It’s time for my monthly post of book reviews! July was not a great reading month for me because I felt very underwhelmed by most of what I read. Most of the books were pretty long (400+ pages) and didn’t grab my attention, so getting through them was a struggle. Anyway, here are my thoughts on what I read!
Book club selection: What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty (3 stars)
This was probably my least favorite Moriarty read by a long shot (her previous two I gave 5 stars). It follows a woman, Alice, who wakes up on the floor of a gym thinking she is 29, newly married, and due with her first child. When, in fact, she is 39, recently separated, and a mother of three. I found Moriarty’s exploration of family and relationships and marriage, and how their dynamics can change through the ebb and flow of life, interesting, but ultimately, I just found the characters to be unlikeable and the book to be way too long (nearly 500 pages!). I also think, being a single gal in my twenties, there was a lot I couldn’t relate to. An okay novel, but not the one of hers I would recommend.
Book Riot Read Harder Challenge (a book that takes place in Asia): The Pearl that Broke Its Shell by Nadia Hashimi (3 stars)
I really, really wanted to like this book, but I really, really did not. And, honestly, the only reason I finished it was because I was reading it for the challenge. (Side note: This is the one thing I don’t like about reading challenges. In a sense, it forces you to continue reading books you don’t like!) I’ve heard people compare it to a Khaled Hosseini novel, which frankly offends me because the only similarity is that they are both about the Afghan culture. This book wasn’t very well written, it wasn’t engaging, it didn’t grab my attention. I just found the book to be slow and it was one of those books that took me forever to read because I never felt like picking it up. I hate to give such a negative review since I know of a lot of people who loved this novel, but I have to be honest about my experience reading it.
Book Riot Read Harder Challenge (an award winner from the last decade): Room by Emma Donoghue (4 stars)
This was the only book I read in July that I actually liked! And it’s funny because it was the book I was least looking forward to reading, ha. I knew the subject matter would be heavy and I didn’t know if I would be in the right mood for it. In this book, you follow the story of Jack, a five-year-old who has been living in a tiny shack for his whole life. His mom was kidnapped when she was 19 (she’s 26 now) and is held prisoner in this shack. The language is somehow perfect – I felt Donoghue nailed five-year-old terminology and speech and syntax. The novel is haunting and poignant and sad and hopeful. It’s so beautifully written. I am so glad I finally read this book!
Others (read for fun!)
Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll (3 stars)
I read this because it was getting a lot of buzz and the wait list was short at my library. And I don’t get the hype. It took at least 150-200 pages until the book really grabbed my interest. Before then, I didn’t know if I wanted to finish. None of the characters were likable, and not in a Gone Girl “these characters are so crazy and psycho” way. Just… a boring way. I thought the main character lived an incredibly sad life and she’s someone I would never want to be friends with. The plot felt a bit contrived, and I felt that the author glossed over some plotlines that were more important than others. All in all, not my favorite read.
Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes (2.5 stars)
In this nonfiction healthy living book, science writer Gary Taubes argues that most of the past decades of nutritional research is bad. Specifically, he says that the “calorie in, calories out” model of healthy living is wrong and that what we need to focus on is eating fewer carbs. I appreciate his opinion on this, and I’m not sure if it’s right or wrong (I honestly think it’s probably different for each person), but I want to experiment with this lifestyle soon. For me, though, I found this book to be way too science-y and a lot of it was difficult for me to process. (Which, yes, makes me feel super dumb.) There was only about 10-15% of the book that I found useful.
All I Ever Wanted by Kristan Higgins (3 stars)
This was an alright book. It’s a reread; I read it back in 2010 and had a rave review for it on Goodreads. But I guess my reading tastes have changed over the past five years (imagine that) because I found the main character to be annoying and the plot a little goofy. Also, I really, really dislike how this author continuously bashes online dating. The dates her characters go on are ridiculous and just further the stigma online dating has. It irks me. Anyway, it was a light, easy read, which I needed after reading too many books in a row with heavy subject matter.
BOOK STATS // JULY
# of books read: 6
# of pages read: 2,284
quickest read: Room (5 days)
longest read: Why We Get Fat (10 days)
multicultural: 1
formats: ebooks (3), physical books (3)
What was the best book you read in July?
Was NOT a fan of What Alice Forgot. In fact, I held off on giving her another chance because I disliked it so much. I agree that the biggest problem was unlikable characters. Alice just drove me nuts! I loved The Husband’s Secret though, and I’m itching to read Big Little Lies, so Moriarty definitely redeemed herself in my eyes. I really enjoyed Room – as much as you can “enjoy” a book like that. I loved that it was from the perspective of a child. Why does everyone compare books to Gone Girl now?! I didn’t love Gone Girl though I get why most people did. I just don’t understand why everything is “the new Gone Girl!” right now. It’s annoying.
That is a bummer that July was an off reading month for you. That’s how I felt about June. A lot of what I read was just sort of ‘meh’. I liked The Pearl that Broke Its Shell but i think it wasn’t very hyped up when I read it so that might have helped me like it more? I’d never compare it to Hosseini’s work, though! He’s kind of untouchable in my book! July was a better reading month for me than June but still not stellar in terms of reading books that I LOVED. But I did read 7 books which is a lot for me. My favorite was House GIrl but Dog Crazy was a close 2nd and is probably one you’d enjoy given how much you love dogs!
Oh that’s too bad you didn’t like many of your reads this month. I remember really enjoying The Pearl that Broke its Shell and I think I did compare it to Hosseini’s work but for me it did read similarly to his books the way it switches perspectives and narrators and also of course being about Afghan culture. I think I remember it being a bit of a slower read at the start and a few chapters dragging though. My reads in July were also kind of meh but right now I’m reading The Nightingale and LOVING it. I’ve started to slow down reading it because I don’t want it to end!
I realize that my reading favorites are different from yours, but I read the Grisha trilogy (YA supernatural-ish) and it was so very good.
Totally feel the same way about “What Alice Forgot”, loved her other book but eh about this one.