Tuesday, February 14, 2017

I show you my books, you show me yours... vol.25


Valentine's, Schmalentine's...it's Show Us Your Books Day!  The day hosted by Jana & Steph, the day that makes my goodreads "to read" list grow, and the day I interact with a blogging community of readers.  I love this day of the month.

And, this month, I enjoyed everything I read, so you can't go wrong with taking a look at one, two, or all of these for your future reads...

What I've read since our last link-up:

1.  The Girl Before by Rena Olsen - I did not want to set this book aside. I would have read it all in one sitting if that had been possible. I felt so many things while reading this story. I was infuriated and saddened, annoyed and disgusted, but I also felt compassion and empathy. I enjoy a book that can provoke so many emotions while reading it. There were aspects that seemed far-fetched, but hey, it's fiction, right? 4.5/5  (Special thanks to Micah for gifting me this book during the Great Pumpkin Swap!)


2.  I Came to Say Goodbye by Caroline Overington - Oh, my heart. This book put my heart through the works. It smashed my heart, wadded it up, stomped on it, tore it in pieces, and put the pieces back together, scattered them again, and on and on. It was narrated in a unique way which added different elements to the story. The book dealt with extremely difficult, uncomfortable topics from abandonment, child abuse, family relationships, mental illness, and more. I thought it was excellent and will definitely read more from this Australian author.  4.5/5

3.  We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler - An unexpected profound and beautiful story about a unique family dynamic.  4/5


4.  Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil by Melina Marchetta - In a book that contains numerous storylines that are all interconnected, there was one I wasn't buying. But, I enjoy her writing so much, I just eventually gave in to it all. A mystery & thriller book that also examines themes of race relations, family relationships, sacrifice, and more. 4/5

5.  Trail of Broken Wings by Sejal Badani - A powerful story about the aftermath of abuse and how victims' lives, choices, and relationships can be negatively impacted for years, even after they are no longer living with the abuser(s). Some of the writing felt a bit melodramatic, and it was difficult to have empathy for a couple of the characters, but overall, I still felt it was a good book. 3.5/5

6.  A Murder in Time by Julie McElwain - A modern day FBI agent ends up helping to track down a serial killer in 1815 England; time travel books are not my usual cup of tea, but I enjoyed this book.   I had no idea "whodunnit" until that was revealed. Sure, there were hints and suggestions, but I had no idea where the story was going to go, and that kept me interested to the very end. I'd even be willing to give the follow-up a try.  4/5


7.  Dark Matter by Blake Crouch - I can't rate this book. I can see why people like it. It's fast-paced and creative, thrilling and unique, but this type of story just isn't my thing. I recommend it to any science fiction reader, something I am not. And, I'm aware other readers have really enjoyed it as well.  I read it quickly, because it's so fast-paced it's easy to do, but also because I just wanted it to end. Sometimes, I enjoy reading a genre that isn't my normal choice, and I find a new love of story-telling. Other times, I learn not all books are for all readers.  And, that's okay.


A solid month of reading for me.  How was yours?

29 comments:

  1. The Girl Before is on my TBR and I keep meaning to check it out from the library as I've only heard great things about it. So many great books here that I'm adding them all to my TBR, minus Murder in Time (already read it).

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  2. "Read it quickly because I wanted it to end". HA! That's part of the reason I powered my way through the end of American Psycho. It was getting progressively more disturbing, but the end was sooo close that it seemed a waste not to finish it so I sat and read the last bit in one go to get it over with.

    I want to read 4 of the books you've reviewed here. And I've already ready We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves.

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  3. My sentiments were exactly the same on Trail of Broken Wings. Glad I'm not the only one!

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  4. oh bummer about dark matter. but i dig it. i'm not super into science fiction but i really liked the story or the point of the story, you know? i'm glad you liked a murder in time - i read the second one and didn't love it *as much* but that's because i wanted more of the other side of the story and less of the murdery mystery stuff, so you might like it. i will definitely read the 3rd if it comes out. added the rest to my list!

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  5. I love when you come across a book that you want to read all at once because it's so intriguing! I have Dark Matter on hold from the library and have no idea how I'll feel about it, so I loved how honest you were in talking about it!

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  6. The Marchetta is on my list. I'll add We are all Completely Beside Ourselves too.

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  7. I needed a third book for the Aussie author challenge so #2 it is!

    Dark Matter is not for everyone (no books are). It was hard to follow and dizzying but I definitely loved it.

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  8. I have Dark Matter on my list...I totally understand where you are coming from with that. The Girl Before sounds really good :) I feel like I'll get to that Marchetta book sometime too because as you know, I have enjoyed some of her other books. I'm intrigued by the Murder in Time book/series!!

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  9. I've heard a lot about Dark Matter, and it's been varied. So your review makes sense. The Fowler book has captured my interest...

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  10. I have The Girl Before and I need to get to it!!!

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  11. I came to say goodbye... I keep seeing so many books that are just heartbreaking. Why do we do that to ourselves??? :) #readerlife

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  12. I read a lot of really meaty and heavy books in January. I'm so glad I did. However, they slowed me down and I only read 4 books total. This month I'm reading some lighter choices but life is taking over my free time. It might be another low month. The Girl Before is now on my TBR.

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  13. I saw I Came to Say Goodbye last night on a clearance section and didn't know it was good so I passed. #meganfail

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  14. I've already read a few of these and I perked up at some, went to Goodreads, and they were already on my list! Which I kind of love because I feel like my TBR is so overwhelming already! Ha!

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  15. So I'm kind of thinking that I don't want to pick up Dark Matter because I keep on hearing that it reminds me people of The Martian with all of the science in the book, and that's what killed The Martian for me. You read a lot of great books this month, and I'll be adding I Came To Say Goodbye and We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves to my TBR list. I don't know how I missed out on A Murder In Time, but it sounds like a book that I'd love too!

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  16. I really liked The Girl Before and had all the feels as well. I added I Came to Say Goodbye to my to read list. I don't mind reading about uncomfortable topics if they're written well.

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  17. YES to everything you said about The Girl Before. Also, I am happy you liked A Murder in Time. :)

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  18. Dark Matter has me so curious because I've seen a million reviews all saying different things! (Like I just saw on the challenge FB page that Mattie loved it.) It doesn't sound like my kind of thing, but you never know...
    I need to finish Winter. I have just over 200 pages left (out of +800) but it's the last in the series and I have such anxiety over the series ending, lol!

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  19. I considered January a pretty solid month for my reading as well. The eclectic diversity of books in which I read, I think, helped contribute to that - the mixing it up as you mentioned. A Murder in Time looks interesting. I may switch to that one (for the time travel category in your challenge) if Dragonfly in Amber doesn't work out. It's such a dauntingly long book, I'm not sure if I'm up for it (it's 40 hours long).

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  20. I read The Girl Before as well & LOVED it! I agree that a few parts felt very far fetched but I still enjoyed it. I could not put it down either & read it in just a few days. All of the other books sound so interesting too. I am a fan of anything psychological/sociological or thriller-type books so I have added a few of these to my want to read list now!

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  21. I had a solid January for reading, a very, 3-stars, average month. Not as great as my December, but February is shaping up to be a little better already.

    I enjoyed Dark Matter, but at the same time, I was glad for it to be over. I was never invested in Jason as a character, he bored me most of the time, but at the same time, I enjoyed the concept of the story and all it's science nerdiness.

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  22. I just recently added "The Girl Before" when I saw a post about it on Pinterest. I will move it up the line now! "Dark Matter" has been on my list for a bit, but good to know it is a sort of Sci Fi so I can make sure to be in that type of mood before reading!

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  23. Ooh I want to read so many of these... We are All completely beside ourselves, a murder in time, and dark matter. Looking into the girl before now. Forgot to linkup again. LOL XO - Alexandra

    Simply Alexandra: My Favorite Things

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  24. I really want to read Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil. You got a lot of great reading done this past month!

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.blogspot.com

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  25. I'm on the same page with Dark Matter. It was a great, creative book, just not the style I love.

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  26. I agree with your The Girl Before review.. I was surprisingly disgusted and a little upset during parts of it but couldn't put it down. I think I would enjoy Dark Matter, even though I'm more of a fantasy fan than science fiction fan. I'll probably give it a try.

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  27. We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves struck me instantly just from the title. Although, I am a total sucker for titles/headlines/opening lines, I admit.

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  28. We are All Completely Besides Ourselves is SUCH a good title - I agree with Alyssa - that it's going on the TBR for that alone. I went to add The Girl Before but it's already on my list!

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  29. Good to know about Dark Matter. I'm not a big sci fi reader either.
    Http://Runwright.Net

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