A more productive reading week as my husband was away.

Women’s Work: The First 20,000 Years: Women, Cloth, and Society in Early Times by Elizabeth Wayland Barber, Donna Postel (Narrator)

I learned about this book from the Unraveling by Peggy Ornestein memoir which I listened to early in the year. It was a very interesting nonfiction book mostly focussed on the lives of Bronze Age women and fabric craft. It primarily focussed on weaving in the Mediterranean civilizations such as Mesopotamia, Egypt, Minoans, and Greece. It was not exhaustive but I really liked how Barber used folklore and stories from these societies to elucidate women’s role in the societies. I am trying valiantly not add more hobbies which is why I have resisted getting a loom. This book made weaving history fascinating. I wish there were more feminist histories like this. I listened to the end of this one mostly while winding yarn into hanks.

1.5x. Aug 13-19. 2025.

In Love: A Memoir of Love and Loss by Amy Bloom (Narrator)

Audiobook first 20%. While I usually listen to memoirs on audiobook especially when narrated by the author, this powerful book was too much for me and had to continue on print. This was a moving story about a couple and their journey through an Alzeheimer’s diagnosis, right to die laws, and finally, assisted dying. I believe in the right to die and am grateful that I live in a country where there is Assisted Dying. Reading about Bloom and her husband’s Brian trying to navigate through the US laws and towards Dignitas in Switzerland was stressful. A powerful story about two people who love each other. Very moving.

1.25x. Aug 20-24, 2025.

On Animals by Susan Orlean (Narrator)

I really enjoyed The Library Book by Susan Orlean. She has a very good narrative non-fiction style. I heard this mentioned briefly on one of my favourite podcasts. It’s a collection of Orlean’s essays on animals. It had fascinating stories about the people involved with animal lives and also some memoirs about her own relationships with animals such as her farm life. It was informative and easy to listen to.

1.5x. August 8-12, 2025.

I Must Say: My Life as a Humble Comedy Legend by Martin Short (Narrator)

My husband and I are fans of Martin Short. We like “Only Murders in the Building”. I watched and liked him “Captain Ron” growing up. We listened to this audiobook together. Short narrated it and does various impressions and characters throughout the book. As a result, I listened to this at 1.0x speed which I would not do with any other audiobook. It also took a long time since I could only listen to it when my husband there, mostly while making lunch. I got very impatient to finish it which proved again how I like to finish books in short amount of time. It was great fun and touching too.

1.0x. July 22-Aug 16, 2025.

Big Swiss by Jen Beagin, Narrated by cast

Audiobook for first 21%. Literary, queer, contemporary novel about an affair. I went into this with few expectations and quite enjoyed myself. I think it’s because I like litfic with realistic women at the centre and I think I enjoy reading messy affairs. Affairs are similar to mysteries because I wonder while reading how they will end. They always end and what will be the climatic and often violent catalyst? There’s usually a lot of psychological tension in affairs not being discovered but due to the characters. Everyone knows it is wrong and are driven to it by many factors. Lust is usually involved but that’s banal and simplistic. It’s often rooted in self-destruction or self-discovery. Character development was good in that they were realistically chaotic but no one radically changed by the end of it. Well written. As with most litfic, not for everyone.

1.5x. Aug 13-17, 2025.

Skipshock by Caroline O’Donoghue

The Rachel Incident was one of my favourite novels from last year. I knew going in that this was a sci-fi novel but I did not know that it was Young Adult. As I get older, I find myself less inclined to YA series for a variety of reasons. I am starting to relate more to characters closer to my age. I was not really invested in the two leads early on, but the protagonist Margo matured quite quickly due to the time bending. Interesting world building. I think I’ll read the next one and hope this is a duology.

July 28-August 4, 2025.

24 Hours in Ancient Egypt: A Day in the Life of the People Who Lived There by Donald P. Ryan, Jonathan Beville (Narrator)

The writing for this part of the series was not as good as the Rome one. I did like it more as I went through it and it became more entertaining with the ancient characters. I like how these books humanize people in ancient times. This 24 Hours history series has been great for walks.

1.5x-1.75x. August 2-3, 2025.

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson, Barton Welch (Narrator)

Audiobook about 60%. This contemporary mystery novel was written in a meta style with a dark tone. I think people will either like it or not like it. I did not like it. While the ending and some of the twists were fine, I did not care for any of the characters. It was set in an Australian ski lodge and referenced Golden Age tropes. There were too many characters and twists since each of them “killed” someone. The book tried to be more literary with the character development, but it did not work for me since I did not get invested in their stories. The narration was fine.

I was disappointed since this is such a popular mystery series. Modern mystery is becoming like modern romance for me; I need something like fantasy or sci-fi to them to make them more engaging.

1.4-1.6x. August 4-10, 2025.

Ascendance of a Bookworm (Manga) Part 3 Volume 3 – by Ryo Namino, Miya Kazuki, Quof (translator)

Even though finishing the main light novel series has scratched the itch, I do like to read the manga editions when they come out.

July 23, 2025.

A Song For You And I by K. O’Neill

Gentle fantasy graphic novel. My favourite from O’Neill is still the Tea Dragon series in art style. I liked the storyline and art of this more than The Moth Keeper though.

July 29, 2025.

A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston, Dorothy Dillingham Blue (Narrator)

My second Ashley Poston of the month. This one had a better narrator but the story was more lacklustre. It was not fantastical enough for me. The magical realism aspect was barely there.

1.8x. July 13-16, 2025.

Evergreen Chase by Juneau Black

Started this during an insomnia night (can’t drink coke!). This was a short story and prequel to the series. The mystery was very simple to the point of being a storybook. It was fine though because it was cozy.

Read July 17, 2025 on Kobo Libra 2.

Onyx Storm (Parts 1 & 2) [Dramatized Adaptation] by Rebecca Yarros, Graphic Audio full cast

I really do not care about the main couple anymore. I only like the dragons. I still find that aspect interesting. I actually found some of the voice acting by the supportive cast better than the leads or maybe I was tired of listening to Violet. I was quite bored for most of this book except for the dragon stuff. There were too many characters. The ending was confusing.

1.75x. July 16-21, 2025.

The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong

I started this before a very hectic week and did not really read have time to read most of it. Once I got into it, I gobbled it up. I knew I would like it from the start. I ended up loving it because it hit my particular wheelhouses of found family, immigrant story, and lonely daughter. All things which resonated deeply with me. It’s very similar to Legends & Lattes with the found family crew, adventuring, and baking.

June 29-July 8, 2025. Read a bit on Kobo Libra 2.

The Stand-In by Lily Chu with Phillipa Soo (Narrator)

Continuing on with the romance on audiobooks. This was a Canadian romance novel set in Toronto and featured a half-Chinese protagonist. The writing in it is not bad per se. Gracie was likeable and relatable. The way it dealt with caretaking for a parent with dementia, anxiety, and depression seemed good. The sexual harassment storyline was a bit over the top and the end of it was predictable. I did not like that it had a misunderstanding trope in the last third which results in the usual third act breakup. Boring romance tropes. There was another soap opera element as well which I was fine with but not the bad romance tropes. The best thing was listening to Phillipa Son’s narration. I would have been bored without it and she made the characters. I am almost tempted to listen to more books by this author since Soo is the narrator, but I doubt I will find the writing better. Most of these modern contemporary romance novels are not for me.

1.75-2.5x. July 6-8, 2025.

Sheets by Brenna Thummler

This is a popular graphic novel which I have been meaning to read for years. Maybe it was my fatigue or recent stress, but I only thought this was okay. The mood was more somber than I imagined. The teenage protagonist Marjorie was grieving from the sudden death of her mother, dealing with her depressed father, being bullied at school, and working their family business while being harassed by a charlatan. While there is a lighthearted tone with Wendell and the ghosts, the human dynamics were a bit depressing until the very end. It gets wrapped up too neatly and quickly. The art was nice. I do not think I will pick up the rest in the series.

July 10, 2025.

Mirror Lake by Juneau Black, Cassandra Campbell (Narrator)

Revisiting this cozy fantasy mystery series during this busy summer. The mysteries are really easy to solve including their twists and the vibe is cozy. It’s easy going. Vera was still too risky but not stupid. Narrator did a good job as before.

1.5x. July 9-12, 2025.

ADHD 2.0 : New Science and Essential Strategies for Thriving with Distraction—From Childhood Through Adulthood by Edward M. Hallowell and John J. Ratey, Fred Sanders (Narrator)

This ADHD book was short and felt like it focussed more on environmental and neuroplasticity. I related more to it as a result. I think environment and lifestyle coping strategies are how I’ve managed my ADHD symptoms since I was a child. Consequently, I can see why the environment has harmed my quality of life and affected ADHD symptoms. I liked the concise presentation and recommendations.

1.8x. June 30-July 3, 2025.

The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston, Brittany Pressley (Narrator)

Romance with magical realism in the form of time travel. I have found contemporary romance easier to consume if there are some fantastical elements. I liked this book more than the Emily Henry I have tried. This was actually a grief novel too. The protagonist Clementine was grieving all of the book from the sudden death of her Aunt. That aspect was realistic and well done.

Since I’ve been so busy this summer, I decided to try listening to romance on audio since they do not require as much concentration. I normally switch to print for fiction especially when I do not love the narrator. The narration was fine but I wanted a background audiobook for walks and chores. I will try more romances or lighter novels on audiobooks this summer since I will not have enough sitting reading time. I’ll switch back to more text reading and nonfiction audio when things get a bit calmer hopefully after summer is over.

1.8-2.0x. July 3-6, 2025.

Good Material by Dolly Alderton, Arthur Darvill and Vanessa Kirby (Narrators)

Audiobook 10%. I enjoyed Alderton’s memoir. I have found that if an author is good in nonfiction, I may not like them as much in fiction or vice versa. The main character Andy was going through a breakup and was quite unlikeable for most of this novel. I realized that it was a satire of a millennial dating early on which made it a tad easier to consume. The other characters were fine and somewhat amusing. I liked Jen’s perspective at the end and there was some good writing flipping how each character were in the relationship. I found Jen more interesting and wished we had more from her, but that would be a different kind of book. I preferred Alderton’s nonfiction and may consider reading more fiction from her in the future.

1.5x. June 26-28, 2025.

Thank You, Everything by Icinori

A really lovely children’s book about gratitude with fantastic art. Beautiful. I do gratitude journaling and this was inspiring.

June 29, 2025.

French Conversation with Paul Noble: Learn to Speak Everyday French Step-by-Step by Paul Noble

This was the most advanced of the Paul Noble French courses I could find. I listened to it slowly in the morning after waking up. It was good except there was an odd story about zombie attacks in the second half. I’ve found the second book in the series most useful for me because of the past tenses. This one had some good points, but I preferred the first half more.

1.25x. May 8-June 18, 2025.

Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin

The protagonist David is so unlikable. He treated Giovanni, Hella, and his father so poorly and yet the prose is very compelling. It was written extremely well and reminded me of JD Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, but better in every way. The prose was not excessive and immediately you got a sense of David’s closeted self-hatred. I did not like the character but I did not dislike him either since Baldwin really captured how messed up he was so well. This was a short novel but it packed so much in. Looking forward to reading more Baldwin in the future.

June 17-23, 2025 on Kobo Libra 2.

Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life by Jon Kabat-Zinn

I began meditating for 20 mins a day in July 2023. After two months, I increased to 40 minutes a day by listening to two 20 min guided meditations. Some days I can only get one 20 minute meditation. I have only missed one day where I forgot to meditate completely. I learned about these meditations during CBT-I. I do think it has helped me sleep better. I have also become an occasional napper due to the meditations which was a revolution since I struggled to nap before even when I was a child. Before this, I meditated or did active chanting meditations as a uni student and meditated more after my mum passed away in 2021. The most consistent I have ever been is the last couple of years. I will continue this practice for life. Reading this book is preaching to the choir. I did not find anything too revelatory in it. I really enjoyed it because it was relaxing to listen to someone discuss meditation and its benefits. I liked the tone of the book and the wholesome vibe of it.

1.75-2.0x. June 17-25, 2025.

I was still going through my “reading ennui” where books were not so enjoyable due to life. I decided to read shorter novels and continue the audiobooks.

Le monde de Maxime by Lucile de Pesloüan, Jacques Goldstyn (Illustrator)

I think this was my first full French book of the year. I saw this Quebecoise children’s book twice on Goodreads so I decided to get it from my library. It was a really cute, well illustrated, and good for my reading level. I understand oral French more easily than written so I got to practice.

June 1-8, 2025.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, Ray Porter (Narrator)

After Artemis, I was not sure I would pick up another Andy Weir book. His character writing is very lacklustre. Ryland only seems to have the most basic features of a character. There was character development but it was very mediocre due to the amnesia and the lack of depth. The narrator who did such a great job that he made the character better. I listened to this exclusively on audiobook as I had read that the audiobook was great and would help with the plot. The audiobook was very well done and helped me finish the book. The plot was the strongest aspect but there was always too much science talk at times. The second timeline in the past was boring and had rote or cliched characters. At one point, someone slapped Ryland because he was crying as if this was a midcentury film. The ending was stronger though.

1.75-2.0x. June 2-8, 2025.