Hi all! Back for my second reading wrap up of the year. While the last one had a lot of graphic novels, this one more favours non-fiction (which was part of my reading goals this year, which is awesome). So without further ado:
I really, really loved this book. I read it through audio, which I think it always the way to go if the author themselves is the one reading, such is the case here. It just feels like the author telling you a bunch of stories about their lives and obviously their voice gives the right tones and such. But I didn't expect to like this as much as I did. I know it's well praised but something made me unsure. But the unexpected thing I loved about it so much was how honest and personal she let it get, while never lacking in the humour. I would definitely recommend.
While I loved Carrie dearly, and was more drawn to this after her death, I was left quite disappointed with it. It has flashes of quality, but mostly felt a bit all over the place and just lacking, in general. Perhaps this was at a disadvantage being read so closely after Yes, Please, but I don't know. I just wanted more than this book gave, although there are parts to enjoy and parts that feel very bittersweet reading after her passing.
Oh, boy. Alright, I knew going into this all the issues people had with it and whatnot (and I think that possibly helped), and I knew how much of a polarizing book it is. I was glad (and surprised) to be on the side of liking it. While I found that this first book is not free from issues (particularly that the middle part drags along too much for such a short book), there was a lot of potential and hope for it to get better in the sequels. Also, it is such a page-turner. I flew through it in one sitting and then was off to the bookstore for the second.
I did mention above that I immediately went and bought the next book. Even with work on these days, I somehow read both of these within a 24hr period. They are SUCH quick reads. And this book was the one where I saw what people who /loved/ these books were talking about. It develops the characters to nicely and the plot thickens more and more. The tension in this book is unreal. Beyond just romantic stuff, all of the secrets and political games seem to be reaching their boiling point and the end leaves you ready to just watch everything get crazy.
And with this book I managed to complete one of my reading goals for the YEAR in less than two months. If you saw my 2017 Reading Goals, you'd know that I had a very loose goal of reading 5 non-fiction books this year and this one was my fifth so that's a nice pat on the back for me. Might even double this goal and see how we go. But anyway, the actual book! Accidentally nicely timed this to read in Black History Month and it was absolutely perfect for it. Phoebe blends humour, politics, history and pop culture so nicely in this book without ever missing a bit. Her explanations never feel too dry and she's always entertaining, even when going over some of the denser stuff. While I think some of it did feel too long-winded or missed the mark, I definitely enjoyed this a whole lot and would recommend. Especially the audiobook (audiobooks are my main medium for non-fiction if you can't tell).
Alright, so that's the second wrap-up of the year. How's your reading going? Any favourites so far? Have we, by any chance, read some of the same stuff? Let me know down in the comments!
Until next time!
- J, xxx
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