I have felt a lot this year that the books I’ve gravitated towards have been different than what I have read in previous years, but I haven’t minded that haha! I love broadening my horizons and just reading things I might not normally choose. I have loved getting into British murder mysteries, but I also read a book about food this month and also a teenage futuristic drama series haha! I know, I started reading it and was like this is kind of dumb, but it was also very different than my norm and easy to read, so I just kept going and overall enjoyed it as just pure entertainment. See what you think!
I have loved this little British murder mystery series, it just makes me feel like I’m walking the streets of London again, albeit in a completely different time period haha! This second book of the series, “A Lady’s Guide to Gossip and Murder” was a lot slower than the first and third, it wasn’t my favorite overall and had a lot of conversation to follow rather than action, so it just took me longer to finish it. It was still interesting overall, Frances finds out a good friend has been murdered, and ends up taking over a scandalous gossip column in the newspaper to draw out the murderer.
I have been having a number of health problems this year, I think mainly attributed to just being at that point in my life where I am done having my babies but my body has taken a huge hit in so many ways, plus I think being too restrictive/selective with my diet over the years has been an issue as well. Sometimes I think we just need to eat when we are hungry and eat what we are craving! I know the stress of last year didn’t help either! I have been reading so much just trying to decide how I should eat to support metabolic processes since I’m about 99.9% sure I’m dealing with thyroid and adrenal gland issues… (don’t worry, I’m on a waiting list for an endocrinologist here!) Until I can get in with him though, I’m doing my best to eat in a way to support my body and pro metabolic eating has definitely been the answer for me at this point. It’s funny how at different stages of life your body may need different things, and just learning to listen to your body is so important! I love “Food Rules,” I read it years ago right after I had Jackson and I found myself returning to it this year as well. So many basic things we can do to help ourselves eat well, enjoy eating and just be more mindful eaters. This is a really quick read, I want to say like 45 minutes! Highly recommend this one!
The third book in the series was “A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Murder.” I really liked this one! Frances and their friends and family move out to George’s family estate for Lily’s wedding in the countryside, and what begins as fun outings and dinners, turns into mysterious “accidents” occurring one after the other. I enjoyed reading about Frances and George working together to solve the murder and mysterious occurrences again!
I really liked “The Bookish Life of Nina Hill,” it was a cute easy read! Nina, who is a voracious reader with an incredible memory, works at a book store and participates in a local trivia league. She is given notice that her father has passed away and left her something in his will. She has never met him, and aside from her mother who is always gone traveling for work, she really has no family. It was a good story about her finding a new family, learning more about herself, finding love, working out big changes in her life and taking chances. It has been a little while since I have read this one but I do remember there being some language here and there.
I really surprised myself with this series, it is definitely not my normal genre. I had read American Royals and Majesty earlier this year by Katherine McGee, so when I saw that she had another series, I just thought I would see what it was about. “The Thousandth Floor” was about a huge social paradigm of people all living in this massive tower in New York city. This is an “in the future” kind of read, I think in the 2100s, where these incredibly massive super towers have started popping up in major cities around the world. Whole cities exist inside, equipped with technology you have never dreamed of. It was a lot to take in a consider, just how technology influences us so much as a society now, I can’t imagine what it will be like then. Some of this book felt really unbelievable, especially how so many of the teenagers ran around with little to no parental supervision yet had hoards of money, some even living alone because their parents had passed away. Lots of relationship drama in this one, an accidental murder, black mail…the list goes on. One thing I didn’t care for is that this author does seem to have a tendency to always have some kind of homosexual relationships in her story lines, I noticed that in her other books too, and then there was some language too. Bottom line is that it wasn’t my normal pick but it was so easy and it did draw you in, so I just kept reading haha. I feel like this wouldn’t be on my list of “oh you have to read this!” to my friends, but it’s worth mentioning if you want something that just really makes you think about a futurist kind of society.
I loved this meme so much! It is so true when you finish reading a series you just don’t know what to do next! Sometimes I will take a break for a day or two to let it settle in! Check out the links below for my other reviews this year and my Book tab above for reviews from previous years!
That book “Food Rules” sounds interesting. I’ve been trying to work on my diet ever since getting the pre-diabetes diagnosis. What we put into our bodies really does make a difference. Mom
You do such a good job with that mom, you encourage me to take care of myself too!