I love to read. I don't necessarily go to bed early because I'm tired, I go to read. (Though often I am exhausted and don't get much reading done.) I am not and never have been a fast reader but was surprised by what I was able to read this year. If you ever want to talk books, I'm all for it!
Here are the books I loved this year and recommend:
What's a Smart Woman Like You Doing at Home? Linda Burton, Janet Dittmer, and Cheri Loveless
This book was written in the 80s and is therefore quite dated; I would love to see a revision for today's stay-at-home-mom. There wasn't a lot of "ah-ha!" moments but simple reassurances that your choice to stay home to raise your children is perfectly fine and your choice to pursue your career is perfectly fine. I also found interesting the Dept. of Labor statistics, how DOL defines work and how some reports we hear or read about may be misinterpreted if these definitions aren't included.
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, Angela Duckworth
An interesting read if a bit of a self-adulation for the author. An interesting study on not needing to be talented at something to succeed.
The Enigma Game, Elizabeth Wein
I loved, loved, loved Wein's Code Name Verity and have read it numerous times. When I realized this was a quasi-prequal, I had to read it. I also highly enjoyed the movie "The Imitation Game" and this was a kind of meshing of the two in a lovely WWII historical fiction. I got a bit annoyed with what seemed an editorial on the whole race issue the country is dealing with, but if you can look past that, a great read.
The Science of Skinny, Dee McCaffrey
This book scared me. I am not looking to diet or feel I need to lose weight, but was interested in the science/chemistry behind some of the most common ingredients in our food. I already tried to buy whole grains and avoided high fructose corn syrup like the plague, but there were other eye opening things explained in food processing and how our bodies processes (or don't) certain things that have changed my purchasing and cooking habits.
David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
A classic. Simply a lovely classic to get lost in.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Suzanne Collins
A prequal to the Hunger Games trilogy. An interesting, creepy, and well written look into the adolescence of President Snow. Loved it!
Rhythm of War, Brandon Sanderson
A friend suggested another of Sanderson's books a few years ago and it was then I realized I'd actually read one of his young adult series and loved it. I have yet to read something from him that I haven't loved. I only wish his books would come out faster. This was book four in his Stormlight Archives and I loved it.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Victor Hugo
Another classic I've been wanting to read for a while. When Hugo stays on the plot (instead of explaining in great detail the layout of the city of Paris) it is quite captivating. Depressing on the level of a Thomas Hardy novel though.
Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel
I really didn't like Severance and reviewers who didn't like it either suggested Station Eleven. I loved this book. What is fame? Who will remember us? How will we be remembered? How do we want to be remembered? What do we do when the world ends? Who was the main character or was there one? So much to ponder with this book.
The Name of the Wind, Patrick Rothfuss
Similar to the above, I didn't like The False Prince and other people who didn't either suggested The Name of the Wind. I may have somewhat abandoned my family as I was consumed by this story. Fantasy but not too heavy. It seems the norm for current storytelling to have the underdog win or the somehow limited character overcome all odds or the fool to blindly stumble his way to success. (I mean, come on! The "Star Trek" remake movies turned James Kirk into a drunken looser!! Really!?!?) It was nice to have a character with the skills to overcome face challenges and his own weaknesses and work through them.
Here are books that were interesting or entertaining but I wouldn't necessarily recommend them:
Gregor and the Marks of Secret & Gregor and the Code of Claw, Suzanne Collins
I started this series last year and finished it this year. A fun, silly, fast read, pre-teen story of a boy who finds a world hidden under NYC and saves the day.
Troubled Blood, Robert Galbraith
J.K. Rowling's pseudonym for her mystery series. An excellent mystery but extremely dark and excessive amounts of strong language.
Exercised, Daniel Lieberman
A curious look at evolution and exercise. I don't know if I agreed with everything, but it definitely changed and challenged a few of my previously held beliefs about the activity level of our ancestors.
The Glass Hotel & The Singer's Gun, Emily St. John Mandel
After thoroughly enjoying Station Eleven, I read two other books by the same author and am currently in the middle of another. Both are well written and thought provoking but I wouldn't say quite to the level of Station Eleven.
Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro
Not sure how I stumbled on this one. You know there is something going on that isn't quite right from the beginning. I was left wondering why the characters didn't rebel? Resist? Revolt? Especially those who were granted education and edification. A bit more sexual content than I like.
The Wise Man's Fear, Patrick Rothfuss
The next book in the series after The Name of the Wind. I mostly enjoyed this book and read it just as fast as the first one simply because the writing is wonderful, even if the story was a bit lacking. There is not a lot of forward movement in the plot and there is a lot of sexual content to the point where the way women are portrayed is a bit off-putting.
On the Beach, Nevil Shute
My dad suggested this when I told him about Station Eleven. Kind of slow, romantic, horrific, beautiful, and sad. The world is ending, you know it's coming, what do you do? An interesting question answered in different ways by all the characters.
Here are the books that I did not like and would not recommend:
The False Prince, The Runaway King, & The Shadow Throne, Jennifer Nielsen
I think I read the first book in the trilogy because it was on the home screen for my on-line library and it was available. I enjoyed the first chapter and then it went downhill from there. I'll admit I was surprised by the twist, but it didn't do enough to make up for the rest of the book. Why, oh why did I finish the trilogy? I don't know. It was beyond implausible in parts, beyond predicable in other parts, not very well written, and not enjoyable.
The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Heather Morris
A friend recommended this and I was very interested as it was based on an actual person and his experiences. I didn't like it. I found it very poorly written and, not to in any way downplay or make light of the horrors of the concentration camps, rather cliché. In my opinion, Elie Wiesel in a 1989 New York Times article best summed up this book: "[Holocaust authors] get a little history, a heavy dose of
sentimentality and suspense, a little eroticism, a few daring sex scenes, a dash of
theological rumination about the silence of God and there it is: let kitsch rule in the
land of kitsch, where at the expense of truth, what counts is ratings and facile
success.”
Case Histories & One Good Turn, Kate Atkinson
This author and her main character were listed in a review for another book I read so I tried it. First book wasn't that great. I tried a second just to see if it was something that got better as the characters developed but it was about the same. It's supposed to be a mystery but I'm not sure in either book what the mystery was since the main character didn't seem to do much of anything. A lot of strong language and sexual content in both books.
Severance, Ling Ma
Wow, I really, really didn't like this book. I don't know how I stumbled on this one in the first place but my goodness, I didn't like it. What was the point? What woke progressive social narrative are you beating to death? Or were you trying at all? What?
Looking forward to some good reading this coming year. Any suggestions??
