One of the best parts of all the travel I've been doing lately is having so much time to read. I love reading on the plane. I put my headphones on and turn on my classical music playlist to drown out the noise around me, and I dive into a good book. Here are the last nine books I've read and if you need more recommendations, you can finds them here and here.
The Keeper of Lost Things - I'm currently reading this and so far it's been a touching, beautifully written story about a heartbroken older man named Anthony whose fiance died unexpectedly on the same day he lost a keepsake of hers. As a way to grieve, he began collecting lost items, categorizing them in his study and writing about them. Laura, a woman who just left a terrible marriage, has been hired as Anthony's housekeeper, and she's found solace in his home. I've just gotten to the part where he passes away and has left his estate to Laura. It's a charming, sweet novel - exactly what I needed after the last book I read which was The Guest Room (below).
The Guest Room - This is a highly disturbing book about a family man who generously offers to host his younger brother's bachelor party at his house. The party gets way out of hand, and the two exotic dancers kill their bodyguards (who we later learn are their captors), and all hell breaks lose. You get the story from his side and from one of the dancer's side, and the whole thing makes you feel sort of sick, but you can't put it down. Highly recommended if you're in a good emotional state, otherwise it's probably not for you.
The Girls - Another highly disturbing book, The Girls is something I'd put off reading for ages, although I'm not quite sure why. It takes place in the late 60s and is about a misfit girl, Evie, who gets sucked into this soon-to-be infamous cult and their eccentric leader.
Everything I Never Told You - Another page-turner, and equally as depressing at The Guest Room, but for different reasons. This book follows a blended Chinese-American family in the 70s who is broken upon learning that one of the daughters has died and her death has been ruled a suicide. It's a beautifully written book with an ending I didn't expect.
The Wife Between Us - Talk about a surprise ending! This book is another quick read about a couple where something is just not quite right. It's a good beach read or travel read. Not too deep, but not too fluffy.
The Perfect Nanny - I tried very hard, but I just couldn't get into this one. This is about a wealthy family with a nanny who is just a little off. I guess my issue with it was that one minute the nanny would be very weird (oddly possessive of the children) and the next minute it would sort of hint at some sort of mental instability or abuse, and then the next minute it was saying she was the best thing to happen to the family, so I was just lost. Like, am I supposed to be into this nanny or not? Is she the enemy or not? I just couldn't develop any kind of emotional connection to the nanny or the family - neither had many redeeming qualities - so I put it down about 80% of the way through.
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine - If you are looking for a good book, this is it. I laughed out loud. I cried at the end. This is such a beautifully written, heartwarming book about a complete misfit. The entire time you're aware that something awful has happened to our quirky main character, but you're not sure what. It's just gorgeous. Go get it.
The Woman in the Window - I avoided reading this for so long because everything from the title to the cover art reminded me of The Girl on the Train, and in some ways, the similarities extend from there. But I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this. It's about a woman who has severe PTSD that prevents her from leaving her house. She lives on a residential street, and witnesses something awful in the house across from hers.
Little Fires Everywhere - From the same author of Everything I Never Told You, I could not put this book down. It's about two very different families who live in the same town, and does a beautiful job exploring all the layers of family drama.