shame is sharp;

most disappointing book you've read so far?

i'd say pnin by vladimir nabokov. i didn't dislike lolita and i've been curious about pale fire, so when pnin was assigned to us for my american lit class, i was excited to discover more of nabokov, especially if he dabbled into a very different genre than he does usually. but it was just... bad. i kept waiting for the bittersweetness and the nostalgia and the homesickness i was advertised and it just didn't come. the narration was clunky. pnin felt like someone telling you this character is multi-faceted even though they're just flat, and bland. oh so bland. nabokov tried his hand at humor and failed miserably. the last twist felt like a pitiful attempt at making this boring mess at least a little interesting, but only made it even more confusing. consensus: 👎👎👎

what book was the most surprising?

blue lily lily blue by maggie stiefvater, third book of the raven cycle ! it was mostly surprising because i started the raven cycle wayyy back when i was 14/15 and dropped it during bllb, for reasons i can't remember. picked the series back up in february and i was fully ready for it to be boring, which would explain why i dropped it, but not at all. it had me soooo hyped for the raven king. so i was pleasantly surprised.

favourite new character you met this year?

fitzchivalry farseer from the farseer trilogy by robin hobb, which i have yet to finish. but like that's my shithead son. he's so stupid and so egocentric and i love him like i gave birth to him. if we count rereads, daisy jones from daisy jones & the six by taylor jenkins reid. she's been in my top 5 favorite characters of all time forever and it's not going to budge anytime soon. i love her <3

most hated character you met this year?

pnin 🙂‍↕️ get his bald ass a hair transplant

most beautiful book cover(s)?

(a shame because agnes aubert was mid at the very best, and i loved the emily wilde series)

a book cover that you would redesign?

outlander by diana gabaldon. although i did love the tv show (up to a certain point. i'm not watching that last season), get those actors off my cover. the og covers are not too pretty either. i'd see something a little more detailed.

most read author this year (or author you enjoyed the most)?

maggie stiefvater at 4 books, because as aforementioned i have binged the raven cycle series !!

what book do you want to read most in the next half of the year?

omg i've been dying to read atmosphere by taylor jenkins reid and i'm so excited about it, it's my next read ! but i've also been looking forward to the everlasting by alix e. harrow, the jasmine throne by tasha suri, sunburn by chloe michelle howarth, and weavingshaw by heba al-wasity.

overall, are you enjoying this year of books better, worse, or about the same as last year?

better, i think ! i had a hugeee reading slump around this time last year which definitely impacted how i felt about reading. it took me a little while to enjoy it again, and i didn't really enjoy the books i picked. rn however, while there had been some lows, i'm really liking what i read and the pace i'm going with !!

do you use any book tracking platforms?

yessss !! i use both goodreads and fable. any mutual can ask for it no problems, i just won't give it publicly because some private informations are on there <3

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