Can you believe that this is the last book roundup of 2016? I’ve read 57 books as of yet this year and that makes me very pround! Meaning that I fulfilled my Goodreads challenge a while back in the year. Super!
Here are my last few book reviews and recommendations for this year:
60 Degrees North. Malachy Tallack. 3.8/5
This was the perfect book to fulfill both my interests in Scotland and travel writing. In this book, Tallack travels to all the countries that cross the 60th parallel north, going through Scotland, Greenland, Canada, USA, Russia, Norway, Finland, and Sweden. I learned so much about the history of all these regions and how current life seems to be. Tallack’s writing is deeply personal and descriptive. The only downside for me was that it was depressing at times.
My invented country. Isabel Allende. 4/5
This is a memoir by Isabel Allende, in which she journeys through her memories of her native country, Chile. She goes through the different periods of living/leaving/loving Chile. I love that she acknowledges that this is an ‘invented country’ because as long term emigrant, the country she left behind and the country she remembers, isn’t the country that it is today. You can’t beat Allende’s writing – even in translation.
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. C.S. Lewis. 3.5/5
I loved this book. I thought it was a perfect children book. It was mature enough and yet children enough to not infantilise the reader. It was short and yet full of adventures. I found some parts of it gratingly sexist, but I’ll try to forgive Lewis as he’s from a different period.
The Gracekeepers. Kirsty Logan. 3.5/5
This was an intriguing, enchanting and eerie read. It takes place in an alternate world, of islands and seas. The atmosphere of the book was very mythical and fairy-tale ish. The writing was very poetic and beautiful. However, to my eyes, none of the characters were very likeable (both main female characters seemed very detached), so I struggled to identify with any of them and immerse myself in the book. I also struggled to see where this book was trying to get to.
Not That Kind Of Girl. Lena Dunham. 3/5
I’m not sure what to say about this book. I kind of enjoyed it and I kind of hated it all at once, which also represents my view of Lena Dunham. I found this book abrasive – it was like she went out of her way to be that way. Not just relatable and real anecdotes, but fully weird (and always sexual, for some reason?) anecdotes. Despite everything, her writing is really good and I really respect how she built her career. But there wasn’t enough of that for my taste.
The Witches of New York. Ami McKay. 3.8/5
*This book was given to me by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review – all opinions are my own.*
This is a fantasy novel about a girl who moves to New York and discovers she is a witch. It does not take the usual witch storyline and really surprised me by showing an array of characters interested in the art of the ‘unseen’. It’s a lovely read and I would really recommend it. While slow at times, it definitely picks up toward the end and keeps you interested until the very end. McKay’s writing is very good and I felt attached to the characters from the beginning!
The Miniaturist. Jessie Burton. 3.8/5
There was a big hype surrounding this book last year and that’s why I picked it up. It’s weird, but I was surprised and disappointed by the book all at once. I guess it’s mostly because I had no idea what it was about. From the beginnng it was super intriguing and it definitely pulled me in. However, I just felt it didn’t really go anywhere and answer any question posed at the beginning. It was well worth the read, just for Burton’s writing.
What have you read lately?xx
