Rabbitin

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green - 4/5 Stars Now I know what all the hubub about TFIOS is about. Sure the hype is well deserved, but had I read this at a different time, I would have raved about it. But I am old AF and I think I am a little less dazzled by young love of this kind. The story is pretty basic and so are the characters.For me, it is the dialogue that stands out. John Green is a superb wordsmith. He can string a lot of quotable quotes that stirs all the right bits in your heart.    Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer - 4/5 Stars  Weird ass book, this. And I loved it. It's ooky, kooky, icky, and all other sorts of oky! It's like an Amazon Jungle Twilight Zone thing. More than the mystery, I love how the protagonist (The Biologist) is written. It is largely very character driven, and I felt all of her frustrations and sadness and grief and curiosity. I think, I'll take a bit of a breather though before taking on book 2, Authority. Because Area

So I managed to read 20 books last year. Not too bad. 20 isn't stellar but it's not a zero. Obviously. But I am happy with it. I've had some pretty awesome reads this 2017 too. And my top ten are as follows: 1. I would say Lincoln in the Bardo   by George Saunders is my best book of 2017. Surprise, surprise. The novel is a feat in terms of style and emotionally electric in terms of content. And if you doubt my word, give a listen to an interview of George Saunders in Bullseye with Jesse Thorn, right HERE . 2. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood  was another memorable read. So much so that I now have a necklace with the mock Latin phrase: "Nolite te bastardes carborundorum". What I love about Margaret Atwood is how her writing tends to be quiet and subtle, but it pulsates. 3. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline was such a fun read, took me back to the old gaming days of blowing on cartridges, and playing straight because they didn't