Reading, Writing, and Me

Orbital  by Samantha Harvey Overview: Six astronaut are living in the International Space Station. The book follows a single day of orbiting the Earth and gives glimpses into the pasts and presents of all of the astronauts from the US, England, Japan, and Russia. As they watch the world go by, they consider the world in a macro fashion. Orbital is the winner of the 2024 Booker Prize.  Overall: 3.25 Characters: 3 We don't get to know any of these astronauts very well. Even though we briefly get into the minds of all of the astronauts, they aren't given much depth. Many are forgettable or have interchangeable backgrounds. The only ones that stuck with me were Nell and her fascination with the Challenger explosion and Chei, whose mom dies during the orbit. These are just about the only characteristics they're given. While I understand the limitations of showcasing characters trapped in a confined space for a short period of time, the novel is so short that there was much more...

It's a brand new year, which means brand new books. I've been diving into the many listicles coming out and the depths of NetGalley to figure out what books are going to be my big 2025 release priorities in the next few months. I'm starting off by making picks for spring (by publisher definition), winter by the fact that I will be surrounded by snow until at least May. I apologize for the release dates not being in order within months, that just didn't happen this time around, but I hope it will be useful nonetheless. Because I haven't read (almost) any of these books because they haven't been released, I can't offer you the self-made summaries that I love to write, so we're settling for the Goodreads blurbs. If you want to add any of these to your Goodreads lists, the pages are linked over the word "summary" for each blurb.  Also, any books I've received an ARC of is noted with a *. These books are gifted for review purposes, and while som...

Rental House  by Weike Wang Overview: Keru and Nate were college sweethearts who met at Yale. Afterwards, he became a tenured science professor while she held down a high powered consulting job. This book follows two different trips to rental houses that they rent to see their families and reconnect with each other. Each visit has its own trials. Keru's parents immigrated from China to the United States when she was young and had to work extremely hard to gain a foothold in their new country. Because of this, they cultivate nearly unattainable standards for Keru, even into adulthood. Nate's white working-class family from a rural town in the foothills presents their own challenges, bringing a racist undertone (and sometimes more overt language) to most exchanges and testing Nate's patience in their worldview. Then, on a second trip years later, Keru and Nate are yet again confronted with comparing themselves to a couple next door and having to meet an unexpected and unwante...

Didion & Babitz  by Lili Anolik Overview:  Joan Didion and Eve Babitz are defining LA writers, and it turns out, they ran in similar circles and even briefly worked together. Still, Didion and Babitz painted strikingly different pictures of LA, and their careers took vastly different trajectories. While Didion only grew steadily more famous until she became a literary icon in old age, Babitz's career flamed out early and without much note before being revived many decades later, elevating her books and aura back into a Didion-level conversation. This is the story of Didion and Babitz, but if I'm being honest, this is really a book about Babitz and the author's obsession with the writer. Overall: 3 Notes: I didn't think I would have such strong feelings about a book about two people I didn't go in with many feelings about. I'd read an excerpt of Didion in a creative writing workshop in college and listened to an audiobook about her, and I picked up Babitz...