What I’m Reading Now (10/30/17)

Nonfiction November officially starts today! Get all the details here! I got a bit of a headstart on my Nonfiction November reading last week, which is a welcome change of pace from all the fiction I’ve been ingesting this Fall.

Housekeeping item regarding Amazon Smile and purchasing through Amazon affiliate links

A reader raised a great question impacting Amazon Smile (where Amazon donates a % of your purchase value to your favorite charity) users: when a Smile user purchases something through my Amazon affiliate links, do I still receive my commission for her purchases? The short answer is NO, unless I create a special affiliate link just for Amazon Smile users. But, I have a work-around.

It doesn’t make sense to create two Amazon Affiliate links for every item I link to, but did you know that if you click one of my affiliate links and end up buying something different than the item I linked to, I still get the commission? So, I will include one Amazon Smile affiliate link in the disclosure section of every post (see below for example). Using that link (rather than the regular affiliate links throughout the post) to make purchases will ensure Smile users donate to their charity and that commission on their purchases gets to me (all at no additional cost to them).

Let me say this one more time to make sure we’re clear: my general Amazon Smile link will take you to The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, but you can search for whatever you actually want to buy and I still get the commission on your purchase. So, don’t be alarmed when the Smile link doesn’t take you directly to the item you want to purchase!

It bestills my heart that one of my readers cares enough about making sure I’m getting the appropriate commissions from her purchases to email me with this issue. Thank you, Becky! And, please feel free to reach out to me with any additional questions.

#Buildsarahsbookshelves Library Update

I’m putting together a very selective library for my new (but small) built-in bookshelves and am sharing each book I acquire on Instagram (follow me at sarahsbookshelves)! And, I’m trying to acquire all these new books at rock bottom prices.

Here’s my hodgepodge pile…where I try to blend blue, green, and rainbow into something that actually goes together! Someone with a better design eye will have to tell me if I succeeded…

Hosted by The Book Date.

This post contains affiliate links (plus: here’s your Amazon Smile-specific affiliate link).

I finished reading…

Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid


The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
by Taylor Jenkins Reid (June 13, 2017)
Perfect follow-up to The Heart’s Invisible Furies! It’s definitely in my top echelon of brain candy books. Mini review to come.
Affiliate Link: Buy from Amazon

I’m currently reading…

My Life with Bob by Pamela Paul


My Life with Bob
by Pamela Paul (June 13, 2017)
I’m about 40% through this memoir by the editor of the New York Times Book Review. I loved the beginning where she focuses on her reading life. However, she’s now moving more into straight memoir and talking less about books and reading. I’m starting to lose interest and getting annoyed by her occasional lapses into intellectual snobbery. We’ll see how much farther I continue…

I tried, but wasn’t feeling…

Artemis by Andy Weir


Artemis
 by Andy Weir (November 14, 2017)
I loved The Martian. I was psyched Weir had a new book coming out. Alas…I made it about 5%. The dialogue and jokey banter was not endearing like it was in The Martian…just flat out annoying. I don’t think I could stand reading a whole 384 pages of it.

Upcoming reading plans…

Forty Autumns by Nina Millner


Forty Autumns
by Nina Willner (October 4, 2016)
I’ve already kind of started this memoir about Willner’s German family being torn apart by the Berlin Wall and I’m pretty sure it’s going to be great.

was reading…

One Year Ago: I was reading a couple books others loved, but I didn’t.

Two Years Ago: I was reading a raunchily hilarious AND heart-breaking memoir.

How was your reading week?

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12 Comments

  1. renee wrote:

    I’ve recently put Evelyn back on my library holds so I’m glad to hear you enjoyed it. In your stack of favorites I haven’t read The Interestings or Shotgun Lovesongs so that gives me a couple more to look for on my next library trip! I’m going to read at least 1 nonfiction this month…I just downloaded Michael Finkel’s new one after reading your post yesterday, it sounds fascinating.

    Posted 10.30.17 Reply
  2. I think the colorful stack looks great! Seeing The Interestings and Station Eleven there further confirms our very similar taste in books.

    Glad you liked Evelyn. It was fun with a surprisingly serious twist. I’ll give Artemis a shot, but already have a bad feeling about it…ugh! I’d not heard of Forty Autumns, but am adding it to my nonfiction TBR list.

    Posted 10.30.17 Reply
  3. Forty Autumns sounds like something I’d love.

    Posted 10.30.17 Reply
  4. Tara wrote:

    Forty Autumns sounds WONDERFUL; it’s one of my favorite subject areas, too. We watched a segment on 60 Minutes last night about a French gentleman who forged documents for what ended up being a significant number of Jewish individuals during the reign of the Nazi regime, so that they could get out of the country, stay safe, etc.; reminded me of We Were the Lucky Ones. It was very interesting! I’m really not excited about Artemis anymore – yikes; sounds like Susie is in the same boat. Oh, well, you two are saving me some reading time for something else! 🙂

    Posted 10.30.17 Reply
  5. I love your hodgepodge pile. Good luck with Nonfiction November!

    Posted 10.30.17 Reply
  6. Kathy Martin wrote:

    Nice looking hodgepodge pile. I am a strict sorter by author’s names and thus have no design on my shelves. I can see that it would still be possible to find the book you want with a small collection but it wouldn’t work with mine. Come see my week here. Happy reading!

    Posted 10.30.17 Reply
  7. I enjoyed both The Interestings and The Mothers. Setting the Wolitzer “rainbow-hued” book in the middle brings the colors together nicely.

    Enjoy your week! Here are MY WEEKLY UPDATES

    Posted 10.30.17 Reply
  8. Donna wrote:

    I don’t think I could do a whole month of non-fiction. I tend to rotate nonfiction into my regular reading every month or two.

    Posted 10.30.17 Reply
  9. Catherine wrote:

    Oh no! I was looking forward to the new Weir. I’ll pass.

    You know how my reading has been- flat out in love with The Heart’s Invisible Furies. So beautiful.

    I love the colors in the hodgepodge pile. The Wolitzer ties it all together.

    Posted 10.30.17 Reply
  10. I’m planning on reading Weir’s book but not right now. Come see what I’m reading

    Posted 10.30.17 Reply
  11. Arden wrote:

    I’m reading My Life with Bob as well (I must have picked it up because you did – I can’t remember) and I’m glad you mentioned the “intellectual snobbery” because I keep picking it up then eyeroll then putting it down. I was excited to read it because I have a Bob that I would rescue in a fire too but I’m just not enjoying this book.

    Posted 10.31.17 Reply
  12. Sarah R wrote:

    Your picture looks great! I have The Interestings, but still haven’t read it. I gotta get on that!

    I LOLed at “intellectual snobbery.” That’s the top reason I’m thankful for book bloggers like you who are smart but also not afraid to read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.

    Forty Autumns sounds so good! I recently finished Nomadland, about people who live in RVs and travel the US, some by choice and some by necessity. Really interesting but sobering at the same time.

    Posted 10.31.17 Reply

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