As promised, I wanted to share my thoughts on the books that I read in December. Let’s jump right in, shall we?
1. Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart – Hmm, this book is a little bit hard to describe. It’s set in New York City, takes place in the not-so-distant future, and focuses on the love story of Lenny (a middle-aged average-looking guy obsessed with staying young) and Eunice (a much younger beautiful Korean girl). In this future society, technology dominates- books are considered “artifacts”- and the youth are revered. Eunice’s youth is part of the reason why Lenny falls in love with her and when things are good between them, he feels younger and more alive. However, when the relationship begins its inevitable downward spiral (not that it started off on such a high note), Lenny really suffers and you feel bad for him. The story is pretty interesting; however, some parts of it dragged for me and on the whole it was rather depressing. My roommate quipped, “Couldn’t you tell that from the title of the book?” but I guess I was still naively hopeful that things might end on a happier note.
2. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling- If you’ve read Bossypants by Tina Fey, then I can say to you that this book has a very similar style. Mindy shares some details from her life in a series of brief essays, like how she got started in the industry and her first work experiences when she moved to New York City. If you like Mindy and you’re looking for a light, breezy read then this book will be a good fit.
3. Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson- When you find a book on the $1 shelf at your local bookstore, you’re taking a gamble because you may have just found it randomly without any prior recommendations. That’s exactly how I found this book- on a quick visit to the bookstore to pick up some reading material for my trip home to California. Well I think I gambled well because I really enjoyed this book. It’s a love story between a traditional English gentleman, Major Pettigrew, and Mrs. Ali, the local shopkeeper in their small village in England. It’s not love at first sight with these two, but you’ll want to follow along and root for them as they develop from acquaintances to friends to something more.
4. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern- Eli tweeted that she was reading this novel at the perfect time for me. I was at home on break and looking for something to read since I had finished the books I brought with me and the local library was closed. First of all, there’s a mysterious circus that appears without warning and is only open at night. Behind the scenes, unknown to the regular circus-goers, two powerful magicians named Celia and Marco are involved in a battle. The problem is that neither of them knows how the battle will end or what the prize is. Also, although they know that they should be enemies, they can’t help but be drawn to each other. The ending isn’t particularly surprising, but Morgenstern’s descriptions are delightfully detailed and each character is carefully crafted. I had a hard time putting this book down and I could totally see this book being made into a movie!
![It's a very belated book haul! These are the four books I picked up on my trip to Australia back in May. Of course I had to check out some bookstores on my first trip to Sydney and I think I ended up visiting 9 in total (check out my stories to see the mini bookstore vlog I made)!
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
It was so fun book shopping over there since majority of the covers are different from our US covers. I couldn't resist this pretty edition of PACHINKO, which I've already read. And when I picked up this copy of PEOPLE PERSON, I was so excited to see it because it wasn't out yet in the US at that time. I also bought two books that I hadn't heard of before I discovered them in the bookstore: IDOL and LOVE AND OTHER PUZZLES.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Do you tend to prefer US or UK book covers?
[P.S. This is an old photo that includes a HarperCollins UK title, but please note that I support the HarperCollins Union.]
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
[ID: A stack of the following books sits on top of white bedding in front of a white wall (from top to bottom): PACHINKO, IDOL, LOVE AND OTHER PUZZLES, PEOPLE PERSON.]
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
#Pachinko #Idol #LoveAndOtherPuzzles #PeoplePerson #whattoread #beautifulbooks #bookhaul #booksandtravel #travelandbooks #bookishaesthetic #bookstacks #bookstacklove #ukbookcovers #ukbookhaul #newbooks #bookbuying #bookpurchases #coolgirlsread #readerslife #bookishcommunity #australiatrip #stackofbooks #bookwormlife #booksandbooks](https://starcrossedsmile.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)
I read Mindy’s book a little while back and liked it a lot…(but I thought Bossypants was better, ha). I liked The Night Circus too—definitely see the movie potential there! If you liked Super Sad True Love Story, you might like Junot Diaz’s This is How You Lose Her. I haven’t read Super Sad True Love Story, but they seem to have a similar feel.
Me too, I also liked Bossypants more and felt that Mindy’s was not quite as funny, but still cute. This is How You Lose Her is definitely on my to-read list; I’ve heard such good things!
To be honest, I hated Super Sad True Love Story. I picked it up because I had read an article in Newsweek about it and learned that the author was an alum from my college, so I was interested. But I hated it. Night Circus has been on my list for a while!
I didn’t love it either- I just thought it was ok. I was able to get through it and don’t regret reading it, but don’t think I would read it again.
it seems like every one keeps saying they liked night circus and yet I could not even get through it. I renewed it like 3 times and barely got half way through. it just felt to slow, i was like ‘get to the good part already!’.
I liked Mindy’s book though, no problem getting through that in one weekend.
So interesting! I like to read reviews on Amazon and Goodreads before and after I read something and I noticed that a lot of people mentioned that as well. I do think there were points were the plot could have been sped up a bit, but that’s kind of why I think it would be a good movie- they would have to cut out all those points to keep the story moving and people interested!
I know that the Night Circus has received some good reviews online, thanks for the info – I think I need to check it out, I need a new read!
Let me know what you think if you do read it! :)
You are doing a great job with the reading. It was on my 101 list to do some more reading. I really enjoy it but seldom feel like I have the time read. I have a huge stack of books that I recently purchased at a used book store (love those places) sitting next to my bed.
Tracy @
Sunny Days and Starry Nights
It was one of my main goals to read more last year so I’m glad I made some progress. It’s also made me rekindle my love of bookstores and there’s one fairly near me that I can’t recommend enough! :)