Short and sweet book reviews of what I've been reading lately
Welcome to Quick Lit, where I share short and sweet reviews of what I’ve been reading lately on (or around) the 15th of the month, and invite you to do the same.
Because I just shared allll the favorites last week (my print favorites are here and my audio favorites are here), sharing another reading roundup feels a little extra. And most of what I’ve been reading lately—aside from a handful of very good “therapy books”—won’t be published until 2025. But I wanted to tell you about one standout book I recently finished, another that felt like the right book at the right time, and give you a space to share your recent reads.
The book I can’t stop talking about
Let’s start with the book I can’t stop talking about: This Is What It Sounds Like: A Legendary Producer Turned Neuroscientist on Finding Yourself Through Music by Susan Rogers and Ogi Ogas. This was recommended by a publishing professor at WriterFest (hi, Sara!) and I queued up the audiobook immediately.
From the very beginning, this book struck me as the musical equivalent of what we do on What Should I Read Next? On that podcast, my goal is to give readers insight into their own literary taste: what do they like, what do they not like, and why? In This Is What It Sounds Like, the authors state the book’s goal early on: “by contrasting our divergent responses to music, we’ll help you get better acquainted with your own musical identity, especially those hidden aspects of your musical appetites that you may have never recognized before.”
While I was frustrated with the gap between what the authors set out to do and what I feel they actually accomplished, I still found this read insightful and thought-provoking, as well as a plain good time. The authors say the best way to experience the book is to read a little and then listen to the songs they cite as examples. I had so much fun toggling back between Spotify and my audiobook app! (Although this did make the book impossible to listen to while driving.)
An engaging therapy memoir
This past month I also listened to End of the Hour: A Therapist’s Memoir by Meghan Riordan Jarvis, narrated by the author. This book had been on my radar since it came out last November, but it wasn’t until a friend (hi, Jessica!) urged me to read it that I jumped on it as perhaps the right book for me right now. I downloaded it immediately (notice a theme here?) and listened to the audiobook nearly in one sitting on a solo road trip.
In her first person account, Jarvis walks the reader through how she came undone after her father died from cancer and her mother died not long thereafter, and the compound PTSD she subsequently experienced. I was intrigued by her tale of childhood trauma that led her to become a therapist in the first place, and then how later, even though her job was to help her patients navigate grief and trauma, she found those tools insufficient for the situation she found herself in. The most interesting parts of the book to me involved the treatment she sought (or rather, was steered toward) when she reached her own limits.
I happened to listen to this not long after Adrienne Brodeur’s Wild Game, which felt like an excellent pairing as they share a Cape Cod setting that plays an important role in each.
What have YOU been reading lately? Tell us about your recent reads—or share the link to a blog or instagram post about them—in comments.
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This month I’m reviewing a humorous short story, a perfectly-titled romance, some nostalgic middle grade, a thriller that is also a powerful father/daughter story, a couple of excellent books on motherhood, two cultural critiques, and my #1 favorite novel of 2024 (Liane Moriarty did it again!).
https://kendranicole.net/quick-lit-december-2024/
Okay, you’ve sold me! I’ll be eagerly watching for “This Is What It Sounds Like.”
I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery “The God of the Woods” this month! Plus 5 nonfiction books, including “Fat Talk” about changing the relationship with our bodies in our fat phobia culture.
My 6 book recommendations are here:
https://lisanotes.com/books-i-recommend-december-2024/
Wow, that music book sounds so interesting. I’m adding that to my list! Thanks for the recommendation.
I’m sharing 5 books I’ve read in the last month including 3 historical fiction, a short story, and a nonfiction perfect for book lovers.
The Second Life of Mirielle West
The Berlin Letters – thanks Anne for the recommendation
Long Island
The Answer is No: A Short Story
Why We Read: On Bookworms, Libraries, and Just One More Page Before Lights Out
https://www.sincerelystacie.com/2024/12/quick-lit-december-2024-edition/
Maureen says:
I just started reading God of the Woods by Liz Moore. I’m really enjoying it.
Celeste says:
I recently finished When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill. This unexpected and fabulous story is my favorite of 2024.
I’m also rereading an old favorite memoir – Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake by Anna Quindlen. So much insight and wisdom that resonates with me in that book!
Thank you for sharing the joy of reading and reading in community that you all do so well here on MMD!
Dinah Laprairie says:
I like the “sound” of This Is What It Sounds Like! Adding it to my TBR.
I’m ending the year with cozy reads, a Rosamunde Pilcher novel and Nita Prose’s second mystery, The Mystery Guest. This week, though, I’m talking about how I was experiencing the sense of dread that runs through Rizzio by Denise Mina. Find it over here ➡️ https://open.substack.com/pub/dinahlaprairie/p/readability-review-no-5-rizzio-by
Gloria says:
I almost like this pared down, focused list better than the usual ones! I’ve added both to my TBR.
I did miss the images of the titles though!
Lisa Eichholtz says:
I’ve been working through a backlog on my TBR- just finished Girl, Forgotten by Karin Slaughter. I hope we have a new series coming. I’d like to spend more time with these US Marshalls.
Ann says:
Currently reading Josie Silver’s One Day In December. Enjoying something lighter, but at almost 400 pages, it is a bit long. I won a copy of We Pretty Pieces of Flesh by
Colwill Brown. Set in Yorkshire England in the 90’s, a debut about adolescent girls, that is a little hard to get into because of the dialect. I reread Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library for book club. I appreciated it slightly more the second time around. And I read a slim volume (trying to complete my challenge) A Christmas Memory: One Christmas / The Thanksgiving Visitor by
Truman Capote. The stories were related and written at different times. I think at this point in time, I must face the fact I am not meeting my goal, but I am okay with it. I think next year I am going to try & read more of what is on my shelf, backlist titles and less new releases and celebrity book club picks.
Thanks, Anne, for multiple lists this month!
I have a tentative relationship with parenting books. A lot of books about the family read like heavy-duty instruction manuals and they inspire hopelessness. To the Tenth Generation takes a long view and emphasizes the importance of simple faithfulness, walking in the fear of the Lord as we welcome our children and our grandchildren to walk alongside us. https://michelemorin.net/2024/12/04/how-your-imperfect-family-can-make-an-eternal-impact/