A Day in Bookland

NOV, 19th - Earlier this morning I finished Summer by Ali Smith. I felt its ending was a bit rushed and I wouldn't have minded staying with these characters a bit longer but all in all I was satisfied with it. Spring remains my favourite out of the four novels.  NOV, 21st - After being sick for a few days my brain was less foggy to read for longer than a few minutes so I took full advantage of that and managed to read a bit. I finished The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling and although it was a cute and quick read and thankfully the juicy scenes didn't make me cringe, I found that the author use of HP terms a couple of times to explain magical things instead of coming up with her own terms is just very lazy. I also got enough time to finish book II of War&Peace , which means I finished volume I and can continue with volume II. Follow

  Hi there! Last week I didn't make a post because I didn't read a single page. I've been going through a kind of slump since all I do is study and I literally have no energy to read afterwards, not even at night, before going to bed. Hope this week is different. NOV, 8th - I finally read Carmilla by Le Fanu and I have mixed feelings. It was atmospheric and in my opinion better than Dracula but felt the story was way too long. And yes, I'm well aware that objectively this isn't the book's fault but mine for reading it so slowly but I can't really shake off my impression that it took me ages to finish it when it was less than 150 pages. NOV, 9th - This morning, as I was drinking my coffee before sitting down to study, I read the final pages of Spring by Ali Smith. I enjoyed the two previous installments of her seasonal quartet but Spring makes it to the top no problem.  Follow

  OCT, 25th - Finished Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon. This is a strange yet poignant read in which Solomon interweaves a fantastical tale with both social commentary and critique. It was a bit slow at times but Solomon's writing was, as always, phenomenal. They are becoming an author I will always read no matter what they publish.  OCT, 27th - This morning as I was drinking my coffee, I read the last two chapters of We Have Always Been Here: A Queer Muslim Memoir by Samra Habib. Very accesible to read thanks to its simple and plain writing style, Habib's memoir deals primarily with her identity, her sense of belonging, her queerness and her relationship with Islam. She doesn't dive deep into certain issues and I respect her decision despite feeling some elements could've been explored more for a more rounded narrative. OCT, 31st - Early morning today I read the last pages of The Last House on Needless Street . What a read! I didn't know where this story would go...

OCT, 20th - Late last night I finished Dune . Read part III in one sitting which is something I haven't done in a while. What I can say is that part I and III were good but I found part II very boring and the old-fashioned writing style made me struggle sometimes to engage with the text. The story was good though and will be worth rereading.  OCT, 23rd - Very slow reading this week but at least managed to get to part IV of Book II in War&Peace and I only have to more parts before finishing Book II 🥳. Probably this will be my last update for the week since tomorrow Sunday it's my cousin's son's birthday and we are all getting together to celebrate. Despite not being able to read a bit more, I did make some progress with Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon & We Have Always Been Here by Samra Habib. Both good so far. Most likely will finish them both next week since I have two other halloweeny reads I want to read this October. Cannot believe the month is ending next ...

  OCT, 14th - Last week I decided to give in to the booktok hype and get myself a copy of The Spanish Love Deception. The main reason was because I needed a lighter read, like a palate cleanser, after all the depressing/sad shit I've been reading lately. The book did what I wanted it to do but of course it wasn't perfect. You can tell it's a debut and it is indeed full of clichés as well as so many unnecessary repetitions: a professional editor would have taken so many pages out. My main problem with the novel was the last third of it and the reason for it was the smut: it was so cringy and did nothing for me; and the language used felt so out of character. Anyway, as I said the book did what I wanted it to do and that's enough. OCT, 15th - Finally reached part iii in Dune. Not gonna lie, part ii dragged on and on and on. In other news I have started my reread of Piranesi - been meaning to pick it up again since it was announced it won the Women's Prize. Cannot ...

OCT, 5th - Finished Winter by Ali Smith and I have mixed feelings. Certain aspects of the novel I absolutely adored, specially the chaotic and disruptive dynamic between the characters as well as Smith's playfulness with language. However, I have the feeling that something about this novel escapes me: as if I had not been able to unravel all its secrets. I will be reading Spring as soon as the library loan comes through. OCT, 8th - I have been reading Why We Sleep since late September and today I finally finished it. I have to say it was an enjoyable, fascinating and frustrating read (in regards to the second half). Despite being very accesible and easy to get through, this book has a big problem: lack of references. Also he kinda suggests that we should commercialise sleep in order for people and companies to care about sleep with full tracking and everything. I dunno, a few things rubbed me the wrong way. I enjoyed the beginning a lot, when he gives us general information ab...