Have been really enjoying my social writing challenge this year. Last year I asked my Twitter followers to suggest 12 books for me to read one a month.
Iāve read lots of books Iād not have read, and forced me to read a few that I wanted to but had been procrastinating reading.
Debating doing the same again this Decemberā¦
January: To Sleep In a Sea of Stars - Christopher Paolini.
This is my first book by C Paolini, having not read Eragon. I really enjoyed it. Iād just finished the final Expanse novel before reading this, while there are some Expanse like elements in this story, itās a lot more āAliens are attackingā than āHumans are shit to each other in space.ā
I love me a good lost technology story and this felt very Mass Effect. The Audio book is narrated by Jennifer Hale AKA Fem Shep which helpsā¦
February: Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
I didnāt enjoy this and did enjoy it, but I think didnāt enjoy it as much because I thought I would enjoy it which meant that I didnāt enjoy it as much as I was expecting to, which detracted from my enjoyment, which I ended up enjoying.
Held up as a classic, I wasnāt expecting it to be as farcical. In my head this sits next to 1984 and Brave New World, itās more like a Carry On film in tone.
Iād have liked it more if any of the characters had been likeable.
March: No One Is Talking About This - Patricia Lockwood
I went into this blind, it starts out vapid and shallow, which is the point, and as draws to the end it slowly just crushes you.
I donāt DNF books, but if this hadnāt been a book challenge book I might have at the start. Iām glad I stuck it out, itās clever and particularly poignant given the shitstorm thatās happening on Twitter just now.
I think this is part fictional, part autobiographical and very good commentary on social media.
April: She Who Became the Sun - Shelly Parker Chan
This is a good book, itās an award winning book beautifully written, I thought it was okay. I found it hard to get invested in a couple of the viewpoints, and the romance which is one of the hooks for many people didnāt do it for me. But I donāt particularly like romance.
I think reading this would have been better than the audiobook, there are a lot of characters to keep track of, and Iām crap at remembering names at the best of times.
May: Any Human Heart - William Boyd
I had to refresh my memory as to what this book was about. Which isnāt a good start.
This was beautifully written, and there were times when I was really invested in it, but the main character is a bit of an arse if memory serves.
Written as an autobiography of an author who doesnāt actually exist, itās a clever walk through the event of the 20th century. Itās very well done.
Iām just not sure I cared about the character and his plight.
Ohmz š©“
CW
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