It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? (7/11/16)

Hosted by The Book Date.

We spent last week settling back in from vacation. Both kids started camp and they come home nice and worn out! I also decided to sign up for one more Sprint Triathlon this summer – the West Point Triathlon in mid-August – which gives me about 5 weeks to train. It’s less time than usual for me, but I’m hoping the base I built up training for my mid-June race will help me out. 

One more random happening from last week…I was mentioned on the Book Riot podcast, which was both awesome and embarrassing in this case! I wish I could say they were talking about how much they love my blog (yeah, right!), but instead they’d asked listeners to send in their Amazon Anti-Trust Settlement rebates to see who’d gotten the biggest one. I tweeted mine to them…thinking it was higher than some they’d mentioned on the broadcast, but never in a million years thinking it would be the biggest they heard about…but, it was! So I (and my Twitter handle, but not my blog…go figure) got a little on-air shout-out. Sadly, I’ve now been knocked out of the top spot, as they heard of two higher rebates following the broadcast.

I finished reading…

Dinner with Edward, Isabel Vincent


Dinner with Edward
 by Isabel Vincent (May 24, 2016)
Such a perfect follow-up to the emotional turmoil of Mudbound. Mini review to come.
Affiliate Link: Buy from Amazon

I’m currently reading…

All is Not Forgotten, Wendy Walker


All Is Not Forgotten
 by Wendy Walker (July 12, 2016)
I’m almost finished with this one and I cannot seem to put it down…even though I’m not sure if I actually like it. It’s incredibly plotty, dark, and unsettling…and I can see why Reese Witherspoon’s production company has acquired the film rights. 

Affiliate Link: Pre-Order from Amazon

I tried, but wasn’t feeling…

Heavenly Table, Donald Ray Pollock


The Heavenly Table
 by Donald Ray Pollock (July 12, 2016)
This is the first time I’ve read Pollock, so I’m a little uncertain about my decision to put this book down at 15%. I kept zoning out, but a part of me feels like I should give it a better shot since I’ve heard so many great things about him. Before deciding whether to continue, I’m either going to wait for some other reviews of The Heavenly Table or borrow The Devil All the Time (since this book has gotten raves from people I trust) from the library to see if it’s Pollock in general or this particular book that’s not working for me.

Upcoming reading plans…

How to Set A Fire and Why, Break in Case of Emergency


How to Start A Fire and Why
 by Jesse Ball (July 5, 2016)
I’ve been wanting to try Jesse Ball and Catherine at Gilmore Guide to Books had good things to say about his latest release about a struggling teenage girl. Plus, I was able to borrow it from my library!

Break in Case of Emergency by Jessica Winter (July 12, 2016)
“An irreverent and deeply moving comedy about friendship, fertility, and fighting for one’s sanity in a toxic workplace” (Goodreads) and another Catherine recommendation. Describing a book as “irreverent” gets me every time!




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34 Comments

  1. Kerry M wrote:

    I read All is Not Forgotten a while back and agree with you. And can definitely see it making an interesting movie. I’d love to chat with spoilers when you’re finished! 😉

    Posted 7.11.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Well, perfect, because I was planning to write a spoiler discussion post! I really don’t have anything to say about it otherwise! Let me get my thoughts together and I’ll email you…

      Posted 7.11.16 Reply
      • Kerry M wrote:

        Yeah, I had a heck of a time reviewing this one (especially because of the choice of narrator, which was left vague in descriptions by the publisher and author intentionally)… Looking forward to your discussion post! Maybe I’ll actually be on top of my feedly by then so I don’t miss it 😉

        Posted 7.11.16 Reply
        • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

          YES! I was totally confused by the narrator and put off in the beginning. Catherine actually told me who it was before it was revealed in the boo and I felt much better once I knew. I think the book should’ve gone forthright from the beginning. This topic will be in my spoiler post.

          Posted 7.11.16 Reply
  2. I can’t wait to hear about Dinner with Edward. I need something for after emotional turmoil!

    Posted 7.11.16 Reply
  3. That’s good news about All Is Not Forgotten, maybe I need to give it a go (I’d definitely love a book I can’t put down!).

    Posted 7.11.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      I definitely had some major issues with it (esp with the ending – I’ve now finished it), but still had me totally engrossed!

      Posted 7.11.16 Reply
  4. Lindsey wrote:

    You’re (Book Riot) famous!!

    I will look forward to your thoughts on Break in Case of Emergency.

    Posted 7.11.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      HA! I’ll take it…for one hot minute!

      Posted 7.11.16 Reply
  5. So cool that you were mentioned on the podcast! Isn’t it funny how you need a vacation to get back to normal after you take a vacation?

    Posted 7.11.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      YES – I absolutely need a vacation from the vacation. Lots of social interaction and activity on vacation 🙂

      Posted 7.11.16 Reply
  6. Kay wrote:

    I’m planning on reading ALL IS NOT FORGOTTEN soon. Am hearing a bit of mixed reactions. Think the subject matter is a little grim for some. However, from what I’ve read, I can also understand why it was picked up for film adaptation. So, guess I better get it read so I can join in on your spoiler post.

    Posted 7.11.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      It’s definitely a dark book, but also fascinating. I’m having mixed reactions within myself!

      Posted 7.11.16 Reply
  7. Break In Case Of Emergency sounds interesting, and one I haven’t heard much about. I’ll be interested to see how it treats you 🙂

    Posted 7.11.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      I hadn’t heard anything about it until Catherine told me it was great…so that got my attention!

      Posted 7.11.16 Reply
  8. Michelle wrote:

    Oh, I am curious what your rebate was. Mine was almost $100. I don’t know whether to be proud or embarrassed!

    I have All is Not Forgotten on my list of books to read this month as well. I’m glad to hear that you cannot seem to put it down. I want books that are quick reads for some reason!

    Have a great week!

    Posted 7.11.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      $208 – ha – somewhat embarrassing, but AWESOME to find I had $208 to spend on more books!

      Summer time always have me craving unputdownable books!

      Posted 7.11.16 Reply
  9. Kathy Martin wrote:

    Your books sound good! I think I’ve already spent all of my Amazon settlement which was fairly substantial but hardly record-breaking. Come see my week here. Happy reading!

    Posted 7.11.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      So fun to get “free” money, right?!

      Posted 7.11.16 Reply
  10. Melinda wrote:

    Good luck with your triathalon training! I am in awe of people who can do that–I mean, I can swim, ride a bike, and (at one point in my life) run…but I need a couple of days rest between each of those!

    Posted 7.11.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Haha – well I choose the shorter distance triathlons!

      Posted 7.11.16 Reply
  11. Mudbound was one of my favorites a few years ago and Dinner with Edward sounds really good. Will keep an eye out for your review. Good luck with the triathlon training!

    Posted 7.11.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      Thanks! And I can’t believe I hadn’t heard of Mudbound until this year! Now that I mentioned I was reading it, so many people have talked about how much they loved it!

      Posted 7.11.16 Reply
  12. It must have been so fun to hear your handle on the podcast! I’m so digging the cover of How to Start a Fire and Why; I hope you enjoy it!

    Posted 7.11.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      The book’s pretty dang good too! Unexpectedly funny so far!

      Posted 7.11.16 Reply
  13. Amanda wrote:

    Your rebate made me giggle! How exciting to have all those book credits though! I’m curious to read your All is Not Forgotten with spoilers. I think that sounded a bit too intense for me. I think having a daughter – even with her being little – I have some lines I can’t cross for reading. I have to look up Dinner with Edward now.

    Posted 7.11.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      I giggled with delight when I saw the email! More books (giggle, cackle!). And Forgotten was definitely dark and disturbing, but I couldn’t seem to turn away.

      Posted 7.11.16 Reply
  14. Athira wrote:

    How wonderful that you got mentioned in the BookRiot podcast!!

    I haven’t read Pollock yet but I did read a few chapters of Devil All The Time. I enjoyed what I read but yeah, it’s very slow, so can take some time to get in.

    Posted 7.11.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      I’m not giving up on him entirely yet…so many people have loved Devil that I’m going to give that a shot!

      Posted 7.11.16 Reply
  15. Chelsea wrote:

    You’ve piqued my interest about All is Not Forgotten. I’ll have to keep an eye out for that one. How to Set a Fire and Why keeps popping up everywhere I go – I need to see if my local library has this!

    Posted 7.11.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      I think you’ll be hearing a lot about All if Not Forgotten in the next few months 🙂

      Posted 7.11.16 Reply
  16. I’m happy to see you can’t put down All is Not Forgotten because I loved it and the way it was written. I’m sorry (really sorry) to hear that about The Heavenly Table. It’s on my most wished list because I loved so much The Devil All the Time. Good luck in your upcoming race!

    Posted 7.11.16 Reply
    • Sarah Dickinson wrote:

      I’m still trying to work out my thoughts on Forgotten…especially the ending!

      Posted 7.11.16 Reply
  17. Areli wrote:

    Great books! I just added them on my Goodreads TBR list. 🙂
    Here’s my very first #IMWAYR post: https://arelireads.wordpress.com/2016/07/11/imwayr-no-1-07112016/

    Posted 7.12.16 Reply

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