The particular period in which I read these five books was the early postpartum days with my third baby. I say this so that you can keep it in mind as you begin to notice a theme in these reviews — a lack of much retention! Between sleep deprivation (I read a few of these mostly in the middle of the night while up feeding the baby!) and just that general new-baby haze (I also had two toddlers at the time) my memory of these books is not as sharp as it sometimes is. But hopefully they will still be at least somewhat helpful or interesting!

I’m going to have to be honest and say that I remember almost nothing about this one except that it was about Christmas and I didn’t really like it. It was one of those books I mysteriously got for free on Kindle years and years ago and read in the middle of the night while wide-awake with the baby.

I just remember thinking it wasn’t very well-written and that there was nothing in it that I found very compelling, but other than that I can’t give much of a review.

Continuing in my quest to read through Liane Moriarty’s books, I reached this one. I read it shortly before the Hulu show came out, and I was excited to read the book and then watch the series.

The book was okay. Moriarty continues to impress me with her ability to get you in the head of many varied characters, but the story in this one was odd and it all felt a bit too slow to me. There are a LOT of characters, and you get ALL of their perspectives, which I felt was a little much. But it was still interesting, especially later in the book when the pace picked up a bit.

The show, on the other hand, was super weird and varied a lot from the book. So much that I lost interest right before the finale and have yet to go back and finish it.

I read this at the end of 2019, but it was our book club pick for the month so I read it again. It’s not my favorite C.S. Lewis book, or even my favorite of his space trilogy, but it is interesting.

The worldbuilding was certainly creative and interesting to read about, but of course the real draw is the philosophy, which I found more interesting still. The idea of a world untouched by sin and how it would respond to the introduction of sin is fascinating, and Lewis does it well. It gets one thinking about our world, which of course is exactly the point.

Again, I’m sorry to say I don’t remember this one very well. It was another “somehow free on Kindle years ago” ebook, which again I read sometime in the wee hours with my wakeful baby.

I do, however, remember that it was good. And sensory detail in storytelling is one of the areas where I especially struggle and need to grow, so hopefully some of the information seeped into my brain and my craft even if I may not consciously recall all of it.

I really need to try reading this one again, I think. I had wanted to read some G.K. Chesterton for quite awhile, then found a lovely copy of this one at a bookstore with my sister, and she bought it for me. But I think I chose the wrong time to read it.

I definitely found a lot of thought-provoking things in it, much that sticks with me even though I struggled to comprehend most of the book. Chesterton’s insights on the world and man’s place in it and God’s design for our lives are clearly excellent. But in hindsight, the hazy days of postpartum were not the best time for me to tackle a work like this. Over and over I would read several pages only to discover I’d understood almost none of it. So I’m definitely going to give this one another try in another season. I have a feeling that if I’m able to focus better, it might earn a five-star rating.

I’ll be back with five more reads next week — hopefully with better memories! In the meantime, have you read any of these? What are your thoughts? Anything you’d like to add to your to-read list?