Ten Books I Loved More Than I Thought I Would 

The Dollmaker – Harriette Simpson Arnow

This American classic is a tough read. Almost all the dialogue is written in a Kentucky dialect, which takes some getting used to. And it is bleak. So bleak and poor and desperate. But I loved the main character Gertie, she’s a hard worker, strong-willed and capable.

 

Lab Girl – Hope Jahren

I listened to this as an audiobook – very hesitantly. So far I’ve had success with celebrity-narrated audiobooks, mostly comedians like Aziz Ansari and Amy Pohler. But I wasn’t sure about this one, read by its author who’s a scientist. I started listening, just hoping she wouldn’t sound, well, boring. And instead I was startled by the way she poured so much emotion into her narration. All her passion for her work, for the people she loved, was put into the reading. And I was enthralled.

 

Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew’d – Alan Bradley

It may seem weird to put this 8th book in a series here. But I really didn’t like book 7, As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust, which took Flavia out of England and into a Canadian boarding school. In book 8, Flavia is back at Buckshaw and things just seem more apt, except of course for the fact that her father is in hospital.

 

Gabi, A Girl in Pieces – Isabel Quintero (my review)

I’ve had mixed success with YA so am always a bit hesitant when picking up a YA book. But this one, this one I just adored. I loved Gabi. What a wonderful feisty character.

H is for Hawk – Helen Macdonald

Another nonfiction read that took me by surprise.