What I read: The Spring Flowers Edition

BOOK COUNT FOR THE YEAR: 46

• January: 14
• February: 5
• March: 12
• April: 8
• May: 7
• June:
• July:
• August:
• September:
• October:
• November:
• December:

WHAT LITTLE BUN READ

• Junie B. Jones – He is working through all of the books, right now around Book 6 or so. She seems pretty funny, Little Bun loses it when he reads her books.
• Stella Batts – He loves these stories as well! Some of them are quite funny. He is working through them. It’s about a girl named Stella and her little foibles.
• Zero Chronicles – WE LOVED THIS BOOK. The first one was so good, I am excited (even as an adult) to read the second. Spaceships and pirates? SO GOOD.

WHAT I READ

THE SECOND SEX

[ FEMINISM, PHILOSOPHY ]

What an excellent tome on feminism. I think this should be mandatory reading for all students before they graduate high school. Truly, truly, an excellent book. De Beauvoir thought every single particle out to its end, weaving in so many disciplines from all over to support her points. Highly recommended (be forewarned, it’s dense reading). This should count as 4 books with how dense it is.

THE EXPATS

[ MYSTERY, THRILLER, FICTION, FOREIGN, SPIES ]

WOW. I loved this book. I wasn’t expecting much, but I loved the character, I loved the story, the sort of shadiness of the whole situation.. it was FANTASTIC to the end. Cannot wait to read his sequel.

DICTIONARY OF LOST WORDS

[ FICTION, BOOKS, WORDS, THOUGHTS, FEMINISM ]

I thought this book was meh. Honestly, I don’t see the fuss. Maybe I am missing something but the whole story left me cold. I wouldn’t recommend it. It was an interesting story, but not something I really thought was revolutionary.

THEN CAME YOU

[ FICTION, LIFE, RELATIONSHIPS, FAMILY ]

As usual, same topics with Weiner – people, living their lives, with their problems, issues, and foibles. Very enjoyable, and relatable in many parts. It makes you root for them, when you read her words. I love how she shows different facets of each person – someone you label a ‘gold digger’ is someone who is a person as well, with their own baggage and background, and trials that they have gone through. It humanizes everyone in various ways, which I think is a very powerful skill to have as a storyteller, and as a reader, it humbles you to realize it is not what it may seem sometimes.

ROCK PAPER SCISSORS

[ FICTION, THRILLER, MYSTERY ]

WOW. WOW. SUCH a good book. I read it and loved the story, the ending, it was truly fantastic all the way to the end. I loved the twist, the turns, the characters, the psychological insight into both main characters and their perspectives. They could have fleshed out more of each character’s history or background to make it go deeper with more interactions, but I really enjoyed this book.

SOULMATE EQUATION

[ FICTION, CHICKLIT, SCIENCE, DNA ]

It was okay. I mean I wouldn’t read it again, but it was readable. I would at least recommend it to people who want a chicklit book and have read everything on earth (like me). It was an interesting premise, good plot, but the characters themselves left me wanting more. They weren’t well developed, they had less satisfying interactions / encounters that didn’t tug at my heart strings at all. BUT. It was an OKAY read, unlike some others where I felt like I wasted my time reading it.

THE ARTIST’S WAY

[ CREATIVITY, FINDING ONESELF, SELF-HELP ]

I read it to jump start my creativity again. I have fallen off the bandwagon of wanting to create and I think it is a sign of being burned out at work. Or this never-ending stressball called life with so many events just barrelling into my consciousness on a daily basis, making me feel helpless and frustrated, alongside being angry. At any rate, it did not help me, but maybe it might help you as it seems to be quite a positive self help book. I am likely too cynical for these books.