Reading, Writing, and Me

Good Material  by Dolly Alderton  Overview: Andy's longterm girlfriend broke up with him after a trip to Paris, and he's been wallowing ever since. We follow Andy as he learns to be single again at 35 and grieves a relationship he imagined would be forever. His friends aren't as present as he'd like, his ex-girlfriend moves on fast, and his comedy career is barely hanging on to add insult to injury. We watch Andy navigate a new relationship, try to revive his career, and struggle to move on from his ex because he can't find the closure he needs. Then, at end the book, we hear from his ex-girlfriend, Jen, to shade in the rest of the picture. Overall: 4 Characters: 4 Andy is a fine character. I liked him enough. He's sad but endearing and seems well intentioned for the most part. I don't think that Alderton did a bad job writing him by any means, but even though the book is written in first person, I never felt close to Andy. He shared internal feelings, but h...

I'm excited to holding myself  to being more of a true book blogger this year instead of just a book reviewer like I have been recently. Last year, my reading really picked up, but I didn't quite hit my blogging stride. While  there's nothing wrong with just posting reviews, I want to connect more personally with my lovely community that's been here so long and let you know more of my thoughts and opinions now that I'm older! Or, if you're new here, introduce you to some of my staunch bookish opinions. I'd also  love to hear your thoughts on these topics. I had so much fun contemplating my bookish tastes and habits for  this, and it's fun to reflect on how I read. So consider this the start of more fun, chatty posts on the blog for 2024.  Credit for the 20 Questions tag goes to the fellow book blogger Zezee With Books from an index of awesome  tags on the blog. And inspiration  for doing this goes to Jack Edwards who did this tag on his second chann...

Because Internet  by Gretchen McCulloch Overview:  Gretchen McCulloch is a linguist interested in a subfield of language that's often not taken seriously: how we use words online. And not even just words but emojis, memes, and all the other various weird forms of expression we use online. With an honest appreciation of someone who understands the power of the internet and its sub-communities, this is a really thoughtful and well rounded book, even as it is five years old and therefore ancient in terms of the internet. It covers the foundations and histories of internet communication in a thorough and open way that continues to keep it relevant. Overall: 4 I have a real love for linguistics books written for a general audience about somewhat niche pop culture topics. This book reminds me a lot of Wordslut   where you learn a lot, but the writing is also super engaging and feels current and thoughtful. Odds are, you haven't spent much time considering how you change the way...