Monday Reads:

Oh wow. I only read two books in two weeks. What is going on with me???

This is why I don't give myself a reading goal for the year, though. Because I don't want to feel pressured to read a certain number of books. So when life gets busy and I don't have as much time for reading, I don't feel all the guilt.

Anyway... I read THE LAST TIME WE SAY GOODBYE by Cynthia Hand. I wasn't sure I was in the mood for this kind of book. It's about a girl who is trying to get over her brother's suicide. But the book pulled me in. The character development was excellent, the struggles and actions of the MC so real and raw. The only thing I didn't like was there were times when the book got a bit descriptive about things that didn't matter. There were paragraphs of the MC describing how a casserole was made or how their playhouse was built. Who cares? One or two sentences: good. Paragraphs: bad. Also, not very realistic for a child to know exactly how her dad built a playhouse. In general though, it was a great book and I totally bawled at the end.

Then I read KINDRED by Octavia E. Butler... also not the lightest of books, but WOW. What an incredible book. It's about a black woman married to a white man who time travels (against her will) to the antebellum south in the early 1800s. She even takes her husband back with her once. I can't even describe this book, it's just so good. The story is moving, to see what the characters go through, how the MC has to struggle with her time and the past, with the many and horrible racial injustices, the decisions she makes... it's all perfection. There's not much I can say but, read it!

So I've been wracking my brain, positive that I read something in between these two books. I think what I'm missing is I did a final read-thru of The Pemberley Journals for the authors before they published on the Austen Variations book page. I mention it because this time travel story where the modern-day MC switches places with Elizabeth Bennet is so fun! It's a great read, and free at Austen Variations so check it out if you're a Pride and Prejudice fan!