Underlining? in Bookish

New book! About BOOKS!

I dunno how to format this so that book titles are underlined (as I was taught in the olden days of elementary school!), so I’ll just put the titles in bold for now, mmkay?

I’m also not sure why I’m writing this. I guess because I don’t have too many friends who read and I’m hoping to share my love for books (of all genres) and reading with some people here.

To start, I’m open to reading most genres. I do love fiction the most, and I’ve read some really great YA books lately (don’t judge, some of them are amazing!). I’m also into autobiographies right now, too. I don’t love sci-fi or romance novels and chick lit is too predictable for me (though I will read them, don’t get me wrong). Psychological thrillers and mysteries are fun, and I also enjoy books about the paranormal, death and dying, or medical memoirs.

Ok, that said…

The last two books I read were:

1) Alex and Eliza by Melissa de la Cruz
(3 out of 5 stars)
It’s a fictional story about how Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth Schuyler met and fell in love and blah blah. It’s a YA book and I’m a Hamilfan so it was cute. Not sure of the historical accuracy, but it was a quick read. Not compelling enough to read the rest of the series, though.
~Probably would not recommend unless I knew someone else had an unhealthy obsession with “Hamilton” lol

2) The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert
(3 out of 5 stars)
This one is also a YA novel, mostly involving fantasy and magic. The main character finds herself navigating an alternate universe to try and find her mother who was kidnapped. It was an interesting premise but the ending felt too easy and I think the story could’ve been fleshed out more.
~Probably would not recommend

The two books I am currently reading:

1) The Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish
(started reading on 4/9/21)
~ I recently watched the FX special “Hysterical”, which is about female stand up comics and how they’ve had to work so goddamn hard to get even a fraction of the recognition that their male counterparts have. It was an eye-opening show and it really made me want to learn more about these women who are so badass. Stand up comedy has gotten me through some rough times, I turn to comedy as a coping mechanism constantly. I briefly considered trying to do standup but I don’t think I’d connect with enough people. Anyway…

I’ve read Iliza Shlesinger’s autobiography and wasn’t enamored with her writing style. Definitely prefer her as a comic. I’ve read Samantha Irby’s books of essays and think she’s absolutely hysterical. So in an effort to learn more about feminism and women rising to great heights and to expand my horizons and read books by Black authors, I decided to Pick up Haddish’s book and I have NOT been disappointed.

I just started reading this Friday night and I’m almost halfway through. The traumas this woman went through as a child are heartbreaking. Like good God, she was not sugarcoating anything for the sake of humor. It’s amazing the situations she endured and how far she’s come. She may have embellished some conversations, I dunno, but shit. She caught my attention right off the bat. So far, a really good read. Don’t want to put it down.

2) The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune
(started reading on 4/8/21)
~Here’s another book that sucked me in from the first chapter. This is a fantasy novel about some magical creatures and their wellbeing, as well as those who protect them. It’s been a fast read, so far, and the characters are rich and compelling (though there are a bunch of them, and due to their… uniquenesses, sometimes I find it hard to keep track of who is who or what is what… but the author does a good job of throwing in little descriptors to remind you which character they’re talking about).

I don’t believe this is a YA book, though there are aspects to it that make me think a mature youth could read this. But I’m only about a third of the way in, so I don’t know what the rest of the book holds. So far, nothing gravely offensive or off-putting. This is another book I don’t want to put down. I feel like I know what the ending will be, and I don’t even care if it ends that way because I think it’ll be a beautifully told story to lead us to that conclusion.

Ok, enough of my jabber. Time to go read!!