Wrap up: Blink Book Reviews

What started out as a personal discipline this summer to get off the screen and back to books turned out to be a fun exploration of different reading genres and books I might not have considered reading otherwise. I'm so grateful to the more than 200 people who ended up joining my Blink Book Review Facebook group, offered book suggestions and participated in conversations. 

Mini-reviews and suggestions came in from as far away as Israel and as nearby as up the street. My "to-read" list is bulging, and these suggestions have gotten me out of my rut of reading the same authors and genres. 

In addition to the books that got full reviews in this series, I don't want to overlook several others I read or listened to:

  • "South Toward Home" by Julia Reed - This was a jewel. Another collection of essays kind of like Ann Patchett's book I reviewed. Even if you don't like Julia's writing (which would be really hard to do), just listening to her read in her lilting Mississippi Delta accent is enough. Talent gone too soon!
  • "Apples Never Fall" by Laine Moriarty - Typically I like her books but this one was loooong and slow. The narrator's Australian accent was what kept me engaged.
  • "I Guess I Haven't Learned that Yet" by Shauna Niequist - Another author I've frequently read. This one shared some valuable insights about acceptance and change, but had lots of references to the author's past that didn't quite connect with me since I didn't know her family history.
  • "No Cure for Being Human" and "Everything Happens" by Kate Bowler - These were half book/half Audibles for me. Inspiring, love her reading voice.
  • "Blood" by Allison Moorer - Another read by the author (my favorite kind). She tells the story of how music steadied her crazy growing up years with sister (and country music singer) Shelby Lynn in the rural south.
  • "In Love" by Amy Bloom - Powerful memoir read by the author telling her story of how she supported her husband in his quest to end his life after his Alzheimer's diagnosis.

Another type of reading I rediscovered this summer is hard copy travel guides. As I worked on planning a trip to Spain for the fall, I checked out library books about the cities we're visiting. While online guides with links and photos are great, I forgot how nice it is to hold the travel books in my hands. Now I have to go buy them so I can mark them up and keep the maps.

I'll keep the FB group live into the fall and will keep posting occasionally as long as people keep reading. Join us here.

All the Blink Book Reviews are available on the SC Press Association's news exchange website where they were published weekly for local newspapers to pick up. 

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