Holy books! I cannot believe it’s been 5 weeks since the last time we all got to together to talk books. A lot’s happened since then, too. I mean, I went on vacation (recommend), did a readathon (not sure if I recommend), and had many dog emergencies (do not recommend). Somehow, in the middle of all of that, I finished 13 books.
I can’t say that it had something to do with the nastygram from Goodreads but I can’t say that it didn’t. Mixed feelings on that. But at least now I’m on pace to achieve my completely arbitrary goal (I’m even 1 book ahead). So that’s nice.
I struggled on how I wanted to discuss all of these books because, let’s face it, 13 reviews, especially my long-winded ones, is too much. I didn’t hate any of them, either, which made it even more difficult. What I settled on is reviewing my 5 favorites from the month and then a short recap of the rest.
Let’s do it.
The Favorites
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones The writing, the storytelling, the plot, the characters…everything about this book is marvelous. It was wasn’t anything I expected it to be and it was exponentially better. I felt the gamut of emotions while reading it, and I know it’ll stick with me for awhile. My only complaint is that the ending felt a bit rushed compared the pace of the rest of the book but I’m willing to let it slide. Easily in my top 10 of the year.
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah I don’t often believe the hype about a book but this one lived up to every good word, glowing review, and emphatic recommendation. It’s full of beautiful writing, complex characters, and every emotion possible. I loved the whole damn book from start to finish. It should come with a trigger warning for domestic violence so be warned if you haven’t read it yet. Unfortunately, it’s central to the plot and cannot be avoided. This is also easily in my top 10.
Nomadland by Jessica Bruder This is an excellent case study with tinges of ethnography about the other side of van dwelling. Usually we hear about the privileged who eschew materialism and embrace minimalism to travel and simplify their lives while still earning a good living. This exposes the opposite of that, focusing on older people, low wage seasonal workers, forced into van life for survival. It’s a fascinating look at the culture, how it came to be, and why it persists.
The Golden State by Lydia Kiesling This is a book about the woman in the middle of a severe depression who runs away from her life to forget and escape all the shit that’s affecting her. She’s functional but her depression is deep. She’s sympathetic and pathetic at the same time, and you feel for her situation–all of them, no matter how hopeless they seem. It’s written in an almost stream of consciousness which makes it a bit annoying to read but also get you inside her head and the writing is gorgeous. ARC from NetGalley.
The Woman in the Window by AJ Finn This is a very good, very fast-paced psychological thriller that will fuck you up. Anna is an asshole but unlike other unreliable narrators, you understand exactly why she’s that way and it makes her sort of sympathetic. The book reads like the old-timey movies referenced throughout and I like that kind of self-awareness from the author. The plot was engaging, I second guessed myself at times and while I recommend it, and really, really liked it, it was just a bit shy of all the hype.
The Rest (you can read my full reviews on Litsy if you really want to)
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury A classic I’ve finally read. I think I liked the ideas behind the story more than I liked the story itself.
The Dime by Kathleen Kent Another standard mass market thriller but with an exceptionally badass female lead who I hope gets more books about her. The plot went a little haywire towards the end but nothing it couldn’t come back from. Learned about it from some random book list.
Squeezed by Alissa Quart A very good, very accurate discussion of life in the middle class, especially for middle class parents. Saw this one on Twitter and pounced on it. If you wind up reading it, please let me know. I need to discuss.
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote The original true crime book. Can’t believe I haven’t read it until now. I feel like every true crime book has been chasing the standard it set.
The Body by Stephen King The source material for “Stand By Me”. You cannot go wrong.
Off the Clock by Laura Vanderkam A book encouraging people to manage their time so they’re not swamped and can actually enjoy guilt-free downtime. Not something I generally struggle with but as always, she has some good tips and I am now in the middle of a very long rabbit hole about time poverty.
Down City by Leah Carroll Not what I expected it to be. It was more of a memoir focused on her dad than addressing her mom’s murder. Found it on some list. If you listen to the Crimetown podcast, you’ll enjoy this one. Some familiar names crop up.
Free Fire by CJ Box Mass market thriller, seventh in a series about a game warden who solves murders and other assorted crimes. Learned about it from a Mental Floss article on the place where committing the perfect crime is possible. The book expands on that theory.
TL; DR: All of these are good books and I would recommend each one.
Currently reading: Florida by Lauren Groff and A Terrible Country by Keith Gessen
Now it’s your turn. Make sure to visit my cohost, Steph, and some of the other bloggers joining us. Next one will be on September 11 and October is our FOUR YEAR anniversary. Holy. Shit.
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I have read The Body as part of a collection of Stephen King short stories/novellas (I feel like it was in Different Seasons?). You can never go wring with Stephen King!
Confuzzled Bev recently posted…The books I read in July 2018
I think you’re right about the name of the Stephen King short story collection. I read it back in the late 1990s. I initially bought it bc I wanted to read the novella that the movie Shawshank Redemption was based on and ended up reading the entire thing.
Ooh, Nomadland sounds interesting! I’ve never really thought about it but it’s interesting that the trendy thing is to take on housing conditions (vans, tiny houses) that so many people are trying to escape.
The Great Alone is already on my TBR and hearing it lives up to the hype is great. I always worry about that when a book becomes super hyped because I put books on pedestals. Good to know about the domestic abuse too. It’s not a trigger for me but I like knowing beforehand when I’m going to read something like that though. I read In True Blood years ago and I ought to revisit it. Same with Fahrenheit 451.
The great alone is such a beautiful book, I loved it too.
xo
Pinksole
Sounds like a great reading month! Looking into The American Marriage
I really liked The Great Alone too. It took a little longer to get into than most of her other books that I read but glad I stuck with it. I thought that The Woman in the Window was okay and was too hyped up before I read it.
Nancy @ NY Foodie Family recently posted…July Reads 2018
I’ve heard a lot of good things about The Great Alone and have yet to read it. I need to do that ASAP. In Cold Blood sounds really interesting to me too!
Ohhhh The Woman in The Window sounds right up my Alley! How did you like “In Cold Blood”? Was it a quick read?
The Great Alone is definitely one of my top books of the year too and I think I’m going to breakdown and just buy An American Marriage and just added Nomadland to my TBR!
Carly recently posted…The One With All the Target Finds
glad you liked the great alone! i agree about the trigger warning. it’s a fine line between spoilers and warnings, but i always appreciate a warning when it comes to certain things. i’m also really glad you liked the woman in the window! i don’t read a lot of books like that so sometimes i’m not sure if i liked something because i don’t read a lot of them, or because it was actually good. if you liked it, it must have been actually good. ha!
The Great Alone was FANTASTIC!
13 book is amazing!! I can only dream of reading that many books in one month!
I like The Woman on The Window, it was done very well!
I read Florida this past month, and it wasn’t my favorite. I’ll be interested to see what you think. I plan to pick up An American Marriage soon – I’m looking forward to it, especially with your glowing review!
I’ve only read The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah and I loved it ! I don’t know why The Great Alone isn’t already in my TBR. I’ve also heard lots of good things about The Woman in the Window. Several great suggestions! Sounds like it was a great month for you!!
Crystal recently posted…Thoughts for Thursday
Ooh yes! I loved The Great Alone and felt the same as you on The Woman in the Window. As I read it I wasn’t thinking it lived up to the hype. But after finishing it stuck with me and I appreciated some of the cleverness and wittiness in the plot and writing a bit more. I also appreciated some of the twists I didn’t see coming at all!
So yes…maybe “just shy” of the hype is the best way to put it .
Gina || On the Daily Express
In Cold Blood is nuts.
I am going to check out The Dime.
I couldn’t finish An American Marriage–I thought it was dragging on too long, but I am excited to add Nomadland and The Golden State to my TBR! And In Cold Blood is such a great classic–totally had me hooked when I read it in college!
There are very few Stephen King books/novellas that I don’t like and I’ve read most of his published works. I couldn’t put The Great Alone down – haven’t read any of her other books but I’ve been told to get The Nightingale, posthaste.
Good to hear that the Great alone was so good! I’ve been hearing about it and really want to get to it soon.
An American Marriage sounds like such a good read! It’s definitely going on my list! And I’ve heard such good things about The Woman In The Window, but I haven’t picked up just yet! Obviously that needs to change! And way to go on reading 13 books! That’s so awesome!
I have read Kristin Hannah books that I loved and some I couldn’t get in to. But, the Great Alone is so far my favorite. I loved this book from cover to cover.
I felt the same way about An American Marriage, and I can definitely see why you said that about the ending. I still think about that book–it will stick with me for a while I think. I started The Great Alone a couple of days ago and I’m having trouble putting it down to go live life… I’m usually not one to put off going to sleep at night but last night I said “just one more chapter” a couple of times. There are things I don’t love about it so far, but if nothing else it is SO compelling. Can’t wait to hear about Florida.
I liked that The Woman in the Window moved along in a vague way. It didn’t give it all away at once like much of the genre does.
The audio had an interview with the author and he said he took an entire year to write the book and tried to live through Anna’s feelings.
I can’t wait to read The Woman in the Window! Glad you liked it, I will be adding it to my many requests at the library 😀
Mackenzie recently posted…As The Page Turns: August Edition
Nomad land sounds super interesting! Also, I really want to read The Woman in the Window! Keep forgetting to pick that one up!
Kasey Holloway recently posted…Recent Target Fashion Finds
I really enjoyed An American Marriage too. I don’t always love when a story is told in letter format, but I thought it really enhanced this one for the parts where it was written that way – definitely adds to the feeling that the book will stick with me for a while. I was unsure about picking up The Great Alone (I might be *alone* – ha – in really disliking The Nightingale) but your review is making me rethink…
Squeezed just came up on Overdrive. It is my next listen.
I added The Dime to my to-read list because you said badass female lead, those are my favorite kind of characters. I own the Stephen King book with The Body short story in it, I really love that story.
Oh, The Great Alone… What a great book. I’m beginning to think that KH can do no wrong.
Congrats on getting back on track with your reading goal (however arbitrary it may be)! I’m still 11 books behind schedule, and I doubt I’ll hit that goal. (Unless I make a fabulous comeback during my maternity leave, but I’m not holding my breath. I’m assuming I’ll be choosing sleep over reading 9 times out of 10. Haha.)
I’m glad you liked The Woman in the Window. So many books don’t live up to the hype for me, but that one was really enjoyable. I do tend to like unreliable narrators (and also unlikable characters, though I have no idea why), but, as you said, this was actually even better because she was a sympathetic character.
I added An American Marriage and The Golden State. Several of the others sounded interesting as well, but those were the two that really jumped out at me.
I also have never read In Cold Blood. It’s been on my list forever, but somehow I never manage to get around to it. I like reading the occasional true crime book, so I feel like I really need to stop putting it off!
Kristen recently posted…July 2018 Reads
The Great Alone has been on my tbr list for a while but thanks to your review I’m now adding The Woman in the Window, too! I’d like to read In Cold Blood and Fahrenheit 451 someday.
Audrey recently posted…What I Read…
I’ve been hearing really positive things about An American Marriage, so that is definitely one that I’d be interested in checking out.
-Lauren
ShootingStarsMag recently posted…Show Us Your Books – Books for All Age Groups!
It seems like I need to add The Great Alone to my never-ending list. In Cold Blood and Off The Clock are going on there too. 13 books in one month is amazing! Thanks so much for hosting!
The Great Alone is all my hair dresser talks about. She’s read every Kriten hannah book ever since!
Oh no – hope your dogs are OK. Dog emergencies ARE THE WORST!!!!!
Rebecca Jo recently posted…A Day in the Life….August
I’ve heard nothing but good things about The Great Alone and An American Marriage. So glad you enjoyed them too. I read Fahrenheit 451 earlier this year and have similar thoughts. I have a lot of respect for people who pioneered genres and came up with unconventional ideas for the time, but I wasn’t into the story. Have you watched the HBO version? I haven’t yet. I am about half way done with In Cold Blood. I was reading it for a challenge and haven’t picked it back up. I LOVED Capote’s writing, but it was fairly slow paced. It’s also kind of weird to know who the killers are from the beginning, so it didn’t feel super suspenseful. XO – Alexandra
Simply Alexandra: My Favorite Things
Nomadland and Great Alone are added to my list! I read In True Blood years ago, but don’t really remember it. It sound like I need to pick it back up!
I loved American Marriage and Woman in the Window. I pretty much felt the same way you did about everything for both. I haven’t read The Great Alone yet, I need to get on that.
I liked The Woman in the Window, for sure. It was a quick read and total surprise at the end. All of the other books sound so interesting! I definitely want to check out Nomadland now!
Megan recently posted…Books Lately Vol. 12
Woah, 13 books! I’ve been meaning to pick up another Hannah book, so I’m going to have to look at the Great Alone.
Alison Puppies and Pretties recently posted…Long Blue Vest and Pink Pants
Glad to hear you enjoyed Great Alone! Woman in the Window fell short of the hype for me, too. I walk by An American Marriage every time I’m at the library, so now I’ll have to check it out next time. Great reviews!
I keep hearing about american marriage, I am just not sure yet. as for the woman in the window, I keep thinking that I’ve read it, but I definitely haven’t and I really want to! awesome month of reading for you 🙂
I agree with your feelings about An American Marriage – it wasn’t what I expected in the best possible way. It was so well written. The Great Alone also completely floored me and exceeded my already high expectations. Sounds like you had a great reading month! I can’t believe it’s 4 years for this link up in October!! wow!!
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FOUR years this has been going on?! Man! By fr the best link up out there! Stand By Me was a great movie so The Body is going on the TBR. Farenheit 451 has always been on my radar but I’ve never gotten to it.