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? 



Comments

  1. Some of my favorite books are the really tough, emotional ones. I just gravitate toward them...so I get that! lol I still haven't read A Man Called Ove but I DO hear great things, and I'm glad you liked it.

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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    1. I know!! you get it! An emotional and hard book is always better, they make us grow !

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  2. Thanks for sharing your list, I keep getting great ideas from you! I haven't heard of Homegoing but it sounds amazing. I love Giovanni's Room, a great book :)

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    1. Homegoing is one of the most amazing books! Let me know if you read it and what you think.

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  3. i felt the same way about 13 reasons why. i feel like you either feel that way or you love it. i don't really want to watch the series because i've heard it's worse (it actually shows her do it/or dead). i haven't read A Man Called Ove but it's on my list. I have Homegoing at home so hopefully I'll get to it soon.

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    1. You are so right about 13 Reasons. It didn't help that I listened to it, right after a real life suicide and how much it destroyed me.

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  4. I am about halfway through Homegoing and I agree- it is great so far. SO glad to hear of more love for Ove...that book was amazing. :)

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    1. Homegoing is so heartbreaking beautiful!

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  5. Sometimes I crave those dark, difficult reads but then I definitely need lots of lightness afterwards. I still have not read Homegoing for that reason. But I will because it's an important, necessary read. 13 Reasons Why is not on my TBR for pretty much all the reasons you mentioned.

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    1. I need to find a good balance of good intense books, and ones that won't make me hate humanity.

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  6. I ran out of time before I go to read Homegoing but I hope to get it from the library again soon!

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    1. I hope you get it back soon !!

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  7. I actually liked 13 Reasons Why because I thought it was well-written, but it is HORRIBLY sad. And now that I'm a mother, I don't think I could handle watching the series.

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    1. I thought it was well written, but something felt lacking for me. I needed the writing to be less focused on revenge and more focused on finding justice, not that justice is easier to find. I don't know...

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  8. I haven't read A Man Called Ove! I got 50 pages in before I gave up, but I think it was a timing issue rather than a writing style issue for me. I have read his novellas and really enjoyed those, so I'll probably give Ove another shot. I just read a YA about a trans girl, but I'd like to add more LGBTA books to my queue as well, so adding Giovanni's Room!

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    1. I hope you get to go back to Ove, it really does pick up and gets better.

      I"ll check out that book you suggested, thanks!

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  9. Homegoing is on my TBR, as is What Made Maddy Run. I liked Thirteen Reasons Why, but there were a few things that bothered me about it. I liked A Man Called Ove. He does remind me of Sheldon. Best show ever!

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    1. Homegoing and Maddy are both emotional reads, but amazing.

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  10. Definitely want to read Hard Choices. Adding it to my TBR :)

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    1. It's good, I hope you enjoy it!

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  11. I feel exactly the same about Homegoing. Everyone, read it. Now!

    I haven't read Ove - well, I read about 30 pages - and I won't be. So you're not last! LOL

    I don't think I can read Hillary's book. Not until all of this is very very far behind us.

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    1. I kept reading Ove, and thinking "when is this finally going to get better?" and out of nowhere it did. It reminded me a lot of The Rosie Project, but with an older / more traditional lead.

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  12. I had some issues with 13 Reasons Why but not that it glorified suicide, although I do understand that perspective.

    I need to move Homegoing up on my TBR.

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    1. I should have pointed out that I read 13 Reasons right after What Made Maddy Run, which was a real suicide. That made me have a very different view of the Hanna Story and how cruel/calculated the writing for her character was.

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  13. Great book list! I was going to add Maddy to my book club list but after the reviews, I thought it would be too sad.

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    1. You know, I picked up Maddy because it had run on the tittle, but this book is definitely not about running and if anything, running did not help at all. Very sad book.

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  14. Ove! Love, love, love Ove! So glad you enjoyed it!

    I think Thirteen Reasons Why was a good book to foster discussions about many issues that need discussing. It was a hard book, though, I do agree.

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    1. Yes, I agree! 13 Reasons is a conversation starter, because the issues that were discussed were so deep!

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  15. I read Hillary Clinton's autobiography (the first one) and it was a really good book. I think you'll enjoy it. I learned a lot of things about her that I didn't know before reading it.

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    1. I already started it! It's good so far.

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  16. DO you think you will watch the Netflix series? I don't think you will like it because of your thoughts on the book. I have a blog post about it just chilling in my draft folder ready to go!

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    1. I'll try out the show, maybe next weekend.

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  17. I still haven't read A Man Called Ove, although I feel like I should.
    I've heard that the TV series for 13 Reasons Why has the same glorification in it.

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    1. I have read some of the criticisms too, but maybe I will watch it once.

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