I love books. Like, a lot. I could spend countless hours curled up with a good read, if only motherhood and adulting didn’t get in my way. *rolls eyes* There are so many nights I stay awake reading in bed with my book light, knowing I should go to sleep, but after just one more chapter. I’m blessed that my husband is unbothered by my booklight. I don’t know yet if this will be a regular series on my blog, but it’s definitely a topic I could come up with a lot of content for. Currently, on my goodreads profile, I have a reading challenge of 25 books for the year 2019. I have 4 books on that list already! So I just want to talk for a little bit about the books I have already read this year, and the books that are up next.
Disclosure: *There are affiliate links within this post- meaning if you click through, I will make a small commission if you purchase! But ya girl will only link things I actually use and love!
The very first book I finished in 2019 was Stephen King’s ‘The Stand.’ * This book was a huge undertaking. The copy I picked up was over 1100 pages, and I didn’t realize at the time that this was the uncut version. The original was just over 800 pages. This book is about a man-made superflu that wipes out almost all of the population of the United States. I really enjoyed this book; however, I do feel that parts of the book drag and ramble, but I’ve read enough King to know that this is kind of his style. The character development in this story is what makes it. There are characters you love to love and ones you love to hate. It’s an interesting look at what life would look like if 99% of the population was wiped out almost immediately, and how the inevitable forces of good and evil emerge in the aftermath of a horrible tragedy.
Next, I read Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman.* This was a good, fast read. The main character is a socially awkward young woman who doesn’t realize why the things she says and does are the joke of those around her. She does not have close relationships, and spends her weekends drinking vodka and eating pizza alone, and that is exactly how she likes it. She is sort of befriended by the IT guy who works for the same company she does. I really liked Eleanor and her awkwardness. She says the most random, funny things and I laughed out loud a few times- which my husband thinks is crazy… “who laughs at books?” he says. I do, babe. Sorry you’re stuck with a complete book nerd.
We read The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin * for the book club I’m in with my sister-in-law and her good friends. This was our November book and we got together recently to discuss it- so technically I started this one before January. It was unanimous that this wasn’t the best book. The premise of the book is that 4 children learn the date of their death and we go through each siblings’ life to see how they choose to live based on this date and whether or not they believe it. It’s as if the author started the book with grand intentions on telling the story of each sibling, but then each subsequent person’s story gets more and more boring. I feel like the concept of the book is a great idea for a possibly awesome book, but this one fell flat in my opinion. If it wasn’t for book club, I’m not sure I would have finished it. (sidenote: join a book club. It’s such a good excuse to get together with friends, eat, drink wine, and talk about something other than The Bachelor or your mom life or your job. #ThisIs30 🙂
Finally, I just finished Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward *. This book takes place in a rural part of the south. Jojo is a 13 year old boy, who is a protector as well as an older brother to his little sister Kayla. Their mom, Leonie is a black woman who is a drug addict and does not have a maternal instinct and can’t overcome her addictions. Jojo’s white father is in prison, so him and his sister are raised mostly by their maternal grandparents. This is a story about race, family (or lack thereof), loss, death, and the ghosts that haunt us. I really liked this book. It was hard to watch Leonie neglect her kids, but I loved JoJo for stepping up to be a source of stability for his little sister. I can’t go into much detail because I don’t want to give anything away, but I do recommend this book!
So these are the 4 books I’ve read so far into my 2019 reading challenge. Next up I’m reading Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander, just because I’ve heard good things about the show (and the book is always better, duh.) and The Night Olivia Fell by Christina McDonald for book club.
If you have any must reads, leave them for me in the comments! I’m literally always looking for my next book. And check out this post from my 2016 reading challenge where I chose books within a category!
Thanks for reading, loves!
-Nique
