When I travel, I always find time to get a bit of reading time in. Car trips, flights, and relaxing by a pool or on a beach afford ample time to read fantastic books. Here is my Virgin Islands Travel Reading List. And in 2019 I’m not participating in a formal reading challenge, but rather The Unread Shelf Project 2019, a challenge to read books that I already own. So I’ll be listing where each book came from this year instead of listing a particular challenge category.

Books Finished:

A Thousand Sisters: The Heroic Airwomen of the Soviet Union in World War II by Elizabeth Wein

Borrowed from library using Libby app.

This year, I read The Huntress by Kate Quinn. It features a female Soviet pilot as one of the main characters. This book, A Thousand Sisters was listed as a book that Quinn relied on in writing her novel. It seemed interesting to me and went on my To Be Read list. When I checked it out on Libby, I realized that Elizabeth Wein is also the author of Code Name Verity, which I also read and enjoyed this year. Serendipity in reading! This book is nonfiction, and tells the stories of just a few of the Soviet airwomen  who worked as pilots, mechanics, and gunners in active combat in World War II. I previously had no idea that women were allowed to serve in this capacity anywhere in the world at that time. It was fascinating.

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

Borrowed from library using Libby app.

If you haven’t read The Handmaid’s Tale, stop right now and read it. Then once you’ve read it and been completely blown away, then you can pick up The Testaments, and continue the shocking tale. I loved this one, and felt like it was a fitting follow up to the first book. The characters were compelling and the story was engaging. One of the best books of the year.

The Valedictorian of Being Dead: The True Story of Dying Ten Times to Live by Heather B. Armstrong

Borrowed from library using Libby app.

Heather suffered from debilitating depression that was resistant to medication. Her psychiatrist gave her the opportunity to participate in a study where she would be made be put into a deep coma multiple times as a way to essentially jump start her brain back into functioning properly. This is her memoir of her experience with depression and feeling suicidal, and her journey back from it. The story is completely captivating. As a person of faith, I did feel sad that she doesn’t have Jesus in her life, and felt like that perhaps could have been a piece that would have helped her to have hope. But I also recognize that medication, therapy, and other treatments are also necessary. But I couldn’t help from thinking about how my own faith has changed my own perspective on life in a positive way.

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

Borrowed from library using Libby app.

One day, a young girl named Rose tries a piece of lemon cake baked by her mother, and realizes that she can taste her mother’s feelings in it. She comes to realize that she can taste the feelings of all those that prepare her food, but also the ingredients in the food and where it comes from. Rose has to learn how to cope with her new skill/ superpower/ peculiarity. And she realizes, that she’s not the only member of her family who is a little different from everyone else. The story of her growing up years was sad and hopeful and weird, and I really enjoyed it. It was thought-provoking. And weird coincidence, the chef on our boat made lemon cake one night for dessert. I mentioned this book to him, and he told me the story of another chef that he knows who thinks that positive affirmations and thoughts do make food taste better to people. So, who knows, maybe there’s something to it.

The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan

Borrowed from library using Libby app.

I previously read The Bookshop on the Shore, which is actually a follow-up/spin-off from this one. I really loved both, as they’re happy stories of self-discovery and finding one’s place in the world. Plus a bookshop in a van! This one has Nina as the main character. Nina is a librarian who is losing her job and trying to decide what to do with her life.

Treasure by Clive Cussler

Borrowed from a friend.

On our sailboat, I was reading and was asked by one of the other passengers whether I’d read any Clive Cussler. I’d obviously heard of him, but hadn’t read anything by him. Mac mentioned that many of the stories involve scuba diving (we were both scuba diving on this trip). Mac gave me his copy of Treasure to read, and I really enjoyed it. The story has so many threads that take place all around the world and at the outset don’t seem to tie together in any way. But Cussler manages to weave those threads together, while also telling a really fun James Bond-esque story. I’ll probably be picking up some Cussler novels from our next Friends of the Library book sale.

Books Abandoned:

None.