One of my favourite Christmas presents is gift cards for bookstores or Amazon. I am addicted to reading; if I was stranded on a deserted island, a book would be on my list of essential items to have with me. I found it comforting to escape the world for awhile in the way that only a book can allow, and one day I hope to have a home library. My two favourite genres are Creative Non-Fiction and Teen Fiction (or Young Adult). So, after blowing through all of my gift cards within a few weeks, here is my 2018 book haul:
1. The Amateurs: Case Not Closed – Sara Shepard
Ever since binge reading all of the Pretty Little Liars books in middle school, Shepard has been one of my favourite writers. The Amateurs is her newest thriller series about the mysterious death of a rich teenage girl in a posh neighbourhood and the three amateur sleuths that band together to solve the case with the murdered girl’s younger sister. I’m a sucker for a good mystery novel which is why I think this will be the perfect book to get lost in.
2. to all the boys I’ve loved before – Jenny Han
This book is also by an author I’ve read before and adored: the summer i turned pretty, also by Han, continues to be one of my favourite books ever. Thus, I’ve had the book above on my reading list for a long time. The story is about teenage Lara Jean whose secret love letters are accidentally mailed one day, which honestly sounds like my worst nightmare, but sounds highly entertaining to read about.
3. Difficult Women – Roxane Gay
Gay is a feminist writer known for her powerful voice and refusing to adhere to the norm. In this collection of short stories, Gay explores the lives of a variety of women ranging from a pair of abducted twins to a stripper putting herself through college.
4. Me Talk Pretty One Day – David Sedaris
Anyone who loves Creative Non-Fiction knows that Sedaris is the master of dark humour and the personal essay. I’ve been wanting to read one of his books for awhile now and am super excited to start this one.
5. Follow Me: The Killer You Know – Sara Shepard
Book two in The Amateurs series because knowing my past with Shepard novels, I’m not going to want to wait to see what happens next after I devour book one.
6. Messy – Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan
The second book in the Spoiled series, this story follows teenage Brooke Berlin who decides to launch her own blog after getting a taste for fame. But, between all of her other activities to gain a following, she doesn’t actually have the time to write her blog. Thus, she hires outsider Max McCormack to write the blog for her as a ghost writer. I never read the first book, but I’m sure I’ll still enjoy this light hearted read. Also, where can I get that job???
7. It Gets Worse – Shane Dawson
Normally, I shy away from YouTuber books, but Shane has been one of my favourites for awhile. His self-deprecating humour is compared to that of Sedaris’ by Publishers Weekly which also makes it seem like the perfect book. Shane has made one of the chapters in this book, “The Lottery”, into a short a film on YouTube so I’ve already had a little taste of what’s in store (lots of laughing, for sure).
Well, that’s all of them…so far. I doubt that this will be my last book haul of 2018, but it’s a start. Hopefully this article also gave you a new book to try. Happy reading!
Gifs taken from giphy.com, images taken from Google Images.