1. White Mulberry by Rose Kwon Easton

Rose Kwon Easton based this story on the life of her grandmother, who moved from Korea to Japan during the Japanese occupation and who later moved back to Korea with her son.

It really reminded me of Pachinko, especially the parts set in Japan with how much Koreans struggled and were shunned. An amazing read, one I couldn't put down. I really felt for Miyoung and her struggle to remain true to herself while trying to carve a life for herself under very difficult circumstances.

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2. The Trees by Percival Everett

"The Trees is a page-turner that opens with a series of brutal murders in the rural town of Money, Mississippi. When a pair of detectives from the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation arrive, they meet expected resistance from the local sheriff, his deputy, the coroner, and a string of racist White townsfolk."

This was such a gripping read, I literally couldn't put it down. I read it in one day. I'd never heard of Percival Everett before but Bill Nighy recommended this on his podcast and the library had the ebook so I figured I'd check it out. I'm so glad I did. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Will definitely check out more of Percival Everett's writing.

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3. Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

I really loved this book told from four different points of view of four women whose loves are intertwined. I would have loved to know more about Zikora, I was sad that her part was so small. Although the book isn't necessarily sad, and the ending is mostly hopeful, I came away feeling very sad and melancholic. Adichie's writing style is beautiful (I equally loved Americanah) and she has a way of pulling you into the story, forcing you to not look away even if you wanted to. Some parts are brutal, and the story isn't neatly tied up in a bow, but then life never is either.
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4. The Burnout by Sophie Kinsella

I was devastated to hear the news of Sophie Kinsella’s passing in December of last year, so I reserved this book at my library. It came in on my tablet yesterday and I read it pretty much in two sittings. I’d forgotten how much I love Kinsella’s writing. One moment you’re laughing out loud, the next you’re choking up. It was a really enjoyable read and I’ll definitely catch up on more of her books. I used to LOVE the shopaholic series back in the day.

5. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I love Taylor Jenkins Reid's writing so much and this one didn't disappoint. It tells the story of (fictional) Hollywood icon Evelyn Hugo which she tells to a relatively obscure journalist. There were some good twists, one of which I totally saw coming. I read this book in one sitting on Friday night and have been feeling sad all weekend. We are discussing this with our brand new book club from work on Thursday so that will be interesting.
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6. A Morbid Taste of Bones by Ellis Peters

This is the first in the murder mystery series featuring Father Cadfael, a Benedictine monk living in the 12th century. Father Cadfael is not a typical monk, having come to the habit late in life, and he's witty and astute. This was a fun introduction to the characters and settings and it has a healthy dose of history as well. I'm reading the second book in the series next.
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7. One Corpse too Many by Ellis Peters

The second book in the Brother Cadfael series and even better than the first. I love it when a character you really suspect at first turns out to be the hero of the story.

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8. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

I loved The Martian by Andy Weir so decided to pick this one up. It came highly recommended by many of my reader friends and they were all right. It's really fun(ny), engaging and educational. I don't understand half the physics in the book but I loved reading about it anyway. I sort of saw the end coming but that in no way detracted from the fun of reading it. Can highly recommend it!
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9. Blue Sisters by Coco Mellor

This book tore my hearts into shreds, so beautiful! It's about how three sisters deal with the death of their sister a year on. They were all so different from each other but I loved their sisterly bond and how they were able to make their lives better ultimately.

I am wondering whether the writer suffers from endometriosis, because her description of it was spot on (and a little triggering I must admit).

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10. Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid

My least favourite of Taylor Jenkins Reid's book I have read so far. On the surface this book ticks all my boxes: a parallel universe story of a woman making two different choices leading to her life going down different paths. Kind of a Sliding Doors story.

I didn't really connect with the main character and I felt that her two different lives were actually really similar, so it was like reading the same story from two slightly different perspectives. Especially the last chapter of the story was just cut and paste which really bothered me. Why is only her life different while her friend's life follows basically the same trajectory? Our lives touch other people's lives so you would think that our main character is not the only one who would make different choices.

Anyway, can't recommend this one.

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11. Animal Farm by George Orwell

This was the book for my bookclub and while it was interesting and sparked some great discussions, it was also very dark and depressing. I would still recommend it as an interesting allegory for communism, and if you're interested in history it's a great book, but not very light and happy.

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12. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

This book did not live up to the hype. I had high expectations and while I really liked Oskar's story, I found the story of his grandparents quite tedious.
It also didn't help that I read the ebook which messed up the formatting of the pictures and other images, making those feel pretentious rather than meaningful.

13. There's Something about Mira by Sonali Dev

This was such a lovely read. It was fun and light, but had a very sad story at its core. I don't read a lot of books by Indian writers so it was nice to get a glimpse into Indian culture.

14. The Martian by Andy Weir

I had read this book before but after reading and watching Project Hail Mary I felt like revisiting it. I'm glad I did as it's a really fun book. The movie didn't do it justice in my opinion.

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