I was on a reading rut lately. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I always have a book in reach. Since the beginning of 2023, making time to read has become harder and harder. Most of the time, I love to read during my commute but ever since my work place become 15 minutes walk form home (not that I complain, it is a bliss) I don’t use public transportation as much. Because of this I tried to schedule reading time at home which made everything worse and reading became something like a chore rather than something I enjoy to be doing. So, all of this led me to read less and less…In early June, I came to the conclusion that it was okay not to read as much as I was reading before. Instead of forcing myself to read I have decided to just pick up a book I was looking forward to read and start reading it whenever I felt like it. So here is what I have read during summer.
Hanya Yanagihara’s “A Little Life” was the perfect the book that get me out of my reading rut. Ironically, it is one of the longest and heaviest book I have read in my life. The story revolves around four close friends from collage moving to New York. Williem, a handsome boy wanting to become an actor, JB, the talented artist, Malcom, an aspiring architect and Jude, intelligent litigator whose is also an enigma to his friends. More we read into the story the more we learn about Jude’s tragic past and how he deals with his traumas. The book is so heart breaking that in some parts I had to take a pause and digest all of the things I have just read and even cried. At the same time, the friendship between them is so heart warming they you feel a joy and relief for Jude while reading the story. While I was reading the last pages of the book, I was on a vacation in London. Just to see how the story would end I woke up earlier than everyone made my self a cup of coffee and enjoyed reading it in silince. (This also became a Saturday thing I like to do at home.) This book is not everybody's cup of tea but I would definitely recommend “A Little Life" by Hanya Yanagihara because it is a deeply affecting and unforgettable novel that explores themes of trauma, friendship, and the resilience.
After finishing A Little Life" by Hanya Yanagihara, I started reading Meryle Secrest’s “Elsa Schiaparelli: A Biography”. I don’t think that I need talk about by admiration for Elsa Schiaparelli and her designs in here. So, when I finally got my hands on her biography I started to read it immediately. Last summer, I have also read Elsa Schiaparelli’s autobiography. Her own biography is written in a dreamlike stage, so you are not really sure some of the events in the book really happened or not. Because of that, the book is hard to understand but I believe it gives strong inside how Elsa Schiaparelli’s mind works. Also the autobiography focuses more on her personal life. On the other hand, Meryle Secrest’s biography of Elsa Schiaparelli focuses on her personal life and her career. Over all ,I enjoyed reading “Elsa Schiaparelli: A Biography” but I found some of her allegations little vague. Especially about Elsa Schiaparelli being a collaborator with the Nazi’s during World War II, and Secrest reason is that Schiaparelli was able to travel between Europe and America so easly. I would recommend reading Secrest’s biography after reading Schiaparelli’s autobiography because the dreamlike narrative of her book is so beautiful.
When I finished Schiaparelli’s biography, I wanted to read something short so I started Shirō Hamao’s “The Devil’s Disipline”. The book was first published in 1923 and Hamao was a Japanese lawyer and one of the first detective story writer. For me, the first story in the book, which has the same title as the book, is more intriguing than the other one. The first story is about a man on trial for a murder he did or did not commit. Through his letters to the prosecutor we understand the alleged murderer knows him from their past. Through his letters he explains what has happened to his after he met our prosecutor. The second story is also about a murder case narrated by both the murder and the prosecutor. Both of the stories keeps the reader guessing till the end and makes you finish the book in one sitting.
Beginning of the year, I have read Lucy Foley’s last novel “Paris Apartment” and I enjoyed it. While researching about the author on Goodreads everybody was talking about Foley’s other book “The Guest List” and how it was much better. The compliments were true. I devoured this book. I love reading good mystery novels and this one did not disappoint. It is about a wedding weekend on an deserted island off the coast of Ireland where only the wedding planner and her husband lives. Every person who comes to the island on that weekend have a secret and one ends up death at the wedding night. The characters in the book are complex and has a motivation for murder. From the start to finish the suspense and uneasiness never ends. I think it is a must-read if you like psychological thriller and mystery novels.
I continued my readings from the same genre and read “How to Kill Your Family” by Bella Mackie. Unfortunately, the beginning of the story did not intrigue me that much. The book is an revenge story, where Grace Bernard, our main cjharacter, plots to kill her fathers side of her family for revenge for her decided mother. Towards to the end however, the plot twists that I was not expecting started to happen which I made the story really enjoyable to read. In my opinion, without the ending this book this story would be an average revenge story. But when I finished the book I enjoyed the wit and the plot twists so much. This is a great book to read on a plane or at the beach."
The last book I read was a bit more heavier than the rest of the summer reads which was a great way to transition for more serious autumn weather. “How to be You: Simone de Beauvoir and the art of authentic living” by Skye Cleary is about Beauvoir's philosophy of existentialism and how we can use it to become our authentic self. The explanation of the book feels like a self-help book but I can assure it is not. The book explains Simone de Beauvoir’s existentialist philosophy and at the same time places it in the context of the 21st century with Skye Cleary’s own experiences. I really enjoyed this book and I think I will come back to it. I would recommend it for anyone who wants to learn about Simone de Beauvoir and existentialism and doesn’t want to do the heavy reading. I would also recommend it for those who knows about Beauvoir and her way of existentialism to analyze one’s self. I particularly enjoyed the second part of the book which titled “Situations” where Cleary explains how we can become our authentic-self in different stages in our lives. To sum up, I think I will read this book in different stages of my life and since I am going through a quite a big change in my life this book was a breath of fresh air to show me a way to think about myself and how I can become my authentic-self.
Overall ,these books really helped me to get out of my reading slump. I am currently reading “Breasts and Eggs” by Mieko Kawakami. I hope you enjoyed my thoughts on the books that I have read during summer. I am planing on writing my reviews like this at the end of every season.
Comment below if you are interested and what to read more of my book reviews. You can also follow me and my virtual library on Goodreads.
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