Hello and happy Wednesday!
Another month of reading under my belt for 2026 and it was a good one. Today, I’m sharing the books I read this month.
This month I read two books and listened to two books.
{As always, book summaries are from Goodreads…}
The Correspondent:
Summary:
Sybil Van Antwerp has throughout her life used letters to make sense of the world and her place in it. Most mornings, around half past ten, Sybil sits down to write letters—to her brother, to her best friend, to the president of the university who will not allow her to audit a class she desperately wants to take, to Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry to tell them what she thinks of their latest books, and to one person to whom she writes often yet never sends the letter.
Sybil expects her world to go on as it always has—a mother, grandmother, wife, divorcee, distinguished lawyer, she has lived a very full life. But when letters from someone in her past force her to examine one of the most painful periods of her life, she realizes that the letter she has been writing over the years needs to be read and that she cannot move forward until she finds it in her heart to offer forgiveness.
Quick Thoughts:
I’ve never read a book like this one…and I mean it in the best possible way.
This book is beautifully written, and letters Sybil writes moves the plot forward. Sybil is such an interesting character…her letters and emails are beautiful, funny, witty, serious, grumpy, straightforward and more.
Through her letters, we learn about love, heartbreak, loss, relationships, and mistakes she’s made in her life. As I was reading, I wondered how it would end…how the plot, driven through letter writing, would wrap up. This book was a memorable one, and one that will tug at your heartstrings.
I would have loved to listen to this one, but my library had the Kindle version available sooner.
Fave Quote:
- “But I think of life rather like a long road we walk in one direction. By and large a lonesome walk out in the wildness of hills and wind. Mountains. Snow. And sometimes there is someone to come along and walk with you for a stretch, and sometimes you see in the distance some lights and it heartens you, the lone house or maybe a village and you come into the warmth and stopover and go inside.“
Rating:
The First Time I Saw Him:
Summary:
Five years after her husband Owen disappeared, Hannah and her stepdaughter Bailey have settled into a new life in Southern California. Together they’ve forged a relationship with Bailey’s grandfather Nicholas, and are putting the past behind them.
But when Owen shows up at Hannah’s new exhibition, Hannah knows that she and Bailey are in danger.
Hannah and Bailey are forced to go on the run in a relentless race to keep their past from catching up with them. As a thrilling drama unfolds, Hannah risks everything to get Bailey to safety—and finds there just might be a way back to Owen.
Quick Thoughts:
This was one of the books I listened to this month. This is the sequel to The Last Thing He Told Me. With the second season of the series coming out, I wanted to read this book. I guess this book was a “slow burn” with not a lot of action until the last 20% of the book. It did a good job of filling in the blanks since it had been a while since I read the first one. I feel like the ending left with the opportunity for a third book in the series?
Rating:
The Irish Goodbye:
Summary:
It’s been years since the three Ryan sisters were all home together at their family’s beloved house on the eastern shore of Long Island. Two decades ago, their lives were upended by an accident on their brother Topher’s boat, a friend’s brother was killed, the lawsuit nearly bankrupted their parents, and Topher spiraled into a depression, eventually taking his life. Now the Ryan women are back for Thanksgiving, eager to reconnect, but each carrying a heavy secret. The eldest, Cait, still holding guilt for the role no one knows she played in the boat accident, rekindles a flame with her high school crush, Topher’s best friend and the brother of the boy who died. Middle sister Alice’s been thrown a curveball threatening the career she’s restarting and faces a difficult decision that may doom her marriage. And the youngest, Maggie, is finally taking the risk to bring the woman she loves home to her devoutly Catholic mother. Infusing everything is the grief for Topher that none of the Ryans have figured out how to carry together.
When Cait invites a guest to Thanksgiving dinner, old tensions boil over and new truths surface, nearly overpowering the flickering light of their family bond. Far more than a family holiday will be ruined unless the sisters can find a way to forgive themselves—and one another.
Quick Thoughts:
I added this book to my TBR list since it was one of Jenna’s pics, and I really enjoyed this book. The three sisters are so different, and so much of the plot is over only a few days which I thought was interesting. The plot starts with the accident and goes from there, including a few flashbacks. The accident affected every family member differently, and those layers were peeled off through the years. I know what an “Irish Goodbye” is, but the reference to it in the story was subtle and kind of gave me pause to think about the connection. There are some heavy topics like miscarriage and abortion.
Rating:
4.5 stars!
Yes Please:
Summary:
In Amy Poehler’s highly anticipated first book, Yes Please, she offers up a big juicy stew of personal stories, funny bits on sex and love and friendship and parenthood and real life advice (some useful, some not so much), like when to be funny and when to be serious. Powered by Amy’s charming and hilarious, biting yet wise voice, Yes Please is a book full of words to live by.
Quick Thoughts:
I chose this book because it was a quick audiobook and I needed something to listen to. It is from 2014, so sometimes I had to remind myself of that with some of her reference points. I always love hearing about other people’s lives, and this one didn’t disappoint. Amy’s Boston accent is so fun, and the stories of her childhood and making her way through the ranks for TV and comedy were interesting. I loved listening to it because she’s funny, but she also had guest readers like Carol Burnett, Seth Myers, and even her parents!
Rating:
3.5 stars
I’m almost finished with one more book, so I guess I will have ended up reading five books in February. I’ll share that one next month though.
Happy reading!
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