Es scheint so, als ob mir dieses Buch über den Weg gelaufen ist, um mir eine Lektion zu erteilen… Dass ich endlich aufhören sollte, in Airbnbs hinterlassene Bücher zu lesen, mit der Hoffnung dadurch über einen verborgenen 5/5 ★ Schatz zu stolpern. Es ist das zweite Buch, das ich von T. C. Boyle gelesen habe…
Category: 2/5 ★
Within this category you can read all the reviews about the books that I didn’t really enjoy but didn’t hate either. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend them but I didn’t find them to be a complete disaster. I rated them with 2 out of 5 ★
“Just Like You” – Nick Hornby
Having previously read Nick Hornby’s books “A Long Way Down“, “About a Boy” and “High Fidelity”, I didn’t really have high expectations towards “Just Like You”. I have never rated any of the author’s books with more than 3 out of 5 ★ and his newest release can be classified within the same category. This…
“The Midnight Library” – Matt Haig
“The Midnight Library” was the first one of Matt Haig’s books that I have picked up after having heard tons about his other publications and this one just having been released in 2020. It has been chosen by one of my book clubs to be read in January 2021 and I decided to join in…
“The Book Collectors of Daraya” – Delphine Minoui
Within this book, the reporter Delphine Minoui tells the story of an underground library that has been created within the Syrian town of Daraya, despite the constant bombings and a state of terror the inhabitants were surrounded by, day in, day out. The focus is placed upon both the founders of this library, as well…
“Essentialism” – Greg McKeown
The most important take-away from this book for me was – if you’re not feeling completely overworked, chaotic and goal-less with the things you’re currently doing on a daily basis (whether that’s in your personal or your professional life), put this book aside until you feel that way one day and only then reach out…
“Intimations” – Zadie Smith
I was completely disappointed by this tiny piece of writing made up of 6 essays by Zadie Smith. Maybe it was because I’ve been meaning and wanting to read something by the author for such a long time, having built up too high expectations. Maybe because this isn’t the right book to start with if…
“Night Boat to Tangier” – Kevin Barry
This is one of those books where I actually really feel sorry about giving it a low rating… There were some parts that I found really enjoyable, the language was absolutely beautiful at times, the descriptions were almost tangible, but… It just wasn’t a story for my taste. If it wouldn’t have been for my…
“Small Fry” – Lisa Brennan-Jobs
Picking up this memoir that I bought almost a year ago during an event with the author at the Shakespeare & Co shop in Paris, I’ve got to say that I was a bit disappointed… I have picked up the book on 8 different days to get through it, which was proof that it simply…
“Where the Crawdads Sing” – Delia Owens
4 reasons why “Where the Crawdads Sing” isn’t as amazing as the huge hype around it is suggesting. 1. First things first, why the 2/5 ★ rating? I didn’t necessarily hate the book but all in all, I didn’t particularly enjoy it either. It took me two full weeks to finish it & even though…
“Behind Closed Doors” – Natalie Fiennes
This super short book of just about 150 pages really has the potential to make you question well anchored thoughts & ideas in your mind. Starting from how “virginity” is a purely heteronormative & invented term, which is still being used too often in our society, to how we’re not taught about the diversity of…
“Talking to Strangers” – Malcolm Gladwell
I have been tempted to pick up the “Talking to Strangers” book having previously liked Gladwell’s “Outliers“ (read it in 2015 & gave it a 4 out of 5 star rating back then) & also because of its title, which ended up being completely misleading. I was expecting something more psychological or something that would…
“American Dirt” – Jeanine Cummins
This book was selected for a book club I’ll be attending & I now completely understand all the polarising opinions about it. Even to simply support the critical voices, I would’ve liked to give it 1/5 stars, but it did have 2 positive points to it, so I decided to settle on the total of…
“Flights” – Olga Tokarczuk
Having picked up the book for an upcoming book club but most of all having been curious about it because of Olga Tokarczuk having received the Nobel Prize for Literature, I’ve got to say that I was underwhelmed to say the least. Personally, getting through this book was a pain… I didn’t feel motivated to…
“Talking as Fast as I Can” – Lauren Graham
If you have picked this book up because you are or used to be a fan of the Gilmore Girls, I’ve got 2 suggestions for you: Just toss it right now. Unless you’re a notorious “book-finisher” like I am, who gets through any & every book that they start, at all costs, simply in order…
“The White Tiger” – Aravind Adiga
From the very beginning of the book, I simply wasn’t a fan of the main character. More than that, 118 pages in, I’ve noted down that I couldn’t care less about what would happen to him. There’s no connection I’ve felt towards him whatsoever & no matter how well the story would’ve been written, it…
“Suicide Club” – Rachel Heng
I did want to give the book 3 out of 5 stars, just for the topic that it’s centred around, but I just couldn’t manage to warm up to like it more. There’s something very “pop-culture-like” about its style & writing, whereas nowhere as bad as 50 Shades of Grey, it somehow falls into a…
“The Picture of Dorian Gray” – Oscar Wilde
Unfortunately after finishing this book, I simply thought that it’s way too over-hyped. Yes, the idea of the story is an interesting one, the way it’s executed on paper though, leaves a lot to be desired. Another issue I had with the printed edition, was the fact that the ending was completely spoiled within the…
“Cuba” – Alan West-Duran
The book starts off in a way you would expect from a university paper or a thesis on the topic of Cuba (not a good one though & which is not. a great. sign). The author dives directly into the deepest details while not giving you enough background on any of the subjects approached: Minute…
“The Giver” – Lois Lowry
I have stumbled across this book through a list of “highly rated books” here on goodreads, but I’ve got to say, that its target audience is & stays young adults (if not even kids & young teenagers). The story has an interesting idea, though it lacks in execution. It reminds a bit of “Brave New…
“The End of Eddy” – Édouard Louis
I would give “The End of Eddy” at most a rating of 2,5 stars out of 5.The book simply wasn’t long enough to get attached to it or to understand the characters. Somehow the story felt like it was being suffocated, that it didn’t have enough space & enough pages to unfold itself onto. I…
“The Blind Assassin” – Margaret Atwood
After having read “The Handmaid’s Tale” & having absolutely adored it, I was curious to dive into another work by Margaret Atwood. Unfortunately, I can’t give as much praise for “The Blind Asassin” I found the story extremely slow-paced (whereas that’s something that never disturbs me in other books), so that it would take you…
“Un Thé à Shanghai” – Jamel Balhi
What started out as a promising read, ended up as quite a disappointment… Having shared a BlaBlaCar trip from Zurich to Paris with the author Jamel was how I first found out about his existence & a quick Google search afterwards showed up the couple of books he has written about his trips around the…
“Call Me by Your Name” – André Aciman
Having just finished the book & ending it off by watching the movie to it, I’d say that the 2 of them compliment each other. Having read the book just before puts a bit more meaning into the movie. Nevertheless, I can’t say that I have enjoyed the book. Yes, there were some parts which…
“The Art of Thinking Clearly” – Rolf Dobelli
Having gone through the book, I strongly agree with some bits in the previous reviews I have skimmed through before starting. While “The Art of Thinking Clearly” succeeds at presenting something of an easier breakdown of “Thinking, Fast and Slow”, it feels highly repetitive (some ideas being too similar & being presented too often), the…
“Vous descendez? (A Long Way Down)” – Nick Hornby
The only reason why I keep on reaching out to Nick Hornby’s books is the fact that I’ve got them standing around in French on my bookshelf. In my opinion, that’s also the only plausible reason to read them – translated in other languages to learn a foreign language, since the style & the vocabulary…
“Read Bottom Up” – Neel Shah, Skye Chatham
A super quick read (just about 1 & a half hours) which I have become suspicious about while skimming through a couple of reviews here on goodreads before starting the book. It just seemed to have potential to be in the style of one of those cheesy rom-coms – a typical & predictable boy-meets-girl story….
“Paris Revealed” – Stephen Clarke
Having read two books by Stephen Clarke about the Parisian adventures of a fictitious character, “Paris Revealed” sounded like a light & fun read, while I didn’t have any expectations towards it at all. Though it did have a few entertaining passages and it is successful at introducing the Parisian way of life, starting from…
“Sharp Objects” – Gillian Flynn
After reading Gillian Flynn’s “Gone Girl” I couldn’t wait to get my hands on another book of hers. Unfortunately the expectations couldn’t measure up to “Sharp Objects”. Though you did finally feel a bit entertained and enveloped in the events of the book upon arriving somewhere towards the middle of the story, there were too…
“Scenes from Village Life” – Amos Oz
Having previously read “My Michael” by Amos Oz & having immensely enjoyed it, I was excited about indulging in “Scenes from Village Life”. Even though a certain atmosphere was established through a particular warmness in the author’s style, it was a generally a disappointing read. This is a typical book which needs to be read…
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