I am going to talk about three books (with a fourth (dis) honorable mention), I read (or couldn't get through) this year which I'm guessing most of you have heard of.
The first one, which I LOVED, is Educated by Tara Westover. I thought this was such a good book and I read it in a few days. In my opinion, if you haven't read it yet, you should. It is a memoir of a woman who grew up in a family who were preparing for the government to attack them at any time. They also eschewed anything governmental, including school and hospitals.
I also think you should read it along with The Great Alone by Kristen Hannah. To me this is basically the fictional account of Educated but set in Alaska in the 70s. I read both these books in the same week as my library holds on them came in at the same time, and now the two are forever linked in my mind. In fact, I'm making my book club read them together for January. In my opinion, these two books are well worth the hype.
Here's a book I couldn't even get through although I feel bad saying this because I know so many people loved it: The Sound of Gravel by Ruth Wariner. Again, it's a memoir of a woman who lived an unusual childhood moving between The States and her family's compound in Mexico.
I don't know. It just didn't grab me. Maybe I tried to read it at the wrong time. Maybe it just wasn't for me. Or maybe I just don't get it. I will try it again. Some day. It's rare that I can't finish a book -- it happened to me twice this year, once in 2017, and once in 2016 -- so when I don't finish books, they
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The last book which gets a dishonorable mention is My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh. Again, maybe I just didn't get it. I finished this book but it was more determination rather than that I really loved it. It's about a woman who decides to sleep for a year in hopes of improving her life.
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So those are my books which I think were totally worth it and two which I think you could skip. Have you read any of these? What did you think if you read them?
Oh dear...I haven't read any of these books.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your thoughts about them.
Educated: My wife read it and said I have to read it too. I will...eventually. Probably next year. I'm usually a year behind on the latest, greatest books.
ReplyDeleteI am often behind too. I think Educated is well worth it though although interestingly, I didn't recommend it to my husband. There have been others though where I say, "You HAVE TO read this one."
DeleteI can't decide why I don't want to read The Great Alone, but it just never screamed "Read Me"!!!
ReplyDeleteI get that. To me it was a surprise because I am often "meh" about Kristin Hannah (gasp!) but I really did love this one.
DeleteAbsolutely agree with you on Educated. It was my choice for Worth the Hype, too!
ReplyDeleteIt surprised me how much I LOVED it!
DeleteI almost included Educated on my list. Excellent choice. I read so many blah reviews about My Year of Rest that I ended up skipping it. Sounds like you'd back that decision.
ReplyDeleteI've concluded that I can no longer comment on your blog on my phone. I can on Alena's blog, and I have to figure the only difference is how the comment box is embedded. ANYWAY, now that I'm sitting at my laptop, agreed on Educated. I've seen so much on "The Great Alone" but "The Nightingale" was such a sucker punch to my gutt that I'm a little afraid of starting another one of hers!
ReplyDeleteI am shocked you didn't like (or even FINISH!!!) Sound of Gravel!! I really enjoyed that one. BUT I must say- I have heard it's very similar in many ways to Educated, but not written as well- so I've been holding off on Educated so that it feels fresh when I read it. I finally put it on hold at the library (will probably take forever to come in) because I feel like it's been long enough since I read Gravel that it won't be redundant. I also loved The Great Alone, and now I'll recommend The Snow Child (Eowyn Ivey) to you- very similar Alaska setting, though 1920 instead of 70s...although honestly, 'felt' exactly the same in terms of making it in Alaska winters!! I just finished it yesterday and it was FAB. Not similar at all to Great Alone other than setting, but a wonderful, fast read!!
ReplyDeleteI also loved Educated. A year of Rest and Relaxation has been on my list but after a few reviews of people I trust I don't know if it would be up my alley...
ReplyDeleteI think A Year of Rest and Relaxation really appeals to a certain segment of people but I haven't figured out who they are yet :)
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