If I had a dollar for every time I said, “I want to become more consistent with posting here on the blog,” I’d be rich. But life keeps throwing up things that I have no idea how to deal with without retreating, and so, I retreat.
Writing has always been one of the great loves of my life, but of late, it has been difficult. I have lost interest in so many things I love, not because I no longer love them, but because watching the world burn and people be complete poopheads is more distressing at the moment than anything. I understand that this is when we need to hold on to hope the most, and I do. But there are so many people who are making it difficult to believe.
I’m planning – I’ve been planning for a while – a whole blog post on the state of the world, one that will hopefully go up in a week or two. If you’d like to read that, then don’t forget to subscribe!
So as reentry to this very beloved space of mine, I’m going to share with you a few books I’ve read this year and loved, and some of my current reads. Let’s go!
SOME BOOKS I’VE LOVED
1. More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa, tr. by Eric Ozawa
This is a sequel to Days at the Morisaki Bookshop and is such an improvement on the first book! It has more feeling to it, it is better translated, and it flows in a way that touches on human emotions in a way that will be relatable even when it’s not. And when you mix it with books and our love for books, the result is something so heartwarming, you won’t know what to do with yourself once you’ve finished with the story.
2. Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
Jhumpa Lahiri is a forever favorite author of mine and her Pulitzer Prize winning short story collection reiterates that fact with a power-packed punch. Every single one of the stories in this collection is masterfully crafted, gives you an insight into the psyche of an individual and of collective society, and makes you question every single thing you know about the world around you. Oh, and some of these will make you BAWL. Just saying.
3. Heartbreak Vows by Aarti V Raman
A second-chance, fake marriage romance, Heartbreak Vows is the story of a grumpy billionaire and a sunshine heir to a fashion empire. Its steam and spice gels well the emotional story it tells of the two main characters, and you find yourself understanding where both of them are coming from, so much so that you become them as you read their story. Aarti V Raman is great at what she does and it shows in Heartbreak Vows.
4. The Burnout by Sophie Kinsella
Reading about a character who runs into a wall when she’s burned out while feeling like you keep running into a wall every day, is a pretty revealing experience. Sophie Kinsella’s stories are quite light and funny while exploring the everyday experiences of a woman, and The Burnout is no different. It can get a bit drawn out, but the overall experience – of wanting to punch a character in the face while feeling for them – is still stronger.
5. Song of the Trinity: The Broken Tusk by Vadhan
This is the sequel to The Rise of Kali and is a mythological science fiction fantasy that brings the possibility of an end-of-the-world scenario to life. It is action packed, it’s funny, it’s well researched, and it combines the presence of existing characters from Hindu mythology and new ones in a terrific manner.
If you’d like to watch my reading vlog, here’s where you can: Reading Vlog – The Broken Tusk.
6. The Dead Fathers’ Club by Matt Haig
This story is told from the perspective of an 11-year-old boy, and the writing reflects that. It is the story of how despite the dead leaving us with a gaping wound and being dear to us, we need to focus on the living than the dead. It can be a tad bit frustrating, but even through it all, your heart will ache and you will want to jump into the pages and give Philip Noble a big, warm, comforting hug.
7. The Warbler by Sarah Beth Durst
The story of a woman who is cursed to grow roots if she stays in a place for too long who arrives in a town that no one can leave, The Warbler talks about women’s agency in a way that will give you pause. The end is a bit rushed and it feels like you don’t get all the answers to the questions that were posed. But the overall story makes up for it and you come away from it feeling challenged AND vindicated.
BOOKS I’M CURRENTLY READING
There were a couple of books that I started in February that I’ve put on hold because they are by male authors and I read only women authors in March. I’m not going to mention those here because they aren’t in my immediately line of reading sight. But the ones I’m currently reading are these books here:
Children of Anguish and Anarchy (Orisha #3) by Tomi Adeyemi – The third and last instalment in the Orisha trilogy, I started this book when the month started but I haven’t yet finished it. It isn’t pulling me in, not like the first book did, and I say that while I’m just over 120 pages from the end.
This Wild Catastrophe by Aarti V Raman – I started this one a few days ago and I’m only about 14% in, so I can’t really comment on anything about the book at the moment. Hopefully I’ll finish it in the next few days, though – fingers crossed.
The Mirror Crack’d From Side to Side by Agatha Christie – Again, another book I only started today and am only about 10% into the story. I’m reading this for my book club and can’t wait to discuss it with them!
So those are the updates that I have today. Do we have any books in common? What books have you enjoyed recently? What are you currently reading? Let me know in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you!
I’ll see you in the next blog post.
Until next time, keep reading and add melodrama to your life! 🙂
The Melodramatic Bookworm 