March Wrap-Up

I am disgusted by how fast 2017 is going. But then again, aren’t we all?

The other night I read this quote by Cheryl Strayed. She writes:

‘The useless days will add up to something.

The shitty waitressing jobs. The hours spent writing in your journal. The long, meandering walks. The days reading poetry and story collections and novels and dead people’s diaries and wondering about sex and God and whether you should shave under your arms or not. These things are your becoming.’

 

I really love Cheryl Strayed.

Reading-wise, it has been an odd month. I felt mostly lukewarm about the books I read, with one notable exception (Wires and Nerve, obviously). Here’s to a better reading month in April, I guess.

This month I reviewed:

Wires and Nerve – Marissa Meyer

Feelings: I didn’t realise how much I’d missed spending time with these characters until I had them back. Iko’s perspective is so fresh and interesting and her relentless optimism in the face of a shitty world is inspiring to read.

The Dark Days Pact – Alison Goodman

Feelings: The last 250 pages of this book were really, really good. The first 250, however, dragged and were largely unnecessary.

This Adventure Ends – Emma Mills

Feelings: This was a highly anticipated read of mine that turned out disappointing. It just didn’t match up to the originality and emotional authenticity of First & Then, in my opinion.

I also wrote about:

5 podcasts I’m loving right now

Top 4 villains of The Vampire Diaries

OTHER THAN BOOKS: Some recommendations you didn’t ask for

To Read: THIS New Yorker piece on Megan Phelps, a woman previously involved in the Westboro Baptist Church. She article details how, through conversations she had out Twitter, Phelps came to doubt the hateful beliefs she had been brought up with and eventually made the decision to leave the church, and her family behind. Her story is really beautiful.

To Watch: A wonderful conversation between Marie Forleo and Cheryl Strayed about life, grief, writing and dealing with all your childhood shit.

To Listen: Ayelet Waldman talking about microdosing herself with LSD to treat her depression.