TOP TEN TUESDAY | BOOKS I NEVER REVIEWED

Around the time when I had my daughter I found reading hard. I read, but it was in fits and starts, with long breaks, and one book in particular took me months to read. I wasn’t blogging during that time, so I didn’t review what I was reading, so there are several I’ve read but not reviewed.

              

Ethel and Ernest (read July 19, 2017) – I actually read this more recently than the others on this list, but I never got around to writing a review. I’m not sure entirely why. I think maybe my reaction to it was almost entirely on an emotional level and I didn’t know how to talk about it objectively. I connected to this because, first of all, I love how quiet it is, and how real. The art if beautiful. But mostly it’s about Briggs’ parents and their lives would have taken a similar course through time as my grandparents, so I kept imagining what it was like for them. I didn’t really know them, so it’s easy for me to let my imagination see them in fictional characters. I loved this book, and I’d highly recommend it.

Vigilante (read March 23-June 23, 2016) – This was the book that took me months to read. I started it when I was pregnant I think, but it kept on for a while. It’s about a mom who sort of accidentally becomes a vigilante, and how she was affected throughout that journey. It’s not overly serious so it’s an easy read, but I thought it does give you a bit of insight into how it feels to be a mom and to be overlooked and invisible in society, to have people immediately dismiss you upon meeting you and never think you could be capable of doing anything interesting or exciting. I’m starting to get a sense of that feeling of not counting in society, so this book was a nice relief from that.

Wildflower (read February 19-25, 2016) – I’m not quite sure why I picked up Wildflower – I liked Drew Barrymore when I was in high school, but that was a long time ago, and I don’t really know anything about her. The book was fine, I think major fans would love it, but it didn’t make a huge impression on me.

Mad About the Boy (read September 29-October 5, 2016) – I used to love Bridget Jones – I read the first book when I was about 12 on a plane home from England – but I hadn’t gotten around to this one. I read it in the evenings while nursing my baby, and it was kind of the perfect book to read that way. It’s definitely more serious than the other books and some of it was really sad. But I’m glad I read it, and I think it’s one I’ll go back to one day.

              

Let’s Pretend This Never Happened (read March 3-11, 2016) and Furiously Happy (read February 25-March 3, 2016) – I read Let’s Pretend This Never Happened and Furiously Happy at times I was struggling. I picked them up during my pregnancy at a time when, looking back, I can now see was the onset of mental health issues. They both helped me feel less alone. Especially Furiously Happy, which I read while struggling with some mental health issues, and it was such an important book to me. I would recommend reading it, especially if you struggle with anxiety or if you know someone who does. Its main message is that it’s okay to be a little bit broken, and that no one needs to “fix” you. You need to find strategies to help you cope with the issue, because it’s not going to go away permanently. Even if one of those strategies is hiding in a bathroom. Totally fair.

Weird Things Customers Say In Bookshops (read June 19-21, 2017) and More Weird Things Customers Say In Bookshops (read October 21, 2017) – I didn’t review these two because, mostly, there’s not much to say aside from they’re awesome. They are short, quick reads that are exactly what they say on the tin. It’s a series of short interactions with customers that are amusing, ridiculous and sometimes infuriating. Any book lover will thoroughly enjoy these, and they’re great if you’ve got an hour or so and want something light that you can devour in one sitting!

              

The Crossing Places and 2.5 more in the series (read November 2018) – I read these at my mom’s recommendation. They’re a mystery series about an archaeologist who ends up working with the police in the Northeast of England. How there are a series worth of cases involving the expertise of an archaeologist is one of those mysteries that, unlike the storylines in these novels, will never be solved. I very much enjoyed them once I got past the premise of the first one (a small child had gone missing and now that I’m a mom, I really have a hard time detaching from books that involve anything bad happening to a kid). I didn’t finish the series because I found them similar enough that I got a little tired after the first three. Likewise I didn’t review them because I didn’t really know what to say about them separately, and I couldn’t talk about some of the plot points of the later ones without spoilers. So I just never did.

Our Spoons Came from Woolworths (read September 29-October 12, 2017) – I picked this one up when I was into British quaint books. This one I never reviewed because it left me feeling mostly flummoxed. It starts off a bit charming and droll, but then part way through some truly horrifying things happen out of nowhere, and I felt like I started off with one kind of book and without my consent, ended up in quite another. I didn’t hate the book, but I didn’t love it and don’t really know who I’d recommend it to.

Hidden In Paris (read January 10-27, 2016) – I read this one after a month of not reading. It was while I was pregnant and was having a pretty difficult time in various ways, and I thought it looked like it would be a light and easy read. Mostly it was, though I don’t really remember anything about it anymore, much less what happened in it. I think it was about a family who lives in Paris and the husband maybe leaves or something happens to him and the wife then takes in lodgers to pay her way. But who knows. I could be remembering it totally wrong.

Books 1-24 in the Agatha Raisin series (October 24-December 28, 2015) – This was my pregnancy reading. I was so sick for the first 4 months or so of my pregnancy, and so exhausted, that I could barely remain conscious. At a certain point I kind of just gave up on trying to read anything of substance. Luckily I discovered these and tore through them as a welcome distraction, reading one every couple of days. I loved the diversion, I loved the small-town setting and I enjoyed some of the stories more than others. They’re super easy to read, very quick and don’t require much mental effort, so they’re great if you’re under the weather. I’ll be forever grateful to Beaton for helping me get through a rough few months!

I’m glad this prompt came up, as I’ve been meaning to sum up the books I didn’t review for a while now. I feel better having finally done it! Have you guys read any of these? Which books did you read and not review, and why?

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly link-up feature created by The Broke and the Bookish and hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. Every week TTT has a different topic, and everyone who links up has to create a link of ten items that fit that topic. To see past and upcoming topics, go here.