This year, rather than post about books I didn’t finish, I simply added them to a list. Keeping the list throughout the year saved time and effort and meant an easy publish on December 31! Sometimes abandoning is about the time or place where I was reading. Usually, after about 50 pages, I give myself a pass if the book is really not grabbing me. Sometimes, I push through, especially if someone has given me a compelling review. Let me know if any of these are worth another try.

The Last Castle
The Power
White Houses
Everything Here is Beautiful
Love and Ruin
Less
The Maze at Windermere
The Mars Room
Social Creature
Stay with Me
High Season
Circe
Unsheltered
The House of Broken Angels

Whiskey When We’re Dry by John Larison has gotten great reviews, but it’s taken me a while to pick it up. Jessilyn’s mother died when she was born and her brother basically kills off her father and disappears. As an orphan, alone on their homestead, Jessilyn realizes she won’t survive for long. She transforms into a boy and sets off to find her brother. The bulk of the book describes her adventures along the way. I enjoyed this read, one of my last of 2018. It was engaging and fast-paced, though I think that some of my speed was due to my desire to be finished before the end of 2018. Nevertheless, it’s well worth picking up.

The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain was a great read. It kept me on the edge of my seat and I read almost all of it in a day. While it is not my normal kind of read (again, suspension of disbelief was required), it worked, and the twists and turns made it quite enjoyable. When Carly, a young Vietnam widow, realizes that her unborn baby has a heart defect, she is devastated. Her mysterious brother-in-law offers her an unbelievable option that she takes. This choice alters the course of her and her unborn child’s future. I can’t say more without spoiling the story. This is a story I would absolutely pick up if I were you.

I picked up The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley on the recommendation of Modern Mrs. Darcy’s post – “20 books to cozy up with this winter.” And, it didn’t disappoint. It’s the story of author Carrie, who moves to Scotland to research a story that turns out to be one she remembers from the 1700s. In alternating chapters (everyone knows how I love that format), we read the story Carrie is writing (and reliving in her memory) and her own story in her new home. The book requires a suspension of disbelief, which I normally am not a fan of, but it worked here. This was a perfect choice for a chilly winter break.

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai was chosen by the NYT last week as one of the ten best books of 2018. And, while I did really enjoy it, it wasn’t a best of 2018 for me. The book is really two stories – one of Chicago at the worst part of the AIDS epidemic, the other in Paris involving one of the characters from the 80s Chicago story. The primary story was the more compelling and page-turning one for me, whereas the Paris one I just wanted to cruise through. And the stories didn’t overlap in really interesting ways, the way you thought they might. And, ultimately, the book itself was too long. So, again, though I enjoyed it, I didn’t love it.

The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton was a great read. It was depressing and astonishing, but also eye-opening and fascinating. I could easily see why it has so many positive reviews. It’s the story of the 30 years that Hinton spent on death row, though he was innocent of the crime he was accused of committing. More than anything else, the pace at which the judicial systems works is unfathomable. And, of course, the ridiculousness of the system that would have convicted him in the first place goes without saying. If you have not read this already, grab it. You won’t regret having added it to your list.

You all know how much I love Reese Witherspoon and how much I have enjoyed most of her other book club picks. One Day in December, by Josie Silver, though, was a book that I felt like I had read before. In addition, I found it trite, predictable, and overall, skipable. Did I finish it? Yes. I did need to know how it turned out, but it was too “been there done that” for me. 

We’re Going to Need More Wine was a great memoir by Gabrielle Union. I didn’t know much about Union before I listened to this selection, but I liked the way she told the story and learning about her life. While it would have been good to read, I enjoyed having Union read it and it was great to dip in and out of since each chapter jumped back and forth to different times in her life. I highly recommend.

I generally enjoy Elizabeth Berg and liked the prequel to this story, The Story of Arthur Truluv (reviewed here). In Night of Miracles, the characters we met in Truluv have aged by some years. In a small Missouri town, Lucille teaches baking classes with her assistant, Iris. Next door, Lucille’s new neighbors discover that the mother has advanced cancer. Lucille takes on afternoon care of the son. And, at the same time, taxi driver Tiny falls in love. While the story is quiet, the chapters (each told by a different one of the characters) are short and move the tale forward. As they are all interconnected, it pushes the narrative forward in a way that makes you want to keep reading to find the resolution. 

I Am I Am I Am is a quick and unusual memoir of Maggie O’Farrell’s nineteen brushes with death. Each is told in interlocking chapters back and forth in time, and each is interesting in its own right. While I don’t normally enjoy a short story format, this one was a good read that I would recommend.