Thank you for joining me here! I hope you enjoy this series and I’d love to hear from you about what you are reading these days.
Book #1:
Mouth to Mouth by Antoine Wilson (Length: 188 pages) This novella was one of Barack Obama’s favorite books of 2022 so when it was available at my library, I scooped it up. The premise is interesting here. The narrator runs into the protagonist while they are both waiting for a flight and the recognize one another as former classmates in college. The protagonist, Jeff Cook, decides to share with the narrator a single event that occurred after college graduation that literally changed the arc of his life. The event occurs right in the beginning, so this isn’t a spoiler; Jeff happens upon a man drowning in the ocean and saves his life. The rest of the story is about what happens from there. The writing quality here is EXCELLENT. The content of the story is a bit too navel-gazing for me, but that’s the entire point of the novel. The final line is fantastic, so read this just for that.
Book #2:
Crying in H Mart by Charmaine Wilkerson (Length: 239 pages). I have had this book on my TBR for a long time so when my book club picked it for our June selection I was excited to finally read this. I absolutely LOVE this memoir, about a woman whose Korean mother is ill with cancer so the author returns home to be with her in her last months of life. This is not depressing, as I thought it might be, but instead the author’s memories of her mother’s cooking, Korean culture and travel to Korea make this an uplifting exploration of and often complicated mother-daughter relationship. This is beautifully written and relatively short, so it’s a memorable fast read. Definitely pick this one up!
Book #3:
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi (Length: 227 pages). This must be my time for short novels. This is book one of a very popular series internationally. I listened to this one and I found it to be utterly charming and sweet. The premise is there is a small basement cafe in Tokyo that has been brewing coffee for over a hundred years. An urban legend starts that there is one magical seat in the cafe where patrons can travel back in time to visit someone who also is in that cafe. The catch? You have only the amount of time to spend with that person before your coffee gets cold. While this is a very different type of story, following four different people is so interesting and heart-warming. The narration on the audio is very clear and easy to follow–it took me under 6 hours to listen to, so keep this in mind for a road trip. Two thumbs up!
Book #4:
Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren (Length: 432 pages). Ahhh–I LOVE this sweet novel. I’ve read (and reviewed) a few of this author duo’s novels and my older daughter recommended this one to me. It’s my favorite so far. This novel toggles back and forth between the pre-teen/teen years and present day of one couple, Elliot and Macy. Primarily set in Northern California, alternating between a small town on the Russian River and then Berkeley/Bay Area, this is marketed more as women’s fiction rather than as a rom-com and I’d agree with the categorization. While there is the “don’t talk about why you’re mad so lose touch for years” trope here, once the reason is finally revealed it makes sense and I wasn’t as annoyed as I typically am with this scenario. I adore their writing, and the couple’s constant discussions about the books they’re reading as well as their “favorite word” that day are just adorable. Also, my dream is to one day have a book closet/mini-library in my home. Five stars for me, all day long.
Lora Terrill 