Turns out, I wasn’t back when I thought I would be. Life, it gets in the way sometimes! Better late than never though. 🙂
January 2018 Books
This year my goal is to finish at least 40 books. This includes fiction, nonfiction, and longer chapter books that I’m reading to my girls.
So far, I’ve managed 4 in January.
- The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
This is an intentionally trope-y adventure story that I absolutely loved. It centers on three young people on their grand tour of Europe and has LGBTQ characters that don’t feel overly sexualized or disingenuous. The story also spans multiple countries and touches on important topics like racism and abusive families without ever feeling too heavy. (4/5)
2. The Dollhouse by Fiona Davis
The Dollhouse is a time jumping novel about two women dealing with significant life changes separated in time by 50 years but united by an apartment building. The two women in the story are profoundly different. One a midwestern ingénue and another a thirty-something career woman, but as their stories join together there are some fantastic twists and turns and both women experience growth. It was a quick and lighter read but I liked it. (4/5)
3. The Wanderers by Meg Howrey
Let me start by saying I have mixed feelings on this one. There were some things I absolutely loved and some things that just frustrated the bejesus out of me. The Martian it is not.
It’s the story of three astronauts preparing to go to Mars with each chapter devoted to one of the astronauts, one of their loved ones, or one of the psychologists. All part of a SpaceX style program. I think the premise was interesting and I LOVED the way the author wrote ESL characters. On the other hand, I think there was room for growth with some of the characters and the end (no spoilers) was not something I enjoyed. (3/5)
4. Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance
This read was fascinating. If you’re interested in people and psychology, it’s definitely worth the time. For whatever reason, I had thought it was about the hillbilly culture at large, but in reality the book centers on one family in particular and there has been some controversy as to whether the other is a real hillbilly or not. Even if he’s not, there are some interesting insights to be gleaned from this book. Luckily, the good outweighs the portion that reads like a grasp at support for a political office run. (3/5)
That’s it for January. Currently I’m reading Prince Lestat for pleasure and The Wishing Spell to my squirrels.
If you’re interested in keeping up with what I’m reading I have a Goodreads account under CurlsnCake
And a book themed Instagram under gimmer_reads
