The Book Was Better

Catherine Saunders is struggling. She’s buried herself in meaningless one night stands and copious amounts of alcohol while she attempts to finish her PhD in Archeology and come to terms with her recent divorce. When the key artifact of her dissertation goes missing, Catherine has to tame her desperation and reexamine her own choices — and her own conscience — to get the vessel back.   The premise behind this read, and the overall plot, were intriguing and fun, making it a light-hearted almost-beach-read. But, the over-academic pretension, underdeveloped side characters, and borderline unlikable heroine, made it a little more of a slog than it should’ve been.   More Mary, fewer daddy issues, a less predictable twist, and more relationship development could have made this a winner.   Huge thank you to NetGalley and Abrams Books for this advance read!  Her Life in Ruins: ★ ★ ★1/2

  Would you open your box?   The Measure follows the intertwining lives of eight people who must decide —and then deal with the consequences. For inside each box is a simple string that represents the length of their lives. Of course, all the best minds pounce on the mysterious strings, trying to determine: Are they real? Where did they come from? What values do the measurements represent?   As the story unfolds, more questions arrive than answers. Should “short-stringers” hold office? Get married? Have children? Are “long-stringers” invincible?   Two elements stuck with me as I read: 1) How scarily authentic the worldwide reaction to the strings was portrayed, and 2) The way the lives of the characters were artfully woven to show the impact that each individual has on the world around them.   And then there were the small things (without spoilers): the girl with the pink-tipped hair, the engraving on the bench, the rescued doctor, the prayer card.   When I...