Hey, it’s been a while 👋 

It feels great to write again, and I’m beyond excited to share the books I’ve read since my last post through the end of 2020! While I was fifteen short of my fifty-books-a-year goal (I see you, doin’ some fun mental math!), I’m still proud that I broke a personal record.

Let’s dive in!

Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey
Rating: D
Left me feeling: 🥱
Overall: While it was neat to learn about the routines of influential people like Simone de Beauvoir and John Milton, it got old pretty quickly. I can see this as a nice coffee table book, but not more.

Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid
Rating: B+
Left me feeling: 😱
Overall: This was a cool book! It’s a fun and easy read, and I liked how it touched on the theme of performative activism.
Extra commentary w/ spoilers (highlight to see): I cringed so hard during the scene where Alix and Kelley were in the restaurant together, arguing about who was less racist. Yikes.

The Rules Do Not Apply by Ariel Levy
Rating: A-
Left me feeling: 😭
Overall: This book had me in tears, not only from Levy’s experiences of immense loss but also from the impossibility of “having it all.” It’s tough to be a woman, and while this memoir didn’t make me feel any better, I appreciated the raw honesty with which it was written. Levy is imperfect (and well aware of it), but I couldn’t help but respect her grit.
Extra commentary w/ spoilers (highlight to see): I was rooting so hard for Levy: a fulfilling career, a partner she loved, a home, a pregnancy she began when she felt ready (rather than when society told her it was time)… To see it fall apart when her life was so close to perfection broke my heart.

We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Rating: C+
Left me feeling: 🤷🏻‍♀️
Overall: I don’t disagree with anything Adichie said, but I also learned nothing new. Think: feminism 101. (Which makes sense, given that it’s super short—literally a <1 hr read.)

So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson
Rating: B-
Left me feeling: 👀
Overall: From the title, you’d think this book would be a cancellation of cancel culture, but it’s not necessarily (and I liked that!). It goes through multiple examples that show, to varying degrees, how public shaming can be effective and/or overly cruel. The concept was neat, but I personally didn’t find the book particularly life-changing.

Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong
Rating: A+
Left me feeling: 🌀
Overall: I loved this book SO MUCH. It’s muted but captivating, and the structure beautifully depicted the narrator’s feelings of loss and ennui.

Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
Rating: B+
Left me feeling: 💂
Overall: This was super cutesy and such a page-turner! The writing’s only okay, but the plot is definitely where the fun’s at. While some parts were predictable (and others, unbelievable), it’s pretty awesome escapism. I think it could’ve been shaved by about 15%, but again, it was such a fun read that I didn’t mind the length that much.

The Snowman by Jo Nesbo
Rating: C+
Left me feeling: ⛄️
Overall: This was the first Nordic noir book I’d ever read, and it was a pretty interesting introduction to the genre. The writing wasn’t great, and I personally hated how the victims of the story’s serial killer were all young, innocent women (I know…yikes). However, I did not see the twist coming, which was exciting!
Extra commentary w/ spoilers (highlight to see): I annotated this book as I read it, and looking back on my notes, I’m so embarrassed….I was #TeamMatthias all the way up to the big reveal. And now I’m just like….how did I not see it coming!?

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
Rating: A
Left me feeling: 💋
Overall: A romance with a male lead that isn’t a chiseled-jaw, brooding asshole!? Yes, they DO exist! Michael and Stella, the lovers in this story, were such likable and interesting characters to read about. Also, it was fantastic to see neurodiverse representation! Some parts are unbelievable (or downright frustrating—c’mon people, just communicate!), but I loved this story nonetheless.

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell
Rating: A
Left me feeling: 😢
Overall: This book gave a nuanced look at sexual assault, grooming, and the various ways victims (and their perpetrators) try to convince themselves that their experience “wasn’t that bad.” I really liked how the timeline of the story coincided with the #MeToo movement and the way it jumped back and forth between the protagonist at age 15 and as an adult. The whole book was trippy, heartbreaking, and intense.

Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman
Rating: D
Left me feeling: 🥴
Overall: Soooo… when I read this book, it had been over 6 months into quarantine and I was hungry for travel. A coming-of-age novel set in northern Italy during summertime seemed like the perfect solution. Spoiler: ’twas not. I thought the book would be better than the movie (which I found horrendously boring), aaaaand it just wasn’t. I found both protagonists pretty bland, and the age difference—given that one was a minor—was problematic.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Rating: A-
Left me feeling: 😳
Overall: This was neat! I loved the protagonist’s narration, and it really felt like I got to intimately know her voice and quirky thought patterns. In general, each character was well-developed and intriguing.
Extra commentary w/ spoilers (highlight to see): The ending left me feeling empty and sad, which I’m not mad about—I think that was the intention. The scene where Kathy waves goodbye to Tommy was heartbreaking.

Shrill by Lindy West
Rating: A
Left me feeling: 👏
Overall: I love a good essay collection, and West really delivered! She covers a wide range of topics—menstruation, body image, abortion, being a woman on the Internet, and more—and I wanted to clap after each essay. They’re hilarious but articulate, and in general I just found this book really fun.

Priestdaddy by Patricia Lockwood
Rating: A-
Left me feeling: ⛪️
Overall: Lockwood is a brilliant writer, and she really flexes in this book (I love to see it!). This memoir was incredibly funny and just so…unique. I mean, who else’s dad is a Catholic priest!?
Extra commentary w/ spoilers (highlight to see): Greg Lockwood, the “Priestdaddy,” is complex and flawed. I enjoyed how this book didn’t paint him as a hero or hide the ways in which he failed as a father and husband.

Beach Read by Emily Henry
Rating: B
Left me feeling: 🏖
Overall: This book was alright. I didn’t find it a particularly compelling romance (the male protagonist was SO generic), but I liked how it touched on infidelity, grief, and writer’s block. The character development, in general, was meh.
Extra commentary w/ spoilers (highlight to see): There were so many predictable twists and avoidable conflicts. It drove me mad that January didn’t read the letter(s) from her dad until the end. And like….of course her birthday would be the passcode to the safe. Duh.

Maybe You Should Talk To Someone by Lori Gottlieb
Rating: A+
Left me feeling: 🤧
Overall: Honestly, I bawled while reading this book. It was so well-written, and I felt deeply invested in everyone she wrote about. Also, it was fascinating to see the world of therapy through Gottlieb’s perspective, as both a client and psychotherapist.
Extra commentary w/ spoilers (highlight to see): I really enjoyed reading about how Gottlieb got into therapy as a profession. The fact that she pivoted multiple times was inspiring and refreshing to hear—it’s never too late!

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
Rating: C-
Left me feeling: 😤
Overall: This story was riddled with textbook romance tropes (the clueless and flustered female lead! Her hot and brooding male counterpart! And, of course, they can’t stand each other!), and I didn’t care about a single character. If it weren’t such a simple read, I don’t think I would’ve finished.
Extra commentary w/ spoilers (highlight to see): WE GET IT, she’s short!