8 books. 2819 pages. 6 fiction, 2 nonfiction. 3 fantasy, 1 historical romance, 1 suburban drama, 1 classic, 1 essay collection, 1 psychology. 6 women. 1 person of colour.
Counting books read, it looks like I did alright this month; less read than the last few months, but still a pretty good amount. At the beginning of the month I was hoping to take more time with my reads–to be more present and immersed in my reads–and thus read less books overall anyway.
But looking at my ratings this month, the month has been a bit of a bust. I rated most 3s–the 3s ranging from some-great-moments-and-some-boring-moments-that-evened-out to entirely-neutral to not-my-taste-but-could-be-for-others. (What a range to be encapsulated in a 3 star rating haha. I’d love to hear about your rating system! Mine probably needs some adjusting.) There were a few times I enjoyed a book well enough but didn’t have an urge to pick it back up after I set it down (though I always did pick it back up because my habit of reading is pretty solidified by now), and there were many times I dozed off while reading a book.
In December, I’m going to make an effort to choose books I’m really excited about it, be more realistic about my commitments to buddy reads, and pace myself through e/ARCs. Gotta end the year strong!
And speaking of the end of the year… Every year since 2015, I’ve compiled one long post of every book I read that year (my record being 58 books in 2017), but already at 96 books at the end of November 2019, I don’t think that’d be a great strategy for this year’s recap, even if I do organise the post by genre! I’m thinking of just recapping the books I truly enjoyed plus popular titles (that I may or may not have enjoyed), and including fun stats like books read, books bought, money saved via the library, etc. Let me know if there’s any specific bookish content you’d like to see to wrap up the year!
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The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
This is not magic. This is the way the world is, only very few people take the time to stop and note it.
★★★★☆ // Goodreads // Amazon // Reading buddies: Adam, Kat, Shanya
Two magicians are pitted against each other in a challenge with the circus as the arena.
That’s pretty much all I knew about the book for most of the time I was reading it. I wasn’t quite sure what the challenge entailed or how one won, and neither did the two partaking magicians really, which was part of the mystery for them. It kind of reminded me of the card game Mao, in which you have to try to get rid of all your cards without breaking some unspoken rules; I never had enough patience for that game. More positively, the format of the challenge reminded me of Scythe by Neal Shusterman, in which two apprentices are trained for a winner-takes-all competition to become a scythe, but at least in Scythe, the goal was clear.
Despite not much going on plot-wise, I still thoroughly enjoyed the book. It’s really mostly just an atmospheric read, which, again, I don’t often have patience for, but October-December I’m definitely more open to it, and Erin Morgenstern’s writing was beautiful. The vibe reminded me of The Greatest Showman.
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The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert
Life was a big thing to live without a map.
★★★★☆ // Goodreads // Amazon // (Giveaway win) // Reading buddies: Sadia, Sonia
Alice’s mother is kidnapped by people claiming to be from the world of her late grandmother’s dark fairy tales. Alice goes looking for answers (and her mother lol) from the place it all started: her grandmother’s estate, the elusive Hazel Wood.
This was a fast read. I was immediately intrigued by the dark beginning and liked that it had a dark element without getting unnecessarily ominous like fairy tales can get. I enjoyed that the characters were realistic and full of attitude without falling to the fairy tale extremes of being pure good or pure evil.
But then I got to the second half of the story, and it began to take on these fairy tale extremes; the first and second halves of the book almost felt like two different stories! I think I preferred the first half as I felt like Alice took on a more active role with a clearer goal in sight, whereas the second half took a bit of adjusting to and involved more passive wandering.
Nevertheless, I sped through The Hazel Wood. I’m excited for the film adaptation, though I don’t know when it’ll be out, but the next book in the series, The Night Country, is coming out January 2020!
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The Collected Schizophrenias by Esme Weijun Wang
I remained grounded in the world of my imagination.
★★★☆☆ // Goodreads // Amazon
In this collection of 13 essays, Esme Weijun Wang writes about her experience with schizoaffective disorder, sharing personal anecdotes and research. This collection was a lot more technical than I expected, and I probably would have DNF-ed whilst reading the first essay if not for the fact that the collection had been so well received and won the Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize.
The first essay, “Diagnosis,” detailing her several diagnoses before finally being diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder was definitely the most technical of the essays. Although this was a dense essay to get through and not very gripping to read, I can see how the topic of receiving a diagnosis is a natural place to start this collection. It was interesting to learn about how doctors are hesitant to immediately diagnose patients with schizophrenia. It isn’t uncommon for patients to go through many diagnoses–i.e. major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder–before finally landing on their diagnosis of schizophrenia. This is because of the stigma associated with schizophrenia and how an intense diagnosis like this will affect how a patient sees themself, how other people see them, how the medical community sees them, how the legal system sees them, etc.
Although the first essay was the most technical of them, that isn’t to say that there weren’t some other ones that were quite heavy on the research as well. In fact, the majority of the essays were very technical and were heavy misses for me; it took me a long time to get through them and I took a few naps. My favourite essays of the collection were the ones that drew from personal experience.
“High-Functioning”: Wang shares about the psychiatric hierarchy of being a high-functioning patient. I thought this essay would speak on the challenge of receiving support when presenting as high-functioning, but it was less personal than that and spoke more on the idea of being considered more socially appropriate in a marginalised group and receiving more respect because of it. Nonetheless, this was one of the more relatable essays and could be applied to other more common mental disorders like anxiety or depression.
“Yale Will Not Save You”: Wang was forced by Yale’s administration to take medical leave during her second year, though she was given the choice to take a voluntary medical leave or involuntary medical leave, which would have left a black mark on her record. She intended to go back but was never granted readmission. She transferred to Stanford to complete her education. An interesting look at the failures of the higher education system.
“The Choice of Children”: Wang shares about her experience volunteering for a youth bipolar camp. This was by far the most emotional read of the collection for me. Whilst I wouldn’t recommend this essay collection for everyone (it was very dense, but also very important), I would recommend this specific essay. It touches on social ostracism (even more heart-wrenching when it comes to children), the fear of passing on a genetic illness to your children, and the particular love and compassion that one has for another with a shared diagnosis.
“Reality, On-Screen”: Wang shares about how she needs to be selective about the films she watches, as particular kinds can trigger her psychosis, sending her brain hurtling into the reality of the film, which is something I’ve never considered before.
At the time of publication in February 2019, Wang has not had any serious delusions for four years.
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Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialist World by David Epstein
We learn who we are only by living, and not before.
★★★☆☆ // Goodreads // Amazon // (Giveaway win) // Reading buddy: Bomi
The title says it all! I was hoping the book would be a sort of guide and offer advice on how to take advantage of being a generalist in a specialist world (because I very much feel like a generalist), but the book turned out to be more of a report on how generalists have already triumphed in a specialised world.
It’s kinda funny: Halfway through the book, I shared this observation in a little progress report on bookstagram, and at the end of the book I felt called out. In the literal Conclusion of the book, David Epstein wrote that when people heard he was writing this book, their reactions fell into one of two categories: 1) they didn’t believe that generalists triumph in a specialist world, or 2) they wanted advice in one sentence. I fell squarely in the second category as soon as I read the title of his book.
On that, Epstein succinctly replies, “My exploration of breadth and specialisation was inefficient, and what began as a search for one sentence of advice ended in this book.” But, if pressed, the advice he would give is, “Don’t feel behind.” To understand how completely he means this, reading the book would be helpful LOL, but to briefly elaborate, “Compare yourself to yourself yesterday, not to younger people who aren’t you. Everyone progresses at a different rate, so don’t let anyone else make you feel behind. You probably don’t even know where exactly you’re going, so feeling behind doesn’t help.”
Range‘s format reminded me of SuperFreakonomics by Steven D Levitt and Stephen J Dubner, though admittedly I haven’t read SuperFreakonomics in a few years, so the comparison could be slightly off. But what reminded me in one of the other was how both employ case studies. Some of the cases in Range were riveting, and some I kept falling asleep in the middle of; I guess it just depends on where your interests lie!
Some major concepts:
- Early specialisation in technical training works in “kind” learning environments–where there are repetitive patterns, and feedback is rapid and accurate–but most domains are “wicked.”
- Technology will overtake people in narrow specialisation (think repetitive tasks that can be mechanised); the human strength is the ability to integrate broadly.
- Students “must be taught to think before being taught what to think about.”
- “Instead of asking whether someone is gritty, we should ask when they are.” The trick is to know “whether switching [objectives] is simply a failure of perseverance, or astute recognition that better matches are available.” Take time to achieve your best match quality.
- Engage in active open-mindedness and challenge yourself to make sense rather than make do. Instead of defending a decision, seek improvement, seek change to reach a solution that makes the most sense in a dynamic environment.
- A generalist is not superior to a specialist, or vice versa. Both make useful contributions. There’s a category of inventors who are “polymaths, broad with at least one area of depth.”
The Stranger by Albert Camus
…gazing up at the dark sky spangled with its signs and stars, for the first time, the first, I laid my heart open to the benign indifference of the universe.
★★★☆☆ // Goodreads // Amazon
I was intrigued by the blurb of this classic, describing the story as following a man who commits a “pointless murder.” What an interesting descriptor.
This is an existential, absurdist book on the meaninglessness of life (as all existential, absurdist books seem to be about), much in the fashion of Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett. Since this is a short classic at just 123 pages, I’ll tell you what happens: halfway through the book, the man commits this “pointless murder”; everything before that details the random experiences that led up to that act, and everything after that details the trial deciding whether or not he should get the death sentence.
Upon finishing the book, my first reaction was, “That’s it?” which was my first reaction to Waiting for Godot as well, but at least I found Waiting for Godot funny. This book didn’t do much for me emotionally or existentially. I don’t feel more hopeless, hopeful, or insightful about life. Perhaps I need an intellectual literary analysis to help me process it. Maybe the message is that morals are a social construct.
If you’re curious about the book, I’d say why not just read it, since it’s only 123 pages. If you’re not interested, don’t sweat it.
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
That was what magic did. It revealed the heart of who you’d been before life took away your belief in the possible. It gave back the world all lonely children longed for.
★★★☆☆ // Goodreads // Amazon
Ninth House is a paranormal murder mystery following Alex Stern. She is suspicious that a death on Yale’s campus has something to do with the occult activities of one of Yale’s secret societies, which she is charged to observe.
I filmed a reading vlog–my first reading vlog and my first bookish video!! Now I’m not planning to be a booktuber or anything, but reading Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse books was such an emotional experience for me, so I thought it could be fun to film a reading vlog for her adult fantasy debut.
I was motivated to film my first bookish video because 1) my friend Kat recently launched her booktube channel, 2) I’ve been loving Cindy‘s videos (my fave booktuber), which she films on her phone, and 3) Selena Gomez filmed her newest music videos on an iPhone LOL. So I was like, I could totally film a low-key reading vlog on my phone! And now, here we are.
(If you enjoyed it, I’d so appreciate if you clicked through and gave it a like! I took the time to upload closed captions to help you discern any mumble. I concede I may have spoken too quickly, as I didn’t want to subject anyone to watching my video for too long LOL. The voice over isn’t perfect, but it’s as good as it’s gonna get! The video uploaded was actually my second edit; my first edit had a completely different voice over script. I’m a perfectionist, but any more than two edits of one vlog is too much for me!)
Since I review and take you through my reading experience in the vlog, I’ll keep my review of Ninth House here short and sweet: It was boring. Slow pace. Heavy on the world-building. Didn’t connect with the characters. As with any book with mixed reviews, I’d still encourage you to read it for yourself if you’re intrigued.
The Glittering Hour by Iona Grey
Think about today, not tomorrow. Dance over the cracks so you don’t fall into them. Drink champagne in the afternoons and invent ridiculous cocktails to make the ruined world glitter again. Keep going, one foot in front of the other. Don’t look down.
★★★☆☆ // Goodreads // Amazon // Full review coming Dec 4 // (Gifted)
Alice is left at her grandparents’ country estate while her parents are away on business. To help her pass the time, her mother Selina writes letters to her and sends her on a treasure hunt. With each clue and discovery, Alice learns more about Selina’s glittering youth in London’s high society.
I don’t usually reach for sweet historical romances, but there’s definitely a particular kind of audience for this book. It reminded me of the second half of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. Full review coming Dec 4!
Lies Lies Lies by Adele Parks
I think contentment is an extremely underrated life goal.
★★☆☆☆ // Goodreads // Amazon
When Daisy and Simon have trouble conceiving, the paternity of their first daughter comes into question, destabilising their already strained marriage.
My thriller book club selected this book for November. From the official blurb and cover design, we had every reason to think it a great fit for the theme of our book club, but the book turned out to read much more like a mass market suburban drama than it did a thriller. It was like a worse version of Big Little Lies–the book, not the show. It didn’t read like a thriller at all.
The characters were extreme in a way that required suspension of belief, or perhaps they were simply one dimensional. There were plot twists, and there were plot holes. The drama did get dark, but the sensitive topics weren’t handled with much nuance. Considering that the essence of this book was quite simple, it’s surprising that it’s 448 pages long. At least it was easy to read, consisting mostly of simple declarative sentences.
I wasn’t particularly invested in the story, but in general I’m not big on suburban dramas, though I do love a family saga (my personal distinction between the terms is that I categorise the more frivolous stories as “suburban dramas,” and the more complex, literary stories as “family sagas,” which may or may not occur in suburbia).
I share a favourite quote from each read, but if you’d like to see all the notable quotes I highlighted, be sure to follow my Goodreads reviews!