Summer 2017 book wrap-up, Twitter style

*Maybe if I keep writing summer wrap-up posts, the infernal heat will go away.

23 books, summarized in 140 characters or less.

Unquiet Land by Sharon Shinn, 3 stars
My least favorite of the Elementals series. Boring love interests are a major downer.

Divinity of Women by Heather B. Moore, 4 stars
A nice read on the women of the Bible and Book of Mormon.

Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries by Kory Stamper, 5 stars
One of my word nerd heroes talks about life as a dictionary editor. It's fun and fascinating.

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton, 3 stars
A good mystery that is just spooky enough for a rainy weekend. But the ending ruined the good thing the book had going, IMO.

The Identicals by Elin Hilderbrand, 3 stars
A nice beach read. You read it, enjoy it, then forget it. Except I still think about it from time to time.

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard, 4 stars
A good read on the beauty and ruthlessness of nature. But don't read it if you need a plot.

The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler, 3 stars
A character-driven book (why am I reading plotless books in the summer?) with an ending you'll want to discuss.

Be Frank with Me by Julia Clairborne Johnson, 5 stars
A young woman helps out an eccentric kid and his reclusive mother for several months. You'll be sad when it's time for her to leave.

Arcanum Unbounded: A Cosmere Collection by Brandon Sanderson, 5 stars
For those who just can't get enough of Brandon Sanderson, even though he does nothing but give us new worlds to play in.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, 5 stars
When you're stressed out, just go to Narnia. Problem solved.

Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis, 5 stars
The book I always enjoy but must rely on the movie to remember the plot.

*Note: I did not reread The Horse and His Boy because I hate that one. But I did review it.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis, 4 stars
My favorite symbolism of the entire series.

The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis, 3 stars
The adventures are starting to feel a little stale, but I reeeeally want to fly into Narnia like that.

The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis, 5 stars
Adored this one as a kid. Magic soil that grows anything you plant, flying horses, the birth of Narnia—I love it all.

The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis, 3 stars
It's also cool to see the death of Narnia. Still mulling over Susan's fate, though.

Switch by Chip and Dan Heath, 4 stars
I really wish the authors' names were Chip and Dale. But there's some cool ideas on how to enact change.

Exit West by Mohsin Hamid, 3 stars
A timely refugee story with a hint of magic to it. A tad overwritten, though.

Landline by Rainbow Rowell, 3 stars
A magic phone allows a woman to talk to her husband in the past. WILL IT SAVE THEIR MARRIAGE?

The Spectator Bird by Wallace Stegner, 4 stars
A short (for Stegner) book about aging, basically. An excellent read, as his books always are.

Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging by Sebastian Junger, 4 stars
The root of all our problems: we don't do things together. Introvert me balks, but Junger makes some points that are hard to argue against.

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George, 5 stars
A pretty great fairy tale YA book that doesn't get a lot of attention.

Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain by Oliver Sacks, 3 stars
Fascinating at first, but the case-study-after-case-study format gets wearying after a while.

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, 5,000 stars
If there ever was a perfect book, this would be it.

For more great book talk, head over to Modern Mrs. Darcy.