My Quarantine Reading List

Because there's finally time to tackle that mile high pile of books...

What does one do when they suddenly have endless free time? As someone who works 60-80 hours a week (yay college athletics!), it's ridiculously hard to answer that question!

Fortunately, I have an endless pile of books to read and (seemingly) endless time to read them. Here's the reviews (feel free to comment books you're reading during the COVID-19 quarantine).

Friday, April 3, 2020

I'm 20 days into quarantine. I've already finished three books and am midway through a fourth. I've always watched "Tiger King" in its entirety, but that's a blog post for another day.

Quarantine book 1: Where the Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens (finished March 13, 2020)

FULL DISCLOSURE: I started this book before the designated quarantine period. With 80+ hour work weeks, I was usually only able to read during my Friday lunch hour workout, so I still had at least half the book to read when quarantine started.

Grade: A-/B+ (🐳🐳🐳🐳/5)

Recommended by: My grandma

Synopsis (From GoodReads): For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life–until the unthinkable happens.

Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The only reason it didn't receive 5/5 whales was because it got a smidge too "sciency" at times, and I found myself simultaneously reading and daydreaming while on the elliptical (I'm good at multitasking). Other than those few parts, I was glued to the page and often read beyond my lunch hour workout. There was one time I nearly missed the bus to the arena I was so enraptured in the chapter!

Quarantine book 2: Bloody Genius, John Sanford (finished March 20, 2020)

Grade: A (🐳🐳🐳🐳.5/5)

Received as a Christmas gift (12/25/19)

Synopsis (From GoodReads): At the local state university, two feuding departments have faced off on the battleground of PC culture. Each carries their views to extremes that may seem absurd, but highly educated people of sound mind and good intentions can reasonably disagree, right?

Then someone winds up dead, and Virgil Flowers is brought in to investigate . . . and he soon comes to realize he's dealing with people who, on this one particular issue, are functionally crazy. Among this group of wildly impassioned, diametrically opposed zealots lurks a killer, and it will be up to Virgil to sort the murderer from the mere maniacs.

Review: I love a good Virgil Flowers book. If you don't believe me, just wait until "Covers of Books I Love Challenge - Part II" comes out. Though this one still didn't top my all time favorite "Mud River", it was pretty darn good. I can honestly say I had no idea who the murderer was or said murder's motive until the very end of the book, which, not to toot my own horn, is saying something.

Quarantine book 3: Twisted Twenty-Six, Janet Evanovich (finished April 1, 2020)

Grade: A- (🐳🐳🐳🐳/5)

Stole from mom's reading pile 3/30/20

Synopsis (From GoodReads): Grandma Mazur is a widow...again. This time her marriage lasted a whole 45 minutes. The unlucky groom was one Jimmy Rosolli, local gangster, lothario (senior division) and heart attack waiting to happen...well, the waiting's over.

It's a sad day, but if she can't have Jimmy at least Grandma can have all the attention she wants as the dutiful widow. But some kinds of attention are not welcomed, particularly when Jimmy's former "business partners" are convinced that his widow is keeping the keys to their financial success for herself.

As someone who has spent an entire career finding bad guys, a set of missing keys should be no challenge for Stephanie Plum. Problem is, the facts are as twisted as a boardwalk pretzel with mustard.

Review: Stephanie Plum is a much-welcomed guest in all this craziness. She never ceases to make me feel better about myself and provides the reminder that even fictional characters can thrive in dysfunctional family/friend dynamics (note: my family is very similar to Stephanie's but I have siblings). "Twisted Twenty-Six" provided some much needed laughter in the midst of the unknown, so much, my brother actually put on noise cancelling headphones.

Quarantine Book 4: The Proposal, Jasmine Guillory (finished April 4, 2020)

Grade: B+ (🐳🐳🐳.5/5)

Recommended by a friend (who apparently thinks this reflects my life somehow)

Synopsis (From GoodReads): When freelance writer Nikole Paterson goes to a Dodgers game with her actor boyfriend, his man bun, and his bros, the last thing she expects is a scoreboard proposal. Saying no isn't the hard part--they've only been dating for five months, and he can't even spell her name correctly. The hard part is having to face a stadium full of disappointed fans...

At the game with his sister, Carlos Ibarra comes to Nik's rescue and rushes her away from a camera crew. He's even there for her when the video goes viral and Nik's social media blows up--in a bad way. Nik knows that in the wilds of LA, a handsome doctor like Carlos can't be looking for anything serious, so she embarks on an epic rebound with him, filled with food, fun, and fantastic sex. But when their glorified hookups start breaking the rules, one of them has to be smart enough to put on the brakes...

Review: I am now finished with the book and I still have nooooooo idea why my friend would EVER think this reflects my life at all (sarcasm... lots and lots of sarcasm). I'm totally not a professional writer. Nope. Not at all. Not me with a really bad dating history (or really no dating history).

The movie (which has an unrelated plot) is still much better than the book, but it's cute. It's a feel good story and there's no guessing the ending. You know what's going to happen and you still feel good when it does. That's the way everyone should feel reading a chick flick/rom-com.

Quarantine Book 5: Unsolved, James Patterson and David Ellis (Finished April 18thish)

Grade: (🐳🐳🐳🐳.5/5)

From the infamous "To Be Read" pile in my apartment

Synopsis (From GoodReads): FBI agent Emmy Dockery is absolutely relentless. She's young and driven, and her unique skill at seeing connections others miss has brought her an impressive string of arrests.

But a shocking new case-unfolding across the country-has left her utterly baffled.

The victims all appear to have died by accident, and have seemingly nothing in common. But this many deaths can't be coincidence. And the killer is somehow one step ahead of every move Dockery makes.How?>

To FBI Internal Affairs special agent, Harrison "Books" Bookman, everyone in the FBI is a suspect-particularly Emmy Dockery (the fact that she's his ex-wife doesn't make it easier).

But someone else is watching Dockery. Studying, learning, waiting. Until it's the perfect time to strike.

Review: I would have finished this book in a day if it weren't for work. Since finishing "The Proposal", the time to read decreased as demands for graphics increased. However, I have flown through this book when given the opportunity. It is a fantastic sequel to "Invisible" (HIGHLY RECOMMEND) and has plenty of twists and turns to keep me up to at least 11 p.m. these days.

UPDATE: This book is outstanding! It's one of my favorite books I've read this quarantine. Patterson's prose is fast paced and intense, allowing the twists and turns to continue until the very end. I also enjoy the three different narrators throughout the novel. As per usual, the villain, a truly sadistic and unseemly character, narrates chapters from a first person perspective, while the bulk of chapters are narrated by protagonist Emmy Dockery (first person) and Harrison Bookman (third person). All the minor details and plot points come together seamlessly, demonstrating Patterson's true genius with the written word.

Quarantine Book 6: Sourdough, Robin Sloan (finished April 28, 2020)

Grade: A- (🐳🐳🐳🐳/5)

Purchased April 10, 2020 (Suggested based on previous purchases)

Synopsis (From GoodReads): Lois Clary, a software engineer at a San Francisco robotics company, codes all day and collapses at night. When her favourite sandwich shop closes up, the owners leave her with the starter for their mouthwatering sourdough bread.

Lois becomes the unlikely hero tasked to care for it, bake with it and keep this needy colony of microorganisms alive.  Soon she is baking loaves daily and taking them to the farmer's market, where an exclusive close-knit club runs the show.

When Lois discovers another, more secret market, aiming to fuse food and technology, a whole other world opens up. But who are these people, exactly?

Review: As a fan of Sloan's first book "Mr. Penumbra's 24 hour bookstore", I was ecstatic when I found out he wrote a second book. While "Mr. Penumbra" focused around (SPOILERS) a secret society of bookworms, "Sourdough" focused on an underground society for foodies. As a lover of both topics, I loved this book. It was both fun and quirky and probably played in a big role in my snacking habits the past few days. It additionally made some pretty interesting observations about the world we currently live in, especially in the United State, without being overly political or obnoxious. It made me think deeply about how I currently live my life and if it was something I truly enjoyed. Quite philosophical for a book about sourdough.

Current Book: The Last Sister, by Kendra Elliot (started April 28, 2020)

Grade: TBD

Purchased April 10, 2020 (Suggested "Because you read James Patterson...")

Synopsis (From GoodReads): Twenty years ago Emily Mills’s father was murdered, and she found his body hanging in the backyard. Her younger sister, Madison, claims she was asleep in her room. Her older sister, Tara, claims she was out with friends. The tragedy drove their mother to suicide and Tara to leave town forever. The killer was caught. The case closed.

Ever since, Emily and Madison have tried to forget what happened that night—until an eerily similar murder brings it all back. It also brings FBI special agent Zander Wells to the Oregon logging town. As eager as he is to solve the brutal double slaying, he is just as intrigued with the mystery of Emily’s and her sisters’ past.

When more blood is shed, Zander suspects there’s a secret buried in this town no one wants unearthed. Is it something Emily and Madison don’t know? Or aren’t telling? And Tara? Maybe Emily can’t bear to find her. Because when Tara disappeared, she took a secret of her own with her.

Review: IT'S A SERIES! I know, I know, I'm only 41 pages in. How can I know I will want to read the rest of the books in the series? But it's a series! I've been looking for a new series with multiple books already published this entire quarantine (it's a struggle, let me tell you).

So far, this is extremely intriguing. The crime itself reminds me of several "Criminal Minds" episodes, and the characters are equally as complex. So far, I can't tell what anyone's true motive is, though I am only 41 pages in. We will see what happens in due time.