This is in contention for my favorite book this year! It's a WWII novel with a tale of survival that can't be beat. The present day storyline features a young woman and her autistic son - and so much that I can relate to. It hooked me right away. I've never seen my own life on the page so clearly and compassionately - thank you to the author!

This novel was excellent and impossible to put down. I'm looking forward to finding more books by Kelly Rimmer!

This was a fun peek into the world of Condé Nast through the eyes of Ruth Reichl - the reluctant Editor in Chief at Gourmet Magazine. I've never read an issue of Gourmet or anything by Reichl, but I did enjoy this memoir. There was a lot I didn't understand about the magazine publishing world, but it's clear that it's a complicated (and expensive!) process to get a magazine onto the newsstand each month.

Reichl's love for food and sharing it is contagious! She shares a few recipes that look approachable and delicious. I hope I actually try some of them!

This was great on audio! I really enjoyed the narrator and she brought so much to Beatriz's story!

I enjoyed this one more than Next Year in Havana - Beatriz is such a fascinating character. If you're interested in reading more about the Cuban Revolution, then this series is a great place to start.

The best part of this book was the book lists - I love a good list! There were lists sprinkled throughout at each age and stage, and then the second half of the book included book lists based on topic (grief, acceptance, etc) and broken down into stages of reading. The authors did a good job of including classics that have aged well, as well as newer books that many of us might not know about.

Unfortunately, there weren't a lot of new strategies included. But that's almost a relief because the best way to raise a reader is the same as it's always been: read, read, read. Read out loud, sprinkle books around the house, let your kids see you getting lost in a good book, get excited about what you're reading, and remember that reading is NOT supposed to be drudgery!

Emily St. John Mandel is so clever; I love how she played with alternate realities in this novel and made it feel so believable and real. This is the second novel I've read this year that is centered around the 2008 financial collapse, but this one managed to be written with less technical language which made it easier for me to read. The settings were fantastic, the characters were intriguing, and the structure of her timelines were perfect - they lured me right in and wouldn't let me go.

I can't wait until she publishes again!

This reminded me of a murderous Dirty Dancing. It was a reread for me and I remembered enough of the twists and turns (but not the murderer) to have the ending a bit spoiled for me, so I don't think I can give an unbiased review here!

This is a great series to listen to on audio! Like the first in the series, I enjoyed the characters and the scenery. And again - I was surprised by the killer!

This was one of the best books that I've read on building habits. I found it to be totally engaging, even the dry bits about scientific research (which I usually skim over). This morning I spent time thinking about how to make healthier food choices with the ideas presented here. I'm excited to explore some more!

Walls is a journalist who works (worked?) for MSNBC.com - you might remember her working on the Daily Scoop. In The Glass Castle, she shares her challenging childhood: which included constant moving around, bouts of homelessness, and parents who loved their children endlessly, but didn't always make the best decisions.returnreturnHer father, Rex, was a brilliant mathmetician and engineer. However, he had a hard time putting the bottle down and was possibly abused as a child. Her mother, Rose Mary, was an artist with a rosy outlook on the world, but seemed to be suffering from a mental illness that went undiagnosed and untreated. Jeannette had 3 siblings: older sister Lori, younger brother Brian, and younger sister Maureen. Life for the Walls children was hard and they endured a lot.returnreturnThis was such a touching story. While I cringed at the decisions and mistakes made by the writer's parents, I was overwhelmed by the love in this family. You could see how much Rex loved his children, but it just ached to watch him go out and drink or how his paranoia affected their whole lives. It was also amazing how much the children loved for their parents, parents that many would write off as being plain neglectful and abusive. This was truly a story of unconditional love. 5 stars.

This book is full of stunning visuals and exciting ideas. An archeological dig on the Shetland Islands? Sign me up! I feel like a broken record with this series, but I really loved the characters Cleeves introduced us to in this novel. I found Hattie, especially, interesting.

This series is totally binge-worthy and is excellent on audio!