Room (Emma Donoghue)

Why I have this book: My friend recommended it, so I borrowed the audio version and the ebook version from the online library. (They were both available.)

I gave this book four stars on Goodreads. The story is narrated by the five-year-old boy in the story, so that was interesting in the audio version. They also had other narrators for multiple characters, so that was interesting, as well. I actually enjoyed reading it better than listening, but I did use both versions.

I was able to easily get engrossed in the story, and I felt like I could understand the perspectives of all the characters (except "Old Nick," but it would be troubling to be able to relate to him). The author did a great job with the writing and character development. The relationship of mother and son is beautiful and complicated.

It was interesting to discover that she wrote the book The Wonder. We watched the movie a few months ago, and I had no idea it was based on a book. Very different story and setting than Room.

This book is about a young woman who was abducted and held captive for seven (?) years. She is repeatedly raped during that time, but it's not described. There is the implication that she was at times also physically abused. I don't remember if there's any swearing. If there was, it was infrequent. At one point, an abortion is mentioned, but you don't hear anything else about it.

From the Embers (Aly Martinez)

Why I have this book: I saw it recommended online, so I bought it on a day I got double points for the Kindle Rewards program or something.

Anyway... I was really torn on how many stars to give this book. On the one hand, the author is a good writer. The story flowed well, it was easy to like the main characters, there was more depth than a typical "smut book," and I didn't see what was coming.

Haha... I didn't know it was a smut book when I bought it, but yeah. Definitely more detail than I am used to in my reading habits. I can do without all that, and I can do without the bad language especially in regards to the "love scenes."

Overall, I enjoyed the story, so I did give it three stars. I don't think I'll read anything else of hers, though, because I just didn't need all the extra details and language.

Not clean. (See above.) Also deals with death, adultery, and unmarried sex.

But Jesus: A Conversation (Autumn McAlpin)

Why I have this book: I saw it on IG and it looked good, so I bought it on Kindle.

There was one major typo (I notified the author because it was something that could detract from the message of the book, and she kindly responded that she was going to get in touch with her publisher about it), and there was a downloading problem with it, as well. Not sure what that's about... I was able to read it on my Kindle app but not my Kindle device.

Otherwise, I really loved this book. I gave it five stars on Goodreads. I wish every person would read it... not just members of the LDS Church (although certainly each member). It's a message that is needed in our world.

Clean.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull (Richard Bach)

Why I have this book: My son-in-law recommended it to me, so I bought it on Kindle. 

I liked Part One of the story. I was thinking I'd give it four stars as I finished that section. It kinda went downhill from there, though, and I ended up giving it two stars. It felt a little "out there" as it went on. I didn't really understand what was happening. Haha...

As I write this, I'm waiting for my SiL to respond to my Polo about his thoughts on the book so I can see why he liked it so much.

Clean.

Baring Witness: 36 Mormon Women Talk Candidly about Love, Sex, and Marriage (Holly Welker)

Why I have this book: I saw it recommended on Amazon, so I borrowed it from the ebook library.

I gave this book four stars on Goodreads. It was interesting to hear thirty-six perspectives on how Mormonism played into the marriages of the contributors to this book.

The intro was very long and kind of boring for me, but the majority of the stories were engaging. Some of the women who contributed their stories were still members of the LDS Church, some had left. Some married in the temple, some didn't (for various reasons). Some are still married, some are remarried, some are divorced, one or two were widowed. 

What I found so fascinating was seeing how some women were super influenced by their religious upbringing in how they assumed their roles as wives and mothers. Other women bucked the system and lived outside of traditional roles in their marriages. This was true, as well, in the years of dating or in deciding when or whom to marry. Some were stronger in facing their challenges because of their religious beliefs, and others found strength when they left those beliefs behind. I could relate to some more than others, and sometimes it was difficult to see in writing the feelings I had as a Mormon wife and mom.

Clean. I don't remember if there was any swearing. Some women did talk about their sex lives as it related to their marriage, but it wasn't graphic.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine (Gail Honeyman)

Why I have this book: I kept seeing it recommended online, so I finally borrowed the audio version from the online library.

I really, really liked this book. I wanted to give it five stars on Goodreads, but I'm trying to reserve five stars for the most life-changing books. Haha... I'm not really sure how to determine what gets five stars, but this one was so darn close. I'd give it 4.7 if I could, but I guess I'm sticking with four.

Oh, shoot. I think I'll just give it five stars. I'm going to round up.

Maybe I would feel like it's four stars if I had read the book, but the audio version was excellent. The narrator did a great job. It was so easy to slip into the setting, and she managed the male voices perfectly. I was super impressed.

Such a sweet, fun, sad, and happy book.

There were a handful of F-words and plenty of mild swear words. Drinking, child abuse, child death, domestic violence, and a little bit of sexual content (nothing graphic or even actually happening in the book... it's more in memory or in a character thinking about it). It sounds pretty depressing, but the overall tone of the book is light and happy somehow.

Greenlights (Matthew McConaughey)

Why I have this book: I had a couple people recommend the audio version, so I used an Audible credit to purchase it.

I gave this audio book four stars on Goodreads. Matthew is an amazing storyteller, and he does an excellent job in the narration. I have to wonder if it's all true because it does seem too crazy to be believable at times.

It's weird to me that he had the type of childhood he did. It sounds more like Tom Sawyer times than the 70's and 80's as far as the adventures he had. Is it a Texas thing? It's nothing like my childhood even though we're in the same generation.

It was an entertaining (almost) seven hours. 

Like most people in the world now, Matthew uses a lot of F-words and other profanity. He talks about masturbation like it's not a private thing, and he mentions wet dreams a few times. So yeah, not so clean, but in some weird way, he gets away with it. Haha...