Book reviews are what I usually post here, but it seemed like a good idea to switch it up a bit. 2018 just ended, and these were the “best and worst” books that I read (out of nearly fifty books).
The Book I Hated
The Knitting Circle Rapist Annihilation Squad. Despite high hopes, I could barely finish this book. It was an easy decision to pick this book as the worst of the 2018 choices, as much as I hate saying so. The story was predictable, and not very well written. I couldn’t write a review for it due to feeling guilty about how much I did not like it. In fact, it was among the first ten books read in 2018, yet still stands out in my mind.
On a lighter note, it was a tough decision to pick the best book read in 2018… so tough, in fact, that I could not narrow it down to just one.
A Few of My Favorite Reads from 2018
- Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia
- Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
- Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
In fact, I gifted two of these books to other readers, and would have gifted all three if I hadn’t already recommended the third one … I wasn’t sure if the person I had recommended the book to had read it or not yet.
Eliza and Her Monsters was the inspiration behind me starting a web comic here – the main character, Eliza, has a web comic known as Monsterous Sea. The book includes illustrations from said comic, and deals with Eliza’s difficulty with the real world versus the online world and the vast differences between her two worlds. I also love that this book deals with mental illness in a realistic way … but you will have to read it to find out which ones!
One of the gifted books, Spinning Silver is a retelling of the Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale – but unlike what you might expect, Novik practically weaves an entirely different story from the Rumpelstiltskin tale. Get ready to experience this fairy tale in a whole new way! You can read my review of it here.
Last but not least, is Big Little Lies. If you are a mystery lover like me, then this one is for you. Madeline, Celeste, and Jane could not be more different – and yet they find common ground in friendship. They don’t realize how drastically their lives are about to change, and how “little lies” can be devastating.
I am so glad I decided to give Moriarty a second chance and read this book – it just goes to show that if you read an author’s work and aren’t too keen on it, that doesn’t mean you will feel the same about their other novels. With that being said, Big Little Lies deals with abuse, and could be triggering to some people. If you have a background with abuse I would advise you to tread carefully and consider avoiding this book.
Fellow book dragons, what were your best and worst of 2018? Let me know in the comments below!
Christian, wife, “hybrid” mama, I run the site All Behind A Smile to help others like me.
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