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It's the end of a decade but only two years of me starting to read again. Still, it's something to celebrate!! I've made it two whole years!!! I probably could've finished more books this month but the holiday season slowed me down. Also I wanted to keep the total amount of books read at a good whole number.

December Book Reviews

If Cats Disappeared from the World (Genki Kawamura)

4.5/10 This was a weird limbo of a book for me. I don't know if its the writing style or the translation that's throwing me off but there's something about the painfully plain and stilted phrases that makes it such a bore to read. The contents don't really help its case either. It feels like it's trying to be an introspective, emotional piece; it is after all, about a man reflecting on his life as it comes to an end. But the protagonist isn't very interesting or likeable. There are some aspects where it seems like he's trying to be "relatable" : he works in an unchanging government job, he has a hard time forming meaningful relationships, he's estranged from his parents etc. But then they add in aspects where it removes him from that audience surrogate role where he has personal and specific issues with his dad or his fervent love of movies. It's a weird balance that neither makes him more sympathetic nor interesting to read about. Even the draw of the book, the titular disappearance of cats, was dealt with in a really disappointing way. Overall, I think it had the potential to be a nice short story that ruminates on all the different components that make up a person's life but the execution unfortunately fell short of the concept.

Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories (Agatha Christie)

8/10 Not much to say about this one except I just love Miss Marple. I'm always delighted by her concept: a quaint, Victorian elderly lady who only knows village gossip stories but manages to solve cases no one else can. I love her approach of solving cases by studying the human condition rather through logic puzzles just because methods of committing crimes may change but motives never do. There's a foreword by the author who says Miss Marple is more suited for the short stories (compared to Poirot who 'demands a full length novel') and that's definitely the case. She shines in this format, and Tuesday Club Murders is my favorite example of it.

Horrorstor (Grady Hendrix)

6/10 I really liked the set up of this one. It reminds me of a really good creepypasta/SCP of an endless Ikea that people are trapped in. And the beginning did deliver on those expectations, it had a great atmosphere that also reminded me of House of Leaves, another horror story that's based on a architectural space. There was some fantastic use of the storeroom space and tension that came from the setting. Unfortunately, the 'ghost' or antagonist of the space was revealed really early on and I think that ruined a lot of the mystery for me. I was hoping they'd center the horror more around the space itself but the latter half of the story almost entirely was just based on this ghost of a prison/asylum which number one, is as about as cliched as you can get and number two, could've been set anywhere else. The protagonist and the fellow characters were just okay for me. The whole fake product pages were a nice bonus but I wished it could've transitioned into horror more subtly. A book with a great beginning and an average ending.

The Bride Test (Helen Hoang)

6.5/10 This was a cute book! I enjoyed reading it. It's the typical set up of a Cinderella romance novel, complete with convenient contrivances and unlikely coincidences but cute nonetheless. Bonus points for a POC protagonist and actually giving her problems and points of views that would match her background rather than making her POC for the sake of it. I also enjoyed having a lead on the autism spectrum and I thought it was portrayed rather well. The main thing I didn't really mesh with was that this book was........TOO horny. I know some people prefer more smut in their romance and maybe it's because I don't read too many romance novels myself, but I was thrown off with how much of their relationship was based on physical attraction. The lead literally gets a boner the first time he meets her. I would've liked it if the relationship was developed more, instead I felt like it was really rushed and I couldn't really enjoy the process of them falling for each other over the general smut teasing. Still, despite its problems, I found it a fast, entertaining and easy read.

The Moth Presents: All These Wonders (Catherine Burns)

8.5/10 A really fantastic collection of stories from the podcast based on people from different walks to life talking about a single moment in their life. Although the majority of stories were from authors, comedians or other public speakers, there were a few that were from regular people with regular jobs. And although the majority of the stories were of extraordinary events of everything from the death of a loved one to the first flyby of Pluto, there were also a few that were just a mundane event plucked from the everyday. And while I enjoyed both of types, I do appreciate the little outliers because I felt like it made the concept that much more meaningful. I cried about every other story when reading it, it was so real and emotional. The only reason I was debating between a four and a five star was because it also felt a bit like TEDtalks. It's short and punchy but even as I was tearing up, I also felt on a meta-level it wasn't as impactful as a full story with a connected narrative. Still, it's an incredible, well-written (spoken?) collection and I loved reading it. "I find myself born into this universe. It's a wonderful place. It's a strange place. It's also a scary and sometimes lonely place. And every day in my work, I try to discern through its noisy manifestation, its people, dogs, trees, mountains, stars - everything I love - I try to discern the eternal music of the spheres."

Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs (Caitlin Doughty)

6/10 "The flames are the great equalizer." The second book of hers that I've read this year as it turns out. I didn't like this one as much as 'From Here to Eternity' but it wasn't a bad book. It's definitely targeted more for younger readers, which is the main reason why I thought it was just okay. Still, I think it's pretty enjoyable to read and it has some interesting questions and answers. Not much to say actually...it was alright.

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zoom zoom

Here's to long commutes on a tour bus without internet!! I read a lot of these books while I was on tour through parts of Eastern Europe. I tried my best to read whatever selection of ebooks my library had available that were set in the countries I visited (mainly Bosnia and Croatia) but...it wasn't exactly a cornucopia of choices. Also because I didn't have a chance to write actual reviews, all of these are going to be shorter by virtue of me trying to remember their contents and piecing together whatever I jotted down on my Notes app.

October Book Reviews

The Tiger's Wife (Tea Obreht)

3/10 What was the point of any of this?? I stumbled my way through this book. It's so aimless, pulled together with random anecdotal stories and folktales. It's a weird mix of fact and fiction which by itself would be fine, but if only there was something resembling a plot to pull it together. Is the titular story of the tiger's wife supposed to represent something? Was the narrator's grandfather supposed to have anything to do with anything?? Because if it was I guess I was just too dumb to get it. I borrowed this book because it was supposedly set in Bosnia and I wanted to see its historical background used more than just vague mentions of a war and a 'City' and nothing else.

The Cellist of Sarajevo (Steven Galloway)

6/10 I really wanted to read books set in Bosnia because the idea of it seemed so incredible to me. The fact that a war happened just 20 something years ago and now you walk through the streets of a modern city with a tour guide talking about moments from the war like it's some ancient historical fact is crazy. This book is supposed to based on a real event featuring a real cellist, so I was hoping for it to be much more grounded and descriptive than it actually was. Instead, each chapter is told from a different point of view character so it ended up being much more introspective and non-linear than I would've liked. Still, it does have moments of events that puts the siege into vivid clarity; reading about places like the 'Sniper Alley' or the number of shells that fell on the city feels unreal until you read about characters experiencing everyday life as a real person would've. On that note though, my least favorite POV character was the sniper, who was supposedly a young female genius marksman. Like you have all these regular people trying to live their lives and suddenly this YA novel protagonist appears. It really takes away from the emotional impact. Overall this book wasn't as emotional as I would've expected or as grounded as I would've liked but for the most part it gave a look into what life might have been like.

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns (Julie Dao)

5/10 "She would bloom where she was planted and let her roots close around the throats of her enemies" It's an interesting concept, the whole rise of the evil queen from Snow White told from the villain's point of view AND set in fantasy ancient China. Unfortunately it was less inner palace drama and more dark magic shenanigans than I would've liked. I wanted more of her rising in power as a female politician, consolidating her power in the ruthless harem environment and proving her intelligence in more interactions with the emperor. Instead I felt like it spent too much time in her pre-concubine life and a lot of emphasis on the whole dark magic corrupting her part. Still, while she did get the usual troubled childhood for sympathy points I do like that she knew what she ultimately wanted: the seat of the empress. Again, slightly spoiled by prophecy and magic but whatever. What parts we did get of the things I liked was fine and I felt she was a believable anti-heroine. If the sequel continued with her point of view, even with the dark magic and all, and we were able to see her downfall from her side I might have been interested but alas...

Kingdom of a Blazing Phoenix (Julie Dao)

3/10 Wow they really took everything I liked from the first book and threw it out the window. The sequel is told from the point of view of the 'Snow White' in this story. Rather than court intrigue and the heroine outwitting the evil empress with intelligence, she instead spent like one chapter in court before running off and turning this into a super standard, super boring chase-the-magic-macguffins fantasy adventure story.  I liked what little they had referring to the empress starting out as just a normal girl but I really wish she could've become more of a duo protagonist. There were even references of her resisting the dark magic serpent god! Not only that, I really liked the empress' inital dynamic with the emperor in the first book as a couple who didn't necessarily love each other but respected the others' intelligence and strength. It would've been more interesting if they grew apart because of her inability to have children or her changes due to the magic's influence but no, she apparently just started poisoning him and there was zero time spent on their relationship. Plus, they kept her old childhood love interest after all that jazz in the first book about her sacrificing that love for power. Even worse, even after everything, the heroine isn't even the one to defeat the evil queen!!! What is even the point!!!

The Neuroscientist Who Lost Her Mind: My Tale of Madness and Recovery (Barbara K. Lipska)

6/10 It's a really neat case study and the title really lays out the premise immediately. It was definitely interesting when she was describing her illness and it really does seem scary when you're reading about it from her point of view because she was so unaware that anything was wrong with her. On top of that, how her family felt that something was wrong but didn't even think it might have been a serious medical issue. It really helps bring attention to mental illnesses as 'invisible' diseases, especially considering how many might go without diagnosis because all the people involved never think of it as a possibility. However, for me the overall tone of the book was a bit too 'memoir-like' with a lot of information on her background and lifestory that I felt slowed the pace a bit. Still the short length prevented it from being too boring to go through and there were some points that stood out. I think it could've been summarized better into an article and it would've made a more engaging read.

Third Girl (Agatha Christie)

5/10 A typical Christie mystery. It had all the usual trappings of a Poirot novel including: his more emotional/human side, his tendency to get mixed up in matchmaking, and him making hidden plots on the side. The eventual reveal was a bit out of the left field and the process that let up to it had just too much speculation (sorry to Poirot but I'll have to agree with local author Ariadne 'detectives think too much' Oliver). Not too memorable but I didn't hate reading it.

This Is What Happy Looks Like (Jennifer E. Smith)

3/10 I just want a cute, fluffy romance story that I don't cringe at is that so hard? Apparently my standards are just too high. The beginning was so fake; I can look past the premise of a superstar accidentally emailing a random girl and falling in love with her through that because let's face it, that kind of dumb set up is what I'm looking for in a short and sweet romance novel. What I couldn't look past were the emails themselves; not only did they read more like texting, it was full of quotes about Charlotte's Web and happiness lists and what fake high schoolers sound like when they're in a Disney original movie. In the end, the whole email plot was pretty much abandoned after a couple of chapters. There was one misunderstanding where her friend meets up with the guy and I thought they were going to run with that but instead they instantly solved it by having the guy think it can't be the right girl because he doesn't instantly feel a connection. Her troubles with her best friend were there just for drama, there wasn't real logic to it. The romance wasn't developed at all, it was more like the story saying they fell in love in about 10 pages with the rest of 400 pages about them dealing with various problems. The only thing I liked was the girl's issues with her estranged dad because it was the only thing that felt realistic and emotionally interesting but in the end they never really expanded on it.

Rise and Fall of Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World (Stephen Brusatte)

6.5/10 With the popularity of this non-fiction book, I really thought it was going to be a lot more readable. Instead it just felt really, really long. Granted, it wasn't as fully academic as it could've been but on the other hand, it also wasn't as accessible as it could've been either. If I tried really hard I supposed it did follow somewhat of a chronological format, but it wasn't very clear and overall felt like it moved from one topic to another with no clear structure. Still, there was a lot interesting and new information about the dinosaurs and progress in various theories such as evolutionary links and the cause of the extinction event. I have a note where the author casually mentioned the evolution of whales from land animals where I just wrote 'WHAT'. I also found it funny how the author kept making fun of the T-Rex's tiny arms whenever he mentions them, including an entire chapter gushing about them as the true kings of North America at the same time throwing shade on their barely functional arms. The upside of an updated book on them also means more expanded looks on feathered dinosaurs and the relation of modern birds to them. I thought one of the best points the book made was that dinosaurs aren't extinct, they're here in a dazzling variety of species walking and flying among us still.

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lots of love

February is truly a month full of love, surprisingly! After the bleak prospects of January I was all set for another year of 'okay' reads but most of the books I read this month were solid, enjoyable reads! Ironic though, that the only romance book I read had the lowest rating.

February Book Reviews

The Fifth Season (N.K. Jemisin)

8.5/10 I'll be honest, this book took some time to get into for me. The first quarter or so had me struggling just to understand what was going on. Granted, a part of it is attributed to the incredible world building in its setting. It's full of different terms, societies, geography, and of course, powers. The author doesn't take her time trying to explain anything, instead throwing you right in the middle. To make things more complicated, the book tells three different stories in different timelines, and tells it to you in two points of view: third and second person. Interestingly, the lack of a narrative explanation helps make the setting feel more organic and natural. The downside is that it does take most of the story to get used to. I also didn't mind the second person style of narration, I appreciated that it was doing something different. The story itself I also really enjoyed, with its themes on racism and slavery, as well as a diversity in sexuality and race. It had a hint of sci-fi as well which built on a mystery surrounding the history of the land. The main plot focused on telling the story of the female leads, and while I thought it was interesting, I didn't really feel super attached to any of the characters. Still, I did enjoy reading it and discovering the world and seeing what happens next. I liked the characters, even if I wasn't super emotionally invested in them I did want to root for them. Overall a solid, well written fantasy book!

I'll Be Gone in the Dark (Michelle McNamara)

8.5/10 "He loses his power when we know his face." I haven't really read a lot of true crime, so I'm not sure how it stacks up as a representative in that genre. For me, there were some parts of the point that lost me in its detail and disjointed narrative. There were multiple names for the GSK, and the author also sometimes referred to other cases that he wasn't responsible for and I couldn't keep up. It also tended to jump around in time, sometimes going to the author's past, then to the present investigation, then to casework done 30, 40 years ago. Still, the amount of detail in this book really showed just how invested and thorough the author was. The parts where she describes the GSK's crimes were unnervingly gripping in its telling, made especially so because it's a piece of nonfiction. I think a big part of what makes this book is the context of it all. Knowing not only those things could happen, but that they did happen. That they affected real people; the victims, the community, the detectives both professional and amateur. Most of all, what had the biggest impression on me was the letter she wrote to the killer at the very end of the book and knowing that he was finally caught: "Open the door. Show us your face. Walk into the light."

Crazy Rich Asians (Kevin Kwan)

4.5/10 You know how for most movie adaptations people always claim the book is better? Not in this case. The movie did a really great job of having a well rounded story line with a proper (if predictable) arc, whereas the book ends and I'm kind of like 'so basically nothing was solved'. Honestly? It makes sense. Rachel breaks up with Nick because she wants to have a family that loves each other and it's a reasonable expectation! The book wrote about the rich families in so much detail and was so much more exaggerated than the movie that I genuinely don't see how they'll resolve the issue because it just kept reinforcing what a whole different society it was. If it ends up being something like 'oh she was just so nice she changed his entire family's minds rooted in centuries of tradition and social norms' I'm gonna flip. Also another thing the movie did well was make the characters actually likable. There are really problems with all of the characters in this (except maybe Peik Lin), and even Astrid didn't have the same satisfying conclusion. Rachel and Nick's chemistry was basically told instead of shown to us and I really wish male characters like Nick and Charlie would stop thinking about how pretty their love interests are. Like when Astrid and Rachel are crying their POV is always about how they hate to see tears on their faces. I could honestly go on but I really didn't enjoy this book very much. I did enjoy the name dropping of various brands and imagining the lavish lifestyles, but wish I had the visuals to match them up. Overall, a shallow quick read that's okay for passing the time but ultimately left me feeling satisfied.

Men Explain Things to Me (Rebbecca Solnit)

8/10 "What doesn't go back in [Pandora's] jar, or the box, are ideas. And revolutions are, most of all, made up of ideas." Finally, a feminist essay collection that I really enjoyed. It had just the right mix of anecdotal but broad, topical but with examples from history. It also included themes of gender equality and toxic masculinity, as well as LGBTQ+. The only part I didn't like was the chapter on Virginia Woolf. It was a bit too literary and long-winded for me and I struggled keeping my attention while reading through it. I'm always cautious about over-idolizing historical figures and I wasn't very familiar with Woolf either so that part was a bit boring. I also didn't feel like there was a lot of focus on POCs, but I also didn't get a vibe (as I did from "Text Me When You Get Home") that it was overly focused solely on the white female experience. I mostly really enjoyed that it had a right mix of optimism and realism, it felt like the author had a good grasp on today's reality. It's a good, short read that's a helpful overview of feminism today. "Here is that road, maybe a thousand miles long, and the woman walking down it isn't at mile one. I don't know how far she has to go, but I know she's not going backward, despite it all - and she's not walking alone."

Muse of Nightmares (Laini Taylor)

7.5/10 Finally....a sequel to a YA novel that I didn't completely hate. Sure I also didn't like it as much as the first one, but just the fact that I enjoyed it at all is amazing. There's some more worldbuilding in this one and I have mixed feelings on what they introduced.

The whole Kora/Nova thing as well as the multiple dimension reveal was a bit out of the left field for me. I did enjoy reading their parts but for most of the book they seemed to take away from the main action. Also it seemed a bit easy that the major Mesatharim vs the human thing was solved because a third, bigger threat was introduced. Not to mention Sparrow's literal gamebreaking powers of healing. Still, props to its ending because: Kora being the first thing Lazlo saw when the delegation first arrived? Kora's final words to her sister? The crew forming a group and going on adventures across the worlds? ADORABLE. IDK ABOUT LOGIC I'LL STAN THIS FAMILY FOREVER.

The parts I liked least was again, probably Lazlo and Sarai's romance, which is so over the top soulmate-y that I want to roll my eyes. Still, I really enjoyed seeing the development of the rest of the characters and the focus on Sarai. Her role in resolving some of the big conflicts really helped push her character in the forefront. I was disappointed the reaction from Lazlo's friends was so brief, but the interactions between the different groups when they finally meet were great. It just took way too long to get there. Some things I felt like could be taken as a hand-wave or too easy to resolve, but honestly for me I didn't mind at all. I really liked the ending, both the final confrontation and the feel good epilogue. There are definitely shortcomings, but overall I had a surprisingly pleasant reading experience.

A Darker Shade of Magic (V. E. Schwab)

8.5/10 I've heard really great reviews of this one and I'm glad it met most of my expectations. I loved the setting and all the world building that went around it. There were rules that it adhered to and the way it was presented was very natural. The atmospheres of the different Londons were nicely contrasted, and I really liked the history behind it. Everything was simple but effective. As for the characters, it honestly took me until the last arc to really like Kell and Lila's dynamic, but I really liked Kell's relationship with Rhy. Each character themselves wasn't anything super unique or standout, everyone was a pretty standard trope kind of character but it isn't anything against the book. Again, simple but effective. All in all, a super solid fantasy book with an interesting setting, a plot that kept me reading, and characters that are easy to like.

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