books on tap: boo

Y'all, I don't know where October went or what even happened. From a yoga retreat to Hurricane Central, husband out of town for two weeks, furniture market, and heaven knows what else, I. am. exhausted. I'm looking forward to going to France next month because the idea of 7-8 uninterrupted hours on a plane where all I have to do is read or sleep sounds divine. But despite all the crazy, I did manage to get some stuff read this month. Check out the books below - some good ones, some duds. Ah, well.

xoxo, and happy Halloween!
E

Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell. Research is all well and good. But our instincts can tell us an awful lot. Our bodies show signs of understanding the true nature of things well before our minds catch on. This book explores the various ways your intuition works, for better and for worse. It's an absolutely fascinating psychological study, with plenty of real-life examples. The bottom line? Tests, research and data don't necessarily lead to better results. Trust your instincts. I'm glad mine said to buy this book. 4/5 stars.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, by Rachel Joyce. A guy receives a letter from an old friend saying she's dying of cancer, and he decides to walk the length of England to go see her. Sounds plausible, right? Although not as far-fetched as the description makes it seem, and ultimately redeeming at the end, this book plodded along in the middle. You knew there were issues, but weren't sure how they factored in. A little less ambiguity would have been nice. It's almost four stars, but I knew I wouldn't read it again. 3/5 stars.

The Forgotten Garden, by Kate Morton. This book has been hanging around my house so long I don't even remember when or where I bought it. I could have put it off longer, because it's not really a winner. It's way too drawn out, and I got confused about who was related to whom, and how. There was no urgency to the novel, and the constant jumping between time periods and narrators got really old after a while. Basically, there's just this quasi-mystery that two of the three narrators are trying to solve, while the third one one is who it's happening to, long ago. Frankly, it's a little dull. 3/5 stars.

To Capture What We Cannot Keep*, by Beatrice Colin. I immediately gravitated toward this book because of the cover. Obvs. And while the descriptions of Paris were beautiful enough that it made me thrilled I get to go back next month, the actual story line plodded along. There wasn't enough backstory on the characters to understand why they made the choices they did, and there was no urgency. I should never have read Story Genius - it might help me with my own writing, but it's ruined all other books for me. I can tell in a heartbeat when a novel isn't hitting that "third wire," and this one isn't. 3/5 stars.

The Yellow Envelope*, by Kim Dinan. Holy mother of get out of my head. This woman IS me - granted, she lives in Oregon, among other differences. From the first chapter where she described her moment of clarity when she realized she'd been working for a life she was "supposed" to have, when what she really wanted to do was travel the world and write, I was hooked. And she even has a husband named Brian. I mean...seriously. Her struggles of discovering herself and her place in her marriage were both nerve-wracking and inspiring, all at the same time. This is a great book. 4/5 stars.

The Unexpected Everything, by Morgan Matson. Cute young adult romance, complete with puppies? You have my vote. Politician's daughter Andie thought she was going to a prestigious pre-med summer program, but when a scandal rocks her dad's career, she was withdrawn from the program. Enter a new job walking a lot of dogs, a cute reticent author, and four good friends. While Matson's writing is a little too wordy at times, the sentiment comes across loud and clear. Another good YA book from Matson. 4/5 stars.

The Cozy Life, by Pia Edberg. This book covers the Danish concept of hygge (pronounced "HOO-gah"), which centers on bringing joy into your life through a minimal, simplistic, cozy style of living. Um, where can I sign up? It's the perfect time of year to read about this. As a lover of old weather, blankets, hot beverages, candles, books, and quiet alone time, I think I could happily pull off living like a Dane. This book is very short and a little simplistic, but it's a good introduction into the world of hygge, and it's a great jumping-off point for getting started to bring hygge into your home. 3/5 stars.

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*Disclaimer: The titles notated with a star (*) above were given to me for free by either NetGalley, BookLook Bloggers, or Blogging For Books, in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
**Also - the books linked in this post are affiliate links, meaning that if you click on any of the book links and order one (or any) of them through Amazon, I may earn a small commission. B thanks you in advance for helping to support my psychotic book-buying habits.