#AMonthofFaves: Popular Books Worth the Hype (and Not Worth the Hype)
This was a fantastic reading year. For starters, sometime around Labor Day I reached my 2018 goal of reading at least 50 books this year. I’ve never completed my annual reading goal before the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve. I hit my “stretch goal” of 65 last week and now I’m thinking I’ll finish the year having read 70-75 books.
And there were a lot of great books among them. Today’s #AMonthofFaves post focuses on Books Worth the Hype. You’ve probably seen a few of them on the ubiquitous Best Of lists that are making the social media rounds. Here are some that are definitely worth your time (and a few hyped up titles that you can skip):
Worth the Hype
I feel like I’ve spent the entire year talking about Educated by Tara Westover. It’s been everywhere. There’s a good reason for that: it’s one hell of a compelling story. You probably know what it’s about by now, too. Tara Westover was raised on an Idaho mountain by a deeply religious and survivalist family and didn’t step inside a classroom until she was 17. Her journey to that point was a harrowing one and Westover tells her story in a raw, explosive and brave narrative you’ll never forget.
Not Worth the Hype
Regular readers of my blog know that I have a serious Leslie Knope-sized crush on Joe Biden. (If you’ve watched Parks & Recreation, you get the reference. If not, suffice it to say that I LOVE ME SOME JOE BIDEN AND NOBODY BETTER SAY A MEAN WORD ABOUT THE MAN IN MY PRESENCE BECAUSE HE IS A GODDAMN SAINT.
So, naturally it should come as no surprise that the very second I heard about Hope Never Dies: An Obama Biden Mystery I placed a hold on it at the library.
Alas, this may be the most campy, farcical and pulp-fiction-ish book I’ve ever read. I don’t do campy. But I could have tolerated that to some degree BECAUSE HELLO, BARACK AND JOE TOGETHER AGAIN!!!!! — but this was a little ridiculous. Actually, a lot ridiculous. My beloved Joe (have I mentioned I love him?) was constantly portrayed as a doddering, fumbling old man which NOPE, NO WAY, not having any of that malarkey. It just all fell a little flat for me, which is a shame because I really, really, really wanted to love this one. As if you couldn’t tell.
Worth the Hype
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai is another book that I am recommending to everyone. It’s set in Chicago during the AIDS epidemic, and Fiona Marcus’s beloved brother Nico has just died. In her grief, she draws closer to his circle of friends. The novel alternates between 1985 and 2015, when Fiona travels to Paris to try and find her daughter Claire who has gone missing. Fiona’s past and present collide in a novel that returns readers to a time when love meant fear, risk and death. Gorgeously written and one that will likely break your heart.
Not Worth the Hype
Historical fiction novels and I are hit or miss. Varina is, unfortunately, in the latter category. It’s about Varina Howell Davis, wife of Jefferson Davis, and it takes place in the immediate aftermath of the burning of Richmond during the Civil War. I found this to be kind of slow in spots and the disjointed, non-chronological narrative often made me confused. A lot of people say good things about Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain so I guess I was expecting a bit more than what this offered. (I know someone who loved Cold Mountain and couldn’t even finish this, so there’s that.)
Finally, I thought I would take a little twist on today’s #AMonthofFaves theme by adding a third category, for which I have two nominees.
Books That Absolutely Deserved Way More Hype
Sugar Land was among a pile of books sent to me in late summer for review consideration as part of my freelance side hustle with Shelf Awareness. I didn’t get to it in time for a proper review and for all these months I’ve felt like I needed to apologize to Tammy Lynne Stoner. Honest to God. Here’s the publisher’s description from Goodreads:
It’s 1923 in Midland, Texas, and Miss Dara falls in love with her best friend―who also happens to be a girl. Terrified, Miss Dara takes a job at Imperial State Prison Farm for men. Once there, she befriends inmate and soon-to-be legendary blues singer Lead Belly, who sings his way out (true story)―but only after he makes her promise to free herself from her own prison.
I know, right? Doesn’t that sound absolutely compelling? It is. Sugar Land is gorgeously written with unforgettable characters. This is one hell of a debut novel and I can’t wait to see what Tammy Lynne Stoner writes next.
A Ladder to the Sky is another Book That Absolutely Deserved Way More Hype. Like Sugar Land, it also was a potential review contender that I couldn’t get to in time. (Too many review books, too little time.) John Boyne’s The Heart’s Invisible Furies was my favorite book of 2017 and I was very eager for this one. It did not disappoint. It’s about an aspiring author named Maurice Swift who craves literary success but cannot come up with an original idea for a novel. When Maurice meets acclaimed writer Erich Ackermann, he ingratiates himself into his life and wins his trust. Erich tells him a devastating secret that he’s kept since childhood and Maurice callously, maliciously turns it into a bestselling novel. This becomes the pattern of Maurice’s life as he does the same with everyone he meets. Maurice is conniving and despicable and yet, you keep reading. A Ladder to the Sky is about greed, success, identity and the high price that’s paid when you sell your soul.
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