Welcome to another round of “What I’ve Been Reading Lately”. My summer reading is off to a very satisfying start. A highlight of summers at home is returning home from work in time to sit outside reading in the afternoon sun.

I am primarily focused on our summer reading challenge at work. My plan is to complete all 25 prompts, but I’ll be double- (and occasionally triple-) dipping in order to do so. I’m trying to find books that check off prompts for my other reading challenges as well but not with as much success as I was hoping. I am, however, reading many unread Book of the Month selections that have accumulated over time which is very gratifying.

On the horizon is a trip to Norway to spend time with family. I look forward to long plane rides and long days with lots of downtime (rainy days inside or sunny days outside, it doesn’t matter) to get in long stretches of reading. I also eagerly await the opportunity to browse Norwegian bookstores and add to my collection of Norwegian language books.

How’s your summer reading going? 

Take What You Can Carry by Gian Sardar (2021) 🎧
Narrated by Vaneh Assadourian

This book takes place in 1979 and is about a Los Angeles woman who joins her boyfriend on a trip to his hometown in the Kurdistan region of Iraq for a family wedding. She’s an aspiring photographer and thinks this trip will provide the perfect opportunity to take the shot that will take her from lowly secretary to respected photojournalist. Also, she wishes to learn about her boyfriend’s childhood to understand him better. However, going to this war torn area of the world is not what she expected. There are certainly beautiful sights and touching experiences, but also frightening and tragic moments. The story is gripping and emotional. I loved learning more about the Kurdish culture and their struggles. The glimpse of Los Angeles in 1979 was also interesting.  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

• Book Voyage: Read Around the World: Middle East (Kurdistan region of Iraq)
• #DiversityAcrossGenres: MENA / Historical Fiction or Romance
• Summer Book Bingo: A place I want to visit

The Rabbit Factor (Rabbit Factor Trilogy #1) by Antti Tuomainen (2020)
Translated from the Finnish by David Hackston (2021) 📖

This is the first in a trilogy about insurance mathematician, Henri, who lives life based on careful calculations. However, his life is thrown off balance when he suddenly has no job and, at the same time after the death of his brother, finds himself the owner of an adventure park in dire financial troubles and with a great debt to criminals. It was a quirky and somewhat absurd crime fiction. The staff at the park were a motley crew, and Henri found himself in some odd situations. This Finnish author has been on my radar for a while, and learning that Steve Carell has signed to play the main character in an adaptation was intriguing (though no new news in the last couple of years). I can certainly see him playing it! I enjoyed it enough but won’t be reading book #2 anytime soon. Maybe another one by this author instead. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

• Nordic Literature Reading Challenge: Finland / Contemporary Literature
• Summer Book Bingo: First book in a series

Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano (2023) 🎧📖
Narrated by Maura Tierney

This was a good one. I got totally wrapped up in this family saga about four inseparable sisters — the ambitious Julia, Sylvie the reader and dreamer, the free spirited artist Cecilia, and Emeline caring for them all — and William, the broken man who became a part of their close knit family. There was joy and trauma, love and heartache, a very moving story. And the structure was interesting. Chapters alternated between perspectives of them all (in the third person) but time would overlap a bit so the reader experienced the same event from more than one perspective. Highly recommend. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

• Summer Book Bingo: A book from a celebrity book club (Oprah)
• Read My Own Shelf: Unread BOTM selection

Just for the Summer (Part of Your World, #3) by Abby Jimenez (2024)
Narrated by Christine Lakin and Zachary Webber

I listened to Yours Truly not long ago and loved it (Reading Lately, April 2024) so I knew I wanted to read this one. However, I was concerned it might not live up to expectations. I need not have worried (though I was a little thrown off at first by the same male narrator for a different character but I got over it). I loved the world of these characters and now want to go back to #1. This is the story of Emma and Justin, both with major parental issues which complicated their plan for a summer fling to break a curse of their exes always ending up with their soulmates. It had humor, heart, and substance.  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

• Summer Book Bingo: Takes place during the summer
• Read My Own Shelf: Unread BOTM selection

What have you been reading lately?

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