7-Word Reviews
If you’ve been waiting for my January 2019 book reviews, here they are. If you’ve not been waiting, well, here they are. ?
I read State of Wonder and True Places for two different book clubs. I picked up a used copy of A Spot of Bother at Dickson Street Bookshop. Dickson Street Bookshop is a Fayetteville treasure and not to be missed if you visit northwest Arkansas. How to Be a Good Creature was a Christmas gift, and the perfect way for me to kick off my 2019 reading. Santa gave my husband a copy of Elevation. Once he finished it, I read it.
Yay, Santa. I like how he plans in advance.
I feel like I’ve left something off my January 2019 list, but for the life of me I can’t remember what it is.
I did try to read Milkman but gave up after page 200. If you read it and loved it, you amaze me. I’m marking it CNF (could not finish) because either 1) this period of my existence before death is too brief and transient and fleeting to devote one more heartbeat or blink of the eye to said prose, or 2) my organ of soft nervous tissue within my skull has grown dense, or 3) perhaps I’ve reached a certain age that renders me dull and confused, or 4) maybe I need my characters to have actual names, or 5) perhaps I subscribe to the philosophy that ninety-five words shouldn’t be used when four will suffice.
That’s just me.
I really wanted to like Milkman. When I walk away from any book, I am disappointed in myself. Does anyone else suffer from this ridiculousness?
The books I did read…
A Spot of Bother
by: Mark Haddon
7 Word Review: Neurotic British family unravels before daughter’s wedding.
Favorite line: The secret of contentment lay in ignoring many things completely.
This book entertained with funny, flawed characters. By the author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.
I’m giving this one ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and can so see it as a Netflix show to binge-watch.
Elevation
by: Stephen King
7 Word Review: Man loses weight; rises above the fray.
Favorite Line: Hands on a clock, numbers on a bathroom scale, weren’t they only ways of trying to measure invisible forces that had visible effects?
This book wasn’t typical Stephen King horror. Instead, a charming, supernatural tale, and a very quick read. Another ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ for Stephen King genius in my humble opinion.
State of Wonder
by: Ann Patchett
7 Word Review: Doctor disappears in jungle. Co-worker seeks truth.
Favorite line: Everyone wants something smaller, something neater than the truth.
This book was an odd jungle adventure thick with heat, humidity, bugs, and a big helping of suspended disbelief. I’m giving this compelling yet peculiar novel ⭐⭐⭐⭐.
True Places
by: Sonja Yoerg
7 Word Review: Materialist woman fosters woodland waif. Rethinks life.
Favorite Line: Sometimes it takes a stranger to show you what should be obvious, how far you’ve drifted from who you want to be, from what’s right for you, your true place.
This book was good but not great. Well-written but certain aspects of the characters felt unrealistic and silly to me. ⭐⭐⭐
How To Be a Good Creature
by: Sy Montgomery
7 Word Review: Naturalist writes love story to thirteen animals.
Favorite line: Being friends with an octopus—whatever that friendship meant to her—has shown me that our world, and the worlds around and within it, is aflame with shades of brilliance we cannot fathom—and is far more vibrant, far more holy, than we could ever imagine.
This book appealed to the animal lover in me. Would make a thoughtful gift for the reader who enjoys animals and nature. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ for the storytelling with an A++ for book cover design.
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Alrighty. That’s it for my 7-Word Reviews for January 2019.
Isn’t it great to have a fresh, new month to fill with more stories?
Keep reading,
Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.
I always look forward to your book reviews and then post them on my books list on Pinterest. I am disappointed in myself when I can’t stick with a book to the end but it does happen.
Love this, Talya. I waded about 1/2 through State of Wonder. I have read other Ann Patchett books I loved, but I think your 90 word rule applies here. I think you have sold me on “A Spot of Bother” because I love the English and “Elevation” though I’m not a Stephen King fan. Well I’m not a fan of the horror genre, I loved his book on writing.
Hi Dot! I think you will love both A Spot of Both and Elevation! Yes, State of Wonder was a strange read. And seems stranger the more I think about it.
Talya, do you like Tom Clancy books? I know he has been deceased for over 5 years but a number of books have been written with his name using ghost writers. One of the ghost writers is Mark Grenery who is from Memphis originally. He has also written a number of books under his name based on a charater known as the Grey Man. I am into book number 4 of his and have about 3 more ordered. Needless to say I would highly recommend him if you are a Tom Clancy fan.
I know I will be reading A Spot of Bother and maybe Elevation. Thanks for the reviews. I’m always ready for a good read.