Book Chatter

The Book That Matters Most
By Ann Hood
W. W. Norton & Company, 9780393354096, August 2017, 384pp.

The Short of It:

Surprisingly enjoyable.

The Rest of It:

After Ava’s marriage falls apart, she finds herself desperate for companionship. So desperate, that at the suggestion of a close friend, she joins her book club. The club’s reading theme for the year is “the book that matters most”. The participants select books like The Great Gatsby or To Kill a Mockingbird but Ava selects a book from her childhood that many are not familiar with.

As Ava navigates life and tries to figure out where to go next, her daughter Maggie spends her days in Paris as a kept woman and spirals downward into the dark sea of addiction.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when this book was selected for my book club. Honestly, I felt like it would be too fluffy and dare I say it, too romantic and sappy but it was none of those things. The Book That Matters Most deals with some pretty deep topics. I found myself eagerly flipping the pages and because it centers around a book club, there is plenty of bookish talk which I always enjoy.

This book has been around for a little while but I don’t recall ever seeing it before it was selected for my club. I’m glad I read it. I felt like the daughter’s story was more developed than Ava’s but overall it was an enjoyable, page-turning read.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

Sunday Matters

This week was a little strange. The Boy is in Orlando now. He’s all settled in and good. The Girl snapped up the bathroom he had in no time at all. I think he was still in the air when she did it. What’s funny is that they were always supposed to share the bathroom but you know, boy/girl issues so instead all her stuff was in my bathroom. Needless to say, my sink is looking so clean now.

I will also include that after a rough start to the year, things are looking up. Last Friday while driving to work, this feeling of “calm” came over me. I don’t experience moments like that often. I am too much of a worrier so when it happened I sat up and took notice. It felt wonderful.

Right Now:

The Music Man is in full swing. The Girl has a show this afternoon but I am not working it. We saw the show yesterday and it was good. Might have to watch the church service online today. Can’t find a way to go to church, get her fed, drop her off, etc. Oh, and I just remembered that I have training to go to this morning. Drats.

This Week:

Show stuff. Volleyball. Life group. A doctor’s appointment. Not terribly exciting. The show wraps before the Super Bowl so that’s good! We used to have shows ON Super Bowl Sunday and it was always hard to fill the house when that happened. Plus, no nachos.

Reading:

I am reading my book club’s pick for this month, The Book That Matters Most by Ann Hood. It’s a lot more interesting than I thought it would be. I am usually a two-timer with reading but with production week one book at a time is enough for me.

My book club chose our books for the year. Actually, the list goes into 2019 a bit but here is the list in case you’re interested. For bonus points, tell me which ones are mine. Hint, there are three.

Watching:

I saw a clip of The Office at a training I attended recently and now I have it in my head that I must binge watch all seasons ASAP. This was the clip in case you’re interested.

Making:

Production week, so…

Grateful for:

I am grateful for fun people backstage. When you work backstage, it’s all about who you work with and I’ve been lucky enough to work with a really great group backstage. Oh, the stories!

What are your must-reads for this month? Anything I need to know about and drop everything for?

Chatting with friends about books and life…