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study diary || 19th of August 2024
Languages: - Revised all of Russian A1 Grammar - Watched Hannibal in the Spanish Dub - Daily Spanish/French immersion
Academics: - Did some readings on the Kuhn vs Popper debate
Others: - Planning a future Translation Studies reading list
Currently reading: Babel - R. F. Kuang
Just finished Babel 😃. Ima just need a minute-
I just want a found family like those in books and fiction. Is it too much to ask?
~ November's Books Reviewed ~
Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuinston
(418 pages)
I had wanted to read this book for AGES and I'd say it definitely lived up to my expectations - every shitty christmas romcom! And I mean that both in a bad way, and a very very good way. I unapologetically loved every second of it.
I gave this book 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A Fateful Crossing by Tom Hindle
(449 pages)
Not bad, but also, not good. A little messy and therefore a bit confusing, especially as a murder mystery, messy plot holes etc can really detract from the story in my opinion. That being said, I read it quickly and it was an easy and enjoyable enough story for that to happen.
I gave this book 3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Babel by R. F. Kuang
(546 pages)
Really interesting concept. I think I maybe read it a little too quickly so didn't fully appreciate it as it should have been. The commentary and insights on society and racism and xenophobia was very well done and extremely engaging which is what's going to make me say (unusually for me) that the fantasy elements were the worst bits of this book for me, and I almost felt that the same story could have been told without the "magic" and it maybe would have been even more impactful to just be commenting on language and communication in a reality that is more obviously similar to our own.
I gave this book 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Murder Game by Tom Hindle
(373 pages)
Better than the other Hindle book I read in my opinion, but still a little too "convenient" almost to be a fully successful and good murder mystery for me. Still obviously an easy and light read though, otherwise I wouldn't have picked it up after the first one.
I gave this book 3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Where are the Women by Sara Sheridan
(447 pages)
I was gifted this book and it is therefore an obvious movement away from the normal sorts of books I choose to read (it is designed more similarly to a guide book or history text book). In theory, this book is extremely interesting and so so undeniably well researched. I definitely learnt a lot. However, there is a reason I don't tend to read non fiction (or fictions books like this designed to be like a guide book), and that is because I don't particularly like reading them - they always feel just like an info dump with a lack of an actual story arc to me (which I suppose is exactly what they're aiming for...)
I gave this book 3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Secret History by Donna Tart
(559 pages)
It is clever. And I'm always going to appreciate a book that is the first of its genre or does something new for the first time. That being said, just because somethings the first, rarely means it's the best, and I've definitely read other dark academia style books that I've enjoyed more to be honest. I found myself skim reading sections which speaks to the fact that I perhaps didn't find it as engaging as other books.
I gave this book 3.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️🌗
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
(386 pages)
I was waring going in to this book since it has blown up, but mostly with people a little older than myself (late 30s-early 50s as far as I've seen), but I really really enjoyed this (and have now recommended it to all my reading friends my age too!)! It filled me with a righteous anger, but in a very validating way. Bits were a little predictable, but that hardly mattered when the social commentary was so much more important than the plot. I'd support a rule saying that every cis male should have to read this to be honest, it's such a peak behind the curtain at just the unintentional, but so deeply engrained micro aggressions that all us women experience, nevermind the outright moments of sexism and misogyny.
I gave this book 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Almond by Won Pyung Sohn
(252 pages)
A bit of a non story, but I strangely enjoyed it. I read the entire thing in less than an hour so hardly an intense read, but it was a very interesting perspective and commentary on people and their relationships with each other, and with themselves.
I gave this book 3.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The House in the Cerulean Sea by T. J. Klune
(398 pages)
Everything I wanted and/or needed. So wholesome. My only complaint actually is that I wanted more to be honest. All the characters are so so lovely and I loved their found family. T. J. Klune rarely disappoints.
I gave this book 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
my brother's keeper (poem from here)
Girls when translation is always an act of violence, but it can also be an act of love
