Winter Break Reads

January 13, 2020
 


I love a good book in the morning, before bed, on a plane, etc. I did a lot of all of those things over winter break the past month. All three books I read are contemporary fiction, but the characters run the gamut as far as demographics, personalities, current place in life so each book was a very different experience.



You Think It, I'll Say It by Curtis Sittenfeld
5 stars. Seriously, I loved this book so much that I went out and bought it after I was done so I could reread it whenever. My first experience with short stories was Roxane Gay's 'Difficult Women' and these two collections could not be more different. You Think It, I'll Say It is about not judging people, by their appearance, first encounter, or presence online. People are so much deeper than they seem and have so much more going on and this collection reminds you of that without being too sad or serious. Highly recommend.


An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
3 stars. I started An American Marriage thinking I knew exactly what it was going to be about. And I was wrong. I appreciated the 'twist' in the plot but I also felt like it made each of the main characters unlikeable. No one had any redeeming qualities and I guess that represents real life but I wasn't a fan.


Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler
2 stars. Sweetbitter has received so much praise in the past two years from the book and also the tv series on Starz that came out a year and a half ago. I knew nothing about the story and hadn't seen the show but I had high expectations. I was let down. None of the characters have interesting lives or is particularly likable or relatable or even real feeling. The writing is beautiful but almost so artfully constructed that it means nothing. And the ending. I hated. I wasn't a fan of this book for the entirety of reading but the writing was just good enough to keep stringing me along and I regretted it when I got to the end. I hated the ending more than I hated reading the entire book.

Honestly, I only recommend You Think It, I'll Say It from this little collection of recent reads. I try to find the good in every story, but it was pretty tough this go around.

Currently Reading: Every Breath by Nicholas Sparks

xx, Lauren


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