Yes, I am sitting down to type this on *checks calendar* February 8th. I usually pride myself on writing my overviews closer to the end of the month–it’s actually really fun for me so I love doing it. But, look, I got distracted. On February 1, we went to the animal shelter and a few days later we brought home a sleepy sweetheart named Nala.

I’m just now realizing that there are so many topics that I want to write about–but I sat down here to write about my reading last month. And I don’t want this to become 500 pages of what’s been going on (though I fear I could do it). So for now, I’ll stick to reading. But if you are interested in learning more about Nala or what I’ve been doing since selling the bookstore, or how my reading life has changed since then or anything else at all–let me know. I’ve been feeling a strong pull back to blogging again as I’ve been consuming social media less and less these days.

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This year I attempted the StoryGraph’s January challenge (for the third year in a row) and for the first time ever, I read every single day in the month! And… I’m still going strong! I’ve never had a reading streak last this long before and I’m really excited that I am back in the habit of this hobby that I really love. Thanks StoryGraph!

Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See

I picked this one up after my friend Kory recommended it. I grabbed it from Watermark books in Wichita while my friend Shulah and I had a pre-holidays day together to eat mediteranian food and browse bookstores. It was perfect. Anyway, when I got home I saw that my copy had been signed! What a fun delight. And honestly this happens a lot when I shop at Watermark. I grabbed the latest Grady Hendrix a few weeks ago and what do you know? That one is signed too!!

Anyway, back to the book:

This book was surprisingly different for me. I usually shy away from fantasy or historical stuff because I’m already a slow reader and it can be tough to get into a whole new world that I’m not already familiar with. And this story is set in 1400’s China–I found myself Googling everything just to soak it all in and make sure that I knew what was going on. I liked that the author didn’t dumb anything down for the reader, though. You could either rely on context clues (which I could have easily done, I just wanted a crystal clear mental picture) or Google it–and Lisa See has a whole site devoted to things you’ll probably need to Google in this book.

It’s about Tan Yunxian, a real woman during the Ming Dynasty who learned medicine from her grandparents, back when there were no women doctors (and the relationship between women patients and male doctors was bonkers). The story dives into her close friendship with a local midwife as well as all the other women in her life and explores the challenges and benefits associated with being the only female doctor around.

My main issue is the title—Lady Tan’s Circle of Women—is kinda misleading. She doesn’t really gather her circle until the last 40 pages. I was hoping for more of that female bond throughout the book but it’s more about what prompted her to create or appreciate her circle of women. A title like “Lady Tan: Woman Doctor” would have suited the story better since she had such a long life to explore even after the book ended.

I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue

I discovered this book because I had about 30 minutes to kill on an extremely snowy day and decided to browse the public library. I find myself extremely overwhelmed at the library–unless there’s something specific I’m looking for. So I tend to just keep myself to the new release rack when I’m there. Well, on this particular day the new release rack was super picked over. But this book was there (as well as the next book I talk about) and I though it looked cute. I think we should all be judging books by their covers but that’s another post for another day.

I loooved this book. I read it SO FAST! Which—I recently learned is something that authors find offensive? But I just mean I was hooked from the get-go and I ignored so much of my life so that I could crawl into this book and live there for a while. The plot twists were GLORIOUS and made me giddy. 

Now, I am basically allergic to what I call “depressed single girl” books where the main character is so sad and makes terrible choices that I can’t even begin to bring myself to understand and then I’m annoyed at them and also kind of depressed, myself (like, My Year of Rest and Relaxation or Luster, for example). I was worried that was what this was going to be. Thankfully, there was so much humor and lightness around it all that it kept me from becoming depressed and I was never confused about Joleen’s motivations. 

To me it’s giving Fleabag meets Office Space—a woman trying her best with misguided (but hilarious to the audience) coping mechanisms just trying to survive in the wake of trauma and the utter boredom of her office job.

Five stars. I loved it so much. Also the office setting was impeccable. 

Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten

One thing about me is that I’m always going to turn my nose up at the concept of a celebrity memoir and then fall deeply, deeply in love with it.

I could write an entire post about all I loved in this book just like I did with Stanley Tucci’s. I could not believe how much I related to Ina’s story. From her childhood, raised by a distant primary parent. To meeting and marrying Jeffrey and spending the rest of her life being surprised at all that she’s capable of when she’s supported by someone who loves her and wants her to be her whole self. To diving all in on buying a store–something she knew absolutely nothing about at all. And then, finally, the utter weirdness and gutwrenching boredom after selling that store and then having nothing to do–and thinking, “Welp. That was the cool thing I did with my life. I guess I’m done doing cool shit, now.” Ina and I have SO MUCH IN COMMON!

I wish I could write a letter to Ina Garten thanking her for this book from the depths of my soul. I mean, I suppose I could. I would do anything to hold her hands and look in her eyes and say, “Oh my god. Thank you. Thank you for going before me and showing me that I’m not done. I’m not even close to done. I’m only 42 and I don’t have much to do right now in this particular season of my life but I have a lot of life left and a lot of time to make incredible things happen for me and people around me.” I wonder what my version of multiple cooking shows, dozens of cookbooks, and buying and renovating a Paris apartment will be? I can’t wait to find out.

Okay. Those were the three books I read this month! What did you read??

DNF this month: My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite. There was actually nothing wrong with this book at all. It’s just that after it took me forever to read Lady Tan, I was looking for something extremely punchy and a quick whodunit. Well… guess what. The “who” who dunit is listed in the title. And for some reason, I didn’t put two and two together. So this was less of a mystery–which was just not what I was looking for in that exact moment.