march & april wrap-up
being so incredibly back
A month off of blogging wasnβt planned - in truth Iβve been going through a lot in my personal life (letβs just say amongst other things, a breakup was involved) so Iβve been quietly rotting away and reflecting on my entire life and personhood, many such cases. Iβve also been reflecting on this substack - what do I want to do with it, do I like talking about books this way or should I start an instagram? Go back to TikTok? I like substack because I love writing and it allows for long-form content, but the truth is a lot of the books I read I actually just donβt have that much to say on! Many of them I read, and enjoy, and move on with my life.
So Iβve been wondering if itβs time to bring back essays, book analysis, ect. I have been reading more theory this year (which I never log as a book or anything, so I never talk about), and the types of books I read has also changed a lot.
Not that I have any solutions today, just what Iβve been thinking about these past two months - and I also read 10, count them, 10!! books which is a lot for me. And gives me a lot more to talk about on this blog than the one I read in Feb did.
Anyway, enough rambling - I did intend to write my wrap-up not just a vague reflection on the state of my substack. Letβs get into it!
march
This was a very nostalgia-filled, almost low stakes reading month for me. Almost everything I read was very light and entertaining. The new Hunger Games book coming out set the tone for it, and I just went along for the ride. A fun reading month! But not one full of new, memorable favourites.
A Dance with Dragons: part one, George R.R Martin | β°β°β°.5
The month was truly off to a nostalgic start when I read the first part of A Dance with Dragons. Following the news HBO in Australia was being removed from Binge (which I have) to be put onto a different platform (which I wonβt get) I tried to finish House of the Dragon before they took it away from me. All this did was prompt me to want to finish Game of Thronesβ¦ HoTD just doesnβt hit the same for me and I found myself missing the characters from GoT. I did NOT realise this 700 page chonker is only part one.. so now Iβm not actually up to date with Game of Thrones at all.
Anyway, this was not my favourite instalment. The first maybe 250 pages was very promising but then it became a bit of a slog. It also forced me to follow some characters I truly hate. That said, this is a fantasy classic for a reason, I love how detailed and expansive the worldbuilding is. I donβt think George R.R Martin will ever finish these and that is a shame because I do love how the threads are starting to come together.
The Favourites, Layne Fargo | β°β°β°β°
A most unserious bookβ¦ Wuthering Heights retelling on ice, with obvious inspiration from Daisy Jones and the Six (and TJR in general) and fanfiction. Almost everything that happens in this book is ridiculous, and I just knew it wouldnβt be able to help itself but to go into Tonya Harding areas.. and yetβ¦ and yet I had SO much fun with this. Is it good? I donβt really think so. But itβs definitely entertaining and fast-paced. I donβt think I would ever reread this, but it was there for me in a moment in time and that is sort of nice.
Sunrise on the Reaping, Suzanne Collins | β°β°β°.5
Another book I wonβt say was particularly good.. but that was entertaining. I am not a believer in Suzanne Collins as the prophet of our times like some people - I donβt really subscribe to this idea she comes back when the world needs her most to write more Hunger Games novels. I think she is an author sitting on a valuable IP whose recently realised it and wants to cash inβ¦ and I donβt think that is really a problem. But I also therefore donβt see these books as particularly deep.
I donβt think this had the finesse of The Hunger Games, which is genuinely clever at times. But I did like being back in the world and experiencing characters in different points of their lives. I donβt think this book was per se necessary to expand the Hunger Games lore, but I did think it did a nice job re-contextualising and exploring some concepts from the original trilogy. And it was nostalgic and fun! I did read it basically in two days.
The Golden Raven, Nora Sakavic | β°β°β°
Itβs amazing how much the thread of nostalgia really did weave through this month (I think that shows I was going through it for real) because next up was The Golden Raven, a continuation of my much beloved horrible book series βThe Foxhole Courtβ.
Unfortunately, this new series is just not it for me - Iβll finish but itβs not bringing me to the same emotional highs and lows that The Foxhole Court did. I like the characters but god, this book was too long and so boring at times. By the end I just wanted it to be over because I was tired of reading it. It really did suffer from self-published book with no editing.
That said, I do love the characters and it had cameoβs from some of my favourites from The Foxhole Court so I canβt say I hated it. I just hope the final book has more going on than this one did.
Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, Anthony Bourdain | didnβt rate
Finally the one semi-serious book I did read. Kitchen Confidential is a book Iβve been meaning to read for a long time. This book is so famous it gave me that interesting feeling you get sometimes where you feel like youβve read it before, but itβs actually just so famous youβve absorbed some of the book by osmosis. I listened to the audiobook because itβs narrated by Bourdain himself which I would highly recommend.
My favourite part of this book, is actually not about this book at all - my dad is a fine dining chef and when I told him I was reading this, we had a long talk about Bourdain and cheffing and the lifestyle. It was so interesting, and reminded me of the way reading and words can sometimes just connect people over time and space. Anyway! As someone whose also done their time in hospitality, a lot of it made me laugh. I love how he captured these characters who are so ubiquitous with the restaurant industry.
april
A much more serious month after the cotton candy of March. I realised now Iβm back into the swing of reading I can actually put some brain power toward it. Iβm loving reading non-fiction this year and so I kept that going after finishing Kitchen Confidential.
Everything is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of our Deadliest Infection, John Green | didnβt rate
I guess this counts as another nostalgic read, given the author. Iβm shocked I listened to this in one sitting, but shouldnβt be. Itβs narrated by John Green and as a very brief history on tuberculosis, feels sort of like an extended podcast. I found this very interesting, though not overly complex. It did give me some interesting in looking more into how sickness and art interact. The examination of how social and cultural norms were informed by the prevalence of tuberculosis was really interesting.
Goodbye to Berlin, Christopher Isherwood | didnβt rate
I've wanted to read this for a long time because I saw it recommended for people who liked Down and Out in Paris and London, which is a favourite of mine.
This is a collection of loosely connected stories about Isherwood's time in Berlin in the interwar period between WW1 and WW2. This novel traces the lives of the characters he meets in Berlin, set against the backdrop of social unrest, rising fascism/nazism and economic difficulty.
I think my favourite aspect of this book was the examination of the interwar period. This feels like a very unique, grounded in the time work and a fascinating look at the changing of a nation. It almost feels miraculous this book exists - Isherwood left Berlin in 1939 as the situation escalated, but he talks about Nazism and rising day to day violence a lot in this. Parts of it a very harrowing, especially the later stories talking about his Jewish friends.
I also liked the nods to the LGBTQ community and the peak at the lifestyle of queer people in this time/place.
That all said, and I've praised this book a lot - some of the stories/characters just weren't as interesting as others. I did find this felt longer than it's 252 pages at times. And it definitely did not hit the same as Down and Out in Paris and London. Still definitely worth the read though if you are interested in this sort of thing, though.
Mister Impossible, Maggie Stiefvater | β°β°β°
Apparently, I just read every single favourite author of mine from when I was 16 these last few months. This continuation of The Raven Cycle, a favourite of mine, also doesnβt hit the same as the original! Much to consider on if they just arenβt as good, or I am just 26 years of age now. I just found the plot a little thin but I do like the characters a lot, best believe when Adam Parrish was mentioned I sat up STRAIGHT.
Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland, Patrick Radden Keefe | β°β°β°β°β°
It took me about 3 months to finish this book, but it was definitely worth it. This is a tale of the Troubles in Northern Ireland - itβs part true crime (the story is framed around the disappearance of a mother of 10), part biography (it closely follows the Price sisters as the central characters of the book, as well as Brendan Hughes) and part expose on the Troubles in general. As someone who didnβt know a lot outside of the basic facts of the conflict, I found this enlightening.
Iβve also seen the show, but as is often the case, the book is better. It is a much more balanced meditation on the nature of war and violence. I also think it presents the Troubles more comprehensively, including the British involvement and is overly more critical than the show. Part three, Reckoning, has an excellent analysis of the IRA and the peace process, weighing up how peace and violence, history and justice are hard to neatly reconcile.
I did do a little bit of a deep dive on this book and know there has been some criticism (some I think fair, others not as much) about this book - BUT! I think any book that prompts you to go seek out more information is successful in a way, so while I understand some IRA / Troubles scholars donβt wholly agree with everything in this book, I still found it a great introduction to the period.
Jules et Jim, Henri-Pierre Roche | didnβt rate
Last August I was in Paris and bought this book at Shakespeare and Company and then about a week later I caught the Eurostar to Amsterdam and left it on the train and lost it β¦ mind you, I had read about 70% when I did that. I was heartbroken and figured I would never finish it because itβs a French classic and I could barely find a copy online in Australia.. and then .. my mum bought me a replacement copy for my birthday!
So the story of the book (losing it, replacing it, reading a large chunk of it in the Luxembourg Gardens) may actually be better than the book itself.. Iβll also say reading it the first time while I was still in Paris kind of hit different. I did like the first 100 pages though, even on a reread - very bohemian and snappy. Second half is a bit of a slog at times.. I do admire the authors economical writing style, his ability to present the characters and their actions in a very neutral, unaffected way. But I didnβt have the passion for this by the end, I felt tired. Still an interesting example of pre-war and post-war French society.. need to watch the film!
owned tbr - 4/22
Finished Goodbye to Berlin, Jules et Jim and A Dance with Dragons
Currently reading: Jane Austen and Crime, A Room of Ones Own
25 in 2025 - 6/25
Finished Say Nothing, Goodbye to Berlin and Kitchen Confidential
Replaced βSad Girl Novelβ with βSlow Days, Fast Companyβ by Eve Babitz
May TBR
currently reading:
A Room of Ones Own, Virginia Woolf
This is a reread, I did read it for university but Iβm going back for a more detailed read. Iβve only read one chapter so far but not in a huge rush with this.
Jane Austen and Crime, Susannah Fullerton
Just started this as I continue on my non-fiction kick. I HATE the copy I have, the pages are shiny and itβs sort of textbook pagesβ¦ makes reading it under my lamp very annoying. Iβve only read the foreword and introduction so not too much to report next, probably will also be a slow read for me.
Night Games: Sex, Power and Sport, Anna Krien
Iβm listening to this on audiobook, itβs by a journalist who sat in on the court case of a footballer who was accused of raping a woman in Australia in the 2000s. Itβs written in the early 2000s and some of that shows in the politics of how rape is discussed, but that is actually interesting in its own way. Definitely donβt agree with everything the author puts forward but this is rarely tread ground and Iβm finding it engaging, if albeit depressing.
This is a long post, so I think weβll leave it there - I donβt have much of a May TBR in mind at the moment, but I might come back with a May hopefuls post in a few days!
Obsessed with the Adam Parrish mention sitting up straight... I get it queen. I love your nostalgia month! I feel like there are a lot of classic series being brought back randomly recently, and I'm not that mad about it, honestly.