3.5 Things I liked about this novel: Australian settings and characters; the plot was relatively realistic, with real problems (ie becoming a widow in 3.5 Things I liked about this novel: Australian settings and characters; the plot was relatively realistic, with real problems (ie becoming a widow in your thirties); the main characters are in their early forties, therefore they didn't sound so overly dramatic and ridiculous as the younger MCs tend to.
Some of the things didn't agree with me: the men - swoon-worthy but unbelievable, too good to be true (which I guess is the point for reading these rom-coms); the time lines, back and forth were a bit confusing; some side stories weren't necessary, the novel could have been tighter. Oh, another thing that occurred to me: the comedic elements were supplied by Kate being a clutz, which, frankly, is becoming cliche, I want to laugh at men.
To conclude my ramblings: this wasn't bad, I just didn't buy a few elements and the sad parts were really sad. ...more
3.5 I'm not a spiritual person, I cringe when I see or hear words like grace, god, faithsoul etc. you get the gist. But, I admire Baird and I loved he3.5 I'm not a spiritual person, I cringe when I see or hear words like grace, god, faithsoul etc. you get the gist. But, I admire Baird and I loved her previous book Phosporescense so I couldn't help myself.
I read her above mentioned book three years ago. While listening to this, I was wondering for a while whether I was listening to Phosphorescence as many of the anecdotes, and stories were known to me - her love of the ocean, her multiple operations and treatments for cancer, her relationships, her mother working in prisons with Catholic organisations and a few other bits and pieces. Nevertheless, I didn't mind it, her shooting voice was a good companion while I spent a million hours in the kitchen over the Christmas period. The irony wasn't lost on me when she mentioned the unequal division of domestic and emotional labour.
Grace is such a wishy-washy word, so hard to define, Baird herself realised. You could call it forgiveness, giving second chances - I don't know. She offers some examples of people who suffered great, unimaginable losses - who eventually came to forgive those who caused those losses. I get it, forgiving needs to happen in order to move forward. But also, it can't be forced, and if it doesn't occur that's perfectly valid, well, it's reality, it's a personal choice and/or ability.
We all get hurt and we hurt others, intentionally and unintentionally, we should keep that in mind.
Just because this novel is popular, it doesn't mean you should read it. I should have paid more attention to the blurb, and others' reviews.
This entirJust because this novel is popular, it doesn't mean you should read it. I should have paid more attention to the blurb, and others' reviews.
This entire novel is trigger-warning worthy: child abduction, sexual abuse, torture, and mental abuse to name but a few.
I had high expectations, even though I'm not a fan of the genre. Yes, Sally is strange because she's not good with people and has poor social skills. She's set in her ways and can be very literal. I didn't find many situations amusing, but that's alright.
It's best to go into this novel not knowing much, except for the trigger warning. It's also a good idea not to read it.
I didn't love this, as I couldn't get past the atrocities. I can't imagine how someone would choose to write these kinds of stories, live and inhabit those thoughts and environments intentionally.
I'm so over reading about yet another girl, a woman being raped, tortured, gaslit, and mistreated, While I still have some of my mental faculties intact, it's very unlikely I'll ever forget those things happened and are still happening. I need to find a good female revenge novel for balance....more
This short novel was in many ways similar to the Labyrinth, Lohrey's Miles Franklin award winner, as it has at its centre a woman no longer young a3.5
This short novel was in many ways similar to the Labyrinth, Lohrey's Miles Franklin award winner, as it has at its centre a woman no longer young and whose life has been uprooted. In this case, Zoe's husband of many years died suddenly.
After his death, she buys an abandoned church in a small town and takes on converting it into a home. It's not an easy task, there are limitations, especially considering the tight finances. She gets a job as a receptionist at the local hospital. Slowly, she meets neighbours and other local people.
This is a short novel that has relatively low stakes. I had this sense of distance and disconnection when listening to this, at least when it came to Nicole Nabut's narration, Zoe never lost her temper, never got annoyed or irritated with anything or anyone, she just observed without reacting. It must be nice.
This was quite atmospheric, the landscape and descriptions of the small town were enticing. If you're after an exciting plot, this is not that type of novel....more
While looking for a lighter audiobook on my library's apps, I came across this novel, that I see everywhere. Since it was available, I thought, let's While looking for a lighter audiobook on my library's apps, I came across this novel, that I see everywhere. Since it was available, I thought, let's see what all the fuss is about.
I don't get why so many went ga-ga about this, it's predictable and cliche - we have the enemies-to-lovers trope, he is strikingly good-looking, big, strong and the silent type (they are never the chatty, joking kind, are they?), and she is tiny but mighty special - yeah, sure, whatever. (insert rolling eyes).
The world-building wasn't too bad, there were dragons with different powers and strengths, enemy factions/nations and a lot of military-type training and fighting. Many people die, especially during their training years to become fighters - if you ask me, that's kind of stupid and counterproductive, but I guess it makes the novel gritty (yes, I'm rolling my eyes).
Also, why do all these fantasy, romantasy novels are so damn long? I know they're dialogue rich, still ...
I rated it three stars because, despite all the above, I didn't hate it....more
3.5 This isn't easy to rate. Why? This time of the year is super busy, so my mood is not the best. This book won the Booker Prize and some expectations3.5 This isn't easy to rate. Why? This time of the year is super busy, so my mood is not the best. This book won the Booker Prize and some expectations and pressures accompany the reading and reviewing such a novel.
The plot can be summed up as a professional Irish mother and her four children, including a baby, are trying to survive the authoritarian/fascist new regime that sees her union leader and teacher husband being apprehended by authorities. On top of that, she's got to deal with her ailing, demented father. She is kind of naive in the beginning, believing in the rule of law, human rights and common sense - oh, how easily those principles of modern democracies can crumble. Her naivete was even more striking as she lived in Ireland. But we all have our blind spots and some people are the half-full type of people. Moving on.
Not to spoil it, but there's more chaos, misinformation, confusion and a lot of grief.
I couldn't help but think of those suffering through armed conflicts, bombings and other such reprehensible things inflicted by other humans on other humans.
The writing was good, but things didn't hit me on an emotional level, I'm happy to blame my mood for my lack of emotional conectiveness. Now that I try to articulate things here and to myself, I'm convinced that had Lynch used the first-person narration, the novel would have been more impactful, at least for this reader.
Also, while Gerry O'Brien was perfectly adequate, I thought it was a peculiar choice to have a male narrator deliver this novel mostly about a woman's journey.
I'm rounding this up to 4 stars as the other novels on the Booker shortlist I read were rated 3 stars but were less enjoyable/worthy....more
The elephant in the room - this was a very long novel, arguably too long. Honestly, had it not been available as an audiobook, I probably wouldn't havThe elephant in the room - this was a very long novel, arguably too long. Honestly, had it not been available as an audiobook, I probably wouldn't have read it, despite having loved Hill's debut, an equally long novel.
Nathan Hill is a clever cookie, with a penchant for digging into what makes people the way they are, and why they behave a certain way.
Jack and Elizabeth are a couple struggling with their relationship after 20 years of being together. Busy jobs, a challenging kid, a mortgage and all the grown-up hullaballoo tend to get in the way, even for couples with good intentions. Jack and Elizabeth are different people, with completely distinct backgrounds, professions and personalities. Elizabeth is a scientist, who is leading Wellness, a company dealing with the placebo effect and other psychological research. Jack is a photography lecturer at a university. He struggles in his profession and with the new business-oriented leadership. His photography is not lifting his spirits either.
Hill takes us back and forth in time, not only looking at Jack and Elizabeth at previous life stages but also giving us a background of their parents and ancestors.
As someone interested in psychology, human behaviour etc., I appreciated the many insights into those fields. There's also a lot of information (some may call it info dumping) on social media, and algorithms, which was interesting even though I was partially aware of its machinations, not that I don't fall into its grip, although I like to delude myself that I know what they're doing but I'm allowing it to happen - Hill would have something things to say about one's power of lying to oneself. :-) There's quite a bit on psychology, the placebo effect in particular - I found that interesting.
A lot is happening in this novel, many questions are raised, and some answers are provided - I found it all fascinating, revelatory, intriguing and informative. The fact that it's all done via accessible writing, it's a feat in itself.
Mild Vertigo is written in the stream of consciousness style, with long, run-on sentences and no paragraphs or dialogue punctuation. The narrator is a Mild Vertigo is written in the stream of consciousness style, with long, run-on sentences and no paragraphs or dialogue punctuation. The narrator is a stay-at-home wife and mum of two young children. Her life is monotonous, repetitive and uneventful. She barely sees her husband, who works long hours as it's customary in Japan. I can't say this was riveting, but it was captivating and unique. ...more
These novels were such an important part of my childhood, I read them multiple times. It was so lovely to reacquaint myself with the Deleanu family, wThese novels were such an important part of my childhood, I read them multiple times. It was so lovely to reacquaint myself with the Deleanu family, with Olguța, Dănuț and Monica. I was apprehensive that this wouldn't live up to my fond memories, but I'm happy to report it wasn't the case.
I was surprised to rediscover the regionalisms and archaic words, there were so many I had to guesstimate. This was written in the 1920's, by a Moldavian writer/lawyer. Moldavia is in the NE of Romania, the language and the accent there are different to standard Romanian, it was even more so 100 years ago.
I was able to find the English translation and occasionally I would check to see how they translated certain things - I'm happy to say the translation is pretty good, but the regionalisms and archaic words are lost in translation.
This first volume introduces us to the Deleanu family and their property in Medeleni, a village somewhere in Moldavia. They're affluent, have a big property and lots of servants, the economic gap between them and the peasants is huge. They're nice people, though. The Deleanus take under their wing Monica, an orphaned girl who's Olguța's best friend and schoolmate. They're both nine years old. Dănuț is eleven, he's getting pushed around and challenged by his sister. I've always adored Olguța, it was the first time and only time when I came across a girl character that I shared similarities with. She was feisty, cheeky, challenging and very determined. Oh, how she tormented her older brother - loved that. :-)
This first volume takes place in the school summer holidays, the kids are playing their simple games, there are family feasts and so on. When the autumn comes the family's dynamic changes forever as Dănuț is sent to a boarding high school in Bucharest, the capital of Romania, which is around 500 km away, which for the 1910's would mean a long trip by train at the beginning of the 20th century.
It was fantastic reading this again. Of course, as the cliche goes, it reminded me of simpler times, especially when I was a child. I shall read on and follow their progression to adulthood....more
3.5 This is the second novel that I read by the Irish novelist Cecelia Ahern.
Alice has a special gift/curse: she can see colours and auras. When she's 3.5 This is the second novel that I read by the Irish novelist Cecelia Ahern.
Alice has a special gift/curse: she can see colours and auras. When she's young, she doesn't know what to do with them, but eventually, she realises different colours mean different things. She's the middle child, with two brothers. Their single mother, Lily, is volatile and has a drinking problem.
This novel is about Alice's journey from pre-teen to old age.
While this was readable, I found it a bit too repetitive in the middle part and uneven....more
This was such a good read/listen, albeit slightly on the too-long side. Gottlieb is a fascinating person. In this book, she mixes personal background This was such a good read/listen, albeit slightly on the too-long side. Gottlieb is a fascinating person. In this book, she mixes personal background and stories with a few clients' stories and issues that she had seen in her practice.
I find it interesting and also perplexing that therapists who are supposed to know so much about human psychology, behaviour etc. seek other psychologists's help on occasion. It could be because it's easier to help others than to help ourselves, or it's easier to see certain things clearly from the outside when we're not involved or affected personally. The case studies she provided were all valuable, albeit they all resolved, if there's such a thing. My takeaways: - everybody seeks/needs to be loved, seen and understood, and to feel secure. - things in our childhood tend to shape so much of who we are, for better or worse, but also, no matter how good a parent is they're inevitably going to screw up their kids one way or another. - fear makes us do crazy things, e.g. fear of abandonment, therefore I'll push the other person away etc. - the obvious - we only have one life, there's no do-overs, there's only today.
Indeed, we should all talk to someone, but let's face it unless you're desperate to receive help, it can feel like such an extravagance given the exorbitant hourly fees.
I had another thought while listening to this - there was never any mention of any patients being neurodivergent, surely, being wired differently makes things more challenging? I couldn't help but wonder if Gotlieb treats everyone the same because she doesn't think neurodivergence is an issue, or because the root of most problems is similar? It's also possible that she just picked cases that served the scope of this well-realised book. After all, nobody can cover everything. I'll probably never find out the answer and I'll have to be OK with it.
As for the audiobook, I loved Brittany Presley's voice and narration style....more
I tried multiple times to read the Offing by Myers as many people raved about it. I just couldn't get into it.
I tried CuddySomewhat spoilerish review
I tried multiple times to read the Offing by Myers as many people raved about it. I just couldn't get into it.
I tried Cuddy as an audiobook, and upon noticing the setting, I promptly dropped it.
So reading this was a kind of last attempt at seeing what's all the fuss about.
Objectively, Myers can write. Subjectively, I just couldn't connect, I often found myself reading but not taking anything in.
The protagonists of this short novel (something that goes in the plus category) are two men who are a bit different: Calvert is a Falkland Islands veteran with a good case of PTSD, Redbone is an anti-authoritarian, musician of sorts. It's 1989, somewhere in England. The two friends have plans and goals - to make crop circles. Calvert is the logistics man, Redbone is the designer/creator of those crop circles that get more and more sophisticated. They do it at night, it's all anonymous. Of course, (insert rolling eyes) people and the media wonder if they're done by extra-terrestrial beings. Sorry to spoil it for you, but that's pretty much all there is about this novel, plus a few tidbits about climate change, and class.
In conclusion, this was a short novel, the writing was decent, the story didn't feel like was going anywhere. Unfortunately, I didn't care about the two protagonists, and I don't think it's because books about men usually bore me.
I'll put this down as it's me, it's not you....more
I thought this would be the book that breaks this sense of ennui I've been feeling towards books lately - with no title grabbing me - I'm jumping betwI thought this would be the book that breaks this sense of ennui I've been feeling towards books lately - with no title grabbing me - I'm jumping between six different audiobooks on 3 different apps and I have 3 paperbacks I feel no rush to get back to.
I'd Rather Not is a small collection of essays. It's promoted as "endlessly entertaining" - an exaggeration setting the reader for disappointment.
There were a few amusing instances, some observations on welfare and unemployment, being homeless and couch surfing, working as a dishwasher, taking a trip up North with his parents and a bunch of camel wranglers, working as a tourist guide and putting out a short-stories magazine.
I'll keep trying, I'm overdue for a riveting read.
This was my first Sittenfeld novel. I've heard good things about her writing, so I got curious. Despite its title, this was not a comedy, although i3.5
This was my first Sittenfeld novel. I've heard good things about her writing, so I got curious. Despite its title, this was not a comedy, although it's a romance. The main protagonist and narrator is Sally Milz, a thirty-something writer at The Night Owls, a weekly TV comedy show similar to Saturday Night Live. Noah Brewster is a pop music star and the host of one of the shows. There's chemistry between the two, but misunderstandings and insecurities stand in the way. Two years later, during the pandemic, Noah messages Sally and the two of them become pen pals of sorts. Will they finally get together and if they do, will it work out? Read and find out.
Everything about this romance novel was hyper-realistic, and it didn't shy away from mentioning aspects relating to bodily functions and other unmentionables.
This novel also shows how ridiculous we become when we fall in love and start a new relationship. Or at least this was one of the takeaways.
I appreciated the behind-the-scenes info, as I'm curious about the logistics of shows. I also enjoyed hearing about the protagonist's pet peeves when it came to romance novels: e.g. the ingenue, who's extremely cute but she doesn't know it etc. - all valid points. My least favourite parts, crazily enough, were when the two actually got together, too much hand-wringing and insecurities, all realistic and believable, but all the talk and stuff bored me. I preferred it when they weren't so earnest, it was more fun when there was banter.
Idol, Burning is a Japanese novella about fandoms and cancel culture. Akari is in high school, she's a bit behind in life, can't keep up with school, Idol, Burning is a Japanese novella about fandoms and cancel culture. Akari is in high school, she's a bit behind in life, can't keep up with school, she very likely has some sort of learning disability that is not recognised by her school or parents. Akari's whole world is the member of boyband. She writes a blog dedicated solely to him and tries to support him the best way she can. One day her beloved musician commits an act that sees him fall out of the public's grace. What's Akari to do?
This showed the unattractive side of the fandom, obsession, the music industry, and pop culture. It sucks when our idols disappoint us, but I guess we're to blame for putting them on a pedestal in the first place.
An interesting read, although not as hard-hitting as I expected it to be. ...more
An indulgent 3 stars because I'm a snob and this is shortlisted for a prestigious literary award and other arguably more erudite, knowing people, deemAn indulgent 3 stars because I'm a snob and this is shortlisted for a prestigious literary award and other arguably more erudite, knowing people, deemed it worthy. The truth is I finished this very short novel and I was left scratching my head wondering what was the point, what did the author want to convey?
I somehow was under the misapprehension that this was a difficult book, it wasn't as such, the writing was straightforward and accessible. What was not so easy to grasp were the author's intentions. Sure, I could sniff some of the themes: family issues, gender roles, the roles determined by one's birth order; some xenophobia, something relating to the past when it came to one's background, which based on the author's Jewish sounding name I'm presuming/assuming it was about Jewish people ostracisation in the past? The novel is somewhat unsettling, with some weird things happening in the village somewhere in a Northern country.
The relationship between the narrator and her eldest brother was kind of strange.
As I'm trying to get through another shortlisted Booker novel that's super long (26 hrs!!!!) at least this one was a quick read. I just wish it was more engaging....more
This is the second non-fiction book I read this month that looked at the history of an ex-communist country, in this case, East Germany. I appreciated This is the second non-fiction book I read this month that looked at the history of an ex-communist country, in this case, East Germany. I appreciated having the opportunity to revise my basic knowledge of East Germany history.
Nina Willner covers a long period of time in her family's history and that of East Germany, from after WWII to when the Berlin Wall Fell. Until reading this, I never fully realised how important Mikhail Gorbachev was to the fall of communism.
Willner tells the story of her mother's family after WWII, when Germany was divided in two by the big powers, here's half to you, US, and here's half to you, Russia. Those Russians really had a bad reputation due to their behaviour mind you as crude, alcoholic, rapists. (I remember my grandmother telling us that when part of her family house was requisitioned during the War, she preferred when the Germans stayed as they were clean, and didn't impose themselves too much, whereas the Russians were pissing everywhere and had no manners - it's interesting how certain things stay with people). #notallRussians
Willner's mother, Hanna, had escaped to the West and eventually ended up in the US. The rest of the family, consisting of her father, mother, and many siblings (eight or nine) stayed behind and suffered through forty years of communism.
Different countries but similar authoritarian regimes = lots of common themes: - secret police spying on its citizens ✔; - food and other essentials scarcity and poor quality ✔; - propaganda galore ✔; but also - people made the most of what they had ✔ - many listened to the other non-communist countries' radio and to Voice of America ✔ (I remember my own teen years in Romania listening to Voice of America - I can't say that teen me cared that much about politics or understood, my priority was Top 100 or whatever it was called, it was beyond exciting for the music-obsessed teen me to listen to American music that we never got to listen on the state authorised radio).
In my head, I thought that East Germany wasn't as strict and authoritarian as Romania, but I concede I was wrong.
This was an interesting account on East Germany. I need to read more about other countries such as Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Hungary. I need to read about my own native country, I have so many gaps, and so many unanswered questions....more
2.5 hrs of listening were enough to make me realise this was not for me.
1. too long - no crime/thriller needs to be over 500 pages or 15 hours longDNF
2.5 hrs of listening were enough to make me realise this was not for me.
1. too long - no crime/thriller needs to be over 500 pages or 15 hours long.
2. the Indigenous servant's letters to her parents were beyond preposterous, and heavy-handed, I uttered many FFS and rolled my eyes. One of my pet peeves in modern literature is the tendency to write characters from a minority as perfect and wholesome. In breaking news: flawed humans from a minority still deserve to be treated with respect even if they're imperfect, they don't need to be holier than thou.
4.5 Nadine J Cohen's debut deals with themes that seem to pop up in many contemporary novels: mental health struggles, grief, and trying to find onesel4.5 Nadine J Cohen's debut deals with themes that seem to pop up in many contemporary novels: mental health struggles, grief, and trying to find oneself. On top of that, there's intergenerational trauma due to the main character's Jewish heritage.
Yael is in her early thirties and has had a major mental breakdown. She's trying to put herself together. She's lucky to have a supportive older sister. It's just the two of them in the world as both their parents died years prior.
Everyone and Everything is filled with sadness. It reaffirmed my conviction that life is unfair and some people seem to be dealt such bad cards. The sadness, melancholy, grief and life struggles that permeate this novel are made more bearable by the intercalation of wry, intelligent, sarcastic and self-deprecating lines. The writing style and breaks in paragraphs worked really well, I never felt whiplash due to timeline changes.
Despite weeping often, this was a life-affirming novel. I'm happy I decided to read it on a whim....more
What an extraordinary memoir this was - beautifully written and immensely clever.
The cherry on this exquisite cake was the many uncanny similarities What an extraordinary memoir this was - beautifully written and immensely clever.
The cherry on this exquisite cake was the many uncanny similarities in our experiences, although we grew up in different countries, albeit with similar regimes, Ypi is Albanian, I'm Romanian, and she's a few years younger than me.
Growing up, Albania was never much on my radar - I knew they were a communist country (NB: Ypi refers to all as socialism, I always think of it as communism, regardless, it was pretty much the same - obviously, they played by the same book). Growing up in a closed border country very few goods were making their way in, most of them were from other communist countries. Some of my favourite treats to eat when growing up were a whole date jam and some sesame bars, both imported from Albania. Even for those goodies you had to have contacts to purchase them. I was privileged in that way.:-) Like in Albania, we had to queue up for basic necessities, there were rations etc. This might explain my phobia when it comes to queuing.
This memoir is mostly told from the perspective of a child, who absorbs the school's propaganda and her parents' and grandmother's views and opinions - which I thought was a clever way to go about telling a story that is complex and layered. Given her family's diverse biography, this provides the readers with a full-bodied, personal history that overlaps with a revolution, and a civil war, after all, when big historical events take place, people still live their small lives, sometimes, without realising they're living through important historical moments.
Ypi is a professor of political theory. The author's afterword is a must-read/listen as well.
I'm so glad I took the time to listen to this and I'm grateful to the public library system for making this audiobook available for free.
Highly recommended
NB: While I don't mind this cover, I absolutely love the alternative covers with the Coca-Cola can, if you read this book, you'll realise its relevance....more
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