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Martyr!, by Kaveh Akbar

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A Winter in New York, by Josie Silver

my review: the thing is... some people shouldn't be forgiven all that easily, no?

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Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before, by Julie Smith

My review: For people who want easy-to-digest and fast mental health maintenance. But if you've taken a counselling class or go to therapy, people HAVE told us this before. It's a nice revision though. Love the workbook!

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Learning about the Ides of March in middle school was so surreal for me because it’s my birthday, so when the teacher started talking about March 15th and Caesar’s murder, everyone who knew my birthday gave me the side eye like I was the one who stabbed him, so I was sitting there like

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Happy Ides of March, everyone.

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needing a trip to a cozy bookstore

(via)

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A Bookish Round Up, Part 4

Here's what I've been reading, in case you're looking for book recs!

A Bad Character, by Deepti Kapoor Summary: After her mother's death and her father's departure for Singapore, the protagonist, in her twenties, seeks escape from tradition and finds herself drawn to a slightly older man recently returned from New York. Their passionate love affair leads her into uncharted territory, exploring themes of desire and its repercussions against the backdrop of a vibrant yet hazardous city. Told in a gritty yet poetic voice, the novel captures the complexities of modern Indian life and the transformative power of love. My review: This was a fascinating POV to Delhi in/around 2000. I really liked it, but there was a certain choppiness where you could see the narrative technique (though pretty good techniques). I'd still recommend this book, but I was reading a Jhumpa Lahiri along with it, so it just seemed glaring (oops). Read if: You like messy women, Lana Del Rey, and books about women in their early twenties (confused, waiting for true love, pretending to know stuff, and waiting to be taken seriously).

Immortality: A Love Story, by Dana Schwartz (Book #2 of The Anatomy Duology) Summary: Hazel Sinnett finds herself alone and questioning the reality of the extraordinary events from the previous year, including encounters with immortality and a mysterious vial. Now, she focuses on her duties as a physician at Hawthornden Castle, which is falling into disrepair. However, when her life-saving actions lead to her arrest, Hazel's fate changes dramatically. She receives a surprising offer to become the personal physician to Princess Charlotte, granddaughter of King George III. Thrust into the intrigue of the British court, Hazel discovers hidden secrets, especially among the members of the Companions to the Death social club. As she navigates courtly glamour and danger, Hazel realizes that her own future and the stability of the monarchy are intertwined, and she may hold the key to uncovering and confronting malicious forces threatening the kingdom. My review: I had really liked the first book, but didn't really like the ending. The second kind of starts giving the closure, but could have been much shorter. There is circumventing the tropes, but there are also tropes for a reason, I guess? If this was from a different POV, it would have been so much better? But what do i know i am not an author lol Read if: You like historical fiction, historical romance, women's fiction, historical girlbosses.

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A Book-ish Round Up: Part 3

Continuing my book-ish round up, in case you are looking for some recs! This time, I'm highlighting two books, both literary fiction!

Death Valley, by Melissa Broder

A woman seeks refuge in the California high desert amidst personal turmoil involving her father's critical condition and her husband's worsening illness. Seeking solace, she embarks on a recommended hike from a motel receptionist. Along the trail, she encounters an improbable, massive cactus with a peculiar opening. Curiosity leads her inside, where she discovers a mystical journey filled with a mix of desolation, richness, humor, and poignancy.

You can run but only so far, I guess. Read this book if you want to read about finding solace online, about a woman who has to be a caretaker, who feels helpless but still is trying her best, and older women!

2. Bright Young Women, by Jessica Knoll.

This book delves into the horrors of America's first celebrity serial killer's final murderous spree targeting a sorority. In January 1978, amidst the Pacific Northwest's terror, the vibrant women of a Florida State University sorority are oblivious until a fateful night of violence alters their lives. Pamela Schumacher's (protagonist #1) decision to stay home saves her from the killer's rampage, thrusting her into a terrifying mystery. Meanwhile, Tina Cannon (protagonist #2) in Seattle forms a bond with Ruth Wachowsky, who goes missing under suspicious circumstances. As Tina investigates, she uncovers connections to the Florida tragedy and sets on a collision course with Pamela, driven by a determination to hold the killer accountable. Bright Young Women presents a new perspective on the case, highlighting the exceptional lives of the victims and challenging the sensationalized narrative surrounding the killer.

I liked it just okay but I see why people might love it. You'll love it if you like true crime, alternating perspectives, and books set in college. It also highlights the victims of serial killers and their family, rather than the serial killer himself!

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A Book-ish Round-Up, Part 2

Continuing my book-ish round up, in case you are looking for some recs!

1. The Book That No One Wanted to Read, by Richard Ayoade, illustrated by Tor Freeman. I didn't want to read it either, oops. (I was not the target audience!)

2. I Have Some Questions for You, by Rebecca Makkai

It's a book set in the boarding school that the protagonist went to when she was a student (and is now teaching podcasting at). When she was in school, her ex-roommate was murdered and now her students want to make a podcast about it. As someone who doesn’t care for true crime podcasts, I see the hype and it’s pretty good, but I find it difficult to review. If you like true crime, you might like it!

3. Skin Again, by bell hooks, illustrated by Chris Raschka

The illustrations are gorgeous and this is an important book!

4. Don't Want You Like a Best Friend, by Emma R. Alban For fans of Bridgerton and Parent Trap (and Taylor Swift!), this is a cute little Sapphic Victorian rom-com. So basically a book for me, I guess?

5. The Bandit Queens, by Parini Shroff

A book about a woman who is an outcast in India. She is thought to have murdered her husband and now some other wives want her help in murdering their husbands.

I love me a badass crime-doing woman (women!), sorry not sorry. It's sad and funny and it really picked up towards the end! Get ready with pitchforks guys.

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all I keep seeing on social media is actual ads, influencer ads, Taylor swift (I like this), and genocide content. I genuinely cannot take it anymore. this is too much!

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For all my complaints about the rwrb film adaptation and its handling of characters and women and its pacing and its villain, I have to give it one thing: the lake scene? Fucking perfect. Poetic cinema. Nicholas' acting hit the nail on the goddamn head. Absolutely fantastic adaptation decision to let us see HENRY'S reaction in that scene as the truth of Alex's feelings hit him and he realized just how fucked he was because of the position he was in. You could see the moment that Henry saw Alex's possible love confession circling his neck like a fucking rope. 10/10. One of my favorite single adaptation changes of all time.

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A book-ish round up, Part 1

Here's what I've been reading lately, part 1.

Persuasion, by Jane Austen. It's become a ritual for me to start the year by reading Jane Austen. This year it was Persuasion.

This Winter, by Alice Oseman. I'm obsessed with Heartstopper, so of course, I loved it.

Our Colors, by Gengoroh Tagame, t. by  Anne Ishii (Translator) Apart from something that happens towards the end, I think this book is a love letter to young queer people everywhere, especially those who are now older.

Purple Hibiscus, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie It's always interesting to me how we all (at a personal level and also at a country level in some ways) react to colonization differently!

Evil Eye, by Etaf Rum. Not to be too pedantic, but some of the resolutions seemed a bit too neat. Otherwise, this is a great book about a Palestinian American woman, that I think we (some of us more than others) should all read.

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Um… can you… *shuffles feet* Can you tell me the idea of March lore? All I know is that dude died because stabs hurt and… that’s it. I don’t know anything else about it, really, and I also have no idea why it’s such a big deal.

So (this is going off of the Shakespeare play because I am not a history buff),

There was this guy named Caesar and he was in charge of Rome but he wasn't the king and the people said "you should be king!" And he said "nah I'm good" and a bunch of his "buddies" were like "but what if he said yes?" so they plotted to kill him and as Caesar was walking home or something this soothsayer shouted "BEWARE THE IDES OF MARCH!" and Caesar went "haha wonder what that means" and then he went to work and all 23 of his friends stabbed him including Brutus who he really liked so Caesar said "et tu, brute? then fall caesar!" which means "oh for fucks sake, Brutus, you too? fuck me, then, i guess" and then he died and everything kind of went to shit.

Hope this helps!

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Libby: All these books that you want to read? Yeah they’re 400 weeks away.

Me: :(

Libby: red dot

Me: :)

Libby: here’s all 400 books you’ve put on hold ready for you right now

Me: :?

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My Favorite Books of 2023

It's been 2 months since 2023, but here are my favorite books of 2023. To be clear, these are the books I read in 2023, not books that were published in 2023. And the books are (in no particular order):

The Celebrants, by Seteven Rowley

Anyone who knows me knows how I’ve been obsessed with the idea of death. The last book by Steven Rowley that I read was The Guncle, and I loved how he tackled the idea of a loved one dying with this bittersweet angle - like the heart expands to make room for the grief in addition to all the love you have for this person. The Celebrants had the exact same effect on me. 

It’s a story about six friends who met in college and made a pact- to throw each other living funerals so that they don’t doubt how much value they each held in the world. I will think about this book (like I think about The Guncle) for a very long time.  

Tom Lake, by Ann Patchett

This was my very first Ann Patchett (I know!) and I just know I’ll be reading so many more books from her. It’s about young love and the fresh and gutting memory of it. It’s about parenthood and how you will never truly know about your parents. It’s about (the complexities of?) family and of relationships that you are bound by whether it be via blood or via memory. Meryl Streep needs to do more audiobooks, that's for sure!

Crying in H Mart, by Michelle Zauner

To call it a memoir about losing your mother is a disservice to the expansiveness of this book. I would call it a memoir about belonging, independence, and food. It’s also about the complicated feelings you have with your mother, especially when the mother’s worldview is very different from yours. It’s about how particular food brings out particular emotions and memories. It’s about hardship and reconciliation at a breakneck speed. What I’ll also say is: everyone was right about this book and it is truly what you should pick up if you want a good snotty cry. I should most definitely not have read it at the tail-end of my trip home. I think I’ll be haunted by the raw emotionality of this book for a long time.

Paris: The Memoir, by Paris Hilton

I don���t remember the early 2000s, and after reading this harrowing book, I am so glad I don’t remember. I also don’t remember Paris Hilton from that time and don’t know what she’s up to at any time. This is probably why I assumed it would be a pink frilly fun book, but it devastated me (girlhood!). There is a lot that needs to be said about how we treat girls and young women in our society, the expectations we have from them, and the sharpness of the steel of the knife we use to cut them open with. I thought this book is important and should be read by anyone who is fascinated by celebrity culture.    

All the Lovers in the Night, by Meiko Kawakami (translated by Sam Bett and David Boyd)

Meiko Kawakami’s books always have a way to uncannily linger long after I’ve finished reading them. All the Lovers… was no different. It is a poignant narrative written in masterful prose about a copywriter in her mid-thirties living in a city where it’s difficult to form new relationships. It’s a book about the unsettling comfort of loneliness, and about feeling like your life is slipping away from you so fast that you don’t recognize the person who is staring back at you in the mirror. But then again, to me, Kawakami has always painted a vivid picture of the yearning for connection and solitude and striving and failing to find the delicate balance between the two.    

Pyre, by Perumal Murugan (translated by Aniruddhan Vasudevan)

This is a sobering novel about the harsh realities of intercaste marriages and how marriages are somehow everyone’s business in India, and how everyone somehow has an opinion about the people within them. Everyone at Kumaresan’s family and village have something biting to say about Kumaresan and Saroja’s marriage. You always think that the annoying little remarks and the constant nagging and scornful quips are trivial, but they simmer until they burn into a pyre. And that’s where Perumal Murugan’s excellent writing (and Aniruddhan Vasudevan’s seemingly-effortless translation) shines.  

Teen Couple Have Fun Outdoors, by Aravind Jayan

This is a novel about the aftermath of an illegally-shot video of Sreenath and his girlfriend Anita posted on an adult website(s) and going viral. Where do you (and your families and friends) go from there? 

I’ll be quite honest, I initially did not think of this book as one of my absolute favorites from the year. But it seeped in slowly- I periodically kept thinking about the book. The author has somehow perfectly captured the sense of annoyance you feel when dealing with an arrogant young adult who thinks they know everything, the always-present tangible tension between siblings, and the absolutely wretched and unsympathetic allure of other people’s mistakes and misfortunes. 

Ducks, by Kate Beaton

I first read Ducks because I loved Kate Beaton’s hilarious comics about Jane Austen. I don’t think that prepared me, because Ducks is about Alberta’s oil rush. I don’t know how to talk about a graphic novel about what seemed to me the most boring thing on earth- working in your twenties in an oil sand. And yet, this one is gripping in a very bleak way. Beaton is one of the very few women in a freezing-cold and isolated camp. She has just graduated from college with an arts degree and massive debt. She comes from an area where people have to leave to other places in order to make a living. I don’t know how anyone can write about this experience, let alone draw and create a graphic memoir.   

Uncanny Valley, by Anna Weiner

At the height of the tech boom, Anna Weiner leaves a job in publishing for one in a big-data start-up. The bubble seems surreal and extravagant and abundant at first and from a distance. And then comes disillusionment. I’ll tell you it had me sat! I am always so fascinated by culture and tech, and this one scratched all my itches about a non-tech role in a tech space. As someone who grew up surrounded by tech people who love behaving like just studying engineering in some unknown college makes them god’s gift to earth, this book just felt oh-so-familiar. 

Palo Alto, by Malcom Harris

I just wanted a light book about California, but this was just the opposite of it, in an excellent way. (I am entirely at fault here; who reads the subtitle “A History of California, Capitalism, and the World” and thinks, oh yeah, light reading?). I came out enraged at everything and everyone. I wish there were more history books with this level of analysis and expertly-crafted narrative, because it was so gripping. I was not bored once, even though it was a 720-page tome. Riveting stuff.   

Shubeik Lubeik, by Deena Mohamed

Shubeik Lubeik is a gorgeous graphic novel with magical elements woven so effortlessly and seamlessly that I know I wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about this book for a long time. In the novel’s world, wishes (like wishes from a genie in the bottle) are real. However, these wishes are monetized and commodified as a part of a quintillion-dollar industry. What happens when wishes can be licensed by world governments, have a frustrating bureaucratic process, and mirror the all-too-familiar prejudices ingrained in our society? What if you could pool your resources to buy a wish to use literal dragons as a war weapon? Shubeik Lubeik is exasperating and heartwarming- exactly what it sets out to be.  

Heartstopper: Volume 5, by Alice Oseman

What do I even say about Heartstopper that hasn’t been said a million times? I love this universe so much and I am so upset that it ends soon. What do you mean Heartstopper cannot go on and on indefinitely?! These books have been filling me with so much tenderness and joy since I’ve been seeing snippets of them back in the day. My heart is always brimming when I am reading these books- I want these characters to be so happy forever. The plotline in this book hit me a bit too hard that I wanted to sob, but Alice Oseman being Alice Oseman dealt with these themes with so much consideration and affection that I physically could not sob. Instead, I felt calm and affirmed. And that is a typical Heartbreaker reading experience for you.

Shout out to my local public library and the Libby app for making it available to me the day it was published! Lifesavers! I was in anguish thinking I’d have to wait the estimated 10 weeks!