Monday, February 4, 2019

Book Recommendations from 2018


Hello my lovelies!

I thought I would go into deeper detail of my "bookworminess" here. I lightly mention it once in a while on my Instagram account but it is something I am more than happy to dive deeper into as I am a proud bookworm. 

I have a number of books I have read this past year that I would highly recommend and some that I think would just be interesting to discuss. So let's dive!

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by Joanne Greenberg

This book is BRILLIANT. 
As someone who works in the mental health field and has worked with people diagnosed with Schizophrenia, I found this book very enlightening, insightful, helpful, and accurate.
This book is based on a true story of the author's experience with her own mental illness. I found the psychologist in the book the most interesting character and a huge inspiration to my and my practice at the time of my internship at a psychiatric hospital. The psychologist here uses a method I have learned about which is a blend of psycho dynamic theory and cognitive behavioral therapy, but I digress, I was so happy to see a beautiful example of how one can effectively work and help someone with schizophrenia. I think this books is a great example of what someone might be like with this diagnosis. I found that after my internship, it was very difficult talking to people without any understanding of my client's experience and diagnosis and speak of that population like these violent and terrible people. It angers me SO much. I think if one is very curious as to what Schizophrenia really looks like, this book will provide that insight. 
Schizophrenia does not make someone violent, and of all things I found what my own clients spoke of and the characters in this book spoke of come out very poetic, horrifying, and fascinating. I very much recommend this book.

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by Judith Farr

If you are an Emily Dickinson fan like myself, you must read this book. It is a semi-fictional story through some of the letters from and about Emily from her friends, family, and teachers. It explores the tales of "naughty" Emily Dickinson, as she refuses to conform to the strict christian rules of her school and explores her feelings for women. Like I said, if your a fan, you'll love this. For me, this book only made me admire and appreciate her more.

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3. The Moth Diaries
by Rachel Klein

What excited me about this story was that it is based on one of the original vampire stories out there. No, not Dracula... This is even better. Carmilla is the story that inspired Bram Stoker to write Carmilla and it also inspired The Moth Diaries. This story takes place at an all-girl boarding school, enough said, right? So many good stories come from that setting! I digress. I would recommend this to anyone who is a part or supports the LGBTQIAP (Similarly with the previous book mentioned!) and who likes mystery, drama, and some darkness.

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by Neil Gaiman

Man, if I could be this main character for a day, what a gift that would be. This story is a wonderful journey into Neil Gaiman's Magical Realistic world of fantasy, romance, and some dark notes. If you like adventure stories, you will certainly enjoy this book. It was rather a quick read, and I had some trouble putting it down so it's also very exciting. I won't say much about the plot because I am terrible with spoilers but just know it is a very surreal journey. This book is not your ordinary fantasy adventure novel but a strange yet familiar tale. It will make you look at everything differently once the book is done and, like me, you'll probably yearn to read it again shortly after finishing it.


I would have loved to share a fifth book but I think four is my max since I did not read as much as I would have liked to in 2018. I hope that this year I am able to read many more books (and new ones I should add, I have a tendency to re-read books..) so I'll have a nice full list for you guys in 2020! I also have a dreadful pile of books waiting to be read and I hate to neglect them any further!

Anyway, I digress. I hope this was an interesting list for you and please let me know if you read any!

Happy Reading Bookworms!