READING || May 2019

books read:
~ Nocturna (A Forgery of Magic #1) by Maya Motayne
~ The Book of Dreams by Nina George (review)
~ The Last Wish (The Witcher #1) by Andrzej Sapkowski
~ Aurora Rising (The Aurora Cycle #1) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
~ In Love With the World: What a Monk Can Teach You About Living from Nearly Dying by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche (review)
~ Caraval (Caraval #1) by Stephanie Garber [reread]
~ The Way Home: Tales from a Life Without Technology by Mark Boyle (review) [reread]
~ Legendary (Caraval #2) by Stephanie Garber [reread]
~ Sailor Moon vol. 1 by Naoko Takeuchi
~ Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature by Linda Lear
~ Finale (Caraval #3) by Stephanie Garber

currently reading:
~ Storm and Fury (The Harbinger #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout (review)
~ The Bells of Old Tokyo by Anna Sherman (review)

An interesting month with quite a few rereads. I also had some really awesome review books in there, and managed to buy Aurora Rising shortly after it came out and devour it pretty darn quickly, too! Let's get into the details.

First of all, let's talk rereads. I finally got my own copies of the Caraval books by Stephanie Garber, and my preorder of the final book - Finale - arrived on the same day! I quickly reread Caraval and Legendary, because I wanted to make sure I was really caught up with the story and all the things that had happened before I jumped into the final book. And the final book did not disappoint. I thought I had a bit of an idea of what to expect, but I wasn't super sure. And Garber absolutely took this story to a whole new level that I was not expecting in the least. A lot of twist reveals were complete shocks to me, and Finale continued the trend of being a fun romp that I'm pretty sure I will be rereading soon.

The other reread I want to mention is one that was a review book - I received an e-copy of The Way Home ages ago, and read (and loved) it quite quickly. When Allen & Unwin very kindly sent me a physical review copy of the book, I was overjoyed to be able to jump into this book again and experience it all over again. I have realised this year that I absolutely adore books that meld nature writing and memoir, and mixing that with some questioning of technology and it's impact on our lives (she writes with a mechanical keyboard onto a technological device...), and this book is a delight for me to read. I know I will be returning to it again soon. (You'll be seeing my review in the next week or so!)

Onto review books! Aside from my reread of The Way Home, I reviewed two other books this month. The Book of Dreams by Nina George was brilliant, as I kind of expected - having loved her other two works that have been translated into English. This one had me thinking about comas, death, afterlives, and the different forms of love. You may read in my review that I had a couple of small problems with it, but overall I really adored my time reading it. Nina George writes beautiful prose and wonderful characters.

In Love with the World was another marvellous read - it left me so thoughtful, and also made me feel like I could handle my illnesses (in fact, it made me realise that it wasn't really about 'handling' my illnesses, but just about... being aware of the way I am living.). Needless to say, I think this is another book that I feel like I will be revisiting often.

Finally, let's talk Beatrix Potter. I idly searched on my library catalogue for books with letters in them (I was thinking about correspondence between Jane Austen and others, stuff like that... As I do...) and this biography of Beatrix Potter came up. I grew up with Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddle-duck, Mrs Tiggy-winkle, etc., through book form, tv series form, and also decoration of my bedroom. I figured I would read what Miss Potter was like in real life and... I ended up absolutely adoring this read. I cannot describe the Beatrix-mania that kind of came over me (and is still present). It was very familiar, and I realised just how much I have loved Peter Rabbit and co. throughout my life. I now want a print or two for my walls... all the books... maybe a teacup if such a thing exists... 

Do you reread books very often? Or not at all?

Love to all who read.

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