Top

Stephanie Howell

reading, organizing, shopping, momming too close to the sun. Home is wherever the Army sends us.

What I’m Reading 2014 // February 2014 Edition

One of my goals for 2014 is to be more intentional about reading. To track my books via Goodreads, to pay attention to what I read and didn’t read, to share what I’m reading here.

For the January edition of What I’m reading (including how I select books and my entire process), click HERE.

This month I want to talk about WHEN I read. I get asked this question all.the.time.

People genuinely want to know how I read so much. The answer? It’s a priority to me. Reading is like breathing. I simply have to do it.

I am a really fast reader. So fast that Jimmy swears I’ve taken a speed reading course. I haven’t. So that helps.

But I also always have a novel in my purse. Waiting in the carpool line? I read. In the waiting room at the doctor’s office? Reading. I even read when I walk. True story. Not so great considering how clumsy I am. HA!

This month I checked out a stack at the beginning of the month. I ended up taking most of them back because they just weren’t doing it for me.

Here’s what I ended up with and here’s what I will most likely read this month:

February List:

1. Joyland by Stephen King

2. The Dinner by Herman Koch

3. TransAtlantic by Colum McCann

4. The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

5. Have a New Kid by Friday by Kevin Leman

6. What is Left the Daughter by Howard Norman

Books I completed last month:

1. Wild by Cheryl Strayed- LOVED this. Loved Loved LOVED. Devoured it, in fact. Just an awesome story of strength and redemption. I heard they are making it into a movie and I’m not 100 percent sure how I feel about this.

2. The Returned by Jason Mott- Blah. Had potential but I never connected or really cared about the characters. I kept waiting to like it but I never really cared one way or another. Totally fell flat for me.

3. The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker – I’m having a hard time explaining how I feel about this one. I enjoyed it but found it very depressing. I find dystopian books terrifying/intriguing and this was no exception. Walker did a beautiful job of explaining life in junior high. I found this an interesting juxtaposition with all of the crazy cosmic stuff that was going on. Super easy/quick read.

4. The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes- Moyes is one of my new favorite authors. I found this book absolutely fascinating. I have to say I found the flashback portions much more interesting than the “current day” portions, though.

5. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak – WOW. Wow wow wowwwww. Still processing this book. This book tore my heart out and broke it in to a million pieces. I honestly don’t feel that any review can give it the worth it deserves. There are just no words. The horrors, the pain, the death…yep. It broke my heart. Beautifully told. I need to quickly read everything else Zusak has written. One more thing- I had tried to read this once and gave up on it. SO glad I stuck with it.

There you go! The February version of what I’m reading. As always, I’d love to hear what you are reading, fellow bookworms!!

xoxo

S

Comments

  1. I just did a post like this for our family… deadline day today so my new Amy Tan book has been gathering dust for a few days but I’m back on it tomorrow.

  2. Zuak’s other book is totally different but also interesting and engaging. It was a favorite among my students. Also, I’m sad you didn’t love The History of Love! Have you read Olive Kittredge? I think you’d love that one.

  3. I remember when I first met you and I was SO envious at how fast you could read! I also love to read, but it takes me forever! Just finished ‘Divergent’ (1st of a trilogy series) – similar to ‘Hunger Games’. Miss you and hope all is well! xoxo

  4. Looooved The Book Thief also, but still not ready to see it in the movies. So sad. And I also just finished Divergent which was pretty good. Right now I am reading The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd. Very good read so far.
    I am an avid reader also and, same as you, I read every minute I get..everywhere I go I take my book and if I have five minutes I just read!! Love it!

  6. I LOV-OV-OV-OV-OV-OVEEEEEE The Book Thief!!!!!! I forget, did you read Elizabeth Wein’s two WW2 books, Code Name Verity and Rose Under Fire? I’m pretty sure you did. SOB FOR MONTHS AND MONTHS.
    I haven’t read anything decent, or anything worth talking about, in a long time. I just finished the latest (last?) Flavia de Luce book by Alan Bradley, and loved it and thought so many things were well done. A.S. King’s latest — Reality Boy — is sitting on my shelf waiting for me to get to it, and I’m reading Jo Baker’s Longbourn (about the Bennets’ servants — you should check it out, but it’s long and not fast paced, so it might take two library checkouts to get through).
    Instead, I’m reading this interminable 400-pp non-fiction book on NY in the Civil War for work, and I can’t read anything fun until I finish this job 🙁 I love audiobooks because I can sneak in reading while doing boring things.
    Why don’t I live in Italy, so I can bring the boys over to play and we can sit and drink wine and talk books? We never got to do the wine part because one of us was always pregnant when we were neighbors 🙂

  7. LOVE…LOVE…LOVE…this blog series!!! You give me inspiration to read!!! I love it! Book Thief is next after the Paris Wife! Thanks Stephanie!

  8. You have inspired me in the last few months to start reading again. I used to read all the time, but once I had a child, I realized that I would be a less-than-stellar parent if I was reading. So I stopped reading recreationally to, you know, feed my child and play with him and occasionally clean the house lol.
    Now, however, he is 6 and can play with Legos for hours, so I have picked up reading again, based on your lists. My tastes have been pretty similar to yours so farm but I’ve also added in the Elm Creek Quilts series about a group of women in Pennsylvania and their ancestors. The author also wrote “Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker” which was interesting.
    Question: Do you read romance novels? I’ve mostly stopped reading those after I got married because I found I was unfairly comparing my husband to those fictional “near-perfect” guys in the books (mostly just in my head, but it turned my whole attitude sour). It was stuff like “how come you never…?” or “well THEY always seem to know what she really meant by that…” You know, kind of how the book is always better than the movie because of all the little things the author can include? I was in the movie and it wasn’t like the book. Which was totally and completely unfair to my wonderful husband. So I stopped reading books where romance is the whole point.
    Annnnd, that was a really long nonsensical ramble to basically ask if you read romance novels and if you like them?
    Thanks for the new recommendations, I’ve put the ones my library has on hold for me 🙂
    <3 Fontaine

  9. I read and loved History of Love so very much. I had conflicting feelings about The Dinner though it was an interesting and fast read. I read Column McCann’s previous book which was quite interesting. Looking forward to see how much you like the other ones I haven’t heard of. I just finished The Goldfinch and am now reading both The Lowland and listening to Elizabeth Gilbert’s The Signature of All Things.

  10. What is Left the Daughter was one of my favorite books last year! It continues to haunt me. And The History of Love? You should hear our library discussions about this one. People are very divided. I fall on the “loved it sooo sooo much” side, but not everyone agrees. And, glad you loved Wild. I might have shared this before, but my favorite quote from it: “Fear, to a great extent, is born of a story we tell ourselves. . . Fear begets fear. Power begets power. I willed myself to beget power.” I think about this a lot and I try to beget power within myself.
    I am reading a bunch of YA books for a presentation I’m doing this week, but I’m antsy to read Joyce Carol Oates’s newest book, Carthage.

  11. If you liked “The Girl You Left Behind”….wait until you read “Me Before You”…I read it in one day – could not put it down! Thanks for sharing your list!

  13. “The Book Thief” is just wonderful! And you should definitely read “I am the Messenger”! It’s one of my top 10 favorite books!

  14. Thanks for sharing your list! I’m a hardcore historical romance reader but I also enjoy literature and contemporary fiction. Like you, I am a fast reader and get really cranky and depressed without a regular fix. Once I start reading, I hate to stop until I’ve finished a book and, because I hate having unread books, will read two or three in a row, which means lots of really late, late nights!
    It was hard for me to get into The Book Thief…I started and stopped a couple times before finishing it. So glad I stuck with it. Looking forward to reading Wild as it has been recommended by a couple friends. The Girl You Left Behind is also on my to read list. I just read Taking Chances by Molly McAdams and will be picking up her Falling Ashes next.

  15. I’m currently reading an Elin Hilderbrand novel called The Love Season — all her books take place on Nantucket and it’s a nice counterpoint to the cold February weather. The title makes it sound like fluff (not that there’s anything wrong with that) but I find her characters to be very real. I started listening to A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra as an audio book, but the language is so gorgeous that I had to borrow the ebook from the library instead.

  16. The Book Thief is one of my all-time favorites. I remember it took me a day or two to process it too.
    I have The Dinner on my to-read list. I just finished The Paris Wife and now I really, really want to return to Paris.
    My next book is Me Before You.

  17. I agree, reading is essential. It’s a little break from reality, to allow me to come back refreshed. Lovely to see what you’ve been reading. Enjoy!

  18. I was totally the same with the Book Thief – I tried three times to read it initially but it didn’t gel (it didn’t help there was some yuck stuff happening at that time though either). But the fourth time? That was the charm. I made it a couple of chapters in and was absolutely hooked, it is the most amazing read. 🙂
    And it you want something a bit silly fun (and with some “fluffy raunch”) have a read of Wallbanger – I read it on my recent holiday and it was surprisingly great, there is a pet cat in it that is a total crackup! https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15858248-wallbanger?from_choice=false&from_home_module=false

  19. Glad you liked The Book Thief – it’s one of my favorites! Right now I’m reading –
    John Grisham – Sycamore Row – I’m almost done with it and so far I really like it – it’s not overly exciting but I like the characters and I’m curious about how everything ends up.
    Melanie Shankle – The Antelope in the Living Room – Haven’t started this one yet – but I read her book called Sparkly Green Earrings and I LOVED it – I think you’d like it, too. You should check it out!
    David Sedaris – Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls – super off the wall and funny. I like that it’s short stories so that I can just pick up and read it here and there whenever I have a minute – but don’t feel like I have to read it all the way through before starting another book.
    John Green – The Fault in Our Stars – haven’t started this one yet, either – but I did read the exert on Kindle and just had to buy the book after reading that.

  21. I just read Eleanor & Park. It’s sweet, heartbreaking, funny & set in 1986. All good things in a book 🙂 & The Goldfinch is great! It’s 700 pages so you really get to dive in.
    I loved Wild, too. I think Reese will do it justice. She really seems to love it (which I ‘know’ not because we are friends but because I follow her & Cheryl Strayed on fb 🙂 another Cheryl Strayed that is lovely & grabs you by the heart is Tiny Beautiful Things. Devastating & beautiful!
    Happy reading!

  22. The Book Thief is waiting for me on my Nook right now! I am just finishing up A Dog’s Journey by W. Bruce Cameron (I read the first book, A Dog’s Purpose, last year)– LOVE and a must read if you have ever owned/loved a dog. And your list for this month looks great! Can’t wait to read your reviews!! 🙂

  24. So excited about your book post! You just rock – your family, your travels, your decorating, your scrapbooking, . . . : )
    I LOVED Wild!!!
    Kevin L. is great. I think I own the “Have a New Kid By Friday”, but didn’t get around to reading it. It will be fun to see what you think of it.
    I have heard The Book Thief mentioned positively before and a tiny scan above seems to agree. Need to add it to my list on Pinterest.
    Thank you so much for the book post! I look forward to the next one!

  25. Hi Just wanted to say hello from Norway. Found your blog/instagram through JMG. Yes, I’m a scrapbooker/cardmaker too! Hope you don’t mind me following you.

  27. I’ve been reading Gillian Flynn. I know she’s a bit different and I don’t really like her characters, but the plot moves fast and I never see the twists at the end! I read both Gone Girl and Dark Places in January.

  29. I read ‘The Dinner’ last month- really makes you think about how you parent, what you would do for your children, and what you stand for.

  30. Just finished “What Alice Forgot” and loved it. Really loved it. A 39 year old woman bumps her head and awakens with no recollection of the past decade- her 3 children, her impending divorce, damaged and lost friendships, etc. Fantastic book. Now reading “The Kept” and enjoying it so far. Hubby is out of town, so I’m putting myself to bed early and spending a few hours with it. mmmm.

  31. I also tried and failed with The Book Thief but you have inspired me to try again. Having just given up on The Goldfinch 2/3 of the way in I might just try and find my rhythm with a few sure things first.. Also I spy a Paris guide, you are going to love, love, love it ! Already looking forward to hearing all about it.

  32. I loved Wild- more for the writing than for Cheryl Straed herself. She seems like a hot mess but she sure can write! I ltotally agree with you about Age of Miracles- really liked to but it was very depressing. I love JoJo Moyes too and I have The Girl You Left Behind sitting on m Kindle. Thanks for sharing your books; I read fast and all the time too. Lve seeing what other people are reading!

  34. OK Stephanie, you convinced me to get The Book Thief. I’ve been sitting on the fence about that one for awhile now. Read WILD last year .. loved it, then read all Cheryl’s books. Enjoyed them all. Can’t wait to see the movie. Never had heard of JoJO Moyes, but bought one yesterday. Would you consider this a good beach read? Off to Mexico March 1st.
    Love this idea for your blog!! You got me to read Gone Girl last year. Thought it was quite clever and fun. Loved it!

  35. I am so happy that you loved The Book Thief and Wild. They are two of my favorite reads. I just finished The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. It was an interesting read about the Channel Islands during the German occupation. Next up is This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper. Will let you know how it is. You have really created quite a wonderful conversation with this monthly post. Thanks to you and your blog readers, I have added a dozen books to my “To Read” list. Thanks, Stephanie!

  36. Love this thread! I am always looking for recommendations from you and your readers. I am reading “Family Pictures” by Jane Green. I just finished “The Last Original Wife” by Dorthea Benton Frank. Like both books! I bought “The List Wife” and “The Silent Wife” at Costco and “Reconstructing Amelia” at Target. They were recommendations on 2Peas Book Club and the 2Peas Reading threads.

  40. That would be HEAVEN. I owe you an email. Oh- and I miss you so much it’s ridiculous. It’s not often you meet a *true* friend of the heart and I hate that our time was so limited!

  42. I actually don’t read romance novels. I just get tired of the romance part believe it or not. And then I skip over those parts completely. And then the plot is usually lacking so….No. I don’t. 🙂 xoxo

  43. I have The Goldfinch but not sure it’s worth the effort. I’ve heard SUCH conflicting points of view on it and I don’t want to read something that long and time intensive if I’m going to hate it!

  68. Just wanted to swing by and say thanks for the Book Thief recommendation! I just finished the audiobook and was tearing up on my ride to work this am, it was very moving! Glad you mentioned that it starts slow, I almost quit in the beginning but remembered you saying how good it was and stuck with it. Well worth it, thanks from one book nerd to another 😉