I broke my promise. I promised to read a ton of books and book review them all, but life got in the way. Balancing a job and an internship, simultaneously, proved to be a difficult task. And unfortunately, I could not book review all the books I read because of time constraints.
But here is a life update: I just started my senior year in college (hooray). So close to finishing, but yet so far away.
For the past summer, I did an internship at Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites (HBMS). It is a nonprofit organization that oversees 20 different historic sites, as well as other neat stuff, in the community. I ran an entire exhibit during a massive, non-gated, free-music festival; it was an oral history, photography, and memorabilia exhibition. I am proud of what I have accomplished in my internship, but I am happy and relieved that it is finally over. While I did my internship, I also worked part-time--which also made my summer even more busier.
Although I did not have much to do book reviews, here are the books that I did get a chance to read over the summer months and their ratings:
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (3.5/5)
The Black Notebook by Patrick Modiano (2/5)
The Last Day's of Ptolemy Grey by Walter Mosley (3.5/5)
The Grownup by Gillian Flynn (3.5/5)
In summary: my summer reads ended up being a (somewhat) huge disappointment. Not only did I not read as much as I hoped to, but the books that I did read were not worthwhile. The Last Day's of Ptolemy Grey by Walter Mosley was a book that I enjoyed, but could not fall in love with. When I decided to read the Handmaid's Tale, I was greatly saddened by how I felt about it after I finished it. I read it with high expectations--especially since everyone was raving about it--and ended up feeling indifferent; I felt that the story itself was incomplete and there were parts in the story that were vague. The Black Notebook was a book I regret even buying--nothing in the story made sense and there was no plot. The Grownup by Gillian Flynn was a good and short read, but again, I felt as if the story was incomplete; although it is supposed to be a short story, something certainly felt missing.
I learned a lesson: DON'T READ BOOKS THAT EVERYONE ELSE IS READING. Yes, some people may feel compelled to read a book that is trending because EVERYONE is reading it--but in all honesty, reviewers may not always be right about a book. My suggestion is to read a book that aligns with your interests. I read what everyone else was reading, and I ended up hating the books or not falling in love with them as I thought I would. I read each of them with high expectations, but became disappointed which led me to undergo a huge reading-slump, as a result.
Hopefully, in the coming months, I will get to read books that are more book-review-worthy. And I promise to keep up with the reviews!
x, Kayla
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