So 2019 is almost over. And here I am, just getting started on my 2019 mini-reviews. But hey, I'm in the same calendar year, so that is pretty exciting, even if this is only a brief interlude before once again, I'm a year behind on reviews. Le sigh.
Also, I should really make an icon for these mini-reviews. I'm sure I'll get around to that right as I'm all caught up and done doing mini-reviews.
I can tell how much of a blur this year as been by the fact that I'm looking at the stuff I read in January and thinking about how I barely remember them. A lot was going on; I was just going back to work after being on maternity for 6 mos (and not an initially planned 6 mos leave). Figuring out daycare and work (when there were LOTS of changes there) took up a lot of brainpower.
Basically what I'm saying is, for the next few mini-reviews (this post and future ones) there's going to be a lot of guessing what the book was about and if I enjoyed it. I suppose it's not great for the ones I don't remember.
Let's get started, shall we?
Diary of a Hounslow Girl by Abreen Razia
So this one I vaguely remember. It was an Audible Original (aka, with an Audible subscription every month you get 2 free downloads of an Audible Original that varies every month. Typically they are things I've never ever heard of but free is fun) so I can't say I was familiar with anything about it. Even the description says "You’ve heard of an Essex Girl or even a Chelsea Girl but what is a ‘Hounslow Girl’?" and I said "Nope, I haven't heard of anything of these because I, a dumb American, do not pay attention to things outside my country, apparently." But all of that was part of the appeal of picking this one up. It's about a bunch of stuff that is unfamiliar to me. In this case it's about a Pakistani teen in London. It's done as a play. Or I suppose a one-woman show, since there's really only Razia playing the part of Muslim teen Shaheeda, torn between wanting to be a modern teen in London and her family's traditional expectations. But the details I remember are vague, so I remember it being pretty good but clearly didn't leave too much of an impression.
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Lullaby by Jonathan Mayberry
Hey, another Audible Original. I really don't remember this one. Like at all. I vaguely remember listening to it and thinking "I know I just listened to this, but I already forgot what's happening." Something about a haunted house. A young couple with a new baby decide to leave the big city for a big quiet house in the Catskills and something weird going after the baby. I think. Maybe. Honestly, this seems like something I would enjoy and would really be paying attention to, and even skimming through some other reviews, nothing is coming to mind. It's super short (like 30 min) so maybe I'll try to listen to it again and see if it sticks this time. Or like...probably not.
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So. Those were some good reviews. Really doing my part here.
All books read in January
The Diary of a Hounslow Girl by Abreen Razia
The Engagements by J. Courtney Sullivan
Lullaby by Jonathan Mayberry
World War Z by Max Brooks
