Hi there! My name is Michelle Juden and I’m excited to share book ideas with you, I’ve always been a reader but lately I’ve become more obsessed with books. I love hearing what others are reading and what is on your to read lists so I thought I would share my thoughts. I don’t really like rating books because I feel that if I don’t like a book it’s probably because I wasn’t part of the target audience, not that it was a bad book. My opinions are strictly based on my enjoyment of the book so as you get to know my likes and dislikes better you can decide if you like similar books!
Of course, life gets in the way of reading every now and again so this blog may venture off the book path every once and while to review life– hope you don’t mind.
I love using Goodreads to see what others are reading and to track what I want to read and what I have read. In January, I set a Reading Challenge goal of reading 25 books this year since that is what I have averaged the last few years. I finished my 26th book of the yearly the end of June! I am shocked that I’ve read that many and hope I can sustain this reading pace because it’s been fun! I do give star ratings on Goodreads because it seems important there, but please know that I consider 3 stars to be a solid book that I am glad I read. Four stars means I really, really enjoyed it and five stars means I thought it was one of the best books I’ve ever read (I don’t give many 5 stars!).
I won’t start with by talking about all books I’ve read this year but I will highlight a few.
Beartown by Fredrik Backman – a fantastic story about how a small town handles a tragedy. As someone who grew up in a small town and who lives in a community that feels like a small town even though it is in the middle of a huge city, this story hit home. Sometimes it is hard to do the right thing even if it is the right thing to do. Buy on Amazon
I don’t usually read many thrillers, but I’ve read three this year – Need to Know by Karen Cleveland (buy on Amazon), The Family at Number 13 by S.D. Monaghan (buy on Amazon), and The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine (buy on Amazon). All solid books. Need to Know was my favorite of the three because it is about Russian spies and that kind of fascinates me right now!
Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate (buy on Amazon) was a beautiful, but heart-breaking story about orphans in Tennessee in the 1930’s and 40’s. I highly recommend it!
Earlier this year I read an advance copy of When Life Gives you Lululemons by Lauren Weisberger (buy on Amazon) and it’s now published! If you like books like The Devil Wears Prada or Crazy Rich Asians, you should enjoy reading this book this summer! It’s a light and quick read about 3 ladies who are mainly in Greenwich, CT during the story. They become a team when one of them is wronged by her husband and the tales of their daily adventures is very entertaining. Every neighborhood has its share of craziness but Greenwich is over the top in this book!
Let me know what you’re reading!
832 Book Review 