At the end of every month we are going to review all the books we read and say which ones we recommend and which we think you should leave on the shelf. Enjoy our January Reading Wrap-Up!

The Martian – Andy Weir

The year is 2035, the Ares III manned mission on Mars is forced to evacuate due to a severe storm that supposedly kills astronaut Mark Watney. The crew takes off away from Mars. The only problem, Mark Watney is alive and so begins his story of survival where he must stretch a mission that was to last 30 days to more than 3 years. NASA, the world, and most importantly, we are watching and hoping that he does.

 I finally read the book after the I watched Ridley Scott’s adaptation, which Drew Goddard (The Cabin in the Woods) wrote. The movie is piercingly funny, thrilling, suspenseful, and an emotional roller coaster. If it was able to affect me in a way that made it one of my favorite movies of the year, then the book would probably do even better — and it almost achieved it. The voice that Andy Weir writes Mark Watney in is so wonderfully witty that you forget that he is alone on an entire planet. As his story of survival lurches on, it’s his personality the we cling to for salvation. However, the entire ensemble of the book is truly cast of characters.

However, part of the reason the book didn’t quite reach the heights of the film — and why Goddard deserves much praise for his adaptation — is because sometime the book goes too deep into the science. I have to commend Weir for his dedication and gratitude for science, which is really what the book is about, but sometimes the long stretches of it bog down what otherwise would be a fast-paced read. Also, there are a few too many “Mark Watney might die” close calls that also slow down the narrative, however when it’s thrilling then it’s heart-racing exhilarating.

Recommend? Yes! Despite some of its flaws, science geeks will love the deep analysis of certain decisions and book worms will love the witty writing style and fast paced plot. ★★★★

The Book of Joe – Jonathan Tropper

“The Book of Joe, Jonathan Tropper’s second novel, takes that biting humor and puts into that “return to hometown” plot. However, although those types of books and movies get tedious and cloying, Tropper’s overall wittiness and brutal humor makes it a refreshing read. The novel tells the story of Joe Goffman, a bestselling offer who did what any great writer does — write from experience. In his case, he writes about his hometown Bush Falls, the people, and his experiences. His book becomes a hit and is turned into a popular movie. He never thought he would have to return to Bush Falls again. That is until his father falls into a coma.” –from our full-review of The Book of Joe

Most of you probably know Jonathan Tropper from This Is Where I Leave You (which suffered from a subpar movie adaptation) which used the similar trope of going home to cause change in our main character. However, what makes This is Where I Leave You so successful is its incredible cast of characters that make up the Foxman’s family. In The Book of Joe, the characters surrounding Joe are hit or miss. You have quite interesting and dynamic characters in his best friend, dramatically drawn ones in his old high school’s bully, however for every great character there are some that feel too one-dimensional such as his old girlfriend and brother.

Other than some character issues, the book is phenomenally readable and surprisingly has a lot of heart. I think what makes an interesting main character is one that you’re not always rooting for. Sometimes you feel that they have to be struck down for their own good, and Joe is one of those characters. You want him to change for his own good. I think that some plot points are made simply to have fun passages of comedy, but in the end never add much to the narrative, but it’s okay because they do conjure a smile. If you’re a visual reader, then this is the book for you because it plays so much like it was written like a movie in mind, which if happened would be a movie about a book about a book that was turned into a movie. Give it to us Hollywood!

Recommend? If you’re not looking for the next Crime & Punishment and want a funny and easy read, then this one is for you! ★★★½

The Power of the Dog – Don Winslow

The Power of the Dog opens on the bloody massacre in a home filled with men, women, children, and babies. It perfectly sets the tone of the novel. Don Winslow is able to create an atmosphere with his words that is unsettling, foreboding, and almost sickening. So begins the three-decade look at the war on drugs. The novel switches perspectives through several characters throughout the novel. From a DEA-agent on a mission to right past wrongs, an Irish mobster, a prostitute who gets involved in the border war, a priest going against the Vatican, and several heads (sometimes severed) of different Mexican cartels. However, the novel mostly focuses on Art Keller’s trajectory into the DEA to starting a manhunt on an epic scale.

Don Winslow has a fascination with the cartel that I hope he never loses. Between Savages, The Kings of Cool, and his most-recent novel The Cartel, he has a way with writing about the war on drugs that is entertaining, complex, but so readable. Although The Power of the Dog stretches to 550 pages, he never wastes a single sentence. He writes with such intent that it makes the novel’s 30 years of story feel like it goes by in a flash. He has a way of tying complicated characters into a complex plot without taking from either. The book is just as much a character study as it is historical fiction as it is a thrilling crime novel. He is able to balance every single aspect with a grace and flow that most crime novelists would envy.

As the years move by and the plots get continuously intertwined, you begin gripping the book tighter. It’s what Winslow does best. He is a highly visual writer, which adds so much tension and excitement, especially when he writes action. However, even scenes that are static are written in a way that slowly burn, waiting to explode. It’s so hard to write about this book without talking about the plot, but it’s one of those books that you really have to go in with a clean slate. That’s how it’ll grip you. By the end, you’ll feel like you’ve really lived through the 30 years covered, but you’ll want to dive back into them — I certainly do.

Recommend? YES! A thousand times, yes. Not only do I think this is one of the best crime novels I’ve read. It may be one of the best novels I’ve read. ★★★★★

Gone Girl – Gillian Flynn

Amy is gone. Her living room shows signs of a struggle, the front door was left open, and her husband is acting distant. Even more interesting, she disappeared on their However, nothing is as it seems in Gone Girl. Gillian Flynn does something with Gone Girl that makes it one of the most inventive contemporary novels. Switching between present day from the perspective of Amy’s husband Nick Dunne and her private diary, we watch as the case unfolds and and their marriage unfolds. Amy’s diary tracks her and her husband’s relationship from when they meet to a few weeks before she disappeared. Reveals are made as Nick solves the scavenger hunt his wife always leaves for him on their anniversary and as Amy grows deeper into her relationship with Nick Dunne.

I watched the Gone Girl movie first. Not only was it directed by David Fincher, it was based on a book that you couldn’t go anywhere without hearing about. The movie was one of my favorites of the year and ranks as one of the best works by Fincher. So when I finally picked up the book to read, it had big shoes to fill. I think what makes the book so wonderful is that it uses the unreliable narrator trope so adeptly. We don’t know who to believe. Nick or Amy. The police or the media. It paints a realistic world that doesn’t have any clear cut answers. Flynn has found a way to draw such vivid, extremely flawed, and frankly, f*cked up characters that have motivations and feelings that are actually terrifying.

I’m going to go no further in describing the book. Just know that Gone Girl is an extremely taut thriller that is so methodically written that it feels like a puzzle, better yet, a riddle. It comments on marriage, the media, and even our society. Books that are able to change our perception of the world, and more importantly, people are in a league of their own. I am a stern believer that entertainment should make you uncomfortable and this book will have you jumping out of your own skin.

Recommend? Yes! Gone Girl is essential contemporary reading. A wonderful take on a mystery and thriller, it’s a novel that will be remembered for years. ★★★★★

Me Before You – Jojo Moyes

I ended the month on a lighter read than the last couple books, but no less emotionally charge. Me Before You centers on Louisa Clark, a 26 year-old who just can’t seem to find her place in the world. She has never left her hometown or moved out of her childhood home, but she’s content there. However, after losing her job and her parents in dire financial straits, she must step out of her comfort zone and take a job as a caregiver for a C5-6 quadriplegic, Will Trainor. Initially a man who seemed invincible, Will’s accident has taken the one thing he cherished most: his freedom. Louisa’s task is to keep him happy, sane, and feel as if he still has a life.

Romances are very rarely my kind of book. Very few have been able to break through me. The Fault in Our Stars is really the only example of one that actually affected me. However, what Jojo Moyes did was take a subject that seems very young adult oriented and inject a maturity that makes the novel as much of a romance as it is a look at life of the misguided. Louisa Clark may be one of my favorite book characters in recent memory. She’s so unapologetically different, however when you dig into why your heart will break. Her relationship with Will causes both of them to grow in the best ways possible. However, what makes Me Before You such a successful book is that Moyes is so brave in her portrayal of life. The situation the characters are in is hard and she doesn’t sugar coat that fact.

The characters surrounding the main couple are so well drawn out as well. Louisa’s family isn’t perfect by any means. The people featured are victims of their circumstance. They are not living in a world that is as romantic as we want it to be. However, don’t think that the novel is as dull or dark as it sounds. Moyes is so bitingly funny in her dialogue and in the situations she presents. She is also a highly visual author, which makes some scenes soar like you’re watching the climax of a movie or break your heart. That being said, it is wildly readable, affecting without being preachy, and romantic without being cheesy. Me Before You is the rare romance that realizes that hurt exists.

Recommend? If you’re not that into young adult plots or romances, then this may not be for you. But I certainly recommend it for anyone willing to go through an emotional roller coaster. Check out our full review here! ★★★★★