Just finished Phil Collins' memoir, Not Dead Yet. Phil Collins was the first live concert I ever went to and I was looking forward to this. It was funny, honest, humble. Probably a good read, even if you're not a fan of his ,music.

 

I had completely forgotten that I read this. Eek.

I just finished Mohsin Hamid's "Exit West."

I've read all of Hamid's previous novels, as well as a fair few of his editorials for various periodicals. True to form, Exit West is an absolute triumph. It hit my emotions on so many levels & made me think, all while being written in a way that is just a joy to read. I truly believe that he is the best writer of fiction alive today.

Since finishing that, I've just started Basharat Peer's "A Question of Order: India, Turkey and the Return of the Strongmen." A piece of non-fiction that goes into the declines of democracies back into autocracies, dictatorships & illiberal democracy, the parallels to our own political climate are deeply unnerving.

 

^I feel like I need to step up my review game after your post.

Right now I'm reading The Wandalyns by Cara Sharp. It's a kind of magical, coming of age tale - something I'm not normally drawn to but so far I'm enjoying it. Plus, my neighbour wrote it.

 

Saturday I read "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," by Jean-Dominique Bauby. Beautiful, beautiful piece of writing. Written by a victim of locked-in syndrome, the determination involved in simply completing a chapter is astonishing, let alone an entire book & a great one at that. Only 130 pages or so (100 when you eliminate the blank pages between chapters), I wholly recommend it.

 

^Now I need to look up locked-in syndrome.

I'm reading Breakfast at Tiffany's (plus the two other short stories). I don't remember my impressions from the first time I red it, but since I've seen the movie a million times, the book is super annoying because there are a lot of differences.

 

I just read "My Brief History," Stephen Hawking's 2013 memoir.

It was a good, very quick read. I wouldn't go so far as to call it great or even very good, but for those looking for something quick to read, I'd recommend. Also has the slightest insight to some scientific theories that were miles over my head but presented in a very pallet-able fashion.

 

Last thing I read is Jonah's Keri's, "The Extra 2%: How Wall Street Strategies Took a Major League Baseball Team from Worst to First."

Kind of similar to Moneyball, but in my opinion a much more enjoyable read. As is clear, its about baseball, the Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays specifically. I am not a baseball fan, but I am a big fan of statistical analysis & out of the box thinking. That combined with being a fan of Jonah for quite some time (his podcast is great, he recently even interview Justin Trudeau) was enough to get me to pick it up. I recommend it to anyone with even the slightest interest in baseball or sports in general.

 

Finished Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone. I'd be interested in reading the others, and seeing the movies...I just have too many other books lined up for my reading challenge.

Yesterday I started "In Search of April Raintree - Critical Edition" by Beatrice Mosionier. I read this in undergrad and wish I could remember my impressions from the first time around. Anyway, it's about two Metis sisters who are removed from their home and put into separate foster homes. One sister basically rejects her cultural heritage while the other embraces it. I suspect I'll be crying at some point in this read!

 

Re-reading Kahlil Gibran's Tears and Laughter. Good challenge for my brain...and it's short.

 

The next book I picked for my reading challenge is called The Mountain Story by Lori Lansens. It's about a guy who decides to kill himself but ends up getting stranded on the mountain with strangers (haven't gotten to that part yet so I'm not sure how that happens). So far I like the writing style and it's pretty engaging.