Judy Best

I never had an iPod, because I’m not that into music. I love all music, so whatever is playing will usually please me. My Kindle on the other hand … I absolutely love the convenience of reading on my Kindle, especially as we travel on vacation without having to carry an extra bag with all my reading. I love to read.

As I’m planning to leave on our vacations, I always ask my Facebook and Twitter friends for book recommendations, and they always come through for me. So, as I traveled home this time, I decided it was time to give back, with my own review of what I read during my travels. I loaded more books on my Kindle than I read, so if you don’t see the book you recommended here, it may just mean I haven’t read it yet. Here’s what I did read:

The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins – The person who recommended this book to me said, that if I liked Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, I would like this book, too. Gone Girl was recommended by someone for my travels last year, so I eagerly added this to my Kindle selection. When I finished reading this book, I was sad and disappointed. Granted, this book had lots of twists and turns, but I felt little to no compassion for the characters, and I believe the author missed the mark in building character depth that would draw me in. I dragged myself through chapter after chapter of this book, believing at some point, I would really care about any of these characters. I never did, and I regret this purchase. However, some of you may have really enjoyed it, so feel free to defend this book. 2 stars, a plot filled with sad useless characters.

Defending Jacob, William Landay – Wow, what a story. And, unlike The Girl on the Train above, I cared so deeply about these characters, I almost cried at the end. The story about a teen charged for a murder that his deputy assistant prosecutor dad was investigator, and how this family handles the trial and aftermath, within a community they have loved. 4 ½ stars, great plot, love the characters, could not put this book down until the end.

What Alice Forgot, Liane Moriarty – Imagine you had an accident, lost the last 10 years of your memory. For me, that would mean my son would still be living at home without joining the Marines, and my daughter would still be home without moving to live in Washington, DC. We would be living in our Jacksonville, Arkansas home, attending a different church from the one we attend now. And, I would not be a travel agent yet. This is exactly what happens to Alice … she loses ten years of her life, and her last memories were being happily married and pregnant with their first child. She doesn’t remember her three children, and she has no clue why she and her husband are in the process of getting a divorce. This was just a fun book, with people just like you and me, who can be both delightful and incredibly annoying, depending on the moment. 4 stars, a feel-good easy-to-read story, somewhat predictable, but it made me smile!

One Lavender Ribbon, Heather Burch – Adrienne Carter relocates to Florida following a bitter divorce, and finds a bundle of letters tied with a lavender ribbon in the Victorian home she purchases to restore. She begins to read the letters and feels compelled to find the person these belong to, and a beautiful story evolves in relationships from both the past and current days. This was another easy read, not a deep story, and sometimes the writer got bogged down in Adrienne’s insecurities from her divorce. 3 stars, just because it made me smile.

The Giver, Lois Lowry – This book turned out to be a series of four, and once I’d read the first book, I had to quickly download the next three books, The Messenger, Gathering Blue, and The Son. I’ve only read the first and second books, and the story feels incomplete without the others, so I can’t give you a complete review on this book yet, but I enjoyed the first book enough to invest in the other three. The story is about a future society that shuns and discards the weak and broken, living in a literally colorless world, and each additional book reveals additional details about this future world. I’m enjoying the book, and I’ll return to update this review when I’ve completed the last two books. So far … 4 stars for an interesting plot, great characters, and interesting writing that draws me into their fictional society.

My secret pleasure is those easy to read fictional stories about the Amish. I added several of those to my Kindle, because they’re a really quick read on planes or while waiting for flight connections. I’m not reviewing those, because the stories are predictable, but I love the characters. Let me know if you’d like to know some of my favorite authors of these kinds of books.

So, what have you read recently? Let me know if you agree or disagree with my thoughts. And, a great big thank you to each one of you who offer your recommendations each trip. I’m leaving for Costa Rica in a couple of months, so I’m going to need some more books. What do you recommend?