Artful by Ali Smith - To be honest, I had to start this book over at least three times because I kept putting it down for too long. It's about the narrator being haunted by her former lover and parts of it can get confusing as the structure is a little odd. The first part was so lovely and there was something absolutely perfect about it that I didn't mind rereading it, but the rest of the book didn't live up to it.
Year of the Monkey by Patti Smith - I don't know how Patti Smith can write about seemingly nothing but visiting coffee shops and wandering and traveling, but this is the fourth book of hers that I've read and I've loved all of them.
The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea by Yukio Mishima - I've had this on my to-read list for almost ten years. It had gone missing at the library and they must've found it because I was finally able to check it out. It was very bizarre with one very memorable stomach-churning part, but overall I really enjoyed it.
Hawai'i One Summer by Maxine Hong Kingston - A collection of beautiful short stories that I revisit every couple of years. One of my absolute all-time favorites.
Idaho by Emily Ruskovich - I've had this on my to-read list for a few years and kept not being able to find it at the library. I finally found it earlier this year in a box of free books at the local used bookstore. I couldn't believe they were just giving it away - it was like finding treasure! I was incredibly excited and it lived up to my expectations. A very haunting, lyrical and beautiful read, though intensely tragic, that is one of my absolute favorites of the year.
A Natural History of the Senses by Diane Ackerman - Another book I've had on my to-read list for many years. I found it at the used bookstore last year and finally got around to reading it. Absolutely beautiful descriptions of our senses, very interesting and very informative.
The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides - Another re-read from 2012. A huge fan of Jeffrey Eugenides (The Virgin Suicides and Middlesex are two personal favorites that I've also read multiple times), I remember not really enjoying this the first time. I recently found it at the library bookstore for fifty cents. I passed it up but I found that I kept thinking about it so I went back to purchase it. I definitely enjoyed it more the second time.
On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder - A short, easy read that I found important.
The Girl Who Reads on the Métro by Christine Féret-Fleury - Toted as being "in the vein of Amelie and The Little Paris Bookshop," this little tome was probably my most anticipated read of the year. It's a nice, easy read, but it was a little all over the place and felt like it was missing half a story. I was disappointed.
The Alienist by Caleb Carr - This was the book I decided to read during my flight back to the east coast to see family earlier this year. I highly recommend for fans of mystery and true crime and psychology! I intentionally read this without watching the television series, but I've heard the series is wonderful so I plan on watching it soon as well.
The Library Book by Susan Orlean - I spied this at a house where I was cat-sitting last year and, seeing as we seem to have similar taste in books, I decided to check it out from the library (ha!). An account of the fire that broke out at the Los Angeles Public Library in 1986, this is part journalistic investigation and part telling of the author's lifelong love of books and libraries.
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson - A true classic that stands the test of time!
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck - Another re-read and another classic that stands the test of time.
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides - I received an advanced copy from a giveaway earlier this year and finally decided to give it a go. I devoured it in less than a day. I would recommend to any Greek classics/murder mystery/psychology fans. It was very enjoyable and a quick read, but not my favorite.
The Secret History by Donna Tartt - One of my all-time favorites that I decided to reread at the beginning of the year. The perfect mystery to cozy up and read on a winter day.
Blood Memory by Greg Iles - Highly recommended by one of my good friends who I discovered has very similar (wonderful!) taste in books. Another wonderful murder mystery!
The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton - Relishing a very unique premise, I wanted to enjoy this more than I did, but I didn't know enough backstory about the narrator to care. Also, it's set in the future which was revealed so much later in the story (I promise I'm not spoiling anything) that I think it did itself a disservice.
The Stargazing Year by Charles Laird Calia - Another of my absolute favorites of the year! I also spied this book at the same house I was cat-sitting last year. A year in the life of the author who rediscovers his childhood love of astronomy and stargazing and spends a year building an observatory in his backyard. His descriptions are so beautiful, and it reminded me so much of my own stargazing self.
Now onto my next read to officially mess up the aesthetic. Click here for another collection of aesthetically pleasing book covers.
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