I fell into a reading slump in March and April. I think I carried the same book around most of the month. It was bad. I spent more time scrolling on my phone before bed than reading. This has happily changed for May!
Dinner: The Playbook by Jenny Rosenstrach changed my meal planning ways. I love to cook but I've been busy planning complex meals and then feeling annoyed when it is time to cook dinner. Rosenstrach's book made me view weekday dinner times as necessary meals that need to be quick and then weekend meals that can take more time. I now make her tomato sauce at least once a week and am getting back to prepping. A few of the dishes from this book are now on permanent rotation.
Modern Lovers by Emma Staub took me a long time to slog through. I was enticed by the beautiful cover and this book appeared on everyone's reading lists but the story took too long to develop and I never really cared much for the characters. I ended up forcing myself to finish the book when I was about halfway through.
We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a beautiful short book based on her Ted talk. I felt empowered by this book and was amazed at all the things she has accomplished. This is a must read book.
How Not to Hate Your Husband After Kids by Jancee Dunn is a brilliant book. I believe that every married couple with kids needs to read this book. I read most of it on my kindle app on my iPhone while the kids played happily at the Children's Museum. I read snippets to Scott who smartly nodded along. While not all of the tips work for all relationships, I feel like everyone can learn something from this book. I learned that my passive aggressive ways mean a whole lot of trouble and have been speaking up more.
The Magic of Motherhood by Ashlee Gadd is near and dear to my heart. I'm in Coffee + Crumb's Year of Creativity which is led by Gadd. She is an amazing support and an amazing woman for starting the website. I attended the book party in Spokane and had the honor of meeting Gadd and another one of the writers, Katie Blackburn. You can just feel their giving nature when you meet them. They want to support moms and this book is a support. In fact I gave copies to a few friends who desperately needed to know they weren't alone. I put post-it notes on my favorite essays and said, Read these first! I love you! That is the kind of book this is. Every Mom should read it and she should pass along copies to other Moms.
Animals of a Bygone Era by Maya Safstrom is a delightfully illustrated book about extinct animals. I really enjoyed this quick read and shared some of the pages with the girls. I loved finding out interesting facts and look forward to reading this again.
Edgar and Lucy by Victor Lidato was the Refined Reads pick for May. It was a long book which I struggled with a bit but I was enticed by these characters. I had been warned that this book took a bit to get into but once you were in, you wouldn't be able to stop and it was true. Edgar and Lucy tells the tale of Edgar and his mother, Lucy. The other characters that drift in and out of their lives create a rich novel. At the end of the story, the book is about love and family. You can see what we all thought about the book on Seattle Refined: http://seattlerefined.com/features/bookclub/book-club-review-heres-what-we-thought-of-edgar-lucy
Yearly Book Total: 18/52
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