Books of 2023 - 2024
Recently, I’ve started reading again (mainly recommendations from friends, family, colleagues, NYT best sellers, and BookTok/BookTube). I’ve collected some thoughts here, mostly to help myself keep track. There may be spoilers!
Currently reading:
- The Women by Kristin Hannah
- Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
2024 Reads:
| 8/10 | The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu and Ken Liu | Recommended by: Raphael (my husband) |
- Set in the Chinese Cultural Revolution, a secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with the Trisolarans.
- Such interesting concepts were presented in this book, and I especially enjoyed living through each civilization Wang experienced in the Three Body game.
| 9/10 | Atomic Habits by James Clear | Recommended by: NYT Best Sellers, Advice, How-To & Miscellaneous |
- The style of the book is dogmatic and actionable, which lays out a list of practical methods that will benefit and spur habit creation, thus breaking the bad ones.
- I found it helpful to keep a pen and paper beside me while reading to write down things I can immediately incorporate into my life.
| 7.5/10 | I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy (Audiobook) | Recommended by: NYT Best Sellers, Non-fiction |
- A memoir by iCarly and Sam & Cat star Jennette McCurdy about her struggles as a former child actor.
- This was my first audiobook, and it was very well done account of a unique human experience. The fact that Jennette herself reads it really adds to the experience.
| 7/10 | Midwives by Chris Bohjalian | Recommended by: Abbey (my coworker) |
- The book is about a very experienced lay midwife assisting with a home birth that ends up requiring an emergency C-section. Later the book is mainly a courtroom drama.
- Not my usual read, however was recommended by a colleague and I really enjoyed the change of pace!
| 3/10 | You’ve Reached Sam by Dustin Thao | Recommended by: Francesca (my sister-in-law) |
- About how a girl’s boyfriend dies, and then somehow they’re still able to communicate through phone call.
- I didn’t really enjoy how there were more questions than answers by the end of the book. Also, main character was a little bit unlikable, and the relationships lacked dimension.
| 9.5/10 | Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson | Recommended by: Abbey (my coworker) |
- Sanderson said that he was inspired while watching The Princess Bride with his family to ask the question “What… if Buttercup had gone searching for Wesley, instead of immediately giving him up for dead?”
- Princess Bride being one of my favourite books of all time, I so enjoyed this whimsical, light-hearted, and cozy read that evoked the spirit of the original.
| 7.5/10 | Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros | Recommended by: BookTok, my sisters-in-law |
- I really wanted to love this book (to be fair, it did keep me engaged), but it wasn’t on the same level as Fourth Wing. The characters weren’t as charismatic this time around, and it felt less organized and action-packed.
- I liked the small details (like how Xaden requested to meet Jesinia, which was a hint towards his second signet), so I’m hoping this book will set us up nicely for the rest of the series.
| 4/10 | The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V. E. Schwab | Recommended by: BookTube |
- Set in France, 1714, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets.
- I don’t really feel like there was a plot in this book. The writing itself was quite lyrical, but I found it hard to get through.
| 4/10 | The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller | Recommended by: Francesca (my sister-in-law) |
- The main character is a young prince who gets exiled from his homeland after accidentally pushing a boy to death. He meets Achilles soon after.
- The beginning was very slow and I was a bit disappointed about how Patroclus wasn’t portrayed as one of Achaeans’ most formidable warriors (Achilles’ equal) like in the Iliad.
- But the ending was great and I was pleasantly surprised with how the pace picked up.
2023 Reads:
8/10 | A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins | Recommended by: movie just came out
- The tenth annual Hunger Games featuring eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow as a mentor for District 12.
- Mostly wanted to read this prior to the movie coming out, and the Hunger Games trilogy was one of my favourite series growing up.
- Really enjoyed this book, but the turn at the very end felt a bit rushed.
| 9/10 | When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi | Recommended by: Pulitzer Prize Finalists, Biography, 2017 |
- I never tended to reach for non-fiction, but this memoir by a young neurosurgeon faced with a terminal cancer diagnosis was a fantastic read. I read this while working in oncology, and it gave me a lot to think about.
- Foreword by Abraham Verghese was hagiographic and contradictory. The epilogue written by Dr. Lucy Kalanithi however, was one of the most heartbreaking, stunning, and eloquent pieces I’ve read - she is a natural writer.
| 6/10 | A Court of Mist and Fury (ACOMAF) by Sarah J Maas | Recommended by: BookTok |
- I heard the second book of the series was incredible despite my dismal experience with the first. Unfortunately, it was not all that much better in my opinion.
- Also did not like Rhys, he made me feel uncomfy. This will be my last SJM book for the foreseeable future.
| 4/10 | A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) by Sarah J Maas | Recommended by: BookTok |
- An attempted Beauty and the Beast reimagining where a girl abruptly ends up in a magical land full of dangerous faeries.
- The writing felt very unpolished and inconsistent and I could not relate to the main character at all. Also, ellipses just showed up in the oddest places.
| 8/10 | Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens | Recommended by: BookTok |
- A coming of age, murder mystery, and love story about Kya, aka the Marsh girl, who is abandoned by her family and learns to fend for herself in the wild.
- Getting through the first half of this book (I had to skim through large passages) and getting used to the dialect was difficult, but I ended up staying up until 2am finishing the second half.
| 9/10 | Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros | Recommended by: BookTok |
- About how the main character, Violet, enters a war college for dragon riders, and has to go through several trials to survive.
- Found the characters/dragons to be very likable, and the book felt like a combination of HP, Divergent, Hunger Games, Eragon, and GoT. A fun read!
| 2/10 | Happy Place by Emily Henry | Recommended by: BookTok, my sisters-in-law |
- Perhaps romance is just not my genre, but it took me months to finish this one.
- Felt there wasn’t any plot, and the main character gives up her years of medical school and residency training to suddenly pursue pottery.
| 7/10 | Verity by Colleen Hoover | Recommended by: BookTok |
- A husband hires a ghost writer to complete a book series that his injured wife can no longer finish.
- Did this thriller give me nightmares? Yes. Was this an entertaining read? Also yes.
| 6.5/10 | Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas | Recommended by: BookTok |
- The main character gave “I’m not like the other girls” vibes and I’m surprised I managed to finish this book. In hindsight, I’m unsure why I rated it so high.
| 7.5/10 | The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Reid | Recommended by: BookTok |
- This was a historical fiction based loosely on the lives of Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe, and I loved reading about old Hollywood.
- The main character Evelyn was complex and flawed, but I was captivated by her resilience and ambition.
| 4/10 | It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover | Recommended by: BookTok |
- This sequel felt a bit unnecessary, and although it was a happy ending, I felt it could’ve been summed up as an epilogue in the original book.
| 7.5/10 | It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover | Recommended by: BookTok |
- I have to give this book kudos, because after I DNF’d two other books, this one finally pulled me out of my 10-year reading slump. It’s a quick read.
- I did not expect it to be about domestic abuse (it’s marketed as a romance novel).