I’m not sure exactly why, but so far this year I’ve been feeling distinctly underwhelmed when it comes to reading.
To try and combat that, in February I went through my bookshelves and picked out a few old favourites to reread, starting with The Virgin Suicides.
It’s been over a decade since I read Jeffrey Eugenides’ tale of teenage suicide and it was just as captivating and tragic as I remembered. If you’re not familiar with the book, it tells the story of the five Lisbon sisters and the months before they took their own lives, told from the perspective of the neighbourhood boys who loved them from afar. If you haven’t already, you should absolutely read this book.
After The Virgin Suicides, I delved even further back into my reading history by digging out some of the old Point Horror novels that I used to read as a child. I still have half a dozen or so left out of the many more that I read over the years, so I opted for Help Wanted, The Mall and Teacher’s Pet, all by Richie Tankersley Cusick.
All three novels are fairly formulaic teen horror novels, about terrorised but intrepid adolescent girls who get caught up in a mysterious adventure, with a touch of romance on the side.
They’re only short books and seemed like the perfect antidote to my current reading malaise as they’re easy to pick up and read quickly.
The only new book I read this month was Landline by Rainbow Rowell. I’ve enjoyed a couple of her previous novels and was intrigued by the premise of this slightly more ‘adult’ story, about a woman who discovers a magic telephone that allows her to try and save her struggling marriage.
I’ve found Rowell’s previous books to be both insightful and moving, but I was a little underwhelmed by this one. The characters weren’t as easy to empathise with as in other novels, which is interesting as they’re actually closer to my age and life experience than those in Fangirl or Eleanor and Park. And although the central idea is an intriguing one, not enough actually happened in the story to keep me interested. Still, it wasn’t a bad novel, just not Rowell’s best.
Here’s hoping March can bring a bit of inspiration with it! If you’ve read anything great lately, I’d love to hear a few recommendations.
February’s reads
- The Virgin Suicides, by Jeffrey Eugenides
- Landline, by Rainbow Rowell
- Help Wanted (Point Horror Paperback), by Richie Tankersley Cusick
- Teacher’s Pet (Point Horror Book 10), by Richie Tankersley Cusick
- The Mall (Point Horror), by Richie Tankersley Cusick
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Kristin | My Life as a Teacup says
Landline I liked, but it wasn’t my favorite of hers. They’re all so good though, it’s hard to decide!
Amy Lord says
She’s definitely a writer whose books I enjoy and has such a way with emotion. It’s a good sign when your worst books are still worth reading!
Sara Strauss says
Landline is the only Rowell book I have yet to read. Have you read her other one Attachments? I really enjoyed that one! I still want to read Landline even though I have a feeling based on your review and others that it won’t be my favorite.
~Sara
Amy Lord says
I haven’t read Attachments yet, but I plan to! Landline was still worth reading, but didn’t quite have the same magic as Rowell’s other books.
Nuzaifa @ Say It with Books says
I have yet to read Rowell’s books and I was thinking of starting with either Fangirl or Eleanor & Park. The Virgin Suicides is one my unread shelf too – I know, I know.
2015 has been quite an underwhelming year for reading for me too. You might want to try All My Friends are Superheroes by Andrew Kaufman, I stumbled across this quirky book on another blog and the blogger recommends this. It’s a relatively short read but I have added it to my TBR because I love the sound of it.
If you are in the mood for YA, you might want to give Sarah J Maas’s Throne of Glass series-I adored this one!
Hope your next reads are better. 🙂
Amy Lord says
Thanks for the recommendations! I’ve come across the Throne of Glass books on a few blogs but don’t know much about them – one to look up!