The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning was interesting enough. As someone who has read her fair share of books about simplifying, this one was okay. I read something somewhere how this is the "next cleaning craze," and y'all that's not totally true. The premise of the book is talking about how the Swedes have a literal word to explain the process of sharing/getting rid of dead people's stuff, and we shouldn't wait until we're six feet under to undertake this process. The author walks through different spaces explaining the why and how of the process. As a stand-alone book, I'm not sure I would have dug it, but as a part of the collection of books I'd read on the topic, it does. It was another reminder to stay strong on the path of decluttering my life.
Read this book if - You need a little nudge towards that decluttering life. You tend to read the books that are allegedly the "latest and greatest cleaning craze."
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies was a book I wanted to love. It was such a fun concept, and I've wanted to read this for sometime. For me, this one just didn't connect. There were moments where I chuckled with the integration of zombies, but then it was just straight Austen, and in this read, it wasn't what I was looking to check out. Oh, and true confessions time - I don't often straight skim books, but I did for this one. I just wanted more of the zombie stuff to see how it creatively twisted the plot, and that's no way to read.
Read this book if - You really like Jane Austen and zombies. If you have a love exclusive to one of these, I'm not sure that you'll dig this one.
How To Break Up With Your Phone by Catherine Price was a book that came to me at the exact right time. I'm currently amidst a Lenten detox of my phone/social media, so this was a particularly helpful read for me. The book does a really good job of not going into an accusatory tone, but instead explaining how this happens, encouraging you to reflect on what needs to change, and then giving you a manageable and achievable process to make that happen. I really appreciated that this book centered around the idea of a big question - What are you choosing to pay attention to? Taking the time to explore that question in a number of ways together with action items sets up a book that works. Oh, and thanks to Blogging for Books I received (and loved) this book for free.
Read this book if - You want to have a healthier relationship with your phone, but you just don't know how the heck to do it.
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman is a book recommendation that came to me via a friend which first of all qualifies it for part of my 2018 Reading Challenge. Second of all and more importantly, this book is just an outstanding read. I'm always fascinated by unique characters with a story that has never been told before. Eleanor was one of the best written characters I've read in some time. She was complex and emotional and funny in such a way that I can't even fully describe with my own words. There are also some secrets within Eleanor's story, and they are masterfully hidden. You want to know what is there, but you're also so captivated by her story, you know they'll come when they come. There is another character, Raymond, who helps drive the plot, and he is also wonderfully written. I can definitively say I haven't read a book like this one, and that's okay because I want this book to have its own little niche in my memory.
Read this book if - You love a book with character and heart. You are literally looking for a book to read.
