When I created my post about rereading books kept in storage for too many years I wasn’t sure whether I would actually have time to read the books on my list. My post “Rereading Books Before I Give Them Away Part 1” was an attempt to get started with a small pile of books from the many boxes in storage since our move eight years ago. I reluctantly started “Pearl Cove” by Elizabeth Lowell and it was hard for me to get back into reading it but once I got going I remembered how much I love this book.

“Pearl Cove” is a typical action adventure romance novel set in the Pacific surrounding a murder at a pearl farm. This is the third book in the series and I have no idea where I bought it or why I haven’t read the first two books but I will definitely look at my library to see if they have the first two. I may even purchase them from a second hand store if I like them, but I am not sure yet. I am supposed to be narrowing down my collection right?

The book is set in both Australia and Seattle focusing on the pearl trade and the murder of the creator of a rumored rare black rainbow pearl that is highly coveted. I will whole heartedly admit that I knew nothing of pearls before reading these books, or that Seattle had a pearl district. I have not yet done any research into the pearl trade in Seattle but I will tell you that this book gave me more respect for the humble pearl as a piece of jewelry. There are enough facts about pearl growing in this book to keep it interesting and the plot behind the pearls fits really well with the story. It does make me wonder more about the pearl trade in general and if more modern technologies have made pearl seeding easier.  A quick google search did reveal that black rainbow pearls are a real thing and that they are beautiful. The would fit in very well with our Midnight Rainbow aesthetic over at Oscoey Shop.

As far as the plot of the book goes, it fits in with a fairly standard romance novel, but I feel like I am missing quite a bit of back story by not reading the first two books. I am going to read the first two books before I comment on any of the continuity between them but from what I understand, the main characters Archer Donovan and Hannah McGarry in this book have previously met in another book. Hannah was married to Archer’s deceased half-brother which provides some conflict in their relationship. Their relationship in this book is strained and then magically better after a misunderstanding is cleared up which I feel is pretty typical of romance novels.

Overall I liked both Archer and Hannah but I felt like their characters could have had more depth. I am not sure though if that was because I didn’t read the first two books or if it was to keep the book at a shorter length. There was some macho man behavior going on with Archer but honestly this time around it didn’t bother me nearly as much as when I was reading Ecotopia. With romance novels I come to expect that sort of writing much more than with a more serious piece like Ecotopia.

I am not sure if I would recommend these books or not. I know that is kind of a cop out but I really feel like I should read the first two before passing any judgement so this review will be pretty short. I did not realize this was a romance novel when I added it to my list. My memories were more of the action/adventure parts of the book, of which there is plenty, but be fair warned this is technically a romance novel. I would definitely recommend starting with the first book in the series, “Amber Beach“, if you want a more complete read but as it is, “Pearl Cove” does stand alone as a great read!

Stay tuned for our next book review from our list, An Inconvenient Woman by Dominick Dunne.

Links:

Pearl Cove by Elizabeth Lowell

An Inconvenient Woman by Dominick Dunne

Rereading Books Before I Give Them Away Part 1

Book Review: Ecotopia by Ernest Callenbach

Eight years ago when we moved into our house I pared down my book collection by about 25% and put the rest into boxes. Until a few months ago those boxes largely remained untouched as we navigated life and I stopped reading all together while we raised young kids and also worked. During this time I was also given a large quantity of newer books over the many holidays. Most of these books are unread as well. Do you see where I am going? I have tons of books I don’t read and nowhere to store them.

I used to read a lot, voraciously as some say, up until we had our second child when reading adult books pretty much halted. My middle child is a huge fan of reading so I was definitely reading all day long, but it was all kids books and my spare time was spent cross stitching or sleeping. Many of the books I had stashed away got me through some rough times and I have many fond memories of reading them. My Dorothy Dunnett series are tucked away in their own box and I fully intend to read the Lymond Chronicles again next year but during our giant clean out of everything in our house this year I discovered some books that we straight up gave away and others that I wanted to read one more time before making that decision so I am making this list of books with what I remember about them to get myself started. I will say that I am in the middle of A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley so I do need to finish that first but my intention is to get through this list by the end of 2023. All of these books are a quick read and I am confident that if I read a little bit every day I will be able to achieve that goal.

Here is a list of the books with links and what I can remember about them. It will be interesting to see if what I remember is accurate and whether or not I still like these books after so many years. I will post reviews of the books as I go and link them in this list.

Pearl Cove by Elizabeth Lowell

My first book is Pearl Cove by Elizabeth Lowell and when I went to link it I noticed it is the third book in a series so now I want to read the first two. Maybe this project wasn’t such a great idea. Ha! This book is very much a fun summer read about a lady that goes pearl diving and there is some sort of mystery if I am remembering correctly. I really liked this one so I might have to read the other two from the library when I am done.

Book Review: Pearl Cove by Elizabeth Lowell

We’ll Meet Again by Mary Higgins Clark

This book is a mystery about a lady that runs into someone from her past and there is a murder of some sort. I mainly remember there is a plot twist revolving a door bolt and the killer tries to murder the main character as well. This book was pretty good but I also don’t particularly remember it being so good I would read it multiple times but I did keep it when I was pairing down my books so maybe.

The Beach House by James Patterson and Peter de Jonge

I honestly don’t remember what this book is about, but clearly it is about a beach house. Now that I am thinking about it this may be the one with the floor bolt in the door that involves the plot twist. I am interested to see if my memories of this book flood back in after I start reading it.

An Inconvenient Woman by Dominick Dunne

Confession time. I love this book and I am not sure why it is in the give away pile but maybe it got mixed up with the I want to read it again pile? It is set in Hollywood about an affair between a wealthy man and a poor waitress and very well written, at least as I remember. Maybe it isn’t as good as I remember any more? We shall see!

Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

I have two books by Jhumpa Lahiri on this list and Interpreter of Maladies is the first one. I don’t remember which book is first or if they are related but I do remember that they were good books. My dad gave me these when we were still swapping books and they are very him if you know what I mean. I may pass these back to my dad if he wants to read them again.

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

The Namesake is the second book by Jhumpa Lahiri that I have in this list and I don’t remember what it is about either. I will also see if my dad wants this book back when I am done since he is the one that gave them to me.

And now we enter the more mass-market phase I went through were I bought bestselling books instead of just getting them from the library. My goal was to build my collection. Why I thought buying mass market paperbacks was a good idea I will never know but rest assured, I now try to get books like this from the library.

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

I fully remember what this book was about but I haven’t read it in so long I would love to read this book one more time before I give it away. I would highly recommend getting this one from the library instead of buying it. This is a very good book about a young girl coming of age as a Geisha before WWII.

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

This book took the world by storm at some point and I bought it. I remember it being a great book but I also don’t remember exactly what it is about and I am ready to pass it on once I read it one more time. I think it is another coming of age story or something like that but I don’t remember. I just remember it is a good book. I am trying really hard not to read the synopsis of these books when I link them so I don’t get any spoilers.

When the Emperor was Divine by Juliet Otsuka

Last but not least is When the Emperor was Divine by Juliet Otsuka. I don’t really remember what this book is about but I think it might be the one where the main character is in a work camp and has a relationship with another woman there but I may be mixing that up with another book.

Well, that’s my list of books I am going to read before passing them on in 2023. I will write brief reviews of each one when I am finished and link them in this list for those that are interested. I am positive I am forgetting most of what I read in these books and it will be interesting to read them and see what I remember. Maybe I won’t want to give them away? Maybe I will do this with the rest of my collection? Time will tell!

I didn’t plan it but it looks like I have 10 books to read before the end of the year. Do you think I can finish them all? Leave a comment below.

I thought I would make a list of books my kids are reading during summer of 2023 as a fun way of tracking where my kids are at and to share book ideas with other book loving families. Last year I posted a couple of lists for what my kids were reading before 1st and 3rd grade and now that they are a year older their tastes have changed. I do want to make a few caveats before everyone gets their pitchforks out on what level is appropriate.

1. We do a lot of listening to books in the car during our commute. Most books are easier for kids to digest if they are listened to rather than if kids are reading to themselves so we are able to go up a level or two for our youngest and then talk about it. We also will watch the movie if available after reading books and this really helps with understanding some of the more difficult concepts.
2. My kids all read at above grade level. They haven’t always, but we read a lot and it helped them learn very quickly once they got started.
3. Every kid is different and learns to read at their own pace. It is much better to read at or slightly above your kid’s grade level than to read something way above and have them get frustrated.
4. The most important thing is that reading should be fun!

So with that I will get into the list of what they are reading. We are only a few weeks into the summer and we have already read several books. The favorite so far has been “A Series of Unfortunate Events” by Lemony Snicket. This series has been a hit with our daughter and our son likes it as well. We rewarded them for finishing the first three books with watching the movie for movie night and the kids loved it! They are listening to this series in the car but we also added it to our daughter’s Kindle since she is a voracious reader. If you have not read this series yet it is about a family of orphans that undergo mysterious events when moving from relative to relative after their parents die. There is a lot of problem solving, big words which are defined in the book and hilarity that both of my kids like.

Another series my daughter loves is “The Land of Stories” by Chris Colfer. These are not my son’s style yet but our daughter is obsessed. We were given these books by someone in our Buy Nothing group and I had never heard of them. They are the traditional fairy tales reimagined and from what I understand they are pretty good. I read part of the first book and it was well written. My copy has mysteriously disappeared from behind my bed so I suspect my daughter has borrowed it back to read again.

We found this “Mayor Good Boy” series by Dave Scheidt and Miranda Harmon at the library one day and both of my kids loved it. The series is graphic novels for grades 2-5 and it is about a dog focusing on silliness. I did not read much of these but they were a fast read for both of my kids and they read them a couple of times.

Power Rangers have been the obsession in 2023 for our youngest. We have finally moved on from Ninjago into this long running series. I had no idea that there were over 20 seasons of Power Rangers and honestly until this year I had not watched any of them but now I am an expert and these Shattered Grid graphic novels are a favorite of our son. They are a little bit more challenging to read but I love the message the rangers convey of helping each other and doing good for the universe. We bought a couple of them but we also found copies at our local library.

My daughter has been ready for more challenging books so I brought out some of the books my oldest read around this age. The City of Ember series by Jeanne DuPrau was a favorite of both the oldest and I. Now our middle daughter loves them too. These definitely took her much longer to read than other books she has been reading but she loved them. I kept this series in the car for her so she had something to read on our long car rides out and about. These are about a community that lives underground after a disaster and how they figure out why they are there and what lies on the surface. It is well written and perfect for kids that like a little bit of action and a mystery to solve.

Another book we just read this week was “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” by Jeff Kinney. The kids loved it and we watched the movie for our weekly movie night which was everything I remembered. Although I do have a copy of this one somewhere in the house which I ahem, bought several years ago and have misplaced, the kids listened to this one in the car on the way home from our trip. I am going to have to find our copy and then scout out some thrift stores for the rest of the series. Usually with popular books like these there are tons of copies floating around out there and it is better to buy them used. I would just get them at the library but I can already tell my son will read them repeatedly and I like to encourage that as much as possible.

Wow. We are only a few weeks into the summer and my kids have already read a ton of books! I can’t wait to see what they pick up at the library again next week. For now this list will have to do. If we find some other good books this summer I will do another post next month to let you know what we find. For now, happy reading!!!

Links:

Book Tracker by NothingButDownloads on Etsy

Summer Reads for Rising First Graders

Summer Reads for Rising 3rd Graders