Reading Current Books

I’m never been on top of the latest releases, usually picking up books on sale or secondhand, or reading something that’s been passed down or lent to me. In addition, my book club chooses books that have been around a while to ensure that we have no trouble getting them from the public library.

When I noticed that a number of my friends were reading and recommending The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, it sounded like something I’d enjoy. Since I’d received Chapters-Indigo gift cards for Christmas, and the next item in the 2015 Reading Challenge was “a book published this year,” it fell together so nicely that I ordered a copy, along with a couple of others, so I could qualify for free shipping.

I loved it! It was very suspenseful and kept me guessing right until the end. The story was told from the point of view of three different women, none of whom are particularly likeable, and not always in chronological sequence. Unlike some novels of this type, it was easy to follow, even when I was tired and reading at the end of a busy day. I can see why people are comparing it to Gone Girl (though I haven’t read the book yet, I recently watched the movie, and found it very clever).

I was surprised to see the publication date was 2014, because it said 2015 on both Goodreads and the Indigo website. I thought about saving the “book published this year” challenge until later in the year when there will be more out there, but since that would have meant selecting another challenge for this month, choosing a book, and reading it as well, knowing that I need to read In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson before my next book club meeting on March 7, I figured I’d just count it anyway.

Then I began reading my advance copy of Ms. Rapscott’s Girls, which I’d won in a Goodreads giveaway, and realized that since it won’t be published until March 2015, I can check off “a book published this year” with a totally clear conscious.

Ms. Rapscott’s Girls was delightful in every way, from the story itself, with just a touch of magic, to the author’s playful use of language, to the wonderful illustrations. I didn’t end up reading it to Mabel, but I’m looking forward to reading it to my grandchildren some day.