SUYB - January 2018 Books

Happy Tuesday! Time for my favorite post of the month, Show Us Your Books! This month was off to a slow start, with a very long book at the beginning of the month. 

Today I'm linking up with Jana and Steph for Show Us Your Books.

Hard Choices by Hillary Clinton

I picked up this book, because I want to read What Happened? by Hillary Clinton, too. But I should have started with her Autobiography, which I want to request this week.

From this book I learned that Hillary Clinton is a very intelligent woman, who should have become our president. She has done so much work to prepare for such a role... but we all know how that only created a legion of haters, because it's easier for them to be hateful of a smart woman, than to admit that she is deserving of the highest political office.... anyway, I am completely away from my subject now.

This book was long, full of things I didn't know or understand before, but very well written. 

What Made Maddy Run by Kate Fagan

WMMR is the tragic story of Maddy Holleran and the theory on her suicide. Maddy's life could have been described as "perfect", she was a student athlete at an Ivy League, with family and friends who loved her. Maddy committed suicide at the start of her second semester at University of Pennsylvania.

The book was written well, but it had sections of the author's own experience with college sports and wanting to quit the  basketball team. I found those sections to be boring, and inappropriate, because the story should have centered on Maddy and her life, not as a comparison to the author's life.

I also want to confess that I skipped one whole chapter on the book, the one before last. I was too emotional to read a conversation between the author and a suicide survivor. I wish she would not have added that chapter. The book left me with a lot of feelings and made me question my own use of Social Media.

We are Okay by Nina LaCour

A pick from the Diverse Book club about a girl dealing with loss, grief, family and friendship. The story starts with Marin in college in New York, and one can tell something happened, but one has to wait and see the story unravel, as Marin peels the layers of pain and grief. A very moving story, that kept me reading to find out more about Marin's pain, and wishing for her to heal. 

Giovannis' Room by James Baldwin 

This was another pick from the Diverse Book Club. I had a hard time getting into the book, and almost gave it up. But had nothing else to listen to, so I stuck it out. I did start getting into the book about 1/4 into it and was glad to have finished it.

The book is the story of a man trying to figure out his feelings for another man, in the 1950s, when homosexuality was seen as a disease. I enjoyed the book, and was glad to have read it. I need more LGBTA books in my reading list. 

13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher

I have been waiting for this audiobook from the library for 6 months! I wanted to check out the book before watching the series, but I didn't like the book. It felt to me like the book glorified suicide, and I found that hard to read. The one part that I found the author got right, was that teenage girls are treated like sexual objects by teenage boys, and some of the sexual abuse that Hanna went through was very painful to read. I listened to the book during one of my runs, and I had to stop and cry during a rape scene in the book. 

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

Yes, I'm the last person to read this one! and yes, I loved Ove! He reminded me a lot of Sheldon from Big Bang Theory and the main character on Rosie's project. I cried at the end, because... well, you know why... his heart was too big! 

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

I picked this up after seeing it recommended by Steph. This book was one of those must read books for schools and everybody! For anybody who is going to tell me "I don't understand why our country is so divided" I say, go read this book, go read this book and understand that has been done to the African American generations for hundreds of years. This book was heartbreaking, eye opening and beautifully written. 

I keep saying that my heart needs a light read, but my brain keeps picking really hard books. I am currently reading The Power, and so far it has been amazing!

How is your reading this year?