Books I Finished The Past Two Months

Part I

October 14 - December 1, 2018

I know, I suck. My excuse for such a delayed post is that work got crazy and I was not prioritizing writing reviews. I’ve still been reading a lot, so I’m splitting this into 2 posts so as not to overwhelm you all, and the fact I need more time to finish the rest of the reviews!

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

I really wanted to enjoy this book more, but I can't say that I did. I appreciated certain aspects of it and Tolstoy can be a good author, however this was a perfect example of one of the classics that went on too long and bored me at several intervals. Click the book cover for my full review.

Synopsis: Married to a powerful government minister, Anna Karenina is a beautiful woman who falls deeply in love with a wealthy army officer, the elegant Count Vronsky. Desperate to find truth and meaning in her life, she rashly defies the conventions of Russian society and leaves her husband and son to live with her lover. Condemned and ostracized by her peers and prone to fits of jealousy that alienate Vronsky, Anna finds herself unable to escape an increasingly hopeless situation.

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

I'm disappointed that I watched the movie version first of Fight Club, as I would have loved to read this book and not know the ultimate twist. However, even knowing the twist that was coming, and being able to catch the clues earlier, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is brilliant and disturbing. Click the book cover for my full review.

Synopsis: Fight Club’s estranged narrator leaves his lackluster job when he comes under the thrall of Tyler Durden, an enigmatic young man who holds secret after-hours boxing matches in the basement of bars. There, two men fight “as long as they have to." This is a gloriously original work that exposes the darkness at the core of our modern world.

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

I have always been a fan of mythology and the tales of Odin, Thor and Loki have always been especially entertaining. When I saw that Neil Gaiman was rewriting some of these famous tales, I knew I had to read it. And I am so glad I did! Click the book cover for my full review.

Synopsis: Neil Gaiman has long been inspired by ancient mythology in creating the fantastical realms of his fiction. Now he turns his attention back to the source, presenting a bravura rendition of the great northern tales. In Norse Mythology, Gaiman fashions primeval stories into a novelistic arc that begins with the genesis of the legendary nine worlds; delves into the exploits of the deities, dwarves, and giants; and culminates in Ragnarok, the twilight of the gods and the rebirth of a new time and people. Gaiman stays true to the myths while vividly reincarnating Odin, the highest of the high, wise, daring, and cunning; Thor, Odin’s son, incredibly strong yet not the wisest of gods; and Loki, the son of giants, a trickster and unsurpassable manipulator.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

While reading, I found truth, joy, love and a sad, sweet melancholy that pulled at my heart and made me fall right into the pages. This book touched me so deeply that I know it will stay with me for years to come and I'll find myself rereading it in the near future. Click the book cover for my full review.

Synopsis: A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. Although the house he lived in is long gone, he is drawn to the farm at the end of the road, where, when he was seven, he encountered a most remarkable girl, Lettie Hempstock, and her mother and grandmother. He hasn't thought of Lettie in decades, and yet as he sits by the pond (a pond that she'd claimed was an ocean), the unremembered past comes flooding back. And it is a past too strange, too frightening, too dangerous to have happened to anyone, let alone a small boy.

Forty years earlier, a man committed suicide in a stolen car at this farm at the end of the road. Like a fuse on a firework, his death lit a touchpaper and resonated in unimaginable ways. The darkness was unleashed, something scary and thoroughly incomprehensible to a little boy. And Lettie—magical, comforting, wise beyond her years—promised to protect him, no matter what.

Small Spaces by Katherine Arden

Since I have now read 3 of Arden's books, I can officially say I am obsessed with her writing and storytelling. I cannot say enough good things about this book or about Katherine Arden and I am so excited to have found her books this year. Click the book cover for my full review.

Synopsis: After suffering a tragic loss, eleven-year-old Ollie only finds solace in books. So when she happens upon a crazed woman at the river threatening to throw a book into the water, Ollie doesn't think--she just acts, stealing the book and running away. As she begins to read, Ollie discovers a chilling story about a girl named Beth, the two brothers who both loved her, and a peculiar deal made with “the smiling man," a sinister specter who grants your most tightly held wish, but only for the ultimate price. 

Ollie is captivated by the tale until her school trip the next day to Smoke Hollow. There she stumbles upon the graves of the very people she's been reading about. Could it be the story about the smiling man is true? On the way home, the school bus breaks down, sending their teacher back to the farm for help. But the strange bus driver has some advice for the kids left behind in his care: “Best get moving. At nightfall they'll come for the rest of you." Then, Ollie's previously broken digital wristwatch, a keepsake reminder of better times, begins a startling countdown and delivers a terrifying message: RUN. And with that, a deliciously creepy and hair-raising adventure begins. 

What if an Octopus Followed me Home? by Pamela D. Beverly

I loved the illustrations of this book and appreciated the message that Pamela D. Beverly was trying to get across of how to be a good friend and care for others' needs, however it got slightly altered with the wordiness of the story.

Synopsis What would you do if on your way home from school, you made friends with an octopus?

That's what happened to Julius Jackson, an eight year-old boy, who noticed a little octopus following him home.

Julius makes friends with a little octopus, who he calls Mack. His mother is shocked but Julius thinks that Mack is lost and alone and needs a friend. 

Watch what happens when he brings little Mack home. Would you do the same if it were you?

Books I’m Currently Reading

Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts

Eeeek, still reading! I had 2 more library books arrive that I had to finish and a book club book so I’ve been reading chapters here and there. I’m still loving this book and am 70% done now, so I’ll definitely finish it by the end of December.

Synopsis: "It took me a long time and most of the world to learn what I know about love and fate and the choices we make, but the heart of it came to me in an instant, while I was chained to a wall and being tortured." So begins this epic, mesmerizing novel set in the underworld of contemporary Bombay. Shantaram is narrated by Lin, an escaped convict with a false passport who flees maximum security prison in Australia for the teeming streets of a city where he can disappear. As a hunted man without a home, family, or identity, Lin searches for love and meaning while running a clinic in one of the city's poorest slums, and serving his apprenticeship in the dark arts of the Bombay mafia.

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

This is my first Agatha Christie book and I am thoroughly entertained already. I’m listening to an audiobook of this novel read by Dan Stevens, and he is seriously impressive since he gives a distinctly different voice for each character.

Synopsis: Ten people, each with something to hide and something to fear, are invited to a lonely mansion on Soldier Island by a host who, surprisingly, fails to appear. On the island they are cut off from everything but each other and the inescapable shadows of their own past lives. One by one, the guests share the darkest secrets of their wicked pasts. And one by one, they die....

Books I Was Reading Last Year - 2017

Ghost Bird Academy Series by C.L. Stone

I’m a bit embarrassed to admit I was reading these books last year, but I’m going to be honest. This series is part of the reverse harem phenomenon that has gained a lot of traction the past couple years. And yes, I hopped on the bandwagon. This series is not that great, the writing leaves something to be desired and it’s a bit unrealistic since the characters are only 15 years old and yet they’ve somehow had more adult experiences than a 25 year old, however I still read the entire series so far. Not sure what that says about me, but i’m accepting it. There’s a huge following for this series as well.

Synopsis: With an agoraphobic mother and a barely-there father, Sang abhors the isolation keeping her in the shadows. The only thing Sang craves is a fresh start and to be accepted as ordinary by her peers, because for her being different meant being cast out alone. When her family moves to a new school district, Sang infiltrates a group of boys nearly perfect in every way and quickly bonds with them. Only the boys have secrets of their own and they’ll do anything to keep her safe from the knowledge of the mysterious Academy that they've sworn allegiance to. Bit by bit, Sang discovers that her friends are far from the normalcy she expected. Will her loyalty change when she's forced to remain in the dark, or will she accept that she's traded one house of secrets for another?

Books I Was Reading Two Years Ago - 2016

The Witches by Roald Dahl

I always enjoy Roald Dahl books and this one was no exception. I hadn’t written a full review on this one but I remember finding it funny and clever. Definitely a great book to read around Halloween (which is what I did) as well as a quick entertaining book.

Synopsis: This is not a fairy-tale. This is about real witches. Real witches don't ride around on broomsticks. They don't even wear black cloaks and hats. They are vile, cunning, detestable creatures who disguise themselves as nice, ordinary ladies. So how can you tell when you're face to face with one? Well, if you don't know yet you'd better find out quickly-because there's nothing a witch loathes quite as much as children and she'll wield all kinds of terrifying powers to get rid of them.

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

I really enjoy Gaiman's writing style. This is the second book I've read of his and it definitely didn't disappoint. He interweaves so many different storylines into one cohesive plot that makes everything so much more interesting and exciting. Click the book cover for my full review and links to buy the book.

Synopsis: Life moves at a leisurely pace in the tiny town of Wall—named after the imposing stone barrier which separates the town from a grassy meadow. Here, young Tristran Thorn has lost his heart to the beautiful Victoria Forester and for the coveted prize of her hand, Tristran vows to retrieve a fallen star and deliver it to his beloved. It is an oath that sends him over the ancient wall and into a world that is dangerous and strange beyond imagining...

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

I wish I could be reading this book for the first time again. I LOVED it and it is now one of my favorites that I will always recommend. Towles has this amazing gift for writing and weaving such intricate stories that have you enthralled and contemplating so many things. Click the book cover for my full review and links to buy the book.

Synopsis: When, in 1922, he is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, the count is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life, and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors. Unexpectedly, his reduced circumstances provide him a doorway into a much larger world of emotional discovery.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

I wish I could be reading this book for the first time too! Dude, November 2016 I found so many of my favorite books ever! I liked the way this book was written with so many interwoven stories and characters that eventually comes full circle, it was a great plot line and interesting read. Click the book cover for my full review and links to buy the book.

Synopsis: On Daniel’s 11th birthday, his father brings him to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, a library protected by rare-book dealers. Daniel comes across a forgotten book called “The Shadow of the Wind” and is swept away by the story and writing. In his search for other books by the author Julian Carax, Daniel finds that someone is destroying each copy of the works. We follow Daniel as he uncovers the secrets of Julian Carax’s life and finds himself on a very similar path as his beloved author.