The Week Gone By – 8/29/22

This past week has been a bit slow in reading but I have been feeling good mentally, and what more can I really ask for. I also got some very awesome bookmail, so that definitely made me feel very happy. And now, time for me to talk about some of the books I did manage to finish this week.

I totally believed the world (or a near future Delhi) the author created, which felt both similar to the current political climate in the country and as a natural progression to the future if the authoritarian tendencies of our politicians aren’t curbed soon. This world where reality is what we see on social media platforms, and everything is controlled by politicians and corporations and oligarchs, dissent is curbed immediately – there’s just so much information here and I was lost in the world, but I also couldn’t keep up with it. I guess I’m not disappointed because I knew going in that this book is not about characters participating in a revolution and bringing about drastic changes in their world – it’s about the characters realizing that they want to change the system and hope to be part of a resistance. However, despite knowing this, this story just felt more like a recounting of all the cool and bad facts of this futuristic world, with not much focus on character development.

I was intrigued by the premise and wanted to know what this was all about. But after finishing this, I’m not at all sure what to say about it. It’s not exactly bad writing because even when I wasn’t totally engaged, I kept listening to the audiobook. The author is also probably commenting on the perils of corporate culture where all us employees keep working like mindless creatures, gaining no satisfaction from work, but also not finding the time to do anything more pleasurable or satisfying. But the way this story is told – both in the flashbacks or in the present after a zombie like pandemic – it’s very slice of life and boring and with not much connecting threads, and I was just left wondering what was the point of it all. Or maybe it’s the brilliance of the author because she is satirizing our banal existence through this story. Ultimately I think it just wasn’t for me, but I still wanna checkout the author’s upcoming books.

I don’t know what I expected going into this book but the first few pages completely flooring me wasn’t it. It initially hit me hard because there was so much about the author’s struggles I felt I could relate to, but that feeling slowly reduced as the book went on. While there were some aspects of her personality that didn’t make sense to me, I really appreciated the discussions about Persistent Depressive Disorder, the reasons for binge eating, the anxieties over little things, the pressure of expectations and more. I’ve never gone to a therapist despite my issues with depression, so I did take heed of some of the things the therapist here was saying because I felt had come to some of those realizations myself, and there were some small changes I could try to make in my thinking. Overall, this was a short but surprisingly insightful book, which may not have all the answers, but sometimes even being seen and realizing we are not alone in the world can be powerful in it’s own way.

I’m actually surprised that I even requested this arc because I can’t say the author’s Severance was a favorite. But I just wanted to read this one. And turns out I may not be able to glean the underlying messages in the author’s writing. Despite that, the writing in this short story collection is oddly compelling, I never wanted to put it down, it went from weird to heartbreaking to bizarre to something else – but the author’s imagination is top notch and I could really feel so much of the pain and restlessness within the narrative. Now that I’m done reading, I don’t think I could articulate what it was about. It’s certainly about the female experience and an immigrant experience, but it’s so much more than that. All I know is that you should give it a try and decide for yourself, and I can’t wait to read more of the author’s works in the future.

I finally managed to start watching Love Like A Galaxy again after abandoning it a few weeks ago. It’s definitely slower paced and not what I had expected from it, but I think I am getting used to it’s comedic elements now. I only wish Wu Lei didn’t look like he was starving.

New Covers

Some more new cover reveals and I’m particularly excited for Solomon’s Crown.

Posts from around the Blogverse

I have some lovely reviews to share from so many brilliant bloggers, so let me proceed to link to their blogs without any more meandering.

Babel – Queenie @ The Erudite Labyrinth, Hollis @ A Take from Two Cities

A Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches – Julie @ One Book More, Clair @ Always Need More Books, Sifa Elizabeth @ Sifa Elizabeth Reads

The First Binding – Al-Alhambra Book Reviews, Sammy @ Sammy’s Shelf

The Spear Cuts Through Water – Chris @ Biblio Nerd Reflections

Stories of Your Life and Others – Celeste @ Novel Notions

And that’s all for my weekly update. How have you all been doing? What lovely books and blogs have you been reading and have you found any new favorites? Any new dramas to checkout ? Do share all your thoughts in the comments below.

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