Hex | 
"I am the field that cannot comprehend itself after the fog has cleared and it is only itself again. I am the fog that has cleared. I am the cleanest, smallest, emptiest land mammal and I am fast. I am not waiting for anyone to come. Take your years, your rituals, your favorites and your signs, I have none of you. I give you entirely back to yourself and I know it's more than you want."
pickOkay I wasn‘t sure about this going in but by the end I abaolutly loved it. The writing was so poetic and so full of surprises. Plus Jenny Slate was the voice actor for the recording and it was SO GOOD
Yet another #recommendation from @ReadingEnvy in the sub genre “academic fiction”. There‘s also some romance.
Side note: walking and reading is a great way to get some activity in! #academia
1. Current Read: The Art of Theft by Sherry Thomas 🎧
2. Book Cover featuring Flora: Hex by Rebecca Dinerstein Knight (tagged) I love this cover!! 🍃
3. Last 5 Star Read: Ghachar Ghochar by Vivek Shanbhag
#WeekendReads
My January reads! Ten books — one of which was over 1,000 pages, thank you Brandon Sanderson — and no audio as I‘m trying an audiobook-free year. I know, scary; but I was overusing them to check out of my life, so this is a self care thing!
Hex was a particularly delightful discovery! I loved the weird, funky writing and all the plants, poisons and witchy-ness. The relationships weren‘t my fav; I wanted more plants! ☠️
#januaryreads #mounttbr
Time to unwind with my favorite sorbet. 🍨📚😌
bailedCool concept, well written, well developed narrative voice, but it‘s just not for me. Obsessive devotion is a lot more interesting in theory than on the page. And while the grad school types and tropes rang true, nobody in academia talks to one another like they do in this book - no one on EARTH talks like these people do. I hope Nell finds success in love and botany but I‘m not going to stick around to see!
pickAbsolutely loved the narrative voice and the unique, quirky, insightful writing. Excellent narration by Jenny Slate in the #audiobook. The protagonist Nell's obsession with her older professor Joan felt very real and very queer. I wanted a bit more story wise about the poisonous botanicals and less about the romantic entanglements, especially the two men who were unworthy of all the women. #QueerBooks #LGBTQBooks #LGBTQ
so-soGreat cover, ok story about obsession, both professional & personal, in the world of academia. Told with almost clinical detachment, interspersed with moments of real emotion, the story follows Nell, a failed PhD student, as she & others orbit around a charismatic professor. What could go wrong? Discussions about poisonous plants & antidotes were definitely the highlight of the book. Well-written but not particularly memorable, a borrow not buy.
Tonight‘s reading...
I am just in love with the quirky narrative voice of this book. Plus, Jenny Slate performs the #audiobook and she has a great sexy voice.
Is 4% in too early to say you love a book? Also, I didn't realize Jenny Slate narrated the #audiobook! I find her voice very sexy so what a nice surprise.
Gorgeous cover, right? I held out two days and then decided I had to have it. Hopefully the story holds my attention as much as the cover has! On to the TBR pile it goes.
pickThis is a bit insane but I loved the narrator & her way of seeing the world. The writing is surprising and funny. In the same year of Real Life, it was fun to read another novel featuring a science grad student fumbling through the world in the circle surrounding their existence, only here the narrator is speaking most of the time to her dissertation advisor, and all of this takes place after a labmate has died of a poison absorbed in the lab.⤵️
bailedI hate bailing on books, but I seem to have trouble with the whole female millennial protagonist who just doesn‘t give a fuck theme. I want to like it! I see the humor! But I find it exhausting. This one didn‘t work for me. Tbh - also bailed on My Year of Rest and Relaxation and Motherhood (Sheila Heti) for the same reason.
bailedI gave this my best shot. The use of language is poetic and beautiful, but I just don‘t want to spend any more time in the mind of this mentally ill obsessive. The plot is just not that interesting. I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
