Short Book Reviews of 2019: Part 1
JANUARY, FEBRUARY, & MARCH
# 1
One Day In December by Josie Silver
“You tread lightly through life, but you leave deep footprints.”
Cute rom-com with memorable, lovable characters and an easy structure. A bit typical in some aspects, but the ending was heartwarming.
3 out of 5 stars
# 2
Severance by Ling Ma
“To live in a city is to live the life that it was built for.”
Using the word “wonderful” to describe a book about a plague that wipes out humankind seems weird. But it is. Wonderful, hopeful, lovely, and haunting.
4.5 out of 5 stars
# 3
Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill
“Memories are microscopic. Tiny particles that swarm together and apart. Little people, Edison called them. Entities.”
A slim, but heavy book. Beautiful in words, wisdom, and meaning. Best if read in a single sitting.
4.5 out of 5 stars
# 4
Number One Chinese Restaurant by Lillian Li
“You are the stories people tell of you.”
Engaging look inside the dysfunction and love of one family and the people who work for them, set against the backdrop of a struggling restaurant.
2.5 out of 5 stars
# 5
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
“You have to find a job that makes your heart feel big instead of one that makes it feel small.”
Loved everything about this book. Photographed in front of the Formosa, where Evelyn Hugo was discovered.
4.5 out of 5 stars
# 6
More Than Words by Jill Santopolo
“I think of people like poems... Our length and form are predestined, but our content isn’t.”
Lovely, heartfelt novel about love, loss, and the people who change our lives forever.
4 out of 5 stars
# 7
The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker
“The only way to tell some stories is with the oldest, most familiawords.”
At once tragic and full of hope, like a dream itself this novel pulls you in deeper and deeper, not letting go until the very last word.
5 out of 5 stars
# 8
You Are A Badass by Jen Sincero
“If you want to live a life you’ve never lived, you have to do things you’ve never done.”
A book full of lovely tidbits/life lessons/affirmations just like that one. What more to you need?
2.5 out of 5 stars