Recent Reads

So I was planning to write another catch-up post (like this one), where I talk about what I've been reading, listening to, watching, eating, etc., and I practically wrote the entire thing, but as I neared the end, I started to realize how much of it was about books. So, as I struggled to come with anything interesting that I've been doing lately besides reading books, I decided to just start over, admit my life is boring, and give in to the temptation to write a whole post solely about books. Also, since I'm in the midst of finals week, I didn't have too much time to put into this post, so I had to settle for this picture I took last summer, when I was reading The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, which is still one of my all-time favorite books, by the way.

I never before realized just how much I liked reading until this year. I mean, I knew I liked reading, but suddenly I'm super into it. I always thought I was a slow reader, but that's just because I didn't read enough. I think it's mostly because high school was way more stressful for me than college (go figure). Now that I have more mental energy, it's easier to find enough focus to read instead of mindlessly watch TV. So I'm trying to take advantage of this relatively less stressful season in my life to read as much as possible. Whenever I go to the library or Barnes and Noble, I always tell myself, "You need to read more! Look at all these books there are to read!!" After all, my to-read list on Goodreads has 72 books on it... So now I'm making an effort to read as much as possible so I can get to as many as I can!



I've read 13 books so far this year (I know because I keep a list in my beloved bullet journal), my favorite of which has probably been Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, with Girl Online: Going Solo by Zoe Sugg a close second. Station Eleven is a much better "quality" book, like with actual character development and a complex plot, but every once in a while, I need a surface-level YA novel to escape into, and that was Zoella's book for me.

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi was also super interesting. As well as being an interesting look into the medical profession, I also liked the author's thoughts about the integration of science and the meaning of life. It's hard to explain here (you just need to read it yourself!), but take this interesting quote from the book: "Though we had free will, we were also biological organisms--the brain was an organ, subject to all the laws of physics, too! Literature provided a rich account of human meaning; the brain, then was the machinery that somehow enabled it. It seemed like magic!"

 I just finished (literally just now, like half an hour ago) Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple, which I've been meaning to read for ages. It was okay, but not amazing. The characters and plot were funny, but also a bit annoying and random, too. I know it was supposed to be more satirical than realistic, but I guess it wasn't really my style. However, it was a nice quick read after finishing my last book, Lilac Girls, which was almost 500 pages.

I've also discovered something that I never knew existed before, despite my long-time obsession with YouTube--BookTube! It's basically a bunch of YouTubers with channels completely dedicated to books. My favorite is Books and Quills, followed by Jen Campbell. Jen and I definitely don't share the same taste in books, but I still find her thoughts on literature interesting. She's also an author herself, and I love seeing what that's like.

If you want to follow all of my reading adventures, you can follow me on Goodreads here. I update my Goodreads account religiously (there's something so satisfying about clicking that "I've Finished This Book!" button).

This turned out to be a really fun post to write! Books are one of my favorite things to talk about! After finals week, I'll be on spring break and will have the time to make some really fun posts. I already have some cool ideas planned out that I can't wait to do. Until then!