Show Us Your Books: December 2018

I fell one book short of my reading goal in 2018 (which was 36 books), so I'm attempting the same number again this year in hopes of better results. That said, I did have some good reads in the final month of the year.

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

This one made it onto my short list of favorites at the end of 2018. So I clearly enjoyed it. I've already said everything I think I can say about it.

Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah

I wanted something lighter after reading "Sadie" and "An American Marriage" back-to-back. I mistakenly thought this would be the answer. It was only slightly lighter. But there were a lot of emotions as I read about how Meredith and Nina learned the hard truth about their mother's youth after their father's death. Anya grew up in war-torn Leningrad and had to do some impossible things and make difficult choices to help her family survive. It was an engrossing read with a satisfying ending.

The Off-Season by Megan Green

I read the second book in this sports romance series earlier in the year, so I decided I should go back and read the first to get some background on the characters. It was a mostly light read. I had some issue with the fact that the main male character is a major league baseball player who goes to a small town to hide after he's accused of sexual assault. Even though the allegations are false, and you know that from the beginning, it was very hard to like him and root for him. The female lead is also heavily flawed with a questionable past, so they are a good match, and together they work through their demons.

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai

I ended the year on a very heavy note. This book was hard to get through. It flips between 1986 Chicago and 2015 France. In the former, several of the characters are dealing with the AIDS crisis and LGBT rights. In the latter, a woman is searching for her daughter, who left home and joined a cult years earlier. The stories eventually weave together and make sense in tandem, but it was very hard to keep up with. I was a kid during the AIDS crisis, so I was unaware of all that was involved. I found it very eye-opening and heartbreaking to hear how these patients were regarded and treated. Hopefully things have gotten better than those years. We certainly don't hear much about it.