Welcome to my newsletter Life, The Universe & Everything. I'm on a mission to explore how creativity, community and storytelling support mental wellness. Yes, I read a fuck ton of books!
How I Pick My Next Read
I use a venn diagram:
Current Mood - do I feel overwhelmed, content, tired, joyful or anything?
Life - am I going on a trip, or having people to stay, or just chilling in quiet anxiety?
Last Read - if I just read a space opera I need something different, maybe a contemporary novel or a murder mystery?
The Book Reviews Suck #4 Pick:
Lady Tan’s Circle Of Women by Lisa See
The gist from the publisher: “According to Confucius, "an educated woman is a worthless woman," but Tan Yunxian--born into an elite family, yet haunted by death, separations, and loneliness--is being raised by her grandparents to be of use. Her grandmother is one of only a handful of female doctors in China, and she teaches Yunxian the pillars of Chinese medicine, the Four Examinations--looking, listening, touching, and asking--something a man can never do with a female patient.”
Perfect Read For:
Last Book I Read: Translation State by Ann Leckie - need to be brought down to earth.
Life: My jaw is clenched all the fucking time - will acupuncture help me?? of course let’s read a book about Chinese medicine
Mood: I want a complex, generational story with lots of characters.
Liked These Books?
The Book Reviews Suck #5 Pick:
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
The gist from the publisher: “White lies. Dark humor. Deadly consequences... Bestselling sensation Juniper Song is not who she says she is, she didn't write the book she claims she wrote, and she is most certainly not Asian American.”
Perfect Read For:
Last Book I Read: Lady Tan’s Circle Of Women by Lisa See - need some contemporary vibes.
Life: I’m writing my own novel, so rather than do that let’s read about another author writing a book, in a book - woah, trippy!
Mood: I want to minimize my current book revising crisis by digging into a richer and deeper one.
Liked These Books?
The Book Reviews Suck #6 Pick:
Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher
The gist from the publisher: “This isn't the kind of fairy tale where the princess marries a prince. It's the one where she kills him.”
Perfect Read For:
Last Book I Read: Yellowface by R. P. Kuang - and now I need a book I can put down for beach naps.
Life: Margarita’s, beach lounging and naps….bliss
Mood: Want to chill out, but also be engaged by a fast plot.
Liked These Books?
My Affiliate Links Support Independent Booksellers
All my book links go to Bookshop.org, a certified B Corp on a mission to help local, independent bookstores thrive in the age of e-commerce. I get a small percentage of every sale which I use to fund my writing, my coffee habit and my fabric stash.
Why Book Reviews Suck
I LOVE books, however I HATE reading book reviews. Blerg…
When I scan a boring book review I self debate: Do I jive with this random person's book taste? It seems like they don’t like this book; always a critic, never a writer? What is this person even saying? Oh look, my cat is curled up in a cute way…and I’m out.
Book critiques don’t connect for people like moi and perhaps toi! Instead let us grasp onto the e-commerce industrial complex: If You Like This, You Might Like That.