I decided I’m going to try something out and write a little blurb here to summarize what I’ve read the last month instead of individually post each time I’ve finished a book. Writing isn’t my forte, but i’m trying to exercise that muscle more regularly so that maybe with practice, it’ll get better! And now that I’ve greatly lowered your expectations, heres a summary of what I read in April:
The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner: ⭐️
I picked this book up because it’s been sitting on my shelf since I was in college and the library is closed! This book was challenging for me to get through. And at the end of it, had me really questioning what was the point?? Time was really hard to keep track of during this book, so I made a family tree and tried to create my own timeline with notes to make sense of the plot. Another big issue I had is that none of the characters were likable. There was no one that held my attention so that I cared what happened to them. Would not recommend.
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez: ⭐️⭐️
This book was also challenging for me to get through. There were small story lines of the book that I did enjoy, but at then end I didn’t understand how they all worked together or what was the point. I’m not sure why ‘Love in the time of Cholera’ was chosen as the title as the disease was barely present in the book. I read this for a book club I'm in and it felt reassuring that everyone else had a similar experience with it!
Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is the first book I’ve read by Gladwell and it likely won’t be my last. This book digs into our interactions with strangers and how often they go wrong. It digs into different scenarios of deception and how often we blow past all of the red flags because our default is trust. Some of those exercises left me feeling a bit hopeless in how to tell when people are lying or taking advantage of you. Like what’s the point of reading all of these stories of people being taken advantage of if I’m not learning anything?! I feel like the quote below best summarizes the book:
“To assume the best about another is the trait that has created modern society. Those occasions when our trusting nature gets violated are tragic. But the alternative - to abandon trust as a defense against predation and acceptation - is worse."
And I think that is true. To live your life assuming the worst in everyone and that everyone is out to cheat and take advantage of you is worse. You will more often get it wrong than right.
“We think we can easily see into the hearts of others based on the flimsiest of clues. We jump at the chance to judge strangers. We would never do that to ourselves, of course. We are nuanced and complex and enigmatic. The the stranger is easy. If I can convince you of one thing in this book, let it be this: Strangers are not easy."
If this peaks your interest, I’d highly recommend this one.