Friday, December 31, 2021

Best of the Bunch (December 2021)

Best of the Bunch header

Today I'm sharing the best book I read in December.

Of the 7 books I read this month, I had no 5-star reads, and two 4.5-star reads:

Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty

Unicorns and Germs by Asia Citro

As much as I enjoy the Zoey and Sassafras books I'm reading with my older son, I'll stick with an adult rec for this end-of-month linkup.
I liked Apples Never Fall a lot better than Moriarty's last few. The mysteries (Where is Joy? Who is Savannah?) were compelling, but even more than that, what I like about Moriarty's writing is how brilliantly she captures the subtleties of being a person: the way that people have resentments they don't even realize are resentments, or how an individual's earnestness is sweet from one angle and cringeworthy from another. The main critique I have of the book is that the denouement is way too long. ("How the Delaneys dealt with COVID" could have been a bonus short on her website rather than the entire last act of the book.) This hasn't quite beat out my favorite Moriarty books, but I did really enjoy the read and look forward to her next one.

What is the best book you read this month? Let me know in comments, or write your own post and link up below!

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: Strangers from a Different Shore and Feminist, Queer, Crip
Five years ago I was reading: Death in the Clouds, Good-Bye to All That, and Dracula
Ten years ago I was reading: The Spirit Level

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