When I picked up this book I thought it was going to be a crime novel, after all the plot is about a journalist following the story of a food blogger that was convicted for killing 3 of her lovers. As I started reading it I found it slow and weird and that it seemed to be more about food and flavours. Eventually I realised that it's really about how the patriarchal Japanese society's expectations on women's position in society and their extreme ⬇️

This was a page turner, really flew through it. Oliver, a famous children book's author beats his wife up until she ends up in a coma. Some people who know him are surprised, some not at all. With each chapter we get the picture of Oliver told by different people reminiscing their experiences with Oliver from his childhood until the accidet. It's clear that Oliver is an asshole, the mystery is how much of an asshole he is.

Not as good as the first one because being a sequel it can't be as innovative, Gilead has already been invented. But a great sequel nevertheless. Although not as brilliant, it's easier to read than the Handmaid's tale, feels more like a novel. Follows the story of three different women: an Aunt; a girl that was raised in Gilead; and a girl that was raised in Canada, so we get to experience the fictitious estate from three different perspectives.⬇️

Alice is a brilliant Harvard Professor, wife and mother that has to face life with early onset Alzheimer diseased when she's diagnosed at only fifty years old. Alice's curse is the reader's blessing, there's no rush to move through the pages, to know what happens next, because sadly Alzheimer doesn't have a cure, doesn't have hope, you just have to enjoy every minute of consciousness until the darkness arrives. ⬇️

As always with Dostoyevsky a bit of an uncomfortable read, where the author makes you hate everyone, but this time I couldn't feel that I was empathising with any character, perhaps I'm now too old to relate to raw youths. At times it felt like the story was wandering aimlessly, but I flew through the last chapters. It is probably my least favourite Dostoevsky so far, but his worst work is still better than many other author's best.

Dickens is always such a comfort read, the way he writes just transports you to a different world where you feel that you really get to know the characters as if they were old friends. This book is the Christmas spirit in itself. My edition, a beautiful replica of the first print, recommends to read it out loud, and how great Dickens sounds! It really does make a difference, it's a story that was clearly written to be told.

This was awful. It's supposed to be a mystery, but I kept forgetting what Phryne was supposed to investigate. It's all muddled in non stop descriptions of her clothes, sex (without any eroticism) and comments of people admiring her? I'm surprised it has so many books in the series and even made it to the tv. I wonder if the whole book is just an introduction to the character and then the series improves...but let's be honest, I'll never find out⬇️

Amir and his father fled Afghanistan after the Russian invasion. Behind, they leave a comfortable life...and Hassan, the son of one of their servants. Amir and him were best friends, almost like brothers, despite Amir's frequent jealousy. One day their lives get shattered and both will have to learn how to live with what happened. Years later Amir receives a call and will have to decide if he can go back and find redemption.
⬇️⬇️

Re-reading Persuasion for the million time and my mind still gets like that every time Wentworth and Anne interact

It took me a while to go through this one, I only stuck with it because it was so small, but after finishing it, I don't think I learnt anything about the 1798 Rebellion. It just felt like a list of dates, names and battles. It could have benefited from explaining a bit more than with one line about who the characters were. I guess now I know how people who didn't have a good history teacher must feel during the classes.

Li-yan is part of the Ahka minority in China, they live in the mountains, harvesting tea and following their old traditions. As Li-yan grows up she ventures into the outside world,just as the outside world enters her village.

The theme sounded a bit heavy so I kept posponing starting the book but it turned out to be one of my favourite of the year.I loved it from the first page,the descriptions of the scenery left such beautiful vivid pictures⬇️

Like every collection of works there is a bit of everything, some are great, some are meh, but being one-act only even the ones that are not good don't drag for too long. The introduction to the book outlining the history of one-act plays as well as the introduction to each play were great; and I appreciate the fact that each play is a different genre to show how versatile one-act plays can be in so little words.

One of my #24in2024 with @Jas16

Finally managed to find a pretty enough edition of In Search of Lost Time. Definitely going to be one of my 2025 reading projects 🥰

I read this thriller as a teenager, found it in my parents bookshelf one summer and couldn't put it down. I lent it to someone never to see him or the book again, my parents couldn't remember reading or buying the book and I forgot the title. A couple of years ago in a second hand bookshop in the middle of nowhere in Patagonia I recognised the cover and bought it. ⬇️

A fictionalised story of one of the school girls kidnapped by Boko Haram. I knew this was going to be a difficult read, but I really struggled. The fist third of the book feels like a collection of gruesome stories about what extreme misogyny and religious fanaticism can take us. It makes difficult to connect with the character since there's no personal details outside the horrors that she's enduring. ⬇️⬇️

The novel follows three spheres that are intertwined: Mr Grandgrind is deep down a good man, but he only believes in facts and not feelings and tries to raise his kids accordingly...with totally forseeable consequences; his friend Mr Bounderby is a banker and manufacturer devoid of feelings who has problems with Unions and recognising employment rights; and Stephen Blackpool is on of Bounderby's employees that has a difficult life. ⬇️

Just keep in mind these fairytale retellings are not for kids, they are the stories of a survivor that sees them through the prisma of abuse. They tell stories of domestic abuse, rape, alcoholic parents, eating disorders... Let the evil that abusive men throw into the world come back to hunt them, in the form of a princess warrior that defeats them, or in the form of a villain that has been broken too many times and seeks revenge. ⬇️

I read this one for a book club and started it late,so I had to rush through it and it was a pity because it's kind of slow and I feel it would have benefited even more of a paused reading.Follows the life of Daisy Goodwill, from her birth until her death. Each chapter in a different style, narrator, autobiography, epistolary, different PoV...The writing is really great and it does get into the details of a very ordinary life in such a vivid way⬇️

Still fun, still fresh, the ex boyfriend with vegan powers is one of the funniest ideas I've ever read. Really enjoying this series and will continue with it.

"To a parent, your child wasn't just a person: your child was a place..." THIS ❤️

Shakers Heights is the perfect community nothing bad ever happens there, it is embodied by the flawless Richardson family. When Mia and her daughter arrive and the two families intertwine we find that all that glitters is not gold.

The novel explores themes of motherhood, family, privilege and race. The fight for the custody of an Asian baby between the foster white parents and the biological mother provides a very interesting discussion.

The heroine of our story, a shy poor young girl, falls in love with Maxim de Winter, a rich widower double her age. They marry shortly after and return to his mansion, Manderley. There, the presence of his late wife, Rebecca, is ever felt and still influences everything and everyone. Little by little we learn the details of her life and mysterious death.
This was amazing,the writing is so immersive,the atmosphere so dark that even when there's ⬇️

What can I say about the queen of the murder mystery, all the clichés are here, but she created them. Hastings is a bit of a simpleton which gives us some funny moments and it's interesting to see Poirot's first case, also it has drawings with layouts of the room and the house, always a plus for me. You won't find any depth in the story, but if you grabbed an Agatha Christie book you weren't looking for it, just to be entertained.

This was an interesting read, I read Melmoth the Wanderer some years ago (the book that inspired this one), and I think the idea is much better executed here. There's a lot to be said about how the obsession with appearances and staying young forever is so relevant today, but so much so that there's no need to get into that. The dialogues were a bit too witty, seamed unbelievable because everything the characters said was so profound ⬇️

A wild ride. First a lot of things happen in very little time, before he reaches the island; then nothing really happens for ages, is basically Bear Grylls telling you how he survives in the wild, but I'm not sure that Defoe had any experience (this is actually a compliment, I enjoyed this part). When Friday comes in there's a bit more happening, some good reflections but overall too much religion. Then suddenly the amount of people coming ⬇️

I'm trying to catch up with this, just have to say that if I had a dog, that's all I'd write about in my diary. I WOULD NOT write about building a table instead.

(Picture of detector dog Jack that I saw the other day on the news and fell in love with cause he's obviously such a good boy)

#RandomClassics @TheAromaofBooks

My husband bought me this little book store for my birthday, it took me a couple of hours to set it up but it was great fun doing it 🥰

We were the people who were not in the papers. We lived in the blank white spaces at the edges of print. It gave us more freedom.

We lived in the gaps between the stories"

"We're designed to enjoy it," Tilda had said. "Not to avoid it or endure it. Enjoy it, just like them"

Clitoris, Nature's reminder that women are also supposed to enjoy sex, not to be here just for the pleasure of others. That's why some societies cut it off before little girls have a chance to discover it. Use this post as reminder to unashamedly enjoy yours ❤️

I was reviewing extracts of Middlemarch.What makes it such a great book is the layers on every character.Dodo for example,choses Casaubon because she appreciates his intelligence and wants to better herself,but also almost out of certain vanity,like she wants to show the world how different she is,how little she cares about appearances.Her character develops through suffering the consequences of her choices,but there's vanity in her martyrdom. ⬇️

To me, Lord Henry is the most unethical character of the book, but "One should never do anything that one cannot talk about after dinner" is quite a good ethical rule to follow.

Robinson is rescued by a Portuguese ship,with the help of the captain he sells all his possessions(which apparently includes his friend xD)and settles in Brazil where he has a prosperous plantation.After his first trip almost ended in death;and the second captured and made a slave; he makes the OBVIOUS decision of going for a third trip to buy slaves for other people. I'm happy he is now in the Island cause I can't cope with his decision making

This chapter with the weird unidentifiable beasts, and the lion swimming to the boat to attack them got me so confused 😂 It made me think about that theory that says that unicorns were just badly described rhinos

#RandomClassics @TheAromaofBooks

Honestly, I already feel that Robinson Crusoe and I are kindred spirits

#RandomClassics @TheAromaofBooks

I bought this some of years ago in a second hand bookshop, I'm not going to lie, I just got it because it's pretty, but excited to give it a chance with @TheAromaofBooks and her #RandomClassics
My edition has an index dividing it on 24 chapters but with the help of Sparknotes I managed to find the 20 chapters division.

This is basically what I did with my first hour in the office cause it's Monday and I couldn't be arsed xD

This was on my tbr, I bought it years ago because the cover is pretty. To be honest,I found Anne irritating as a child, she is a Pollyanna with an attitude, and it can be difficult to read while rolling your eyes. Made me feel old to understand better Marilla! But as the book progressed I found that, like Marilla, I had grown fond of her. Overall, it is an easy feel good read and if I find a nice edition of the second one might follow the series

Sorry @kspenmoll I just saw this!
1. My nephew won a basketball tournament,his joys will forever be mine❤️
2. Chips with delicious gravy(gravy always brings me happiness)
3. My daughter and I found a gigantic dandelion (she calls them Happy Birthdays and loves them)
4. Went to Pearl Jam concert, they were amazing
5. One of the girls from work bought a tiny violin to take out every time someone complains, this has brought joy to the whole office

Anything that Simone de Beauvoir writes is an amazing insight into people's thoughts and feelings. On this story we follow the thoughts of an old couple visiting Moscow, their struggles with their passage of time and old age and how easily a couple can quarrel and grow distant if they don't communicate. A quick easy read that feels a bit too close to the heart now that my birthday is almost here 😅 #24in2024 @Jas16

One of the girls from the office got me this bookish gift 😂😂❤️

What is terrifying about The Handmaid's Tale is the feeling that you know this could happen, it doesn't feel like science fiction. After all it's not an unheard concept that women are considered second hand human beings, whose relevance comes linked to their capacity to procreate; whose right to bodily autonomy, or even to life comes in so many countries after that of an unborn baby. Relinquish your freedom for the sake of safety, we are taking ⬇️

The second half of Olive's life, this one didn't follow as much the short story style of Olive Kitteridge, and although years pass by between chapters it feels more like a novella centered in Olive, which some might find more enjoyable. I liked more the first one, but it's still very well written and maintains the humor and charm of the first book.

Esme's father is part of the team working in the Scriptorium, where the first Oxford Dictionary is being created. Raised there she learns to love words, but also that not every word makes it to the dictionary and words and meanings related to women's or lower classes experiences are left behind, so she starts collecting them.
It starts really slow and I probably would have abandoned it if it wasn't for a book club. I'm glad I didn't ⬇️

Junior doctors are asked to keep a diary as part of their practice, this are extracts of Adam's diary depicting his training, the awful working conditions that doctors are put through and the impact on their lives and ultimately the events that took him to quit after completing his training. Adam is so funny that makes this a very easy read while providing a very important social commentary about how do we all treat a very crucial sector of our⬇️

I absolutely loved this one. It's long and it starts a bit slow, but after about 1/3 of the book I felt resentful towards my other reads because I only wanted to read this. You see where everyone is going to end and it's a bit Dickensian in the sense that everyone is connected to someone else, but it's the countryside so very believable. Didn't know how to feel initially about Dorothea, that mix of religion, devotion and wanting ⬇️

Based on the authors grandfather's experience trying to fight the Emancipation Bill,which would deprive many Native Americans of their rights and land under cover of helping them.
It was an interesting read and I liked the topic,but there were too many characters with different stories that make it difficult to keep focus.I think I'd enjoy it more if the story was simplified,but I can understand why the author wanted to highlight so many issues.

I loved this one the first time I read it, enough to buy a new edition because the one that I had was very ugly. First time I got really invested and it did take me into a rabbit hole of darkness.

Although I found interesting the reread now that I know it's largely based on Charlotte Brönte's experiences and it has beautifully written chapters,I did struggle a bit with all the comments and thoughts about Protestantism and the English chauvinism⬇️

...again. No, if love was available, one chose it, or didn't choose it. And if her platter had been full with the goodness of Henry and she had found it burdensome, had flicked it off crumbs at a time, it was because she had not known what ond should know: that day after day was unconsciously squandered."

A collection of short stories where the character Olive has different levels of importance. Through them we meet her, her family and the people in the town whose lives are intertwined. All the characters and relationships have such depth, it's so well written, so rich in details, the stories have a gentle sadness but at the same time are funny... I can't recommend this enough, will read the second one and anything this author has to offer.

This extract from Ancient Cures, Charms and Usages of Ireland is wild... I don't know if I love my husband THIS much 😅

This brings to an end the "The trilogy of five" Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It recovers some of the freshness that had lost with the last book, really enjoyed it, very good wrap up of the series. I'll definitely revisit it in the years to come, a good way to get some light, fun-chaotic reading. Might look for the BBC audios, if anyone knows where to find them!

@Jas16 #24in2024