Reading, Writing, and Me

Bunny  by Mona Awad Overview: Samantha is completely over her MFA program at one of the most prestigious schools in the country. After a questionable relationship with an awkward ending with a faculty member, a bad case of writers block, and being placed firmly on the outs of the clique of girls that make up the rest of her cohort, she's ready to be done with the elitism and pretentious attitudes. Luckily, she has her best friend Ava, who lives in the town around the school but is entirely removed from it, to keep her sane. That is until Samantha starts getting invites to hang out with the clique otherwise known as the Bunnies, and she quickly discovers that there's something darker bonding them together than just being obsessed with each other. Overall: 4 Characters: 4 Samantha is your classic outsider. She has a dash of every bit of that stereotype. She's a bit bitter while also relishing in the fact that she can claim to be the special, different outsider. She has a rand

February has been my best reading month during a school semester (or just generally) in a while. I find myself returning to the pattern that I fell into as a kid. When my life gets overwhelming or I get sad, I've started to once again retreat into books and fill all my spare time with reading. It's honestly made me feel a lot better. Over the winter, I've transitioned the time I spent on TikTok to more time with my Kindle in the morning, at night, and while I'm waiting outside classrooms. And now, I'm adding in audiobooks in place of a certain amount of TV time. While reality TV will always own my heart and I love my Bravo marathons, shifting my focus has also helped how I'm feeling.  Despite being an exceptionally short month, I read a record number of books. I haven't read this many books in a month since I started college, and the only time I've read more in recent memory was April of 2020 when I was trying to escape (at least mentally) from COVID loc

Exciting Times  by Naoise Dolan Overview: Ava moved to Hong Kong to teach English for a while. She doesn't have a broad view of her future. She's not presuming to know anything. She's just there, taking it a day at a time. Then she stumbles into something between a friendship, romantic relationship, and acquaintanceship with a banker named Julian. She outwardly despises him while still enjoying the benefits of his company, namely, the money and job title he posses. Then she meets Edith who is a lawyer. There's a deeper connection, a clearer romantic thread with Edith, but once again, it's far from perfect. While not providing the most enlightened social commentary, the novel does offer an interesting granular look at the complexity of human relationships. Overall: 4 Characters: 4 Ava, much in the spirit of Sally Rooney heroines, is a socialist, and she's happy to bring that up to anyone who breaths. This, of course, opens up the vast room for critique of her cha