February: What Did I Read?

I was not expecting myself to be tearing through books in the way that I am at the moment. 8 books in one month! Three of these were for school, one was non-fiction and one doesn't really count (we've been studying Richard III/ King Richard III- I can never work out which is the real title), but it's been an interesting mix. Let's get started!

Sweet Sorrow by David Nicholls might be the most painfully nostalgic book I've ever read. Although I can't really relate whatsoever (drama, Shakespeare, and the 90s are all passions that escape me, I have to admit) for some reason, everything was just painfully relatable. Nicholls masterfully captures the universal experiences of adolescence, which is why I rated this 5 stars out of 5. From 20 years in the future, our protagonist Charlie recounts his first love, and the Shakespearean rabbit hole that it pushes him down. Whilst the endless descriptions of Shakespeare rehearsals were not my thing (ever since I was demoted to dog #1 in my school's production of the Tempest, I've held a grudge) the rest of the story was gorgeous. I sort of wish I'd read it during summer, as that feels like the kind of treatment that it deserves. It was a little predictable in how it was going to end, but I thoroughly enjoyed reaching that point nonetheless. This was recommended to me by my A-Level English teacher- to consider for my coursework, but we won't talk about that- and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading in the way I assume most people who study English do. And if you like Shakespeare, you might even appreciate this more than I did.

Next up, was Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House- this was definitely read for school. I think it was an excellent play but there's no way I would have picked this up just of my own volition. And I don't really see myself reading this again. But apparently I did rate it 5 stars on goodreads which I'm now questioning. It has a good message, Nora is terrific fun and the ending is just exquisite HOWEVER it's a little bit dense in that very Victorian manner, and nothing actually really happens as we never seem to leave Nora and Torvald's Doll House. But it's incredibly feminist for being written by a 19th century man and I think it's an important read if you're into literature. So I would recommend it and it's a quick read, but it's not like super gripping had me on my edge of my seat plotwise.

I honestly don't even want to talk about Shakespeare's King Richard III too much. What an absolute monster of a play. It took about half a year to get through this in school and so many of these scenes were either a- unnecessary or b- seemed like Shakespeare (or whoever it was who actually wrote his plays) was drunk while writing it. Although Richard is just horrible he's the only character you actually want to root for because the rest are so wimpy and then by the end of act 4, you don't even want to root for him. And there are far too many (i.e. two) long military scenes. I wouldn't recommend this unless you're on some sort of read-every-Shakespeare suicide mission. There are some nice monologues however. Moving swiftly on!

And now, a book that I really loved: The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. To put it simply- gorgeous. Whilst nothing really happened (or at least, the major events that did occur took place in a manner that seemed not so major) it was never dull. Edie was a very interesting protagonist; at times a total bitch, but you couldn't help loving her. My only qualm with this book is that she mentions a baby at one point (talking about giving something to the baby) and then said child is never mentioned again. I spent most of the book waiting for an answer to that and never seemed to receive one. Also- and many I'm just dense- having never actually seen a bell jar I didn't get the metaphor. Given that this was a book about a depressed woman in the 60s, it was surprisingly relatable to me- a non depressed teenager in the year 2021. But I think that's the mark of a good author. We've got her letters home and most of her poetry in the cupboard downstairs so hopefully I can dig into that soon. But this is one of those books that you just sort of can't stop thinking about- like Trainspotting. I'll paint a picture; I'm sitting alone in a bar sipping on a fancy cocktail- this is the book I'm reading to entice a man to come and talk to me with. It's truly unmatched.

A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams. First of all, I'd like to get off my chest the fact that I was for some reason surprised to discover that Tennessee is not actually his name. I felt betrayed. Secondly, I feel like this play falls into the same boat as The Bell Jar. I.e. it's kind of haunting me at the moment. But let's take a step back for a minute and address the fact I somehow created an entire plot for this book that never actually existed. For unknown reasons I thought that Blanche and Stanley's fiscal standings were switched (i.e. that good old gothic trope where a rich man takes advantage of a poor woman) and for reasons that are slightly more understandable, I thought there was some sort of action taking place in a car. I was wrong! But it was a really good story nonetheless. I love, love, love the way that Williams writes and I was definitely invested in the story although I didn't like any of the character but the ending made me want to die. It was realistic and probably a 'good' ending but I hated it just do to what happened and the character reactions to that. So if you like things that wrap up neatly, I wouldn't recommend this, although I'd give it 4 stars. 

Next up is Persuasion by Jane Austen. The last Austen book I read was her first ever one, and this was her last ever, so we can pretend that I read the two in that order for the sake of literary comparison rather than just because they're the two shortest Austen novels and I'm unprepared to actually fall down the Austen hole. But I definitely preferred this to Northanger Abbey- just because everything seemed much more developed (the relationship between Wentworth and Anne is very realistic), so it was lovely to see the way that her writing progressed. But the characters in this were just a delight to read- Anne was solid but not boring, Captain Wentworth's total awkwardness is enjoyable, her sister's ridiculousness is hilarious, and there's even a mystery aspect that was actually intriguing. I've discovered that I am an Austen stan! But I read this super quickly (even quicker than Northanger) because it was just so enjoyable. 4 or 5 stars. Would definitely recommend to anyone who wants to get into Jane Austen but is scared of how long all of her books are (a.k.a me).

Then I braved some non-fiction: The Anatomy of Motive by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker. Yes I did only buy this because I went through a Criminal Minds phase and momentarily thought I would do criminology at university (I mean genuinely what on earth? Not sure how I ever felt that I could study something other than English Literature <333) but no, I don't want to talk about that. This was definitely an interesting read and I've never been more grateful for anything than the fact it did not go into detail about the science behind profiling because I cannot stand science, but if that's what you were looking for, I feel you would be disappointed. There is a wild amount of serial/ spree killers in the world. Kind of scary. But I was a big fan of coming across parts in the book where I was like oh, I knew that because of Criminal Minds. However I did not so much enjoy some of the phrasing that the author(s) used- very outdated, although his narrative voice was enjoyable enough outside of that. Overall, not too difficult given it was a non-fiction book. Would recommend if you want to know about criminology.

And finally, Emma Cline's The Girls. I read this over two days during the weirdly warm part of February and I think those were the perfect conditions for a cult novel set in California: uncomfortably warm and a feeling that something is not quite right (be that the fact she's literally joint a cult, or the unseasonable weather of February suggesting the end of the world). I gave it 4 out of 5 because there was something I couldn't quite place that really fell flat for me. And obviously, with the main character being 14 there were many scenes that were just extremely uncomfortable to read. Which I believe was the point but it was still icky to read. But it was really well written- slowly ramping up the action towards a Manson-esque event that you are constantly anticipating. Gorgeous language as well. Kind of grimy but in that hazy, romanticised way that we tend to view the '60s through. Just a solid read- couldn't put it down.