One of my goals for this year is to read more (real) books. So I figured I'll post a quick summary of what I've read, and what I thought of them. They may not be monthly, as I rarely read much on ship, but here we go.
A Walk in the Woods - Bill Bryson (3.5/5)
I'd read Neither Here Nor There: Travels in Europe a few years back, so it was nice to see Bryson and his friend Stephen Katz reunite to tackle the Appalachian Trail. A light story that was mostly background noise as I flew back from the east coast and completed chores around the house.
Mexican Gothic - Silvia Moreno-Garcia (5/5)
Another audiobook listen, this one my motivation to get through multiple 25km long runs. I'm a sucker for dark gothic stories, especially with snarky female protagonists, so this one was right up my alley. It was also read in anticipation of my impending trip to Mexico, although I can't say this story had many similarities to my lazy beach vacation.
Every Summer After - Carley Fortune (4/5)
After Mexican Gothic I needed something light and fluffy, and this fit the bill. Is it a somewhat derivative friends-to-lovers romance with just the right amount of wistfulness? Yes it is, and that's okay.
Greenwood - Michael Christie (4.5/5)
I finally started a bookclub (with an environmental theme!) and this was our first choice. It was one of the top Canada Reads books last year, so despite being published a few years back it seems to have been 2023 where it hit public consciousness. It was a quick read with a well-realized environment and characters that drew me into their lives, but also left me a little unsatisfied. The overarching message seemed to be - "sure it feels like everything is falling apart right now, but it always has and always will".
One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez (4.5/5)
Likely the foundational work of magical realism. I'd had this on the go for awhile, but lazy days at the pool in Mexico gave me the chance to really dive in. And dive I did - to the dreamy prose and cyclical lives of the Buendia family
Island - Aldous Huxley (3/5)
A book I seem to come back to every decade. When I first read this at 12ish I was enthralled. When I read it again as an undergrad student at 22 I was inspired. Now at 32 I was kind of underwhelmed? It seems much more heavy-handed and preachy than I had remembered. I guess this is me becoming jaded, because Huxley's Utopia just doesn't hold the same magic it used to.
