It’s been a while since I updated this.  Lisa reads a lot of books and her latest post reminded me LOL. My challenge is to read 30 books this year and I am 2 behind schedule right now. It’s busy around here as usual and I have 4 shows coming up in the next 6 weeks for my soaps, which means probably burning the midnight oil with my job and all that.  At least being busy keeps me out of trouble!

Here are the finished ones:

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The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka.

This is a strange little book. It’s a metaphor, really, but still strange. It begins with the main character, Gregor, waking up in the form of a giant insect, but not understanding what happened to himself.  It’s never explained in the book how this came to be or even what kind of bug he is. It just details this part of Gregor’s life after the metamorphosis and how his family deals with what happened to him and what they should do with him.  Kafka never explained the meaning of this story, but it seems to say a lot about how we treat people when they cannot function for themselves anymore.

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The Absolutist by John Boyne

This book was really not what I was expecting at all, but it was a good book. It takes place after WWI in 1919 and begins when a young soldier, Tristan, returns letters to Marian, who is the sister of Tristan’s fellow soldier, Will. Returning these letters are really an excuse for him to come clean about the truth what happened during the war and the circumstances surrounding Will’s death.  The book is written in flashback leading up to the present moment and definitely has a big suprise in the end.  The title refers to conscientious objectors to the war and where do you draw the line of right and wrong in a war.  It’s a sad book, but good.

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The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh.

I picked this book because the subject was the meaning of flowers and how flowers could be used to convey messages. Victoria is an 18-year-old girl who was just released from being a ward of the state. She had a troubled past in foster care and now has found a job working in a florist shop designing flower arrangements that hold meaning. Victoria’s past keeps her from being able to develop relationships with people and her past comes back into her life.

The story was interesting, but I could not get past the fact that Victoria is just not very likeable. She is very selfish and has anger issues. It made the story hard to swallow because why is everyone so nice to someone who isn’t very nice back?  So, I’m kind of middling about this book.

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Girl Waits with Gun by Amy Stewart. Book 1

This book was fun. I didn’t realize is was actually based on the real life of Constance Kopp, who was the first woman deputy in the US in the early 1900s.  Constance was considered a spinster and a very tall and imposing woman.  When she and her sisters are involved in a carriage accident, Constance tries to get restitution from the man at fault, who turns out to be a very powerful businessman in the community. He begins to harrass Constance and her family, but Constance won’t give in and works with the local sheriff to try to bring the men to justice.

I love how strong Constance is and there are some real surprises in the book. I think I will read some of the others to see what else Constance got up to in her life!

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The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

The Nightingale has “movie” written all over it. I would be really surprised if this isn’t made into one.  It takes place during WWII in France. Again, I pick another story from this time period!

This is the story of two sisters, Vianne and Isabelle. When the Germans invade Paris, Isabelle joins the resistance and Vianne remains to rebel in her own way. Each woman has to face dire situations, Isabelle always at risk of being caught and Vianne having a German general billeted in her house.  The book really describes the hardships of an occupied country and what people went through and how they survived.

I really enjoyed this book. It was well written, although a little cliched at times.

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I have been having trouble getting into a new book and  I will toss them before I get too far in, which is one of the reasons I am behind schedule.  My Kindle is full of some classics, so I think I am going to just read some of those.

I was asked how I choose my books to read. What I do is peruse my library’s online book selections and then I read reviews on Goodreads to see if it would be interesting to me. Goodreads is much better for honest reviews than Amazon, in my opinion.