Hello readers!
Long time no see!
Today I'm here to do my first ever wrap-up. I read a total of 13 books, which is the least in 2020 so far, because I didn't use my Kindle at all - I only read physical copies. Let's get started!
I started off with Fake It 'Til You Break It by Meagan Brandy. I gave this book 1 star on Goodreads, mainly because I couldn't believe it got published in the first place. I wanted to google if it's on Wattpad, that's how bad it was. If you want to check out my full review, it's here. I'll be sure to post it on this blog soon, though.
Then, I finally, and I mean finally, finished reading my first Dostoyevsky novel - The Village of Stepanchikovo. I highly recommend this one if you haven't read Dostoyevsky yet, but don't expect it to be fun. Dostoyevsky isn't fun - he's frighteningly deep, and that doesn't sit well with anyone. I didn't review it fully, but if you wanna check it out, here.
Stepanchikovo is, as you can see from the title, about the Village of Stepanchikovo and its inhabitants. It is a social comedy following a few days in the life of Yegor Ilyich Rostanev, a colonel and the owner of Stepanchikovo, and Foma Fomich - a despicable conman and charlatan living off Yegor and his mother, a general's widow. I admit, it really was hilarious in places, but what struck me the most was how real and deep the characters were. I can't wait for the next Dostoyevsky!
The next book I read was No Word from Gurb by Spanish author Eduardo Mendoza and I actually read it in my native language, Polish. I'm glad I got it over with for two reasons - one: it's been sitting on my shelf, borrowed from a friend, since January, and two: it was freaking hilarious.
No Word from Gurb is a sci-fi novel about two aliens that land in Barcelona in order to study humankind. There is humour, there are twist and there's the absolutely brilliant ending. I couldn't have enjoyed it more! Find my review here.
In May, I read the total of two biographies of Catholic saints, one was called Light from Lisieux - about Theresa of Lisieux - and was written by Anton Hlinka, the second one was about Hildegard of Bingen, with the same title, by Ursula Koch. Although LfL was alright, HoB was simply horrible. I reviewed it here. Again I wondered how the book got published, but for different reasons than before. Fake It 'Til You Break It at least had no typos in it, you know?
After reading Light from Lisieux I felt a strong urge to read a YA fantasy and I chose The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater. It's not quite a fantasy, more paranormal, and it follows the story of four boys and a girl in their search for the body of Glendower, an ancient Welsh king. I must admit I didn't enjoy this one as much as I thought I would, because it was too horror-y in parts, which I can't stomach, but it made up for it by presenting amazing characters and a delightful magical atmosphere. Again, my review is here.
My next read turned out to be a disappointment - Beth O'Leary's The Flatshare. It's a contemporary chick-lit set in London following Leon and Tiffy, who, although they have never met, share the same bed in Leon's flat. I thought the premise to be very creative, but the way it was executed didn't click with me unfortunately.
I was just contemplating what to read next, when I stumbled upon a fanart of Jurdan on Tumblr and yes, I did reread the whole Folk of The Air trilogy again. Phew. Find my updated reviews here (TCP), here (TWK) and here (TQoN).
Also is it just me or is there anyone else who cannot wait for the Cardan book to be published in November?! I literally screamed when I learned about it!
Anyways, after TFotA I read two more books: a Hellen Keller biography by Katja Behrens, reviewed here, and, the highlight of my month, Second-hand Time: The Last of the Soviets by Svetlana Alexievich. I've got literal chills right now.
Second-hand Time tells the real story of Communism spoken by its creators, victims and subduers. Alexievich doesn't write a single word herself, everything in the book is the recorded speech of people telling their stories, and yet - she tells a story of her own merely by arranging the people in certain order. The book shook me, not only because I live in a post-communist country but also because of its deepness and almost physical realness. I cannot stress this enough: read this book. Read it no matter your age, nationality, religion. If you want to understand Communism, if you want to maybe... get to know humankind better. It is absolutely unbelievable, the human soul, isn't it?
I'm glad I could share my reading list with all of you, I hope you found it helpful :)
Have a lovely day!
