A long and terrible commute due to construction really cut into my energy and reading time this week. I only finished one book, Sandhya Menon’s latest release, There’s Something About Sweetie. I’ve liked Menon’s books a ton–they’re perfect light YA romcoms–but this one didn’t work quite as well for me. The plot felt a little forced and the characters weren’t quite coherent. Disappointing, but I’ll still try her next book.
I started listening to the audiobook of All Things Wise and Wonderful by James Herriot. While I have a lot of nostalgic affection for the Herriot series, and have enjoyed the audiobooks in the past (they’re narrated by Christopher Timothy who played Herriot in the BBC adaptation), All Things Wise & Wonderful has never been my favorite in the series. I chose it because it was the one available. But it has still been a soothing soundtrack to the hours and hours spent driving last week. (I’ll get over it someday maybe.)
2 replies on “What I read: week 5”
Yeah, I think this was my least favorite of Menon’s books so far — I still liked it, and I loved that the fat heroine gets everything she wants, but I didn’t have a great sense of most of the side characters. And I felt like it was a slightly message-y-er book than I expected, in a way that felt not totally organic. I still enjoyed it a lot though! I cried at the end, and I continue to enjoy her books and be delighted that they’re in the world.
YES, that is a great way to put it. I think the message-y-ness is so valid and important, but it didn’t feel totally organic and the payoff didn’t totally feel earned. But I do love her books in general and will happily recommend/continue to read them.