The Next Good Book
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I love a good read!  Sometimes I get so excited about a book that I just want to shout about it. Other times, I do not look up long enough to digest what I am reading at all.  This site will give me an incentive to think about what I am reading… and i am hopeful it will help you to find
THE NEXT GOOD BOOK
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goodbye vitamin by rachel khong

10/11/2017

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Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong
194 pages
 
What’s it about?
Ruth is 30-years-old and has just been left by her fiancé.  Feeling unmoored she goes home for the holidays for the first time in years.  Ruth tells her story in diary form and it is equally parts hilarious, sad, and insightful.
 
What did it make me think about?
This slim novel makes you think about all the big subjects- family, aging, relationships. The harsh reality of dementia, and the difficulties it presents to so many families, is highlighted beautifully in this book by Amy Engle. This novel runs the gamut- but what sets it apart is the humor found along side the grief!
 
Should I read it?
This one quietly snuck up on me.  It is such a small book and at first you are just struck with Ruth’s voice as a narrator.   "For a long time on the freeway I trail a chicken truck that rains white feathers onto my windshield .  I try to windshield -wipe them, which only results in their getting stuck in the wipers and moving enchantingly."  She sees things clearly, but in a much different way than most.  Somewhere during the second half of the novel I realized just how beautiful this book was.  I would highly recommend this one!
 
Quote-
“An hour today, you spent shouting.  You said we’d stolen money from you.  You threw your pillows over the fence and into the Grovers’ pool.  You broke the legs off of your dining table chair. You smashed almost all of our drinking glasses. 
In a matter of days, lung had said, it can go from manageable to scary.”

If you like this try-
The Wangs Vs. the World by Jade Chang
​
The Good Luck of Right Now by Matthew Quick
Prayers For the Stolen by Jennifer Clement
​How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Moshin Hamid

​9 stars
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    “Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.”
    ― Charles William Eliot
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     ratings

    1 to 2- I did not enjoy this book.
    3 to 4- I found some aspect of this book redeeming but would not recommend it.
    5 to 6- I really enjoyed something about this book (characters, plot, meaning etc.) but it was uneven. Some aspects were stronger than others.
    7 to 8- It was a good book.  I liked lots of aspects of this book.  I would recommend it.
    9 to 10- I was sorry to turn the last page.  I highly recommend this book!
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