Kaitlyn's Reading Round-Up: January to June 2024
Thank you to the ever-lovely Elisa and Edna for inspiring me to write this ❤
I'm writing this intro on Thursday August 1st — I just finished reading my 11th book of 2024. As I was walking to the Newmarket Public Library to return my book (go support your local library NOW), I couldn't help but feel a little burst of happiness and pride in my chest.
In 2023, I set a personal goal on my StoryGraph account to read 12 books within the year — 1 book each month. Sounds easy, right? I finished 2023 with 10 books read, and I just barely made it to that 10th book.
Now, a little over half way through 2024, and I've read more books than I read in the entirety of 2023. Lets go! Woohoo! What a return to form!
Anywho, as I continue my goal to get back into regular reading, I've decided to share my thoughts on my reads with you — via the trusted format of the Reading Round-Up.
So here we go!
Reading Stats for January to June 2024
- Total Books Read: 10
- Reading Mediums: 9 physical books, 1 online
- Books Owned vs. Borrowed: 6 books owned, 2 books borrowed from friends, 1 book borrowed from library, 1 book read for free online
Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
Reading Medium: Physical
Owned vs. Borrowed: Owned
Synopsis: What if men built a tower from Earth to Heaven-and broke through to Heaven's other side? What if we discovered that the fundamentals of mathematics were arbitrary and inconsistent? What if there were a science of naming things that calls life into being from inanimate matter? What if exposure to an alien language forever changed our perception of time? What if all the beliefs of fundamentalist Christianity were literally true, and the sight of sinners being swallowed into fiery pits were a routine event on city streets? These are the kinds of outrageous questions posed by the stories of Ted Chiang. Stories of your life... and others.
My Thoughts: Recommended to me by Noah and Elisa, I was looking forward to reading this collection of sci-fi short stories. I hadn't read much sci-fi (readers will know that I have a bit of a reputation of being a serial romance reader), so this felt like a good introduction into the genre. The fact that it was a collection of short stories was also appealing to me at the time, as I was struggling to get out of a bad reading slump.
I have to say, I am definitely interested in reading more science fiction now. Each one of Ted Chiang’s short stories is wonderfully unique, tonally diverse, and moving in different ways. I’m honestly impressed that Ted Chiang wrote all of these short stories, since each one feels like it could have been penned by different authors with different writing styles, beliefs, interests, etc.
Here are my quick thoughts on each short story:
Tower of Babylon (4 / 5) — An incredibly well-written retelling of the construction and journey up the tower of Babylon. I thoroughly enjoyed the writing style and the voice of the main character. Such a great introduction into Ted Chiang’s work.
Understand (5 / 5) — This story reminded me of Flowers for Algernon in the best way (one of the few sci-fi stories I've read before, I love it). I’m a sucker for stories about a main character who is gaining superhuman levels of intelligence and losing themselves mentally as a result, and the writing style reflects that. Definitely one of my favourite stories in this collection.
Division by Zero (2 / 5) — Found myself kind of skimming through this one. Didn't find it too interesting or memorable.
Story of Your Life (4 / 5) — The story that inspired the film Arrival ! Reading this made me appreciate how well the film captured just how mind-bendy the whole concept is. Very well executed, very well-written.
Seventy-Two Letters (5 / 5) — LOVED the Victorian-England-but-steampunk setting in this story! Also loved the concept of golems and how they would be used in this alternate universe. Great pacing and tension throughout the plot, I was engaged throughout the entire story. Definitely one of my favourite stories in this collection.
The Evolution of Human Science (2 / 5) — Extremely short and I'm not gonna lie, I barely remember what it was about. Not very interesting or memorable, especially considering that the story before and the story after it were such bangers.
Hell Is The Absence of God (5 / 5) — THIS BANGER. My #1 favourite story in this collection! WOW. Set in a world where God, Heaven, Hell, souls, miracles, and angels actually exist / are universally known, this story explores how actually devastating this world would be. Imagine, you could see a loved one suffering in hell if you look down at the right spot?! You could know people who have lost their eyes (or worse...) due to accidentally seeing an angel?! Insanity. The collateral damage described during an angel's visitation, wow... So incredibly well-written — it was one of those stories that are so good, you lose yourself a little bit when it's over. If you want to read any of Ted Chiang's works or just dip your toe into sci-fi short stories, I cannot recommend Hell Is The Absence of God enough.
Liking What You See: A Documentary (4 / 5) — I liked the documentary script format of this story, as well as its exploration into themes of society's (kind of fucked up) relationship with physical beauty and our perception of others/ourselves. A very good story, but a little underwhelming to be the last story in the collection.
My personal ranking of Ted Chiang's short stories in Stories of Your Life and Others :
- Hell Is The Absence of God
- Understand
- Seventy-Two Letters
- Tower of Babylon
- Story of Your Life
- Liking What You See: A Documentary
- Division by Zero
- The Evolution of Human Science
My (Overall) Rating: 4 / 5
You, Again by Kate Goldbeck
Reading Medium: Physical
Owned vs. Borrowed: Owned
Synopsis: When Ari and Josh first meet, the wrong kind of sparks fly. They hate each other. Instantly.
A free-spirited, struggling comedian who likes to keep things casual, Ari sublets, takes gigs, and she never sleeps over after hooking up. Born-and-bred Manhattanite Josh has ambitious plans: Take the culinary world by storm, find The One, and make her breakfast in his spotless kitchen. They have absolutely nothing in common... except that they happen to be sleeping with the same woman.
Ari and Josh never expect their paths to cross again. But years later, as they're both reeling from ego-bruising breakups, a chance encounter leads to a surprising connection: friendship. Turns out, spending time with your former nemesis is fun when you're too sad to hate each other — and too sad for hate sex.
As friends-without-benefits, they find comfort in late-night Netflix binges, swiping through each other's online dating profiles, and bickering across boroughs. It's better than romance. Until one night, the unspoken boundaries of their platonic relationship begin to blur...
My Thoughts: Before I go on, yes... This book was originally Reylo fanfiction... Shut up! I didn't know until I finished the book, leave me alone! Anyways...
I will admit that I did tear through this book. I'm a fan of romances that take place over the span of years, which this book does quite well. The premise / introduction was hilarious and very “classic rom-com” — they meet because they're both sleeping with the same woman?! C'mon, that's funny.
I really enjoyed how Ari and Josh's friendship was developed, and how it slowly became romantic. It felt realistic, or as realistic as a rom-com could be. I loved the way New York City was described throughout the story as well: Obviously romanticized, I know, but it felt cozy — like the New York City we know and love from You've Got Mail (1998) and When Harry Met Sally (1989).
The sex scenes... I admit, they were hot as hell. They also felt earned, the story didn't rush into them, which I appreciate.
The third act conflict that happens in every romance — you know, the one that forces them to separate for a bit before they inevitably get back together — didn't feel completely forced either. It made sense, it sounded like something I would hear a friend go through. The only thing that annoyed me was the main girl Ari's logic / reasoning towards the end of the book. Ari's character was kind of all over the place, but especially towards the end. The ending made me roll my eyes a bit, but it was still satisfactory enough that it didn't ruin the whole story for me. However, for that kinda awkward ending and Ari's character being a bit annoying towards the end, I did remove a star from my final rating.
My Rating: 4 / 5
Roaming by Jillian Tamaki & Mariko Tamaki
Reading Medium: Physical
Owned vs. Borrowed: Borrowed from my friend Nick
Synopsis: Spring break, 2009. High school best friends Zoe and Dani are now freshman college students, meeting in a place they’ve wanted to visit forever: New York City. Tagging along is Dani’s classmate Fiona, a mercurial art student with an opinion on everything. Together, the three cram in as much of the city as possible, gleefully falling into tourist traps, pondering so-called great works of art, sidestepping creeps, and eating lots and lots of pizza (folded in half, of course).
My Thoughts: WOW this graphic novel has such beautiful artwork! Such simplistic yet gorgeous colouring, I loved the orange and purple tones that were used throughout the book. There were full pages that I would just stare at without reading anything, just admiring the artwork — the sign of a high quality graphic novel.
Plot-wise, I enjoyed this story. It was a sweet, slice-of-life story about 3 friends (well, 2 friends and some bitch, more on that in a second) exploring New York City for the first time together. I loved the way New York City was depicted as well, it felt as grand and wonderful (and a little bit seedy but still cool) as these sweet characters were seeing it.
The third character in this story, Fiona, caused the majority of the conflict in this book. At the end of the book, I guess I was supposed to empathize with her... but SIKE, I hated this bitch! You want me to feel bad for her? She was so horrible to Zoe and Dani, and nearly ruined their trip! Fuck her!
I guess this book did a good job at making me feel defensive for Zoe and Dani, so kudos to the authors there. However, if you were trying to make me feel bad for this Fiona bitch — valiant effort, but not this time.
My Rating: 3.5 / 5
Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton
Reading Medium: Physical
Owned vs. Borrowed: Borrowed from my friend Nick
Synopsis: Before there was Kate Beaton, New York Times bestselling cartoonist of Hark! A Vagrant, there was Katie Beaton of the Cape Breton Beatons, specifically Mabou — a tight-knit seaside community where the lobster is as abundant as beaches, fiddles, and Gaelic folk songs. With the singular goal of paying off her student loans, Katie heads out west to take advantage of Alberta’s oil rush — part of the long tradition of East Coasters who seek gainful employment elsewhere when they can’t find it in the homeland they love so much. Katie encounters the harsh reality of life in the oil sands, where trauma is an everyday occurrence yet is never discussed.
My Thoughts: Wow. Wow wow wow wow wow. If I could only recommend one graphic novel to everyone, it would be this one. Wow.
Ducks is a phenomenal autobiography by Kate Beaton. Her art style is remarkable, striking a wonderful balance between coyly simplistic and stunningly detailed. She really did capture the Albertan landscape so well.
Cut off from the rest of civilization, Beaton depicts oil sands workers as an insular community — lonely, part of a misogynistic boys' club, often depressed but unable/unwilling to talk about mental health. Beaton showcases this world in which loneliness drives many men to behaviours they wouldn't even consider in their “real lives” back at home. Harassment and sexual assault are either considered normal or brushed under the rug while working at the oil sands — trigger warning there for potential readers.
Beaton worked at the oil sands for two years, and she makes the scars that the experience left on her clear. Her artwork being in all shades of grey really adds to the environment's dreary feel.
Beaton also touches on the environmental impact of the oil sands, but her focus is primarily on the human impact of living in such extreme isolation and being expendable... all to make a decent wage.
The ending really left its mark on me — it's wonderfully done. Highly, highly recommend.
My Rating: 5 / 5
Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton
Reading Medium: Physical
Owned vs. Borrowed: Owned
Synopsis: Hark! A Vagrant is an uproarious romp through history and literature seen through the sharp, contemporary lens of New Yorker cartoonist and comics sensation Kate Beaton. No era or tome emerges unscathed as Beaton rightly skewers the Western world’s revolutionaries, leaders, sycophants, and suffragists while equally honing her wit on the hapless heroes, heroines, and villains of the best-loved fiction.
My Thoughts: I needed something a little bit more lighthearted after Ducks, and I was very curious about Kate Beaton's past work, so I picked up this anthology of her funny comics!
Kate Beaton has great comedic timing, it's seriously an impressive skill to have as a comics artist. I deeply admire her art style — it's so distinct, it's loose and light but she is such a master at facial expressions.
This was a quick, lighthearted read — while a couple of the comics fell a bit flat for me, it was overall a fun and funny collection.
My Rating: 3.5 / 5
Dune by Frank Herbert
This review has been removed in protest.
Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert
This review has been removed in protest.
Funny Story by Emily Henry
Reading Medium: Physical
Owned vs. Borrowed: Owned
Synopsis: Daphne always loved the way her fiancé Peter told their story. How they met (on a blustery day), fell in love (over an errant hat), and moved back to his lakeside hometown to begin their life together. He really was good at telling it... Right up until the moment he realized he was actually in love with his childhood best friend Petra.
Which is how Daphne begins her new story: Stranded in beautiful Waning Bay, Michigan, without friends or family but with a dream job as a children’s librarian (that barely pays the bills), and proposing to be roommates with the only person who could possibly understand her predicament: Petra’s ex, Miles Nowak.
Scruffy and chaotic — with a penchant for taking solace in the sounds of heart break love ballads — Miles is exactly the opposite of practical, buttoned up Daphne, whose coworkers know so little about her they have a running bet that she’s either FBI or in witness protection. The roommates mainly avoid one another, until one day, while drowning their sorrows, they form a tenuous friendship and a plan. If said plan also involves posting deliberately misleading photos of their summer adventures together, well, who could blame them?
But it’s all just for show, of course, because there’s no way Daphne would actually start her new chapter by falling in love with her ex-fiancé’s new fiancée’s ex... Right?
My Thoughts: Oh, Emily Henry, the woman that you are. Readers may know (and if you don't yet, take note) — Emily Henry is my all-time favourite romance writer. Everything she touches turns to romance gold. I cannot recommend her books enough.
I adored Funny Story — I read it all within 48 hours. Each and every character felt real and unique, she has such a talent for writing realistic yet lovable characters.
The plot was fun and well-paced, the main couple's chemistry was great (I had a crush on Miles too), the sex scenes were hot yet sweet, the environment / town descriptions were so cozy, I just loved everything about this book. Definitely another comfort read that I am very happy to add to the Emily Henry section of my bookshelf.
In case you are curious, my current personal ranking for Emily Henry's books are:
(Note, these are all very close in ranking and are all 5 / 5 for me)
- People We Meet On Vacation
- Book Lovers
- Beach Read
- Funny Story
- Happy Place
My Rating: 5 / 5
Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
Reading Medium: Physical
Owned vs. Borrowed: Owned
Synopsis: Cambridge professor Emily Wilde is good at many things: She is the foremost expert on the study of faeries. She is a genius scholar and a meticulous researcher who is writing the world's first encyclopaedia of faerie lore. But Emily Wilde is not good at people. She could never make small talk at a party — or even get invited to one. And she prefers the company of her books, her dog, Shadow, and the Fair Folk to other people.
So when she arrives in the hardscrabble village of Hrafnsvik, Emily has no intention of befriending the gruff townsfolk. Nor does she care to spend time with another new arrival: her dashing and insufferably handsome academic rival Wendell Bambleby, who manages to charm the townsfolk, get in the middle of Emily's research, and utterly confound and frustrate her.
But as Emily gets closer and closer to uncovering the secrets of the Hidden Ones — the most elusive of all faeries — lurking in the shadowy forest outside the town, she also finds herself on the trail of another mystery: Who is Wendell Bambleby, and what does he really want? To find the answer, she'll have to unlock the greatest mystery of all — her own heart.
My Thoughts: Oh, how I adored this book! Emily Wilde masterfully toes the line between cozy fantasy and dark fantasy — it's wonderful. Heather Fawcett's writing style is addictive, the chosen formatting of journal entries that fall somewhere between academic and personal was so much fun.
The world-building was immaculate. I loved delving into the extensive lore of the faeries, as well as meeting the townsfolk alongside Emily Wilde.
I really loved Emily Wilde and Wendell Bambleby as characters as well — I laughed out loud whenever Wendell “stole Emily's journal to write his own entries” and we got his perspective. It was so clever and fun. I was charmed by Wendell, but I was so impressed by Emily. It is rare to find a character in a fantasy world that relies on her wits rather than her strength to get out of a tricky situation. Seeing Emily Wilde outsmart her way out of faerie trickery, rather than waving a sword around and punching faeries in the face, was incredibly satisfying. It also made so much sense for her character — of course an expert on faeries would be this remarkably clever!
I loved this book. I highly recommend if you are looking for a good fantasy read. Stay tuned to hear my thoughts on the sequel, Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands, in my next Reading Round-Up!
My Rating: 5 / 5
Delicious in Dungeon (AKA Dungeon Meshi) by Ryoko Kui
Reading Medium: Online via MangaDex
Owned vs. Borrowed: Read for free online
Synopsis: When young adventurer Laios and his company are attacked and soundly thrashed by a dragon deep in a dungeon, the party loses all its money and provisions... and a member! They're eager to go back and save her, but there is just one problem: If they set out with no food or coin to speak of, they're sure to starve on the way! But Laios comes up with a brilliant idea: “Let's eat the monsters!” Slimes, basilisks, and even dragons... None are safe from the appetites of these dungeon-crawling gourmands!
My Thoughts: Wow! Dungeon Meshi!
Honestly, I loved this manga. I haven't read a manga this good since Fullmetal Alchemist — which is high praise, considering that Fullmetal Alchemist is one of my all-time favourite stories in general.
I will never get over Ryoko Kui's artistic skills and character design, because WOW. No one's out here doing character design like Ryoko Kui. She has the opposite of Same Face Syndrome — every single character had such a refreshing, unique design. Even down to their noses, no character had the same nose! As an artist, I am on my knees in awe over her character design.
On top of her character design, her artwork throughout the manga was just stunning. Some of my favourite panels were in the Griffin chapter — there were so many times I would just stop reading and zoom into random details in her artwork to admire them. She's gotta be one of the best manga/comics artists out there right now, wow.
In terms of plot, I thoroughly enjoyed Dungeon Meshi. I fell in love with each character — especially Marcille, who is so literally me it's insane. The plot was so unique, the world-building was phenomenal, the ending had me smiling so much it hurt.
If you're looking to get into manga, or if you're looking for your next manga to read, I highly recommend Delicious in Dungeon.
My Rating: 5 / 5
This has been Kaitlyn's first Reading Round-Up (yay!), signing off!