Monday Mini-Reviews: Trying to Read 2020 Releases Before The End of the Year

 Here it is, December 21, and I'm trying to finish the year strong in terms of reading. I've read some great books, but I already know that for however many great books I've read, there are just as many great ones sitting on my TBR stacks.  I read a good number of books, but feel like a week where I've only finished two is rather lackluster.  And yet, the two I read this past week were great.  I've enjoyed reading at a little slower pace this past year because it has allowed me to sit and enjoy what I'm reading, not just rush through and as one book's last page ends, already be reading for a new book.  I've taken time to think about what I've just read and enjoy it along the way.  Both of these books are definitely worth enjoying.

Good Morning, Monster by Catherine Gildiner is a non-fiction book featuring five different patients Gildiner worked with in her therapy practice.  The book starts with Laura and her story which I found fascinating, and then moved to Peter. And I found his story fascinating. In fact, I found all five stories absolutely hard to put down.  I love reading about people and learning about their lives and how they think and act.  These patients were all in therapy for some very serious things that had happened to them in their past and I found it interesting to see how they were able to overcome the challenges they had.  Last year I read Lori Gottlieb's Maybe You Should Talk to Someone which was one of my favorite non-fiction books of the year.  My enjoyment of this book ranks right up there with that one.

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell - I have not really ever thought about William Shakespeare's wife or family, but I was totally enthralled with Hamnet which is a fictionalized story of the life of Shakespeare's wife, Agnes.  Hamnet, which sounds an awful lot like Hamlet, is the name of Shakespeare's son who dies at the age of eleven of the plague. This story was just devastating and I could feel Shakespeare and Agnes' grief over the loss of their beloved child.  At first this one was a slow start for me, but that may have been because I was only able to get two or three pages read before being interrupted. Finally on Friday night when I had some time to myself I read all but the last fifty pages of Hamnet before I couldn't keep my eyes open to finish it off.

If you still want to get a few more books read before the end of the year and you're looking for something that you will love, I'm happily recommending either of these two (or both of them).