Life By Kristen

5 on Friday: Recent Books

Thanks to my newfound love of audiobooks, I’ve been pushing through my reading list fairly fast lately. Here are 5 fairly recent books that I recommend:

1. I Was Told There’d Be Cake– Sloan Crosley. This collection of essays was great in audiobook format- it was read by the author and her various essay topics were witty, sarcastic, and thoughtful. I especially enjoyed her musings on weddings and being a bridesmaid.

2. Living History– Hillary Rodham Clinton. This massive book ( something like 590 pages) has been on my book list for almost as long as the book has been out. I’ve picked it up at the local library more than a few times, but was either never quite in the mood to read it or just couldn’t get through it. It was perfect as an audio book for this reason ( though I think there were like 22 discs or something). I didn’t particularly enjoy the reader ( there is a version with Hillary herself reading, but it was out and I wasn’t in the mood to wait), but I learned a lot about Clinton’s life I didn’t know ( that she participated in the federal Watergate investigations as a law student, for example) and I very much appreciated her honesty and candidness regarding the various activities of her husband and the strains on their marriage.

3. The Language of Flowers– Vanessa Diffenbaugh. HIGHLY recommend this book for a number of reasons- great characters, short chapters, and the kind of story that just leaves you wanting more. This was a recommendation from a former teacher of mine ( one of my favorites- see tomorrow’s post) on facebook & I got lucky to find it on the new arrivals shelf at the library. The parts about the language/meaning of flowers was interesting enough to me, but really I was just captivated by the life of the main character, Victoria.

4. The Knitting Circle– Ann Hood. Back in high school I read a few books by Hood after she spoke at my high school honor society’s induction ceremony. She’s a local writer and many of her titles have been on my reading list throughout the years. This book is her fictionalized telling of the the time in her real life after her daughter dies. Even though I didn’t care for the knitting parts, the book has really rich characters and it was a quick read, even though the subject deals a lot with sadness and loss.

5. The Twelve Tribes of Hattie– Ayana Mathis. This book was on my reading list, but not something I thought I’d be reading any time soon. It was an Oprah’s book pick recently, and while I like Oprah and am a subscriber to her magazine, I haven’t always loved the books she recommends. What I liked about this was the historical fiction aspect and the span of characters throughout time, but overall, it left me feeling a little meh and leaving me with more questions about characters and circumstances than I like at the ending of a book.