2019 Reading Challenge Reviews - Books 11 & 12

This year, I'm participating in the 2019 Pop Sugar Reading Challenge. (For more information check out my 2019 Reading Challenge Overview post, or look up the challenge on popsugar.com.) 

Here are my thoughts on the 11th and 12th books that I read.

Book 11: Gemini by Carol Cassella

I gave this book 3/5 stars on Goodreads, but I think it really deserved 2.5 stars if half stars were an option on the app.

The prompt I chose for this was "A Book With a Zodiac Sign or Astrology Term in the Title." 

I struggled with getting invested in this book. The changing point of views, and the slow build to where everything came together took far too long in my opinion.

By the time it did start to come together and make sense, I began to really love and understand the characters. It was just a difficult read for me to get to that point.

There were a lot of moving pieces as a doctor tries to save a woman, Jane Doe, as well as discover who she is and if she has any family that should be notified.

The science in different parts of the books interested me. There was one particular piece that reminded me of an old episode of House that really stuck with me, and I'm always intrigued when similar cases come up in other shows or books.

Book 12: Satchmo: My Life in New Orleans by Louis Armstrong

I gave this book 4/5 stars on Goodreads, but I would've given it 4.5 if half stars were available. 

The prompt I chose for this was "A Book Written By a Musician." 

It took me a few chapters to get into the groove of Louis Armstrong's writing style, but once I did, I didn't want to stop reading this book.

For this prompt, I wanted to read an autobiography of a musician that would be a quick, entertaining read. However, I wasn't sure which musician I should choose, or which musicians had written the type of autobiography I was looking for. I'm so glad I chose this one by Louis Armstrong. His conversational style was exactly what I was needed in a book at the time.

I didn't know much about Louis Armstrong before reading this book. I knew he was a jazz legend, but that's about it. I felt that this actually helped me appreciate the book and what I was able to learn from it about Louis Armstrong and the culture of New Orleans when he was growing up.