First Read with Michelle book pick of 2023

If you are returning to my book pick list, thank you for coming back.  If you are new to Read with Michelle, thanks for stopping by and I hope you find some inspiration.  Whichever category that you belong to, please be sure to return to my Facebook page and share your thoughts on this book, or any book for that matter, sharing is caring!!! Near the last day of every month, I would love it if you would share all your books that you read that month, whether it is one book or twelve, please just share your love of books!!! 

 

*If you are looking for a way to sum up your 2022 reading life, I have created a list here.  I find it fun to rate the books I have read in a top ten list and other random facts. I have been making top ten lists since 1996 and it is fun to look back on some of these books and smile at the memory or wonder why did I choose that one? 

*If you are looking for a challenge in 2023, here is my reading challenge. I encourage you to be creative with the prompts and remember to read what you like.  If you don't like a category, change it!!! 

*Follow me on Goodreads if you want to learn about books that are soon to be published, I read a lot of fiction books before they hit your shelves and many of them will end up as a monthly book pick before the year is over.  

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Now for January's book pick.  I was looking for something fresh and different and NOT a World War II book.  What I found was a book about a future First Lady that I found unique and worthy of a share.  

Imagine reading about an icon before she was a household name? We all know her name, Jackie Kennedy, but do we know how she became "Jackie Kennedy"? 

  Jacqueline Bouvier wasn't sure what she wanted to do outside of spending a year in Paris.  Somehow she convinced her mother to let her go to school in Paris for her junior year of college.   It would be a year that Jackie would experience freedom from her home life and what was expected and she could just be Jackie.  While she is discovering her path, she is traveling through a countryside that still felt the sting of WWII.  You will see the characters weave in and out of areas still feeling the destruction from the Occupation and see the strength of Parisians during the rebuilding.  I couldn't just quit the WWII books that easily :). 

It was nice to see a Jackie that I didn't know, a carefree young woman discovering who she wants to be and experiencing love with Paris as a backdrop.  

Thanks again for stopping by, I hope you will enjoy this year's monthly books. There are many on this year's that are simply spectacular!!! I will try to publish the next pick around the 20th of each month, just in case you want to read the book during that month, but feel free to skip around, mix it up, and do your own thing.  Come back and share what you thought on the blog or the Facebook page, Read with Michelle.  

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November Book Pick

 I had so much trouble picking the book for November.  Why?  Well, I try to pick a book that I read the month before and make it be one that I loved.  That is easy most months because I usually only read one great one a month, but this month was completely different.  During the month of October, I read 5 books that I wanted to share with people.  FIVE books that I think are worth your time.  I decided that I don't have to do the same thing that everyone else does, I can pick a TOP FIVE book pick and you can choose any of them and I think you will have a GRAND time.  

1.  Dave Grohl-The Storyteller

This book is all about rock n roll, but not sex and drugs.  This is a book to celebrate music.  A book that shows love, devotion, and a slight coffee addiction.  I loved every single part of this book and if I have to pick a favorite of all 5 this month, it is this one.  

2.  Taylor Jenkins Reid-Malibu Rising 

I love all of Taylor's books, and this one is even better than the last one (Daisy Jones and the Six).  This one features June and Mick and shows us their relationship and marriage.  We will then be transformed to the future where we meet June and Mick's kids and see how they cope with his stardom and mom and dad's choices.  I won't say anything else, except this one is hard to put down. 

3.  Jessica Anya Blau-Mary Jane

This is probably my second favorite of all 5 books.  This one shows us a teenage girl on the verge of womanhood.  She is a nanny for the summer to a doctor and his wife.  While working she experiences a whole world different than the life she has with her parents and feels she is living a double life.  Things keep getting stranger when she meets her television idol and her rock star husband.  

4.  Patti Callahan Henry-Once Upon a Wardrobe

I could feel the magic all around while reading this book.  Meg finds herself interviewing C.S. Lewis about how he created Narnia for her invalid brother, George.  George is a very creative child that draws pictures of the stories Meg tells him from the information she gathered from C.S. Lewis.  The tale is almost as magical as Narnia itself.  

5.  Laura Dave-The Last Thing He Told Me

I knew this book would be a type of thriller but had no idea how this book would twist and turn.  I am not sure what I can tell you that would not give it away. I will just say it is a book about a woman that marries a man.  This man has a child from a previous marriage and he is a widower.  I do believe that is all I can tell you, sorry about that, you just need to be surprised.  

On my monthly book shelf that I keep, I will record The Storyteller as the book of the month and the other 4 as bonus reads, but please don't let any of these pass you by.