The Mysterious Affair at Styles (Hercule Poirot #1) by Agatha Christie

I hit a bit of a reading slump at this point on my trip. I had trouble trying to find my first read of 2025 and remembered that I could not go no wrong with Christie. This was the first Poirot mystery published in 1920. I tend to save my Christie novels as they are so reliable. This one was shorter and less detailed than later Poirot or Marples. As usual, there was a twist or two that I missed. Good dialogue and pacing as usual.

Jan 2-6, 2025 on Kobo Clara BW.

All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries #1) by Martha Wells

It’s been awhile since I read sci-fi and I’d heard good things about these novellas. I really enjoyed the characters and adored Murderbot. As someone who prefers fantasy, I actually found the violence and danger in this more tense. It was suspenseful. I know that Murderbot has more adventures and dangers ahead. I will miss the human characters from this installment though. Looking forward to the planned TV adaptation.

Jan 7-9, 2025 on Kobo Clara BW.

Ascendance of a Bookwworm, Part 2 Volume 1 by Miya Kazuki, Quof (Translator), You Shiina (Illustrator)

Great bed time reading as usual. It’s good to move the plot to the temple. I only have 1-2 volumes left before I’m caught up to the manga.

Jan 7-11, 2025 on Kobo Clara BW.

Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe

This was a surprisingly great read. It was a buzzy book about a single mom who starts an OnlyFans account. It was funny and so much more. It had a great protagonist who felt genuinely clever, stupid, and very human. The book had themes of family, drug addiction, gender, and economics. It had threads about fiction, content, and art creation. I was moved by Margo’s love for her baby. The author did such a fantastic job with the depth and pacing of the whole novel. Interested in the planned TV adaptation as well.

Jan 12–13, 2025 on Kobo Clara BW.

Heir of Fire by Sarah J Maas with Elizabeth Evans (Narrator)

Finally after three books, I was engaged for most of this installment. I really liked the training and the new character Rowan. I found the pacing much better than the previous books. I feel more excited for the next few books. The audiobook did help and the narrator did a good job. I will likely divide the rest between audio and some ebook. I likely will do the tandem read as well.

2.0x. Jan 6-15, 2025.

Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas with Elizabeth Evans (Narrator)

Still fun! After being irked by Chaol for about three books, I am slowly warming up to him a little. Many good characters and the pacing was good. While I like Manon, I preferred the other characters so I would speed up on the Manon parts more. I have decided to do the next two books tandem through audiobook and maybe ebook. I do not know when. I am fine with waiting to finish this later in the year as I like listening to SJM novels while travelling. It’s become almost a tradition.

2.0-2.5x Jan 16-21, 2-25.

Here are my reading goals for this year.

Read 80 books – I will keep my books at under 100 per year. I want to enjoy other hobbies and activities alongside my responsibilities and work. I plan to hit 100, but it’s not required to make me satisfied like reaching 60-80 would.

Read more books from my shelves – The most important goal. At least 25% of total books read or at least 35 books has to be from our shelves. Need to be better about this one as I have decided to basically given up on Not Buying books because I love books. They give me joy. Getting and having them gives me that serotonin rush, but I need to read more from the ones I get. I will always be one of those readers who has giant TBR piles so it’ll be a constant journey for me to balance it out.

Read at least three from Boxall – Should be fine.

Keep physical library books at less than 10 books at any time – Need to keep an eye on this one.

Read one poetry book – Should be fine.

Read one French book – More Tintin probably.

Read one Shakespeare play – Failed in 2024.

Continue Ascendance of a bookworm light novels series – Love these books! I hope to be done most of this series by the end of the year. I am going to watch the anime once I catch up enough in the books.

Specific Reading challenges:

• Read 12 books by Irish authors – I’ve already failed to read one Irish book in January so hoping I can double it up in the next few months.
• Reading Glasses Challenge 2025 – My favourite specific challenge in recent years.
• StoryGraph Genre Challenge 2025 – These genres are always so specific which is interesting to find books for.

My other goals from last year such as reading classics, giving away books, and continued digital and audio reading will continue. I think they have become more routine and do not need to be tracked as much.

This is a long post to review my 2024 reading goals and any themes or thoughts from my reading.

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With travel, my reading decreased a lot in the second half of December.

The Makioka Sisters by Jun’ichiro Tanizaki with Edward G. Seidensticker (Translator)

I requested my husband buy this book for me for the holidays. I do not usually buy new books unless I love the book or the author. However, I really like these Vintage Japanese classics from Penguin and a book club friend loved this book. This novel was written and set before the start of the World War II in Japan. It’s about an upper middle class Japanese family of sisters whose overall fortunes have declined. It’s a book about change and adaptation. Each of the sisters is different and has their own distinct personality and worldview. I was impressed how well the author wrote them and found out afterwards they were all based on how his wife and her sisters. The husband of the lead narrator is based on the author. This novel was serialized in Japan during the war and ultimately censored for having too much “feminine” content during war time. Nothing much happens in this book and it has very little plot except as it is character focussed. It’s a slow novel which times would border on boring, but I still appreciated the slowness. It was nice to read slow books especially on vacation. I felt I got to know the characters and their changing world. The ending was slice of life and not unsatisfactory.

December 16-21, 2024.

The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford

I followed one book about one wealthy family in the interwar years with another. I found it difficult to select which books to read during my vacation. This was my first time trying Nancy Mitford and I have the second novel in this series. I did not expect it to be so light and breezy. At first, I found Linda and the Radletts annoying and privileged, but the writing was so jaunty and easygoing that I grew to like them. The narrator Fanny was fond of the characters and it showed. Mitford’s character work got better as the novel progressed and the tone was not too pithy. I grew to appreciate silly and earnest Linda. It was easy for me to pick up during Christmas week.

December 22-29, 2024 on Kobo Clara BW.

Ascendance of a Bookworm Part 1 Volume 3, by Miya Kazuki, Quof (translator), You Shiina (Illustrator)

This was my bed time read as I read the other two books above. This was the best book of Part 1 as Myne starts to learn more about her world and develops her relationships with her family and friends. Such a comfort.

December 16-31, 2024 on Kobo Clara BW.

This is a long post as it was a week of lots of novellas and books as I tried to get over jet lag.

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Denison Avenue by Christina Wong with Daniel Innes (Illustrator)

Do you ever read a book knowing it may be emotionally affecting and then try to distance or harden yourself to not react too much? I had the chance to read this book from my library last year but I delayed it. The novel is about an older Chinese Canadian immigrant woman and the grief after she loses her husband. It’s also about the changing landscape of Toronto’s old Chinatown. It hit close to home for me. The book is half graphic novel and the prose section is also poetic at times. Most of the dialogue in the book is Taishanese, a local dialect from Guangdong China. I listened to the audiobook for 13% since I understand Cantonese. While the author did a good job of narrating, her accent was not that of a native speaker so it took me out of the story. The art was well done. The book was done well overall and I could really relate to the story. My mother would have been very similar to this woman if she had not past. I do think it’s too difficult for me to reread again.

Nov 27-Dec 1, 2024.

The Art Thief by Michael Finkel, Edoardo Ballerini (Narrator)

An enjoyable and short audiobook which I listened to on the first of two flights. I am not into true crime generally but this is about art which was interesting. It wove together many interviews and made it seem like a literary crime novel. I could tell the author did a lot of research and considered the framing and pacing. It was not too long which was likely another good choice from the author. I’ll look out for more from them. The narrator did a great job too.

1.25x. Dec 4, 2024.

Cher: The Memoir, Part One, by Cher, Cher (Narrator), Stephanie J Block (Narrator)

This was a Skip the Line Libby loan on the day I was flying out. It was a good companion on my 15 hour flight. I was hoping that Cher would narrate the whole audiobook as I’ve always liked her deep, distinctive voice. Due to her dyslexia, Cher only partially narrates the book. It was a decent memoir. There were clearly ghost writers. Some good stories and vulnerability from Cher. I did want it to be more entertaining in the Cher way. I admired her not just for her attitude but her grit and what she went through in this period of her life. I look forward to part two.

1.5-1.75x. Dec 5, 2024.

L’Etoile Mystérieuse (TinTin #10) by Hergé

This was the first French volume of the series that I read so it took me three times the amount of time to read it. By now, Hergé and his team had a good formula: Tintin is a busybody, mystery arises, villain interferes, Milou/Snowy gets into hijinks, and there is a resolution of discovery. I learned some French vocabulary and liked the giant mushrooms.

Read June 26-July 7, 2024.

The Secret of the Unicorn (Tintin #11) by Hergé

My last volume in English for awhile. I will miss reading these in English. I find Captain Haddock annoying. I am not amused by the alcoholism jokes either. I am starting to warm back up to the Thomson twins though. This volume’s pacing was good, but the story is not as interesting as some of the previous ones. It’s more of a setup for the next volume.

September 19, 2024.

The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker, Bernadette Dunne (Narrator)

This was such an interesting nonfiction book. A lot of nonfiction self help books are very individualistic while this one reinforces groups and doing things for the sake of the gathering. It had ideas that many gatherings overlook including what and whom to exclude, defining the true purposes of gatherings, when hosts should intercede, how to have a great gathering, and how to close gatherings. I actually dislike hosting and don’t like having people in my home. Being part of a gathering is almost universal as it is part of the connections and compassion of being human. I’ve hosted alumni gatherings and I work as a project manager. This book would be useful for many people. I am keeping the ebook for reference when I need reminders about good gatherings.

1.4x. Nov 6-11, 2024.

Butter by Asako Yuzuki, Polly Barton (Translator)

This novel was a lot. The cover said it’s a novel of food and murder. The murder part was actually a bit more open ended. I dislike open ended mysteries, but this book was not really about the mystery. It was more than food and crime. It’s about fat shaming, misogyny, gender, work, loneliness, self love, friendship, and found family. It was a bit long and overwritten in parts. There’s a side plot from the protagonist’s best friend perspective which was interesting, but may have been extraneous. I liked the characters. I loved the food writing. This kind of cross genre, reflective, and dark novel is not something I’ve seen much in western novels. The hardcover was about 450 pages and it took me longer than most novels to read. The book was written with depth and was very well translated. It’s not for most readers but I really enjoyed it. I look forward to seeing what the author has in store.

Nov 9-11, 2024.

Seek You: A Journey Through American Loneliness by Kristen Radtke

A graphic novel with reflections and information about human loneliness. Like the author, I have experienced loneliness and know it well especially when my mental health was not good. However, I was a lonely child and my relationship with solitude ebbs and flows. I am in a good place with it. I do think western society is a lonely one. This book was a bit too somber and depressing for me at times. It had a lot of merits but it made me more lonely when I finished it since I could empathize. In any case, a good read but there were some dark themes too.

Nov 14, 2024.

Ascendance of a Bookworm (Manga) Part 2 Volume 2, 3, 4 by Miya Kazuki (original author), Suzuka (Illustrator), Quof (Translator)

This series is so comforting. I usually read one at a time; however after a very busy and stressful two days due to my father’s surgery and work, I needed the escape of reading three in a row. It was nice to read a low conflict, but not low stakes fantasy fiction with wholesome characters. The art is great too. I recently made the decision to read the light novel series after I catch up to the available manga. This has re-affirmed my decision because I want to see the whole journey finished in 2025 before starting the anime.

Nov 15, 2024.

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg, Mike Chamberlain (Reading)

Had the hard cover and listened to it as my weekly nonfiction audiobook. I really liked this book until about the 40% mark and then it would not end. It explained how habits form in people, groups, businesses, and organizations. However, it had way too many anecdotes and examples. I liked the message of the book and it is summarized in the appendix, but it did not need to be that long. Narration was good though. It probably helped me finish the book as I got bored in the second half.

1.5x. Nov 12-16, 2024.

The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai, Jesse Kirkwood (Translator), Hanako Footman (Narrator)

Audiobook for about 15%. This novel had a series of small mysteries where a father and daughter detective agency recreate food for patrons. It’s similar to the vignette series in other Japanese literature that I’ve read such as Before the Coffee Gets Cold and What You’re Looking For is in the Library. Each of the mystery chapters are very short and the mystery is quickly revealed after the introduction of each client. It’s a bit repetitive and boring as a result. There is not enough depth on the characters or anything else. The best thing about this book were the descriptions of Japanese cuisine. I actually like the care in which the dishes were described. I am actually tempted to read the next book for that alone, but everything else in this book was forgettable.

1.25x. Read on my new Kobo Clara BW. October 26-Nov 2, 2024.

All This & More by Peng Shepherd

This is an adult Choose your Adventure novel. Great concept, not the best execution. I read The Cartographers and while I didn’t love it, I found some nice moments in there. This novel on the other hand took me awhile to read and I dragged myself to finish it. I did go through most of the options and I skimmed most of the book. The characters were flat which was somewhat understandable with a more plot focussed novel, but I didn’t like them. I did not understand their motivations even if I got to choose it for them. The book was repetitive and there were too many things going on. At first it felt like that’s part of the concept of the story and the reality TV show plot, but then it becomes convoluted. The mystery was disjointed and I was too bored to care after awhile. This makes me hesitant to pick up another book by the author.

October 27-Nov 4, 2024.

Self-Care for People with ADHD: 100+ Ways to Recharge, De-Stress, and Prioritize You! by Sasha Hamdani

Narrated by the author. A very straightforward book with a lot of tips and considerations for ADHD. I am liking these ADHD books as they are giving me ways to consider and reflect on my life. It’s a nice tool for my own self-development and thoughts.

1.25x. October 31-Nov 5, 2024.

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate, Patricia Castelao (Illustrator)

This was a nicely written middle grade novel based on a true story about a mall zoo. While the ending is uplifting, it was sad for most of the book that Ivan the gorilla and his friends were imprisoned in bad conditions.I doubt that I will read more from this series though.

Nov 6-8, 2024.

Chef’s Kiss by Jarrett Melendez (Written by), Danica Brine (Illustrated by), Hank Jones (Colored by), Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou (Lettered by)

Cute magical realism graphic novel.

Nov 7-8, 2024.

The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa

This novel been in my digital Calibre TBR since 2011. I forgot about it and have not heard many people discuss it recently. A few months ago, a friend of ours heard I liked books and gifted to this to me not knowing that I knew about it. She also had not read it yet. This was very lovely Vintage Classics edition and I’m grateful to have it. This was probably one of the best Japanese novels that I’ve read this year and I have read more Japanese translated fiction this year than any others.

It is the story of a single mother who becomes a housekeepr to a math professor. The professor has a memory of only 80 mins due to a car accident. The housekeeper and her son soon become friends with the professor. It’s a found family story which is simple, pure and utterly lovely. I was moved and I did cry a little. There is a lot of math which went over my head, but other than that, wonderfully written. Great translation.

October 26, 2024.

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, Diskin Clay (Introduction), Martin Hammond (Translator), Richard Armitage (Narrator)

Recently, I have become interested in Stoicism. I have wanted to read Meditations for awhile and I found this audiobook narrated by Richard Armitage. I enjoyed most aspects of this work and I need to reread it in print to absorb some of the meditations. I liked it on the whole and will move onto other stoics.

1.3x. October 21-27, 2024.

Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton

Narrated by the author. This was funny and reflective. The author and I are different people except we are of similar age and were living in London in the late aughts. I did not party as much and have less life experiences in some way. I found this well written and engaging. The time flew by with the audiobook over a few days. She was relatable as she tried to navigate her mental health journey and therapy.

1.25x. October 28-30, 2024.

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng, Jennifer Lim (narrator)

Audiobook for the first 37%. I’ve had a copy of this book on my shelf for at least five years if not more. Knowing that it was very popular, I had moderate expectations. I thought the novel had some well written elements. While most of the characters are not exactly likable, I was interested in their stories. The novel touched on themes of American identity, fertility, adoption, kidnapping, and racism. I think there were too many themes and plot lines. It could have been more tightly written especially as there was some interesting character work on the surface. The ending felt abrupt. It was unrealistic and not satisfying. I was curious about the TV adaptation and watched a bit of the first episode but then read they made some changes. I decided to cut my losses and stopped since I do not watch a lot of TV these days.

1.3x. October 18-20, 2024.

Your Brain’s Not Broken: Strategies for Navigating Your Emotions and Life with ADHD by Tamara Rosier

My family doctor recommended this book when I got diagnosed earlier this year. As this was my first ADHD book, I did not really know what to expect. It had a few symptoms and behaviours that I had not really seen much about online such as divergent thinking, the importance of boundaries, and perception of interest. I did not use the workbook elements. I got diagnosed to confirm things about myself and fortunately, have been able to manage well through trial and error, self-development, help from others, therapym and meditation. CBT-I actually made me explore the idea of diagnosis since even with all the meditation and sleep, I still felt my brain was a bit different. I found the idea that ADHDers have reversed sleep patterns interesting and thankfully, was not the case with me. This was the first of a collection of ADHD books I have on my TBR. I will read them intermittently to gain any more insight or ideas on how to manage life.

October 12-21, 2024 on Kobo Mini.

Several People Are Typing by Calvin Kasulke

This was a fast and amusing novel all done in Slack messages. I used Slack once at a job over seven years ago. I do not miss it but I do love working from home.

Read on Kobo Libra 2 with my new 8bitdot micro remote. October 23, 2024.

Ascendance of a Bookworm (Manga) Part 1 Volume 6 by Suzuka (Illustrator), Miya Kazuki, Quof (Translator)

The tone of this volume was more serious. While the chronic illness has been part of this story from the start, this would addressed the terminal aspect of it. It was heavier and quite well done. I learned about the anime as well this week and will try to seek it out once I finish the manga.

October 23, 2024.