daydreams and night reads

I’m experiencing the dilemma.

It’s always a challenge for me when I reach this predicament because I like to always finish the things I start. And right now, that is The Paris Wife.

About a year ago I picked up Paula McLain’s novel at Half Priced Books and due to Kjersten’s Reading Funk of 2015, I never got the chance to read it.

Finally, as a result of Kjersten’s Reading Challenge of 2016, I’ve started it.

Now, The Paris Wife, similar to The Nightingale, has won the GoodReads Choice Award for Best Historical Fiction. Also, similar to my previous venture, it takes place in the early 20^th century in Europe.

And because of these similarities, I may have shot myself in the foot. (Not literally, I promise. Though, I did stub my toe earlier today and man, did that hurt.) The comparisons/contrasts that I’m drawing in my head to The Nightingale, I feel are really harming me. Starting off the year with such a phenomenal book has set my standards so high that I, at 5’3”, may not reach them.

However, this is not about book #1 of 2016, it is about book #2.

I’m currently trying to find the hook of this story. The Paris Wife is a fictional account of the life of Hadley Richardson, Ernest Hemingway’s wife, in Jazz Age Paris. Throughout all of the reviews that I have read and obviously, according to GoodReads users, this book has received excessive amounts of praise and adoration.

So I’m trying to find it.

Maybe I’ve been pulling too many “Karens” lately to be intrigued (“Pulling a Karen” = an endearing term for following the routine of my mother, Karen, where you read five pages of a book and are out like a light). Or maybe I’m completely missing the point. Either way, I’m determined to find out.

I once found a quote from Chris Brogan that read, “Don’t settle. Don’t finish crappy books.” However, I believe that The Paris Wife is far from crappy. I just don’t think I’ve caught on to its beauty yet.

I’m just experiencing a small reader’s dilemma.

So I’ll remain on my perfectionist journey to finish each book I start because who knows. I could be missing something truly amazing.

I’m currently reading: The Paris Wife by Paula McLain.