Finished:

The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern: The premise had me intrigued and I went into this with a bit of a high expectation, but I'm left underwhelmed. Frankly, it reads like a case of 'style over substance' to me. I have to acknowledge the author's imaginative prowess, and her ability to write vivid descriptions and conjure atmospheric and whimsical scenarios. There are pretty imageries and eloquent phrasings, and they help enliven the titular circus and all its nitty-gritties on the pages. There's an atmosphere of mystery and ethereality that I initially enjoyed, but that initial enthusiasm started losing its hold on me as I realised this book is primarily a 'setting-driven' narrative, where the circus forms the foreground and the characters function as devices working behind the scenes (both figuratively and literally, in a way) instead of the other way round. This in and of itself might have had been fine and dandy if that were to be the end goal, but my problem with it arises from the fact that it expects the reader to care about and sympathise with the characters and their ordeals (that are established and handled in a superficial manner), when it makes little to no effort to enable us to do that. The characters come off as hollow caricatures that are mostly defined by their abilities and affiliation with the circus rather than as properly fleshed out individuals. This - combined with the constant back-and-forth jumps through time that lead to a disjointed plot with isolated scenes loosely strung together instead of a cohesive narrative - makes it difficult to be invested in much of the things, including the romantic subplots.

Crazy Rich Asians, by Kevin Kwan: The extraness of the flamboyant rich people talking about going on a shopping spree in a foreign country like one would talk about taking a trip at a moment's notice to the nearest convenience store in the neighbourhood, was kinda amusing at some points but nowhere near 'outrageously funny' as the blurb claims the book to be. I feel the narrative does a half-decent job where it attempts to go for a mock-heroic effect ("...the dinner began with military precision as a battalion of waiters marched in with glowing LED-domed trays"), but the 'serious' drama that ensues halfway through is stuff straight out of Korean and Indian soap operas. Maybe it's due to my familiarity with these shows and the tropes prevalent in Asian television entertainment in general that the tacky, over-the-top drama in the book left me feeling plain indifferent towards the whole affair involving scheming (prospective) in-laws and jealous love rivals and what not. But an even bigger gripe is how dull and flat majority of the characters are, particularly the two main leads. Astrid and Michael are the only characters that I found kinda interesting, but overall the cast is nothing to write home about because they're defined in terms of only two things: physical appearance and lineage. A review on GR said it succinctly: Shallow characters don't mean shallowly-written characters, and the author of this book clearly didn't pick up on that memo.

A Caribbean Mystery, by Agatha Christie: Perhaps the best thing about Christie's books is that you can pick any of them at random and go into it blind and know that you can't go wrong with it. Of course, there might be some titles that can be said to be critically better than others and some that you happen to personally like more than others, but almost all of them are good reads overall. I breezed through this particular book to pass the time on a train journey and, although I won't claim it as a favourite, it served its purpose well - it kept me entertained from start to finish. This also happened to be my first book starring Miss Marple.

Currently reading 4:50 from Paddington, by Agatha Christie and Before I Go to Sleep, by S.J. Watson. Enjoying the former and slogging through the latter.

About halfway through The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern and almost done with Crazy Rich Asians, by Kevin Kwan. Have mixed feelings about both of them thus far, but gotta acknowledge Morgenstern's ability to write vivid descriptions, and Kwan's extensive knowledge of designer labels and luxury bands.

Started The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison. I recently finished reading Morrison's Song of Solomon and, while I usually don't read books by the same author and/or from the same genre back to back, I made an exception in this case because I'm craving for more of Morrison's rich, evocative prose. Was initially thinking of picking up Sula but then got curious about her first published novel.

This week I finished Fear, by Bob Woodard. It was super interesting but poorly organized. Not chronologically or by any sort of subject. Just a bit of a mess. But I still enjoyed it.

Reading: Crazy Rich Asians, by Kevin Kwan

The Storm Runner, by J. C. Cervantes

I finished Pet Semetary by Stephen King and loved it!! All-around a good book with a solid progression, creepy atmosphere, and such a good/creepy ending. I haven’t read many of his books yet, but this is easily one of my favorites of his.

I also finished Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan which was a nice contrasting book to read after Pet Semetary. A light and fun read, I just enjoyed the book for what it was. The characters and plot were wild, but I had fun reading it.

Going to try to finish Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier!

Finished Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison. An emotionally evocative story and a remarkably good take on the bildungsroman genre. There's an undercurrent of poignancy running throughout the narrative, but certain parts of it in particular are subtly heartbreaking - perhaps not necessarily the break-into-a-fit-of-tears kind of heartbreaking but the kind that makes you feel a sudden heaviness settling in your chest. One of the things that stood out to me about the narrative is how, for a high-octane drama, it can also be lowkey humorous at times. Sometimes it's both at once - deeply poignant and delightfully witty. Morrison's writing is rich and impactful, and the narrative is packed with a lot of powerful and eloquently-written passages. My favourite is perhaps this.

Started The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern and Crazy Rich Asians, by Kevin Kwan. I wanted something that's both engaging and easy to breeze through as palate cleanser that's not thriller/detective fiction, and these two titles seemed to fit the bill.

Finished:

Idaho, by Emily Ruskovich. Absolutely beautiful prose. Haunting and atmospheric. But I still found the book lacking in a lot of ways. The “reveal” of why she murdered her child was just... strange. 3/5

When Dimple Met Rishi, by Sandhya Menon. A cute YA romance. Menon introduces a lot of interesting threads that she does nothing with, which was my biggest pet peeve. That and I’m too old for YA romance. 3/5

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Currently Reading:

Crazy Rich Asians, by Kevin Kwan

Fear, by Bob Woodard

Just picked up Gus, by Kim Holden. It's the second book in the Bright Side series. It's a little cheesy, but I'm enjoying it. Very easy read.

Also reading Crazy Rich Asians, by Kevin Kwan. Really enjoying this, but I have to read it at a slower pace since it's for a book club and I would get the chapters confused otherwise. Really interested in the rest of the book and series!

Finished It, by Stephen King

Started Crazy Rich Asians, by Kevin Kwan

Finished Crazy, Rich Asians, by Kevin Kwan and How to Walk Away, by Katherine Center.

Currently reading Beartown, by Frederik Backman. Backman is quickly becoming an auto-buy author for me. I loved A Man Called Ove and Britt-Marie Was Here. Beartown is completely different, though.

Currently halfway through Another Bullshit Night in Suck City, by Nick Flynn. It's a memoir about a guy who worked in homeless shelters in the Boston area and whose dad was also perpetually homeless on and off throughout his life. Pretty interesting so far, but I'm not in love with it.

Also reading Desperate Passage: The Donner Party's Perilous Journey West, by Ethan Rarick which is very interesting. I didn't know much about the Donners, so this is shedding an interesting light on them.

Also reading Crazy Rich Asians, by Kevin Kwan for the r/thebachelor Bookclub. Only just started, but seems like a compelling story and I'm interested to read more!

Still slowly going through Crazy Rich Asians, by Kevin Kwan for my book club. About halfway through so it's getting good. Can't wait to see how the rest of the book unfolds when Rachel meets the rest of Nick's family.

Also working through The Clay Girl, by Heather Tucker which is interesting, but a little harder to get into. The way it is written is interesting and has been a little harder for me to understand or get in the groove of. Luckily seems like I've been understanding it more. It's an interesting, but sad story.

Lastly, just started Joyland, by Stephen King on my Kindle. Very early on in it, but seems like an interesting story line.

Finished:

The Secret History, by Donna Tartt (second reading)

Still reading:

Crazy Rich Asians, by Kevin Kwan
The Book of Essie, by Meghan Maclean Weir

I read and finished Crazy Rich Asians, by Kevin Kwan. It was a quick read and entertaining enough, but I wish I had stopped there instead of continuing on to the second book, China Rich Girlfriend, by Kevin Kwan. He makes fun use of footnotes, but the actual writing isn't that great. Some of the dialogue can be a little rough. I will probably finish it anyway, but I don't know about finishing the series. Still look forward to seeing the movie though.

Also almost finished up with Why I'm No Longer Talking To White People About Race, by Reni Eddo-Lodge. Still good, just not something I can zoom through.

Also began American Gods, by Neil Gaiman on audiobook.

The Lost Man, by Jane Harper Finished this and I think it's been my favorite of hers so far. I really like the style of her mysteries and I think they are decently written. It's nice to not always have some drunk crazy housewife as the main character when it comes to a good suspense.

Crazy Rich Asians, by Kevin Kwan About a fourth of the way through and waiting to see what all the hype is about! It's pretty basic so far if you don't count the references to Chinese culture (which I find really interesting).

Crazy Rich Asians, by Kevin Kwan

I have mixed feelings about this book. One one hand it was very easy to read and it was funny but these characters embody and enable some of the worst things. Trafficking, drugs, prostitution, dog fighting, wanton and unneccessary extravagance etc. They hate anyone with less than them and more than them and the same as them. Even a "nicer" character like Astrid is quite hateable (especially when Harry Wu gets involved - I feel sorry for Michael and I doubt this will end well).

Also, what was that ending?

I'm not sure about the sequels.

I also read Folding Beijing, by Hao Jingfang which I really enjoyed. I loved that the protagonist is a waste disposal worker who just wants what is best for his kid. He's also quite lucky...and not so lucky. It's a very grounded dystopian story. I'd love for the author's other works to be available in English.

Crazy Rich Asians, by Kevin Kwan - It was a nice, light and fun read. It was also really interesting, because there's a lot about Singapore and China in the book. I'm starting Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer tomorrow. Looking forward to it!

Recently finished:

Crazy Rich Asians, by Kevin Kwan Lives up to the hype (and the criticism). Excessive fashion/lifestyle name-dropping, but Kwan knows his shit and loves his characters and universe. Extended-family shenanigans is very relatable even if these people have more money than the last 3 generations of my family combined.

Dragon Road, by Joseph Brassey The biggest fault of Brassey is picking cheesy-sounding fantasy titles. This surprisingly had nothing to do with dragons or roads, but everything to do with giant sentient airships, necromantic murder-mysteries, mages battling ancient gods, and all sorts of straight-out fun stuff. Several degrees of magnitude better than his first novel (Skyfarer).

Starting:

A Hat Full of Sky, by Terry Pratchett It's been months since I read The Wee Free Men, then wandered off and dropped out of the Discworld, so I need to get back on the Tiffany Aching hype train and follow her continuing adventures!

I recently finished reading Crazy Rich Asians, by Kevin Kwan. I really enjoyed it! It was so easy to read and I understand all the hype surrounding it.

I'm continuing to listen to the audiobook version of It, by Stephen King. It is 45 hours long, so it is going to take a while to get through this one.

I started reading The Hideaway, by Lauren Denton. I started reading it because I was thinking of attending a new book club that I found, and this is their current selection. Not sure if I will be able to attend the book club this month anyway, so my interest level has decreased. There are just so many other books on my shelf that I would rather be reading. Maybe I'm just not a book club person.

The Female Persuasion, by Meg Wolitzer

Crazy Rich Asians, by Kevin Kwan

The Locals, by Jonathan Dee

A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again, by David Foster Wallace

Crazy Rich Asians, by Kevin Kwan

I'm a fan of the movie, and I can't help but feel that I have started the book too soon because my mind is still reeling from the differences between novel and movie. Most likely going to read something else, then go back to it later when the movie isn't so fresh in my mind.

The Song of Achilles, by Madeline Miller

I've reached as far as what Kindle sample has shown me and have just recently purchased the book. Looking forward to read Patroclus' new life after exile! :O

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Pride, by Ibi Zoboi

Crazy Rich Asians, by Kevin Kwan

Daisy Jones & The Six, by Taylor Jenkins Reid I don't understand the hype about this book, nor the extremely high Goodreads rating. Assuming it has to do with it being a part of Reese Witherspoon's book club. Which now I'm starting to realize I should not read any of her book club picks (Where the Crawdad Sings was terrible too). Anyways, this book was sooo cliche, had no characterization, and such a predictable story. There was just no depth... Speaking of no depth, also still working on Crazy Rich Asians, by Kevin Kwan Not a great week for books for me this week.

crazy rich asians, by kevin kwan

Just in time for the movie.

I started Crazy Rich Asians, by Kevin Kwan and it's successfully scratching that "beach reading" itch I've been having after reading bleaker books.

Crazy Rich Asians, by Kevin Kwan
The Amulet of Samarkand, by Jonathan Stroud
and I just finished Born a Crime, by Trevor Noah this morning

This week, I've been tearing through Crazy Rich Asians, by Kevin Kwan

I really thought I was going to hate this book. I thought it was just going to be a silly boy-sweeps-girl-off-her-feet romance. However, it is not at all. I love the satire and characterization. Some of the characters are so cruel, I haven't been this mad at a book since Dolores Umbridge!

Finished a reread of Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan. First read this back in 2016 before it got really big, so I figured it was high time to refresh my memory ahead of watching the movie. I'd forgotten just how entertaining of a book it is! And being Asian (American), middle class, but into high fashion, a lot of it is actually very relatable - like the disdain towards Mainlanders, class elitism, snobbishness about certain designers over others, etc. Actually very much looking forward to reading the sequel.

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

Finished Crazy Rich Asians, by Kevin Kwan

Started The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena

Started You are a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero <- thinking of bailing though

Finished:

A Very Large Expanse of Sea, by Tahereh Mafi
Absolutely love love loved it. Such a great contemporary. Both a romance and socially engaged.

Ps. I Still Love You, by Jenny Han

I love John Ambrose McClaren... and Peter Kavinsky. Ugh.

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Started:

The Clan Of The Cave Bear, by Jean Auel

What If It's Us, by Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli

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Currently reading:

Sherlock Holmes: The Definitive Audio Collection, by Arthur Conan Doyle (Narrated by Stephen Fry)
Mythos, by Stephen Fry
Crazy Rich Asians, by Kevin Kwan
Prelude to Foundation, by Isaac Asimov

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So plenty of things haha... And still always looking for recommendations. I have a problem.

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