{Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for my gifted review copy}
Was was/is your first book of 2023?
A book about how books bring us together was my first book of 2023 (which I thought was quite fitting!) and I LOVED it!
Have you heard ofNo Two Personsyet? I was first introduced to author @ericabauermeister when I devoured her novel The Scent Keeper back in the spring of 2019.
And I am excited to announce that spring of 2023 is looking good too, with her newest work of fiction making its arrival on May 2nd!
“One book. Nine readers. Ten changed lives. New York Times bestselling author Erica Bauermeister’s No Two Persons is ‘gloriously original celebration of fiction, and the ways it deepens our lives.’
That was the beauty of books, wasn’t it? They took you places you didn’t know you needed to go…
Alice has always wanted to be a writer. Her talent is innate, but her stories remain safe and detached, until a devastating event breaks her heart open, and she creates a stunning debut novel. Her words, in turn, find their way to readers, from a teenager hiding her homelessness, to a free diver pushing himself beyond endurance, an artist furious at the world around her, a bookseller in search of love, a widower rent by grief. Each one is drawn into Alice’s novel; each one discovers something different that alters their perspective, and presents new pathways forward for their lives.
Together, their stories reveal how books can affect us in the most beautiful and unexpected of ways—and how we are all more closely connected to one another than we might think.”
The premise of No Two Persons had the potential to be complicated and hard to follow, but it was anything but and I was engrossed from the beginning. I loved starting out learning about the main character, who after a challenging young adulthood goes on to become a reclusive best-selling author. The subsequent chapters tell the story of one reader at a time, and each is done so well.
I found myself both sad to see each chapter end, as well as excited to learn how someone else was impacted by the book next. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again- fiction has as much potential to impact its readers as nonfiction/personal development does (which I am a big fan of!) And this book did just that- I loved this uniquely curious and moving read and I highly recommend it!
QOTD: What was your first book of 2023? And what format was it? Audiobook, kindle or a hardcopy? I would love to hear and you can join in on the conversation over on @genthebookworm right now!
Disclosure: Some of the links above are Amazon affiliate links. This means if you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission that helps support this blog at no cost to you. Thank you!
While I don’t set New Year’s Resolutions, I do like choosing a word to focus on for the year ahead, and this year, my word is “connection”. And what better way to start off the year, than by sharing about some of the connections I have found here.
In addition to meeting so many amazing fellow book lovers I have also had the opportunity to connect with authors. And living in a very small state, I have really enjoyed meeting local authors, including these four! All of these authors are ones I connected with during 2022, and wanted to get on your reading reader for 2023!
“In the 1990s American workplace, survival of the fittest is sometimes less about clawing your way to the top than developing good camouflage. And Audrey Rohmer is doing her very best to blend in as an undistinguished middle manager. Uninspired by her job and uneasy about her father’s new marriage, Audrey coasts through the work week leaning on her “partner in apathy”–an admin assistant named Pooter–to keep her relationship with the married head of her department from becoming water cooler gossip.
But when an old family-friend-turned-Hollywood-superstar crashes on her doorstep in the midst of a publicity crisis, Audrey’s under-the-radar status quo gets upended, and the writing may literally be on the bathroom wall that secrets will find a way out.
Equally acerbic and heartfelt, In Light of Recent Events is both an endlessly engaging piece of storytelling and a fascinating commentary on workplaces, families, and fame.”
“What if society looked at addiction without judgment?
Unstitched shares the powerful story of one librarian’s quest to understand the impact of addiction fed by stigma and inevitable secrecy.
The opioid epidemic has hit people in communities large and small and across all socioeconomic classes. What should each of us know about it and do about it?
Unstitched moves listeners from feelings of helplessness and blame into empathy, ultimately helping friends, family, and community members separate the disease of addiction from the person underneath.
A stranger, rumored to be a heroin addict, repeatedly breaks into the small-town library Brett Ann Stanciu runs. After she tries to get law enforcement to take meaningful action against him – elementary school children and young parents with babies frequent the place after all – he dies by suicide. When she realizes how little she knows about opioid misuse, she sets out on a mission, seeking insight from others, such as people in recovery, treatment providers, the town police chief, and Vermont’s US attorney.
Stanciu’s journey leads to compassionate generosity, renewed faith, and ultimately a measure of personal redemption as she realizes she has a role to play in helping the people of her community stitch themselves back together.”
“A young, determined woman figures out life and love while staying true to herself in this whip-smart and genuinely witty debut.
Twenty-eight-year-old Hannah Spencer wants nothing more than to change everything about her life. After 10 years of living in cities, Nathan Wild has just moved back home to Vermont and doesn’t want to change anything about his.
Recently laid off from her depressing job in Boston and ready for a challenge, Hannah heads to Vermont for the summer to take care of her sister’s kids and do some serious soul-searching. There, against the stunning landscape of the Green Mountains, she embarks on an ambitious project: building a treehouse for her niece and nephew. As she hammers away, she formulates a plan to jump-start her life with a new job out West. But, will Nathan-next-door complicate her desire to change course?
A witty, romantic, and inspiring story of a young woman taking control and making tough choices about love and work to build the life she wants, The Treehouse on Dog River Road will have you rooting for Hannah every step of the way.”
“Tangled influences compel a young girl to hide her true nature until one weekend in her mid-20s when the truths she’s been suppressing call her to a crossroads she can’t avoid. Insulated from societal mores by her glamorous mother and humble father, six-year-old Beatrice-barefoot in ratty overalls-tunes into animals, senses the unspoken, and thrives. But when tragedy penetrates their rural Vermont bubble, Beatrice is thrust into a world that tells her she has no place unless she hides her depth, pretties up, and falls in line. She complies. Years later in San Francisco, incongruities in Beatrice’s life abound. What’s real is hidden. What’s false is celebrated. She numbs and sidesteps and, despite inner warnings, artfully outruns thoughts of her family, the girl she once was, and the woman she pretends to be. But when a cascade of events steers her back to her childhood home, a discovery in a rundown barn quiets her. In the still point, she sees her crossroads: should she carry on the known path or step into uncertainty? Her future rests on her interpretation of change. Anxiety and loss. Or hope and renewal. She must decide who she is. In beautiful, spare prose, The Wisdom of Winter explores the tenacity of misbeliefs, the magic in forgiveness, and the artistry of the natural world in healing the past.”
Question(s) Of The Day:
Do you have a word of the year for 2023? And do you have any authors that are local to you? Any that you have learned about on social media? I would love to hear over in the comments section of my @genthebookworm Instagram page.
Disclosure: Some of the links above are Amazon affiliate links. This means if you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission that helps support this blog at no cost to you. Thank you!
My August reading is off to a great start, and I am excited to share that I had my first #FiveStarRead of the month! 🤩
Mika in Real Life surprised me, in the best possible way. It’s been a while since I read a book about family that just felt so real, and human. Don’t let this cute book cover deceive you, because while this book is totally heartwarming, it’s also real and covers some heavy topics that made this book really stick. 💗
Mika is a Japanese-American woman in her mid-30s who’s life looks nothing like the one she had once imagined. Mike is at a low point when her daughter she had given up for adoption 16 years earlier, reaches out to her, hoping to connect. ☎️
In her quest to be a person her daughter Penny is proud of, Mika creates a few white lies which, of course, end up snowballing into something way bigger than she ever imagined. While this storyline seems predictable at first, it ends up being the foundation of a novel that captures the essence of what makes a parent and what makes a life. 📖
Not only is Mika endearing but she’s also beautifully flawed. Author Emiko Jean delves into how our own pasts have made us who we are, and how our families expectations have shaped us but also don’t make us. The Japanese American immigrant experience was woven in throughout this story. In addition, the side characters are multifaceted and add so much to this brilliant novel. 🙌
I can’t say enough about this book and I know it will stick with me for a long time. It was also picked as the @gmabookclub August selection and I highly recommend adding to your end of summer reading list. Is Mika In Real Life on your reading radar yet? ☀️📝
✨QOTD: What was your last five star read? I am discussing this one over on my @genthebookworm Instagram feed and I would love to hear your thoughts!
Disclosure: Some of the links above are Amazon affiliate links. This means if you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission that helps support this blog at no cost to you. Thank you!
I am absolutely a mood reader, but I also have a general idea of what I want to read during the next month or so. I am easily tempted by a shiny #NewBookReleases (and also like to share them here!) and I also have to be in the right mood for certain genres. 🔮
My overall reading during the last couple of years has not included many historical fiction novels, I just could not get into them. And so when I kept seeing some of my trusted book recommendation sources proclaiming this was a five start read, I knew Take My Hand would be my next read.
Given that this is a fictionalized account of actual events, this book proved to be a deeply powerful (and sometimes quite uncomfortable) look at inequality and the rights of reproductive consent. Books like this are so important, because as we all know too well, “…history repeats what we don’t remember”.
Take My Hand is deeply empathetic but also a blunt reminder of how we may feel like we know what’s best for someone else, when we haven’t ever walked a day in their shoes. It explores responsibility, the power of CHOICE and is a raw and unfiltered look at human rights.
I finished this book last week and I know it will truly be a book I will never forget. It would also make an incredibly powerful book club discussion. Is this new release on your TBR list yet? I discussed this over on @genthebookworm and would love to hear your thoughts.
Disclosure: Some of the links above are Amazon affiliate links. This means if you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission that helps support this blog at no cost to you. Thank you!
I had been anxiously awaiting getting my hands on this book for SO many months and let me tell you, it did not disappoint!
Author Emily Henry has a way of creating such likable and relatable characters- ones you quickly must find out more about. 💜
I really loved this small town romance as well as the focus on sisterhood, becoming our true selves, and a peek into the lives of book editors and agents.
I’m sure the author drew these parts of the stories based on her own experiences and it was really entertaining to read about that side of the books we all love and enjoy. ✍️
Emily Henry has officially become a must read author for me and I can’t wait to see what she writes next! Book Lovers publishes on May 3rd and I highly recommend adding it to your spring reading list! You can also order it through my affiliate link HERE.
As always, I discussed this book over on @genthebookwormand I would love it if you joined in on the conversation!
Disclosure: Some of the links above are Amazon affiliate links. This means if you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission that helps support this blog at no cost to you. Thank you!
It’s another great day of Kindle Book Deals including some of my favorite reads! If you are looking for a new book, or just want to stock up on kindle books for a rainy day, there are so many excellent choices today that you really can’t go wrong. You can click on the affiliate links below to access these deals!
Are any of these titles on your TBR List? Did you find any other ebook deals I should know about? I am discussing today’s Kindle reads over on @genthebookworm and I would love it if you joined in on the conversation!
Disclosure: Some of the links above are Amazon affiliate links. This means if you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission that helps support this blog at no cost to you. Thank you!
I have decided something, I am giving up on monthly recaps… I love sharing a recap of what I have read lately, but I think I need to stop trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Let’s face it, I am a disorganized reader. I read for pleasure, to escape, and oftentimes to learn, but what I don’t like is to read when it feels like pressure. I have enough of that in my “real life”, LOL.
After a slower last few weeks, there are finally some amazing kindle book deals today! I only like to share ones that I have personally enjoyed or that I am highly anticipating reading myself…which means it has been a little while since I have shared one of these posts.
So if you are looking for some amazing kindle reads, there really is something for everyone today – and even better, they are all $3.99 and under! We have had fall-like weather this past week in Vermont which has made me nostalgic for cozy weekend reading on our couch, and stocking up on kindle books is a great way to prepare for this season…
I am super excited to introduce you to my friend Stephenie AKA @reads.on.wednesdays today. She is a fellow boy mom and we have such a similar taste in books.
It’s another great day of Kindle Book Deals including some of my favorite reads! If you are looking for a new book, or just want to stock up on kindle books for a rainy day, there are so many excellent choices today that you really can’t go wrong. You can click on the affiliate links below to access these deals!
After a slower last few weeks, there are finally some amazing 
