Also, this month I'm keeping track of *how* I read the book.
And, new things: I downloaded Scribd. I'm still on my free trial but I did some quick searches and discovered that 4 or 5 of my TBR books are on the audio portion so a month or two of paying $10 a month to listen to them seems to be worth it. I haven't tried the ebook component but I'm assuming this app may be good for me just because it'll get me back into audiobooks (multitasking productivity) and, with unlimited listening, much cheaper than Audible was, though I haven't used Audible in over a year.
Good:
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens hardcover
I couldn't put it down. I read it in less than a week, which is quick for me as a general rule. Everyone seems to be of the consensus that it starts off slow but, even if that's true, it pulled me in right away. I really enjoyed the writing.
The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell ebook c/o Netgalley
Another one I couldn't put down. I read it in a day because it was on my Kindle and so easy to flip pages. I like/love all of Lisa Jewell's books but this was was comparable to I Found You when it came to layering the characters and plot with the past and the present.
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaeledes hardcover
I put off this book for a few months, after seeing it constantly on this link-up, because I didn't like the cover. However, I like books that take place in Great Britain, instead of the U.S. When I actually read up on what it was about, I decided to try it.
If we were grading it, I'd give it a B-. It wasn't perfect (I can't even pinpoint why) but it was enthralling. The short chapters made it easy to keep going. Recommended if you like mysteries. It wasn't as much a thriller to me as a mystery of what-the-heck-actually-happened.
Meh:
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman hardcover
I initially liked this a lot more than I've liked anything else in this genre, and it's actually marketed as romance at my library. I thought Nina had much, much more to her character than the typical quirky-girl heroine. Then, I found myself annoyed. She had a very easy life and that bugged me. She's like a teenager. She wouldn't step out of her comfort zone for a second, even though there was nothing to technically hold her back. She reminded me of those grown adults who say they really needed that 10-11 hours of sleep they got...we could all do with 10-11 hours of sleep, Karen. You don't need it more than anyone else.
Also, no wonder she was screwed up: her mom basically abandoned her to be raised by a nanny and, while that might not seem like a big deal, now that I'm learning what goes into raising a small toddler, it's a big deal.
I wanted to find that planner that she has, though. A day-to-day one might be beneficial to me right now. The set-up seemed perfect.
I did read the Goodreads 1-star reviews because that's a guilty pleasure of mine for books I don't love (NEVER for books I DO love) and most people complained about the writing being too much and the dialogue being all over the place.
Lastly, I was pulled in immediately by the bookstore customer hating P&P, as I do too, but then realized that probably wasn't the character I was supposed to be identifying with. Oops.
(If this had taken place in Great Britain, I think I would've found it infinitely more enjoyable. The L.A. setting made it an easy set-up for stereotypes.)
DNF:
The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin hardcover
I could've read it, really. But I couldn't keep any of the characters straight and so I just moved on. I think on audio it might be good, so I'm not writing this one off completely.
In September I had said I wanted to read two books and I read four so that's a check in the win column. Honestly, if I had stressed myself out about it, I could've finished two more, but I didn't.
Right now I'm reading Christmas Shopaholic (released next week) from NetGalley, The Alice Network (audio), and Not That I Could Tell (audio).
Thoughts on those?
Linking up with Jana and Steph!
