2018 Archives - Novel Visits

10 LONG BOOKS Worth Your Time | More

Susie — Thu, 26 Mar 2020 12:52:19 +0000

I don’t know about you, but often times I tend to avoid really long books because I feel like I just don’t have the time. Well right now, we have time. A lot of time! Thanks to the coronavirus and long quarantines this just might be the perfect time to take on a really long book that you’ve always wanted to read. I originally shared this post back in the fall of 2018, but thought now would be the perfect time to bring it back. Don’t let the title fool you. I actually talk about 15 different long books I’ve loved! I hope one of these wonderful books might help fill your days. (And, since none of these are new releases, you should be able to get electronic copies through Libby, Overdrive or your local library’s system!)

In putting together my list of LONG BOOKS (500+ pages) I chose to feature books that I haven’t talked about much in earlier posts. …

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The Other Americans by Laila Lalami | Review

Susie — Tue, 16 Apr 2019 10:00:19 +0000

The Other Americans by Laila Lalami
Publisher: Pantheon
Release Date: March 26, 2019
Length: 320 pages
Amazon

{A Bit of Backstory}

Single Sentence Summary

The quiet differences that divide a sleepy desert town slowly come to light in this remarkable story of a daughter’s love for her father….

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Books I Meant to Read in 2018 | More

Susie — Tue, 22 Jan 2019 11:00:49 +0000

I don’t know about you, but my annual “to be read” list is always MUCH, MUCH longer than I could ever possibly read. In the last couple of years I’ve gotten better at deleting books along the way when I feel confident I no longer want to read them, but still others remain. A year ago I shared Books I Meant to Read in 2017, But Just Never Did, and am pleased to report that I did go back and read three of them. That’s not a huge number, but I’m not a big backlist reader. Fingers crossed I’ll get to a few of these 2018 books I missed.

Bachelor Nation by Amy Kaufman – I’ve been a fan of The Bachelor since season one and for many years I felt like it was sort of a dirty little secret. Why was a woman my age engrossed in the hijinks of such an over-the-top reality T.V. show? Then I started blogging, and found a whole world of other Bachelor lovers! I’ve had mixed feelings about reading Bachelor Nation. I want to know more of the behind the scenes dirt, and I don’t. Still, I plan to eventually get to this one on audio….

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New-to-Me Authors 2018 | More

Susie — Tue, 15 Jan 2019 11:00:27 +0000

Thank goodness for authors! Where would we readers be without their tireless efforts and stunning creativity? Every time I read an amazing book, I wish I could personally thank the author and fangirl all over him or her. Instead, today I’m joining this week’s Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl) in celebrating new-to-me authors from 2018. Back in December, I shared ten new-to-everyone authors in my DEBUTS – My Favorites of 2018, so today I’m focusing on established writers that I had the pleasure of reading for the first time last year.

When looking at new-to-me authors I wanted to highlight, they fell into three categories: those I liked so much I read more than one of their books, writers I’m eager to read more from, but have not yet done, and (for a little added fun) a couple of wildly popular authors who completely turned me off!…

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Wrapping It Up! December 2018 | More

Susie — Thu, 03 Jan 2019 11:00:21 +0000

Wow! We’re actually done with 2018 and as with every year, December went out with a flurry of activity, parties, family and friends. I don’t know about you, but I wasn’t left with a whole lot of extra time for reading, but did manage to squeeze in a few, including my first three January books. You can check out those and a whole lot of other winter books I’m going to be reading in my Winter Preview 2019 post. With the new year here, I’m hoping things will begin to settle down and my new normal will involve massive amounts of time for reading. (I know, but I can always dream!)

{My December, Books & Blog}

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Mini-Reviews: A “Clearing the Shelves” Edition, Volume 3

Susie — Thu, 27 Dec 2018 11:00:02 +0000

I’ve read several books over the last couple months that I have yet to review. With the year wrapping up soon, I realized it’s time! Today I’ll briefly share four books published either this year or last. Some I liked very much and others? Not so much. I also read a couple of older backlist books, The Department of Speculation by Jenny Offill and Loving Frank by Nancy Horan. I’m not going to be reviewing either of those, so I’ll just leave it at skip the first one, but read the latter!…

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BEST BOOKS of 2018 | More

Susie — Thu, 20 Dec 2018 11:00:25 +0000

It’s BEST BOOKS of the YEAR time! Do you enjoy perusing these lists as much as I do? It’s always fun to see how my reading tastes line up with those of others and sometimes it’s shocking to find out just how much they DON’T line up. Settling on my “Best Books of 2018” hasn’t been an easy task. For me, 2018 was a stellar year in books, so I’ve struggled over my list for the last month, starting out with 20 books and carefully considering which ones truly shone. To meet that criteria, I needed to love the book to start with and to still love it today. These needed to be books I felt great about reading AND recommending. So, without further ado onto my absolute favorite books of 2018!

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My Week in Books 12/17/18 | More

Susie — Mon, 17 Dec 2018 11:00:08 +0000

Hosted by Kathryn at Book Date

Finally, all gifts are wrapped and mailed. Or, at least that’s what I thought on Saturday afternoon…until I remembered that we’re doing a secret Santa thing at work. It was not my choice to participate. I was bullied into it. I lost the slip of paper with my recipients likes and dislikes on it and I nearly forgot entirely. Luckily, the name I drew is a friend, so running around on Sunday for a week’s work of small gifts wasn’t too painful. NOW, I’m done! Hopefully, I can get back to some serious reading and increase my December count of books up a little from the woeful two where it’s currently stuck.

Be sure to stop by tomorrow for Novel Visits Winter Preview 2019 and on Thursday for my BEST BOOKS of 2018!

Last Week’s Reads (or not?)

No, I did not have a three books week. In fact, of these three books I only finished Little Deaths by Emma Flint. …

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AUDIOBOOKS – My Favorites from 2018 | More

Susie — Thu, 13 Dec 2018 11:00:07 +0000

In a little over two years I’ve gone from being an audiobook neophyte to one of their most devoted fans. In 2016 I listened to maybe three audiobooks, whereas this year so far I’ve listened to 29. I tend to have pretty good luck with audiobooks because I’ve become very careful in not only thoroughly checking out the book, but also the narrator. We have to face it, a wonderful story on audio can be ruined with the wrong narrator. The audiobooks I’m sharing today come from three categories, nonfiction, fiction and backlist books I listened to this year. Let’s get started!…

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DEBUTS – My Favorites of 2018 | More

Susie — Tue, 11 Dec 2018 11:00:20 +0000

I’ve always held a special place in my heart for debuts. There’s just something about an author’s first book that shines a little brighter and draws me to its flame. I feel like writers have held that first story inside of them for a very long time and when they finally put it out there it can be stunning. I’m such a fan, I’ve devoted an entire section in my review index to DEBUTS. 2018 proved to be a terrific year for debuts, and today I’m sharing my eight favorites from both fiction and nonfiction. Check back on Thursday, December 20th to see how many of these books make it to my Best Books of 2018 list. (I can guarantee it will be more than one!)…

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