All Rain, No Mud: The Secret to Happiness in a Stormy World (Sharon Larsen)

Why I have this book: I think I saw a clip of the author speaking at Time Out for Women, looked her up, and saw the description for her book. This was a year or more ago. I didn't buy her book then, but put it on my Wish List and recently, when I had a gift card to Amazon, I bought it!

So... this book is only 80 pages long and is still about $10. I knew it was short when I purchased it, and of course, I knew how much I was paying, but I hoped it would be worth it. Sometimes a little book can pack a big punch.

I enjoyed some parts more than others. Some chapters seemed mostly like a memoir of her childhood, and while there were lessons learned and shared, it wasn't really what I was expecting. There were a few nuggets that were thought-provoking for me, and I enjoyed it in general... but honestly, I was disappointed that it didn't have a more direct and substantial message throughout.

I don't regret reading it, but I wish I would have paid under $4 for it. :)

Clean.

The Yearbook Trilogy (Allyson B. Condie)

The Yearbook
First Day
Reunion

Why I have these books: A friend recommended the first book in the series years and years ago. Somehow it always stuck in my mind, so I finally decided to just buy them. The Deseret Book e-book is way cheaper than Amazon... like $15 cheaper, so I used the DB app to read them.

Note to self: Never download a book longer than 100 pages on the DB app. You just enjoy reading on the Kindle so much more than on your phone!!!

So altogether, this trilogy was over 1100 pages long. It was okay. Interesting enough that I wasn't necessarily forcing myself through it, but not interesting enough that I couldn't put it down. I think the ideal age for a reader would be around high school age, so that could be part of it. (I am WAY past high school age.)

I don't hate that I read it, but I'm kind of glad I'm done so I can move on to something else.

Clean.

The Art of Hearing Heartbeats (Jan-Philipp Sendker)

Why I have this book: It was the scheduled book club book for this month. I guess they decided to change it last month, but I had already bought the Kindle version, so I read it anyway.

I liked it. It felt a bit like a legend or fairy-tale kind of story, especially as it ended. But it was very engrossing and had a magical kind of atmosphere to it to me.

Overall, it was well-written and creative (although the scene at the beginning when the mom is describing how she met/married her husband just seemed too scripted and not really how someone would talk in a normal conversation.) It is the kind of book that creates a feeling that kind of sticks with you for a while after you finish it.

There are a couple of swear words and a couple of scenes of sexuality that are mild-to-moderately descriptive. 

Tying the Knot: A Newport Ladies Book Club Novel (Josi S. Kilpack, Annette Lyon, Heather B. Moore and Julie Wright )

Why I have this book: Because it is the last book in the Newport Ladies Book Club series.

Well... I liked it well enough. It was an enjoyable read and it was fun to get "caught up" on the characters from the other eight books. It was a bit on the shorter side (176 pages), so not a lot of depth could really go into each of their stories.

Some of it was a little corny, and (spoiler alert) there was a little too much of the romantic happy ending for pretty much everyone. It just didn't seem very realistic when at least some of the books up to this point weren't even focused on romance and were more about other life challenges. It was kind of a lighthearted ending for what started out as a series with a little more substance. I was a bit disappointed in that, even though the book itself kept my interest.

Clean.

Sense and Sensibility (Jane Austen)

Why I have this book: Because once upon a time, I was enthralled with reading classics. And I like movies made from Jane Austen stories... AND our little book club was reading it, so it was time to jump in.

I actually have the hard copy of this book, but I downloaded the Kindle version anyway, because I love my Kindle Paperwhite. :)

Okay, so it took me a while to get through the book. I even stopped reading it from time to time and read other books in between. It's not that I didn't enjoy it... I just didn't enjoy it so terribly much that I couldn't put it down. I also admit to watching the movie first (which changed the storyline a bit... it was the one with Emma Thompson and Hugh Grant) so that I could follow the story better.

 - some of the paragraphs are soooooooo long and rambling. I found my mind wandering during those long, rambling paragraphs and not absorbing any of it. Then I had to read it again. And sometimes again.

- the characters also rambled. Half the time they lost me in what they were trying to say. Just say it. Be quick about it. No need to ramble on and on with half finished thoughts...

- I had a hard time keeping some of the characters straight. Lady this and Lady that and Mrs. (husband's name) and Miss and Mr. and is that a first name or last name? and so on. SO glad I watched the movie first. It made it a little easier, although the movie changed things up a bit.

So, all-in-all... it's Jane Austen. The stories are funny and I love how they make light of that uppity society. (I found myself smiling at that from time to time.) I just didn't find it easy to get lost in the reading of it. I'm glad I pushed through, though.

Clean, although they did use the Lord's name as an exclamation of emotion often.