Looking at my Goodreads "to-read" list sometimes stresses me out. I did go through it one day and delete duplicates and books I no longer wanted to read (it happens). As I was doing that, I realized that I tend to buy books from the newer end of my "to-read" list. Not shocking - recency bias. Some of these books I added to my list back in 2015! It's almost been 10 years! To help me read these books I have wanted to read for ages, I'm going to set some rules for myself. Currently, I'm going through my TBR pile that's currently in my home. Once that is complete and I start buying books again, I have to purchase down the list. To start, I think I'll only buy from the beginning of the list for the first 10 books. After that, it'll be a one beginning of list read and one end of list read (I don't want to limit myself).
I hope this will get me excited enough to finish my current stack of books fairly quickly!
Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney ⭐⭐⭐
I really wanted to like this a lot. I loved Normal People and while it did give off a similar vibe... I just really couldn't get into it. The characters weren't that great - I didn't like them all that much. I did like the writing style of the book. Sally Rooney has better books if you want to read those.
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
THIS BOOK. It has been hyped up and I'm always super wary about a book when that happens even though I always get excited to read it. I'm never sure if I'll think it's as amazing as they say. This was - it lived up to its hype. There's even a bookstore coming to Indy based on the title (Tomorrow Bookstore). The characters were flawed in the most human way and I did find it interesting being on the other side of the gaming world (the creators). It just felt very true and... human to me.
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I love a Greek story and this did not disappoint. I do prefer Circe to this, but I love the way the author spins these tales. It was a quick read and kept me interested the entire time. I also did enjoy that it wasn't told from Achilles perspective.
Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman ⭐⭐⭐⭐
If you love the movie, you may not love the book. I also read Rules of Magic and the magic in these books seems a little less than - which I do enjoy. It makes them seem more real in a way that people actually live and are magic. While the film focuses on Gillian and Sally, I liked that book focused on everyone - the aunts and Sally's girls too. It was also a bit darker.
The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This one has been in my TBR pile for awhile now and it was such a delightful read. I honestly had no idea about Belle da Costa Greene and while it's not a true biography of her life (I love historical fiction), I definitely spent some time researching her. What she did with J.P. Morgan's library is just astounding and while the way she lived her life might be controversial - she made quite the life for herself.
Russian Tattoo: A Memoir by Elena Gorokhova ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This book came in a gift basket I received for Christmas. I was a little skeptical at first, but I'm glad I picked this one up to read this month. An immigrant from Russia gets herself over here and creates a life for herself and her family. It was really interesting seeing the perspective of someone just coming over who did study English, but it wasn't the same as what was actually being spoken (something to think about). And how life was in the Soviet Union before the downfall. It's a little heavier, but a very good read.
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