Reigniting my reading flame with some community. Reading whatever I find interesting in all the little free libraries around my city, listening to audiobooks on the library apps/youtube, and scooping up free books on kindle. I honestly don't remember the last time I paid for a book 🙃 Probably because I'm not that picky, I'll read almost anything.
Slowly shelving things I've read since 2013 and reviewing them (or what I remember of them anyways)
Trying to limit myself to four books at a time: one English novel, one Spanish novel, one informational book, and one audiobook.
@Alicircles@sunny.garden also on Storygraph with the same name
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My wife had read this in school and quite enjoyed it. She wanted me to read it to her before bed. I see why it stuck with her for so long, it's such a great book. I love her writing style and I never wanted the story end. I'll definitely read it again.
In Tokyo, sixteen-year-old Nao has decided there’s only one escape from her aching loneliness and …
I enjoyed this one, and it gave me some strength in a time where I needed it. Ruth's parts are a little dull and drug out compared to Nao's parts, and the magical realism may be lost on some people but I liked it. Got me more into Zen Buddhism which has really helped in my healing journey as well.
"A novel about the role of stories in our lives, those we tell ourselves about …
I really have to read this one again. I read it while I was staying in a mental hospital for suicidal ideation (after reading a book I don't care to remember the name of that detailed a boy having to kill his dog twice, why was that in the hospital with delicate people? 😬) and it healed me more than any treatment they gave me there. Broke my heart open a million ways, but also mended it back together. Miigwech Richard Wagamese 💜
The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment is a book by Eckhart Tolle. …
It has some great truths about mindfulness, but damn does it ever get repetative. I also don't like the sort of condescending way it's written and it's full of a lot of woo BS.
Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and …
When I had recently discovered I was autistic and saw this book gaining traction I had to read it, but it is obvious the author knows jack about what it is like to autistic and I hate that so much people say “it gave me a perspective into an autistic person's life" like no, it gave you the perspective of a poorly reseached autistic character written by an allistic author. The story was also unremarkable.
"Another of Coelho's spiritual journeys, this time by the 24-year-old protagonist who, after a failed …
I decided to read this because of the Billy Talent song Saint Veronika being based on it. That song pulled me through some tough times and so did this book. I found some parts to be a little awkward or overly religious but it definitely helped me.
"The practice of chaos magic is clearly outlined by Peter J. Carroll in this double …
It introduced me to chaos magick and it has some useful stuff, but I found there to be a lot of hard to read tangents as well. I do want to skim it again and refresh myself on the useful things, but it wasn't the most enjoyable read tbh.
Despite the outdated theories and repetitiveness of this book, it was what led me to discover I am autistic (after 6 more years of reading about autism) so at least it was good for something.
This was a cool intro to chakras when I was in my early 20s, especially since I was pretty interested in psychology at the time. I think there's a lot that was too based on opinion and I'm probably better off learning about chakras from a Hindu source, but there was still a lot of useful/healing information.
Before. Miles “Pudge” Halter is done with his safe life at home. His whole life …
I like John Green's writing but I didn't connect with this story enough to even really remember it after all this time. Even though I've remembered the rest of the books I've read from the same time period. I don't think I connected with the characters very much.
Barcelona, 1945: A city slowly heals from its war wounds, and Daniel, an antiquarian book …
Getting better at Spanish by reading a book I've already read in English. Haven't read the prequel or the sequel yet, but hopefully my Spanish will be good enough I don't need the English version to help by the time I get to those.
Norris Black • Amber Blaeser-Wardzala • Phoenix Boudreau • Cherie Dimaline • Carson Faust • …
I was going to sit down and read this book, and I couldn't find it anywhere. Searched for half an hour and it was somehow wedged behind my couch. I thought the dark forces written about within came and took it away lmao hopefully I'll finish it this month.
Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never …
But I guess that's to be expected since I lost my Grandma to cancer when I was young and have been chronically ill my whole life. Some people think Hazel is overly pessimistic but I could totally relate to her. Some of the stuff about the characters was a little unbelievable, but for the most part I enjoy his writing style and it pulled at my heartstrings.
A tale reminiscent of "Hamlet" that also celebrates the alliance between humans and dogs follows …
Content warning Warning: review talks about the ending
It could have been better. It's a little slow in some parts but I genuinely loved the characters and their dogs and got kind of attached to the world, but that ending. Ugh. I know it's supposed to be like Hamlet but couldn't it have been the same way Lion King was? Definitely got me down for a while, and just felt kind of pointless putting all that time into the book for his story to go nowhere. Screw that friend who suggested it lol
The Alchemist details the journey of a young Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago. Santiago, believing …
I'm not sure I agree with the overall message of the book. I find it's more like it doesn't matter how much you want something, if the universe decides it's not for you, it's not. I don't think we have as much control over our reality as the story is trying to say we do. Sometimes life is just about getting through storms the best we can, and learning to let go. While there are some alright quotes, the rest came off as preachy or was full of clichés.
