I feel like I’m almost back to my regular reading pace, having read 7 books since last month. I don’t know if it’s the fact that I read better books or I’m finding more time or what but it feels good to be back to normal.

For this month, I tried to do a thing where I kept track of where I got my books from. Not so much the physical location but where I got the recommendation: this linkup, my TBR, Instagram, the brainwashing NetGalley emails. Things like that. I think I kept track for like 2 books and then forgot. But I’ll indicate where when I do remember. For those who are curious.

As always, reviews are copied and/or embellished from Litsy. Don’t forget when you’re done here to visit my cohost, Steph, and some other bloggers who joined us. And happy National Library Week! I could go on and on about why I love the library but you all know why. You’re readers, too.

Now, the books:

Providence by Caroline Kepnes. A book without Joe does not make for a very good book, tbh. I was THRILLED when I found out she wrote a new book and even more thrilled when it became available on NetGalley. I scooped that shit up faster than black licorice jelly beans on clearance. However. While I still love her writing, this book didn’t connect for me. I don’t generally care for the supernatural and I’ve never read Lovecraft (I only know who it is from listening to Welcome to Night Vale) and the book felt flat because of it. I didn’t particularly like the characters or the plot, either. Did like the epilogue, though. I can see why some might flip over this book but not me. ARC from NetGalley. Learned about it from Caroline Kepnes’s IG or Twitter.

The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez. This is a beautiful book about family, love, community, and friendships and it’s set in the Latinx community of Delaware (which is awesome since that’s where I live and the references are ON POINT). I love how she wove the stories of the families with the stories of the supporting characters, humanizing people we tend to ignore or forget. There were some plot holes and underdeveloped parts but nothing to detract from the rest of the story. On my TBR, reminded of it from someone who reviewed it last month for SUYB

Still Me by Jojo Moyes. Much better and less busy than After You but I am done with Louisa. She’s quirky and interesting but for me, her story is complete. I don’t need any more books about this woman trying to find herself both in and out of relationships. I like the way she struggles; it’s real and honest but it’s turned into rom-com at this point and it’s frustrating and annoying. Me Before You was excellent and it’s not fair to hold the other books to that standard but here we are. Moyes is a great writer but I can’t do this series anymore. I think I got this one from Goodreads. 

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. The only thing I have to say about this book is that it is magnificent. All other words will not do it justice. Was on my TBR, reminded of it by many SUYB friends including Steph whose rave reviews were dead on balls accurate.

Flat Broke with Two Goats by Jennifer McGaha. This book started off strong and then became terrible, tedious, and tiresome. I thought it was going to be a quirky personal finance memoir but instead it was an annoying, self-involved, self-important bougie snobfest filled with WAY TOO MUCH detail on goat mating and chicken raising. The author comes across as pretentious and overbearing and while she is a good writer, she mentions that she teaches composition writing so often the book felt like a job application. I actually have nothing nice to say about this book at all and I’m kind of angry at myself for finishing it. Found it on Libby when I was putting some books on hold. It’s the Great Library Read. Don’t be fooled by the advertising because it is a great title. 

Crimes in Southern Indiana by Frank Bill. A mediocre collection of graphically violent short stories. Not like horror graphic. More like thriller/real life graphic with shooting (LOTS of shootings) and drugs and fights and that kind of stuff. Some of the stories were good. A lot were just okay. But what I like about short story collections is that if one isn’t connecting, you don’t finish it and move on to the next. Some of the characters were connected in several stories but nothing so intense you had to keep track. I don’t know where I got this one from. Maybe IG. 

The Walls by Hollie Overton. I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, it’s a pretty intense thriller, reminiscent of Sleeping With the Enemy. On the other, it’s an insane revenge fantasy book. It also needs to have a big fat trigger warning for domestic violence because that, and the justice system and death penalty, are the main focus of the plot. I did like it and read it fairly quickly but if you choose to, proceed with caution. ARC from NetGalley. And sorry for the Amazon link. I typed this review from my phone since I finished the book 10 minutes ago and Goodreads wouldn’t cooperate.

TL; DR: Homegoing and The Book of Unknown Americans are must-reads. If you want goats, do goat yoga instead of reading the piece of shit book I read. Still Me was a solid conclusion to Louisa Clark’s story. The Walls was a tough read but good. The others are okay. 

Currently reading: Girls Burn Brighter by Shobha Rao (NetGalley ARC) with a Paul Cleave book and another backlogged ARC on deck.

Now it’s your turn! Link up and show us your books!

via GIPHY

This best describes my reading pace lately. It’s not that I’m not reading; I read every single day. I’m just reading painfully slow. I don’t know if it’s the books or me or a combination but it’s starting annoy me. I know it’s not a race. But still. You guys understand.

As always, make sure to visit my co-host, Steph, and some of the other bloggers joining in. Maybe visit someone you haven’t before. Nonbloggers, let me know in the comments what you’ve been reading. And mark your calendars for 3/13 for the next one.

Now, the paltry sum of 7 books I’ve read since the last time we all met.

The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens. I liked this book. A LOT. It was everything I enjoy. Good writing, interesting and compelling story, great characters, mystery, conflict…all of it. Then the last 100 pages happened and it went off the rails into superfluous nonsense and too much story and trying way too hard to be action packed and just way too hard in general. It did cal itself down for the last 10 pages or so, which was nice. I still wound up liking but didn’t love it as much as I thought I would.

Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke. This is a mystery that’s less about being a mystery and a thriller and more about being a commentary on family, secrets, racism, choices, and how they all intersect. It’s not an easy book to read, and there’s a ton going on (sometimes too much and it’s hard to keep track) but it’s engaging and interesting and well written. I didn’t love the ending, it seemed a little too neat within the context of the rest of the plot, but also open ended enough for another book. Which I’d happily read.

Dear Martin by Nic Stone. This is a Very Good Book about Very Important Things and I’m glad she wrote it and did so specifically for teenagers, It talks to them about issues in a way that they’ll understand and makes sense in their world. Doesn’t mean adults can’t read it but unlike The Hate U Give, which this book is often compared to, adults might not appreciate it as much. It feels juvenile. Which it should. YA books sometimes need to be written for that particular audience. They need to see themselves in literature. And in the book, the kids’ frustrations and anger are palpable and it’s maddening that this is the world we live in.

The Road Out of Hell by Anthony Flacco. I saw this on BuzzFeed(?) as described as the most disturbing book you’ll ever read. Awesome! Sign me up! And it was disturbing. Gross, horrifying, and also true. And I love some true crime. But something about this book was lacking. I think it was the writing. It just didn’t connect for me. I’m not sure if it’s his style or the way he dragged out certain parts, especially the end, or what but while the story is fascinating, it deserved a better telling. Oh, and Brother by Ania Ahlborn is WAY MORE disturbing.

The Dry by Jane Harper. I’m totally late to the party on this one but I liked every single thing about it. The plot, the writing, the characters, the setting. All of it. It’s such a well-done book, and exactly what a thriller should be. There’s really nothing left to say except I can’t wait until the library forks over the next one.

The Blinds by Adam Sternbergh. You know how when you watch a puppy it’s like the cutest most awesome thing but it’s also a disaster? That’s this book. The premise is fantastic but it’s all over the place. The writing felt like three different people wrote it, the plot was more consistent than the writing but there were too many damn people and I hated the character names. It read like LOST meets Welcome to Night Vale meets The Pines which is cool but also a hot mess. But also great.

The Comedown by Rebekah Frumkin. ARC from NetGalley. I don’t know what I think. I loved the main plot and how it read like Did You Ever Have a Family or the movie Crash, exploring the way different lives are interconnected by one single event or person and the ramifications of those and how even people that seem insignificant actually are. Her writing is excellent and I loved her respect and honoring of Judaism (like taking out the “o” when writing G-d. If you want an explanation as to why we do this, I’m happy to explain). But the extended backstories of each character was tedious and annoying. I think it’s a definite add to the TBR but also take your time.

TL;DR: Add The Dry if you haven’t read it, Bluebird, Bluebird, and The Blinds. The rest are good but not must-adds.

Currently reading The Breakdown with 13 Minutes, Providence, and a couple of others TBD on deck. P.S. Providence is the new Caroline Kepnes book. There’s no Joe but I’m excited to read it anyway.

Now it’s your turn. Link up and show us your books!

First SUYB of the year! Hooray! But this is a bittersweet day for me because today would have been Dobie’s 12th birthday. He was the best dog ever and my heart still hearts from losing him. I don’t know that I’ll ever not be sad but today is extra hard. So if I take a little bit longer than usual to visit all of your bookish posts, please bear with me.

Okay. So. Reading stuff. I finished 6 books since the last linkup (school vacations are murder on my reading time) and am trying harder than usual to catch up on all my NetGalley books since most of them are WAY past their pub date. I’ve also been trying to read more on my Kindle and books I have at home but the library is always so enticing. DAMMIT, LIBRARY. I CAN’T QUIT YOU.

As always, don’t forget to visit Steph and some of the other bloggers joining us. My reviews are copied from Litsy (despite my laundry list of 2018 goals, using that app to its fullest capacity is not one of them but if you want to follow me there, you can. My username is Jana. I know. I’m very creative) and if you want, we can even be friends on Goodreads so you can stalk my books all month long and find out what I’ve finished before our next one on February 13.

My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent  This book waffles between mediocre and terrible. I strongly dislike his writing, the plot was a jumbled time hopping mess, all of the characters, even the ones you’re supposed to like, are awful, and it went nowhere half the time. Also the ending sucked and moved on VERY QUICKLY from a horrible event. However, the other half was a strong story about child abuse (graphic, disturbing, terrible child abuse so if you decide to read this book, BE WARNED that it will turn your stomach), Stockholm Syndrome and trauma, and, for lack of a better word, redemption. I don’t understand all the praise for this book because there are way better out there.

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward  If you’re looking for a weird, sad, gorgeously written story about death and addiction and family, this is a solid choice. The sci-fi elements and alternating POVs didn’t bother me (even though I am tired of books with them) because it told a complete story without feeling gimmicky. Some parts felt rushed or unnecessary or left me wanting more but this is one of those books where I’ll take what I can get. I loved how she dealt with racism without it feeling like a cause she was preaching about but rather the real, complex issue it is. Unlike the previous book I discussed, this one is worthy of all the praise including the National Book Award that it won

Marlena by Julie Buntin Sorry, Steph, but I loved this one. The writing was superb, the plot is sad and depressing, and I spent the whole book wanting to make the girls feel better. It’s about friendship and adolescence and addiction and poverty and lonliness and pain both during life and in the wake of death. There were some plot points that felt superfluous and I’m a little tired of the poor divorced single mom cliche portrayed in the book but mostly it was exactly what it needed to be. ARC from NetGalley I read way too late

Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin This one started out superstrong for me (the Jewish mother stuff was hysterical) and tapered off as it went on. Another one with alternating POVs but with this one, they told a linear story rather than differing points of view of the same one, so that was nice. It’s a mother/daughter/starting over story that felt both complete and incomplete at the same time. There were parts that left me wanting more and parts that left me wanting less and the advancing in time was way too rapid but overall, this is a good vacation-type read or a good palette cleanser if you read a lot of heavy books. Do not go into this expecting fine literature. ARC from NetGalley also read way too late.

Never Knowing by Chevy Stevens I love that when I read her books, I know exactly what I’m going to get. Like a TJR of thrillers. They’re reliable, interesting, fun, predictable but also kind of twisty with some family and relationship drama thrown in for good measure. AND DOGS! This one was no different and while it’s not my favorite of hers, it was still an enjoyable read. Good for a cold snowy day or vacation/beach read.

Radio Free Vermont: A Fable of Resistance by Bill McKibben As advertised, this is a fable about resistance and breaking free from big government and big corporations and standing up for what you believe in and the power of the people to change things. It’s weird, funny, and makes really good points within the absurd and it’s worth pointing out that this book really only works in our current political climate (the skewering of Rex Tillerson is funny). You definitely have to have a certain political leaning to enjoy this book (I do) and it’s short, so you can finish it in an afternoon.

Currently burning through The Life We Bury with We Were Eight Years in Power on deck.

Now it’s your turn! Link up and Show Us Your Books!

To start this year-end (and most likely my last post of 2017) without a resounding THANK YOU would make me kind of an asshole. So, thanks to everyone who continues to support this little linkup of ours. We have an amazing community full of awesome and diverse book nerds and we appreciate every single one of you, whether you join us monthly, every few months, once a year, or if you just read the posts. Books are incredible source of joy and escape and information and in a world that’s gone crazy (literally. You’ve seen our president, right?), having books and access to books is more crucial than ever. So please keep sharing and tweeting and writing and doing all that you do to support books and the people who write them.

Before we discuss the books, let’s look a few statistics because I think that’s fun:

• I read 84 books this year, which averages to 7 per month. More than most, less than many
• I finished 69 fiction and 15 nonfiction
• I DNF’d 3
• I read over 26,000 pages
• The longest book I read was around 590 pages
• The shortest book I read was around 50

Now for my picks: I chose my 10 favorites and 4 honorable mentions (I wanted to do 5 but I had like 4 books that fit so I left them all out). There are probably no surprises and while my list doesn’t match many professional year-end lists, I like that it doesn’t.

If you want to read my recaps of all the books I’ve listed, just follow the link to the month in which I read it (or you can follow me on Litsy).

Okay. Here we go. The collage is random and in no particular order although I do think it’s funny that Evelyn and The Hate U Give are the biggest since I’ve probably talked about them more than any others.

• The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (reviewed in March)
• The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (reviewed in June)
• Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt (reviewed in September)
• The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tinti (reviewed in May)
• Confessions by Kinae Minato (reviewed in June)
• The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel (reviewed in April)
• The Cleaner by Paul Cleave (fun fact: the lone man on the best of list. Reviewed in September)
• Janesville: An American Story by Amy Goldstein (reviewed in October)
• Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (reviewed in November)
• American Fire by Monica Hesse (reviewed in October)

Honorable Mentions (you’ll find a few more men on this list)

• Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
• They Both Die At the End by Adam Silvera
• Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew Sullivan
• All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood

I probably could have picked more. I keep saying it but CHOICES ARE HARD and I read some damn fine books this year. A few duds but overall, I had a great reading year. I’m looking forward to next year’s choices. Maybe I’ll get through a year without a DNF. High hopes, friends. High hopes.

Now it’s your turn! Let us know about your favorites of the year. Don’t forget to visit Steph and some other bloggers and fill up that TBR (and maybe plan how to spend some Christmas money)!