Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Nicola Yoon does not disappoint. This story is lovely and sweet and also profound of course. I enjoy reading her books and this was no exception.
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 Year of Yes – 163
I finally managed to get through my other 13 items and it did feel good to get to cross off items from my list. But the best part of today was getting to sit outside all day. After my morning exercise, I setup my journals, computer and food outside and did not go back inside all day except for bathroom trips and food. It’s almost 8pm and I am still sitting here and it’s just the right temperature. Fresh air and sunshine are food for my soul. Yes to summer and warm sunshine and fresh air. #yearofyes #karenikayearofyes
What an absolute joy of a book to read. This is the story of April Sawicki who finally manages to run away from her hometown where she lives practically alone in a motorhome as her dad moves in with his new wife. She gets on the road with a car, a few trash bags of belongings and a little money. Her journey is hard, long, harrowing, uplifting, and joyous in parts. Each time she meets people and gets attached, she ends up feeling like she has to move on for one reason or another. She’s always on the run, always untrusting, never wanting to let her guard down. But along the way, she can’t help but collect some people who love her for exactly who she is. This is a wonderful story of friendship, the families we make and the people we keep. I’ve enjoyed every single minute I spent with it. with gratitude to edelweiss and Gallery books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
“Extraordinary joy and sadness can come out of the ordinary every day.” What an unusual book. This short book is about a soul that gets a second chance and is put into the body of Makoto who has recently killed himself. This soul doesn’t remember what he did in his previous life to end up here but he has to live in Makoto’s life for a year to remember this own past so he can get to reincarnate into another body. “Thinking about it, this didn’t just apply to Makoto. Maybe the world was actually filled to the brim with things it was simply too late for, things we couldn’t take back.” As he slowly starts getting to know Makoto’s family and friends and life, he moves through a lot of feelings and while some parts of the book feel awkward to read I couldn’t tell if that was the translation or the original writing. “The idea of the Kobayashi family I’d had in my head gradually began to change color. It wasn’t some simple change, like things that I thought were black were actually white. It was more like when I looked closely, things I thought were a single, uniform color were really made up of a bunch of different colors. That’s maybe the best way to describe it.” I really liked how each character in the story was complex and not what they seem at first. How each of them have layers and layers like an onion. Like real people. And how Makoto has to reconsider everything each time he uncovers another layer. “If in the world below, you do end up wanting to curl into yourself once more, please remember this time you spent on your do-over. Remember how it felt to move freely without trapping yourself in your own expectations. And remember the people who helped you up.” Even though I was able to guess the ending, I enjoyed every page of this unusual book and really loved the author’s note at the end. with gratitude to netgalley and Counterpoint Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
I usually try to be generous and honest with my book reviews. I understand that writing a book is a huge commitment and often an effort that takes years and years. And I can tell many others loved this book. Alas, I did not. A book like this (where each of the three main characters is going through a journey where they realize what they think they want isn’t really what they truly want and what’s good for them) requires the reader to root for the main characters. It requires the reader to care about their dreams, to cheer for them when they win and want to hold their hand when they struggle. The characters in this book all made me cringe. One woman wants to date her good looking senior boss even though it’s super clear he’s a total jerk, but she can’t see beyond his looks. Another woman wants to lure the man she’s having an affair with by secretly getting pregnant. Even though this man is married and has a child. And yet a third woman hates her mother in law who was almost comically annoying in the book. All of these characters are petty, superficial and just annoying. Even though they each come to their senses in some ways, they behave abhorrently in most of the book and with the exception of a few select scenes (mostly with cher) I found myself getting more and more annoyed with them. This was not the book for me. with gratitude to netgalley and Bookouture for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
I love Max Barry. I’ve loved reading his books since Jennifer Government and Lexicon and I think it will be hard for me not to enjoy a book by him because I really like his writing style and his clever mind. This book was no exception. I have read many books that contain the multiverse theory over the last few years so the parallel universes part of the book wasn’t novel to me. But the idea of a serial killer going through each universe and hunting down the same girl was definitely an interesting twist. This is a fast-paced novel as all of Barry’s other ones. It’s hard to put down once you start it and even though it contained more violence and less character development than I’d prefer, I really enjoyed my time with it. with gratitude to netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 stars. This book is a lot darker and drearier than the blurb would have you believe. Dry humor isn’t usually my thing which is maybe why I didn’t find it hilarious at all. For most of the story, Gilda is depressed and not feeling her feelings which makes it hard for the reader to feel any feelings. Despite all that, I read this book in one sitting and enjoyed each of the characters. I think this book was actually an accurate representation of what it might feel like if the main character is depressed. Most of the books make that feel like there are big negative feelings, even though it’s usually an absence of feelings. It’s just that reading a book with the main character in that state is hard to enjoy. with gratitude to netgalley and Artia books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
while i really enjoyed O’Leary’s previous novel and was anxiously awaiting this one. It just didn’t do it for me. I couldn’t get attached into the characters enough and wasn’t really rooting for them the way a novel like this needs the reader to be. Still looking forward to her next one.
“It is following good mental health hygiene—which is the real self-care, although it’s so, so boring! It is cultivating contentment rather than chasing happiness.” I have never heard of Kelly Williams Brown before this book. I have not read her previous books and I think I was drawn to this book because it mentioned crafts. As a crafty person, I have to say that most of the crafts in this story are simple and not anything to write home about. But I still read them all because Kelly’s humor is all over them and it’s fabulous. I loved her voice throughout this whole book. The way she talks about her life and her mistakes and things that happen to her and the way she describes the people in her life (even those who abandon her or whom she abandons) is magical. She clearly is a person full of life and joy. “The guy tells me what he says he tells everyone he transports in my current circumstances: he hopes that I take this as an opportunity to rest, to reset, to try again. That it is never too late for anyone, and if I’m still here, there’s a reason. He guesses everyone needs a break every now and again. I should take the break and make the most of it. I should take it and use it to figure out what it is I’m still here to do.” I kept cringing for most of this book because she makes one mistake after another and really pushes her life into places where you want to shout “no, don’t do that!” and it’s like watching a car accident. but you also can’t help but be in love with her and root for her and want to wish her the very best. “I hadn’t realized how very dark and small my world had become. I’d dropped each joy, one by one, not noticing they were gone or really remembering I’d had them at all. I stopped listening to music, stopped dancing, stopped going on country drives. I stopped enjoying food, found no pleasure in good company, but instead a temporary lessening of misery, which made me a super-fun presence. Depression is so talented at turning you from a foodie into someone who wishes they could just eat a compressed nutrition bar every day, except about everything.” Because her personality is so colorful, her vitality is so obvious that you can’t help but wish well for her. And there’s so much emotion and truth in her words. There’s so much wisdom in the lessons she learns as a result of ongoing insanity that has become her life for a while. “So perhaps here is the point of it all, my precious plums: bad things happen for good reasons or bad reasons or no reasons at all, to all of us. There is nothing to be done about it except perhaps breathe, abide, and hold on to the faith that no matter how awful today was, you never have to live it again.” And in the end there’s so much peace and grace and self-compassion that you are left with nothing but hope for her and her life. I enjoyed every moment i spent with this story. I will say the chapters around suicide are hard to get through and can definitely trigger folk. with gratitude to netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 stars This was an interesting read about Daniel, who is confined to his home and ends up seeing a kidnapping. The story revolves around him and his life and there are many funny bits. The whole book is written with this light touch that’s representative of Daniel’s positive outlook in life despite his circumstances. And even though serious and scary things are happening, it also all feels a bit absurd. I liked this book and how different it was.  Year of Yes – 162
Alas I didn’t finish my other 13 Todo list items, instead I read another book today. And it was really good. Today was the last day of school for the kids. We’re officially in summer break. Here’s to endings and beginnings. Yes to summer. #yearofyes #karenikayearofyes  Year of Yes – 161
Tomorrow is Friday and I did two of the fifteen to do list items I had this week. But I did read five books. I went climbing and I’m going to the movies. I exercised. I hugged my kids and hubby. I talked to my mom and my sister. I talked to my friend Kelly. And there’s still tomorrow, maybe I can do the other 13 items then. Or maybe I’ll just read more. We’ll see. Yes to getting things done and yes to choosing to take a break. #yearofyes #karenikayearofyes |
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