Yes, we’re just a few days away from the end of March and I’m just now getting February’s open book post out. C’est la vie!
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Part of my Lenten sacrifice was to not read my Kindle in bed at night because I wanted to devote that time to prayer instead. Therefore, I read a lot less in February than I did in January.
Now that Lent is almost over, I’ll be honest and say that my Kindle-in-bed ban didn’t last! A few weeks ago, I whipped out my little black device under the comfort of my warm blankets and read the night away.
Another factor for me (attempting) to give up the Kindle was that I was staying up way later than I wanted to and would wake the next day as a crabby grouch to my family – nobody wants that! For the sake of my family, I needed to get to bed earlier.
Now my happy-medium is allowing my Kindle in bed but only for 15 minutes of reading before lights out!
OK, onto the books.
Fiction
The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
This was a crazy story about a man trying to solve a murder who lives the same day over and over in the bodies of a different person each day. At times I wondered if my brain could handle all the body-and-time-hopping, but I wanted to make it to the end, and it was worth it! I was sad when the book was over and I definitely couldn’t have predicted how it would end. This is one of the most creative novels I’ve ever read.
Non Fiction
#Outofshapeworthlessloser (Gracie Gold memoir)
Woah, this was riveting! As a former figure skater, this book brought back so many memories and feelings related to some of the uglier sides of this sport.
If you don’t know Gracie Gold, she’s a US Olympic medalist who battled depression and an eating disorder and went to rehab. But that’s just the surface of her story. Her book is a tell-all, revealing unhealthy training techniques (which didn’t surprise me in the least), disordered eating, her parents’ broken marriage, and the utter spiral Gracie went down on her way to the top. I was still competing when Gracie Gold was at “her best”, though I was nowhere near her level and in a different discipline.
I was a member of the media at 2014 US Nationals, where she won and brought the crowd to its feet to secure her spot at the Olympics. I remember feeling jealous of her life, wishing I could have it. Now, having read what she was going through at that time, I wouldn’t wish it on anyone! It’s a reminder that all the glory in sports doesn’t heal wounds and doesn’t make you feel loved.
Trigger warning as rape, sexual assault, suicide, drugs, emotional/verbal abuse and sexuality is discussed, plus a decent amount of swearing.
The 7-1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle sounds like Groundhog Day on steroids! Very creative.