Natalia > Recent Status Updates

We are listening the full cast edition with my little boy. It is awesome!

Wow…

Why do Scandinavian writers have this amazing ability to write so magnificently about the most mundane things?

I’m going to set this book aside for now for two reasons:
1. My library hold expired.
2. The last book I read by Brodie ‘Into the Blue’ broke my heart. I sobbed for most of it. I can tell that this one has all the hallmarks of her evocative writing where I will be left brokenhearted again. I don’t think I’m ready for this just yet so I’m going to attempt it again later.

When we travel and visit local bookstores, my husband and I have a game. Each of us will pick a book for each other and we must read it. This is his recent pick.

This book is a short collection of reflective essays about everything reading - when to read, what to read, how to read, how to talk about reading with friends… everything! I’ve never felt so seen as a reader as I feel by Hwang in this treasure of a book. Who hasn’t dreamt about being absorbed in a book while sipping a delicious cappuccino in a busy Italian piazza but when moment came was unable to?

Hmmm, I’m still not sure what’s happening in this book. I can tell that there is a lot of background context and the author is unloading all of it at the beginning.

This book has me so hooked and I can’t put it down. The slow burn is incredible.

I made it half-way and we’ve rehashed the past. This book and I’m limping along and I think I’m finally getting interested in the plot. There are way too many characters and not much is happening at all. Maybe things will pick up in the second half? I can’t give up yet since my friends worship this series and trust them…

I am still bored and still unable to stay with a book. I’m reading at night and it’s doing a very good job at putting me to sleep. Not sure what to do.

I love the story of Beartown. It seems to me that the author has one trick up his sleeve. He dangles traumatic event at the beginning of the book and then spends the rest of his time leading you in different directions. It worked really well for the first two bucks but it’s getting a little tiring.

I love the story of Beartown. It seems to me that the author though has only one trick up his sleeve. He dangles a traumatic event at the beginning of the book and spends the rest of the time leading you in different directions. It worked really well in the first two books. It’s getting a little tiring.

This book is crazy. I don’t like the main heroine and her lamentations; however, if you can get past it, the story is wildly imaginative.

It’s a slow going getting into it. For now I’m getting Bulgakov’s vibes of Master and Margarita with magical creatures causing mayhem.

I’m not sure I can make it through this book. I’m more than half way through and I still don’t know where this book is going or what’s the point. Kingfisher’s POV is terrible.

I finally finished it… The book and the story took a while to grow on me and I think it was due to the sprawling cast of characters and a weird timeline. At the centre of the story are the lives of 3 boys, then men, living, no, more like surviving in Soviet Russia. Each one with a unique story and character, and united in their individuality and desire to think and be free.

This book took forever to get into but it was worth all the work and effort. I’m really enjoying where this nerdy and detailed story is going, and really appreciate the historical threads the author weaved into it. I kept looking up different people from Elizabethan era to check if they were real, and they were!

I keep thinking about how it’s possible to write a book where almost nothing happens and you feel so much. I loved everything about this book, especially the flawed characters but lovable characters. Backman’s books always get down to what’s real important in life.

It’s a satisfying novel set a beautiful location and rich in historical detail. What struck me the most is the ending and lack of closure. I read a lot of English literature in which, for the most part, finishes the stories. Here, the story just ends and you are left to make what you wish of it. It’s haunting and frustrating at the same time.

It is as review states - the story of the survival of the 15th century noblewoman. Based on a true story. This book was absolutely wild.

The second instalment of the Seven Sisters series. Slow to begin at first, this book picks up the pace and the action towards the quater of the book. The design of the series necessitates the author to repeat the description of one even from multiple POVs and that’s my own complaint. Otherwise, the books are meticulously researched, brilliantly designed and told. Already onto the the third one.

Not much to say aside from this is a type of book Emily Henry is known for. If you like her uncomplicated and uplifting style, this is for you. Perfect for summer!

Like a ride on the train, this is a quietly meditative book about lesser known train routes in Russia and the pain of loss. Each trip brings up memories of the author’s recently deceased mother. Cozy and comfortable.,

After slogging through the second book of the Empyrean Series, this book didn’t disappoint. It has many of the same elements but the story is just better - more dynamic and more engaging. A perfect escape after reading Dostoyevsky.,

This is about book about human nature. It’s emotionally exhausting to read Dostoyevsky’s inner excavations and yet, the book is remarkable. He really nailed it with the intricacies of all flawed human beings.

This was a very fun, fast paced read about the alternative version of London with the class system and dragons. Viv, the main character is fully committed to upholding the rules, even if she has to take a short cut here or there, until her life unravels in one evening and she has to re-examine all her values. It’s a debut and a very good one!

This book is about a female friendship set in from Revolutionary Tehran to modern day. So, my favourite! The language is a bit simple at times but it doesn’t take away from the exploration of the bond between two women who ended up being on the opposite sides of the war.

Finished the first book. I felt it was a bit long at parts and wanted the author to get to the point but… my opinion remains that the idea behind this book is remarkable. I love the tension between species, it’s a mirror of our world and its problems but with magic!