January was L O N G. I swear it is the worst month of the year, especially when you are quarantined inside with three kids under the age of four. Plus, I hate snow so I try to avoid the outdoors as much as possible. Thank goodness I love to read because it is one of the few pleasures in my life right now. Here is what I read for this month;

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Separation Anxiety

I thought Separation Anxiety was terrible – boring, depressing, and weird. I couldn’t relate to this story at all and zero parts were funny to me.

A mom of a preteen is having some issues.  Lately, she has taken to wearing their dog in a baby sling all day as a source of comfort.  She’s currently separating from her husband but they can’t afford separate dwellings so he sleeps in the basement. Although the couple still gets along and are good friends, the husband and wife haven’t slept together in ages and both of their anxious habits (dog wearing and pot) annoy the other. 

They are behind on tuition for their son’s Montessori school when an opportunity arises.  If they host living adult puppets (don’t ask!) for a couple of months the school will cut them a break. At school, a strange event is occurring that bothers the mom.

Ties That Tether

Ties That Tether is a predictable book but cute if you are looking for a light, fast read. 

The main character immigrated from Africa as a child and promised her now-deceased father she wouldn’t lose her culture while living in Canada.  Growing up it was always presumed she would marry a man from a similar background but everyone her mother sets her up with is a disappointment.

One night she meets a random (white) man and they have a lot of chemistry. But one night can have lasting consequences, positive and negative.  Could her mother ever accept her falling in love with someone from a different culture?  Should she continue to respect her elders but ignore her heart?

Never Have I Ever

If you are looking for a mystery that isn’t very scary and you can still sleep after reading it at night, check out the book Never Have I Ever.

As a teen, a woman was involved in an accident that changed her life.  Now happily married and mom to a teen stepdaughter and baby son, her past has come back to haunt her.

A woman is blackmailing her by threatening to reveal her secrets to her friends and family unless handing over a lot of inherited money.  But maybe the main character wants to play the game of hidden secrets too?

The book has a few plot twists I certainly wasn’t expecting, especially at the end. I really enjoyed it. The pace was slow enough I didn’t feel the need to stay up all night reading it but I still finished the book fairly quickly.

The Color of Air

The Color of Air made me want to take a warm vacation so bad. This story takes place on a Hawaiian island in the ’30s.

In a tight-knit community, a hometown boy is coming back after practicing medicine in Chicago for a number of years.  His mother is dead but he has aunties and an uncle who love him and have missed him.

Meanwhile, the island’s volcano is starting to erupt again and people are concerned about the flow of the lava.

The story jumps from the history of his mother as a girl to the present time (in the 30s). It’s interesting to learn about how the immigrants came to this island and the promises the sugar plantation owners made. Workers are planning on striking if conditions don’t get better.

Nothing hugely profound happens in this book but it is a simple, light read that makes me want to travel to Hawaii.  As always, I appreciate learning different viewpoints from historical times.

Check out my book reviews from January for more book recommendations!