What I Read Last Month: Book Recommendations!

There are three things that help me read more: Goodreads accountability (I get endless satisfaction from checking boxes!), I read before sleeping, and I try to always have a book in my purse. It is more tempting to reach for my phone, but I try to pull out the book when I’m waiting for someone…and I’m always waiting for someone.

So even though May was crazy busy, I did manage to read:

I HAVE LOST MY WAY by Gayle Forman. A YA read that was compulsively readable. I get why Forman is a bestseller – she’s good. Three kids, all lost in their own way, who find hope because they find each other one day in New York City. Really interesting and believable characters. What I didn’t like? How the word “sex” was interchanged with the “F” word. True to a character relationship? Perhaps.

BOSS LIFE: SURVIVING MY OWN SMALL BUSINESS by Paul Downs. I find business books interesting, and this one began with a few New York Times articles Downs wrote. Downs is a high-end furniture craftsman who’s just trying to stay afloat year after year in a world who buys cheap furniture. It reminded me a little bit of my dad and how hard the small business daily grind is.

INHERITANCE: A MEMOIR OF GENEALOGY, PATERNITY, and LOVE by Dani Shapiro. This book is getting tons of press as it hits at just the right time: DNA testing. How would you feel if your DNA test came back (that you took on a whim) and revealed your father wasn’t your father? Shapiro is a seasoned memoirist (I previously enjoyed HOURGLASS). I was really looking forward to this read and it didn’t disappoint. It’s a page turner with great writing and emotional pull!

JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH by Roald Dahl. I read this as a kid, but Paige hadn’t. I read the second paragraph out loud and gasped – WHAT?! (the parents are eaten by an enormous angry rhinoceros at the London zoo!) Paige’s eyes grew wide as she said, what is this book?! It was so delightful! I loved it. If you haven’t read this gem or it’s been awhile, do it