Okay, so I guess my last post was kind of a teaser even though I didn’t mean it to be. Sorry that I left so many of you hanging…. but I had to get everything else packed, go to work, and then actually get to the beach before I had a chance to write! So, without further ado, the Spring Break 2019 Book Bag and the probable order that I will read them in:

At the very top of the list:

• Outer Order, Inner Calm– Gretchen Rubin
• Girl, Stop Apologizing– Rachel Hollis.  I’ve already started both of these.  Total fan-girl crushing on both of them.  Pre-ordered both and then struggled to get both of them started.  These are two of my favorite podcasters, and I can’t wait to really get in to each of their books!
• The Miracle Morning– Hal Elrod.  Another one of my favorite podcasters.  I’ve skimmed through this book once already.  I want to go through it again and really pay attention this time.

Followed closely by:

• Imagine Me Gone– Adam Haslett
• Lying in Wait– Liz Nugent.  I love a good suspense thriller, especially at the beach, and I’ve got several with me to read.  These two are near the top of the list simply because they are library books and need to be returned when I get back.

More Non-Fiction, even though I say I need mind-candy on vacay….

• Ninety Percent Mental– Bob Tewksbury.  A friend of mine (who shall remain nameless because I can’t remember for sure who it was) recommended this.  I think there is a story behind the recommendation, but I cannot find evidence to confirm nor deny it.  So, we’ll just leave it at a friend recommended it.
• Wellth– Jason Wachob.  This ended up on the TBR bc Kohl’s and MindBodyGreen have recently partnered and it was mentioned in several of the articles I read.

I picked up these next five from middle school Book Fairs over the last several years and they seem very sad they haven’t been read yet.  They’re short, middle-grade reads… perfect for a brain on vacation and why they earned spots in the Spring Break Book Bag:

• The Hypnotists– Gordon Korman
• One for the Murphys– Lynda Mullaly Hunt
• Wait Till Helen Comes– Mary Downing Hahn
• Worthy– Donna Cooner
• The Rains– Gregg Hurwitz.  The plot seems a little heavier in this one so I may or may not read it.

I’m fairly confident I’ll get most or all of those read. I am very hopeful about these next ones:

• Girl in Hyacinth Blue– Susan Vreeland.  I loved Susan Vreeland’s book, Luncheon of the Boating Party, in part because it’s a really good book and in part because the painting of the same name by Renoir is my favorite painting.  Her telling of its story mesmerized me, so I picked up this book at a library book sale several years ago.  It’s been sadly waiting TBR on the bookshelf ever since.

More suspense/thriller books but they are not from the library so they don’t get the same priority:

• Behind Her Eyes– Sarah Pinborough
• What She Knew– Gilly MacMillan
• The President Is Missing– James Patterson. 

So, this is a win because I’ve already read it! Score for me!

• The Mothers– Brit Bennet.  Even though I just finished this on audiobook, I am going through it again in print because I LOVE the way she weaves her words together so much, I wanted to read them again.  This is a recommend and I’ll be writing about it soon.

These two are carryovers from Spring Break last year.  So many books.  So little time.  Nothing wrong with them except that their plots are a little heavier than my typical Spring Break mind candy.  I really want to read them.  Maybe this is their year:

• More Than This– Patrick Ness
• Salt to the Sea– Ruta Sepetys. 

Don’t ask me why:

• Turtles All the Way Down– John Green.  I waited for YEARS for John Green to write another book.  I bought this as soon as it came out.  I have a signed copy.  It’s been sitting on my shelf for a year and a half.  I have no words.  I brought it but I’m not confident I’ll read it.  No idea why. 

It’s good to have goals:

• Zen in the Art of Writing– Ray Bradbury.  I have a goal to read 4 books on writing this year.  Will this happen during Spring Break?  Probably not.  But, never say never.

SMDH

• Nine Perfect Strangers– Liane Moriarty.  This is an audiobook that I was SUPER excited to pick up from the library right before we left on vacay.  My computer doesn’t have a CD player so I have to use an external CD player to listen to audiobooks.  For whatever reason, I didn’t pack that WITH the audiobook to come down in the car, but thought it would be better to pack it and bring it with me and my computer on the plane.  Do you see where this is going?

There is a lot of weight and words in this last group of books.  Lots of thinking involved in reading.  Lots of hopeful hope involved in packing them.  I haven’t owned American War and The Women in the Castle for very long, but the other three?  I’m sure they have cried many sad and lonely book tears wondering what is wrong with them that they have sat on my shelf unread for so long.  I saw them sitting there and out of an abundance of optimism and guilt I brought them along.

• American War– Omar El Akkad. 
• The Women in the Castle– Jessica Shattuck
• Rules of Civility– Amor Towles
• Breath, Eyes, Memory– Edwidge Danticat
• Dreams of Joy– Lisa See. 

So, there you have it. All of it. Am I actually going to read all of these? Not a snowball’s chance in hell. But I’m going to have fun trying. It was 70 something degrees here today and it’s supposed to be in the 70’s all week. If I could have had my druthers it would have been a LOT warmer, but I guess that will do!