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Books and things
Feb. 2nd, 2018 03:41 pmI was updating Goodreads today and noticed that I have done the reading challenge every year since 2011, every year have set my goal at 50, and only ONCE have I actually achieved that goal (2012). LOL. So this year, I finally caved and lowered it to 45. I want to try to write more, and also encourage myself to read, so I'm going to try posting about books again (and maybe movies and TV, we shall see how it goes). I am making an effort once again to see all the Oscar Best Picture nominees, so I will probably talk about them at some point? I've seen 4 out of 9 so far.
Also, PSA: Being Erica is now available on Hulu!!! Guess who is doing a rewatch. (It's me.) I was thinking of looking for a new therapist, but this is actually better, lol.
Anyway! Here's what I read in January:
Cutting for Stone, Abraham Verghese: This was a book club selection - possibly the last, lol. At our last meeting, we discussed making it a "getting-together club that occasionally reads books," because it was too much to keep up with. So this book may possibly have the honor of being the one that finally broke my book club. I ultimately liked it, but it was very slow to get into, and I can understand why some of my friends gave up. The portrayal of Ethiopian culture and medical practice is interesting, but the writing is verbose and uneven - some parts are skimmable, others are engrossing. (It's also, fair warning, just plain gross at times - the author is a physician and sometimes goes into explicit medical detail.)
Turtles All the Way Down, John Green: Not a fan. I really liked Will Grayson, Will Grayson and The Fault in Our Stars, but even for John Green, the "teenagers having pretentious philosophical conversations and not sounding even slightly like actual teenagers" was too much in this book, lol. I also bumped HARD on the main character, who has OCD/anxiety/some cocktail of mental illness that makes her obsess over getting C. diff (among other things). I know it's a mental illness and therefore it's not rational, and maybe I'd be more sympathetic if it were literally anything else she was fixated on, but I have HAD C. diff. A C. diff infection triggered my Crohn's, which has had a not-insignificant impact on my life, so I kind of have zero patience for this character's imaginary C. diff bullshit? But perhaps if you like John Green and do not have medical baggage, you will enjoy it more than I did.
All the Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation, Rebecca Traister: I saw this recommended on Twitter, but now I can't remember by whom. Anyway, being a single lady in my 30s, I have been thinking a lot about the issues this book raises - like, am I normal for not being married yet, not wanting kids, etc. but not having a Sex and the City-esque social life, either? (Answer: probably.) The book covers topics like careers, female friendship, sex and dating, and single motherhood. It looks at some of the benefits of marrying later, or not at all, the societal expectations around marriage and babies, but also the race and class differences that may make marriage a more or less appealing option for women. It's ultimately not an argument for being single, but rather for more choices for women. Recommended regardless of your relationship status.
Also, PSA: Being Erica is now available on Hulu!!! Guess who is doing a rewatch. (It's me.) I was thinking of looking for a new therapist, but this is actually better, lol.
Anyway! Here's what I read in January:
Cutting for Stone, Abraham Verghese: This was a book club selection - possibly the last, lol. At our last meeting, we discussed making it a "getting-together club that occasionally reads books," because it was too much to keep up with. So this book may possibly have the honor of being the one that finally broke my book club. I ultimately liked it, but it was very slow to get into, and I can understand why some of my friends gave up. The portrayal of Ethiopian culture and medical practice is interesting, but the writing is verbose and uneven - some parts are skimmable, others are engrossing. (It's also, fair warning, just plain gross at times - the author is a physician and sometimes goes into explicit medical detail.)
Turtles All the Way Down, John Green: Not a fan. I really liked Will Grayson, Will Grayson and The Fault in Our Stars, but even for John Green, the "teenagers having pretentious philosophical conversations and not sounding even slightly like actual teenagers" was too much in this book, lol. I also bumped HARD on the main character, who has OCD/anxiety/some cocktail of mental illness that makes her obsess over getting C. diff (among other things). I know it's a mental illness and therefore it's not rational, and maybe I'd be more sympathetic if it were literally anything else she was fixated on, but I have HAD C. diff. A C. diff infection triggered my Crohn's, which has had a not-insignificant impact on my life, so I kind of have zero patience for this character's imaginary C. diff bullshit? But perhaps if you like John Green and do not have medical baggage, you will enjoy it more than I did.
All the Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation, Rebecca Traister: I saw this recommended on Twitter, but now I can't remember by whom. Anyway, being a single lady in my 30s, I have been thinking a lot about the issues this book raises - like, am I normal for not being married yet, not wanting kids, etc. but not having a Sex and the City-esque social life, either? (Answer: probably.) The book covers topics like careers, female friendship, sex and dating, and single motherhood. It looks at some of the benefits of marrying later, or not at all, the societal expectations around marriage and babies, but also the race and class differences that may make marriage a more or less appealing option for women. It's ultimately not an argument for being single, but rather for more choices for women. Recommended regardless of your relationship status.
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