New Segment: Books I'm reading and books I want to read soon

Seeing as I am now working for the Great Falls Library (In case you missed that article here’s the link) I thought I should do a semi-regular article where I talk about books I’ve been reading and books I want to read in the future.

AND if any of my readers want to add in the comments what they’ve been reading and what they want to read in the future, they can do that, TOO.

This won’t be a place to review the books I’m reading as I often don’t have them finished when I’m mentioning them here. I may write a few words about first impressions, but, writing a review of a book without having finished it is a fool’s errand, so I will avoid that. It’s simply a place to admire authors, their works, and where you can feel safe to do the same.

I should also first confess that I don’t finish books as fast as I would like. I am a fast reader, but it takes significant effort for me to get into the habit of setting everything else aside in my downtime to read a good book. However, that’s a habit that will be changing soon and I will be doing my best to read more just because there are SOOOOO many amazing books that deserve my time and attention.

With that out of the way, the first book I’ve been reading is Jamie Ford’s latest novel “The Many Daughters of Afong Moy.”

I started this book last month and I’m about ten chapters into it. I have, as most everyone else, thoroughly enjoyed it. I don’t feel there’s much more I can say here that hasn’t already been said about his latest book. I’m excited to be back in Great Falls and be inspired by Jamie’s writing. He’s a homegrown celebrity (even if he doesn’t maybe want to admit that) and all of the accolades he’s received are well deserved.

As a fellow author, I can appreciate when someone like Jamie Ford not only creates a compelling tale, but makes it personal and connects with people beyond his immediate circle of fans.

After I finish “The Many Daughters of Afong Moy” I want to finish reading another book I started but have not yet completed: “The Storyteller” by Jodi Picoult.

From what I’ve read so far, it’s about a woman who works at a bakery who befrends a 90-year-old man who asks her to help him die as, he reveals to her, was formerly a true-blue Nazi during World War II.

I started reading “The Storyteller” after I discovered it was being banned in schools in Florida. I had read one of Jodi’s previous novels, “Nineteen Minutes,” and loved it. So that news sparked me to read “The Storyteller.”

I didn’t mean to stop reading it, but I had some life events happen and I came upon Jamie’s book. I decided that one would definitely be finished before “The Storyteller” so here I am.

I think that’s the great thing about books. You can put one down, start another, and the story you pick back up is always right there waiting for you, like an old friend. I can’t wait to re-visit Jodi’s masterpiece (one of them) and I encourage everyone else to read BOTH books if you have not already!

So that’s it. Those are the books I am reading and I want to read next. Please comment below!