Well, it's the first day of a brand-new year. Hip, hip, horray!
2018 was a very weird year. Much like 2017. And, well, 2016.
If our method of ringing in the new year is any indication of what 2019 will be like, well it is sure to be a weird one, too.
Our little family's NYE tradition is to devour crab legs and shrimp like it's our job. We started this a few years back, and it seemed like a tradition that perfectly suited our crew, and it has stuck. Every NYE, I boil a huge mess of crab legs, shrimp, sausage, corn on the cobb, and potatoes, and we feast like kings all night long.
That part of our NYE celebration was on-point. It was the next bit that followed that makes me question where we are in life. For the next few hours following our delicious meal, we opted to lounge in the living room watching a marathon of Dr. Pimple Popper, until we finally retired to bed at about 11PM.
If I'm lying, I'm dying. I don't even know what else I can say about it, except to say we've definitely set the bar pretty high for future Hobgood family NYE celebrations.
All that NYE madness aside, I did manage to squeeze one last book in for 2018, and it was AMAZING.
As I've previously mentioned, I am a Goodreads geek. I love to set an annual reading goal for myself, which is typically 30 books per year. This year I was able to surpass my goal just a bit by reading 31.
My top five favorites this year were:
1. "The Au Pair" by Emma Rous
2. "The Red Address Book" by Sofia Lundberg
3. "Educated" by Tara Westover
4. "Nineteen Minutes" by Jodi Picoult
5. "All We Ever Wanted" by Emily Giffin
I've read some pretty great ones this year, but I think if I had to choose -- those would be my faves for the year. A great mix of mystery and suspense, historical and realistic fiction, feel-good chic-lit, and a memoir.
My TBR ("To Be Read" for all you non-geeks) pile for 2019 is growing by the day, and I can't wait to dive right in this week to get this year's nerdy party started.
Read below for a review of my recently finished book. It is FANTASTIC, and you're going to want to get your hands on this one when it is released this week!
The Red Address Book by Sofia Lundberg
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5
Special thank you to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for gifting me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
"I wish you enough. Enough sun to light up your days, enough rain that you appreciate the sun. Enough joy to strengthen your soul, enough pain that you can appreciate life's small moments of happiness. And enough friends that you can manage a farewell now and then."
Doris, 96 years young, has come to grips with the fact that she is finally at the end of her years. While she has lived a life filled-to-the-brim with experience and excitement, there are so many details of her life that she has yet to share with those closest to her, namely her great-niece Jenny.
Through a series of entries in her decades-old red address book, a gift from her father, Doris relives the past of those who have come and gone in her long life -- both those whose memories cause her great sadness, and those who cause her immense joy. Doris decides to put pen to paper, and preserves her past in a series of stories that she leaves behind for Jenny to read.
From her Stockholm apartment where Doris now lives, to glimpses of her past in both Paris and America, this novel paints the portrait of a life lived to the fullest -- through both good times and bad.
While this book has been published in 28 countries around the world, it will be making its American debut this week. I can't recommend this book enough, and it is the perfect one to curl up with this winter. Readers will not be able to put it down until the last page is turned. It's THAT enchanting!
"I wish you enough. Enough sun to light up your days, enough rain that you appreciate the sun. Enough joy to strengthen your soul, enough pain that you can appreciate life's small moments of happiness. And enough friends that you can manage a farewell now and then."
Doris, 96 years young, has come to grips with the fact that she is finally at the end of her years. While she has lived a life filled-to-the-brim with experience and excitement, there are so many details of her life that she has yet to share with those closest to her, namely her great-niece Jenny.
Through a series of entries in her decades-old red address book, a gift from her father, Doris relives the past of those who have come and gone in her long life -- both those whose memories cause her great sadness, and those who cause her immense joy. Doris decides to put pen to paper, and preserves her past in a series of stories that she leaves behind for Jenny to read.
From her Stockholm apartment where Doris now lives, to glimpses of her past in both Paris and America, this novel paints the portrait of a life lived to the fullest -- through both good times and bad.
While this book has been published in 28 countries around the world, it will be making its American debut this week. I can't recommend this book enough, and it is the perfect one to curl up with this winter. Readers will not be able to put it down until the last page is turned. It's THAT enchanting!
Pre-order today on Amazon or Barnes & Noble before its January 8th release!
✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴
Next on my list for review in January -- "An Improbable Pairing" by Gary Dickson, as well as "The Memory Book" by Lara Avery!
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