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What I've been reading: Books No. 9-10
Feb. 23rd, 2020 01:00 pmBook No. 9 was " Everything I Never Told You" by Celeste Ng. The story starts with the disappearance of the Lee family's middle child, Lydia, who soon turns up dead. Each family member sort of falls apart in his or her own way. And each is resistant to the notion that she may have committed suicide and, in their own ways, try to figure out what went wrong, leading to an examination of the family's history leading up to the fateful day of Lydia's death. I've read some of the negative comments by GoodReads members, but I just can't relate to them. I found this to be a near-perfect little novel. The writing is beautiful, and I love the theme of how the things we don't say to each other (especially in families) can end up nearly destroying us. I felt like I was holding my breath mentally through the whole book, in a good way. I really liked this, perhaps even more than "Little Fires Everywhere," which was also a 5-star book for me. Recommended.
Book No. 10 was "Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things" by Jenny Lawson. Some of the negative reviews I've read of this book are just ridiculous. She tells you upfront it's a "funny book about terrible things," so the criticisms that "I just don't see humor in mental illness" are ludicrous to me. Why are you even reading this book? Another person said they were expecting a more traditional memoir and this was just a series of anecdotes and jokes, which, again, Lawson tells you up front in the introduction. The one criticism I agree with to some extent is that it does feel like she's "trying too hard" to be funny in some spots. But overall, I really enjoyed this.
I was reading this in bed while my husband was listening to an audiobook on his earbuds and he still knew I was laughing because I was shaking the bed so hard. There were a lot of great parts of this for me, but the trip to Australia was probably one of my favorite sections. I also like the more serious passages about mental illness and about how Lawson has benefited from sharing her stories with other people online. I teared up a couple times reading the book in addition to laughing through most of it. Not everybody can write funny, but Lawson certainly can. Recommended.
( The other books I've read so far this year: )
Book No. 10 was "Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things" by Jenny Lawson. Some of the negative reviews I've read of this book are just ridiculous. She tells you upfront it's a "funny book about terrible things," so the criticisms that "I just don't see humor in mental illness" are ludicrous to me. Why are you even reading this book? Another person said they were expecting a more traditional memoir and this was just a series of anecdotes and jokes, which, again, Lawson tells you up front in the introduction. The one criticism I agree with to some extent is that it does feel like she's "trying too hard" to be funny in some spots. But overall, I really enjoyed this.
I was reading this in bed while my husband was listening to an audiobook on his earbuds and he still knew I was laughing because I was shaking the bed so hard. There were a lot of great parts of this for me, but the trip to Australia was probably one of my favorite sections. I also like the more serious passages about mental illness and about how Lawson has benefited from sharing her stories with other people online. I teared up a couple times reading the book in addition to laughing through most of it. Not everybody can write funny, but Lawson certainly can. Recommended.
( The other books I've read so far this year: )
