It took me three months to finish book number one. The reason? I couldn't concentrate. I couldn't focus. I'd start and have to re-read the same sentence over and over before just slamming the book shut because I was so frustrated with myself. I have been wound so damn tight this year because of all the current events that it's bleeding into my own little piece of peace and enjoyment that is reading. The state of the world and this nation is weighing on my mental well being and it's pissing me the hell off.
My goal was to read 25 books in 2017 and if you keep scrolling you'll quickly find out that I didn't get anywhere near that goal. I'm bummed about that but I can't dwell on it. 2017 was shit so the fact that I made it through as many as I did is good enough. I read a variety of great books. Quality over quantity always.
I'm not going to put a number on how many books I'd like to read in 2018. I'm just going to read as many as I can. Also I'd like to re-read Harry Potter all the way through on my kindle so I can highlight up a storm.
1. Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst - Dustin got me a 3 month subscription to Owl Crate last Christmas and this was the first book I received. This is a Princess-gets-the-girl story and that was pretty much the only part I loved about it. The romance was great but the rest fell flat for me especially the whole magic aspect. It had such great potential but just didn't pull through.
2. The Romantics by Leah Konen - This was a super cute book. It was fast-paced and really insightful. Gael's first relationship abruptly ends around the same time of his parent's separation. So like most of us Gael looks for love in all the wrong places until finally he sees someone who has been there all along.
- You could love someone, you could pick the right person, you could give your life to them, and you could. Still. Get. Hurt.
- Their relationship was classy, like a Wes Anderson movie, or a Mumford & Sons song, the kind of love you couldn't scoff at.
- See, real friendship is its own kind of love, which means it comes with its own kind of heartbreak.
- Talk to any couple who's been together awhile, and they'll tell you that love ebbs and flows, and there are ups and downs.
3. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher - Hannah commits suicide but lives on in the form of telling her story via cassette tape. It is a book about suicide, yes, but it's also so much more. The book for me was a good reminder of how words and actions, no matter how seemingly insignificant, can have a deep impact on other. It was heart-breaking and real and I could see myself in so many of the characters back in my teenage years and even now. Also I'm team book. The show was way too drawn out.
- This time, for the first time, I saw the possibilities in giving up. I even found hope in it.
- I guess that's the point of it all. No one knows for certain how much impact they have on the lives of other people. Oftentimes, we have no clue. Yet we push it just the same.
4. Kindred Spirits by Rainbow Rowell - If you're into Star Wars you'll love this book/short story (only 50ish pages). I mean I feel like anyone would love this book but nerds especially will appreciate it. Elena decides to be one of those crazy people who waits days in advance at the theater for Star Wars to open. Her expectations are far different from the reality.
- A pretty good strategy in most social situations: show up, fall back, let somebody else break the ice and take the spotlight. Somebody else always would. Extroverts were nothing if not dependable.
- She has the Starbucks barista write character names on their cups. Troy was Admiral Ackbar, Gabe was General Dodonna, and Elena was Mon Motha.
- "'Sort of in Florida' is our band name," Gabe said.
5. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas - This was hands down my favorite book I read of 2017. Every white person should read this especially the ones that miss the point when racism is brought up time and time again. This story could not be more timely. I loved Starr and seeing the world through her eyes.
- And the thing about the stank-eye is at some point you feel is on you, inviting you to kick some ass or have your ass kicked.
- ...people like us in situations like this become hashtags, but rarely get justice.
- Holy shit. Who the fuck complains about going to Harry Potter World? Or Butter Beer? Or wands?
- I'm more like a Taylor Swift song. (no shade, I fucks with tay-Tay, but she doesn't serve like nineties R&B on the angry-girlfriend scale.)
- Funerals aren't for dead people. They're for the living.
- And at the end of the day you don't kill someone for opening a car door. If you do, you shouldn't be a cop.
- At an early age I learned that people make mistakes, and you have to decide if their mistakes are bigger than your love for them.
- What's the point in having a voice if you're going to be silent in those moments you shouldn't be?
6. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood - This book is terrifying. It was written in the 1980s but has never been more timely than it is now. I saw the show's trailer and was immediately interested so I decided to read the book before watching. Even though I will admit to liking the show way more than the book I'm glad I read the book first. It's hard to read/watch because of the treatment of women throughout. It's a dystopian society that doesn't feel far off. Honestly it's like this could happen tomorrow and I wouldn't be surprised. This book is why I RESIST.
- Sanity is a valuable possession; I hoard it the way people once hoarded money. I save it, so I will have enough, when the time comes.
- They said there was no sense in breeding. Aunt Lydia's nostrils narrow; such wickedness. They were lazy women, she says. They were sluts.
- I admired my mother in some ways, although things between us were never easy. She expected too much from me, I felt. She expected me to vindicate her life for her, and the choices she'd made. I didn't want to live my life on her terms. I didn't want to be the model offspring, the incarnation of her ideas. We used to fight about that. I am not your justification for existence, I said to her once.
- It was after the catastrophe, when they shot the president and machine-gunned the Congress and the army declared a state of emergency. They blamed it on the Islamic fanatics, at the time.
- Yesterday was July the fourth, which used to be Independence Day, before the abolished it.
- Better never means better for everyone, he says. it always means worse, for some.
7. Eleanor Elephant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman - Eleanor lives a life of solitude and when she's forced to interact with people she always comments with severe bluntness. She lacks a lot of of social skills and as her story progresses you start to see why she is the way she is. She meets some unlikely friends along the way. The story is equal parts funny and sad but has a tenderness about it. Also it's British so already points for that.
- I simply fail to see how the act of legally formalizing a human relationship necessitates friends, family, and co-workers upgrading the contents of their kitchen for them.
- Everything seems worst in the darkest hours of the night.
- I have often noticed that people who routinely wear sportswear are the least likely sort to participate in athletic activity.
- Some people, weak people, fear solitude. What they fail to understand is that there's something very liberating about it; once you realize that you don't need anyone, you can take care of yourself.
- I suppose one of the reasons we're all able to continue to exist for out allotted span in this green and blue vale of tears is that there is always, however remote it might seem, the possibility of change.
- I have been waiting for death all my life. I do not mean that I actively wish to die, just that I do not really want to be alive.
- The thing about Glen is that, despite her offhand manner, she loves me. I know she's only a cat. But it's still love; animals, people. It's unconditional, and it's both the easiest and the hardest thing in the world.
8. Caraval by Stephanie Garber - This is the second book I received in my Owl Crate and so far my favorite of the bunch. Scarlett lives on an island with her sister Tella and their cruel father. Her whole life she's dreamed of seeing Caraval, the once-a-year performance where the audience participates. It's more than she's imagined and soon the game and reality start to blur. This book had so many twists especially at the end that my mouth kept dropping. If you like fantasy and magic with a little romance and suspense than check this one out.
9. We are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby - I feel like Samantha and I have become BFFs via me reading her book or at the least kindred spirits. Girl is funny as hell and she and I have VERY similar opinions on being childfree, heat, dieting, solitude, and television. I had to stop myself from adding more quotes because I would have just typed her whole damn book here.
- Do you have any children? I'm counting the cat here. So, yes.
- I like charisma and charm, but what I really need to find is someone who doesn't get on my nerves but is also minimally annoyed by all the irritating things about me. Someone who will leave me along for extended periods of time without getting all weird about it. I have a lot of audiobooks to listen to on the toilet.
- "Live every day to its fullest!" which doesn't really mean anything anyway. Why do people say that? What impression are they hoping to make? I watch TV all day and leave the house only for snacks: THIS IS THE FULLNESS THAT I AM LIVING.
- Still daydreaming about what I'm going to spend my 401(k) on when I withdraw that shit early, because who are we kidding?
- Wouldn't you rather be dead than hot? I am 100 percent over people pretending that open-mouth breathing in 1,000 percent humidity while being burned to a crisp by the sun is the jam.
- Television has forever been my unwavering companion and trusted friend. Every bad day, every breakup, every inexplicable 2:00 am awakening: television has been there for me through all of them.
- That's the thing about being an inside person who enjoys the occasional wardrobe splurge; you gotta be cool with modeling it for the cat...
- The idea of owning a home feels stressful to me. Like, if the toilet breaks and it's not my paycheck week, am I really going to have to shit at the gas station for nine days until my direct deposit clears? YES.
- Not being able to deal with your life is humiliating. It makes you feel weak.
- Every single time I just can't...get...up I beat myself up a little, because it's not like I have children or a job I fucking hate and there's probably nothing the matter with me other than laziness.
10. After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid - Lauren and Ryan's marriage starts to crumble but before making any decisions they decide to take one year off from each other. No communication at all. I loved this unconventional love story because the longer you're together the faster things can fade unless you put in the work.
- The fact that my brother can be such a dick is part of the reason he's able to make you feel so much better. When he says he loves you, he means it.
- We can hate and love, miss and loathe each other all within the same breath. We can never want to see each other again while never wanting to let go.
- Unconditional love is the freedom to follow your heart and still have a home.
- Don't give up on him just because he bores you or doesn't pick up his socks.
- Why do we do this? Why do we undervalue things when we have them? Why is it only on the verge of losing something that we see how much we need it?
11. Diana: Her True Story - In Her Own Words by Andrew Morton - I have always been fascinated by the royals especially Diana. Me and the rest of the world, right? I have wanted to read her book for 15 years or so and I'm glad I finally got around to it. She was such a special soul.
- He was in awe of his Mama, intimidated by his father, and I was always the third person in the room.
- One minute I was nobody, the next minute I was Princess of Wales, mother, media toy, member of this family, you name it, and it was too much for one person at that time.
12. Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann - This is another book I've been wanting to read forever aka like 5 years when another blogger mentioned it. It was written in the 1960s and also became a popular movie which I've yet to see but it holds up through and through. Each of the women are just so fascinating.
- Yes, there's one thing I do want. I want to be aware of the minutes and the seconds, and to make each one count.
- Hey, are you one of those broads that faints at four-letter words?
- Who wants respect? I want to get laid!
- She was thirty five - Good Lord, thirty five! How did this happen? You felt the same inside, but suddenly you were thirty-five and time was racing on. One year blended into another. So much had happened - and yet so little.
- And i've learned something - guys will leave you, your looks will go, your kids will grow up and everything you thought was great will go sour. All you can really county on is yourself.
- Close friendships with girls come early in life. After thirty it becomes harder to make new friends - there are fewer hopes, dreams or anticipations to share.
13. Turtles All the Way Down by John Green - There's a whole missing billionaire plot which is fine and dandy but what really grabbed my attention was Aza and her anxiety and OCD. I really appreciate characters that so beautifully and heartbreakingly are dealing with mental disorders.
- We are about to live the American Dream, which is, of course, to benefit from someone else's misfortune.
- I was so good at being a kid, and so terrible at being whatever I was now.
- The way people talked about fathers could almost make you glad not to have one.
- Sometimes makeup feels kind of like armor.
- It's a weird phrase in English, in love, like it's a sea you drown in or a town you live in. You don't get to be in anything else - in friendship or in anger or in hope. All you can be is in love.
14. Bonfire by Krysten Ritter - The B in Apt. 23. Jessica Jones. THAT Krysten Ritter wrote a really good book. And not the run-of -the-mill funny stories about her life book but a novel. I loved the mystery and suspense of it. The small town shenanigans, the shitty parents and all the drama.
- ...gay black man belongs in Barrens, Indiana, like a dildo belongs on a dinner table.
- The sky is in that in-between phase, day and night throwing up a confused riot of blues and pinks and oranges to a soundtrack of crickets.
- My father has no power over me. He is just a person, even if he's a terrible one. There are bad people in the world; sometimes, they are your own parents.
- Memories are like fire, and need only a little oxygen to grow.
- Some of us are out of place even when we are home.
- Half the evil in the world, I think, must be someone just doing their job.
15. Read Player One by Ernest Cline - Totally forgot to put this one on the list originally probably because it wasn't on my kindle. Dustin bought it last year and never started it. So I just so happened to pick it up and got a few chapters in when Dustin got interested again. He proposed that I read him a chapter or two a night. We did this with several Harry Potter books years ago so I was totally game (no pun intended). So yes, I read this entire book out loud. If you love the 80s, video games, and pop-culture then this is THE book. Steven Spielberg is directing the movie to come out in March and we are so pumped.
- You're probably wondering what's going to happen to you. That's easy. The same thing is going to happen to you that has happened to every other human who ever lived. You're going to die. We all die. That's just how it is.
