2018 Reads: Books 81-85

Willa Drake leads a life that is comfortable and... fine, but that's probably the strongest word she can use to define her life.

After getting a call that her son's ex-girlfriend has been shot and has a daughter who needs help, Willa finds herself dropping everything and walking on a path that, for once, she's chosen for herself.

Willa finds herself in the midst of community like she's never experienced before. In Clock Dance, the reader is taken into the everyday life of a woman who decides to lead her own life and take command of her own defining moments.

Beck Dorey-Stein answers a discreet ad for a job and somehow finds herself working for the White House.

Before she knows it, she's leaving her old life behind while she jet sets across the globe with President Barack Obama, transcribing every meeting, public speech, and more. She learns more about herself and politics than she ever planned on when hunting for a job years prior.

This book was a great read that was educational, relatable, and made me feel like I was enjoying a wine night with the girls swapping stories.

One Part Woman took me to India, where I met Kali and Ponna - a couple who is desperate to conceive a child. They are in a loving relationship, but the pressures from their culture, their families, and even strangers is too much for the couple to bear.

To end their suffering and sense of humiliation, Kali and Ponna explore options that may bring them a child - but also may drive their relationship apart.

For me, parts of this read were a bit slow and required me to pay close attention, but it was a good read that was unlike others on my bookshelf.

Her is meant to be a thriller about Emma and Nina - two women who have little in common and are strangers until an unlikely friendship blooms.

To me, the book was clever in the sense that I did want to keep reading. However, compared to other thrillers I've read, I wouldn't say this book made the cut as being a thriller. It fell flat for me towards the end.

I picked up this book after listening to Ted's podcast, Elizabeth Glibert Shows Up For... Everything.

This book follows the story of Alma Whittaker in the 18th and 19th centuries. She is a wickedly smart woman who dedicated much of her life to her father, until he passed away. She then threw herself into botany work and makes a name for herself in the field.

While her work flourishes, she finds herself wanting other things out of life... love being on the list. Alma's story is brilliant, intriguing, charming, fun, and a bit heartbreaking. I'd never read Gilbert's fiction work prior to this read, but absolutely loved this novel.