In the last few days I started and abandoned about 80-100 pages into both of these books. I didn’t like the characters and wasn’t drawn into either story. Looking for something good…

Us by David Nicolls

The Hundred Year House by Rebecca Makkai

Then I started and abandoned this:

The Gods of Heavenly Punishment by Jennifer Cody Epstein

I am sure these are good books, but I couldn’t get into them. Life is too short to not enjoy what you are reading!

Heft by Liz Moore is another book which I have had on my list for a while and have renewed from the library 3 times before picking it up. I don’t know how it got on my list (I should keep better track of this since I am always curious when I like a book to know its source). What a delightful book. It was sad, for sure, and all the characters could be pitied, but it had such hope and hopefulness that it was a joy to read. We learn about Arthur, a former professor, who has not left his house in many years and is severely obese, his former student and penpal over the years, and the penpal’s son. Their lives weave together, apart, and then together again. I enjoyed reading it so much that I was sorry when it was over.

I have had The Boys in the Boat on my list (and my nightstand) since I purchased it over the summer. It’s rare that I purchase books and so I usually read them right away. Too many other books from the library kept coming and I put this one aside, knowing I would get to it, but not feeling particularly pressed to, even though I heard over and over how wonderful it was. Once I started, though, even though I knew the outcome, I could not put the book down. The writing was so interesting, fluid, and compelling. Crew is not an interest of mine, but like Seabiscuit (horses not being an interest of mine either), there was a pull to the prose that drew me in and had me on the edge of my seat. I cannot say enough good things about this book and I urge you to run out and grab it immediately!

The Objects of Her Affection was another airplane read. It was a super quick one and I really enjoyed it. While I couldn’t understand Sophie’s stealing, I understood her love of her home and her motivation. It was interesting and kept me on the edge of my seat. There was nothing too deep in this one, but it kept me busy while I was trapped in the air!

I thought I would like This is the Water and it definitely grew on me as I went along. However the “This is” beginning so many sentences got old after a while. The plot, however, was gripping, and even though it was a little unbelievable at points, I wanted to find out what was going to happen. I read this on the airplane in a few hours, so if you are looking for something quick, it’s a decent one.

The art teacher at Primary Day recommended Provenance by Laney Salisbury and Aly Sujo to me a while ago. While the subject matter wouldn’t generally appeal to me, her effusive praise for the book compelled me order it from the library. It was a wonderful book. I really enjoyed learning about art forgers and art forgery and highly recommend it.

I skimmed a review of Lucky Us by Amy Bloom that almost convinced me not to read it. But, since I also kept reading such praise for the book, I thought I should give it a try despite the poor review it got from the blogger with whom I generally agree. But, no, I wouldn’t recommend it either. I can’t believe it made so many best of 2014 lists. I didn’t like any of the characters and only finished it because it was so short. I kept thinking I was missing something. But, when it came to the end, I was just glad to be finished.

Well, if the first page of How to Build a Girl by Caitlin Moran doesn’t surprise you and make you want to read on, I don’t know what will. You’ll have to trust me on this one. This was a very quick read and a good one. It was irreverent and shocking in parts, but very “Bridget Jones’ Diary.” It was a good vacation read – nothing particularly heavy, but fun and funny.

Small Blessings by Martha Woodroof is a quiet gem of a book. You are thrown into the meat of the story right from the beginning and while it is quiet, there is a lot going on in a short period of time. That and the strange twist near the end are a little unbelievable, but otherwise, it’s an engaging story that was a pleasure to read. I recommend it, especially at this time of year.