Another few books finished to share with you today. I’m officially 3 books ahead of my goal and I have two long flights this month to get some more checked off my list. The next one on my list is the official New York City book club selection, Americanah. 


Today Will Be Different by Maria Semple – (Goodreads/Amazon) Let me just say that I loved Where’d You Go, Bernadette. I was super excited to read more from this author. This is the 3rd book I’ve read and I think I just loved the first one. This one was kind of a dud for me. I gave it just two stars. I probably wouldn’t have finished it, but it was a quick read and I was holding out for a great ending… it just didn’t show up.

One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid – (Goodreads/Amazon) I read the description of this book. A woman is married and her husband dies, she grieves and finds love again, gets engaged and then finds out that her husband is still alive. I thought this might be a little too cheesy for me – like I should have waited for the poolside in the summer. After finishing it, I was pleasantly surprised. It’s not a book I would rave about, but it was entertaining and there were a couple moments in it that I loved. Definitely a good summer read.

And two that you should definitely read:


A Hope More Powerful than the Sea by Melissa Fleming – (Goodreads/Amazon) My sister in law recommended this book to me. We’ve been exchanging lots of ideas, articles and books since we met, but especially since the election. I’ll admit, I didn’t know too much about the conflict in Syria until late last year. This book is a true story of a Syrian refugee. I definitely recommend it.


A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman – (Goodreads/Amazon) Deep sigh. I just loved this book. It’s weird because there’s nothing super crazy or magical about this book. The story is about a cranky, old man named Ove (although not as old as I pictured him.) It’s about his daily interactions with his neighbors and how that changed the course of his life. I cried tears at the end and I’m still not sure if they were happy tears, sad tears or both.

My Grandma is my penpal and we send book ideas back and forth. When she wrote back, she told me that the book is just like “real life” but she totally understands why people love it. It made me think of her living by herself and how the everyday interactions could make an impact on her life. This is my favorite book I’ve read this year. I can’t wait to read more by this author.

So tell me, what are you reading? Have you read any refugee stories that you would encourage others to read? Have you fallen in love with Ove?

Linking up with Steph and Jana for my favorite book round up.