What I read: The Inflationary Christmas Edition

BOOK COUNT FOR THE YEAR: 144

• January: 14
• February: 5
• March: 12
• April: 8
• May: 7
• June: 12
• July: 15
• August: 16
• September: 8
• October: 14
• November: 14
• December: 19

Well I almost made it to 150 books…! 🙂

WHAT LITTLE BUN READ

He is still working on his Louis Sachar books, and has been rereading these cute Cat & Cat comics.

MARINA

[ FANTASY, THRILLER, DARK MAGIC, SPAIN ]

He never fails to enthrall me. Zafón is an EXCELLENT writer. He has a way of weaving mystery with darkness, and fantasy all in one to grip you by page one. You are sucked down the hole of reading and you have forgotten all sense of time and self when you are in one of his books.

BOOKEATERS

[ MYSTERY, CREEPY, BOOKS, SUPERNATURAL ]

This book creeped me TF out. I read it, but did not enjoy it. I really just.. felt creeped out while reading it. It had great insights in there, but when you talk about little boys in a book, I am hyper sensitive because of Little Bun. It’s just being a parent, and I can’t turn it off, I keep imagining what I would do if I were that parent.

THE HUNGER BETWEEN US

[ WAR, LENINGRAD, SURVIVAL, HUMAN INSTINCT, LOVE, FAMILY ]

This book was also creepy in other ways, but from page one I could not put it down. It is a book that digs deep into human survival, and makes you question what you would do if you were in that position, during a war. It makes you wonder how you would act, and what you would do. I devoured it, from beginning to end, and it was worth every page. Highly recommended.

SHADES OF MAGIC TRILOGY

[ MAGIC, PIRATES, FAMILY, LOVE, FANTASY, WAR, DARK MAGIC ]

I loved this set. I loved that it did not need to go into any sort of sex scenes to be memorable (in fact, there are none, just hints of them). They could have ramped it up a bit more on the romantic bits, but that’s my only critique because the entire trilogy was spell-binding from beginning to end. I loved all the characters, but obviously Lila is my absolute… hands down.. FAVOURITE. Highly recommended.

AFTER I DO

[ LIFE, REFLECTION, MARRIAGE, LOVE, RELATIONSHIPS ]

She really has a way with words. I have to tell you, Reid is one of the best authors I have ever come across in terms of making you feel like you are the characters themselves.

ONE TRUE LOVES

[ LIFE, REFLECTION, MARRIAGE, LOVE, RELATIONSHIPS ]

Another great book about true loves. I do not want to give it away but it was gripping right to the end. And it made me think a lot about love, true love, and to consider in what situations it would apply or not. Very good for deep self reflection.

ANNA: THE BIOGRAPHY

[ BIOGRAPHY, ANNA WINTOUR, POWERFUL WOMEN, EDITOR, VOGUE ]

An excellent biography on a very iconic woman. You get to see all the different layers of who she is, and I think it’s fairly accurate. It’s how I see her. She’s ambitious and it’s admirable even if she isn’t always kosher in getting to what she wants. Wintour understands how to play the game.

THEY BOTH DIE AT THE END

[ DEATH, LOVE STORY, PENSIVE, THOUGHTS, REFLECTION ]

This is not what you think. I mean, I was feeling sad about the whole situation, but this book really made me think about last days, and what you’d do on your last day if you knew and had 24 hours. This was really quite an excellent book. It wove together all the stories and ended perfectly, and even though you know the ending, it was a surprise. I also enjoyed the love story arc in this, I really appreciated the writing. He has another book, this was the second in the Death Cast series, I will read the first one as well next month.

REMINDERS OF HIM

[ ENEMIES, LOVERS, REFLECTION, TRAGIC LOSS, MOTHERS, REDEMPTION ]

Wow. Another gripping book. I could not stop reading it because it just brought me right into their world, and also.. again.. made me self-reflect upon what it is to be a mother and a parent. I loved it. The ending was also satisfying which is something I sometimes never get from these books.

FALLEN

[ MYSTERY, NAUSEATING TOPICS, VERY GRAPHIC, SMALL TOWN MURDERS ]

I love her work. I just wish I knew she had a series of books I had to read in order because…. this is book 5 and while I could read it as a standalone novel, a lot of their references and characters obviously had a backstory and a history, which gave me pause sometimes because I felt like I was missing a lot of their history. I am going to start at book ONE and go through her 24 books….

BLINDSIGHTED

[ MYSTERY, NAUSEATING TOPICS, VERY GRAPHIC, SMALL TOWN MURDERS ]

I am finally getting into book ONE of the series I just read above, and I thoroughly enjoyed it – it is giving me much more insight into what I have been reading.

SILENT WIFE, INDELIBLE, FAINT COLD FEAR, KISSCUT

[ MYSTERY, NAUSEATING TOPICS, VERY GRAPHIC, SMALL TOWN MURDERS ]

I am reading through the entire series of mysteries centered around a few main characters. They’re quite good, if a bit vomit-inducing due to the graphic descriptions and topics chosen (e.g. children..). To be honest, I may need to take a break from her writing as it’s too graphic, and it’s playing with my brain in these times when I am not quite as strong to be able to read on such matters. I just want to read fluff these days. This is not fluff.

DARKSIDE

[ MYSTERY, NAUSEATING TOPICS, VERY GRAPHIC, SMALL TOWN MURDERS ]

In a similar vein to Slaughter’s work, but less nausea-inducing, in my case. I may read her items.

WHEN THE ASTORS OWNED NEW YORK

This was all right. Not very interesting, but gave a nice, dry overview of the Astors in New York and their doings. If you’re into the Gilded Age, this is a fun read, but not necessarily a gripping one.