30 Books in 30 Days | Ep. 1

July 2020 – I had the ‘brilliant’ idea of trying the ’30 books in 30 days’ challenge. I’ve been hesitant about writing this blog post ever since. The challenge itself was a success, but my idea was to review each book in the process. Read till the end for my summary and tips if you plan on giving this a go.

Let’s kick things off with the first five:

Own Your Own Corporation by Robert T. Kiyosaki – I went through a phase in June where I read a lot of the Rich Dad, Poor Dad books and this was the last one among them. I listened to the audiobook and perhaps I had a bit too much Kiyosaki at that point. Though trying to give practical advice, I did find this to be a bit outdated, not to mention the fact it’s so focused on the USA, that little of it would be applicable in the small European country I call home. Not the best kick off for this challenge.

The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld – Freud is in NYC gearing up to give some guest lectures. With his companions, he lands in the middle of an assassination investigation relying heavily on Freud’s theories. While the psychological observations were intriguing, I did care much for the mystery / thriller aspect of this novel.

Beach Read by Emily Henry – Either this was average or my expectations were set too high after the glowing reviews it’s been receiving by people I follow. The story is following two authors facing writers block and inevitably their paths cross. Where things went wrong for me is the research for the genres they’re trying to write in, I didn’t care much for how it was executed in the book and I kept drifting off from the audiobook – the narration was not to my liking.

It did deliver the fun, summer story it promised to do, I just wish each concept flowed together better and the characters to be themselves and not their author-selves. Overall, I like the idea of this book better than the book itself, Henry’s writing didn’t mesh well with me.

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo – This audiobook is excellent! We follow the story of two sisters who don’t know the other one exists until their father dies in a tragic airplane crash. The POVs include Yahaira’s in NYC and Camino in DR. The girls are unique in their own ways, there comes a moment when their realities collide and finally the sisterly bonding I was cheering for happened. I loved the bits of dialogue in Dominican Spanish! Definitely a good way to point out the obvious contrast between life in DR and life in the USA. Though, why was DR never called out as the Dominican Republic while NYC was New York? I’ll definitely be reading more from Acevedo.

My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite –

How far would one sister go for another? Set in Nigeria, in what’s hinted to be a formerly wealthy and powerful household going through a demise after the father’s death, we find the answer to that very question. The father’s overarching influence is clearly noticeable when the family gathers to plan a service in his honor to keep up appearances. His sibling is forcing the idea, the mother/wife go along with it, the daughters have different thoughts but refrain from sharing them. I’d really want to know what their father did for a living, as he’d obviously had a large influence on the way things are done in the family. An infamous knife ends up in the possession of one of the sisters while the other wonders if the “object keeps the purpose of the previous owner”.

The sisters are very similar in one way, polar opposites in another. One’s a Head Nurse in a famous hospital and not beautiful (said in her own words multiple times), the other gorgeous, owner of a clothing line and obsessed with social media. Both go above and beyond to protect their sisterly bond, leaving casualties in their wake. One gets more attention from the family, the other is more distant and throws herself into her work.

Well written and deserving of a 4 star even though I’d have liked parts of the plot to be elaborated further.

Next batch of five includes 3 misses and 2 near-hits:

A Single Thread by Tracy Chevalier – A moving story about England after World War I where men, fathers and children were lost and generations of women that couldn’t find a partner in life. Violet has lost both her brother and fiancée and we follow her law in the aftermath of the war, her moving out of the family home and moving to Winchester.

The new city is unfamiliar and making friends sure isn’t easy. The big Cathedral attracts her like a magnet and during a visit, she discovers a community of women embroidering kneelers for the cathedral and decides to become a part of this group. She wants to leave something behind, be remembered by her kneeler. I was proud of Violet when she finished her kneeler, sad when her mother called out the embroidered coin purse, admired her when she asked for that much needed raise and another heater for the office, angry that her brother reached out only when he needed some sort of favor.

I expected nothing less by Chevalier, this was a good book and I was pleasantly surprised by the Cathedral (it’s no secret I like books about or set in the backdrop of a great Cathedral). The last 50 pages or so took and unexpectedly romantic turn, nevertheless I enjoyed reading this story and I think it’d be a good one to analyze with a book club.

Tales of the Alhambra by Washington Irving – I’ve seen the outside of the Alhambra, my trip was too impromptu to get tickets to go inside. What I did get to see was spectacular and near the entrance I was greeted by Irving’s statue. I later stumbled upon an English / Spanish copy of the text and bought it. I ended up listening to the audiobook in English and didn’t mesh well with the narration, I kept focusing on something else rather than the audiobook, so this is one I’ll need to reread at some point. I’ll make sure I read my own paperback.

The Mastermind by David Unger – In theory, this has everything I like in a thriller. However, the open ending left me with several doubts.
It’s based on the bizarre real-life story of Rodrigo Rosenberg, a Guatemalan attorney who, in 2009, planned his own assassination after leaving behind a video accusing Guatemalan president Álvaro Colom of his murder.
The characters weren’t fleshed out well enough, none left a lasting impression on me. The Guatemalan society is less than friendly with Rodrigo’s client. Who is The Mastermind? And who’s side is he on?

Светлина за ридот од Трајче Крстевски – a book by a Macedonian author and available in Macedonian only, one based on a TV show I watched as a child. It woke many a nostalgic feeling in me, but I do think I preferred the show.

The Deep by Rivers Solomon – So short yet there are so many layers to it, from discovering the world of culture and language of two-legged creatures as observed by mermaids, to the passing of such knowledge i.e. remembrances by the chosen historian – Yetu – who loses herself in the deep. Knowing what she does and sparing the rest of her folks the memories of their sad history. A beautifully woven yet devastating story on how cruel humans can be towards another and the trauma bored for generations afterwards. I want to hug Yetu and tell her she’s not alone and I want my own copy of this book.

The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict – A book about Einstein and his little known first wife. Benedict has done a lot of research to write this. The POV is Mitza’s so we can tell little about Albert’s actual feelings, was the romance purely one sided? Albert is using her knowledge in physics and mathematics to advance his career, then promptly sets her aside. This book frustrated me big time, but I did learn quite a bit from it. I think every woman can sympathize with Mitza and every reader interested in Einstein’s life should read this.

Чуанг Це БЕЗГРИЖНО ТАЛКАЊЕ – selected texts on Zhuang Zhou. I rarely read such volumes so I found this hard to get through despite it being relatively short. I know very little on Zhou’s teachings and read this in an attempt to educate myself. I’m well aware this is barely scratching the surface.

The Red Notebook by Antoine Laurain – As much as the lovely cover called my name, this was an extremely disappointing read. Neither character caught my interest, nor the way their paths in life crossed. I did like the bookstore scene and meeting the famous author, other than that, not a title that stands out in my memory.

Тао Те Кинг – a book on Lao Tze, similar to the Zhuang Zhou, I read this little volume to learn more about Lao Tze. I have a lot more to learn.

The Servant by James C. Hunter – outdated and very much so. After reading this, I stopped rating non-fiction for a little while, a habit I’m debating on picking back up in 2021.

Embers by Sándor Márai – I do believe in reading a book at the right time and this was the wrong time for two reasons: 1) I read this whilst doing a reading challenge; and, 2) I think I’m still young to gully grasp and appreciate such a story. One to reread in a few years.

Девици и волци од Александар Алексов – another one from a Macedonian author and only available in Macedonian. It tried to do too many things at once and unfortunately wasn’t my cup of tea at all. The sentiment was shared by almost everyone in my book club.

The Letters of Vincent van Gogh – I love van Gogh’s work so I took to reading his letters as well. One wants to give him a hug. Sticking to my decision not to rate non-fiction, I didn’t rate this but I’d place in the 3 to 3.5 area if pushed for a rating.

Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari – everyone and their mother has either read or has been talking about reading Sapiens. This was educational, but I was a bit bothered by the author’s bias in multiple paragraphs. I’m aware that nowhere did he proclaim this to be purely factual, but my expectations seem to have veered in that direction.

Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff – one of the more intriguing figures in history for me. Excerpt from the synopsis as it describes this best:

Her palace shimmered with onyx, garnets, and gold, but was richer still in political and sexual intrigue. Above all else, Cleopatra was a shrewd strategist and an ingenious negotiator.

Though her life spanned fewer than forty years, it reshaped the contours of the ancient world. She was married twice, each time to a brother. She waged a brutal civil war against the first when both were teenagers. She poisoned the second. Ultimately she dispensed with an ambitious sister as well; incest and assassination were family specialties. Famous long before she was notorious, Cleopatra has gone down in history for all the wrong reasons. Shakespeare and Shaw put words in her mouth. Michelangelo, Tiepolo, and Elizabeth Taylor put a face to her name. Along the way, Cleopatra’s supple personality and the drama of her circumstances have been lost.

Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson – how did I manage a Brandon Sanderson epic whilst doing a reading challenge? Relatively simple really, I started this way earlier in June and chipped away at the audiobook slowly, eventually finishing it in July. I like how the world is expanding, the length of the novels seems to be doing the same, but I’m no rush to read Oathbringer quite yet (at least not until 2021).

Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote – I’ve seen the movie before but never read the book and wanted to change the latter. Unfortunately, the audiobook wasn’t the best and I think this one of the rare occasions where I prefer the movie.

Here starts my Reading Rush 2020 wrap up.

An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen – a solid thriller. Jessica Farris signs up to participate in a psychology study conducted by a mysterious Doctor. The study is not quite what Jessica anticipated and her paranoia grows with every page. I liked that I couldn’t tell where one author ends and the other begins, a very good author duo, this one!

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green – and an absolutely disappointing read for Stefani. I used to watch vlogbrothers videos on Youtube and whilst this had Hank’s recognizable tone, I didn’t care for the story arc, it felt almost like he was trying too hard to write the next big book. He did write about influencers and Youtube here, so things he knows well, but the characters were obnoxious and the sci fi elements reminded me a lot of Sleeping Giants – a book I read back in 2019.

The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling – I sound like a broken record, but this is another one I’d need to reread. My reasoning is better this time though, it’s because I somehow ended up buying a much shorter (children’s) version rather than the full story I intended to buy and read. It was only 90 pages and it’d be unfair of me to form an opinion without rereading it in its entirety.

Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell – a very different read from the Orwell I know from Animal Farm and 1984. Partly set in Paris and partly in London, a story about misery and poverty no matter where the character lands. The London section was a lot harder for me to read, the restaurant in Paris on the other hand had me cheering hard for the character’s success! One that’s not a easy read, but one that’s worth reading.

Writers & Lovers by Lilly King – I absolutely loved this and gave it 5 stars. The audiobook was great, though I plan on getting my own copy to reread and highlight eventually. I related to Casey on several levels, I wanted her to make it through all hardships so bad! The writing reminded me a little bit of Celeste Ng’s style and that’s a writing style I’m learning to appreciate more and more.

We’re down to the last three:

The People in the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara – I find this very hard to review. The writing is recognizably Yanagihara’s and every word is heavy, oh so heavy! The theme and events got me furious, more than furious….outraged!! This book deals with things I disagree with and make me want to vomit, things that are wrong on so many levels. And yet, I’m glad I read it, because I found that fury in me and was shaken to the core by Hanya’s words.

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid – a story about performative activism and more relevant than ever this year. I liked the book a lot until that way over the top plot twist. And the ending, that last sentence, I just can’t…. it was looking like a solid 4 stars but went down to 3.5 right then and there.

The Tuscan Child by Rhys Bowen – listen… I love me some good historical fiction and I’ve read a lot of it. Other than the setting of beautiful Tuscany, not much else stood out in The Tuscan Child. I cheered for the fallen pilot Hugo and lovely Sofia and could’ve read just their story. But the jumps between then and now took away some of the story’s charm.

In conclusion

Can I read 30 books in 30 days? Yes, yes I can. Will I ever try that again? I don’t think so, at least not anytime soon. I found a few favorites, but most were rated around the 3 star mark. You’ve seen me say a few times that I’ll need to reread some titles and saying others didn’t stand out. I also burnt myself out of reading for a good few weeks the following month.

My advice if you want to attempt this challenge is to opt for shorter reads and remember audiobooks are your best friends! Mixing the format you read the books in, as well as the genres is a huge plus. For example, I read 11 audiobooks, 17 paperbacks and 2 ebooks and a variety of thrillers, historical fiction, fantasy, contemporary and some non-fiction. I plan to reread at least three of these titles.

Have you done this challenge or would you ever attempt it?