Pretty much my entire read library has not been reviewed, which is something that I think I need to work on. I dunno, I have a weird relationship with reviews and whether or not I would like to continue to do them. I have loved each of these books for differing reasons, and each no doubt deserves a spotlight. If you have read, want to read, or are interested in reading any of these novels (or would like to know my thoughts) please reach out in the comments section or find me on Twitter. In any case, here we go:
The first four books that I would like to mention are books that I read in college and loved, either because of the works themselves or because of the lectures surrounding them. I finished A Rumor of War by Philip Caputo for a class on war novels and I had no idea what I was in for. Caputo’s writing style really makes this story sing and brings up many, many complexities surrounding the Vietnam war. Related, but not related, is Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. I have yet to watch the 2014 movie because I have such fond memories of this almost unbelievable story. It has been so long since I’ve read this one, though, (2013) that I can’t remember a lot from it besides a bit about a shark.
Next, The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett is a quiet, 1800s nature focused book. Again, it’s been a while and I don’t remember much from reading it but I do remember how relaxed I had been while read it. A more modern book that reminds me of this one is The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah which I also absolutely adored. The Great Alone is definitely a lot more hard hitting than the former, but both novels brought about a sense of nostalgia for simpler times.
And speaking of books that made me cry: And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer by Fredrik Backman is probably the shortest, most ugly cry worthy story that I have ever read. If you’re in the mood for something intricately sad and small, this one is for you. And, on the other hand, if you’re interested in something that is intricately complex and big, I would have to recommend my absolute favorite novel, My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante. Set in Italy, this novel is a powerful and jarring meditation on life long friendship. If you’ve read this book I would LOVE to talk about it.
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo is one of my absolute favorite books of 2019. Leigh Bardugo’s writing style amazes me. This book was so atmospheric and I loved the way in which she incorporated Yale into this story. I am definitely going to re-read this one just before the next in the series releases. Another beautifully atmospheric book is Holly Black’s The Cruel Prince. I was a little behind on the times when I started this series, but ended up binge buddy reading the entire series with two amazing bookish friends.
I finished Sleeping Giants by Sylvan Neuvel at the recommendation from a previous co-worker who has very much a different reading taste from me. We were supposed to buddy read this one and then he never read it, so I was forced to sit with the ending of this one by myself for a LONG time. To this day, not sure if he’s read this one – he has since moved on to a different career path and has forgotten all about it. But, I haven’t. This sci-fi book has stuck with me for years, and I need to reread and finish this series asap. It’s written in a similar manner to The Illuminae Files by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, but if I’m remembering correctly, this one is told through document files and diary entries. Originally I read this one physically and I might look into the audio because if that is anything like the Illuminae audiobooks I’m going to love them.
Last, and absolutely not least, is Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gotlieb, which gave me some solid life advice that I didn’t know I needed. Learning a bit about Gotlieb’s patients themselves was interesting, but I have always wondered how a therapist dealt with some of the really heavy stuff that is often brought up by patients. It’s save to say that this one is on my to re-read list, as are all of these books, now that I’m thinking about it.
Top 10 Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
Images are taken from GoodReads
Leah Kristin 
Great list!
My post!
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