Reading Challenge – Introvert Enjoys Life

Book review: Dear Girls by Ali Wong

Posted on November 22, 2019 by CamiT

Ali Wong is awesome. Her stand-up specials on Netflix are super funny so if you haven’t seen Baby Cobra and Hard-Knock Wife, I highly recommend watching those. Laughing and crying from the laughter might happen. It did to me. 🙂

So when Ali Wong announced that she is releasing a book, I pre-ordered it immediately!

Stand-up is not supposed to be warm and fuzzy or welcoming. If it was, everyone would be doing it.

Dear Girls is extremely funny, full of disgustingly juicy details from Ali’s life, but it also very interesting details from a person who has grown up and made her life in the middle of a multicultrural family and environment. That is a subject that is very personal to me too and that theme made this book extra special to me.

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Book review, Books, Reading Challenge

Book review: The Course of Love by Alain de Botton

Posted on November 12, 2019 by CamiT

I founded a bookclub this autumn and The Course of Love was the second book that was picked to be read together. The theme was romance and we had all kinds of suggestions varying from historical to paranormal romance, but in the end The Course of Love won the vote and I’m very happy it did.

The partner truly best suited to us is not the one who miraculously happens to share every taste, but the one who can negotiate differences in taste with intelligence and grace .

I’m not even sure if I would’ve categorized this as a romance novel. It was a very different take on a genre that I am quite familiar with. The Course of Love felt more like a manual to being in a romantic relationship, and author Alain De Botton is the guide to it all.

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Autumn, Book review, Books, Finland, Reading Challenge, Winter

Book Review: Talvikirja by Maija Tiensuu and Annabelle Antas

Posted on October 28, 2019 by CamiT

Talvikirja is a Finnish book about winter, and how to best enjoy the winter months. It’s a combination of beautiful photographs and tips for wintery things to do, recipes and just short tales of how the winter months are experienced by the authors.

It was sleeting a bit here in Southern Finland, so winter is definitely on its way. It’s getting darker and darker every day and soon we will have only limited hours of daylight time and that continues for a couple of months. It’s depressing to some, but for me this season has always been very cozy. I love early autumn’s colors and when that’s done I love the feeling of staying inside and doing things I enjoy with good conscience ,when the weather doesn’t favor going out. And of course, since I’m a Christmas person, I like the “preparation months” when it’s not yet hectic, and one can dream of a calm Christmas before the hassle really starts in December. 🙂

Ota aikalisä arjen kiireistä ja opettele nauttimaan vuoden pimeimmästä ajasta niin sisällä kuin ulkona.
Rough translation from Finnish: “Take a timeout from the everyday hustle and learn to enjoy the darkest time of the year both inside and outside.”

This book was very enjoyable to me and it very gently sets the mood for this season. This season is all about adjusting your attitude and making the best of the dark and cold months.

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Autumn, Book review, Books, Reading Challenge, Reflection, Well-being

Book review: Ihana herkkyys by Suvi Bowellan

Posted on October 27, 2019 by CamiT

This is a Finnish book about sensitiveness and Highly Sensitive People (HSP). The past two months have been weird both with my physical and mental health and when I came across the concept about HSP, I definitely had a feeling of “ohhh, so that’s why”. 🙂

Somehow October feels like a good time to just chill, relax and read self-help books. It’s getting colder and darker outside so it’s very acceptable to curl up with a book and a blanket. Even though I’m still not completely healthy, I love autumn. It brings a sort of comfort with it and a kind of permission to slow down.

This was definitely an interesting read, and I think I want to learn more about this subject to understand myself better.

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Book review, Books, Reading Challenge

Book review: Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding by Rhys Bowen

Posted on October 2, 2019 by CamiT

I love reading cozy mysteries set in the early 1900s with a hint of humor and romance in the mix, and the very long series of Royal Spyness has been perfect for me when I crave stately homes and murders with a dash of royal drama. Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding is already 12th book in the series.

I really enjoy reading a long book series, it’s like coming home to familiar people. You know roughly what to expect and that makes the reading experience very relaxing!

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Book review, Books, Reading Challenge

Book review: Herääminen by Risto Isomäki

Posted on September 26, 2019 by CamiT

Another book read by a Finnish author and in Finnish language. It was a goal for me to try and read a bit more in my own native language this year and I’ve done that, even though sometimes it feels more natural to read in English.
Anyways, Herääminen (Awakening in English) is a sci-fi book with a very heavy climate change theme.

Meillä oli niin paljon aikaa, ajatteli Irina. Meitä varoitettiin, hyvissä ajoin etukäteen. Miksi me emme tehneet mitään silloin, kun se olisi ollut vielä helppoa?
Rough translation from Finnish: “We had so much time, Irina thought. We were warned, well beforehand. Why didn’t we do anything back then when it would have still been easy?”

The theme of climate change is of course really current and interesting, but sadly the story didn’t live up to my expectations.

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Book review, Reading Challenge

Book review: Never Grow Up by Jackie Chan

Posted on September 25, 2019 by CamiT

This was an unexpected find. I can’t even remember how I came to know that Jackie Chan’s autobiography is out there but when I saw it, I knew I would want to read it. I grew up watching so many early Jackie Chan movies and yet I had no idea who is the man behind all the stunts, choreography and funny faces.

By the time I understood what had happened, it was too late. My impulsive decision led to my decade of darkness, though it was in those ten years that I became Jackie Chan.

Now I really want to find some of those really old Jackie Chan movies and re-watch them after twenty years or so!

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