A Mixed Bag of Books

For those people who have school age children, I hope you are doing well with the school holiday juggle. We are lucky that we have fit and healthy grandparents nearby to help us out.

This week I am going to do some smaller reviews of a random assortment of books which I have read and enjoyed this year.

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee – this was a book club read and seemed to have mixed reviews from those within our book club. I think this is one for those people who enjoy literary fiction. This book follows four generations of a poor Korean immigrant family through the struggles of Japanese colonisation. It has themes of family, faith, fate and identity. I actually already want to re-read it because I think there is so much to appreciate with this one. Beautiful writing! If you are interested in Korean history, and don’t mind a book that is a bit longer, this one is for you.

The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom – this was recommended to me by a friend, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It explores the unexpected connections of people in our lives.

This book is about Eddie, a wounded war veteran who has spent his life fixing rides at an amusement park. He feels as though he has lived an uninspiring life. On his 83^rd birthday, he dies as a result of a tragic accident, as he tries to save a little girl. He awakes in the afterlife, where his life is explained to him by five people, some people are those he knows, others are seemingly strangers. This one is philosophical, spiritual and will make you think. I don’t think you need to believe in God or be religious to enjoy this one.

The Book Binder of Jericho by Pip Williams – Williams also wrote The Dictionary of Lost Words. I read this book purely because I loved The Dictionary of Lost Words so much! This book is about twin sisters Peggy and Maude, and is set in England during the Great War. They both work at the book bindery, and Peggy dreams of spending her days gaining all of the knowledge contained in the books. Peggy represents the voice of many women of the time who were limited to certain paths because they were women, and explores the impact of war on the place of women. If you enjoy historic fiction with strong female protagonists, this one is for you.

Finally this week we have Another Life by Kristin Hannah. I have never read a book by Hannah that I didn’t enjoy, and this is her latest offering (she has another coming out in early 2024 which I am looking forward to!) I should probably work my way through her earlier books.

Angie DeSaria has spent many years of her life trying to have a child. Her marriage has fallen apart under the strain and she returns to her small home town to help out in the family restaurant. (Note that if you are struggling with infertility, this may be a hard read for you). Lauren Ribido is a senior in high school. She dreams of leaving her small town, an Ivy league education, and escaping her troubled mother. Their paths cross when Lauren is looking for a part time job. One is looking for the love of a mother, and the other is looking for the love of a child. There are lots of happy and sad moments in this book. I don’t think it is necessarily the best book by Hannah but I enjoyed reading it and I kept on reading and reading because I really wanted to see what was going to happen. I really liked both of these characters – Hannah does character development well. A nice, and easy read.

This really was a bit of a mixed bag of books wasn’t it? I do have quite varied taste! I like mixing it up and I don’t often read the same type of book after one another. I think it helps to keep reading interesting … because life is too short to read bad books.

P.S Today is my birthday so I had to be extra organised and wrote this when I had child free time a couple of weeks ago. My birthday self is very happy that I was organised! I may even be having some birthday bubbles as this arrives in your inbox. Here’s hoping! Cheers!