2015: The Numbers

As you all know, 2015 was not a banner year for me. Reading was down, reviewing was down, writing was down. I even forgot my blog’s 3rd anniversary. What is happening to me?

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

I feel like I’m the last person in the book blogging world to have read We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. It was all the rage two summers ago, if I remember correctly. Some people loved it, some felt it was predictable, others merely jumped on one bandwagon or the other. It was kind of an ‘it’ book of the moment – one I knew I’d read, but maybe once all the hub-bub had died down.

A Queer and Pleasant Danger by Kate Bronstein

Yes, it’s true, the title – A Queer and Pleasant Danger had me hooked before I had even opened the book. But come on, word play like that? you know the whole book is going to be well-written if nothing else. And it’s by Kate Bornstein, the original gender outlaw. And it’s got its fair share of Scientology in it. I may as well stop my review here because this book ticked all my boxes. I loved it.

A House Called Askival by Merryn Glover

I know what you’re thinking … where have i been? Well, that’s another story (hint: Canary Islands), but I’m back with a bundle full of reviews to write. First up – A House Called Askival by Merryn Glover. It’s published by a small Scottish press, so you may not have heard of it, but it is well worth searching for it.

The Steady Running of the Hour by Justin Go

Seriously, I have to start reading the blurbs on the back of books! I was drawn to The Steady Running of the Hour by Justin Go because I thought it was about climbing Mount Everest. Mount Everest is genre kryptonite for me. So i was a little disappointed to learn that Everest is only a small portion of the novel. But Go’s writing made up for that. He is a seriously good writer and I will read whatever he puts out next.

The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende

Don’t judge a book by its cover. Seriously, are we back to that old adage? But so, so true. I picked up The Japanese Lover for two reasons: I haven’t read anything by Isabel Allende in years and based on the cover I assumed it was a war time novel set in Japan. I was close. The Japanese Lover is a novel partially set during WWII in San Francisco.