Book Review: Georgie All Along

Publisher’s description for Georgie All Along, by Kate Clayborn:

“Longtime personal assistant Georgie Mulcahy has made a career out of putting others before herself. When an unexpected upheaval sends her away from her hectic job in L.A. and back to her hometown, Georgie must confront an uncomfortable truth: her own wants and needs have always been a disconcertingly blank page.  
 
But then Georgie comes across a forgotten artifact—a “friendfic” diary she wrote as a teenager, filled with possibilities she once imagined. To an overwhelmed Georgie, the diary’s simple, small-scale ideas are a lifeline—a guidebook for getting started on a new path.  
 
Georgie’s plans hit a snag when she comes face to face with an unexpected roommate—Levi Fanning, onetime town troublemaker and current town hermit. But this quiet, grouchy man is more than just his reputation, and he offers to help Georgie with her quest. As the two make their way through her wishlist, Georgie begins to realize that what she truly wants might not be in the pages of her diary after all, but right by her side—if only they can both find a way to let go of the pasts that hold them back. 
 
Honest and deeply emotional, Georgie, All Along is a smart, tender must-read for everyone who’s ever wondered about the life that got away . . .”
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Kate Clayborn does such a lovely job of character development and scene settings. I love her world building and her familiar yet unusual romances. I also really enjoyed her novels Love Lettering and Love At First. They're great distractions, fluff without being total fluff—and this is no exception. She tackles some serious stuff and is respectful of it, while also writing a story that's at its heart a romance. And a homecoming, to Georgie's hometown as well as to herself. I would even argue that in some ways it's a romance with herself as well as her love interest. I appreciate that while the story setup and arc are what I want in a romance, there's more here to sink your teeth into. It's what Kate Clayborn is so good at. (I will say I could go the rest of my life without hearing "expansive" used as a personality trait, but that's on me.)

4/5 because at times it was a little slow for me and a few things (see: expansive) felt forced or overdone. But overall, very enjoyable. And I now want a soap-opera-worthy dressing gown.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington books for the ARC!

Book Review: Man's Search for Meaning

Photo from Amazon

Publisher’s description on Man’s Search for Meaning, by Viktor E. Frankl:

Based on his experiences in Nazi death camps, including Auschwitz, from 1942 to 1945, Frankl's timeless memoir and meditation on finding meaning in the midst of suffering argues that man cannot avoid suffering but can choose how to cope with it, find meaning in it, and move forward with renewed purpose.

****

OOF. Oof. This should frankly be required reading. A psychiatrist examines his experience of life in Nazi concentration camps. The stunningly clinical yet emotionally raw way he relates his experience in Auschwitz and other camps is remarkable. This is one of those books that I will always remember reading. It’s brutal and necessary. At times you almost can’t quite believe what you’re hearing—how could humans do this to each other?—but you look around and you know they can. This book is full of both trauma and hope. Evil and resilience. I got a little lost in the last part of the book that goes over the clinical theory, but otherwise, truly, I can’t recommend this enough. It made me think a lot about resilience, our place in the world, and how we keep moving forward. It is somehow both a hard and easy read. You can’t look away—and you shouldn’t.

I listened to this on Audible, and I recommend it. I found it easier to hear this as someone’s story than I think I would have trying to get through it on the page. The narrator does an excellent job.

Book Review: The Water Dancer

Photo from amazon.

It’s hard to know how to rate this book. Ta-Nehisi Coates is an excellent and important writer. If you haven’t discovered his nonfiction yet, don’t waste another second. Between the World and Me made me uncomfortable, and then it made me better. The Water Dancer is his first novel, and it’s a mystical take on the Underground Railroad. It feels important—especially coming from him, especially given his other writing. It was literary, spooky, gripping to start. I never knew where it was going. I wanted to know what happened.

Yet it took me a bit to get into. It picked up the pace and then slowed down again. It was so slow in the last third, it took me over a month to finish. I didn’t care that much by the end. Everything felt very much at arm’s length. But the thing is, the whole time I kept wondering if it was me? I think it was styled that way on purpose. Coates is an incredibly deliberate and intelligent writer and it makes me think that I just didn’t understand everything in this book, and what it has to say. I want to. I want to attend a class on it, read every article and interview to get my head around it and figure this out!

Have you read this? I’m so curious to hear what other people think.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC!