I can’t believe January is almost in the rearview mirror – what a fast, strange month it’s been! I’ve been trying to read here and there, and there are my latest titles from the nightstand…
–Marissa
The Night Guest by Hildur Knutsdottir is a slim Icelandic suspense novel where Iðunn is constantly tired, and when she look at her pedometer watch, discovers she’s walking thousands of steps every night, with no memory of it. This was a super fast audiobook listen that I was into throughout (minus the ANIMAL CRUELTY), but the ending was… weird? confusing? kind lame? A mixed review for sure!
The Sea of Unspoken Things by Adrienne Young is definitely, for me at least, a slooooooow burn of a novel (like, too slow, I don’t want to pick this up, slow). Lovely writing, yes, interesting premise, yes (a twin returns home after the mysterious death of her twin in the woods), but this almost reads more as literary fiction than a suspense novel. Atmospheric and lush, but didn’t pull me from start to finish.
Reunion by Elise Juska was an audiobook listen, and I really loved it, since the characters are my age and heading back to their college for their 25-year college reunion. The three main characters – Hope, Polly an Adam – have always been friends, but are going through VERY different life experiences at the time of the reunion, and I felt like I could relate to each of them in one fashion or another. This was set in 2021 and was definitely a “my god, the pandemic” novel, which I thought created another layer of interest to the story and the character connections. This was quiet and slow-moving, but was exactly what I wanted from it.
Challenger by Adam Higginbotham is seriously deep dive into what led up to the Challenger explosion, the aftermath, and the warning signs that were there prior to launch. I know a lot about Challenger – about the early space program altogether in fact – but I really got into this “deep dive” of the entire event. I was one of those kids who watched it live, and it was forever seared into my mind, so this fantastically researched and compelling work of nonfiction did it for me. I’ve made it a goal in 2025 to really lean into “becoming a minor expert” on a few topics and the space program and Challenger in particular are on resume of minor expertness. Sad, shocking, so well researched, dramatic and moving.
The 15-Minute Method by Sam Bennett was one of those “let’s read this to really kick off the year right and get after that resolutions” titles I picked up, and the book is in the title – what you can do with 15 minutes. This is practical, funny and super duper easy to read if you need a kick to get going on things!
Secrets of Adulthood by Gretchen Rubin is the latest in her itty bitty books about one of her passions, this time, aphorisms. She’s written similar books about outer order, inner calm, the five senses, and happiness, so she’s adding this to her stable. Super fast, simple, easy to flip through if she’s your jam!
stubbornsunshine.com 