Who else gets inspired to write when there is barely enough time? I noticed I hadn’t blogged in a while but hadn’t checked the exact date of my last post. October 4. It’s been over two months since I’ve last written here, yet it feels like an eternity for me.
So why haven’t I updated the blog recently? Well, I’ll be honest. After finishing The Glass Castle, I read Alice In Wonderland. It’s a timeless classic, one that I wish I’d fully read sooner (but better late than never, right?). I had nothing to review after it — I mean, it is Lewis Carroll after all, I simply loved it. Afterward, I *tried* to read The Bell Jar. But two things happened. One, I didn’t have much time to read, considering that during these past few months I’d use my free time to study for a course I’m taking. Secondly, while Sylvia Plath has some touching and intriguing poems, her narrative in The Bell Jar didn’t quite catch my attention. I understand that some books are slow at first, but at some point before the middle, they make you dive right in and continue reading non-stop. I was waiting for that moment to happen, but it never did. So I gave up and placed it again in my To Be Read pile.
I’m guessing it’s because of work and the course I’m taking, I’ve been so stressed out that I needed a light and distracting read. However, The Bell Jar was anything but that. I felt like I was being dragged into the same state of loneliness as Esther, it didn’t make me feel well. So I’ll just wait until I’m in a different (emotional) place so I can read it again.
Anyway, here is a summary of all the books I read this year:
- Murder On The Orient Express by Agatha Christie
- Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
- Sophie’s World by Jostein Gardner
- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
- All The Missing Girls by Megan Miranda
- Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
- Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorne
- You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay
- Into The Water by Paula Hawkins
- Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
- Back Talk by Danielle Lazarin
- The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
- The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
- Alice In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Never in my life had I read so much in just one year. Yes, I’m a newbie bookworm. As for 2019, I have planned reading Michelle Obama’s memoir, more Agatha Christie novels and perhaps reread some of my favorites.
I hope you all have a lovely holiday, filled with books, hot chocolate, and blankets.
Olivine Books 