Anna
Reading the “Well-Trained Wife” was indeed a challenge. Personally, it is hard for me to consume books with domestic violence, gaslighting, brainwashing, and abuse, and this memoir had all of it. I feel sorry for the author having to experience all of this, and it really takes bravery to escape that life she had with her first husband. I learned a lot, but it was a challenge.
I think ACOTAR is my first romance/fantasy book; it was captivating from the first chapter, breathtaking, and mysterious. Definitely a page-turner :) I loved all the characters, and the chemistry between Tamlin and Feyre was pretty strong. Side characters were also written pretty well, like Lucien and Alis. The introduction of Rhysand was top-notch. ;)
The world is pretty beautiful, though the map of this world at the beginning of the book reminded me of the map of England, but it's not a big deal :) Yeah, I thought I would take a month off for this series, but nope, I have already started the second book of this series :)
I listened to “Becoming,” narrated by Michelle Obama. It is a long book, but I did not notice how time passed, as each chapter was captivating and inspiring. I enjoyed her writing style and the pace of her storytelling. It was very interesting to read about her personal journey, her time in the White House, and how she dealt with the challenges of being a public figure.
That's my second or third re-read of “P.S. I love you”, so I was emotionally ready to cry my eyes out. It is a book about dealing with grief and the loss of a loved one; it is not a happy book, but there are many funny moments that will make you laugh, and the next chapter will make you cry. So be ready for the emotional rollercoaster.
The Witch King by Martha Wells was on my TBR because of the great reputation of the Murder Bot diaries. The first chapters were indeed interesting and mysterious. I found the idea of the demon being a good guy in the story quite refreshing. I instantly liked the main demon-protagonist, Kai, with his witch companion Ziede.
Those two characters I have remembered and found likable, though I felt more connected to Kai than to the others, whom I could not differentiate: Dahin, Bashat, Tahren (whom I understood was an important character to Ziede, but there was nothing about the relationship and chemistry building between them), Ramad, and others. I was just lost in different names and locations, hard to remember, but harder to build any connection to them.
There is, of course, a massive world-building and I was prepared for the first book in this series to be dense with descriptions but I found myself mostly bored by it and was looking for more action, more adventure, but unfortunately they only joy I got from reading this book is to enjoy the wit and humor of the demon Kai and that's all. I tried my best to understand the story and to see this world in my imagination, but I could not.
My quest for reading all Agatha Christie's books continues, and this time I enjoyed reading Murder on the Orient Express, and it was mind-blowing, as always! I could not stop reading, each chapter was intriguing, grasping, and full of clues or not :) After that, I enjoyed watching a well-made 2017 movie adaptation and I think I like the image of Hercule Poirot in the movie better than in my imagination :)
“The Time Machine” was on my reading list for at least a decade, and I finally managed to read it. I thought an 80-page book would take me a day to finish, but it took me more than a week, and I grew weary of reading the story because I couldn't connect with the characters.
I mean, the character development is lacking in this little novella, so to speak. Mostly, we experience the world through the Time-Traveler's eyes, but I could not understand his nature and personality. From his long monologue, I got the impression of his views on society and how he compared his world to a futuristic one, but I could not sympathize with him at all.
Yes, time traveling from the perspective of a 19th-century author was refreshing to read, but spotting the tones of racism and sexism was discouraging. I understand that, at the time the author lived, it was normal to hold those views, but for the modern reader, they do not resonate.
I read the novella version with endnotes, and it was not a good idea, as the notes spoiled the facts that would unfold throughout the book, but instead, I read them as a matter of fact in the endnotes. Don't do this.
“The Great Alone” was my first Kristin Hannah book, and it immediately captured my attention and made me addicted. Every chapter brought so many different emotions, but mostly it was anxiety and fear for the main protagonists.
Domestic violence and abuse are not easy to read about, but it is also hard to write about. But the author depicted life in the abusive household so perfectly that it made me shiver and brought so much anxiety, but despite that, I have enjoyed reading this novel .
After finishing this book, I could not sleep and kept thinking about the plot. Now I am a big fan of Kristin Hannah and looking forward to reading her other novels.
Oh my God, the Crying in H Mart book has made me cry many times. I listened to this book on Audible, narrated by the author herself.
It is a sad and intense book about grief, loss, and, in a way, dealing with an identity crisis. There are lots of references to Korean cuisine (which might make you hungry) and Korean culture, but the book mostly focuses on the author's battle with grief over the loss of her mother.
Grave Peril was the second Jim Butcher book I read, but it is the third in the Dresden Files series. Again, I am reading books out of order, but to be honest, with the Dresden Files series, it does not really feel like I am missing much context from the previous book. Jim Butcher has kinda picked up where the previous books left off, so I felt quite informed, but I will definitely come back to the second book. Surely I was confused by the new characters, but it is okay: the book was, as usual, entertaining, fun, and easy to read.
“And Then There Were None” was such a fun and exciting read. It has reminded me of the movie I watched as a child, and apparently, there are indeed many adaptations: movies, TV shows, miniseries. After finishing the book, I watched the 3-episode mini-series, which was made in 2015.
Speaking of the book, Agatha Christie wrote another masterpiece, and I gave up guessing who the villain is and who is behind all the unfortunate events, but the answer she revealed at the end was a mind-blowing twist! In a nutshell, the book and the mini-series have not disappointed me!
The Unexpected Guest was an unexpected read for me. I felt slightly catfished, as the cover of the book included Agatha Christie's name with a huge font and big letters, only below adding the important part “novel adaptation by Charles Osborne”, which, of course, I had missed, and upon reading the book, I noticed that the writing style was not Agatha Christie's.
Apparently, the Unexpected Guest play was novelised by Osborne, which is also all right. The book was written and adapted very well, full of twists and unexpected turns. The font was quite huge for me, at least in my version, so I finished a book in just a day, guessing who the murderer was. This time, finally, I have guessed the main villain in about 100 pages, which is about 50% of the book. That's progress :)
I found this book in the street library last summer and was eager to read about love and life in Paris. I was always wondering what real life in Paris looked like, and Sarah Turnbull has described it realistically and perfectly, without making it sound like Emily in Paris, which is utterly too dramatized for me.
I enjoyed reading the first half of the book, when she arrived in Paris to be with Frederic, and was struggling to find a job without knowing the language and the country's rules. It resonates so well with readers who are also expats and have gone through the wave of unemployment in a foreign country. Also, I loved reading about her relationship with her French boyfriend/husband, the differences they had, and how they explored and accepted each other's traditions and customs. The book has some funny moments, and I have learned a lot about dog culture in Paris.
Somewhere in the second half of the book, I was lost, and I think it was around the food, restaurants, and organizing the dinner. I felt, honestly, slightly bored and skimmed this part. And I wanted to learn more about her experience at that Journalism Program which she had dreamed of participating in. Oh well, maybe it wasn't part of life and love in Paris. :)
In general, whoever wants to move to Paris and work there should read this informative book, it will be very helpful.
Evil Under the Sun was my first book featuring Hercule Poirot, but it is actually the book #24 in the series. Oh well :) While reading this detective story, I imagined Monsieur Poirot as Detective Angel Batista from Dexter.
Since this is my first book about him, not Miss Marple, I still don't know whom I like more. There is definitely less drama and less critical judgment of the man-detective than in the interaction with Miss Marple. He is also very observant, curious, and funny.
In terms of the plot, I was wrong about the suspect from the beginning. I did not expect the twist at the end of the book. Maybe after reading all detective novels, I will be more fluent in finding out who the villain is from the very beginning. Speaking of the atmosphere, it felt like I was really on a vacation, solving the murder mystery.
It is a short book, but full of adventure, mystery, and stories.
Reading The Midnight Library on the first days of the New Year is the best way to start the year. It is not a happy book; prepare yourself to cry, but it is better than any other self-help book that I have read in my lifetime. It is not a non-fiction book, rather a fantasy, but when I was reading it, it resonated with me so much and affected me more than any self-help book about depression, loss, dreams, and finding happiness in this life. I have really enjoyed reading it.
It was a rollercoaster journey with The Lies of Locke Lamora. It took me 150 pages to start liking the book. The beginning felt really slow, and there were so many details I didn't really care about. But not giving up on this book was the best decision; it contains heist stories like Ocean's Eleven.
I was laughing at so many beautifully constructed schemes and how Locke and his friends were operating them. It has some harsh language though, and some scenes in the book are quite bloody and not easy to digest, but it is a perfect heist book, with a strong, genius protagonist, and full of brilliant ideas. Supporting characters were also written perfectly well, and some chapters were devoted solely to learning more about them.
If you like heist stories with some magic and beautiful costumes, it is a good book to pick :)
The Good German was indeed an interesting book, not an easy read for sure, but quite intriguing, full of twists and mysteries. It is interesting to see what was happening in Berlin after the war had ended. You read about it at school, but usually not in such detail, like in this book. Of course, there is a bit of romance, but it is not the main plot of the novel. All the characters are written pretty well, and the plot really grabs your attention.
Reading The Great Gatsby in the progressive translation is a new experience for me. The translator adds German words step by step, and over the course of the book, the number of German words increases. I remember that the last chapter is mostly written in German. I think this book would be suitable for someone who has already reached the B1 or B2 level.
The Boyfriend was my second novel by Freida McFadden, and as before, I could not stop reading. The writing style is really good, easy to read and follow, lots of twists, maybe one day I will guess who the villain is earlier in the book, but for this one, I was flabbergasted. I wasn't super happy with the ending, but that's okay. I enjoyed the rest of the book.
I listened to this audiobook again during my long flight, and it made me extremely hungry for Parisian pastries, more motivated in learning French, and possibly more excited to visit Paris again. David described his Parisian life truthfully, humorously, and educationally. I enjoyed “reading” this book, and it did not make me sleep on the plane.
“Oh my, oh my”. Monte Walsh was my first Western novel, and it took me a while to get used to the descriptive writing style, full of details and a myriad of unknown words in every paragraph. I learned the second meaning of “bay”, “mustang”, “adobe” and other words. Monte Walsh was indeed an interesting figure, and every chapter is devoted to a particular year or period of his life.
There is a lot of information about horses and cows, as well as about the masculinity of cowboys, their cool outfits, and their confident manner of walking or riding a horse. Lots of shootings and fights for nothing or because of the woman. I can see why this style was popular in the past, but for me, it was an okay read. I couldn't concentrate on the story much and got lost in the foreign words.
Reading The Art of Thinking Clearly after finishing Thinking Fast and Slow was a bad idea, as Daniel Kanemman raised my expectation for reading non-fiction books.
This book is not bad; the author explains very complicated theories very simply, using clear, understandable use cases and examples from real life. But when I was reading it, I was kinda burned out on non-fiction and not enjoying it much.