hot potato book club

The world it's set in is very cool, but definitely seems like a horny teenage boy's dream. The author's writing style kinda reminds me of Kristin Cast (co-author of the House of Night  series), but with a lot less uhh...grace haha 😂 It makes me feel like a teenager again because of how much this reads like the YA novels I used to absolutely devour...except this is definitely  geared towards adults! Speaking of devouring, I'm glad that the book is almost 400 pages long because I had set myself the goal of reading at least 50 pages per day, but I would read 30 pages as soon as I woke up because it's so enticing!! Not gonna lie, this isn't exactly a literary masterpiece...but it is definitely a very fun read!  Rating: 6.5/10

A beautiful collection of poetry and observations with the basic principles of compassion, simplicity, and respecting nature. I also really appreciate how the translator largely allowed the work to speak for itself, rather than writing fifty pages of notes beforehand! rating: 10/10

It's terrifying how 1984  was written in 1949, but could have just as easily been written yesterday !  I'm not really sure how to review this without spoiling the plot of the book because it is definitely a lot more than "Big Brother is watching you", but let's just say that it was mind boggling to read along with the psychological decimation of someone who starts off hating the establishment to the point where he vows to throw acid in a child's face if it means that the establishment will fall. rating: 9/10 (would have been a 10, but there are certain parts that drag on for a while; there was a chapter that was almost 50 pages long! 😱) final thoughts Why is 1984  not required reading??? I am of the belief that if more people read 1984, then we would probably not be experiencing the extreme polarisation ergo vulnerability that we are in 2021. words I picked up from 1984 : acrid : "unpleasantly bitter or pungent" (is there such thing as p

I vaguely remember reading Dracula  back in 2014, but everything after the first four chapters was new to me soooo technically this was a fresh read?? Considering how obsessed I was with vampires as a teenager, I'm genuinely shocked that I hadn't read Dracula  in its entirety yet! This one took me a while because the text was so small, but it was so good and I am glad that the small text actually forced me to savour the words rather than chowing down to find out what happens next!! Rather than focusing on the eros and decadence of the vampiric lifestyle coupled with the crushing loneliness of outliving everyone you've ever loved as most vampire novels tend to, Dracula  focuses instead on the people that are affected by Count Dracula. There are multiple storylines told in the form of diary entries and letters. The story paints Count Dracula as a monstrous, ruthless, and powerful creature. As an adult, this was a lot more fun for me to read as opposed to the vampi

Awards for Good Boys  (by the creator of the Instagram account with the same name) is an incredibly validating experience; this book (and the IG account) scream, "HEY WOMAN, GUESS WHAT?? YOU'RE NOT OVERREACTING!!!" AFGB  draws mini comics, ribbons and trophies with actions undertaken by men that aren't really praiseworthy, but do get an absurd amount of praise because the bar is set very low (e.g. "is theoretically open to being wrong," "I wanted  to make you cum," "only interrupts you to make it clear he is still listening," etc.). I won't go into the experience of constantly being made to feel like I am crazy and unreasonable when I ask men for the bare minimum like being more considerate of others (and me), and having to pretend to be less competent and assertive than I am in order to not damage a man's ego in professional and academic settings, but let me just say how incredibly validating it is to have - in black

A super cute read that serves as an incredible breath of fresh air in comparison to the experience of reading Meditations ; I kid you not, the first time I opened Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten , I read 45 pages in a row and only stopped because I had somewhere I needed to be soon!! 😱 EINTKILIN brings me so much joy purely from reading it, on a similar level that The Little Book of Hygge  by Meik Wiking does. Basically, this book is just like having a slightly batty but very lovely old person tell you about their life and things they like...without you having to say or do anything in return!  I especially enjoyed the stories about the Saint Hong Duc (a child who randomly shows up to the author's house dressed as Santa and yells "TRICK OR TREAT!"), the cuckoo clock, and the detailed existential crisis over the deaf child who reallyyyyyy wants to take his leaves (context: Robert Fulghum doesn't rake because really  likes leaves!) As wel

The introduction is incredibly long, like 25 pages! actually, out of 176 pages, only 100 of those pages are the actual books that Marcus Aurelius himself wrote; the rest is just notes that contextualise his writings. while it might be interesting for those who aren't already familiar with Marcus, I personally don't think that they're totally necessary. Just in case you are not familiar with him, Marcus Aurelius was a Roman emperor and is one of the most prominent figures in Stoic philosophy (even though he tended to freestyle things and wrote Meditations  from his own thoughts rather than just regurgitating Stoic principles). Fun fact: he was Commodus' father, whom you will almost certainly recognise if you have had the opportunity to study Ancient Roman art and society! (source) Meditations  reads a lot like an extended Quora post...which I really like, and is also the main thing I find appealing about Jordan B. Peterson's 12 Rules for Life . Unlike 12 Rules for Li