Books in 2018 - Fourth Quarter

This completes my un-originally titled Books in 2018 Series.  The first quarter list can be seen here, and the second quarter list is here, and the third quarter list is here.

October:

• The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley - My friend Liz recommended this one in one of her monthly reading lists, and it did not disappoint.
• The War I Finally Won by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley - Ditto about my friend Liz recommending this in one of her monthly reading lists and it not disappointing!
• Marlena by Julie Buntin - I randomly picked this one up off a library display, and it was a little slow at times but overall worth reading.
• The Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce - This reminded me of The Walk series by Richard Paul Evans and I loved it.  Some days I am so ready to set off on this type of journey myself.  I read about this one on Liz's blog too!

Reading in compression socks with legs
elevated = winning

November:

• Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer.  Maybe you should just consult Liz's blog for all of my reading list this quarter!  I don't always like nonfiction as much as fiction, because I read to "escape" sometimes, but this one was worth reading.
• The Truth About Twinkie Pie by Kat Yah.  I picked this one up from the youth section while waiting for Albani to pick our her books at the library, and it was one that could be enjoyed by any age (the main character is 12, but I sure remember what it was like to be a 12-year-old girl!).  It was almost a PG-rated version of The Sisters Chase, which I read in July.
• Winter's Bone by Daniel Woodrell.  This one was set in the Ozarks, by an author who lives in the area, although not the exact area where I live.  It was super cold while I was reading it, so the title seemed fitting.
• A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman.  Another one from Liz's blog.  At first I couldn't get into this book at nearly stopped reading it; I only continued because I'd read everything else I had checked out from the library and hadn't had a chance to go back.  But then it picked up and I loved it!
• The Christmas Bargain by Sarita Leone.  This was meh; I only finished it because it was short.

December:

• The Noel Stranger by Richard Paul Evans.  I put all of Evans's books that my library had that I had not yet read on hold so I could read them at Christmastime, and this was my favorite of the 4 I read in December.
  
• The Mistletoe Promise by Richard Paul Evans.  Another touching read!
• The Mistletoe Inn by Richard Paul Evans.  I'm a broken record raving about his books, but I will say this was one of my least favorites.
• The Four Doors by Richard Paul Evans.  This was a super quick read, and fittingly I read it on a Sunday when we normally would have been at church but were at home due to Albani having a projectile vomit-inducing stomach bug.
• Splitting Harriet by Tamara Leigh.  I wasn't sure if I'd like this one when I started it, but in the end I did.
• Lucky Alan by Jonathan Lethem.  This was a collection of short stories, and I struggled with the wording/phrasing of it.
• Give Me Your Hand by Megan Abbott.  This one was creepy, but I also recommend it!
• You Think It, I'll Say It by Curtis Sittenfeld.  This was a set of unrelated short stories.  I enjoyed the writer's style and plan to read more books by her.

I think in 2019 I'll just make a list of the books I read without elaborating.  I always give vague descriptions/recommendations because I am lazy I don't want to give anything away for someone who hasn't read the book, but I'm not sure those descriptions added anything!  One thing I learned from breaking my books down by month is that I read more when it's cold outside.