You'll have to forgive a girl here. I'm still not sure exactly how I want to go about doing wrap ups and hauls. I think I may keep them separate for now....ugh. So difficult! December wasn't as good of a month as I was hoping it would be. I read 3 books...
On with the Wrap for December!
1. Ikigai by Yukari Mitsuhashi
Ikigai is a traditional Japanese concept that embodies happiness in living. It is, essentially, the reason that you get up in the morning. This book is about finding your ikigai - identifying your purpose or passion and using this knowledge to achieve greater happiness in your life. Your ikigai doesn't have to be some grand ambition or highly noble life's purpose - it can be something simple and humble, like tending your garden or walking your dog. Having grown up in Japan, Yukari Mitsuhashi understands first hand what ikigai means to Japanese people. Now living in Los Angeles, she has written this book to introduce the traditional concept to a new audience. This is not a 'one size fits all' book. Instead, Ikigai encourages you to look at the details of your life and appreciate the everyday moments as you learn to identify your own personal ikigai. The book includes case studies from a range of people sharing their ikigai, from university lecturers and writers to doctors. With its refreshingly simple philosophy and liberating concepts, this beautifully presented book will be a guide you will return to again and again.
The book is a brief primer on the concept of ikigai or the joy in living, the idea of finding things in your life that bring you joy in living. Using their system, my own ikigai would probably the act of writing. I find joy in it and I do it without anyone asking me to. I removed one star though, because it could have been longer. Some of it could have been expanded to make more sense and to better explain ikigai meant to Mitsuhashi-san and less vague descriptions.
2. Autoboyography by Christina Lauren
Three years ago, Tanner Scott’s family relocated from California to Utah, a move that nudged the bisexual teen temporarily back into the closet. Now, with one semester of high school to go, and no obstacles between him and out-of-state college freedom, Tanner plans to coast through his remaining classes and clear out of Utah. But when his best friend Autumn dares him to take Provo High’s prestigious Seminar—where honor roll students diligently toil to draft a book in a semester—Tanner can’t resist going against his better judgment and having a go, if only to prove to Autumn how silly the whole thing is. Writing a book in four months sounds simple. Four months is an eternity. It turns out, Tanner is only partly right: four months is a long time. After all, it takes only one second for him to notice Sebastian Brother, the Mormon prodigy who sold his own Seminar novel the year before and who now mentors the class. And it takes less than a month for Tanner to fall completely in love with him.
I saw people talking about this on BookTube and when I saw it in Barnes & Noble, I had to get it. I finally got around to it. I loved how nearly the entire book is told in first person perspective through Tanner. I didn't love how little of Sebastian's life we got. We learn about the Mormon take on homosexuality from the perspective of a non-religious son of an ex-Mormon. Not exactly the best source. I think if the chapters (even still in first person) were split between Tanner and Sebastian, it would have been so much better. 4/5 stars.
3. Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
When editor Susan Ryeland is given the manuscript of Alan Conway’s latest novel, she has no reason to think it will be much different from any of his others. After working with the bestselling crime writer for years, she’s intimately familiar with his detective, Atticus Pünd, who solves mysteries disturbing sleepy English villages. An homage to queens of classic British crime such as Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers, Alan’s traditional formula has proved hugely successful. So successful that Susan must continue to put up with his troubling behavior if she wants to keep her job. Conway’s latest tale has Atticus Pünd investigating a murder at Pye Hall, a local manor house. Yes, there are dead bodies and a host of intriguing suspects, but the more Susan reads, the more she’s convinced that there is another story hidden in the pages of the manuscript: one of real-life jealousy, greed, ruthless ambition, and murder.
I have a vague memory of someone talking about this on BookTube, though I don't remember when and when I saw it at the library I immediately had to borrow it. I read it in about a week and I loved the idea of a story within a story. I did figure out who committed the murders right away, but I didn't put together the why or how at all. That is the mark of a good mystery to me. I love these and I have a habit of figuring out everything before the end of the book, but this one kept me on my toes. I even questioned if I had the right suspects at first. There were a few that can be automatically ruled out, because even if they were angry enough to commit the crimes, they had no actual reason to at that given moment. The real killers were sort of a surprise about why though. I gave this book 5/5 stars and I will definitely pick up my own copy of this to reread if I ever get the urge. Mr. Horowitz really knows what he's doing when it comes to murder mysteries.
1. Ikigai by Yukari Mitsuhashi
The book is a brief primer on the concept of ikigai or the joy in living, the idea of finding things in your life that bring you joy in living. Using their system, my own ikigai would probably the act of writing. I find joy in it and I do it without anyone asking me to. I removed one star though, because it could have been longer. Some of it could have been expanded to make more sense and to better explain ikigai meant to Mitsuhashi-san and less vague descriptions.
2. Autoboyography by Christina Lauren
Three years ago, Tanner Scott’s family relocated from California to Utah, a move that nudged the bisexual teen temporarily back into the closet. Now, with one semester of high school to go, and no obstacles between him and out-of-state college freedom, Tanner plans to coast through his remaining classes and clear out of Utah. But when his best friend Autumn dares him to take Provo High’s prestigious Seminar—where honor roll students diligently toil to draft a book in a semester—Tanner can’t resist going against his better judgment and having a go, if only to prove to Autumn how silly the whole thing is. Writing a book in four months sounds simple. Four months is an eternity. It turns out, Tanner is only partly right: four months is a long time. After all, it takes only one second for him to notice Sebastian Brother, the Mormon prodigy who sold his own Seminar novel the year before and who now mentors the class. And it takes less than a month for Tanner to fall completely in love with him.I saw people talking about this on BookTube and when I saw it in Barnes & Noble, I had to get it. I finally got around to it. I loved how nearly the entire book is told in first person perspective through Tanner. I didn't love how little of Sebastian's life we got. We learn about the Mormon take on homosexuality from the perspective of a non-religious son of an ex-Mormon. Not exactly the best source. I think if the chapters (even still in first person) were split between Tanner and Sebastian, it would have been so much better. 4/5 stars.
3. Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
I have a vague memory of someone talking about this on BookTube, though I don't remember when and when I saw it at the library I immediately had to borrow it. I read it in about a week and I loved the idea of a story within a story. I did figure out who committed the murders right away, but I didn't put together the why or how at all. That is the mark of a good mystery to me. I love these and I have a habit of figuring out everything before the end of the book, but this one kept me on my toes. I even questioned if I had the right suspects at first. There were a few that can be automatically ruled out, because even if they were angry enough to commit the crimes, they had no actual reason to at that given moment. The real killers were sort of a surprise about why though. I gave this book 5/5 stars and I will definitely pick up my own copy of this to reread if I ever get the urge. Mr. Horowitz really knows what he's doing when it comes to murder mysteries.
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