2020 Book Country

As I reviewed my Goodreads app for the year, I see that I read 30 books.  30 books! Super thrilled about that and although I was going to publish it here for you from the website, my app is up to date but it seems the web page isn't for some reason???  Anyone who uses this app to track books know what that might be about?

Anyway, if I am to beat this record of 30 books in 2020, I had to get started right away.  The first book I am diving into this year is:

I am about 100 pages in, and it is "compulsively entertaining", just as the cover said it would be.  I am definitely intrigued and surprised a bit by this book.

SIDENOTE: This is a book that was passed on to me from a dear friend in an exchange of books that we had each read and recommended to each other.  Book sharing is my FAVORITE!

The first thing that surprised me (and is completely related to the second thing that surprised me) is that Robert Galbraith is a pseudonym for J. K. Rowling, yes that same J.K. Rowling that wrote the Harry Potter series.  The thing that surprised me wasn't that she took a pseudonym but the misunderstanding of why she would publish it directly on the back of the book.  As I wondered about this out loud my husband said,

      "She probably wrote under a pseudonym in order to avoid being typecast as only being able to write one type of book, The Harry Potter series."

As I am sure he is correct about this, I am confused as to the fact that IF you were trying to avoid being type cast and jump into a different genre' of writing, then why would you announce on the back cover of the book that is what you are doing???  To me, that is actually purposely name dropping yourself in order to gain readership of your new endeavor, which is actually the opposite of being confident that you can write in a different genre'.  That is just my opinion of course.

That brings me to the second thing I find surprising, which is, that this writer can totally write in a different genre' and keep it interesting and page turning!  I admit, I wasn't sure that she could do it, after reading the Harry Potter series myself, but this is completely different and very "adult" in it's writing and I am enjoying it very much.  

I didn't choose this book because of it's famed author, or even to investigate this pseudonym and genre' jump, it was just given to me and sounded interesting.  I am into it and reading it quickly though and that is all I can hope to kick off the year 2020 with the goal to beat my 30 books status from the previous year.

Feel free to check out my Goodreads account if interested https://www.goodreads.com/

and keep me posted on what your reading plans are for 2020.