As #BookTok is becoming more and more popular and reading seems to have become a romanticized lifestyle, I thought I’d join the hype and write about my newly re-acquired hobby.
I’ve had very big and long-lasting reading slumps in the past. However, ever since I read “we fell in love in october” by Inka Lindberg (a romantic fiction novel about a young woman from the south of Germany and a non-binary tattoo artist) I’m back in the reading game. Also, for everyone interested in the novel, I am very sorry to tell you that it is only available in German (so far). But luckily, I’ve read a few other books this year, so here are my reviews.
Bunny by Mona Awad
I rate this book 3/5
What the fuck was that? Bunny is a slightly disturbing book that, in retrospect, was worth the read—but I will not be re-reading it. I picked this book up because it was highly recommended by many BookTokers and book YouTubers. The descriptions of it as a “man-hating” book intrigued me, and although I do see the point, this book does many other, more prominent things than just “man-hating.”
I’m not quite sure how to actually describe what happens in this book without spoiling it all. The title, “Bunny,” comes from the nickname a group of girls have given each other. The girls seem to be the most sugary mix of girly behaviour one could imagine, and the main character finds this deeply disturbing—until she is invited to join one of their “exclusive” gatherings. From that moment on, the whole book derails and slowly finds its way back; then, it stops, rests for a second, and changes lanes completely. Disclaimer: I would not recommend reading this before going to bed.
I would recommend this book to anyone:
- Who likes dark academia mixed together in a cocktail of insanity.
- Who is down to be slightly disturbed.
- Who says Fight Club is their favourite movie.
Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton
Overall rating: 4/5 stars
This book started out very boring, then got very intriguing, a bit boring, and finally, the last chapter mentioned one little thing I was looking for within the book. Overall, it was a consistent up and down regarding my engagement with the book while reading it. But it was worth it! Although the title promises that this book will teach you a lot about love, it sort of does and doesn’t at the same time. It definitely wasn’t what I thought it would be.
Instead of unravelling wisdom about how to fall in love, it focuses more on the opposite: why some people don’t. And in particular, why Dolly Alderton didn’t all throughout her 20s (remember: this book is still a biography). One thing I also didn’t expect but ended up loving was how millennial this book is. Having two older sisters who had to go through their teenage years in the early 2010s, this book made me very nostalgic about the slightly problematic romcoms of the early 2000s. It was a time when social media was just starting to become a thing, and e-mails were the cool new way of inviting your friends over for your semi-fancy dinner party you are hosting next week. Next to uncovering many stories about her adventures going out, and meeting men, friends, and strangers, Alderton shatters your romanticized fantasy of her early 20s with the grounding reality of her experiences. Lastly, even though the book was very entertaining throughout, my favourite part was the last chapter. Here, Dolly Alderton concludes all her life lessons mentioned in the book and further mentions small experiences she did not deliberately describe before, not unlike a teacher who tries to squish all the things they still want to say in the few minutes after the bell rings, while her students are packing up their things.
I recommend this book to anyone…
- Who thinks their 20s should be more adventurous.
- Between the ages of 25 and 30.
- Who is nostalgic about the early 2000s.
Normal People by Sally Rooney
I rate this book 2/5
This might be controversial, but I think this book is highly overrated. I loved the beginning of the book. However, around the middle of the book, it just got progressively worse. For everyone who has not yet heard about Normal People, the book describes Conell and Marianne’s (more or less) love story from when they first started sleeping together in high school, all the way through college, and shortly after. During this time, one could describe the love story as the right person, wrong time trope, but I prefer to call it the right person, mismatching mental illnesses trope.
Generally, I don’t think the book is bad. I found it well-written, and I enjoyed a good 50% of it. I personally just didn’t find it relatable, and it wasn’t what I was looking for. Also, I want to say I originally thought I would give this book 4/5 stars or higher. The book just left a bitterness that I find hard to ignore.
I think you might like this book if you:
- Have experienced a right-person mismatching-mental-illness type of situation.
- Find yourself relating to (parts of) the borderline or dependent personality disorder symptomatology.
- Have ever felt lonely or alone at college (mixed with some other concerns).
One takeaway from reading these three #BookTok famous books is not to trust all social media recommendations. Even though some hyped books are very good, they are often wrongly advertised. However, romanticizing the reading lifestyle and winding down with a book and some background jazz is something I can highly recommend.