Shen Dove

personal style, musings and inspiration

Recent Reads: July

Recent Reads - July

Here are my recent reads from the month of July.

41JhUNsdgNL._SX327_BO1,204,203,200_Emma: A Modern Retelling | Type: Novel/Fiction | Rating: 3/5 – I’m a fan of Jane Austen novels, so this retelling from Alexander McCall Smith who I am familiar with from his No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency caught my eye while perusing a local bookstore earlier this summer.  But I have to say, I was pretty underwhelmed with this book.  The characters were a bit lackluster to me and I didn’t really care for McCall Smith’s version of Emma.  She was a bit too self-centered and her redeeming qualities didn’t come through enough for me.  Next time I feel the need to revisit Emma, I’ll read the original or watch my modern day variation, the movie, Clueless.

 

 

 

I Take You41tr2GDzhtL._SX327_BO1,204,203,200_ | Type: Novel | Rating: 3.5/5 – This book honestly wasn’t a favorite, but was entertaining enough.  Lily is a promising NYC lawyer who seems to have it altogether with her career and a handsome fiance.  But things start to unravel during her wedding weekend when she is forced to take on a challenging case, managing family dynamics, and deal with the double standards women face when it comes to love and marriage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Fringe Hours41RshBVTvlL._SX322_BO1,204,203,200_ | Type: Non-Fiction/Creativity | Rating: 4/5 – I learned of this book via the Lively Show Podcast earlier this summer.  Turner interviewed women who were from different walks of life (mothers with young children, wives, single professionals) and asked them about how they managed work life balance and making time for themselves for creative outlets and hobbies.  This book was a quick read and I enjoyed learning how the author who is a wife, mother, and full time employee makes time for hobbies, a successful blog, and book-writing.  After all if she can carve out time for these things, I have no excuse!   After reading this book, I felt recommitted to making time for my hobbies and creative pursuits a priority.

 

 

 

41cfTFXUs7L._SX311_BO1,204,203,200_Don’t Waste Your Pretty | Type: Non-Fiction/Advice & Relationships | Rating: 4/5 – I enjoyed Demetria Lucas’s first book, A Belle in Brooklyn so I added her latest book to my list when I learned about it.  Overall, I thought all of Lucas’s advice was spot-on.  She offers advice for most life situations (Married/Single/Dating), but I would most likely recommend it to my single friends.   I wasn’t a fan of the book being entirely Q & A, but I understand why the book was structured like that since her advice originates from answer real questions that people ask her on social media.

 

 

 

 

Picnic in Provence: A Memoir with Recipes51vLZ8YM6uL._SX329_BO1,204,203,200_ | Type: Non-Fiction/Memoir & Recipes | Rating: 4/5 – Bard is an American expatriate who relocated to France to live with her French husband.  This book is a continuation of Bard’s first memoir that recounts how she met and married her French husband and they started their life together in Paris.  In this book, Bard’s husband navigate parenthood, a move to Provence, and starting an ice cream store business.  I enjoyed this book for the glimpses of every day French country life from an American’s perspective and the delicious-sounding recipes included at the end of each chapter.  This is a good read to pack for any vacations you have during the remainder of the summer.

Recent Reads – June & Summer Reading List

Recent Reads - June

 If you’re looking for books to add to your summer reading list, here are a few of my recent reads.

An Untamed State | Type:  Novel/Thriller | Rating:  4/5 – This book while riveting, it is definitely not a chill beachy read to pack on your upcoming vacay.  It’s a harrowing page-turner that kept me thinking about the protagonist long after I finished it.  This story of a privileged Haitian American woman who gets kidnapped for ransom in broad daylight while in Haiti visiting family.  The book delves into issues surrounding class, family issues, socio-economic politics, racism, and the experience of being an immigrant from an impoverished country like Haiti.  It’s not a light read.  I just became familiar with Roxane Gay’s writing this year (and awesome Twitter account), but I’m officially now a fan.

Queen Sugar | Type: Novel/Romance/African American Interest | Rating: 5/5  – I didn’t think I’d enjoy this book as much as I did, but once I finished it, I felt like flipping the book to the beginning and starting again.  Charley Bordelon’s father passes and leaves her many acres of sugar cane land in his hometown in Louisiana. So, Charley, a widowed single mother packs up her daughter in LA and heads to Louisiana to become a sugar cane farmer.  Will Charley be successful in changing her life and saving her farm?  Definitely read the book to see what’s in store for Charley  the host of lively characters in the book.  I read recently that this book was going to be turned into a TV series by Oprah and I really hope that happens, I’d definitely tune in.

The Misadventures of an Awkward Black Girl | Type: Rating:Humor/Memoir | Rating: 5/5 – I love Issa Rae’s webseries (also titled Awkward Black Girl), so I knew I would actually go out and purchase this book when I heard about it. I rarely buy books these days but the laugh out loud passages in this book will definitely be re-read at some point, so I’m glad I have my own copy.  Whether you are black or not, if you can relate to being an awkward, introverted teen or young adult and not quite fitting in, this book to is a great addition to your reading list.

Next up on my to-read list this summer are:

The Fringe Hours | Don’t Waste Your Pretty | Bad Feminist | The House at Sugar Beach

What have you read lately?  What books are you planning to read this summer?

Spring Reading List

Spring Reading List

The Accidental Creative: How to Be Brilliant at  Moment’s Notice | We Were Liars | The Thing Around Your Neck |  Bread & Wine: A Love Letter to Life Around the Table with Recipes | The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up | Queen Sugar

For the past two years in Philly, I walked to work every day from my apartment so I didn’t have the built in time to read during my subway commute that I had become accustomed to.  Walking to work was awesome, but I missed my reading time.  Now that I’ve moved to DC again, the bright side to catching public transportation daily is having my reading time back.  Here are the latest additions to my reading list. The last book I finished was Girl on the Train which was pretty good if you like books in the same vein of Gone Girl, but not wow inducing.

What’s have you read lately?

 

Recent Reads – January

Untitled-1

It’s been a  while since I talked about what I’ve read lately.  So here are a few of my recent reads from December and January.

Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead | Type: Self-Help and Spirituality | My Rating 5/5 – I really enjoyed this book.  It had been on my list since hearing about Brené Brown’s TED Talks on vulnerability and shame.  It was a pretty quick read where researcher and professor, Brené Brown discusses vulnerability and its association with shame.  The book illustrates how vulnerability can be applied to your personal and professional interactions with people.  She also delves into lessons learned from her personal experiences.  I definitely appreciated the candid way Brené delves into her own issues and how she has worked to overcome them.  It shows that she really takes her research and work to heart in the way she lives her life.  This book reminded me to be compassionate with people because you never know what challenges others are facing in their personal lives. Here is one quote that resonated with me from the book:

“Vulnerability is the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, courage, empathy, and creativity. It is the source of hope, empathy, accountability, and authenticity. If we want greater clarity in our purpose or deeper and more meaningful spiritual lives, vulnerability is the path.” – Brené Brown

Eleanor & Park | Type:  YA/Romance | My Rating: 4/5 – This book was another good read.  I liked Eleanor & Park, more than my first Rainbow Rowell book, Landline.  I think Rainbow Rowell excels at writing teen characters.  The story set in the 80’s in Omaha is about two teens who don’t quite fit in at their high school who gradually fall in love. But falling in love is the easy part.  Staying together despite the personal issues Eleanor is reluctant to share with Park is the hard part.  If you enjoy YA novels (like I do) and haven’t read Eleanor & Park yet, it’s a good read.

Joy the Baker: Homemade Decadence | Type: Cookbook | Rating 5/5 – Yes there is a cookbook on my reading list because I tend to read cookbooks cover to cover as I would a novel.  Then I actually pick out recipes to try.  If you are a fan of the Joy the Baker blog, her latest cookbook won’t disappoint.  I only wish I had tried more than one cake recipe from the book before I did a detox and cut back on the sweets, dairy, and gluten in my diet…But if you have a sweet tooth and a desire to bake something tasty, this is a good cookbook to pick up!

What have you read lately?