Winter Break Book List

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One of my biggest goals over winter break was to read. Not read textbooks or research articles or nutrition facts or notes, but actual novels. As I child, I was always reading, and its a hobby that I know I will cherish for the rest of my life. There is nothing like the feeling of being completely immersed into a story, where the characters start to feel familiar like friends and leave their mark on you permanently. I am completely one to be susceptible to a "book hangover", where you spend days or weeks completely enthralled with a book, and feel like your in a grumpy fog when you part ways with the story in the end. I feel almost guilty when I read here at school though because I might as well have a textbook in my hand if I am going to be reading something. 

Almost as much as I love reading, I love reading book reviews and getting book recommendations. Over break, I read a few books off of Jenn's book review page over on Going the Distance (Thanks Jenn!), as well as a few books that came recommended from my mom! Here is what I read and a few thoughts on them:

1. The Husband's Secret // Liane Moriarty

I loved the plot lines in this book, because you know all along that they will converge at some point, but can't quite put your finger on when/how. This book made me question "What would I do in that situation?" multiple times, and while it was sometimes frustrating, it ultimately makes for an interesting reading experience!

2. Big Little Lies // Liane Moriarty 

Out of the two books by Liane Moriarty that I read, this one was definitely better in my opinion. I absolutely love her style of writing, and while it may be classified at chick lit, I think it is fabulously written. The characters are so well developed that I felt like I was watching them speak in front of me. This book caused me major book hangover! 

3. The House Girl // Tara Conklin

 From the description of this book, I didn't think I would like it...Half of the book is told from the perspective of a driven, uptight lawyer, and I feel like I went through a phase of reading books with similar main characters so I was just feeling unenthused about it. I am glad that the back cover description of a book never stopped me from reading it, because I fell in love with this one! I loved the historical fiction side of it, and it is set only about 25 minutes from where I attend school so that's interesting!

4. The Silver Star // Jeannette Walls
I liked this book, but it was very similar to Jeannette Walls' memoir, The Glass Castle (which is amazing if you haven't read it yet). While she is a great writer, I just felt like she was trying a bit too hard to recreate her success from her memoir, by writing such a similar story.

5. The Interestings // Meg Wolitzer
This book was LONG, but worth it if you aren't expecting something big to happen. If you go into it with the mindset that you are reading multiple characters' life stories, and its not leading up to a huge, explosive, jaw-dropping finish, then this is a good book. However, I saw online that people hated it because they felt that not enough happened. I was content with the story, but understand it might not be everyone's cup of tea. Another one that caused book hangover for me! 

6. Reconstructing Amelia // Kimberly McCreight
Immediately after reading this book, I would have said that it was great. However, now that I am sat down really thinking about it, I didn't love it. It seemed like it was written by someone who had bitterly watched too many episodes of Gossip Girl. After reading reviews online after I finished it, I saw that a lot of people loved the mystery plot line and were hooked by the turns of the book. So if you love mysteries and can deal with a really depressing Gossip Girl-type story, then this might a better read for you than it was for me! 

What books have you read lately?