What I'm Reading Next.... #MDDchallenge
In this post you will find what I'm reading for the #MDD challenge and why I selected those books. There will also be many book recommendations listed throughout each challenge selection. Each month I will share about the book I read for the challenge and what I really thought about it. Obviously, I'm a little late to the posting party, so I will play a little catch up in these first couple of months. But first...
If you've never heard of Modern Mrs. Darcy a.k.a. Anne Bogel yet, you're welcome for introducing the two of you. She is an AVID book reader who shares her relationship with books in such a real and inviting way. Anne also blogs on the daily about life in general. I read her posts religiously.
When she released her new podcast this January, I quickly became obsessed. I wait (im)patiently every week for a new episode to pop up on my phone. It's called What Should I Read Next? She walks her guest through an amazing book talk. The guest tells Anne 3 books books they love, 1 that they hated, and what they are currently reading. Then she gives them 3 books to read in return. It ends up a great, often humorous, conversation about many different books and I always come away with at least two new reads for myself. I think it would be great to be a guest on her show someday! Head on over to her blog post about it to subscribe to the podcast.
If you're interested in making your own challenge list, here are the different categories!
Here's What I'm Reading Next...
a book published this year
Brush of Wings by Karen Kingsbury
Some people can say that they've read every single book written by this Christian author. I however, have only read this series. When the first book released, Angels Walking, it was almost two years after the passing of my brother. I read the cover about a team of angels restoring hope on earth and it just struck an emotional cord. And when the second book came out, Chasing Sunsets, I found myself pleasantly surprised by a sequel that was better than the first in the series. Doesn't happen very often! So I'm very excited about this new release on March 29.
a book you can finish in a day
October Mourning by Leslea Newman Stonewall Honor Book
Here in the last couple years I have found myself falling for a new genre, one of which I hated before. Poetry. Yes, poetry. Not just any poetry, but a novel written in free verse prose. This particular book I found on a list of recommended free verse books. When I saw the Stonewall Honor award on the front I quickly added it to my list, as I try to read diverse books because they develop empathy in their reader.
If you are a fan of free verse yourself give the following books a look, they won't disappoint.
a book you've been meaning to read
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
First off, I'm a sucker for a WWII or Holocaust book, so you'll see a lot of those in my recommendations and even on this list. All the Light We Cannot See is one that I have started, but wasn't able to get through by the time it was due. Also, I have some focusing issues when it comes to reading now, so I need to have some time on my hands so I can attempt to binge read through it. It's been on every top recommendation list for the last couple years so I definitely have been meaning to read it.
a book recommeded by your local librarian or bookseller
The Mountain Between Us by Charles Martin
This one made me giggle a little bit since I'm a librarian myself, so I paid our local public librarian a visit to get her recommendation. She led me to the New Book section. The first book she pulled off the shelf I had already read. But the Mountain Between Us was the second she saw, and it was one of those booknerd reactions that I absolutely love and know not to second guess. (You know that headback, arms out, "OHMYGOSH" type reaction... you've done it, don't lie.) So I didn't even question it. Took it home, opened the jacket. First sentence: plane crash. Oh. No. (Side note: I'm terrified of planes for that very reason.) So this will be interesting...
a book you should have read in school
Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick
This is one that I should have probably read in elementary school, but don't remember doing so. My guy says it's one of his favorites and he wants to reread it. So that's what we are going to do. Since he moved 17 hours away we started reading the same book from time to time. I've abandoned two of the three, but he still gives me another chance. What a guy. (American Sniper and The Martian were my abandoned ones. Little organization by a guy that isn't really writer material and too much science that I couldn't even pretend to wade through. Adrift was the one that we both really liked. The current book we are reading is The Boys in the Boat.)
a book chosen for you by your spouse, partner, sibling, child, or BFF
Ghost Soldiers by Hampton Sides
This one was recommended to me by my guy a long time ago. It's his favorite book, next to Unbroken, which I read because he recommended it and it's still a favorite. I've tried to start this one once, but quickly found I would need time to really process this nonfiction read about a team of soldiers slipping behind enemy lines in the Philippines during WWII. (I'm the worst at reading nonfiction!) So I'm going to give this one another try this summer.
a book published before you were born
The Wave by Todd Strasser
I coach seventh grade volleyball, and on the rare occasion we travel with the eighth grade team. At the end of the season this year, the eighth graders were reading this book and studying for a test. I had never heard of it before and when I asked about it, the girls were raving how good it was. It was based off a true incident in 1969 in a high school history class in California where they tried to reinact the political system of the Nazis. Of course things go wrong. I was sold. When I was looking to make this list I knew it needed to go somewhere and was thrilled to see it was published in 1981.
a book that was banned at some point
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon
I've seen this on top sellers lists for awhile, but for some reason wasn't sure if I would want to read it... probably because of the obscure title. Recently I looked up what it was really about. When I saw the main character was an autistic teenager trying to solve the suspicious death of a dog from his neighborhood, I knew it was one I couldn't put off any longer. I love Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory, enjoyed The Rosie Project and House Rules, and already planned on reading 600 Hours of Edward this year. I'm sure it won't disappiont!
a book that you previously abandoned
Bone Gap by Laura Ruby
I got ahold of this one when it first came out and just couldn't get into it like I had hoped. I kept putting it off and never got around to finishing it. Now that I've abandoned it, I keep seeing it on every list from all of my book gurus on Twitter and then it recieved the honor of a National Book Award Finalist. So I've got to give it a try again.
a book that you own but have never read
The Baker's Daughter by Sarah McCoy
I purchased this one after a recommendation from one of my library volunteer's. She had read it recently in her book club and when I told her that I love reading WWII book she instantly began telling me about it like she was just dying to share it with someone. I love that! When I looked it up I saw its style sounds much like a lot of my favorite historical fictions that mostly focuses on the past, but has a story line in the future that ultimately connects the two story lines together. I purchased it from Amazon right away and can't wait to give it a try.
a book that intimidates you
Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King
Stephen King has always been weirdly intimidating to me. I think a lot of that intimidation is from the length of his novels. Another reason would be the horror genre in general. And yet another would be that he has one of the most die hard fandoms. What if I don't like it!? Haha. Anyways, I'm going to give this one a shot as per recommendation from my boss, who is a big King fan. When he got so into sharing about this book and it's sequel, I knew I had to follow through on asking for his recommendation. I'm excited to dig into this one.
a book that you've already read at least once
Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay
I never, ever reread books. Like ever. But there is a handful of my favorites that I would, starting with Sarah's Key. It was the WWII read that started my obsession. It tells the lesser known story about the French rounding up their own people. It goes back and forth between the family in the 1940's and a woman in 2002 writing an article about the horrific roundup. Things start coming together in ways that will leave you in chills. Trust me, you have to read it!
As you can see, although I'm constantly looking for books on my own, my best recommendations come from the people I love and the people I trust with my book life.
Have you read any of my selections for this year? Most importantly, what do you plan on reading next?
Back to the books,
Audra