21 Truths About Love by Matthew Dicks

Want to read this one?  Too bad it isn't available in retail until November 2019 but, when it is...go out and get it immediately.  I feel privileged that I was selected to receive an advanced copy from Netgalley and St Martin's Press.

I fell in love with Matthew Dicks' writing when I read Memoirs of an Invisible Friend several years ago.  He has such a unique and almost childlike perspective on the world that makes you shift your view just a little. 

This book is written as a journal in lists which makes it compulsively readable.  My first session with this novel was a "one more chapter (month) then I'll go to bed, 2AM no regrets" experience. As Daniel grapples with being a business owner, a husband to a widowed wife and soon to be father, you could feel his panic and self-doubt blossom then subside throughout the course of his compulsive list making.

Yes, there are some repetitive lines and themes that removed a star for me, but it is so deeply human that I was willing to glaze over a few things to get to the heart of the book.  I can't want to see how the public receives this one.

2019 Halfway Point

Somehow I have already read 36 books on my goal of 50 for the year.  Aided, as always by the audiobooks available at my library and an excruciating commute every day.  Here are my top five of the year so far for your summer reading pleasure.

I can't say enough good things about this book!  It provides such an eye-opening world view from societies around the world and, more specifically, the impact that empowering women can have on the entire community.  This should be required reading for all!

I know, I know it seems like there is a distinctly feminine vibe to my list so far but hey guess what, I'm a girl!  This book felt personal on a deep level. Everything from the way she approaches sexuality to the ways that anything she does gets pulled back into a conversation about her weight, on every level, it's funny but true.  Read this PLEASE

This isn't just a book about a serial killer.  It's not a thriller or a mystery.  The underlying theme here is a sister's love (and also her resentment) toward her sister and what she can and should do to protect her.  How far that can be stretched gets taken to the limit.  It's a powerful story under the bizarre circumstance of their world.

Part of my quest to read the PBS Great American Read Top 100 most loved books in America, I found this gem.  I did this in audio format and am SO glad that I did as the narrator brought the beautiful journal of a preacher writing to his son to life.  This is full of spirit, heart and faith and the struggle that can exist to maintain those things.  No wonder it was a Pulitzer Prize Winner.

Want to read this one?  Too bad it isn't available in retail until November but, when it is...go out and get it immediately.  I fell in love with Matthew Dicks' writing when I read Memoirs of an Invisible Friend several years ago.  This book is written as a journal in lists which makes it compulsively readable.  Yes, there are some repetitive themes but it is so deeply human that you are willing to overlook it.  I can't want to see how the public receives this one.  Full review to come - watch this space.