What are you reading now?

It was challenging trying to fit reading into my schedule this month. Latest reads -

The Bullet Journal Method: the first official BuJo (bullet journaling) manual, hence a must read for anyone pursuing the practice seriously. I started bullet journaling late last year and DH and I have become fans. We both feel better organized and more productive since having switched to this analog technique from our myriad digital organizers.

Longbourn by Jo Baker: A much anticipated retelling of P&P from the servants' point of view, or so said the promotional campaign. If you are an Austen purist say no thank you to this one. I found it plodding and pretentious. It starts out as a romance, then morphs into part Dickensian tragedy - part 20th century feminist manifesto, including a lengthy segue into the Napoleonic wars. There are pages and pages of inane florid descriptions of everything from chimneys to chamber pots. However in my opinion, the author's cardinal sin is her attempt to sully the histories and temperaments of some of my beloved characters from P&P. In a cameo appearance, Mr Darcy is painted as a clueless and shallow upper class twit. Had this book been published without the over hyped connections to P&P, I might have liked it, at least parts of it. But having built up my expectations going into it, I was left bored and underwhelmed.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman: This one took me by surprise. I wasn't expecting to enjoy it as much as I did. An unvarnished tale of a painfully ordinary woman who is socially awkward and embarrassingly literal. As the story progresses both the reader and Eleanor realize that she is anything but fine. She lives an isolated life until happenstance turns her world on its head. Delightful and poignant, it is chuckle-out-loud funny and profoundly sad at the same time. One of the few books I was sad to finish. I grew attached to Eleanor and found myself wishing I could spend more time in her world. The book has some of the most memorable and endearing characters I have encountered in a while. If you can, get the audiobook. The narrator has done a fabulous job making the characters come alive.

Educated by Tara Westover: One of NYT's top 10 books of 2018 and recommended by both Bill Gates and Barrack Obama. I wasn't disappointed. The author's accomplishments by themselves are awe inspiring but in light of her background and history, they are positively miraculous. A powerful and inspiring book, beautifully written as well.

Currently reading The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming by David Wallace-Wells.

 

Was cleaning the attic for the New Year that is around the corner. Guess what fell on my head? Silas Marner that I read over 50 years back as a part of my study. I dusted it and started reading it again. It looked much simpler than it was as my collegiate curricular. George Eliot is not as complicated as I initially thought!

 

You don't need to read the book to get started. My suggestion is to put off reading the book until you've had a few weeks, ideally a few months, of hands on journaling experience. Watch this 5-minute tutorial and dive in: Learn. If things seem unclear read a quick-intro article like this one: How to Bullet Journal: The Absolute Ultimate Guide

Starting with the book will make things seem needlessly complex. You will tangle yourself in a web of unfamiliar terminology. Use the book as a reinforcement of the whys of bullet journaling rather than a how-to manual.

 

Finished reading The Uninhabitable Earth by David Wallace-Wells. If you live on planet earth it is necessary reading, as long as you don't plan to sleep, ever again. :|

Finished listening to The Help by Kathryn Stockett. I'd wanted to read it since I saw the movie because it's a fact that every great movie has a greater book behind it. I've read about the controversy surrounding the author's sources, claims of poor research and playing to stereotypes, but I didn't find the book patronizing in the least. I have a few minor squabbles with the writing but overall I really liked it.

I am on a historical fiction kick specifically books set in the American South. Just started Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens.