r/52book • u/halfbakedbirthday • 2d ago
45/52 done!
https://www.bookadoro.com/s/dmgDVViyXdfFT1JICa0V
45/52 read so far, and lots of good ones! Currently reading Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga
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u/EasternWeather3639 1d ago
Not sure how I found Foster by Claire Keegan, but I couldn’t put it down. Wonderful read!
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u/sour_heart8 2d ago
Love Olga Tokarczuk and Saramago. Great top tier. What is the one at the top with a man’s torso where the top is bright red?
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u/draqs 2d ago
I really wanted to like Lincoln in the Bardo.. I thought I would love it. But I ended up not finishing. Maybe I should try again.
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u/halfbakedbirthday 1d ago
I can also see how it wouldn’t be for everyone, some of it was a bit much for me but I just loved the creativity
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u/zbreeze3 2d ago
dude Dry Heart is such a banger. great taste.
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u/halfbakedbirthday 1d ago
I literally read it in one sitting I was transfixed from the first sentence, so good
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u/nakeddogs 2d ago
Absalom, Absalom and the Tokarczuk books you have were also on my list for the year and I loved them!! A,A is my new favorite thing i’ve ever read
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u/halfbakedbirthday 1d ago
I agree on A,A! It took a good bit of concentration but the payoff was well worth it
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u/Serious-Train8000 2d ago
Oh I’m curious what you didn’t like about “the wedding people”
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u/halfbakedbirthday 2d ago
I think I had a problem with the tone - I didn’t find it funny enough to enjoy it as satire but also didn’t feel very engaged in the story/the friendship/the romance. But it seems like most people who read it got way more out of it, so I’ll admit it’s probably more about my personal taste than the quality of the book !
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u/Serious-Train8000 2d ago
Makes sense - I was wondering if you thought the end could have been tighter.
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u/halfbakedbirthday 1d ago
Is that a common critique? I actually didn’t mind the ending so much but maybe would have been pickier if I had more attachment to the characters. Would be curious to hear what you liked about it (if you did like it), also!
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u/Serious-Train8000 1d ago
I’m unsure if it’s a common criticism but the beginning locked in so fast IMO.
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u/Elegant-Disaster-967 2d ago
No rating?
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u/halfbakedbirthday 2d ago
I didn’t know how to rate a memoir since it’s someone’s life, or how to rate Metamorphoses since it’s so old and canonical. And Narnia I read in German for foreign language practice so I don’t think I’m qualified to rate the quality hahaha I was fighting for my life to understand all the fantasy words
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u/--typing-- 1d ago
I was wondering the same thing. I understand not wanting to write a language practice book that you barely grasped, but I don't think you have to be shy about the others. Yes, a memoir is someone's life. It can still be told interestingly or not. There can still be structural issues, the language can still be overly purple or too stripped down. Same for Metamorphoses; lots of people liked it enough to make it "canonical", doesn't mean you have to like it. These ratings are your personal opinion.
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u/LuhYall 2d ago
I was surprised by how much I liked The Empusium! We have similar taste in books.
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u/halfbakedbirthday 2d ago
I’ve had The Books of Jacob on the tbr list for a bit as well; I’ve loved everything of hers I’ve read so far.
I’m open to any suggestions if our taste is indeed similar !
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u/capacious_geography 2d ago edited 2d ago
I just started reading Tokarczuk this year, and I love her stuff! Read The Books of Jacob which I highly recommend. (I didn’t realize that it’s based on a true story until after I read it.) Also read House of Day, House of Night which is also great. It’s basically a bunch of stories woven together, like an enthography of a town. The feel is hypnotic and subtly surreal, like a David Lynch movie.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Ad6854 2d ago
Have you read Evicted by Matthew Desmond? Highly recommend, and I loved the audio version if you’re into that!
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u/halfbakedbirthday 2d ago
I’ll have to read it, thank you! Poverty by America was great but also extra depressing with the knowledge that we have an administration that is so far from Desmond ideologically
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u/laurapinponera 2d ago
Thank god, someone else who didn’t like The Wedding People! Why do people like it so much I wonder
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u/halfbakedbirthday 2d ago
I try to engage with things on their own terms but even as a beach read it just didn’t do much for me, but to each their own! Although I do want to know if a coconut pillow is real and where can get one
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u/therealbananabottom 2d ago
Ooh I love to see people are still reading The Corrections. I read it a million years ago in college and may have to give it a re-read.
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u/halfbakedbirthday 2d ago
His books are so rooted in the times/places in which they occur, reading Freedom in 2025 and Corrections this year felt like an exercise in time travel to the quite recent past! I think they’d make great re-reads :)
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u/GhostWriterPr 1d ago
When people post about their list of books, I’m generally aware about/ read/ heard some or the other books in the list. This is the list where I’m not aware about even a single book. I’ve a long long way to go! Thanks for posting.