fool, a voice in their heads that is funny and sharp and remarkably clear. The power she has given to those who loved her is the power to go on without her. The lesson they learn is that no one beloved is ever truly gone.
Written in Quindlen’s emotionally resonant voice, and with her deep and generous understanding of people, After Annie is about hope about the unexpected power of adversity to change us in profound ways and indelible ways.
This book grabbed my attention right away. The first chapter (or two?) shows exactly what sort of book its going to be. Its as if you're reminiscing on the present while its still happening. Her style of story telling feels familiar, as if you're reading your own diary. Come to think of it, all four books I've read so far touch on the subject of loss in someway. (One of them I haven't listed since I decided not to finish it) Two through death and the other two about the loss of a person's presence in the character's life. I should probably find some more lighthearted subject matter to read.
The Life Impossible
by Matt Haig
"What looks like magic is simply a part of life we don't understand yet..."
When retired math teacher Grace Withers is left a rundown house on a Mediterranean by a long-lost friend, curiosity gets the better of her. She arrives in Ibiza with one-way ticket, no guidebook, and no plan.
Among the rugged hills and golden beaches of the island, Grace searches for answers about her friend's life, and how it ended. What she uncovers is stranger than what she could have dreamed. But to dive into the impossible truth, Grace must first comes to terms with her past.
Filled with wonder and wild adventure, this is a story of hope and the life0changing power of a new beginning.
I enjoyed the format of this book. Each "chapter" (I don't even know if I should call it that, since some were not even a full page) was a small and easy to read section. It was like each scene was its own chapter. Reading in this way made it easy for me to pick up and put down in between goings on with the household and children, and also in the evening, teased me into reading longer than I would have otherwise. There's something about a book being readable and not intimidating. The story was interesting so it had me thinking about it a few times while doing other things but I won't say riveting. It was interesting enough that it has made me curious about his other books, especially his memoir. I'm curious to see if his own life and beliefs mirror this book in any capacity since there are frequent "life lessons" being shared in this novel. It was an enjoyable book. 😄
The Road from Belhaven
by Margot Livesey
Growing up in the care of her grandparents on Belhaven Farm, Lizzie Craig discovers as a small child that she can see into the future. But her gift is selective—she doesn’t, for instance, see that she has an older sister who will come to join the family. As her “pictures” foretell various incidents and accidents, she begins to realize a painful truth: she may glimpse the future, but she can seldom change it.
Nor can Lizzie change the feelings that come when a young man named Louis, visiting Belhaven for the harvest, begins to court her. Why have the adults around her not revealed that the touch of a hand can change everything? After following Louis to Glasgow, though, she learns the limits of his devotion. Faced with a seemingly impossible choice, she makes a terrible mistake. But her second sight may allow her a second chance.
My first historical fiction in a while, I enjoyed this one. It felt comfortable and familiar, very much the style of reading I am used to. I've been trying to take note of how authors write dialogue. This was more story based and did not rely heavily on dialogue so I was interested in how Margot kept the pace from stagnating. It worked well I think. I also wondered how the future telling would work into the story. I was happily surprised! It was so subtle it felt believable like it really could happen. I would be happy to have this book on my shelf at home. I think its a good read for older teens as well, but you will want to make sure you're okay with speaking frankly (yet tastefully) of intimacy. I think its a valuable exposure to life choices that don't line up with Christian morals because of the very real lessons Lizzie learns. Also, the compassion and understanding with which Margot approaches those choices impressed me. She gracefully walked the line of consequences and forgiveness, showing that mistakes can't be taken back at the drop of a hat, but love can redeem much in the end.