October 2020 was the BEST reading month ever for me. If you are looking to get out of a reading slump, check out the book reviews below!
2020 hasn’t been my best reading year so far. I’ve been distracted and have had a hard time connecting with a lot of the books I’ve read. I don’t know what changed in October, but it has been the BEST reading month. I absolutely loved each and every book I read and can’t wait to share these reviews with you! I finished the month with 11 books read, all 4 and 5-star reads/listens.
If you are looking to get out of a reading slump, here are some great books that will catapult you out of the reading slump and into happy reading mode. Let me know if you’ve read any of the books from my October reads and also if you have any book recommendations for me! I’d love to end the year reading some of your favorites.
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Publisher Info: Viking/Penguin Random House September 2020 | #of pages: 288 | Length of Audiobook: 8hr 15min | Genre: Fiction | Source: Libro.fm
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Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Plot: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐| Characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
My Review: This is my third time travel book in 2020. Do you think I’m maybe trying to find a secret portal out of this year?
The Midnight Library was an absolutely wonderful book, especially if you are fascinated by the possibility of parallel lives. Nora Seed is at the end of her rope, believing that the life she has left to live isn’t worth living. She has a multitude of regrets and can’t see any way to make things better. She decides to end her life.
Enter, the Midnight Library…an in-between world of sorts where you can change every decision you’ve ever made and live the lives you hadn’t lived before. Nora gets to review all of her past regrets then has the opportunity to open up new books to discover the many different lives she could have had.
The concept of this story and the way it’s told is so unique and captivating. Matt Haig’s writing is flawless and Carey Mulligan’s narration on the audiobook is absolutely perfect.
The Midnight Library is a touching look at what it truly means to have a meaningful life. If you had the opportunity to answer those “what would have happened if?” questions, would you?. This book will stay with you long after you reach the final page. Enjoy!
Recommendation: I absolutely loved this book! If you like other time travel books, like Oona Out of Order or In Five Years, you’ll definitely love The Midnight Library.
The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel
Publisher Info: Gallery Books July 2020 | #of pages: 400 | Length of Audiobook: 10 hr 45 min | Genre: Historical Fiction | Source: Kindle Paperwhite
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Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Plot: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐| Characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
My Review: Just when you think you’ve read every WWII Holocaust story idea out there, along comes a book that shares a perspective that’s completely new to you. The Book of Lost Names is a riveting story about Eva, a young Jewish woman, who flees Paris with her mother after witnessing the arrest of her father. They end up in a small mountain town where Eva becomes part of the resistance, forging identification documents for children escaping to Switzerland.
It is critical to Eva that these children’s true identities aren’t lost forever, so she creates a secret book in code called The Book of Lost Names.
I read this for my local book club and everyone who attended loved the book. It’s such a great discussion book. There are so many intricacies in the relationships Eva has with others…who can be trusted and who cannot? This book will have you holding your breath the entire time you’re reading it, as you’ll be completely uncertain of the fate of Eva and her loved ones until the very end.
Recommendation: This will be one of my top ten favorite reads from 2020, no question. If you loved The Nightingale and Lilac Girls you will love this novel.
The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett by Annie Lyons
Publisher Info: William Morrow September 2020 | #of pages: 372 | Length of Audiobook: 10 hr 39 min | Genre: Fiction | Source: William Morrow ARC
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Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Plot: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐| Characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
My Review: The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett is an endearing story about Eudora…a cranky, lonely, older lady who lives alone and has a wish to end her life via physician-assisted suicide. When new neighbors move in next door, and an eccentric and nosy ten-year-old girl named Rose decides to befriend Eudora, things start to take an interesting turn. Suddenly Eudora has more to live for than just her day to day routine and her cat.
This book will make you laugh, cry, and everything in between. Your heart will break from sadness and then on the very next page you’ll find your heart bursting with joy. The relationship between Eudora and Rose is one to long for…they enter each other’s lives at the most perfect time and both end up saving each other in the most beautiful ways. By the time you’ve finished this book, you’ll wish both Eudora and Rose were your neighbors too.
An absolutely charming must read!
Recommendation:Fans of A Man Called Ove and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine will absolutely love this book!
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
Publisher Info: Atria Books September 2020 | #of pages: 341 | Length of Audiobook: 9 hr 53 min | Genre: ContemporaryFiction | Source: Libro.fm
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Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Plot: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐| Characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
My Review: A failed bank robber bursts into an apartment during a real estate showing and takes a group of strangers hostage…this is the start of Fredrik Backman’s book, Anxious People. What happens next is as some have said, a study in human connection and experience. Similar to one of my favorite movies, The Breakfast Club, the hostages and robber all come from different walks of life and through this experience together, they come to understand and appreciate things about others they wouldn’t have before. In addition, the law enforcement team on the job to find the failed bank robber have a few enlightening moments of their own.
Recommendation: If you love Fredrik Backman’s style of writing, Anxious People will be up there as one of your favorites by him. As always, his ability to endear the reader to even the most unlikable characters in this story is incredibly strong.
One of Us is Lying by Karen M McManus
Publisher Info: Delacorte Press May 2017 | #of pages: 360 | Length of Audiobook: 10 hr 42 min | Genre: Young Adult | Source: Kindle Paperwhite
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Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Plot: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐| Characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
My Review: I have had One of Us is Lying on my Kindle for a couple of years now, and for some reason, I kept putting off reading it. I heard from so many people, including my own teens, how great this book was and I’m really glad I finally listened. One of Us is Lying follows 5 somewhat unconnected students into detention for the same offense. By the end of detention, Simon, the publisher of the school gossip site, is dead. Now the big question is which of the 4 remaining was the murderer? All 4 students have a history with Simon and they all have hidden secrets. Through the story, you are drawn in by the drama, connect the dots between relationships and follow all kinds of twists and turns…but in the end can you figure out who killed Simon? This is a fun read that will keep you guessing throughout. Now, I can’t wait to read the recently released sequel, One of Us is Next.
Recommendation: This is a solid YA book! It very much has We Were Liars and Sadie vibes.
Goodnight Beautiful by Aimee Molloy
Publisher Info: Harper October 2020 | #of pages: 293 | Length of Audiobook: 7 hr 55 min | Genre: Mystery/Thriller | Source: Libro.fm
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Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Plot: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐| Characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
My Review: I love a good domestic thriller and Goodnight Beautiful by Aimee Molloy definitely was a good one!
Happy newlyweds, Sam and Annie, decide to leave the big city for the calm and quiet of small-town living. Sam finds the perfect space for his therapy practice in the basement of a too good to be true renovated historic home. Little does he know, each and every session can be heard through the vents…but who is listening and what will they do with the information they hear?
When Sam suddenly disappears on the night of a terrible storm, the town expects the worst. But, what really happened to Sam? Was Annie and Sam’s marriage not quite as happy as it seemed? Was the mysterious, sexy French patient tempting enough for Sam to leave his happy marriage?
Twists and turns abound, especially if you listen to the audio version. (If you do listen, keep listening…there’s a major plot twist that puts all the pieces together.) Also, if you are an audiobook lover, you won’t find a better male narrator for this kind of book than George Newbern. He is absolutely one of my favorites and provides the voice of Sam with perfection.
Recommendation: Domestic thrillers are some of my favorites! If you loved Gone Girl or the book Misery (lots of nods to this book in this story) you’ll really like Goodnight Beautiful.
Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam
Publisher Info: Ecco October 2020 | #of pages: 241 | Length of Audiobook: 7 hr 26 min | Genre: Fiction | Source: Libro.fm
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Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Plot: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐| Characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
My Review: I really really liked this Leave the World Behind, but will admit that at the end I was seriously like WTH just happened? After reading a few author interviews I was able to put the pieces together…this book definitely makes you think! (Also, a fact you’ll find interesting after you’ve finished this book is Rumaan Alam started writing this prior to the national pandemic – crazy, huh?).
Amanda and Clay take their two teenage children from their home in New York City to a remote Air B&B for a much-needed family vacation. But as they are settling in for the night, there’s a knock on the door. The owners of the Air B&B have returned, informing the family of some kind of disaster happening, forcing them to return home. No one knows exactly what is going on…internet and tv access have been lost. It’s now only these two sets of strangers…one vacationing, one reclaiming their home. No one knowing exactly who to trust or what is happening outside the walls of this house.
Several things clue them in that whatever is happening, it’s not good. Is the world coming to an end? Can they trust one another as they go through this experience?
Leave the World Behind had me hooked from the first page. The authors writing style is absolutely beautiful. And the simple descriptions of life while on vacation were so relatable (for example, Amanda talks about how differently she shops for groceries while on vacation than she does in real life. So many relatable nuggets about living life outside of your everyday routine.)
If you are looking for the perfect book to read during pandemic life, this is it. Although be prepared…it may hit a little too close to home.
Recommendation: For some reason, as I read this book I thought of two books I read a long time ago and loved similarly to this one. What Dreams May Come and The Rapture of Cannan. Definitely check those two books out if you haven’t read them yet!
The Playbook by Kwame Alexander
Publisher Info: HMH Books February 2017 | #of pages: 176 | Length of Audiobook: 1 hr 6 minutes | Genre: Non-Fiction | Source: Library
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Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Plot: ⭐⭐⭐⭐| Characters: n/a
My Review: I know I’m not really Kwame Alexander’s target demographic, but I absolutely love everything he writes. I’ve owned The Playbook for quite some time and decided one evening to dive in – I needed some Kwame style inspiration.
The Playbook is a book of quotes, poems, and inspirational stories – a playbook for life, if you will. The book is full of sports analogies, but that doesn’t mean non-athletes won’t love it. I can imagine giving this book to high school graduates, or middle schoolers even who just need a little extra boost of inspiration every now and then. It’s definitely one that will have a permanent home on my bookshelf, with a stack of ones to giveaway right next to it.
Recommendation: If you haven’t been introduced to Kwame Alexander yet, just pick up any of his books. They are mostly middle grade, but still some of my favorites.
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
Publisher Info: Harper September 2019 | #of pages: 337 | Length of Audiobook: 9 hr 52 min | Genre: Fiction | Source: Hoopla / Library
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Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Plot: ⭐⭐⭐⭐| Characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
My Review: I was drawn to this audiobook when I heard that Tom Hanks narrates it. When it was free through my library on Hoopla, I felt like it was high time to get this one read.
First off, Tom Hanks makes this book…his narration is so great. The plot took me a good while to get into, but thanks to the narration I felt like I was gliding right along.
In The Dutch House, the patriarch of the family buys a lavish, over the top house in the suburbs. This house is definitely the main character of the story…it is the center of all the drama for the Conroy family. Set over the time span of 5 decades, the Dutch House always seems to be the source of all the conflict…the people in it and the memories made. The relationships are complicated…no one can seem to let go of the past and move on. This is a story about The Dutch House, but even moreso, it’s a story about how not letting go of the past can greatly impact our future.
Recommendation: I can’t pinpoint why, but I think if you liked The Dutch House you will definitely like Becoming Mrs. Lewis. The writing style and relationships remind me a lot of each other.
I Will Judge You By Your Bookshelf by Grant Snider
Publisher Info: Abrams ComicArts April 2020 | #of pages: 128 | Length of Audiobook: n/a | Genre: Graphic Novel | Source: Library
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Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Plot: n/a| Characters: n/a
My Review: This is a delightful and relatable graphic novel for book lovers everywhere! In fact, if you have bookworms in your life, I Will Judge You by Your Bookshelf would be the perfect gift. Reading along you’ll find yourself laughing, nodding your head as you recognize yourself in the pages, and loving all the details and intricacies of this charming book. If you want a taste of what’s included in this creative book, definitely check out Grant Snider’s charming Instagram @grantdraws.
Recommendation: I first started adding a few graphic novels to my regular reading last year and I’m so glad I did. If you want to explore more graphic novels definitely check out a couple of my favorites…Hey Kiddo and Good Talk: A Memoir in Converation.
Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Byasi
Publisher Info: Knopf September 2020 | #of pages: 264 | Length of Audiobook: 8h 40min | Genre: Fiction | Source: Libro.fm
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Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Plot: ⭐⭐⭐⭐| Characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
My Review: “Gifty is a fifth-year candidate in neuroscience at Stanford School of Medicine studying reward-seeking behavior in mice and the neural circuits of depression and addiction. Her brother, Nana, was a gifted high school athlete who died of a heroin overdose after a knee injury left him hooked on OxyContin. Her suicidal mother is living in her bed. Gifty is determined to discover the scientific basis for the suffering she sees all around her.”
I had to go to the blurb to try and explain this book because it’s such a beautiful story, yet so complex. Transcendent Kingdon dives into some really heavy issues…addiction, mental illness, suicide…but also does a great job of exploring all from a neuroscience perspective. Even with “scientific proof”, Gifty finds herself turning to her faith to help guide her to the deep answers she’s so desperately seeking.
This book was slow to start for me, but then it really began coming together about 1/4 of the way through. By the halfway mark, I couldn’t put it down I was so enthralled. Definitely add this one to your TBR!
Recommendation: If you liked The Art of Hearing Heartbeats I think you’ll like Transcendent Kingdom.
There we go! That wraps up my post on books to get you out of a reading slump! I hope you are able to find some books to dive into that you end up loving. Happy reading!
WHAT BOOKS HAVE YOU READ TO GET OUT OF A READING SLUMP LATELY?
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I decided to read The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett after seeing it on this list and I just wanted to say that I absolutely loved it. Thank you so much!