Some Books I've Been Reading

I did tell you we’ll make up for the lack of a Book of the Month last month, didn’t I? I’m here to fulfill that not a promise. 

Here are some books that I’ve read this year that are noteworthy for different reasons; maybe they’ll motivate you to read or reread anything from this list

Americanah: When I first picked this up for a re-read, I made a joke on Instagram that even though over here we BOW TO THE QUEEN OF FICTION (none other than Chimamanda Adichie, of course), I didn’t really like this when I first read it. I decided to try it again because my sister recently read it and said great things. I don’t know what the heck I was talking about. What a lovely book; what a masterpiece! I don’t know what I didn’t quite like it all those years ago when I first read it. I love it so much now.

Purple Hibiscus: Now, Americanah was so good that I went back to Purple Hibiscus too. This was also unbelievably good (especially as a debut). It is a surprisingly violent book though. It is incredibly searing, and reveals how human beings can inhabit both good and evil. How someone can be a great public-facing person but absolutely horrible in private and to those who know them well. CNA will always be that girl. What a trailblazer.

War on Peace by Ronan Farrow: The thing you need to know about this book before I go gushing on and on is it won a Pulitzer prize. I could end this whole spiel with that sentence and it would be enough, but no I will continue. I don’t even think I cared about the substance of this book per se. I just know when Ronan Farrow writes something, I want to read it. Period. Ronan Farrow is the genius whose investigative reporting brought our collective attention to the monster that is Harvey Weinstein. He got his law degree from Harvard when he was like 12 or something, and is probably the smartest white man in the world. In any case, imagine my surprise and excitement when I start reading the book and it’s a saga. The back-stabbing, the conniving, the greedy/selfish ambition—which honestly should not surprise me because if you know you know. What a gripping book. This book rivals every political drama movie/tv show out there, except for  *gasp* this being actually real. This book is incisive, phenomenal. I mean, what else is there to say. IT WON A PULITZER. 

Being Mortal by Atul Gawande: I put off reading this book for so long. I even had to ask my sister if it’s not a terribly sad book. And it was pretty cool. I liked how it just dealt with the issues mechanically. Such as, “hey, as you age, there are wears and tears.” No big deal. There were one or two devastating stories. So overall, it wasn’t too bad. At first. Then it got worse. It got depressing. Devastating stories after devastating stories. Diagnosis after diagnosis (I didn’t realize there were SO MANY CANCERS). It doesn’t mean its not a good book; it’s just a hard book. I don’t even know if it helped me. Would I recommend? I don’t know. Any book that makes you sob in public may not be worth it? But its also a very important book with questions about the kind of life worth living. 

Cassandra in Reverse by Holly Smale: I don’t like to be too hard on people’s creative endeavors because at least they got in the arena right? But I don’t know a way around it for this book. This book is…bad. Just bad.  It’s also so painfully obvious as to be ridiculous. Maybe I shouldn’t say its bad; but it is NOT for me. I’m honestly shocked something like this got published. That said, it has a lot of rave reviews so it’s perhaps a me problem. 

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb: It's really hard to encapsulate the essence of this book. But it's truly beautiful and give you a lot of insights about your own thoughts. It's something of a memoir on therapy so you read about a therapist and her patients and her own therapist. You will laugh, cry, and marvel at the human spirit and soul, and get to experience something that connects all of us: feelings. The need to be loved and to love. It's a heartwarming book everyone should read. It is also the reminder for all of us to take our mental health VERY seriously. The only part of this book that is worrisome is Gottlieb says she disguised the real identity of the characters to protect her patients. Fair. But then how much is true and how much isn't? I'm reading a story of someone having a transformational experience and have to wonder, ok but is this real? Because if even just 10% of a "character" is fake then isn't the entire thing just useless? What's the point of experiencing this therapeutic process if its made up? How is the dialogue so darn accurate? Did she record her patients? Did she make that up? I don't know. This doesn't ruin the book for me but these are questions I wish she would/could answer.

This is as far as I can remember, and I'm racing to post this while it's still May.

I hope May was good to you but I pray June is even better.

Also, it's one of my most favorite reader, Aish's birthday so join me in wishing her the Happiest of birthdays!

Love,

I