My Thoughts on Popular Fall Books
some unpopular opinions mixed with favorites; remember that everybody is allowed to have an opinion and that is GOOD!!
Can you tell I wrote this with my last newsletter at the same time? I was deeply hyper focused on fall reads!! Anyways, I hope you enjoy. If you have a differing opinion, remember to be kind.
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
I’m sorry, but I was just really confused. To be honest, I didn’t understand the point of it. I like Donna’s writing, and The Goldfinch has stuck with me for ages, but … but. It is interesting, and it is written well. It is incredibly unique, and the characters are spectacularly done. None of our characters are great people (love that!), and they kind of think they're untouchable. But what is the point? Honestly, if you know, please drop it in the comments.
One day, perhaps next year, I’d like to reread this slowly and annotate it. I love to reread books this way, ones that I loved and ones that I want to understand better, so I might have an update for you one day.
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
This book is so contradictory to me. It’s one of the best books I’ve read, but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it to anyone. I loved it, but I don’t think I’ll read it again. It’s written masterfully, but I don’t think I can rate something like this. It had the most raw, horrible scenes, but also stunningly beautiful depictions of life. It shows the beauty of friendship, of family, of love. It shows how your life doesn’t end at twenty, but you continue to learn and grow and expand your life as you grow older. How despite what things may look like at twenty, you’ll be okay. How people come together and grow apart and suffer and love. It was beautiful and ugly. It made me so grateful for my life and everything I have. It made me think about life and what I want out of it and showed me that the greatest days, friends, and love - as well as some of the worst - are still to come. But it was so hard and sometimes horrible to read. She goes into great detail on severe trauma, even normalizes it. The last part of the book was like watching a train wreck - you know what will happen, but you can’t seem to look away. So, in the end, this book has made me feel both horrible and grateful, heartbroken and hopeful. Not a day has passed since I started this book that I haven’t thought of Jude and Willem, and I don’t think there will be a day in the future that I won’t either.
I do want to note that I think the hype around this book online makes me somewhat uncomfortable. It’s not just a sad book. For example, The Song of Achilles made me sob and it was so beautiful, but this book is just not the same. There are a plethora of people who I don’t think should read this - please check trigger warnings - and I don’t think it should be quite as normalized as it is online.
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
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