My definition of this is "books which everyone is raving about." I hear about these books from bloggers, book people on Instagram, my real life friends, and my blogging friends. Most of these books came up numerous times this year. One more caveat here -- these books might not all be new books in 2019, but they were new to me.
Just a note: All my images are from Goodreads (except one from Wikipedia) and they are not affiliate links.
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I can't remember when I first heard about this book, but our friend in Victoria recommended it to me and then it came up again at our neighbourhood book club. I read it and really enjoyed it. It reminded me of the Russian classics (War and Peace, The Brothers Karamazov, etc) in that it was a sweeping Russian epic, but I found it a little more accessible. My other book club is reading it in January and I'm looking forward to the discussion.
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I read this for a readathon I did by myself at the beginning of September. I loved Gelman's first book, Class Mom, and I really wasn't sure this book would live up to it. Sometimes, continuing along the same theme for a second book falls flat. However, I think I liked this one more than I liked the first one. I laughed so hard while reading it, I choked on the muffin I was eating. This one is definitely worth it!
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This was another one I was seeing all over blogs and I felt like it might fall flat. Spoiler alert: It didn't! I LOVED it. My book club just read this one and discussed it this past weekend. Thus, I had to re-read it and it was just as good, if not better, the second time around. Everyone in our book club really loved it and we had a great discussion.
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I had heard so much about this book, and there were a million holds on it at my library, and I finally got ahold of it in February. I read it partly on an airplane, and it was a little hard to get into. Normally I can read anywhere, but this book required more concentration. However, once I had the space to concentrate, I LOVED this book. I loved how in depth Michelle Obama was and how open about how hard it is to live in The White House.
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I didn't know if I would like this book because I'd never read (or really heard of) Gourmet magazine. However, a blogging friend I really trusted raved about it, so I picked it up. And then I finished it in basically one night and I started raving about how good it was. Even if you never read Gourmet, you should read this book. I want to pick up other of Reichl's books because I loved how she wrote this one.
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Jennifer Robson is a Canadian author (who actually came to one of my book clubs (she's a friend of a friend)) and I love all her books. This one was a departure from her World War II quartet but it was soooo good. I read this almost a year ago and I still remember the details of the shop where they embroidered Queen Elizabeth II's veil. Robson is so good with detail.
So these are the books which I think were absolutely worth the hype this year. Did you read any of these? Do you agree (or disagree) with any of my picks? I love nothing better than a good book discussion, so let me know :)
And now I'm off to read the other posts in this link up because I want to see if there are any hype-worthy books I missed...
No way...I was just thinking about re-reading Class Mom...it has been on my mind a lot lately...lol! I guess that is bec you were reading the sequel! :) I'll be sure to check it out.
ReplyDeleteI still haven't read Daisy Jones- but picked up the audio version because someone told me that is was SO good that way!
ReplyDeleteI haven't ever listened to an audio book but I've also heard the audio version of this one is excellent!
DeleteI still need to read Daisy Jones- but I do have the audio because someone told me it was SOOOO good to listen to!
ReplyDeleteI had the Crawdads book on my wish list and then when I received it for "rent" I never got to it. I guess I need to check it out again!
ReplyDeleteI read Crawdad and like you - didn't think it was going to live up to the hype - but boy did it ever!! I also read Daisy Jones which I really liked too.
ReplyDeleteAnd I was amazed that Crawdads was just as good reading it through a second time! It was fun to see the clues which Owens planted throughout the book the second time around.
DeleteThanks for this! I have already read a few, but added a few more to my list. I wondered about Daisy Jones but will try it now. I like to read about different places so I'm excited to try the Russian one, glad it's more accessible than others. I've still got Anna Kareinia (sp?) sitting there.
ReplyDeleteThe only reason I finished Anna Karenina is because I was living overseas and my reading material was limited. Ha! And yes, I haven't heard of anyone who didn't like Daisy Jones.
DeleteI didn't include any from this year either. I count it as what I read this year too, because I'm usually at least a year behind in my reading (if not more).
ReplyDeleteSome day I might get to Where The Crawdads Sing. Some day. :)
I hope you like Crawdads when you get to it. It's really very good.
DeleteI LOVED The Gown! I totally wasn't expecting to, but I thought it was so charming.
ReplyDeleteI had high expectations because I loved Robson's other books and I'm so glad it met them.
DeleteCrawdads was just so-so for me, but I am still glad I read it as I have had a lot of opportunities to talk to others about it. Daisy Jones and the Six just doesn't sound like a book I'd enjoy, but it sure is on a lot of other lists.
ReplyDeleteYes I felt the same on so many of these. I was so nervous going into Crawdads or Michelle Obama because I was certain it wouldn't live up to the hype, but it did! And agreed on both Save Me The Plums and Daisy Jones - beautiful books. I struggled on The Gown and I think its just not my time period.
ReplyDeleteI’m reading the Crawdads right now. So far, I’m really loving it!
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