sometimes-reading - Tumblr blog

[sometimes-reading]

Sorrow and Bliss

by Meg Mason

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Genre: literary fiction

2023 Reading Goal: 2/60

Review: It took me a little while to get into this book and was slow moving at first, but I was on the verge of tears and/or crying for the last 100 pages. The depth of emotion that this book evoked means I couldn’t give it less than 4.5 stars, even though I wasn’t 100% sold on how much I was into it for the first half ish. The closeness of the narration and how intimately connected I felt to the main character is a triump of the writing style. Further, Mason exquisitely executes an unreliable and morally gray narrator that the reader feels both empathetic for and frustrated with, just as the main character feels sorry for and angry with herself. There is so much in this book that I will continue to think about and carry with me. Very sorrowful. Not too much of the bliss.

[sometimes-reading]

Sirens & Muses

by Antonia Angress

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Genre: literary fiction

2023 Reading Goal: 1/60

Review: This book is delightfully melodramatic. The characters make absolutely unhinged and unrealistic choices constantly but this creates such a vivid narrative that is deeply compelling to read. Angress successfully jumps between several intertwining and intersecting POVs in a way that feels fluid rather than choppy, and I enjoyed all the different narrators. I love reading books about creative people and I love reading books about academics, so the concept really worked for me! I felt connected to the main characters and the writing style was excellent. Just shy of 5 stars because I felt the plot kind of lacked a sense of climax and closure.

[sometimes-reading]

do i resurrect this blog in 2023?

[sometimes-reading]

her body and other parties by carmen maria machado has disassembled and reassembled my body both times i have read it. it's so engrossing and haunting that i feel rearranged and physically unsettled after finishing.

i have no idea what the stories mean but i understand them perfectly. she creates layers of mundane horror that don't feel mundane and don't feel like horror. it's a fever dream of a short story collection.

and she uses language in a way that is so unexpected, describes things in such unconventional ways that your brain squirms at the dissonance, but that's ultimately her greatest strength and what makes her writing stay with you.

i don't think it's possible to ever fully process anything she writes because it just wraps around your mind in such a way that you can't see it anymore. her stories are all encompassing. i feel the urge to cry from catharsis every time i finish one.

[sometimes-reading]

oh shit yeah i've read a couple of books

i've been super inconsistent in my reviews and i don't even remember honestly what i have and haven't talked about so this is just gonna be a quick little cute recap of the last two books i've read.

the invisible life of addie larue by v.e. schwab - 3 stars - oh how i wanted to love this one. oh how it had potential. but oh how it was about three times as long as i wanted it to be. it literally took me two months to get through this book and it was sooo drawn out with a ton of dull scenes that didn't give me any insight into the story. my favorite part was all of the different art pieces being mentioned that addie left her influence on - that was super cool. and i liked the general idea of it i just think it should have been so much shorter. not sure about the ending.

bunny by mona awad - 4 stars - literally what the fuck did i read? (but in a good way.) really weird book. really weird. a little speculative fiction thriller? maybe is how i would describe it? i really found it interesting though and i adored how the author used language as a plot device throughout the book, like in how the main character referred to the bunnies and herself. she gradually got sucked into the cult and switched from calling them their nicknames she had for them to calling them their real names to calling them all bunny. and she floated between these terms throughout the book depending on plot. which was super cool. and she deindividuized herself at the height of her involvement by referring to herself as the whole group, as a we. very cool. very very cool. love this weird fucking exploding bunny book. would recommend.

[sometimes-reading]

carmen maria machado's in the dream house is *exquisite*. quite possibly the best book i have read this year. coincidentally, machado's other book her body and other parties would be one of the main contenders for that title as well.

there is something about her writing that i cannot get over. it is captivating, it is quick-paced but every word is so well chosen and it's like getting the best of a book with beautiful elaborate detail without the tediousness that often comes with that. there is nothing tedious about this book.

i listened to it on audio and the entire time i knew it would be a five star book. there was not a single thing i disliked, a single element i thought was underexplored, a single deficiency in the narrative or style. and for a memoir to charm me in this way is quite rare.

i think my problem with memoirs and the reason why i would have considered myself before this as "not a memoir person" is that the majority of them are written by famous people who do not know how to write. i find myself thinking, "why is your story worth my time if it is not going to be well told." machado is on the exact opposite of the spectrum of writing capabilities from authors of other memoirs i have read (or started), though i will admit, my experience is limited. her mastery of words, form, and language is something that stuns me each time i read a single sentence. and beyond that, the storytelling devices are compelling and the narrative she weaves is deeply meaningful and extremely well paced and developed.

no complaints. none. i can't stop thinking about this book.

i have made the grave mistake of never buying a carmen maria machado book. i got hbaop from the library and of course itdh as an audiobook. but i couldn't help myself from ordering this book in its physical form almost immediately after finishing it. i know i have so much to make note of and so much more to get out of it on a physical reread, and the idea that i could like this book even more is overwhelming. i am so impatient to receive the book and i think i will be rereading it right away. so many lines stuck out at me that i want to highlight and sticky note and think about for hours and come back to day after day. i can't say enough about this book.

i think i have a new favorite author.

this book could not have come at a better time. i have been in the most massive reading slump from trying to push myself through books that don't inspire me. i forgot why i loved reading; it felt like a chore. this is why i love reading. this is the kind of book that brings me to the crisis of thinking i should actually major in english. this is why i have been obsessed with words for as long as i can remember; this is what a deeply talented author can do to me. i adore the experience of a book like this; i crave it.

anyway. very incoherent review, complete.

[sometimes-reading]

here are four contemporary authors whose books i predict to become classics one day:

- ocean vuong

- carmen maria machado

- celeste ng

- anthony doerr

[sometimes-reading]

i read some things in june (but not that many)

1. siege and storm - leigh bardugo

• 4/5 stars

• the middle book of a series that i am thoroughly enjoying

• alina and mal were so fucking stupid and annoying in this book (have you ever heard of a conversation?) but nikolai was amazing

2. the mysterious benedict society - trenton lee stewart

• 4/5 stars

• reread of a childhood favorite, but it for sure holds up

• still just super entertaining and easy to get into, and coincidentally right after reading this i found that they are turning it into a disney + series (which isn't that good because they changed a lot of unnecessary things to change but OKAY)

3. norwegian wood - haruki murakami

• 3.5 stars

• i am not smart enough to understand this book but i damn well tried; i liked the writing and it had a lot of powerful lines

• also some scenes just made me feel so weird but i don't know if that was the point? they just didn't fit into any obvious themes that i could see and were super uncomfortable (yes this is about the scene where reiko explains the story with her piano student because WHAT THE FUCK)

[sometimes-reading]

nikolai lantsov is hot his casting in the show is going to destroy me

[sometimes-reading]

Ask me any book title?

added to TBR | on my TBR | couldn’t finish it | did not enjoy | it was OK | liked it | loved it | favorite | not interested

[sometimes-reading]

What I Read in May

I was very busy this month with school and such so I was only able to get through 3 books. That said, here is what I thought of them!

A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab - 4.5/5 - I technically read most of this book in April, but I finished it in May so it's here. This is the final book in the Shades of Magic trilogy and I loved it! Sometimes it was a little drawn out (it is a veryyy long book) but I wasn't bored by it so it can't have been drawn out too much. A very satisfying conclusion to the story in my opinion, and I highly recommend the series.

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo - 4/5 - I actually watched the show before reading this, and I have also already read Six of Crows, so one very nice thing about that was that I didn't have to get confused by the high fantasy world building in the beginning. But anyway, I thought it was a really fun and fast-moving book and I found it easy to get through very quickly. Took my mind off school for a bit and was generally very entertaining.

The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X. R. Pan - 4/5 - This book took me forever to get through but I don't think it was the book's fault. I'm pretty sure I would have enjoyed it even more if I had read it at a time when I was less busy and reading felt like less of a chore. However, I did quite clearly enjoy it anyway! I thought it was a really interesting book and it kept me intrigued the whole time. I think maybe it could have moved a little bit faster and integrated the plot points a bit more efficiently but overall I don't have too many complaints. It's YA contemporary / magical realism by the way; also, check trigger warnings for this one.

[sometimes-reading]

What I Read in March and April :)

March (aka the month where I gave almost everything 4 stars)

- The Raven King by Maggie Steifvater - 4 stars - The last book of the series and I ... kind of wanted to like it more? But like ... what happened! The ending was confusing and rushed in my opinion. But I loved the rest and this is one of my favorite fantasy series as a whole for sure.

- The Carrying by Ada Limon - 4 stars - This is a poetry collection and to be honest I don’t remember much of anything about it except that it was good.

- Sadie by Courtney Summers - 4 stars - A YA thriller that I really enjoyed! I would definitely recommend this though do look for trigger warnings online before reading. Also, I would highly suggest listening to the audiobook since there are sections of the book that are essentially podcast transcripts, and the audio uses a bunch of different voice actors to flesh those segments out.

- A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab - you guessed it, 4 stars - A fascinating fantasy world! Super well developed and easy to understand the magic system. Loved the characters and had a lot of fun reading it. My only problem was pacing - I did not think the end would happen so quickly.

- Normal People by Sally Rooney - 2 stars - This is a popular adult literary romance that I have very mixed feelings about. I mostly liked the story, but the writing style did not work for me at all unfortunately. I actually thought the show was good though!

- The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo - 4 stars - I had already read this but I decided to listen to the audiobook since it is read by the author and the book is written in verse. I'd definitely recommend this book and the audiobook to anyone who likes YA contemporaries.

- Girl Made of Stars by Ashley Herring Blake - 4.5 stars - This is a YA story that focuses heavily on rape and sexual assault so do consider that before reading. It’s very emotionally heavy and I really felt invested in the characters. It’s not quite 5/5 because the writing style was just a bit too straightforward for my personal taste (I wanted a little more embellishment) but I’d highly recommend as long as the content doesn't bother you.

- A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab - 4 stars - The second book in the Shades of Magic trilogy! I liked this one just as much as the first and I still really love this world and story. I’m posting this in the beginning of May and I have just finished the whole series; overall I really loved it!

April

- Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo - 4 stars - Really interesting and well-done YA historical fiction. I learned a lot reading this and was captivated by the characters and their story. However, I did feel like a few aspects were underdeveloped and the pacing was a little off. But overall, great!

- Kindred (Graphic Novel Adaptation) by Octavia Butler, Damian Duffy, and John Jennings - 3 stars - I read this for a class and I do wonder if I would have enjoyed it more as the original novel just because my biggest issues were with pacing and engagement. Overall it’s a really intriguing concept though and accessible for someone who isn’t familiar with science fiction (which this is). Might try to read the original novel!

- Solitaire by Alice Oseman - 3.5 stars - Alice Oseman is one of my favorite young adult authors, and she wrote this book at 17, which is so impressive! I would say that it’s clear it is the author’s youngest work and it took me a little while to get into it, but I still really enjoyed it. I just had a few issues with feeling connected to the characters and the writing style, which is oddly the complete opposite of how I feel about their other books.

- Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado - 4.5 stars - A fantastic short story collection! I tried to rate each story individually and average them, which came out to ~4 stars, but there were multiple 5 star stories in there for me. My favorites were The Husband Stitch, Real Women Have Bodies, and The Resident. Highly recommend!

- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald - 4 stars - Shockingly enough I actually read this out of my own volition and not for school, but it ended up being really good! The writing was interesting and the themes were well-developed but still easy to detect. A surprisingly accessible classic!

(Also I know I mentioned it specifically for some of these books and not others but it's probably a good idea to check TWs for most of these if that is a concern to you!)

[sometimes-reading]

Thoughts on Normal People by Sally Rooney

Okay, I know I'm in the minority on this one. This book is a very popular adult literary romance that has been praised countless times and it was ... not that great?

The second half was much improved from the first half, as that was pretty much when actual things started happening, and the concepts and characters were interesting enough. I think I understand what the author was trying to do, and it was sometimes effective, but I feel like the writing style absolutely destroyed the book for me.

In a book with a very loosely structured plot and few genuine plot points (...) I can still really enjoy it if the writing is good and elevated. But the writing in this book was so overly simplistic and simultaneously pretentious that I was completely disengaged from the story. I think I understand what she may have intended with this writing style - she probably wanted to reflect the normalcy and ordinaryness of her subjects (they are "normal people" of course) with a very blunt and simplistic writing style, but for me it was not effective and it completely took away from the psychological sophistication she was attempting to achieve in her character portrayals.

Also, the ending. What? The plot was so cyclical and again, maybe that was intentional, but it was immensely frustrating to have events repeat themselves and see the characters repeat the same mistakes without growing at all throughout the novel and then ultimately sinking back into their ways and deciding to go their separate ways again. It was so unsatisfying and made the story feel like it went nowhere. Overall, I did end up feeling emotionally invested in the characters and probably would have liked it more if it weren't for the writing style, so I gave the book 2 stars on Goodreads. If you like the book, that's awesome and I think I understand why, but it just didn't fully click for me.

Side note: his is actually one of those few cases where I would say the TV adaptation is better than the book - I watched the series after reading it and it really stuck to the story outline, achieved a style that mirrored the normalcy of the story better than Rooney did (in my opinion), and enhanced my emotional response to the characters' journeys.

Also, quotation marks won't kill you. Use them.

[sometimes-reading]

hi! it's been about two and a half months into 2021 and i've promptly not delivered on my promise of more regular posting, so ... reading review of things i’ve read so far this year coming at you right now.

little fires everywhere by celeste ng - 4/5 stars - very good; definitely an improvement in a similar writing style from her first book (which i also liked).

the mothers by brit bennett - 3/5 stars - it was good i just felt like the characters didn’t stand out to me as much as they could have. it was just a little flat.

the raven boys by maggie steifvater - 4/5 stars - surprised by how much i liked this because i don’t read a lot of fantasy (i should read more) but i really liked it.

pretty girls by karin slaughter - 4/5 stars - oh my god. trigger warning for literally every common trigger but it was exciting?

the dream thieves by maggie steifvater - 4/5 stars - really really enjoyed this it’s such a good series.

blue lily, lily blue by maggie steifvater - 5/5 stars - i have since finished the series and this was my favorite. love these books.

pride and prejudice by jane austen - 3/5 stars - read it for school; it was pretty good. the characters were funny.

a deadly education by naomi novik - 2/5 stars - maybe 2.5? i just really didn’t care about it. it was pretty dry for me. didn’t get exciting at all until the end.

the raven king by maggie steifvater - 4/5 stars - i adored this series as a whole but i felt a little bit let down by the ending, it was kind of missing a resolution.

the carrying by ada limon - 4/5 stars - poetry, overall pretty good but i don’t have many specific thoughts lol.

sadie by courtney summers - 4/5 stars - very solid ya thriller, i would highly recommend listening to the audiobook at the same time as reading the physical book.

current read: a darker shade of magic by v.e. schwab :)

[sometimes-reading]

very very late to this series but i just read the last 150ish pages of the raven boys in one sitting and that makes me really happy because there are only a handful of fantasy books i've read and enjoyed in the last few years. i loved the genre as a kid, but i got away from that for a while. i'm not sure why. but i think i do find it really enjoyable and i'm super interested in this world! hope to read the rest of the series soon and read more fantasy in general! that said, if anyone has fantasy recommendations for me don't hesitate to reply to this or send me an ask!

[sometimes-reading]

heyyy i have not posted in a long time because i've been very inconsistent with reading lately, so i just wanted to pop in with an update.

i'm currently rereading radio silence by alice oseman, which is my favorite book, and my plan is to finish by the end of the month/year.

after that i have a couple of books lined up that i really want to read in january, and my goal is to read 3-5 books next month to start the year off strong haha. my goodreads goal will probably be 36? i know it's not much compared to a lot of people who like reading haha but that's 3 a month and i would be really happy to accomplish that especially alongside school and stress and the overwhelming desire to do nothing but stare at my phone.

so anyway, yeah. i will hopefully be a bit more active with reading and using this blog next month. my tbr currently includes little fires everywhere by celeste ng, the mothers by brit bennett, and pride and prejudice by jane austen (that one's for class).

anyway, yeah. that's where i'm at. hopefully you all are doing well!

[sometimes-reading]

end-of-year book ask

How many books did you read this year?

Did you reread anything? What?

What were your top five books of the year?

Did you discover any new authors that you love this year?

What genre did you read the most of?

Was there anything you meant to read, but never got to?

What was your average Goodreads rating? Does it seem accurate?

Did you meet any of your reading goals? Which ones?

Did you get into any new genres?

What was your favorite new release of the year?

What was your favorite book that has been out for a while, but you just now read?

Any books that disappointed you?

What were your least favorite books of the year?

What books do you want to finish before the year is over?

Did you read any books that were nominated for or won awards this year (Booker, Women’s Prize, National Book Award, Pulitzer, Hugo, etc.)? What did you think of them?

What is the most over-hyped book you read this year?

Did any books surprise you with how good they were?

How many books did you buy?

Did you use your library?

What was your most anticipated release? Did it meet your expectations?

Did you participate in or watch any booklr, booktube, or book twitter drama?

What’s the longest book you read?

What’s the fastest time it took you to read a book?

Did you DNF anything? Why?

What reading goals do you have for next year?