2025 Year In Review

First, a very happy new year to all!  While part of me can’t believe that it’s already the last day of the year (as it will be by the time I post this), the part of me also can’t help but breathe a sigh of relief that this most difficult and exhausting year is finally over (and, more importantly, we survived!).

My initial thought was to wait until the last possible minute to do this Year End recap because I was hoping I would be able to cram a few more books into the last few days of the year, but on second thought, I decided against it.  What’s the point of rushing, especially when the book I’m currently reading is one I’m enjoying immensely (in case you’re curious, the book is about one of my favorite authors, Jane Austen).

So let’s get to it…

Reflecting on my reading life this year, what sticks out most for me is that this year, I read the fewest number of books since I started tracking my reads (which was around 8 years ago in 2017).  I read a total of 23 books this year, which is extremely low considering I usually average around 50-60 books in a year.  That said, the low number of books is not a surprise given that 2025 has been one of the busiest years of my life – not just in terms of work (which I don’t want to get into but will say that using “busy” to describe work is most definitely an understatement), but also having to juggle school, family obligations and some health issues.  It honestly felt as though everything chose to come at me all at once, leaving me feeling both physically and mentally drained (now you know why I used the word “survived” earlier). 

To look on the positive side – given everything I had going on, I should probably be proud of the fact that I was still able to get through 23 books, though of course, I had to be a lot more selective with what I chose to read than I have in the past.  Reviewing my reading log the past couple of days has been an interesting exercise, as it gave me insight into just how overwhelmed I’ve been this year. 

A few observations from my reading log:

• There were 4 months this year (January, April, June, July) where I logged 0 books read (though I must clarify that the books on my log are only the ones I read for pleasure – I read a ton of stuff for school earlier in the year that will not be reflected here). 

•  Majority of the 23 books – 15 to be exact – I had read from September to December, which makes sense given that August/September was around the time that I finished grad school.  At the time, I had resolved to “catch up” on as many books as I could and while I did read a lot, the list was just way too long to get through completely, so I guess many of those reads will spill over to 2026 (which I’m actually not sorry about, since all of them are books that I truly want to read). 

•  One observation that I’m not thrilled about is that, this past year, I totally bombed in the ARC department.  Despite receiving plenty of ARCS from both NetGalley and Edelweiss, I struggled to get through any of them prior to publication date (another area that I used to pride myself on). While I did go back and read some of the ARCs, in most cases, I ended up just getting the finished version after publication and reading that instead.

Overall, the biggest obstacle to my reading life in 2025 was Time – or, more accurately, the lack of time due to the chaotic “busy-ness” of the other parts of my life.

As I plan my reading for 2026, one of the goals I set for myself is to get through the 2025 releases I had missed out on – not all of them, of course, but as many as I possibly can. I also want to refocus my attention on getting to ARCs timely – which I think will be achievable since many of my favorite authors have books out next year (Ann Patchett, Lisa See, Elizabeth Strout, just to name a few) and for some of them, I already have ARCs of their new books queued up ready to go.  With all that said, the list of books “on my radar” for 2026 is already way too long, so I guess I will have some strategizing to do in terms of how to get to all the books! 😊

One strategy is something I actually started already in December: re-discovering audiobooks. As I mentioned in a previous post, I had actually tried audiobooks many years ago, but it didn’t end up working out.  In recent weeks, I finally took the time to figure out my audiobook style (mostly memoirs, essay collections, narrative nonfiction, some mysteries/thrillers, and definitely re-reads), so for 2026, I plan to increase my consumption of audiobooks with the hopes of getting to more books that I probably would not have gotten to otherwise.

Below is my recap of the books I read in 2025 (as mentioned earlier, these are the ones that I had actually logged and wrote reviews for).  For this recap, I decided to follow the format I did last year, which was listing out the books based on how I rated them. 

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Favorite Reads of 2025

 

Books I rated 5 stars:

Homeseeking by Karissa Chen (published 2025)

My Friends by Fredrik Backman (published 2025)

11/22/63 by Stephen King (published 2011)

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans (published 2025)

Writers and Lovers by Lily King (published 2020) – this was a re-read for me

Heart the Lover by Lily King (published 2025)

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell (published 2010)

How to American: An Immigrant’s Guide to Disappointing Your Parents by Jimmy O. Yang (published in 2018) – this was an audiobook

 

Books I rated 4.5 stars:

The Story She Left Behind by Patti Callahan Henry (published 2025)

The Annotated Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen / annotated by David M. Shapard (published in 2013)

 

Books I rated 4 stars:

The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes by Chanel Cleeton (published 2025)

Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson (published 2025)

Three Days in June by Anne Tyler (published 2025)

Run For the Hills by Kevin Wilson (published 2025)

The Phoenix Pencil Company by Allison King (published 2025)

The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett (published 2025)

What We Left Unsaid by Winnie M. Li (published 2025)

Wild for Austen: A Rebellious, Subversive, and Untamed Jane by Devoney Looser (published 2025)

 

Books I rated 3 to 3.5 stars:

The Original Daughter by Jemimah Wei (published 2025)

Slow Productivity by Cal Newport (published 2024)

Gone Before Goodbye by Reese Witherspoon and Harlan Coben (published 2025)

Katabasis by R.F. Kuang (published 2025)

If You Would Have Told Me by John Stamos (published 2023) -- this was an audiobook

Review: How to American: An Immigrant's Guide to Disappointing Your Parents (by Jimmy O. Yang)

My Rating: 5 stars

Prior to Crazy Rich Asians, I actually had never heard of Jimmy O. Yang, but after watching and loving that movie, I started reading up on everything I could find related to the filming of the adaptation.  In doing so, I found out that Jimmy is actually from Hong Kong like me, which of course piqued my interest –  then after watching his comedy specials where he talks about his struggles with identity and belonging in his journey immigrating from Hong Kong to the United States and how he overcome the odds to become a successful Chinese-American entertainer in Hollywood, I eventually became a fan. 

Aside from some of the biographical details that we both have in common (born in Hong Kong and immigrated with family to Los Angeles as a child, parents from Shanghai, fluent in English, Cantonese, Mandarin, and Shanghainese, etc.), there was so much of Jimmy’s immigrant experience overall that resonated deeply with me – specifically, his struggle with identity and belonging and thinking that he had to do everything he could to assimilate and fit in, yet at the end of the day, it still wasn’t enough in that he would still feel that he was constantly “caught between two cultures and their polarizing beliefs.”  As an immigrant myself, this struggle to reconcile two disparate cultures is one that I understand profoundly, which is perhaps why I’m so drawn to Jimmy’s brand of comedy.  Both of his previous comedy specials (entitled “Good Deal” and “Guess How Much”) center on his experiences as an Asian immigrant in America, though a large part also focuses on his interactions with his very Chinese-minded parents, which I definitely could relate to (the subtitle of his book is “An Immigrant’s Guide to Disappointing Your Parents” which I found both hilarious and very fitting).  Speaking of his parents, I absolutely love the dynamic of the O. Yang family – Jimmy actually takes his dad (whom I’m obligated to call Uncle Richard – if you’re wondering why, reference the “Top 5 Chinese rules” in Jimmy’s book) and sometimes his mom (Auntie Amy) on tour with him and seeing their various interactions is so hilarious, especially during those instances when Jimmy pretends to be resentful over the fact that nowadays, Uncle Richard is more popular than him and he mock complains about audiences clamoring to get their picture taken with his dad rather than with him, lol.

I’ve actually known about Jimmy’s book for a couple of years and bought a physical copy when it first came out, but unfortunately never got around to reading it.  Turns out this was a blessing in disguise, as Jimmy’s book is actually best experienced in audiobook format -- not only does Jimmy read the book himself, he also does a lot of improvising and ad libs some interesting tidbits in the audio version that are not in the print version (for example - he’ll give some side commentary on something he wrote or more hilariously, he’ll say something like “omg, I can’t believe I actually wrote that!”). As those who have seen his stand up can probably attest to, Jimmy is very lively and animated when it comes to his comedy routines and he brings the same delightful energy to his audiobook performance – his “Jimmy ah!” imitation of his mom and dad is so on point that I can’t help cracking a smile each time I hear it.

My absolute favorite section of the book was chapter 2 (titled “How to Immigrant”) where Jimmy talks at length about his culture shock when he first arrived in Los Angeles from Hong Kong as a young, impressionable 13-year-old. This chapter made me laugh so much that I had to take a break before going onto the next chapter so I could recover.  I cracked up so hard at his bit about Pizza Hut (which, for those who may not be aware, is actually a fancy sit-down restaurant “with a swanky salad bar” in Hong Kong as opposed to the standing-room only “kitchen for pizza delivery” hole in the wall that it is here in the U.S.) and the incredulity in his voice when he wondered how “the authentic version [of Pizza Hut] could be so much sh***ier than the foreign version” (actually, the same can be said for many of the American fast food chains in Hong Kong – they are all VERY different from how they are here).  Also, the bit about having his first American meal at his grandpa’s “favorite restaurant in LA” that served “authentic Mexican food” was downright hilarious – the “restaurant” happened to be El Pollo Loco, but for 13-year-old “fresh off the boat” Jimmy, it was unlike any place he had eaten at before.  The way he described it was essentially like paradise – not only could he get as many soda refills as he wanted, there was also the “magical kingdom of flavor and color” that was the restaurant’s salsa bar – the fact that both the soda refills and the salsa were free and they could help themselves to as much as they liked completely blew little Jimmy’s mind.  This was the beauty of listening to Jimmy narrate his own book – it felt like having an old friend sit you down in real life and listening to them tell you about their experiences. 

Listening to this audiobook was such a fun experience!  I definitely recommend that anyone interested in reading this book go for the audio version due to the enhanced reading experience.   Even though a lot of what Jimmy writes about in his book will probably be familiar to those who’ve watched his comedy specials or followed his career, that’s okay because his lively, spirited narration makes it all come across fresh and engaging. 

As a side note – Jimmy kicked off the Asian leg of his current “Big and Tall” standup tour in our mutual home city of Hong Kong over the summer (all 5 shows at the iconic Hong Kong Coliseum sold out in minutes!) and even though I didn’t get a chance to watch his performance live (bummer), I did follow all of the news stories and watched all the interviews he did with the local press over there, which was a fun experience in and of itself, but it also turned out to be a great lead-up to reading this book, so I would recommend that route as well.

Review: If You Would Have Told Me (by John Stamos)

My Rating: 3.5 stars

I recently started getting into audiobooks because I was seriously feeling the overwhelm of having a mile-high TBR and I figured this would be a way for me to get through more books.  I had actually tried audiobooks several years ago, but the experience wasn’t good, so I had abandoned the effort.  However, recently, as I was trying to figure out how to get through more of my TBR, I decided to look into audiobooks more and came across some articles that talked about understanding your own audiobook style.  Something clicked in my brain and I realized that audiobooks didn’t work for me before because I was “reading” the wrong kinds of books via audio. 

In assessing my own reading style overall, I realize that I have some perfectionist tendencies which cause me to take an overly disciplined approach to reading.  This manifests in different ways for me, but mostly, it means that I need to be very focused and pay close attention to what I’m reading – an approach that works well for the types of books I’m usually drawn to -- i.e.: literary and historical fiction with gorgeous prose, contemporary fiction about relatable society issues, emotionally nuanced fiction that makes me both laugh and cry, etc..  I can’t read these types of books via audio because it’s hard for me to concentrate, as I am usually doing something else at the same time, which distracts me from paying as close attention as I need to in order for the story to sink in.  So based on this, I figured out that the best books for me to “read” on audio are ones where I don’t need to pay as much attention and, more importantly, I don’t need to hang on to every single word – for me, this means memoirs, essay collections, narrative nonfiction, and some genre fiction such as mystery/thriller titles with compelling plots. This has quickly become a life-changer for me, as I am able to get through so many more books than I would have been able to otherwise – I just need to make sure I choose the right books.

One of the first books I decided to read on audio was John Stamos’s memoir If You Would Have Told Me.  There are not too many Hollywood celebrities whose memoirs I’m interested in reading (in fact, I usually try to stay away from celebrity memoirs if I can help it, but that’s a discussion for another time), but as a huge Full House fan back in the day, I unsurprisingly put this on my TBR as soon as it came out.

I have to admit that I was a tad bit disappointed with this one, but I think that’s because I didn’t have the right expectations going into it.  In my mind, the character that John Stamos will always be most associated with is Uncle Jesse from Full House, so I was anticipating that there would be a lot of behind-the-scenes insights about his experience on the show that, essentially, made him a household name.  While Stamos does talk about his Full House days here, that is actually a relatively small portion of the book overall.  Aside from the expected biographical stuff about his childhood and family (which I did find insightful), the chapters about his career mostly focus on his relationship with the Beach Boys, comedian Don Rickles, and the other entertainment industry folks who had mentored him throughout his long career.  Since I had never watched any of Stamos’s performances outside of Uncle Jesse (though I knew of his stints on General Hospital and ER), I was admittedly less interested in these other aspects of his career, so I ended up zoning out a bit during some of those sections.

Overall, the sections I enjoyed most were the ones where Stamos talked about the life-long relationships he developed with the Full House cast and crew.  The chapter on the late Bob Saget was especially moving and well done and of course, brought tears to my eyes. I also enjoyed the chapter about Stamos’s experience working with James Earl Jones on Broadway (I never would’ve guessed that Darth Vader was once a mentor to Uncle Jesse, lol).  It was also heartwarming to read about Stamos’s close relationship with his parents and sisters, which was a nice departure from the typically strained and messy relationships that so many celebrities have with their families.

I’m glad I finally got a chance to read this and while it wasn’t what I expected, it was still worth the effort, especially on audio where I was able to get other things done at the same time.  Speaking of the audiobook, I had a bit of an interesting experience that I wanted to share.  One of the reasons I had decided to read this as an audiobook was because I was told that this would be narrated by Stamos himself, which I thought would help me get into the book easier. Maybe it has been too long since I’ve seen or heard John Stamos on TV so I’m not able to recognize his voice anymore, but the narrator honestly did not sound like him at all – in fact, for most of the book, I couldn’t help but think that perhaps my library copy of the audiobook was defective or something.  Also, some of the sections where Stamos talked about some of the shows he was in, it seemed like he was reading copy from a plot summary or something similar, as those parts sounded awkward and overly professional, like reading from a script perhaps.  But this could just be my novice experience with audiobooks – I think once I have more of them under my belt, these type of narration nuances will make more sense to me.

Review: Wild for Austen: A Rebellious, Subversive, and Untamed Jane (by Devoney Looser)

My Rating:  4 stars

My celebration of Jane Austen’s 250^th birthday continues with more Austen-centered books.  This time around, I chose to read the newest essay collection from Austen scholar Devoney Looser (whose Great Courses on Austen is also worth checking out).  Those of us who have studied Austen in any capacity are probably familiar with her family’s (specifically her brother Henry Austen and her nephew James Edward Austen Leigh) attempts to paint Austen as a quiet, timid, submissive woman who “never uttered either a hasty, a silly, or a severe expression” – a “myth” that many Austen scholars have “debunked” over the years through close study of Austen’s own words (as relayed through her surviving letters) as well as her various works of both fiction and nonfiction.  Looser’s latest book – also a tribute to Austen’s 250^th birthday -- is another worthwhile attempt to debunk the “Jane Austen as a quiet spinster” myth.  The title of Looser’s book says it all – through a deeply researched exploration of various aspects of Austen’s life (and writings), Looser sets out to show the “wild side” of the beloved author while at the same time, demonstrate why so many of us continue to be “wild for Austen” in a legacy that has lasted for more than two centuries.

The book is divided into 3 sections, with part I covering pretty much all of Austen’s writing, from the Juvenilia of her teenage years to her six completed novels, as well as her two uncompleted novels (fragments) and beyond – Looser even includes excerpts from Austen’s letters and some poems she wrote (the latter of which doesn’t get usually much coverage even among the most ardent of Austen aficionados).  Part II explores the Austen family’s “wild connections,” or what Looser states in her Introduction as “the relatives, neighbors, and friends who brought her close to wild adventures, experiences, fortunes, and misfortunes.”  Part III is perhaps the most interesting in that it explores Jane Austen’s legacy and fandom – the “people who’ve gone wild over her after her death, especially those who created new uses for and versions of her powerful stories.”  I found this last section quite fascinating, especially the chapter on the P&P adaptations that didn’t end up happening (not necessarily a bad thing, to be honest) as well as some of the stories about Austen’s various “afterlives” – the good, the bad, the ugly, and the weird(?) – several of which were truly “wild.”

As a Jane Austen fan, I definitely enjoyed this book.  Further though, I appreciate Devoney Looser’s take on Austen’s legacy and the necessity of finding the right balance in both how we approach her works and how we view Austen the author.  This quote from Looser’s concluding chapter I feel illustrates this point best: “By jettisoning the idea of [Austen] as perfect, timeless, or universal, we also allow ourselves to see the ways in which her outsized influence and popularity have done good for some but may also have caused harm to others…I believe those of us who say we love her owe it to her, to ourselves, and to those who say they’ve been harmed in some way by her books or their legacy to look more deeply at the full range of effects they’ve had, past and present.”  Sound advice that could apply not just to Austen, but also any other author or public figure essentially.

Review: Northanger Abbey (by Jane Austen)

My Rating: 4.5 stars

With this month being the 250^th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth, the Austen fangirl in me of course could not pass up the opportunity to celebrate such an important milestone with an Austen-themed read-a-thon of my own (not to mention this gives me the chance to finally work my way through a few of the dozens upon dozens of Austen-related books that I’ve accumulated over the years). 

To kick off my reading celebration, I decided to start with the only novel of Austen’s that I had not yet read: Northanger Abbey.  In making this decision, the first order of business, naturally, was figuring out which version of the book I would be reading, since, like many English Literature majors who are also superfans of Austen’s works, I own several different editions of all her novels -- ultimately, I opted for the version annotated by David M. Shapard.  This is actually my first time reading a fully annotated version of a novel and I’m so glad I made this choice because it really elevated and enhanced the reading experience for me.  As the type of reader who enjoys learning about historical and other background context in my reading (especially when it comes to aspects of a story that I find interesting), an annotated version is right up my alley in that it allows me to indulge in all the nerdy delight of going down literary rabbit holes (though the downside, of course, is that it does take me longer to get through the book).

Northanger Abbey is the first of Austen’s six novels to reach fully finished, ready-for-publication form, though ironically, it was one of the last of her novels to be published, coming out together with her last complete novel Persuasion after her death.  As her first novel, Northanger Abbey can be considered Austen’s bildungsroman, or coming-of-age novel, that serves as the bridge between the juvenilia she wrote in her youth and the more intricately complex and nuanced maturity of her later works.  It is perhaps because NA was written so early in Austen’s career -- along with the fact that the novel had already been submitted for publication many years before it was actually published (she had submitted it to a publisher in 1803 who never did anything with it, so her brother bought the rights back and published the novel 14 years later, in 1817) – that it lacks some of the subtle wit and sophisticated sardonic humor of say, Pride and Prejudice (my favorite of her works).  In comparisons, the humor here is more straightforward, as Austen makes it pretty clear that she wrote this book as a parody of the “novel” – specifically the Gothic novel (or what was referred to as “sentimental novels” during that time). That said, as someone who has read and studied the form, I must say that the way Austen parodies Gothic novels in here (the focus is mostly on Ann Radcliff’s The Mysteries of Udolpho, which makes sense given that Radcliff is the “godmother” of the form) is nothing short of brilliant.  Throughout Northanger Abbey, Austen subtly compares and contrasts the heroine and hero, Catherine Morland and Henry Tilney, with the heroine and hero typically depicted in Gothic novels to produce a satiric juxtaposition that is both clever and ironic.

Speaking of the main heroine and hero – the Catherine Morland / Henry Tilney pairing is now officially my third favorite pairing in Austen’s novels (after Lizzy / Darcy at #1 and Anne / Wentworth at #2).  I honestly didn’t think I would like Catherine much at first, as I’m not a fan of naïve (aka meek, ignorant, childish, weak, etc.) characters and that had been largely how I had heard Catherine described in much of the scholarship around the novel – but after finally reading this novel myself, I’ve found that those descriptions of her don’t do her justice.  Yes, there were quite a few instances where she acts immaturely and her naivete gets the better of her (she is only 17 years old in the novel, after all, and lived a pretty sheltered life before her experiences in Bath), but what I appreciate about her character is that she grows and evolves and ultimately learns from her mistakes.  Also, she is one of the few heroines who doesn’t get “duped” by the obvious villainous suitor (the iteration in this story being John Thorpe) – one of my favorite scenes is in Chapter XIII of Volume I when Thorpe (and his annoying sister Isabella) try to force Catherine into canceling her appointment with the Tilneys through backhanded power plays, but instead of falling for it (which would be the expected reaction due to her lack of experience in “seeing through” people), she literally (and physically) defies them and runs after the Tilneys to clear things up (I actually yelled out “you go girl!!!” during that scene, lol).

Regarding Henry Tilney – let me just say that he is one of the wittiest heroes in all of Austen’s novels.  I love the fact that he can be witty and engaging and fun yet also serious and level-headed when he needs to be.  And yes, he has one of the best lines in the entire book – in response to Catherine’s assertion that men don’t read novels (because that is what John Thorpe told her when he dismissed her reading habits earlier), Henry responds with: “The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.” That response alone is enough to endear him to me forever, lol!

Lastly, I want to comment on my rating for this book.  As I mentioned in my previous reviews of Austen’s works, all her novels honestly deserve 5 stars in my book (and the reality is that I have rated all her novels as such except Mansfield Park, my least favorite of her works, which I still rated 4.5 stars).  My biggest complaint with Northanger Abbey is that the ending is super rushed and it also doesn’t address the fates of the supporting characters – specifically the “villain” characters such as the annoyingly duplicitous Thorpes – which makes the story overall a little less satisfying because for me, part of the “fun” of reading Austen is to see these characters get their comeuppance.  That doesn’t really happen in this case -- at least not to the extent that Austen does so in her later novels, which I would say is the one main blemish with this book that caused me to rate it 4.5 stars (which, of course, is still very high).

What a great way to kick off my Austen reading month!  Can’t wait to continue my immersion in the world of Austen in the coming weeks!

Katabasis (by R.F. Kuang)

My Rating: 3 stars

My first thought after finishing this book is that I am most definitely NOT the right audience for it, as majority of the story went way over my head. To say that I struggled with this book is an understatement -- if I had to assign a number, I would probably say that I only understood maybe 60% of the story (and that’s being generous).  My problem with this book wasn’t in the writing, as it’s a known fact that R.F. Kuang can absolutely write (and beautifully at that) – rather, I felt that Kuang tried to cram too much into this book and made it way denser than it really needed to be.  What I mean by this is that Kuang incorporates an insane amount of philosophical, mathematical, and scientific concepts (some explained, some not) and name drops numerous philosophers and scholars along with the theories they specialized in (to the point that she had to “explain” some of the scholarship in an Author’s Note at the end of the book) – which had the effect of convoluting and overwhelming the story in a way that I felt was unnecessary.  In fact, the academic overload felt so intense at times that I found myself having to dig deep in order to unbury the story that Kuang was trying to tell (and even then, I still felt like I didn’t “get” majority of what she was trying to say, lol) – the result being that this was a tremendously tedious and exhausting read that I’m not really sure was worth the effort.  At some point probably a third of the way through, I started skimming not paragraphs, but pages, as I felt like I was reading the same sentences 3-4 times but still not understanding a single word, and I was starting to get anxious about wasting my time.

As I was reading, one thing that became quite obvious to me is that this book was written by someone with a deep, intimate knowledge of academia – which makes sense given that Kuang, with her Masters and Doctorate degrees from Cambridge, Oxford, and Yale, is practically a scholar in her own right.  Now don’t get me wrong – I have nothing against pursuing higher education (I actually have a Master’s degree myself so I’m kind of partial to that world too), but I think that sometimes a background like that can have an unintended impact on the work you produce that is meant for mass consumption.  Specifically, the way that the book was written, it seemed to take for granted the fact that most “ordinary” readers would not be well-versed in philosophical theories, mathematical formulas, scientific hypotheses, etc. that someone from the academic world would probably be more familiar with (though with that said, even someone like me with a higher level academic degree was still completely lost in this instance).  In hindsight, if I had known how philosophically and theoretically dense this book would be (especially towards the subjects of math and science), I probably would not have chosen to pick this one up (at least not during this particular time when I’m already overwhelmed and exhausted from work and family obligations).

Given everything I said above, those reading this review might be wondering why I didn’t rate this book lower (as I would have in similar circumstances).  Part of the reason is because of the writing, as I mentioned earlier – Kuang is a skillful writer and her strength in worldbuilding (from her roots as a fantasy writer no doubt) definitely shines here.  The detail with which she describes Alice and Peter’s journey through Hell is truly astounding -- I can’t help but admire her ability to take such an obscure premise and build out such an intricate story from it.  Also, I truly did enjoy the last 50 or so pages, including the way the ending played out (which I felt like Kuang nailed this time, especially when compared to her previous novel Yellowface).

Overall, I would say that this was an “okay” read – not entirely a waste of time but also not the best use of my time either.  I’m just glad I finally got through it and can now move on to other books that will hopefully work out better for me.

Received ARC from Harper Voyager via NetGalley.

Review: Hamnet (by Maggie O'Farrell)

My Rating: 5 stars

From its publication date in 2020, I’ve had a copy of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel Hamnet both on my TBR and on my bookshelf, but for reasons I won’t get into, I never got around to picking it up. It wasn’t until recent months, with the awards buzz around the critically acclaimed film adaptation making the rounds, that I was reminded I still had the book on my shelf waiting to be read, so I figured, perhaps now would be a good time to read it.

Going into this one, my expectations were high, as many of my bookish friends love O’Farrell’s works and praise this book as being her most masterful and exquisite, so of course, I had to experience it for myself.  Now after having finished reading this, I have to say that, yes, my friends were absolutely correct – though in addition to masterful and exquisite, I would also characterize O’Farrell’s writing here as both sublime and beautiful.  From the novel’s first line, I immediately felt transported back to the England of the 1500s, drawn in by the story of these two ordinary families – one living in an apartment on Henley Street and the other on a farm called Hewlands – and the extraordinary couple that emerges from their midst.  O’Farrell’s rendering of their backstory is both haunting and atmospheric, with its nonlinear jumps between past and present as well as the emotionally nuanced undertones that breathtakingly brought all the characters to vivid life. 

For the record, I am not much of a Shakespeare fan and have only read a handful of his plays (with Romeo and Juliet, unsurprisingly, being my favorite) – and it’s important to note that I have not read the famous play directly associated with this novel (though of course, as an English Literature major, I’ve had to read and analyze excerpts from Hamlet so I do have some familiarity with it).  For those who might be in the same boat as me and are concerned about whether the lack of Shakespearean literary bona fides will impact the reading experience here, I would say don’t worry about that because the focus of this story is actually not on Shakespeare.  In fact, the bard’s name is never even mentioned in the story – instead, he is either referred to based on his relationship with others in the story (i.e.: John and Mary’s son, Agnes’s husband, Hamnet’s father, etc.) or if he is mentioned individually, he is called, simply, the Latin tutor.

Rather than Shakespeare, this story is actually about his wife Anne Hathaway, who is referred to as “Agnes” in the story (in her Author’s Note, O’Farrell explains that most people know Shakespeare’s wife as Anne, but her father Richard Hathaway named her “Agnes” in his will, so O’Farrell decided to follow that example).  Labeled by many as eccentric and unconventional – a “forest witch” who seems to have the power to heal through her natural tonics and potions as well as the ability to see into people’s souls – Agnes is nonetheless a loving and fiercely protective mother who finds her world torn apart when her beloved son Hamnet dies from the plague.  O’Farrell portrays the intensity of Agnes’s grief over the loss of her son in ways both palpable and heartbreaking, to the point that I could actually feel her pain.  The last scene of the story was especially poignant and moving, with the last line continuing to haunt me even days after I finished reading this book.

This beautifully rendered reimagining of a little known aspect in the life of a literary giant is definitely a highly recommended read!  I’m not sure if I will end up watching the adaptation but I’m glad that it triggered the opportunity for me to finally read O’Farrell’s masterpiece.

 

Review: Heart the Lover (by Lily King)

My Rating: 5 stars

When I first found out that Lily King would have a new book out this year, I was super excited, as I had read Writers and Lovers a few years back and absolutely loved it.  As I tried to find out everything I could about King’s new novel Heart the Lover (an interesting title that I realize now is perfect given the context of the story), I discovered that the story is actually connected to King’s previous novel, which of course made me want to read this one even more.  With that said, since it had been a couple of years, I felt like I needed to refresh my memory of Writers and Lovers, so I decided to do a re-read of that book before starting this new one (for the record, I’ve never been much of a re-reader, mostly because I have a never-ending TBR list and very limited free time, so I would rather spend that time making a dent in that list).  Now, after finishing both books back-to-back, I’m so glad I decided to go this route because it absolutely elevated the reading experience for me!

Normally, when I rate a book 5 stars, I wouldn’t have any problem gushing about all the things I loved about the read, but in this case, I have to hold back a little because I don’t want to spoil the story for those who haven’t had the chance to pick this one up yet (if you’re one of those people, my advice would be to “hurry up and do so,” lol).  What I will say is that, even though this book can definitely be read as a standalone, I feel that having the background context from Writers and Lovers makes this a much more emotionally resonant read.  One of the (many) reviews I read for this book refers to it as both a “prequel and sequel” to Writers and Lovers, which is such a brilliantly apt description that summarizes the connection between the two books without giving too much away. With this prequel+sequel, I definitely enjoyed getting to revisit characters I loved from the first book while also meeting new characters that I grew to love just as much.  Speaking of which, in each of the books of hers that I’ve read, Lily King seems to have a special talent for writing endearing characters whom you can’t help falling in love with, despite disagreeing with (and sometimes getting annoyed by) their actions and/or behaviors.  But what I love most about King’s writing here is the way she is able to capture the endearing qualities of children -- the wide-eyed curiosity, the naivete, and overall innocence of childhood – so perfectly.  Many of my favorite scenes in both books were the ones that featured children interacting with the adults – the warmth and humor that emanated from these scenes never failed to put a smile on my face (especially poignant at our current moment in time when the world around us feels so chaotic and miserable). 

Anyway, I’m going to keep things short and sweet for this one and end with a solid recommendation to definitely pick this one up so you can experience it for yourself.  Aand if you are able to read it back-to-back with Writers and Lovers, all the better!

Review: Gone Before Goodbye (by Reese Witherspoon and Harlan Coben)

My Rating: 3.5 stars

Before I go into my thoughts on this book, one thing I feel compelled to start with is that I’m a bit of a cynic when it comes to books written by celebrities and/or other famous public figures who are very much “not” authors.  Part of this could be because I’m a writer myself and understand how much work (blood, sweat, tears, and sacrifice) goes into writing something worth reading – in a sense, writing is an activity bordering on “sacred” for me, so I can’t help feeling disappointed when I see celebrities attach their names onto books that they didn’t actually write themselves, but they are given all the credit for it (yes, I’m looking at you, ghostwritten celebrity memoirs).  Now before I get attacked by any fans, I need to make it clear that I am not saying that’s what happened here, since, to Reese’s credit, she has been very forthcoming from the getgo about the fact that she did not write this book herself, rather it is a “collaboration” with established author Harlan Coben. Further, Reese has said in interviews (as well as in the Acknowledgements pages at the back of the book) that she provided the “seed of an idea” for the story and Coben was the one who turned it into “a fully fleshed-out, page-turning thriller” – so yes, I acknowledge that this situation is not on the same level as those ghostwritten books where the “real” author is given little to no recognition.

With that said however, I will be honest in saying that, after finishing this book, I can’t help but wonder about Reese’s involvement in its writing – specifically, did she write some of it or none at all?  The reason I say this is because the entire novel felt very “Coben-esque” in the sense that it read very much like a plotty action thriller with too many macho male characters, too few underdeveloped female characters, and tons of action scenes involving gun fights, helicopters, car and motorcycle chases, death-defying stunts, etc.  In other words, the book seems to be geared more toward Coben’s fans than Reese’s.  I also can’t help but be reminded of a question that had come up back when the Reese Witherspoon/Harlan Coben collaboration was first announced:  given that Reese’s Hello Sunshine media brand “puts women at the center of every story across all platforms” (this is from the blurb on the book’s back cover) and the books she chooses for her Book Club are all written by female authors, why would she choose a male author to collaborate with for her debut novel?  Doesn’t this contradict what Reese tries to do with her brand?  Indeed, judging from her book club picks (for the record, I’m not a Reese fan, but I do follow her book club because majority of the books she chooses to feature happen to fit my reading tastes), I was expecting Reese’s debut novel to be a collaboration with a female author (perhaps one she has featured in her book club) and more in the vein of a high concept literary suspense / thriller with a strong female protagonist at its center.  Turns out I had the wrong expectations.

Don’t get me wrong – this book had an interesting premise and I would say that I did “enjoy” it overall, but it didn’t blow me away.  There were the expected twists and turns (Coben is a seasoned suspense / thriller writer after all), though as usual, I was able to figure most of the plot points out early on, so the suspense portion was a little lacking.  Also, the ending kind of left me scratching my head -- it felt anti-climactic to me given how “action-packed” the rest of the story was (though it could be that I just didn’t “get” the ending).

In any case, this was an overall entertaining read that I’m sure fans of action thrillers will love, but if, like me, you’re not keen on action thrillers, then you might want to temper your expectations if you decide to pick this one up.  Also, one last thing to note is that, given the premise, there are a lot of details related to the medical and technology fields throughout the book – personally, I felt it was a bit much and at times, the technical jargon kind of bogged down parts of the plot, but again, this could just be me not being into the “science-y” stuff…my guess is that this won’t be  a problem for most folks who decide to read this one.