The Good Luck of Right Now by Matthew Quick

First things first — Libby listed this audiobook as “humor.” But just because a book has a few humorous parts does NOT make it humorous (anymore than putting a kiss in a novel makes it a romance).

Sure, there are some humorous parts to this book, but only about 5-10% of it. The rest of it deals with emotional abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault, mental health, suicide, alcoholism, and more.

Please do not read this book thinking it’s going to make you laugh out loud and feel good about life.

That being said, I enjoyed this book as much as you can enjoy a book that deals with so many heart-wrenching, depressing topics. The innocence of the main character and his capacity for hope 100% saved this book.

I’m not sure I’ve ever read this book again, but I’m glad to have read it. If you can handle the tough topics and would like a little encouragement in your day, I recommend this book.

R-rated for many adult topics and the most f-bombs I’ve ever read in a single book. Get your copy here!

Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

I read this book as part of my annual reading challenge — a classic children’s book. Somehow I never read this as a kid (even though I loved the TV show), so I figured it was time.

This really could have been titled “a year in the life,” as it shows 5/6-year-old Laura’s life in the woods. As an child, I was fascinated by how the other kids played. As an adult, I loved hearing how the family prepped for life without electricity and modern amenities. It’s so different reading this type of book as an adult!

As with most classic books, the story style and structure is very different, but it’s still entertaining because it’s so different. I doubt I would have enjoyed this style as a contemporary adult novel, but I enjoyed this and can understand why it’s endured for so many years.

Rated G. Get your copy here!

I had a hard time settling into this book. The writing style was very nontraditional (odd points-of-view and emails), which made it difficult for me to figure out who the main characters were and how they fit together (it took a few chapters).

One of the things that didn’t work for me was the friends-to-lovers aspect of the story — I’ve never been a fan, and I didn’t know it would be in this book. I also prefer some time to get to know the characters, but this jumped right in with Alice in an awkward situation, but there was no real understanding why she was awkward. For me, that made it hard to care what happened.

The biggest turn out, however, were the history lessons in the emails. The two friends send emails back and forth — that makes sense. But then they start lecturing each other on politics, social justice issues, and even the Bronze age. Those things really had nothing to do with the story; it really felt like the author just wanting to talk about things.

After about six chapters, I flipped to the end. I read the last three chapters and really didn’t feel like I missed out.

More of a literary feel than genre fiction.

Probably PG-13, but I skipped a lot, so I’m not sure. Get your copy here!