Reading, Writing, and Me

May has been another major transition month for me. I graduated from college, I got into the full swing of my summer job working 5 days a week, and I wrapped up a few writing projects and started a new major one. I also got sick and had some real bone tired days that weren't the most conducive to reading. All of this to say, I wasn't breaking any reading records this month, but I do have hope for the future seeing how the end of the month has gone! At the start of May, my life was in total disarray just trying to stay on top of everything that was getting thrown my way. I drove back and forth from Los Angeles one last time, packed up my whole apartment and took my finals, and plunged right back into work. I'm not sure if I'll ever feel fully rested again, but I'm hoping that one day life will have a normal rhythm again. Needless to say, I read one book for the first two weeks of the month. Luckily, though, in the last two weeks, I've settled in a bit better and ...

This Must Be The Place  by Maggie O'Farrell Overview: Daniel has many secrets and tragedies in his life that all unspool over the course of this expansive novel. The fact that his second wife is a famous actress who disappeared off the face of the earth years before feels like one of the more minor elements of his life story. We see kids born and then grown into teenagers. We observe scenes on multiple continents. The timeline is truly unlimited, but the pieces do all snap together in the end. Overall: 4 Characters: 4 Daniel is a compelling character even as he does default back to being an absolute mess at any sign of adversity. He's suffered many losses in life, but he's also experienced beautiful things. He trained as a linguist, and in his younger adult life, he marries and has kids in California. Then, after a divorce, he's cut off from his family and starts over in Ireland on a strange quest that turns into meeting the true love of his life – Claudette, the escape...