My Favorite Books of 2018 (aka 5 very sad books)

Hello!!! I am here!! Sorry I have been so absent this year!!

So yeah.

I had Goodreads reading challenge to 62 books for 2018. But that was before I decided to take art classes, and to write more, and move a new place. Before I had, like, a block on writing reviews. But I still read 27 books in 2018, which isn’t…terrible! And I believe the ratings I gave them averaged out to 4-point-something, which means they were a good 27 books. However, I don’t have ten books to call my favorites this year, but I do have a very solid five.

Warning…….they are sad (but great).

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
This was the very first book I read in 2018, and I guess you could say it set a bit of a standard for the rest of the books I read this year. This book centers around a Korean family in Japan in the 20th century, and sprawls over several generations of characters. This book is long, and has moments of sadness, sweetness, awfulness, and is a fantastic exploration of cultural identity and history. And while I love history, it was the characters that left the biggest impression on me. There are a lot of people in this book, and I loved how Min Jin Lee connected them and juxtaposed them against one another, in their personalities, choices, and their reactions to life and culture.  Full review.

Book Review: The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt / ★★★★★

Summary: Theo Decker survives a terrible accident that kills his mother, and he escapes the scene with a priceless 17^th century painting that she loved. In the ensuing years, Theo bounces from  his rich friend’s house, to Las Vegas, to an antique shop in New York, the painting always in his mind. As Theo gets older, the painting, the influences around him, and his own aching heart lead him down increasingly dark paths.

But when I think of you, it’s as if you’ve gone away to sea on a ship – out in a foreign brightness where there are no paths, only stars and sky.