The Two Books, One Stone Tag

I found this tag on Golden Books Girl. I thought that the questions were really unique!

The second-last book you read.

Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident by Donnie Eichar

I had never heard of the Dyatlov Pass Incident before picking up this book, but that did not stop me from being hooked from the first page. The circumstances surrounding the deaths of these skilled hikers was such a mystery. It was interesting to see Eichar’s obsession with answers grow and it was contagious. I thought that the final conclusion was just as fascinating. I highly recommend this one!

The second book from the top of your TBR

The World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman

I have talked about how much I want to read this book a few times on my blog already. I adore Alice Hoffman and will read everything that she writes. I am so curious to see what she does with WWII fiction.

Two 2-star reads.

Both of these books are beloved, and I totally understand why! My dislike of them is totally a “me” thing. Before I Fall taught me that I do not enjoy the groundhog day trope- where the same day repeats over and over again. It just bores me! As for The Scorpio Races, I loved the premise but I have come to the realization that Maggie Stiefvater’s writing style is just not for me.

Two great books by the same author.

Libba Bray is one of those writers who I would love to read more from. I absolutely loved A Great and Terrible Beauty and The Diviners, but, as is on brand, I have not continued with either series! All her books are massive, so it is difficult for me to make them a priority even though I love them.

Two bails, or two books you’d wished you’d bailed on, or two books you hated.

These two books were DNFs for me. I really was excited to read Killing Commendatore, but it was a lot. I think it was probably not the best Murakami novel to start with. I would love to read something else by him and maybe come back to Killing Commendatore in the future.

I had such high hopes for Romanov- it has an amazing premise, but the execution fell flat. I DNFed this one for no other reason than the fact that I was bored.

Two favourite books this year.

2019 has been an incredible reading year- I have read so many books that have become all time favourites. Bitter Orange and Lanny are just two of the many amazing books I have read so far this year, but there is something about them that stands out. They are both dark and very original. They embody everything that I love in fiction!

Two new favourite book bloggers.

Kitty Jade

Kitty Jade has a great voice and I am always interested to see what she is reading. She seems to reading an interesting variety of books. I also love that she talks about things other than books- I can not wait to try the Christmas cake recipes that she shared!

Happiest When Reading

I am so grateful that I found this blog through Nonfiction November- it has been such a joy to follow her reading this month and all of her thoughts on nonfiction. Her post on nonfiction titles about grief was particularly interesting- I added a lot of the books she shared on my TBR!

A book you’ve read twice.

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Life of Pi is such a special book, and one of the few that I have ever reread. I read and enjoyed it when it first came out and was all the rage. Than I reread it a couple years ago and absolutely fell in love with it. One of my favourite endings of all time!

Two fabulous quotes from books you’ve read recently.

“We can’t have change without loss, which is why so often people say they want change but nonetheless stay exactly the same.”
― Lori Gottlieb, Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed

“Perhaps the unattached, the unwanted, the unloved, could grow to give love as lushly as anyone else.”
― Vanessa Diffenbaugh, The Language of Flowers