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Tuesday, January 8, 2019

Show Us Your Books: December 2018


Life According to Steph


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.


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.


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.


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.



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.




16 comments:

  1. Sometimes I just accept that I'll be the last person on the planet to read the newest popular books (An American Marriage) and that's fine lol. It took me 3 years to read Gone Girl.

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  2. An American Marriage is a spectacular book.

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  3. hmmm i'm intrigued by the sports romance but the premise sounds... different lol. an american marriage is on my list, hoping to get to it soon!

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  4. I really want to read An American Marriage. Good luck on your reading goals this year!

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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  5. An American Marriage is an amazing book!

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  6. The Great Believers sounds interesting. I've learned a lot about how the AID Crisis was handled and it is appalling.

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  7. An American Marriage was one of my faves of 2018 also. Great book!

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  8. I remember sobbing over Winter Garden. Not the lightness you were looking for for sure LOL

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  9. Glad you liked Winter Garden. It's one of my favorite books! :)

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  10. An American Marriage has been sitting on my to read list for awhile, I need to get it!

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  11. An American Marriage was one of my favorite books of the year. 36 was my goal for last year too-- but I think I ended on 20 or 21-- hoping to make it to 36 this year.

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  12. American Marriage was on my top of 2018 as well. And Great Believers is high on my to-read list, but it sounds like I'd better plan something light for after it...

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  13. OMG I cried so much reading Winter Garden - it was definitely not a light read for me, but I loved it. I would find it hard to read American Marriage and then that one though. Haha. Sounds like maybe the sports romance was a bit lighter, I hope?! Good luck with your goal this year!

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  14. I've been meaning to read An American Marriage, but just haven't gotten around to it yet. I definitely need to put it higher up on my "to read" pile ha ha!

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  15. Oh Kristin Hannah is always an emotional rollercoaster! lol

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