It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? (4/3/17)

A little bit about life this week…and what I’ve been watching and listening to before we get to the books.

TV
My husband and I just finished watching OJ: Made in America, which is fantastic and full of tidbits that I’d forgotten or never knew in the first place. Next up (for me, not my husband) is Big Little Lies. Even though I hated the book, I’m planning to give the series a shot. Also, Season 4 of Southern Charm premieres this week and the Food Network is bringing back Iron Chef for a special (Iron Chef Gauntlet) on April 16. Tell me again why this show went off the air?!

Podcasts
I’m a few episodes into S-Town (the new podcast from the producers of Serial) and am completely hooked! It’s more like the original Serial than Season 2 was and is also a nice companion to Hillbilly Elegy (my review) in its own way. And, I’ve also been listening to a couple podcasts that focus on blogging and business tips: Brilliant Business Moms, The Strategy Hour, and The Chopped Podcast (technically for food bloggers, but much of their advice can be applied to all kinds of blogs). It’s nice to get my head out of the book blogging bubble with these new additions to my podcast queue.

Finally, I shared my commentary on the Book of the Month Club April selections…and there are more pre-releases than usual! Choices are due on Thursday, April 6.

Hosted by The Book Date.

This post contains affiliate links.

I finished reading…

Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley

The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tinti (March 28, 2017)
Ugh…ya’ll. This book never did really turn around for me and I’m having trouble understanding all the hype. I’m definitely in the minority on this one. Mini review to come.

I’m currently reading…

Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk, Kathleen Rooney


Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney (January 17, 2017)
I’m almost finished with this one. It’s been awhile since I read a book I’d describe as “delightful,” but this one kind of is. It’s playful and whimsical and nostalgic. It’s a very New York book and Lillian is quite a New York character.
Affiliate Link: Buy from Amazon

Upcoming reading plans…

Marlena, Julie Buntin


Marlena
 by Julie Buntin (April 4, 2017)
I’ve actually already sneaked in the first chapter of this story of an ill-fated friendship…and that first chapter was GOOD! I’m looking forward to really diving in after I finish up with Lillian Boxfish.

I was reading…

One Year Ago: I was reading one of my top 3 books of 2016!

Two Years Ago: I was reading about beauty pageants and Beanie Babies.

How was your reading week?

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35 Comments

  1. Sorry, you’re feeling in a slump. I hate when that happens!

    Thanks to you and Tara, I now have way too much to listen to. I’m adding S-Town to my list, but not sure when I’ll find the time to get to it.

    I’ve been watching Big Little Lies and like it. They kept it close to the book, with just a few changes that actually work well.

    Posted 4.3.17 Reply
  2. I am reading Exit West by Mohsin Hamid. It’s about a couple in a war torn town and how they escape via “exit doors” that have all of a sudden been appearing. These doors take you…somewhere else. You don’t know where it will lead and if your situation will be worse than where you came from. It is an interesting read given today’s political climate and the views on immigrants.

    Posted 4.3.17 Reply
  3. I’ll be interested in what you think of Big Little Lies – I decided to skip it since I didn’t love the book. Someone was just telling me about S-Town yesterday.

    Posted 4.3.17 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      I’ll let you know..still haven’t started it because my husband hasn’t had late meetings lately! Will have some time this week for sure. And I ‘m almost finished S-Town…it’s fascinating…definitely different by the end from how it started.

      Posted 4.4.17 Reply
  4. Gabby wrote:

    That OJ series was amazing…it won the Oscar for Best Documentary, and even though I didn’t see the other nominees, I think it was absolutely deserving. I hope Marlena works out for you, I’m really curious to see what you think of it!

    Posted 4.3.17 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      I agree! So much better than the one with the actors.

      Posted 4.4.17 Reply
  5. Iron Chef is coming back?! I need to watch that. I hope you have a great week!

    Posted 4.3.17 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      I think it’s a one-time special, but yes!! I literally can’t believe that show went off the air with all the other terrible shows they have on FN right now.

      Posted 4.4.17 Reply
  6. Uh oh, I succumbed to the hype about Twelve Lives and bought a copy. Oh well, hopefully my experience will be better than yours.

    Posted 4.3.17 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Don’t worry – I’m literally the only person I’ve heard yet who couldn’t get into it.

      Posted 4.4.17 Reply
  7. Casey wrote:

    I’ve wondered about Twelve Lies – I picked up Lincoln in the Bardo purely because of the hype, and just couldn’t finish it. Similar with Caraval, I got through it, but hated it. I’m a little skeptical now with some of these that keep getting so much buzz.

    Posted 4.3.17 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Oh my gosh – I’ve been waffling so much about Bardo. My library hold came in recently and I didn’t check it out…instead put myself back on the hold list at #55. Haha.

      Posted 4.4.17 Reply
      • Casey wrote:

        Part of my problem was listening to it. It definitely lends itself better to print. I think it’s worth trying though, if nothing else to know what it’s like!

        Posted 4.4.17 Reply
  8. Marlena is up next for me too (if I can ever finish the book I’ve been reading all month!). Glad to hear it starts off well!

    Posted 4.3.17 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Well, I ended up putting it down, but I was distracted by S-Town. I might give it another shot after I finish my current book.

      Posted 4.4.17 Reply
  9. Kym wrote:

    I like Lillian Boxfish’s portrait on the book cover. I’d check it out just based on the cover! Glad it’s also a delightful read. This is my reading list for the week: http://bit.ly/2nTgL30

    Posted 4.3.17 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Agreed!

      Posted 4.4.17 Reply
  10. Melinda wrote:

    Ha ha! My husband refused to watch Big Little Lies, too! I’m only partly into the 2nd episode because I can’t watch it with the kids around (and they were always around last week) and the hubs has no interest in it. I liked the book, but I wasn’t blown away by it. It was the first Lianne Moriarty title I had read so I had nothing for comparison. Now that I’ve read more of her books, I definitely wouldn’t say it is my favorite.

    Posted 4.3.17 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Yeah – it definitely wasn’t my favorite either, but I’ve heard the show is darker, which I like. Still haven’t started it (waiting for husband to work late!).

      Posted 4.4.17 Reply
  11. I’m on Episode of 4 of S-Town and so amazed at what a gripping story it is! I’ll have to check out the other podcasts you mentioned – I’m always looking for new ones to listen to.

    I feel you with regard to the reading slump. It’s so not fun when those happen! I’ve been in one myself. Interestingly, it’s the nonfiction books I’m gravitating towards at the moment. Opened one up today for a quote and found myself re-reading it for the next hour!

    Hoping your slump ends soon!

    Posted 4.3.17 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Haha – don’t you love when that happens?! I’m almost done with S-Town…wow. Just wow.

      Posted 4.4.17 Reply
  12. Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk sounds good. It’s Monday, What Are you reading?

    Posted 4.3.17 Reply
  13. I’m so glad you’re enjoying Lillian Boxfish. Delightful little gem is what it is. I want to read Marlena and wish I had picked it for my Book of the Month pick when it was offered. Hindsight and all that. I’ll check out The Chopped podcast; I just started a food blog, something I’ve wanted to do for a long while. I don’t know what I’ll pick this month from BotM; I may skip it this month to be honest. I’m still undecided.

    Posted 4.3.17 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Delightful little gem is such a good description! And – what?!! You started a food blog?! What’s the URL? You def need to listen to that podcast then…esp the recent SEO episode.

      Posted 4.4.17 Reply
  14. Taryn wrote:

    I’ve been trying to read Samuel Hawley for several weeks now and I just can’t get into it. I’m only 20% through (Bullet #3 :/), so hopefully it gets better for me. I look forward to reading your mini-review!

    Posted 4.4.17 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Oh my Lord – I’m so thrilled to hear of someone else who is having trouble with it. You’re literally the first one! Things got better for me in the second half for awhile, then I got frustrated again around 75%.

      Posted 4.4.17 Reply
  15. Steven wrote:

    Currently, “The Weed That Strings The Hangman’s Bag” by Alan Bradley. This is the 2nd book (I’ve read the first) in the Flavia De Luce character series. Quite good.

    Next up: “The Secret Wife” by Gill Paul

    Posted 4.4.17 Reply
  16. The title of Lillian Boxfish sounds delightful so glad to know the inside is too. 🙂

    Hope your week is a good one.

    Elizabeth
    Silver’s Reviews
    My It’s Monday, What Are You Reading

    Posted 4.4.17 Reply
  17. Tara wrote:

    I’m so late commenting this week, so I apologize! I’m excited that you had a good first impression of Marlena; I REALLY enjoyed it!

    Posted 4.6.17 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      So I went back to Marlena today and it still wasn’t sticking…so it’s now officially a DNF. 🙁 I’m on a DNF roll lately.

      Posted 4.6.17 Reply
  18. I’ll be interested to hear what you think of S-Town in the end. I haven’t listened to it — I’m really furious that they marketed the guy’s suicide like a plot twist/cliffhanger — but I’ve been interested to hear the range of reactions folks have had to the ethical issues at play.

    Too bad about the Tinti book!

    Posted 4.6.17 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      I finished it. And, believe it or not, I had no idea there was an uproar…I didn’t read any of the media coverage before listening to it. I didn’t really feel like it was a cliffhanger. The podcast went in a totally different direction after that point and I think that direction was respectful of John. More like just trying to dig into what made him tick…and what was going on in the town.

      Posted 4.6.17 Reply
  19. MarB wrote:

    I’m definitely going to listen to S-Town on our drive down to VA. Also want to pick up one of those OJ series now – I was going to watch the American Crime Story, but you may have swayed me towards the documentary.

    Posted 4.8.17 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      I’d definitely go Made in America over Crime Story…I watched some of crime story, but wasn’t super impressed.

      And – S-Town would be great for the VA drive…as long as the girls have headphones on (there’s a ton of language and inappropriate content)!

      Posted 4.10.17 Reply

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