What I am Reading in May + Timeless Readers Book Club

It has been approximately one and a half weeks since the semester finished, and I am doing my best to enjoy my summer! Currently, I am enduring a rough period, which I like to call the “reading slumps”, as of right now. But I am trying my best to finish some of the reads that I started last month.

Back in early or mid-April, I joined a self-made book club called the Timeless Readers, which are devised by two rising bookstagrammers/bookbloggers that I follow on Instagram. This particular book club is focused on reading historical fiction novels—and I am so glad that I am participating in this book club because historical fiction is not a popular reading genre. I am ashamed to admit that even though I am a history major, I do not usually read any historical fiction novels. Maybe because I cannot find any that intrigue me, or maybe it is because historical fiction novels are not highly publicized compared to other well-known genres like Young Adult (YA), contemporary, and fiction novels.  Therefore, I am eager to expand my reading taste or palette to other unpopular reading genres.

For the month of May, members in Timeless Readers have voted to read Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. So far, I find it interesting—but I am also finding it difficult to read through it only because nothing captivating has happened to make me want to read more. The one thing that I always hate about reading or starting a new book is that most books start with slow beginnings, and most writers take their time getting to the “good” parts in the book. I also have some negative opinions on the historical accuracy of the book. Even though it is based on fictional characters, the entire premise of the book is inspired by Japanese traditional culture and the role that geishas play within the culture. I cannot wait until I start a separate book review on the book and share my perspective to other fellow readers on it.

Not only am I reading Memoirs of a Geisha, but I am also reading:

• A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab 
• Madness by Roald Dahl

I do not think I will be writing a book review on the Gathering of Shadows (which is the second book in the Shades of Magic series), only because there are an array of book reviews on the book and entire series that are already discussed or published. But I will be doing a book review on Madness (hopefully soon). 

Thank you all for reading! Book reviews will be coming (hopefully) soon.

x, Kayla

Finishing Up the Semester + Book Reviews: History is All You Left Me (3 Stars)

The semester is coming to a close, which means finals and assignments are all due around the same timeframe next week. Therefore, I have been extremely occupied and inundated (as usual) with schoolwork, so I truly apologize to my dedicated readers for not posting anything recently. This painful process of cramming for exams and writing academic papers will finally be over by next week, which means that I will have some leisure time to read and enjoy my summer break. It is truly scary to know that I will be finishing up my third year in university and entering my senior year next fall semester—but it also amazes me how time can just swiftly pass by. I feel like I don’t have enough time to do what I need to do to prepare myself for adulthood. But in all honesty, nobody is really ready or prepared for the obstacles that await new college graduates when it comes to “adulting.” Knowing that by the fall, I will be a senior and that by next year, around this same exact time, I will be graduating! I am so happy and amazed with the accomplishments that I have achieved thus far in my academic career. I know my journey to future successes will be hard, but eventually I will get there. Nothing will ever come easy in life, which I know is such a cliché, but it is accurate and true. I know that my hard work, dedication, and my perseverance will pay off.

This semester, I have been able to publish an analytical paper in my university’s literary journal, I have presented my book exchange project from last semester at an academic conference, and I have landed a great internship at a museum! Things are somewhat coming together, but I have also encountered many problems along the way. I have learned a lot of life lessons, such as to be careful in whom you trust and help. Most importantly, I learned that not everyone deserves your kindness because some will take advantage of it. Also, I learned to be careful in who I choose to be friends with. I realized that not many college students are at that mature age where they should treat people with respect and value a good friend, but instead, dispose friends and friendships because they found someone new to be friends with. It astounds me how immature some college students can be, but not all the time does college mature people into upright adults. My goal for next semester is to focus on myself and to be accepting or be okay with being alone, and to find happiness in my own solitude. Sometimes it’s for the better.

But without further ado, I am just going to briefly give a quick book review on a recent read that I finished (weeks ago). I finished History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera. It is a Young Adult (YA) novel that focuses on a story of teen-love, heartbreak and sorrow. The book is about a teenage boy, Griffin, and his boyfriend/ex-boyfriend, Theo, who dies in a drowning accident. The story (or history) is told through Griffin’s perspective, and is also told in a series of flashbacks or memories that Griffin has of Theo. After learning about the death of Theo, Griffin becomes a lost soul, consumed with sorrow and sadness over the loss of both his friend and former lover.

Living seems impossible to Griffin, nothing feels the same or is the same after losing Theo, even if they had broken up and even though Theo had found someone else to love. This leads Griffin to go into a destructive path of inner emotional battles and upheaval. Eventually, Griffin accepts Theo’s death, but it was a journey and a struggle to get there. At the beginning, he finds solace in Theo’s boyfriend, Jackson. In this unforeseen friendship, the duo try to heal each other’s wounds—but it leads Griffin to uncover untold histories about the life Theo led after the break up and other secrets, hence leading Griffin to enter another realm of different kinds of emotional complexities.

Many people have praised the book for capturing the raw emotions of first love and heartbreak, but I do not know if I entirely agree. Although I love how authors try to make their characters flawed in order to make them feel real to readers, Griffin, and all of the characters in the book, were beyond flawed; they were so flawed, it came off as somewhat agitating. I do not know if it was Silvera’s intention to make Griffin into a whiny teenage boy, who feels that he is the only person entitled to grieve and can, therefore, act and behave the way he wants to because he lost his ex-boyfriend. I felt that Silvera was just going a tad overboard about the array of emotions Griffin was going through and his behavior, which I found hard to read through at times because it felt exaggerated or overdone. I do like how Silvera captured how complicated humans can be, which is definitely relayed through Griffin. It is hard to find the right words to convey how I feel about the book and what I dislike the most, but it mostly centers on Griffin’s personality and how he deals with the loss of Theo.

It was a decent read, but I was not in love with it. I think Silvera is a fantastic writer and I look forward to reading more books from him in the near future.

x, Kayla

Book Review: We Are Okay (4 Stars)

We are Okay by Nina LaCour is a story about grief, loneliness, love, deceit, finding one’s self, and reconnecting. It was a cute and simplistic read—the prose was beautifully written and gentle. The elements, which I mentioned before, are truly emphasized through the entirety of the book, thus making it also relatable to readers who may have come across these feelings in their lifetime.

This story is about a college freshman named Marin. She is a California native who is attending a university somewhere in upstate New York. The first semester has ended; students are packing up and leaving to be reunited with their families for the winter break and holidays, except for Marin. Marin is staying on campus for the remainder of the break—she seems at peace with her own solitude and is accepting the fact that she has nowhere to really go to anymore, and no family to go home to—ever since the passing of her grandfather aka “Gramps” who raised her. But Marin is expecting a visitor, her best friend Mabel is staying with Marin for three days at her dorm. Marin and Mabel haven’t spoken in months since Gramps died—and as a result, Marin purposely drifted away from the people who loved her, especially Mabel. In Mabel’s three-day stay, the girl’s form new bonds, discover new revelations, and piece together the broken past of Marin’s life, while reconnecting and rekindling their love and friendship.

Nina LaCour did a great job in writing this book. In a sense, I related to Marin—I knew what it felt like to lose someone you love, finding ways of forgetting coping with the loss, and abandoning the past in the hopes of healing. Therefore, I identified with Marin—but I didn’t necessarily agree with Marin’s choices in coping with her grief and dealing with her new discoveries of her past that her Gramps kept hidden from her, because she push aside the people that were there for her and who cared for her.

Also, there were some parts that I felt were exaggerated, such as Marin's reactions to her best friend, Mabel, and her hesitance to open up to her as well. There was just too much angst, it made me frustrated and annoyed at times.

I like how the story is short and not drawn out—it’s a good book, but I can't say it's the best book ever written or the best book I've ever read. This is my first book from LaCour and it was a read that I truly enjoyed because of its simplicity.

x, Kayla

Book Review: Dark Tales (4 Stars)

Dark Tales by Shirley Jackson is a collection of seventeen short and eerie stories. Readers will be transported to the haunting world of Jackson’s dark imagination—which can best be described as dark, mysterious and inviting. There is no doubt—Jackson is the queen of Gothic fiction.

Each tale begins with someone who is ordinary, living or staying in an ordinary suburban place where the “ordinary” carry on with his or her lives; but sooner or later, the ordinary will transform into the strange and unusual. To put it simply, each story is about normalcy gone wrong. After finishing each tale, readers will be left with some sort of uneasiness, or possibly some discomfort. The fact that Jackson can provoke these unsettling feelings or reactions to her readers is quite remarkable and impressive. Her stories weren’t openly horrific—they were subtly disturbing but also intense.

I think Jackson’s goal when writing these stories, was to make the everyday feel unnerving and sinister. I think that’s what creeps people and readers out the most about it—she makes it almost feel real and the foreboding possible.  There were some stories that made me feel confused, even frustrated because I felt there wasn’t any closure at the end for some of them. I felt that Jackson used a lot of cliffhangers to keep readers on edge or make the story feel more suspenseful—and then there were some tales that made me confused about plot or premise of a particular short menacing tale.

All in all, I would recommend this to anyone who appreciates books that exhibit the dark, unusual, and the uncanny. Jackson is by far a talented female writer, who I believe is underrated in today’s modern book culture. Each of her stories was skillfully written and captivating. This is a great short read that will satisfy any readers desire for something deliciously dark.

x, Kayla

Book Updates + Little Free Library

Before I knew it, spring was here! Its arrival was a tad chilly, but nonetheless, I greeted spring with welcome arms. The semester is halfway over for me—although I am excited to finish this term, I am also beyond inundated with work. It’s time for the grind!

Due to my busy and hectic schedule, I haven’t had time to read much lately. I thought I should take the time to share with my readers on my reading updates! Yesterday, I FINALLY finished A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab. I won’t be doing a specific book review about it because everyone in the bookish community is talking about it. I loved the book and I cannot wait to read more of the book series, but as I expressed in my Goodreads book review, it took awhile for the book to reach its peak or climax. Even though it was a bit slow, towards the end, I was consumed with so much anxiety, excitement, anticipation, and so much more. Schwab is an excellent writer and I encourage many others to read the book if they haven’t yet already.

Currently, I am reading a book of short stories by Shirley Jackson called Dark Tales. Some may remember her as the author of The Lottery, which was read in many schools within the United States and abroad, but Jackson was truly a successful writer 50-60 years ago. I strongly feel that she is greatly under-appreciated and underrated as talented female writer. My goal is to read more books by her and to also revive her name in mainstream culture and in the bookish community. I am really enjoying these dark and terrifying tales—I hope to finish it soon and give a full book review on it.

Also, I have some good news! As some of you may already know, I am starting a Little Free Library in my college community. It is a book exchange movement that is shaped as a birdhouse, in which will be filled with books, in order to promote literacy in the area and to unify the local community. The main concept of this book exchange movement is to take a book, share a book and exchange a book. This will also create a free-learning environment and will hopefully inspire others to read, and to allow bookworms to share their favorite pieces of literature with community members. Well the good news is that I will be sharing and discussing my journey of implementing a book exchange at an English conference in late April. I am nervous in presenting my project to students and professors from different schools, but I hope to encourage many to start their own book exchange movement in their own community to promote the importance of reading. So, wish me luck! I will also keep updates on my progress, in regards to the Little Free Library, if anything new comes up.

Anyway, I shall get back to my studying and writing academic papers!

x, Kayla