grass-harp

[grass-harp]

Melissa Broder: “The Pisces”

What‘s this?

Lucy has been writing her dissertation about Sappho for thirteen years when she and Jamie break up. After she hits rock bottom in Phoenix, her Los Angeles-based sister insists Lucy housesit for the summer—her only tasks caring for a beloved diabetic dog and trying to learn to care for herself. Annika’s home is a gorgeous glass cube atop Venice Beach, but Lucy can find no peace from her misery and anxiety—not in her love addiction group therapy meetings, not in frequent Tinder meetups, not in Dominic the foxhound’s easy affection, not in ruminating on the ancient Greeks. Yet everything changes when Lucy becomes entranced by an eerily attractive swimmer one night while sitting alone on the beach rocks.

Whip-smart, neurotically funny, sexy, and above all, fearless, The Pisces is built on a premise both sirenic and incredibly real—what happens when you think love will save you but are afraid it might also kill you.

Tell me more!

The Pisces was an interesting read, to say the least. It's marketed as a book about a thirty-something woman who's struggling to finish her PhD after 9 years of work and falls in love with a merman.

Sounds weird?

Yep, but actually I found the topics at the core of this book super relevant, interesting and not weird at all. Lucy is depressed, disillusioned by relationships and men, the pointlessness of life, overwhelmed by all sorts of expectations placed on women, etc.

I've seen reviews criticising that she's too self absorbed. But I liked that her bleak thoughts, problematic actions and mental health issues were described with such brutal honesty. It's not an easy read and not a happy one, the (good and bad) sexual experiences are quite graphic and the merman might seem as a weird magical element of the story. But it comes together nicely, describing the experience of a white woman coming to terms with not being young anymore but not old yet.

If you’re curious about another opinion on this book, Hannah’s review convinced me to give the book a shot.

[grass-harp]

BOOKS OF APRIL ‘18

Long time no wrap-up! April was a weird reading month for me: Quantitatively good, since I managed to read six books. Qualitatively, not so good, since most of the books I read were mediocre reads and didn’t leave me very satisfied. One highlight of this month, however, was my impromptu weekend readathon with @the-literaryowl , during which I read and fell in love with “Everything I Never Told You”. It was perfect - not only is Celeste Ng an amazing writer, but chatting to Melody about my thoughts about the story made me read it more closely and appreciate it even more.

Another highlight was meeting Celeste Ng, when she presented her newer book, Little Fires Everywhere, in Berlin. Unfortunately, the event itself was a bit meh, since the moderator managed to make the whole event more about him and his opinion of the book rather than giving some space to Celeste Ng. 

But enough of that, let’s talk about the books that I read in April:

Morgan Matson: “The Unexpected Everything”

Morgan Matson is one of my go to’s when I feel like some nice, contemporary YA that is fluffy and serious at the same time. This book was the weakest one I’ve read of her, however, and I’m not entirely sure if it’s because I’m older now or because of the book itself. It gave me fluff, summery vibes and cute dogs, but not more than that.

V. E. Schwab: “Vicious”

Victoria Schwab’s books are not for me. I appreciate that her protagonists are usually some kind of anti-hero and I like the ideas in her stories. But while reading them, I always get the impression that everything is supposed to be cool and dark and different and it just doesn’t work for me. The villains are bland, I don’t care about the characters because they’re too busy being cool, and ah - I’m just frustrated. I should just give up on her books.

Celeste Ng: “Everything I Never Told You”

This book was amazing. It will also get a full review soon.

Madeline Miller: “Circe”

I love how Madeline Miller narrates classic myths in a modern way with a slightly different interpretation. They’re definitely easier to read than the original, but don’t feel superficial. Sadly, I felt as distant from the characters in this one as in her first story about Achilles, and thus didn’t enjoy it as much as I had hoped I would. Nonetheless, Circe is a cool story about an ancient witch with a feminist twist and some good observations of human nature.

Leslye Walton: “The Price Guide To The Occult”

Based on my experience with her first novel (Ava Lavender, which I absolutely loved), I had expected a whimsical story with elements of magical realism that works both as an adult or a YA novel. Unfortunately, this book was more of a typical paranormal YA novel, including InstaLove, flat characters and a straightforward plot that didn’t offer any surprises.

Sarah Kuttner: “180 Grad Meer”

I  had a few thoughts about this German book which I will post soon (in German, with a small summary in English).

Which books did you read in April? Any new favourites?

[grass-harp]

Madeline Miller: “The Song of Achilles”

What‘s this?

Most of us will have heard of Achilles at some point, probably in context of the Troy War. This modern retelling focuses on Achilles before the war, how he grew up and came to be such an iconic figure. Moreover, we read from the perspective of Patroclus, who was Achilles’ advisor - and maybe even companion and lover.

Tell me more!

As a child, I loved learning about the Greek gods, their old stories and myths. Some part of me is still in love with this ancient culture, so I’ve been wanting to read “The Song of Achilles” for a while now. Add to that raving reviews on goodreads and you have me curiously eyeing the book.

I wish this modern retelling was available back when I was so fascinated with Greek mythology, because it is easier and more enjoyable to read than many classic texts. I appreciate how Madeline Miller finds a good balance between action and warfare, but also calm scenes, dialogues and emotions, making the whole story feel very round and the characters very accessible. Moreover, with her vivid writing style she manages to create the Greek countryside with its smells and views in the readers’ mind. Reading this made me hungry and wish for a plane ticket to Greece.

I can’t really pinpoint what irked me about this book. I didn’t have any clear issues with it. But even though I enjoyed getting glimpses of Odysseus (he’s always been one of my favourites) and learning about Achilles and Patroclus’ fate, the book didn’t move me as much as I had expected. Some parts of it felt quite long and I got the impression the characters were going through the same conflict over and over again. I didn’t love it in the end, but I’m still happy I spent some good hours with it. Now I’m curious how I’ll like the author’s retelling of Circe - hopefully it will touch me a little bit more than “The Song of Achilles”.

[grass-harp]

S.A. Chakraborty: “The City of Brass” // Daevabad Trilogy #1

What’s this?

Nahri makes her living in 18th century Cairo as a con-artist, by pretending to perform medical procedures and spiritual cleanings. One evening, though, she summons an actual magical creature by accident: A djinn. Other, seemingly far worse creatures are at his heels and so begins a journey through the Arabic peninsula to an old, hidden city ruled by djinn: Daevabad. But this city doesn’t only offer answers, but also intrigues and complicated tribal politics.

Tell me more!

The beginning of this book is dreary. Flat characters and so many scraps of information that make it hard to grasp what is going on. Honestly, I thought about putting this book aside and just not finishing it. BUT! There were some things that I liked: The setting in 18th century Cairo, that was something new compared to other fantasy novels, the promise of a story about djinn and other creatures from Arabian mythology, as well as the atmospheric descriptions of food, city scenes, clothing items and rituals.

I’m so glad I pushed through.

Despite taking nearly 200 pages to become properly fun and enjoyable, I’m happy I pushed through. It’s not easy to understand the dense history of djinns and Daevas, their prejudices, culture and motifs. But once these became clearer, I entered a fictional world so rich in details that the following scenes felt like a film playing in my mind. I loved learning about all sorts of ongoing conflicts between different djinn tribes and observing how they developed. Moreover, we get glimpses into each tribes’ culture, their religion, and djinn maladies:

Stripes were common in infants born during the darkest hour of the night. [...] It was possible to accidentally create an evil duplicate, to transform one’s own hands into flowers, to be hexed with hallucinations.

And djinn cures, of which this one was my favourite:

A ground pearl mixed with just the right amount of turmeric could help an infertile woman conceive, but the resulting infant would smell a bit salty and be terribly sensitive to shellfish.

All of this we learn through Nahri’s and Ali’s (a prince from Daevabad) eyes; both very young people in a world where djinn reach up to 300 years of age. Surprisingly, even these characters started feeling more real and dimensional once the dreary start was over. I love how often the author managed to open my eyes about biases and misconceptions I had adapted because I was reading from these two inexperienced characters’ points of view.

Apart from these rich cultural scenes, we get a tale about friendship and love. Above all, also about belonging and family and how to find your place within it. Another convincing aspect of the book is that it managed to show how different sides/parties of a conflict develop through loyalties, hurt, fear, revenge and (mis)information. I liked how well these topics fit into each other and made the book transport much more than a simple love story (short disclaimer: there are elements of one but I wouldn’t categorise the whole book as a love story).

I am curious how the author will pick up all the lose threads in the second book and weave them together. I just hope this time it won’t take me 200 pages to get enchanted by this world all over again.

[grass-harp]

Books of February ‘18

I’m superduper late, but I didn’t want to miss out on my wrap-up of February. After all, I had doodled my read books already and wanted to share my “stack” with you guys. At the beginning of February I focused on preparing for an interview for a PhD position (which I got!! WEEEE!!) and fell into a small reading slump straight after, so I only managed to read a few comic books. On another note, go comic books and graphic novels! I rediscovered my love for them and hope to read more of these in the upcoming months. So let me know, if you have any recommendations!

Sylvain Neuvel: “Sleeping Giants”

I listened to the audiobook of this awesome science fiction novel (thanks again for the recommendation, @missbookiverse !) and immediately fell in love with the awe-inspiring science content and the form of narration. The whole book is told in different types of documents (interviews, journal entries, etc.). This format can make me feel detached from the characters, but since the different characters in the audiobook are read by different people, I felt closer to them and like listening to a reality radio-show. I loved both the plot and form of narration of this, so make sure to check it out!

Roshani Chokshi: “The Star-Touched Queen”

This Indian mythology-inspired YA fantasy novel was kind of a waste of time to me. Read my full review / complaint here.

Margaret Atwood: “Alias Grace”

I read this true-crime story about a convicted murderess in 1850s Canada with my lovely bookclub and really enjoyed it. What I loved about this book? The unreliable narrator, glimpses into the history of psychiatry and perception of mental illness, the sometimes cocky writing style and the feminist elements.

Abi Andrews: “The Word For Woman Is Wilderness“

I loved, loved, loved this book. If you want to know why, make sure to check out my review.

Brian K Vaughan, Cliff Chiang, Brian Wilson: “Paper Girls”

This graphic novel had some nice Stranger Things vibes - a short review of this will be up soon.

Noelle Stevenson: “Lumberjanes”

I liked the idea of accompanying a group of Girl Scouts on some mad adventures and see them kick ass. Some of this can actually be found in this comic, but I thought it was a bit all over the place, rather than developing one story line. I’m kind of curious about the sequels, though.

John Allison, Lissa Treiman, Whitney Cogar: “Giant Days”

I can highly recommend this comic about three friends and their first weeks in college. Need more details? Check out my review.

Phew, it’s been a long time since I had to include so many books at the end of the month (definitely thanks to the comic books). What was your February like (if you can still remember it)? Do you enjoy reading comic books and/or graphic novels?

[grass-harp]

Abi Andrews: “The Word for Woman is Wilderness”

What’s this?

“The Word for Woman is Wilderness” is part narrative, part pondering on environmental, societal and feminist issues. There’s Erin, a 19-year old girl setting out on a great journey to a cabin in the Alaskan wilderness. Kind of like Henry-David Thoreau, Jack Kerouac, Chris McCandless and other American men that chose the hermit life as a criticism to modern civilisation and humanity. But rather than following their footsteps (because they were all white men anyway and had some clear contradictions in what they were advertising), Erin sets out on her own journey, reflecting on the worldviews of these and other writers, as well as indigenous cultures she comes across, rounding them all up to formulate her own understanding of life on earth and the position of herself and humanity within the universe.

What did you think?

Dear Erin,

I spent so much time with you over the past week, either reading your (fictional) words or thinking about them throughout the day, criticising some of your standpoints and being fully convinced by others. I loved the way you set out on your great journey, somewhat independent and prepared, somewhat open to whatever comes your way. Moreover, I loved accompanying you through Iceland, Greenland and Canada to Alaska and see you grow along the way. I appreciated being taken along your interpretation of Thoreau’s, Rachel Carson’s and other writer’s works; as well as Eskimo and Athabaskan culture. Your synthesis of all these worldviews and convictions was inspiring to me, especially because you develop your own ideas through them.

I may not have agreed with everything that you wrote. Especially at the beginning I felt like some of your behaviour and thoughts regarding men fell a bit on the ‘overglorifying the female, shaming the male’ side that always leaves a bitter aftertaste in my mouth, because it does not agree with my view of feminism and what it should be about. BUT I got reconciled by the fact that later on you start questioning yourself and your way of thinking. I think this added another layer to the book, seeing that nobody starts out with having perfect opinions that are free of contradictions. Usually they only develop into more mature understandings, and seeing this growth made me appreciate your story even more.

I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with you, on your journey into the wilderness and to a deeper understanding of yourself and things around you. Your voice was eye-opening to me, made me curious about things, and fall in love with earth, science and literature all over again. Thank you for all of that. Farewell, dear Erin. (But I’m sure I’ll revisit you sometime from now, to let myself be ‘colonised’ by your thoughts again).

With love, grass harp

[grass-harp]

Bullet Journal Weekly Setup

I’ve been wanting to adapt this blog a bit more to my interests apart from all things book-related. More specifically, I wanted to include my passion for Bullet Journaling and doodling to some extent, but I’ve been struggling to decide for an appropriate format. I don’t want to post only a few pictures without saying anything, but I feel like more immersive visual media such as YouTube are better suited for going through more than a few pages. I’ve toyed with the idea of uploading some simple videos here, but I’m not sure about that. If you have any ideas or suggestions, please let me know.

Anyhow, in this post I want to give a short overview of how I design my weekly spreads. After all, the beauty of bullet journaling is that you can adapt everything to your own liking. After trying stuff out for a few months, my weekly spreads usually contain these things:

Week date (top left writing thingy), to know which week this spread is actually referring to.

Weekly overview (top left box), in which I write down important dates, deadlines, appointments, etc. for the week. Some days are left blank because I have no appointments at all or just have a simple work day ahead of me (more likely).

Habit tracker (bottom left box), in which I include between 3 and 6 things that I aim to do every day (or most days of the week). Generally, this includes reading, flossing, meditating and/or yoga and not spending any money. I adjust it to whatever I want to include in my daily routine. Currently, for instance, I also have a section for doodling, practicing my Dutch skills and drinking at least 2 liters of water everyday.

Daily To-Do Lists (middle section), in which I write down all the stuff that has to be done during the day. I try to break down tasks into smaller parts when I write them down, so as not to feel overwhelmed by them.

Gratitude (bottom right box), in which I write down all the things, people, events, feelings and impressions I was grateful for during the week. I love filling in this section at the end of the week, because I can reflect over how I spent my time and appreciate smaller things. It’s also great to go over these memories after a few months or at the end of the year. This somehow works better for me than “one line a day” journal entries, but still allows me to use my bullet journal as a sort of diary.

Quotes, doodles, scraps of paper, with which I usually embellish the spreads to make them a little more personal and me. Being creative with my spreads usually relaxes me quite a lot, so I try to do it even during busier times. I like to select two colours that I use primarily (or in combinations) throughout the spread, to give it a cohesive look.

There are also a few things that I got rid off over the past couple of months - things that might have been useful at some point or that I saw other people in the Bullet Journal community use. At first, I used a monthly habit tracker which I didn’t fill in most of the times - moving it to my weekly spreads helped me to use it more. I also used to have a sleep tracker, but most nights I get my eight hours anyway, so it wasn’t really informative.

Do you bullet journal or customise your agenda? If so, which sections do you always include?

[grass-harp]

Roshani Chokshi: “The Star-Touched Queen”

What’s this?

According to the stars, Maya is a cursed child. After the death of her mother, the harem women treat her accordingly until her father arranges a wedding for her - having peace for the country in mind, rather than his daughter’s own good. But things don’t turn out as expected and Maya becomes queen of a country she doesn’t know anything about. Much worse, her new husband is bound to keep his secrets.

What did you think?

"The Star-Touched Queen" follows the call for more diversity in books by presenting the reader a fantastic setting based on Indian mythology. Naginis, dragons and other creatures await the reader, together with a harem of the king's wives, horoscopes and the colourful and magical Night Bazaar. The latter is an awesome market filled with magical trinkets and spells, such as getting a good night's sleep in exchange for one's own name. I admired how the author created such an enchanting world in which everything seems possible.

Sadly, this setting is about the only thing that I enjoyed in this book. The plot is uneventful and mostly predictable, the characters are bland and lack any sort of chemistry or substance that made me care for them or believe their love and passion (for each other). Ironically, however, I found some side-characters to be much better developed. Take for instance Maya's father, the king of her country, who has his wise sides, gives sensible advice but ultimately acts in favour of his country and has his patriarch and military ways.

To top it off, the writing style often crossed the fine line between poetic and kitschy. Sure, some of the descriptions were very atmospheric, but they also came at the cost of cringe-worthy paragraphs and stereotypical expressions of love and admiration. Apart from a quite cool demon horse and the Night Bazaar, this book really didn't give me anything. So I'd recommend you to save your time for a more worthwhile book, rather than having to suffer through typical YA insta-love.

[grass-harp]

On Resurfacing From a Reading Slump

Throughout the beginning of the month, I have barely touched a book, let alone read more than a few pages consecutively. Last week, however, my colleagues and I were gushing over books during lunch break and I felt the urge to go home immediately and read ALL THE BOOKS. I just want to share a few things that I realised again - maybe this will help me or one of you when getting into the next reading slump. Or maybe it’s just another one of those love letters to books.

Shared pass-time, shared knowledge, shared passion. Isn’t it wonderful how people from various backgrounds, in various jobs, at a different age and with various interests can read the same things and somehow bond over them together? Take our lunch group as an example: Students of psychology, engineering and neuroscience, IT managers; German, Belgian and Chinese people - of course we share the academic environment, but apart from that we differ on quite many levels. Nonetheless we passionately talked about the books that we all read and kept recommending things to each other.

Tickets into other minds and worlds. I love learning about the world through books. Whether it’s factual knowledge about a country’s history, or more emotional, empathetic knowledge about other people’s situations, motifs and feelings, books can be eye opening. Often enough things learned from books also prove to be useful outside of them. Apart from my own experience with this, there are a few very interesting psychological studies on reading and empathy, which I’m planning to dedicate a whole post to - so stay tuned.

A celebration of language. To be honest, I had to think for quite some time to come up with a third point on this list. But ultimately, books are a form of language art. I have to admit that I don’t savour each and every sentence. I tend to read quite fast, so I’m not usually one who always keeps a pencil or highlighter on hand to mark beautiful and impressive passages. But I love when books make me stop mid-sentence and I go back, whisper the words to myself or even get the urge to highlight them.

This is no exhaustive list by any means, so let me know which qualities you enjoy in books!

[grass-harp]

John Allison, Lissa Treiman, Whitney Cogar: “Giant Days (Vol. I)”

What’s this?

Three girls meet during the first days of college and become friends quickly. There’s home-schooled Daisy, Esther who always manages to create some drama around her and rational medicine student Susan. “Giant Days” tells the story of their everyday life, growing up, dealing with sexist idiots and other things that life holds in stock.

What did you think?

I used to hunt for good stories about young people in college. I loved reading about the beautiful and daunting freedom that is associated with that phase of life, with the growing responsibility and realisation of your own position within the world. Unfortunately, a lot of the books that I tested tended to focus more on abusive relationships and sex and were heaped with a gallon of drama.

“Giant Days” is everything I ever hoped for. While catching a glimpse of Susan, Esther and Daisy’s life, it started to feel like I was hanging out with them in their cosy dorms. I loved their banter, how they start growing more comfortable with each other and help each other out. It’s sort of a story about everyday life - calm, funny, thoughtful, but nothing overly dramatic. I can’t wait to meet them again in the further volumes of this comic series.

[grass-harp]

January ‘18

I'm currently exiled from my studio due to a mouse invasion and seeking shelter at my boyfriend's place. Hence, there's no photo of all the books I read in January (although there were enough of them to form a beautiful stack). I doodled some instead, using my watercolours in a very amateur way and practicing some calligraphy. While we're on the topic, I'm truly planning to include some more Bullet Journaling and other doodling-related things on this blog, but I haven't decided on the format yet. If you have any ideas, let me know, otherwise please bear with me :)

Svenja Graefen: "Das Rauschen in unseren Koepfen"

I started off the year with gobbling up this book within two days. It's a beautifully written German novel about the stages of a relationship, including initial butterflies and final goodbyes. I loved how real this book was (in terms of love, family and friends) and that it was about young adults in college / working. Also, it managed to make me realise again how good (young) German literature can be and that I definitely need to get back to reading it.

Julia Korbik: "Oh, Simone!"

Another book in German, this time non-fiction and about Simone de Beauvoir's life and works. You can read my love letter to this book here.

Eowyn Ivey: "The Snow Child"

This was a beautiful and sorrowful tale of dealing with whatever life holds in stock. I especially liked how the story unfolded slowly, the magical realism and the descriptions of the harsh and wonderful Alaskan winters, seeing that we don't seem to get any snow this year. Read more about my thoughts on this book here.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman: "The Yellow Wallpaper"

I bought this Penguin Black Classic after @missbookiverse recommended it to me. I absolutely loved the witty writing in this one, the feminist issues and the dark humour. The first and last short stories were my favourite, and I definitely want to read more by this author.

Madeline Miller: "The Song of Achilles"

I feel this is another one of those bookstagram books (like "The Secret History") that everyone read and loved and that keeps appearing in photos. While I enjoyed it, I didn't like it as much as I thought I would. More thoughts on this will be up soon.

Philip Pullman: "La Belle Sauvage" [The Book of Dust #1]

Oh, my. Can anybody please get me a ticket to this cool version of Oxford and get me a Daemon? Even though I loved the "His Dark Materials" trilogy when I was a child, I didn't expect to love this new prequel that much. But I did, even though it's slow at the beginning and a bit too fast-paced towards the end. I listened to the German audiobook of this, read by one of my favourite narrators and there were hours in which I just sat in my room, being swallowed by this magical, cool, scholarly world. I can't wait for the second part to be released and am seriously considering rereading (or listening) the initial trilogy again.

Have you read any of these books? How did you spend your January?

[grass-harp]

Eowyn Ivey: “The Snow Child”

What’s this?

Far away from the roaring 1920′s, Mabel and Jack are trying to build a new life in Alaska. A miscarriage has destroyed their dream of building a family together and opened doors to silence, sadness and dwindling passion. But as they grow accustomed to the harsh way of life in their new home, they also start spotting a small girl in the forest. Is she real or just a result of their old longing for caring for a child?

What did you think?

If I would have read “The Snow Child” back when it was released a few years ago, I would have been quite bored by it. Two main characters in their fifties, a slow story? Nah. Fast-forward a few years and I deeply enjoyed this slow tale of dealing with the twists of life, rekindling love and finding hope.

Already the first pages are very emotional. Eowyn Ivey manages to weave these emotional tones into the description of the character’s environment and their actions. I loved her atmospheric and lyrical style, because it transported me to the deserted, snowy landscapes of Alaska, and made it easy for me to comprehend what the characters were going through. Moreover, it managed to keep me guessing until the end, whether the elements of magical realism were  really magical, imagined or could be explained otherwise. This confusion fit well with the slow progress of the story and made it somewhat more whimsical for me.

I also want to highlight how much I loved the depiction of women and feminisim in this novel. At the beginning, Mabel is taking care of the household, while Jack is in charge of handy work and earning money. But further into the story and with the help of an awesome female side character, these roles become more and more diffuse (with discussions and contemplation on both sides). I liked how the novel both managed to depict the standing of women at the time, while also being critical of it and showing more progressive ways of life.

[grass-harp]

Tea Time: The Struggle Of Starting A Book

It’s time for another book-related rambling post! You know that feeling of indecision when you want to start a new book? The endless possibilities of your bookshelf are too overwhelming, so you just pick a few and read the first page to see which one matches your mood best. You might even pick one, sit down with it - but somehow you cannot flow with the story. Something is not right, you’re new in an unfamiliar environment, maybe even in a person’s head. You have to put effort into navigating the pages and grasping what’s written on them. It’s not a lot of fun. Not as much as it should be.

Okay, first things first - do you know what I’m talking about (if you don’t, please teach me your secrets)? Of course there are exceptions to this, but quite often I find myself struggling with the first pages of a book. Which is kind of natural. I have to take a few steps back from whatever I was doing before, but there is no known context that I can get lost in. I have to tune into the writer’s style, open myself to whatever this story holds, be curious about the characters, their thoughts, feelings and intentions. If you look at it like this, it’s kind of magical starting a new book. But it can also be exhausting. Especially when it doesn’t take only 20-30 pages but up to 50 or 100 until I get used to the book.

When I look at how many days I spent reading one book (usually between 4 - 7), most often I waste the first days away on the first 100 pages and only spend half that time on the remaining pages. I don’t really mind, but why are beginnings often so difficult? Of course, sometimes I’m not in the right mood for the book or the story really just picks up later on. But even with books I’m curious to read, I often have this struggle. Which is why now I try to make time for the beginning of a book. Rather than just reading a few pages before going to sleep, I sit down for an hour or so after coming home from my internship. This way I have more energy and am not already half lost in dreams. I really hope that this will help me enjoy the beginnings of books more and appreciate the sort of magic that comes with them.

Let me know your thoughts on this: Do you have this struggle as well? If yes, do you observe it with certain books / topics / phases? What do you do with or against it?

[grass-harp]

2018 Reading Plans

I like to read according to my mood. If it’s rainy and I feel like getting lost in a fantasy world, I ditch my reading plans and just do it. But I also like lists every now and then. I like reflecting past actions and setting intentions for what’s to come. Especially as we progress from an old into a new year, I become thoughtful and motivated. When sitting down with my Bullet Journal, I realised that I actually had some things in mind when it came to books and 2018. So here we go with my reading plans for the new year - without stress and pressure, but rather as some intentions to keep in mind.

Number of books: Last year, I read 38 books in total. Especially throughout the second half of the year, I spent more time reading. I want to continue with this and set 52 books as my goal. I think I can manage to read one book per week on average. Sometimes I can be a lot faster, but I don’t want my reading goals to keep me from reading more difficult or bigger books, so 52 seems perfect.

Read 12 books by German authors: Last year I didn’t finish any book written by a German author. Time to change this, one book at a time (and a month)! Over the last years a lot of young, talented German authors have changed the literature scene quite a bit and I want to see what’s going on. I love how rich and versatile my mother tongue is and can’t think of a better way than reading books to appreciate this.

Finish eBook Bingo: These evil eBook bargains that appear every now and then have caused my TBR pile to grow - unseen, since they’re digital and cant’t make me feel bad with uncracked spines and immaculate covers. @missbookiverse and I created a little bingo in the summer of 2017 to tackle our digital TBR, but at some point I just forgot or ignored this page in my bullet journal. I want to fill in all 16 prompts this year.

Reduce TBR to less than 100 books: My gosh, so many unread books clogging my shelves. I’m not opposed to having a TBR per se, but the extent of mine makes me quite uncomfortable. I want to continue my fashion from last year, when I unhauled a few books and read more than I bought. Getting to less than 100 books is not unachievable, as I’m currently at roughly 120. I’d be stoked if I could reduce it even further.

8 Non-Fiction Books: While I’m definitely more into novels and short-stories, I like learning from Non-Fiction books (last year I read 3, excluding books for uni). Time to read more of those!

Feminist Power!: Whether novels, essays, short-stories, poems or graphic novels - I love reading about feminist issues. Rather than aiming at a certain number of books, I’m relying on my taste when selecting the books that I’m reading.

Books to read in 2018: I’m sure many of us know of these titles scribbled on scraps of paper or stacked in the shelve - those books that we’ve been meaning to read for ages but never have gotten around to. Well, time to tackle them! Here’s what’s on my list:

Eowyn Ivey: “The Snow Child”

Margaret Atwood: “Alias Grace”

Philip Pullman: “The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage”

Helen Oyeyemi: “White Is For Witching”

Leigh Bardugo: “Crooked Kingdom”

David Mitchell: “The Bone Clocks”

Libba Bray: “Lair of Dreams”

Ludmilla Ulitzkaya: “Jakobsleiter”

Celeste Ng: “Everything I’ve Never Told You”

Shirley Jackson: “The Haunting of Hill House”

Other: These are just some general intentions, such as writing down my read books (including author, rating, language, format and genre) in a reading journal, and consistently blogging short reviews and discussions.

Let’s see if I manage to stick to my plans or if my mood will make me follow other paths. In any case, I’m sure I’ll be swept off my feet, inspired and provoked by the books I read in 2018. I hope you will too!

[grass-harp]

Julia Korbik: Oh, Simone!

What’s this?

Are you a Simone de Beauvoir fan?  Have you read numerous of her quotes but (nearly) none of her works? Do you want to know how she came to wear her iconic turban? Would you like to find out more about her novels and philosophical works apart from the famous “The Second Sex”? If your answer to any of these questions is ‘yes’, “Oh, Simone!” will provide you with lots of interesting facts about this feminist and progressive author.

What did you think?

Other than excerpts of “The Second Sex” and a Podcast on “The Ethic’s Of Ambiguity”, my knowledge about Simone de Beauvoir’s open relationship with Jean-Paul Sartre and philosopical convictions was based on a few magazine and wikipedia articles. I didn’t know about the scope of her literary works, her memoirs, her (especially for the time) unusual way of life, how she broke with her bourgeoise family, how “The Second Sex” came to be and what she contributed to existentialism. Julia Korbik writes about all of this, with a good mixture of informative paragraphs, boxes providing details about the context (such as family, inspiring philosophers, friends, etc.), and quotes from Simone’s works and numerous letters.

The book is engagingly written, keeping it from being boring or overwhelming. Through this straightforward style and the good balance of information and interpretation of her letters and books, Simone’s works become very approachable. Which one will I continue with, though? Her essay “The Ethics of Ambiguity” in which she develops a moral based on existentialism? Her memoirs, to get a first-hand impression of her lived philosophy of finding freedom, transcendence and constant self-reflection? One of her numerous novels that puts her convictions and experiences into practice? Or read “The Second Sex” as a whole?

The author paints a very nuanced picture of Simone: She highlights the timeliness of Simone’s works, her faults, situations in which her thinking and acting was misled (for instance when, during World War II and the occupation of Paris’ she doesn’t comprehend her Jewish friend’s worries about their situation), but also later acknowledgements of Simone about her own mistakes. I like this realistic portrait, because it shows that next to all her amazing thoughts and work, Simone was a human being who incorporated the values from her philosophy, such as transformation and personal freedom, into her life. 

More, more, more?

If you want to know more about “Oh, Simone!” and Simone de Beauvoir, here are a few resources for you:

Eau de Beauvoir (Julia Korbik): A blog about Simone de Beauvoir written by the Julia Korbik.

Oh, Simone! (Der Lila Podcast): A podcast episode with Julia Korbik on her book and Simone de Beauvoir.

Simone de Beauvoir (Philosophize This!): A podcast about Simone de Beauvoir and “The Ethics of Ambiguity” (Part 1, Part 2)

[grass-harp]

2017 IN REVIEW

On the 31st of December 2017 I sat down and compiled a list of things in my Bullet Journal that happened during the year and that I was grateful for. Before I let go of the old year, I thought I’d share some of the more blog-related highlights here.

One of the most notable things of 2017 was trying to find my way back to books. I started my Master’s degree in 2016 and didn’t find the motivation and time to read books at night after spending hours dissecting research papers. I wanted to change this absence of books. It took some effort, some right and wrong choices of books and a lot of patience. I had to admit to myself that I didn’t have as much time for reading, so single books were probably going to take longer. But anyhow, I made it - and while the number of books I read this year is very little compared to previous years (how did I manage to read over a 100 when I was in school?!), I’m glad I can connect with them, discover new worlds and sentiments, get inspired and appreciate the written word again.

Throughout the course of the year I also realised that my reading taste had changed quite a bit. I still like a good mix of genres when it comes to reading, but overall I tend to like more mature books, that is, adult rather than YA fiction. A few years I’d probably have been bored because the character’s felt too old for me or had to deal with problems that I couldn’t relate to properly. But I’m kind of glad to be heading into different sections of the book shop now, and discover new spines and new stories to sweep me away.

Back to reading also meant back to blogging at some point, since I felt I had too many topics that I wanted to write about. I’m glad I have a little corner for my own again in this vast space of the internet, where I can review, think out loud, discuss and maybe also inspire some of you.

And, lastly, I am grateful for everything that has happened with my favourite Book Unicorns book club this year: We read thought-provoking books (The Power), battled our way through a rather repetitive short story collection (see below), got enchanted by a magical book (The Spellbook of The Lost And Found), celebrated a bookish Christmas in style and had our first super-cosy reading night.

And then, of course, there were 38 books - some extremely good, others bland and uneventful and some quite bad. My books are distributed across shelves and boxes in different cities, so instead of stacking these and showing you the pretty spines, I have to present my best and worst books of 2017 as a list in my bullet journal (which, by the way, I am also extremely happy about and counts as one of my highlights of 2017). 

THE BEST

Donna Tartt: “The Secret History”

I loved the slow suspense and the academic setting in this literary thriller. Also, very round characters, superb plotting and cool discussions about the Classics.

Helen Oyeyemi: “What Is Not Yours, Is Not Yours”

This collection made me fall in love with the short story format this year. The stories are as enchanting as the many covers of this book: secret gardens, college societies, seances and talking puppets can be found here, all displayed in changing settings with diverse characters.

Katherine Arden: “The Bear And The Nightingale”

I love Russian(-inspired) myths and folklore. This medieval fairytale blew me away with its beautiful storytelling, feminist theme, dark forests and conflict between old Heathen beliefs and Christianism.

Eleanor Catton: “The Luminaries”

I’ve never read a story as well-crafted as this one. From the New Zealand gold digger setting, Victorian style of writing and complicated links between the high number of characters to this rounded-off finale:  this book carried me away.

Laura Ruby: “Bone Gap”

I love how personal trauma and psychological issues are portrayed and enhanced by means of magical realism in this book. And as if this wouldn’t be enough already, we also get a dreary summer atmosphere, first buds of love and a poetic writing style.

Karen Joy Fowler: “We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves”

I never thought this book would make it onto this list, with me DNFing it two years ago. I gave it another try this year and (with altered expectations about the content) loved it! Another novel with an academic setting, about human nature, family relationships, psychology and somehow also research ethics.

THE WORST

Ludmilla Petrushevskaya: “There Once Lived A Woman Who Tried To Kill Her Neighbour’s Baby”

Oh my, this book was mostly an example of what I don’t like about short-stories if they’re not written well. The stories’ twists are repetitive, the writing felt distant and often I didn’t get the message.

Haruki Murakami: “1Q84″

Will I ever become a fan of Murakami? I don’t think so. This book left me bored. It wasn’t bad per se, but after reading the first book I was neither hooked nor inspired. I listed it as one of the worst books because the synopsis and other people’s reviews had given me quite high expectations. Now I know that I have to approach Murakami’s novels with caution or just avoid reading them altogether.

And to avoid finishing with these two disappointments: Thank you guys for following along through this post and this year. I hope 2018 will be gentle and good to us and provide us with lots of more books worth discussing and raving about.

[grass-harp]

December ‘17

My favourite month of the year was filled with reading nights (by myself and with my book buddies), Christmas market visits, finishing papers and finally spending two weeks at home with my family and relaxing. Overall, a really good month, during which I also quite enjoyed the books that I read.

Ludmilla Petrushevskaya: “There Once Lived A Woman Who Tried To Kill Her Neighbour’s Baby”

I read this short story collection with my Book Unicorns and except for a few stories, all of these made use of similar elements. Repeating the same structure over and over again made the stories seem bland and not very creative. In the few exceptions, I really liked how the author weaved in some elements of magical realism, that gave the stories another layer.

Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock: “The Smell of Other People’s Houses”

Set in 1970′s Alaska, this book tells the story of four teenagers and their hardships. I really enjoyed the atmosphere and style of this story. Review will be up soon.

John Green: “Turtles All The Way Down”

Very raw and touching YA book about living with mental disorders. You can read about my opinion here.

Jen Campbell: “The Beginning of The World In The Middle Of The Night”

I immensely enjoyed this short story collection that is filled to the brim with magical realism, diversity and creative settings. A review of this will follow.

Jay Kristoff: “Nevernight”

I had hoped this mature and graphic (in terms of violence and sex) fantasy novel would carry me away on rainy winter nights, but I had difficulties getting into the story. While I liked the atmosphere of a boarding school for assassines and the rich worldbuilding, I didn’t care exceptionally much about the characters. I still enjoyed it, but I have to take a break before I dedicate my time to the second book.

Eleanor Catton: “The Luminaries”

This beast of a book (800 pages!) accompanied me during my Christmas holidays. The perfect time to read it and get swept away by the entangled storylines of 12+ different characters.  Review of this enchanting, breathtaking story will be up soon.

How did you spend December? Did you discover any new favourites?