What to Read: You and Hidden Bodies

Books a Million: A Deranged Bookseller, a Racing Dog and an Actress in Greece

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I only made it through about 20 novels in 2015—I’ve had better showings, that’s for sure—but toward the end of the year, I seemed to save the best for last as there were several books that had me weeping, they were so good. Plus, I watched a lot of TV that last quarter—drop what you’re doing and devour all 10 episodes of The Man in the High Castle if you haven’t already—in the little downtime I had, so by the time I go to bed, my attention is zapped and I’m out like a light (OK, after a few minutes on Snapchat, that is!). Still, here’s what I managed to read toward the end of last year and the beginning of this.

The Best Books of 2015 and 2016...so far.

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

After I sung the praises of the Chet and Bernie series, many of you responded with: “but have you read The Art of Racing in the Rain? You must read The Art of Racing in the Rain?” And you were totally right: I loved it. Or rather I should say: I LOVED IT.

This oft-times somber story is told from the POV of the family dog, Enzo, who watches the matriarch of the family slowly perish of cancer and all the repercussions that result from her death (like a custody battle over the kid between the sweet dad and the monstrous in-laws). It bounces forward and backward in time and while it’s sad rather than uplifting more often than not, the writing is beautiful and the ending is worth it. If you haven’t read this book, make it the next one that you read. I cried ugly tears at several parts, but despite that, it’s one of the loveliest novels I’ve read in years. And even if you don’t like dogs or car racing—as the name implies, there are many racing metaphors throughout, a nod to the dad’s profession—I guarantee that won’t stop you from loving this book.

Rating: 5 out of 5

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

I went straight from Racing to The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, and it was like being in Oprah’s book club during its glory years (think: White Oleander times)—that’s how great this book was, too. In a nutshell, grumpy A.J. Fikry runs an independent bookstore on Alice Island that’s seen better times thanks to the boom of the Internet and the e-reader, his prized collection is stolen, and a newborn baby is abandoned in his shop one night. He doesn’t know what to do with the child other than to adopt her; what unfolds is a complete metamorphosis within A.J. and a story of love, loss and sacrifice told through emotional depth, complex characters, and witty banter and dialogue.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter

OK, I know everyone and their mom read this book in 2014 when it came out, but I only finally got to it on my list over the holidays. And holy cow, this was one of those reads I wished would never end. I loved the premise: A 1950s movie star goes to an island to heal from a deadly disease only to become enchanted with the place and the owner of the dilapidated inn in which she stays. The book spans 60 years and multiple locations only for the innkeeper to go in search of said actress much later in life with the help of a motley crew of Hollywood types. I loved that, at its core, Beautiful Ruins was so different than any other book I had ever read and that it was told from the perspective of different narrators, some who you loved and others who you loathed. It also made me want to hop the first plane out to Italy, despite having been there plenty of times.

Rating: 5 out of 5

What She Left by T.R. Richmond

I usually veer away from books about crimes entirely as I’m your classic wuss—no horror movies for this girl—but something about the cover made me pick this one up. Comparisons to What She Left have been drawn to Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train, and while I think they’re not really anything alike, if you’re a fan of either of these suspense novels, I do think you’ll enjoy What She Left.

Told through a series of diary entries, school essays, blog posts, news stories, Tweets, texts, phone conversations and more, this book chronicles the life of English journalist Alice Salmon from teenage years to death at 25 (she dies very early on in the book, so I’m not spoiling anything). When her body is found in the river one snowy winter day, it’s unclear: Did she take her own life or did someone else take it from her? Richmond introduces a number of characters—a former roommate, a best friend, a professor—who all seem to be obsessed with the protagonist in different ways and leaves it up to the reader to figure out who killed Alice, and I have to admit: I had no idea until it was finally revealed in the end. But I was hooked from beginning to end.

Rating: 4 out of 5

The Vacationers by Emma Straub

I had high hopes for this book. A family of New Yorkers, the parents both magazine journalists, goes on a big vacation in Spain to get past an infidelity. There are multiple, smaller story arcs—their gay besties come along for the ride and are trying to adopt, their dimwitted son has made bad financial decisions, the teenage daughter is hoping to lose her virginity before she goes to college—but ultimately, the whole thing fell flat. While the writing itself was fairly solid—Straub has a journalism background, after all—the story line just didn’t grab me, I found the characters unlikable and the plot was a bit uneventful. Overall, unlike Beautiful Ruins, I was more than ready for this one to end. Skip it.

Rating: 2 out of 5

You by Caroline Kepnes

First of all, I should preface this review by saying that You is not for the faint of heart. If you don’t like swearing or are uncomfortable with sex, this is not the book for you. But if you liked Dexter in all its twisted glory, you’ll likely find You entertaining as it’s told from the vantage point of a bookstore manager who may or may not have stalking, bi-polar and murderous tendencies. Me? I found it riveting. I had no idea what the book was even about when I checked it out from the e-library—with the name, I suppose I assumed it to be vaguely romantic comedy-ish—and it started off harmless enough, then ventured quickly into graphic territory while managing to be engaging and well-written all at once. Let’s just say I already put Hidden Bodies, the sequel, on my reading list (and it comes out on my birthday, too!).

Rating: 4 out of 5

Next up, I’ve got The Good Girl, The Royal We and Wonder on my library hold list.

And your favorite books of late are…?

COMMENTS
  • February 21, 2016

    “Dead Wake,” about the sinking of the Lusitania. I know that EVERYONE is reading this book, but it is awesome. You’ll find yourself rooting for the ship and its passengers, even though you know what’s going to happen.

    Also just finished “Girl Waits With Gun,” which I never would have picked up if it weren’t for my book club. Easy, fascinating true story about America’s first female deputy sheriff.

    • February 24, 2016

      I actually know nothing about Dead Wake! But this sounds totally up my alley. Thanks for the tip…on this and Girl Waits =)

      • February 25, 2016
        Abbie

        I totally agree with Christina S. “Dead Wake” is great and anything else by Erik Larson (the author). His book “In The Garden of Beasts” is excellent as well.

        • February 29, 2016

          Excellent. I’m midway through The Royal We, so will add this to my library list now, too. Thanks, Abbie and Christina!

  • February 21, 2016
    Laurel

    The Art of Racing in the Rain is one of my favorite books of all time, so glad you enjoyed it! And The Royal We is one of my favorite books of 2015, hope you like it!

    • February 23, 2016

      OMG, BEST BOOK, right? But so sad until the end. The Royal We just came up in my library book queue yesterday, so looks like that’s what I’ll be starting next!

  • February 21, 2016
    Jessica

    The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry is absolutely one of my favorite stories… I listen to books on tape as I commute to work, and it’s one that I would love to hear as told by a narrator. The story stole my heart, and while I read it in a single sitting, it remained on my mind in the days following. I could read it again and again and covet the same satisfaction with each read.

    • February 24, 2016

      Oooh I’ll have to do the book on tape on my next long drive. Sounds like a great one to listen to! Glad you love it as much as I do =)

  • February 22, 2016

    And see, I really enjoyed The Vacationers! But I can see your point. I think what I appreciated the most was the strong writing (I think I read it at at time coming off of multiple books that were only meh.)

    I have The Art of Racing in the Rain on my kindle, but I’ve only gotten a few pages in. I’m not sure I can handle it. I’m not good with animal stories, especially dogs, and especially if it’s hinted at in the first few pages that the dog is old and will die soon. I’m too much of a sap.

    As for the others, I’m going to add some of these to my ever-growing list! I’ll be curious to hear your thoughts on The Royal We…..I finished it earlier this year….

    • February 24, 2016

      I REALLY wanted to like The Vacationers…but alas, I feel like it had a lot of potential and fell flat. She could have at least given me ONE character to like!

      Yeah, Racing is sad, but a happy sad in the end. I think you need to give it a chance =)

      The Royal We JUST came up in my library queue, yay!

  • February 22, 2016

    I have Beautiful Ruins waiting on my shelf, but have been putting it off because I was worried that it wouldn’t live up the hype. I’ll have to dust it off and give it a try! The Royal We is one my favorite reads from this year, so I think you have some amazing reading ahead of you.

    • February 24, 2016

      I actually knew nothing about Beautiful Ruins in terms of the story or the hype, so I went into it blind—but I think you’ll like it a lot! You start Ruins tonight and I start the Royal We, deal? 😉

  • February 22, 2016

    A.J. Fikry is our book club selection for March! I can’t wait to talk about it! (Or, uh, read it. Ahem.)

    xox

    • February 24, 2016

      Ahhh, I’m excited for you! Let me know what you think when you’re done =)

  • February 22, 2016

    Currently reading Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter of Simone de Beauvoir and I am loving it. Before that, I read Bulgakov, The Master and Margerita. It was fantastic!

    • February 24, 2016

      Will add all these to my ever-growing list!

  • February 22, 2016

    I was SO frustrated last night trying to find some new books as I am on the last chapter of my current book after blazing through four straight, but I couldn’t find anything! You are a savior! I just bought Beautiful Ruins and You (you had me at Dexter) so say hello to Amazon Affiliate dollars (I hope!) I should have you do all the work all the time, you just pre-read for me!

    • February 24, 2016

      Haha, thanks gal! Let me know which are your favorites.

  • February 24, 2016

    This was perfect timing – I had a flight today and needed new books, and you and I seem to have very similar taste (I too loved The Art of Racing in the Rain, and I don’t think you’ve steered me wrong yet with your recommendations). I’m already about halfway through The Storied Life of AJ Fikry and enjoying it. Thank you! Have you read The Goldfinch? If not, that’s my suggestion for you.

    • February 29, 2016

      I haven’t read the Goldfinch because I’m intimidated by its length. I think I’ll save it for my next beach vacation when I have 5 to 6 hours a day to read. My mom and Scott read it on our last Euro trip and both LOVED it. Let me know your thoughts on AJ Fikry! I’m halfway through The Royal We right now; it’s cute but nothing ground-breaking (more chick lit than anything).

  • February 26, 2016

    Some of those books sound great! I haven’t read anything noteworthy this year apart from the fact I picked up The Remains of the Day from my collection and against all my expectations I really liked it!

    • February 29, 2016

      I don’t know that one, so I’ll have to look it up!

  • February 29, 2016

    Ooh..I’ll have to check out some of these titles! I’m always on the prowl for a good book. I just finished Wool by Hugh Howey. It’s a dense dystopian series about life lived in massive underground silos. The character development is great and at times the plot had my heart racing. I’d highly recommend it.

    • February 29, 2016

      That is one of Scott’s very favorites, too! I started Wool and never really got into it; however, I’m going to pick it back up again soon. I think as soon as I can get past the first half of book one, I’ll no doubt be hooked on the whole series just like everyone else has been =) I do love me a good dystopian series!

  • February 29, 2016

    Since I JSUT started my own book club (and have my own reading ambitions to meet for 2015), this list comes at just the right time! And thanks for your ratings honesty!

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