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The Magnolia Palace

The Magnolia PalaceTitle: The Magnolia Palace
Author: Fiona Davis
Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery
Format: Hard Cover
Pages: 337
Reason Read: Book of the Month
Rating:

My Thoughts

I was hooked on THE MAGNOLIA PALACE from the get-go. I adored it from start to finish. When I’d put the book down, I’d keep thinking about it and I’d want to pick it right back up again. I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next. I really loved the dual timeline. I thought it was the perfect vehicle for the story, especially with the mystery aspect of it. I was more invested in Lillian’s story than Veronica’s. I didn’t dislike Veronica or anything. I was just more interested in the 1919 time period than the 1966 one.

I had no idea that Henry Clay Frick, his daughter, and the Frick Collection were real as I read the story. I didn’t even know that Lillian was based on a model from the 1900’s. I loved reading the author’s note and finding out that Davis mixed non-fiction with fiction to create the magnificent story that is THE MAGNOLIA PALACE. I don’t know what historians or relatives of the Frick family and the model would think about the fiction, but I thought it made for a compelling read.

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How To

How ToTitle: How To
Author: Randall Munroe
Genre: Humor, Non-Fiction, Comics
Format: Hard Cover
Pages: 320
Reason Read: Play Book Tag
Rating:

My Thoughts

Corey turned me onto the xkcd webcomic about a decade ago. I’m not the most religious follower, but I do like his humor. I was really excited to read HOW TO and I wasn’t disappointed. I loved it!

I loved all the crazy things Munroe thought of doing using absurd, over-the-top scientific methods. Accompanied by his typical stylistic stick figure drawings made it a delight to read. I also loved that since I was in a physics class last semester, a lot of the physics he used and talked about were things I had just learned, albeit on a much simpler level. One of my favorite chapters was “How to Throw Things” because he has an interactive element on his website with the physics built in. I think it’s hilarious that Thor and Chris Hemsworth are available throwers.

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Anxious People

Anxious PeopleTitle: Anxious People
Author: Fredrik Backman
Genre: Literary Fiction
Format: Kindle
Pages: 341
Reason Read: Book Club Backlist, Reading Challenge
Rating:

My Thoughts

I’m so glad I decided to read ANXIOUS PEOPLE because I absolutely adored this book. I was giggling from the outset and I was hooked from the get-go. I loved how it was written, that we got the story in parts. I wanted to keep reading so I could figure out how everything would play out.

After I finished it, I felt almost spiritually moved and like Backman had spoken to me through his characters on a deep personal level. Backman made me feel a gambit of emotions for every single character, including the grumpy know-it-all who thrived on causing conflict. It made me love every single one of them. He even made me have feelings for bridges.

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Keep Moving

Keep MovingTitle: Keep Moving
Author: Maggie Smith
Genre: Memoir, Non-Fiction
Format: Hard Cover
Pages: 215
Reason Read: Book Club
Rating:

My Thoughts

KEEP MOVING was really quick read because it’s mostly pages of affirmations. I liked a lot of the affirmations, but my favorite parts of the book were the parts where Smith went into more detail, where she talked about her losses from losing her grandmother, two miscarriages, and divorce. Those were the times I felt a kinship toward her. Even if I hadn’t experienced loss quite the same way she had, I could still empathize with her and think of ways to apply her advice to my own life.

I really liked her perspective on things, especially when she talked about serotinous pine cones and how they only open and spread their seeds in the midst of fire. Or, how she likened trauma and loss to kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing ceramics with gold. The ceramic piece is beautiful because of its brokenness instead of in spite of it.