I feel like I've read mostly mediocre and disappointing books so far this year. I haven't fallen in love with many of them unfortunately. Most of my reads have been two stars, which is kind of weird. I have felt like they've been underwhelming, but I could be way too critical and cynical. Anyways, I got back into the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich after years of not keeping up with them. I finished Tricky Twenty-Two and Turbo Twenty-Three, which both got 2 out of 5 star ratings. I loved this series in high school, but coming back to them was not anything like I remembered. They're very cringey now, and the author has dragged them out for way too long. They're quick and easy reads though. I'm trying to read more essay collections this year, and one that I tried is Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay. I've read stuff from her before and enjoyed her writing, but this one was pretty bad. She mentioned some good points on feminism, race, and equality in general. She tended to go on these long winded explanations of plots of various TV shows, movies, and books. I got a synopsis of Fifty Shade of Grey, which is really not something I needed in my life. I thought her commentary on these things were worthless. I expected a lot from these various essays, but they just weren't good. I don't recommend it. Some other two star books were Nomadland by Jessica Bruder and What She Ate by Laura Shapiro. Both were repetitive and long-winded.
I had a couple one star books, and those were Into the Water by Paula Hawkins and What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami. Into the Water had annoying characters, and too many that weren't relevant. I hated Paula Hawkins' other book, The Girl On The Train, so I'm not really surprised me that this one didn't interest me either. What I Talk About When I Talk About Running was highly recommended by someone I watch on YouTube. I don't like to run at all, but I had heard this book talked about more than that. It basically combined Murakami's thoughts on writing and running. He seemed kind of like an asshole, and I didn't like hearing about his life. I ultimately didn't connect with it and found it to be very boring.
There's only one book that I rated highly (4 out of 5 stars), and that was When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi. It's a memoir about a doctor who's diagnosed with cancer, and how the diagnosis turns his whole life upside down. He used to be the one giving out these horrible diagnoses, and now he's on the other end of it. It was such a tragic story. It was very well written and conveyed a lot of emotion. I highly recommend it.
On a lighter note, let's round this post up with some three star books. I finished Dark Matter by Blake Crouch and mostly enjoyed it. It was very predictable, but there were a few twists I didn't see coming. The ending sucked, and the main character was annoying at times. It was an interesting premise though. I also read Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance. I've always admired what Elon Musk has done with Tesla and learned more about his start in the business world and his other companies. I will say, I don't find his life to be very admirable. He works all the time, quite obsessively, which I would not want to do with my life personally. He's also kind of an asshole. I enjoyed reading about his life, but I wish the author had focused more on him. There was a lot of emphasis on SpaceX. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman had a really promising beginning. However, towards the middle it started to get convoluted. It was okay overall. I think this post is long enough, so thanks for looking!
I had a couple one star books, and those were Into the Water by Paula Hawkins and What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami. Into the Water had annoying characters, and too many that weren't relevant. I hated Paula Hawkins' other book, The Girl On The Train, so I'm not really surprised me that this one didn't interest me either. What I Talk About When I Talk About Running was highly recommended by someone I watch on YouTube. I don't like to run at all, but I had heard this book talked about more than that. It basically combined Murakami's thoughts on writing and running. He seemed kind of like an asshole, and I didn't like hearing about his life. I ultimately didn't connect with it and found it to be very boring.
There's only one book that I rated highly (4 out of 5 stars), and that was When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi. It's a memoir about a doctor who's diagnosed with cancer, and how the diagnosis turns his whole life upside down. He used to be the one giving out these horrible diagnoses, and now he's on the other end of it. It was such a tragic story. It was very well written and conveyed a lot of emotion. I highly recommend it.
On a lighter note, let's round this post up with some three star books. I finished Dark Matter by Blake Crouch and mostly enjoyed it. It was very predictable, but there were a few twists I didn't see coming. The ending sucked, and the main character was annoying at times. It was an interesting premise though. I also read Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance. I've always admired what Elon Musk has done with Tesla and learned more about his start in the business world and his other companies. I will say, I don't find his life to be very admirable. He works all the time, quite obsessively, which I would not want to do with my life personally. He's also kind of an asshole. I enjoyed reading about his life, but I wish the author had focused more on him. There was a lot of emphasis on SpaceX. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman had a really promising beginning. However, towards the middle it started to get convoluted. It was okay overall. I think this post is long enough, so thanks for looking!
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