Happy New Year folks!! Been working on this post for a while now. Hope you enjoy it!
Cheers!
Continuing the countdown at #5
#5 Fairy Tale by Stephan King
Was walking through the library, when this cover popped out to me. This was my first foray into King’s books as I usually steer clear. Fairy tale is rooted in fantasy with homage made to the Grimm stories.
Charlie Reade is a common 17-year-old who had to grow up quickly after his mom’s death and witnessing his dad’s battle with alcoholism. After saving old Mr. Bowditch’s life, the two become fast friends. Mr. Bowditch reveals a big secret: He has a portal to another world.
This book could almost be two separate stories. I loved Charlie and Mr. Bowditch’s relationship. It was so sweet! They needed each other. Once we entered the portal I was hesitant to be introduced to new characters. However, King did a great job bringing us to care for Leah and all who were under the curse. So good!! The ending was a bit quirky, but I was here for it. Highly recommend!
#4 The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
So, admittedly I saw the movie before reading the book. Wow, that movie tugs on your heartstrings. Talk about a flawed hero! Took me a couple weeks in April to finish, but I still think about it. I cannot say I’ve read anything like it.
Theo Decker loses his mother in a horrible accident at a museum. Theo makes it out alive and in his haze, he steals the painting he and his mom loved. Throughout the book, we see how grief impacts Theo’s life as well as the guilt over the painting.
Theo was a troubled kid who needed a wise mentor to guide him. Kept thinking he just needed Jesus. When we first met Boris, I knew he would be a bad influence. And yet, Theo was desperate for friends, he would take what he could get. The very end gets to be philosophical and could be trimmed. Also, big content warning here. Strong language throughout as well as drug use. If you are up for a big gritty book, it was well-written and engaging.
Quotes –
“Things would have turned out better if she had lived. As it was, when I was kid; and through everything that’s happened to me since the is thoroughly my own fault, still when I lost her I lost sight of any landmark that might have led me someplace happier”
“The painting had made me feel less mortal, less ordinary. It was support and vindication; it was substance and sum. It was the keystone that held the cathedral up. And it was awful to learn, by having it so suddenly vanish from under me, that all my adult life I’d been privately sustained by that great, hidden, savage joy”
#3 The Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam
In October I picked Rocket Boys for our book club nonfiction pick. I read this back in high school and remember loving it. You have probably heard me mention that I’m fascinated by space, so should be no surprise that October Sky is a favorite movie of mine. Reading it again, I can now appreciate Hickam’s writing style.
Hickam writes of his childhood growing up in the mining town of Coalwood. His dream is to build rockets for Cape Canaveral, but his dad has other ideas.
He jumps around a bit with his stories, but that adds to the charm. Hickam writes in an earthy way enabling you to visualize little things like coal dust. Homer is a gruff man who values hard work and the mine, and his relationship with his son, Sonny is rocky. We do see that Homer loves Sonny through the little things like getting cement. Highly recommend!
#2 Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson
Where to even begin? After finishing my reread of The Way of Kings, I had to continue the story. Two years ago I tried to read WoR, but got distracted and never finished.
Never have I been so wrong about a book! It’s a slow start don’t get me wrong, but gosh, so many heroic moments!
WoR gives us Shallan’s backstory and it picks up right where TWoK’s ends. Personally, Shallan’s character never clicked with me. Throughout this book, she shows her worth.
Sanderson knows how to write! He weaves humor into the story very delicately. Plus, so much character development! Kaladin, my boy! Well, let’s just say he is put in the ringer. I had my doubts, but his resurrection of his Oath! I may have been crying. Now, there are lulls and boring sections, but they pay off. This book is over 1000 pages. But don’t give up!
Quotes –
“Honor is dead. But I’ll see what I can do.“
“If I protect . . .” He coughed. “If I protect . . . only the people I like, it means that I don’t care about doing what is right.” If he did that, he only cared about what was convenient for himself that wasn’t protecting that was selfishness.
“I will protect even those I hate,” Kaladin whispered through his bloodly lips. “So long as it is right.“
Now to the top slot!!
#1 The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
This is a masterpiece in my mind! Solid fantasy! How had I forgotten so much of this book in only a few years? I saw it sitting at HPB for a decent price and decided why not?
Kaladin is a slave who has lost hope in life. Time and time again he has been beaten down. After meeting a spren named Syl, she inspires him to protect his bridge crew earning their respect. Maybe it will buy Kaladin enough time to escape his captors.
Sanderson has done incredible work in creating the Cosmere, which especially relates most of his books into one universe. A couple of characters will pop up in other books like *cough * Hoid. Sanderson must have a huge imagination. Now there are slow sections. You might ask why read the interludes. I get it. I didn’t understand them either on my first run, pun intended, 😉 but Sanderson uses the interludes to broaden the scope of his book. We get a glimpse into people across his world. It does pay off in the end. I promise!
Anyway, all that to say, I enjoyed rereading TWOK. It was fabulous, and I picked up on way more on this bridge run. Kaladin still is superior! No contest, sorry Adolin and Dalinar. Go get yourself a copy and let me know your thoughts! 😉
Quotes –
“There are two kinds of people in this world, son,” his father said sternly. “Those who save lives . And those who take lives.”
“It means what you want it to mean,” Hoid said. “The purpose of a storyteller is not tell you how to think, but to give you questions to think upon.”
“”A life is priceless,” he said immediately. Coincidentally, that is the exact value of a Shardblade. So today, you and your men sacrificed to buy me twenty-six hundred priceless lives. And all I had to repay you with was a single priceless sword. I call that a bargain.””
All told it was a good reading year! Here’s to the books read, the books started, and all the DNFs we set aside!
How was your reading year? What were some of your favorites?
Anna