I’m back for my second Broke & Bookish Top Ten Tuesday! This is today’s anchor post. I look forward to seeing everyone’s best reads of the year so far.
Gone Girl- Gillian Flynn. This was easily the most addictive book I’ve read in a long time, especially in the first 2/3 when we learn most about their marriage and everything that happens. The only reason I gave it four stars out of five on Goodreads was that I found the last third a little clunky and slower which left it feeling less positive for me, but I haven’t actually rated any books as five stars yet this year so maybe I’m being very picky! I found myself caring for Nick in particular, but was then unsure of whether I should like him so much, which was a very clever move. As stated last week, I can’t wait to move onto Gillian’s two other books.
Let The Right One In- John Ajvide Lindqvist. I told a lie earlier: I just realised that I actually rated this with five stars on Goodreads; Gone Girl has just held up better in my mind which is why I put it first. There were some very grim descriptions in this one, but they always successfully painted the picture of what living as, with or near a vampire might be like. There were so many emotions in play that you might not associate with a vampire and a little boy, which made the whole thing very human while horrible but gripping events were going on. It could have been slightly shorter but that’s my only complaint.
Billy And Me- Giovanna Fletcher. Basically, I fell in love with Billy, was nothing but sympathetic for Sophie the whole way through (even when she was being a bit stroppy) and her mum and Molly are just lovely, lovely women. With characters like them you don’t even need anything else! But the plot of the culture clash between a small-village girl and a huge actor who fall in love is also irresistable. I wrote a full review here.
Silver Linings Playbook- Matthew Quick. It was brought home to me how much I’d cared about this book while I was reading when I watched the film a few days after I finished it and kept getting really angry at how much they’d changed- especially around Nikki and her role in the story (I discussed this in full here). The mental issues discussed are taken seriously whilst the book is still engaging, easy to read and passionate about Pat in particular.
Eleven- Mark Watson. I was unsure about what this book would be like before I read it, coming as it did from a comedian, but as well as being funny I found the whole thing very clever in a concept that is essentially based on the butterfly effect. I didn’t see the ending coming at all and this was a great book to read when I was ill a few months ago; I didn’t have to put it down and it was easy to read all day!
Will Grayson, Will Grayson- John Green & David Levithan. This was the second John Green book I read this year, but I preferred this one to An Abundance of Katherines, probably due to its funny dual narrators- both Wills and Tiny were totally endearing and relatable to the common high school experience whereas Colin in the latter book was too know-it-all and his best friend Hassan was too crude. This one had good band references and party experiences, and as a musical person I loved Tiny’s foray into musical theatre.
Choir- Gareth Malone. Purely as in depth look into the making of The Choir series and the emotions and motivations of the singers behind the scenes, this book is very interesting. It is also great that we hear about it in Gareth’s own voice, as he is such a charming man who has obviously done lots of good in the music world, so I enjoyed the fact that we could hear about it from the horse’s mouth in an easy to read fashion.
Eleanor & Park- Rainbow Rowell. This was very easy to get into and stay into throughout, even when it became slightly clichéd and immature in places. As a high school romance, this is ideal really, and I found the ending to be very touching. I also cared about both title characters from start to finish, which is easier said than done in many books!
Back Story- David Mitchell. Another non-fiction book, David’s story is an excellent autobiography because of the way he structures it around his daily walks and the places he sees all the time and the memories that these places bring up. He doesn’t tell it in the normal, absolutely straight chronological fashion but instead brings things up in a more stream of consciousness way that is refreshing.
Before I Go To Sleep- S.J. Watson. My biggest problem with this book was that, due to its very nature telling a story about a woman with amnesia, the first half of the book began to be quite repetitive and almost annoying. However, when revelations started being made and we discovered more and more facts, it becomes very hard to put down and the build up certainly pays off!
A Pondering Moose 