It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? (10/17/16)

Hosted by The Book Date.

Before last week, I was confident Commonwealth had locked up my “big Fall fiction” top spot. Then this week, The Mothers hit me in the face, so I’m thrilled to have more than one Fall fiction standout! Since finishing The Mothers, I’ve had some distractions come up at home, so I switched gears to light nonfiction. Big lesson learned this year = pay close attention to my reading moods!

I finished reading…

The Mothers, Brit Bennett


The Mothers
 by Brit Bennett (October 11, 2016)
Just fantastic. Exactly my kind of writing style, which I’m trying to figure out how to coherently describe. Review to come.
Affiliate Link: Buy from Amazon

I’m currently reading…

Hungry Heart, Jennifer Weiner


Hungry Heart
 by Jennifer Weiner (October 11, 2016)

I started Weiner’s memoir-style essay collection last week, then put it down to read The Mothers when it came out. I’m back at it and about 20% through…and it’s the perfect book for my current mood.

I tried, but wasn’t feeling…

Eastern Shore, Ward Just


The Eastern Shore
 by Ward Just (October 18, 2016)
After not finding much evidence of the story in the publisher’s blurb (or why the book is called The Eastern Shore, which is what attracted me to it) by the 30% mark, I decided to put this one down.

Upcoming reading plans…

We’ll see what I’m in the mood for, but maybe this…

Children of the New World, Alexander Weinstein


Children of the New World
 by Alexander Weinstein (September 13, 2016)

Catherine and Shannon both raved about this short story collection exploring the impact of technology on our lives in the near future. 

How was your reading week?

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34 Comments

  1. The Mothers is on my list… even more excited to read it now!

    Posted 10.17.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      It definitely lived up to the hype for me!

      Posted 10.17.16 Reply
  2. Naomi wrote:

    I’m glad to hear you liked The Mothers so much! I’ll be interested in hearing more about Hungry Heart. And, I’ve heard lots of good things about Children of the New World.
    The books I’ve been reading lately have been fantastic – I just have to catch up on my reviews! Sigh.

    Posted 10.17.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Can’t wait to hear all about your winners!

      Posted 10.17.16 Reply
  3. I loved The Mother’s, too. Her writing was just amazing at times. That said, I’m also struggling with exactly how to write about this book. I’m thinking I need a break from fiction soon. Hillbilly Elegy? Any other recommendation?

    Posted 10.17.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      I’m struggling with writing about The Mothers too….the things that appealed to me most were the style, which is a pretty intangible thing to articulate in a review.

      Yes – definitely give Hillbilly Elegy a shot! It’s my favorite nonfiction of the year so far!

      Posted 10.17.16 Reply
  4. I considered The Mothers on audio but the narration of the sample didn’t grab me. I’ll have to look for the print copy.

    Posted 10.17.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      It was 100% a style book for me, which generally doesn’t translate to audio (for me at least). I’d definitely try it in print.

      Posted 10.17.16 Reply
  5. Michelle wrote:

    All of the raving about The Mothers makes me think I need to get to it sooner rather than later.

    Have a great week!

    Posted 10.17.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Sooner, sooner!

      Posted 10.17.16 Reply
  6. Looking forward to reading The Mothers! I’m reading Run the World for my blog book club and it’s really good.

    Posted 10.17.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      I’ve heard that one’s great!

      Posted 10.17.16 Reply
  7. I hope to start Commonwealth next….and I got The Mothers this week. As for the new Jennifer Weiner book? Seeing it here reminded me that I must have it! Thanks for contributing to my book buying compulsion…lol.

    Here are MY WEEKLY UPDATES

    Posted 10.17.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Great – hope you love both! And I’m really enjoying the Weiner book…it’s making me really respect her.

      Posted 10.17.16 Reply
  8. I am also loving The Mothers, should finish it today. I have the Weiner book on my shelf for upcoming non-fiction November.

    Posted 10.17.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      That seems to be the consensus opinion! Loving the Weiner too…perfect recovery book from The Mothers.

      Posted 10.17.16 Reply
  9. Amanda wrote:

    I need my library holds to start moving so I can get the Mothers on my list!

    Posted 10.17.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Move, move!!! You must read The Mothers asap.

      Posted 10.17.16 Reply
  10. Kathy Martin wrote:

    Nice looking books. I should put The Mothers and Commonwealth on my wishlist because I’ve heard so many good things about both of them. They are way outside my usual genres though. Come see my week here. Happy reading!

    Posted 10.17.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      They’re my top 2 Fall novels for this year…and among my favorites for the year as well.

      Posted 10.17.16 Reply
  11. Beth F wrote:

    I really need to make room for The MOthers. Commonwealth keeps staring at me.

    Posted 10.17.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      YES to both! They’re among my faves of the year!

      Posted 10.17.16 Reply
  12. Athira wrote:

    Love the sound of Children of the New World. And yes, The Mothers. So much hype – so glad that you enjoyed it.

    Posted 10.17.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      We’ll see how it goes, not really in my wheelhouse, but I’ve heard so many good things.

      Posted 10.17.16 Reply
  13. My reading week’s been excellent, and a number of my electronic library holds have arrived in the past few days, so I anticipate a wonderful reading week this week as well. I started The Mothers and adooooore the writing, can’t wait to read more!

    Posted 10.17.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      I hope your library e-books hit the spot! And isn’t the writing AMAZING?! That was the overwhelming thing about the book for me, which makes it hard to review.

      Posted 10.20.16 Reply
  14. So glad to hear you enjoyed The Mothers (it’s a great one!) and really hope you get to Children of the New World. It’s such a perfect, creepy collection.

    Posted 10.18.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Well…I was fully planning to pick up Children of the New World next, then a library hold came in so am going to read Miss Jane instead. Will def hit Children before the end of the year though.

      Posted 10.20.16 Reply
  15. I just started listening to The Mothers yesterday on my way home from work. I can already tell it’s going to be good! I’m also reading We Are Still Tornadoes by Michael Kun & Susan Mullen!

    Posted 10.18.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      I’ll be interested to hear what The Mothers is like on audio! And haven’t heard of Tornadoes…hope it works for you!

      Posted 10.20.16 Reply
  16. I have Children of the New World on my list of possibilities for this weekend’s readathon!

    Posted 10.18.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Sounds like a perfect Readathon pick based on what people have said so far – hope you enjoy it!

      Posted 10.20.16 Reply
  17. Lindsay wrote:

    I’m glad to hear you loved “The Mothers” since I’ve been on the fence about it. Both “Children of the New World” and “Hungry Heart” are on my to-read list — hope you enjoy them!

    I’m a little over halfway through “A Gentleman in Moscow,” which, if I remember right, you didn’t love? I was pleasantly surprised — I was in the mood for something a little lighter but I had to get to the library holds that I know I won’t be able to renew, and “Gentleman” isn’t anywhere near as serious or heavy as I expected. I adore the Count and the lovely, whimsical writing!

    Posted 10.20.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Definitely jump off that fence for The Mothers!

      And it wasn’t that Gentleman was super serious or heavy, it’s more that the writing style felt formal and somewhat elaborate to me. I had trouble concentrating on it.

      Posted 10.25.16 Reply

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