2025 Reading Challenge discussion

When first joining this group I thought I´d wait until 2024 to open my own members corner but as I am reading I really wanted to write down my thoughts somewhere - so here we are.

I´d like to use this space to update my thoughts on books I am currently reading while also incorporating my takes on cultural and political matters - if the books make me think about them.

I don´t think I will mark spoilers in my corner, as it is mainly for myself but before writing anything I´ll tell you on what page of a book I am.

If you stumble across my little corner and anything you would like to comment on, please feel free to do so! I´m hoping to be able to discuss my thoughts with anyone and am fine with critique as long as it´s helpfull and doesn´t hurt anyone.

I don´t have a reading goal for 2023 as I just recently got into reading again. For 2024 I´m currently making up my mind about how many books I want to and will be able to read.

currently reading: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow page 87 (26%)

So two days ago I started this book. Not beeing a native speaker in english I do have to look up a few more words than I usually have to but that´s just making me like the book even more because it´s nice to be somewhat challenged. (I do get the meaning behind most words through context, I just still like to look them up to be sure I got it right).

The story so far is told through the two protagonists POV´s - two friends who seem to have been through a few fights but always got back together.

In the last chapter I read, one of the protagonists said in an interview:
"The alternative to appropriation is a world where white European people make art about white European people, with only white European references in it. Swap African or Asian or Latin or whatever culture you want for European. A world where everyone is blind and deaf to any culture or experience that is not their own. I hate that world, don´t you?"

This really got me into thinking and I had a good talk about cultural appropriation with my boyfriend.
Being a white european woman I try to reflect on my privileges and I already had heard and followed the debate about cultural appropriation. So this quote stood out to me and I do believe that I wouldn´t like a world where most of the things I am consuming were made by people with the same backround as me. I think a world like that would make it so much harder to find, enjoy and even learn about other cultures and also it would just fuel the narrative of "us vs. them".
I do see a problem in white european people taking different things from other cultures and making money out of it without ever talking to the people they stole from or made use of. But I think a world in which people from different cultures can learn from each other and do things together just benefits integration.

currently reading: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow page 242

Still loving this book. It has so may topics it comments on (illness, death, apprpropriation, bad relationships, friendship,etc). I am interested in all the more topics that´ll come up.

Allthough I have to say that I don´t really understand the so called friendship between the two protagonists later on. All they ever talk about is games and making them and they just stop talking about personal stuff and then get angry at each other because they don´t understand the other person. Still none of them is willing to tell the other where they come from or what circumstances may have lead to the situations they are in.

I finished tomorow, and tomorow, and tomorrow and I really enjoyed this book. I loved the multidimensional characters, the setting and the many topics the book comments on (illness, death, appropriation, bad relationships, friendship, etc). The ending was quite long though.

Over Christmas I read A Good Girl's Guide to Murder.
It was a fun and quick read - I already started the second book ( Good Girl, Bad Blood ) of the series. I actually wanted to finish the second book before the start of the new year but here we are.

So far I really like it though I thought that the introduction to the new crime (?) felt a bit forced.

Last book I read: The Engineer's Wife

I liked learning about the brooklyn bridge and I feel that Emily as a woman should be knon by far more people.
It was a nice read however it took me sometime and it didn´t catch me as much as other books did.

Starting Yellowface next and am really excited about it