#12DaysofReadThis 2017 | November — Tina

Dec 30

Dec 30 #12DaysofReadThis 2017 | November

I thought November was a slow-ish reading month- but turns out Goodreads was trying to play me by not showing me all of my 'read' books. I ended up reading four. It was definitely quality over quantity this month because I found a couple of books I love, including my favorite book of the year!

Also- one more day to enter my $50 book depository giveaway! Open internationally.

Sydney on Fire | B. B. Cary | This was a fun, quick read by an indie author. Sydney is a bad ass motorcycle riding anesthesiologist who is intensely loyal to her family and those she loves. A boy goes missing from the hospital where she works, and when she begins to suspect it's an inside job she takes things into her own hands and calls in favors to try and solve the mystery. I liked that our protagonist was not a damsel in distress and handled business on her own. Full review here. Rating, 3.

The Nix | Nathan Hill | The Nix was right in my wheelhouse. It's set in Chicago and follows the life of Samuel Anderson-Andersen, a burnt out college professor, failed author, and gamer. When his mother gets publicly shamed for throwing a rock at a potential presidential candidate, he's set down a path of finding out who his absentee mother really is. The plot is very layered and has a lot of sub-stories woven in between the main story line, but Nathan Hill's writing made it work. If you decide to read this- get it on Audible. It's a really long book and the narrator, Ari Filakos, has become my favorite audiobook narrator of all time. Rating, 4.5

The Hearts Invisible Furies | John Boyne | Now for my favorite book of 2017! This book... how to begin? Cyril Avery's mother had him when she was a teenager, and because it was Ireland in the 1960s she was cast out the church and her family. She moved to Dublin to work in the tearoom and gave her son up for adoption. We get to know Cyril- who is not a real Avery- and follow him throughout his life from a young boy through adulthood. I feel like I can't do this book justice by a brief synopsis so I'll say this: if you're looking for a book that will make you laugh, think, cry, and angry all in one, this might be for you. Looking forward to reading more of John Boyne's books.

Lie To Me | J. T. Ellison | I was still reeling from The Hearts Invisible Furies and needed a breezy thriller so I picked up Lie To Me. I didn't know anything about it, but found myself hooked from the first sentence: "you are not going to like me very much". Sutton and Ethan seem like the perfect couple- they are both writers and have recently built a beautiful home in Nashville. After tragedy strikes and they lose their young son and their marriage begins to come apart at the seams. Ethan wakes up one day with a note from Sutton, telling him that she's left and to not come after her. Something is off, though. Sure, they were having issues but she wouldn't really leave him, would she? I thought this was going to be a quick run of the mill thriller, but I was pleased to see that this had some staying power. It ended up being one of my favorite thrillers of the year! Rating, 4.

That's all for November. I'm going to exceed my Goodreads goal of 57! I read a ton of door stoppers this year, too.

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