Final goodbye to 2018

This is a post about books I read (or did not finish) in December.

December was unusual. I dropped more books than I had ever dropped in one month. Probably, thanks to this attitude I ended up mostly liking all other books I read. Here they are. Click the links for more information about the books.

1. The Last List of Miss Judith Kratt by Andrea Bobotis

The Last List of Miss Judith Kratt book cover

It’s a beautifully written family story and my most favourite book of 2018. It will be out in the summer 2019. I’ve also published my full review of the book and I also talked about this book in my other post.

2. No Motive by Daphne du Maurier

Daphne du Maurier The Rendezvous short stories collection book cover

It’s a fast-paced and gripping short story. If you want to know why a perfectly happy woman just shot herself, read the story.

3. The Familiars by Stacey Halls

The familiars by Stacey Halls American edition book cover

This is a historical novel about a woman who’s trying to save herself, her baby and her friend. The book will be out soon!

4. Patrick Melrose novels

Patrick Melorose novels with Benedict Cumberbatch on the cover

There are five novels about Patrick Melrose. At least the first three focus on just a few short events that illustrate Patrick’s whole life.

Never Mind is about Patrick’s childhood.

Bad News is about Patrick in his 20s.

Some hope is about Patrick when he’s 30.

5. Woman Last Seen in Her Thirties by Camille Pagán

Woman Last Seen in Her Thirties by Camille Pagán book cover

I didn’t like the book, but I quite liked the protagonist, although Maggie was slightly too needy. People seemed to have enjoyed my review. 😄

6. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

the book on a porch in front of the sea

A nice story about two teenage boys who are discovering love and life.

7. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin book cover

This is a story about a book store owner. It’s basically a library in a form of fiction.

The three books that I did not finish

Daughters of the Lake by Wendy Webb

Daughters of the Lake by Wendy Webb book cover

I hoped it would be a gothic scary story but it turned out to be a not very well written chick lit.

The Dry by Jane Harper

The Dry by Jane Harper book cover

I liked Force of Nature, another thriller by Jane Harper, but I couldn’t finish The Dry. There is lots of fuss but no meaningful action. I got bored by the middle of the book so I dropped it.

The Bette Davis Club by Jane Lotter

The Bette Davis Club by Jane Lotter book cover

I got the book because of a heartwarming introduction. This novel was initially self-published. The author didn’t live to see the book picked up by the publisher. The description is also intriguing. It’s a story about an aunt whose niece ran away from her own wedding so the aunt and the groom set off on an adventure to find her. Unfortunately, the book lost its logic by the middle. It also started focusing too much on unnecessary details and the protagonist started behaving very implausibly. That’s when I quit to give time to other books.

That is it for December. My January already started with something I liked and something I didn’t. I will tell you more soon. Meanwhile, here are some other posts where I mention several books at once.

Books I read in September
Books I read in October
November was awesome!
If somebody asked me what to read

6 thoughts on “Final goodbye to 2018

  1. Oh I’ve heard so much about The Dry and I’ve been wanting to read it.. hmm I don’t like the sound of not much happening though.. I’m glad you didn’t read finish it just because everyone did though, life’s too short! I hope 2019 brings you lots of great books!

  2. Thank you for your December rundown on your reading month. As ever a nicely wide range of books – I loved reading your comments:)). I hope January’s reads are proving to be enjoyable!

  3. I got my Melrose book from the library and I’m pretty excited about it 😁 I got an omnibus version with all five books in one binding so it’s a huge chunker but it sounds fun.

    1. If you like the writing and if you can stand the topics you will want to keep reading them one after another. Thanks for letting me know. I’m really holding my breath now. I won’t say anything else in order not to tune you to anything. Whenever you have time, please, let me know how it’s going.

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