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I rave about books in my personal and professional lives and there are many January releases that excite me. I was telling Sally this week about a novel I really liked and one I didn't, and we had an interesting conversation about what draws us to pick up a book and what convinces us to put it back down.
I'm a book quitter. My time is my most precious resource and I love to spend it reading, but I often know right away that a book just isn't for me. Other times, I push myself to keep going, hoping that the plot will bait me with an intriguing development or a character will make a compelling choice.
I quit two books this week. One was highly recommended to me by someone whose tastes I trust, but the narrator was distractingly whiny and self-centered. The other featured a strong friendship between the main characters that intrigued me, but their relationship was overshadowed by a lot of digressive descriptions of the sport they love. About a quarter of the way in, I still couldn't answer the question, "What is this book about?!" so I gave up.
I won't name names because that's not the point, as our tastes all vary widely! What I will name is the book I really loved that came out earlier this week: Rosie Storey's Dandelion Is Dead. Poppy, grieving her sister Dandelion’s death, goes through her things, opens her dating app and replies to a message from Jake. Jake is a divorced dad working through his own baggage. They meet. Sparks fly. Except Jake thinks Poppy is Dandelion. Hijinks ensue.
This is a charming and quirky novel about people living through the tangled mess that is grief while trying to grasp at joy. Characters are neither “good” nor “bad” in this book - every single one is multifaceted, flawed, and evolves with vulnerability through their messiness. I simply loved this.
What have you been reading? Have you started and quit anything recently? Is there a book you're most looking forward to that is coming out soon?
Have a wonderful long weekend - we are open on Monday the 19th!
- Mallory
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