Angury Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 (edited) Angury's Reading & Writing Log 2024 Hello. I joined this forum almost twelve years ago(!) and found it to be a haven of thought-provoking discussion and inspirational reads. I did Reading & Writing logs from 2017-2019 on this forum and found them to be a great way of motivating myself to read more and open up about my thoughts on the books I had read so far. So, without further ado, welcome to me 2024 Log. The log is divided into what I am currently reading and have read so far this year (with links to be reviews), books I want to read this year (divided into Fiction, Medicine, Philosophy and Other) and my writing log. I write both fiction and non-fiction for fun and the log is my attempt to document the journey and the insights I develop along the way. Reading Log Currently reading: Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng Books Read in 2024 January A Trip Through the 12 Steps: With a Doctor and Therapist by Andrew P. (5/5) Nothing Special by Nicole Flattery (2/5) Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng (4/5) Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry (5/5) February You Can’t Make Me Angry by Paul O (5/5) Trauma and Recovery by Judith Herman (4/5) Edited February 8 by Angury 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angury Posted January 1 Author Share Posted January 1 (edited) Books To-Read Fiction .. Medicine .. Philosophy .. Other .. Edited January 1 by Angury 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angury Posted January 1 Author Share Posted January 1 Writing Log Current Projects .. Goals Restart blog Publish one article in a magazine Progress January .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angury Posted January 1 Author Share Posted January 1 It's great to see people still on this forum who were here when I left. Also wonderful to see so many new users. I can't wait to share my reading journey with you all and re-connect with the community. Happy 2024 everyone. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsmeagain Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 7 minutes ago, Angury said: It's great to see people still on this forum who were here when I left. Also wonderful to see so many new users. I can't wait to share my reading journey with you all and re-connect with the community. Happy 2024 everyone. Happy New year Angury. Great to see you back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian. Posted January 1 Share Posted January 1 Good to see you back, I hope you have a very productive 2024. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy Posted January 2 Share Posted January 2 Welcome back, Angury and happy 2024 reading 😊 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayley Posted January 3 Share Posted January 3 It’s great to have you back Angury! I love your idea to keep a writing log alongside your reading log. Looking forward to following your progress this year 😄 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angury Posted January 16 Author Share Posted January 16 I just finished by first book of the year: A Trip Through the 12 Steps: With a Doctor and Therapist by Andrew P. The book covers the 12-step programme, a spiritual programme for addicts in recovery to help them in their sobriety. It covers each step in detail, going through the scientific research, the psychological underpinnings and the therapeutic value of each. There is a lot written on the 12-step programme and its benefits and controversies. I particularly liked this book as it is well grounded in research whilst also bringing with it the personal experience of the author. I found it particularly interesting reading about how each step is closely tied with certain therapy concepts such as CBT, mindfulness, obsessive thinking, locus of control etc. The book is well-written and is aimed for the general reader rather than the scientific community. Overall, I came away from it with a new-found respect for the programme. My next book is Nothing Special by Nicole Flattery. I recently completed her short story collection entitled Show them a Good Time and was blown away with both her blunt writing style and topics that she covered; it was refreshing. She has quickly become one of my top authors. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angury Posted January 19 Author Share Posted January 19 I've just finished reading Nothing Special by Nicole Flattery. The novel follows a teenager as she types up a novel for Andy Warhol. It focuses on a number of themes including developing ones sense of identity and place in the world as one turns into an adult as well as friendship and independence. I wasn't a big fan of the plot. I found it quite bland and was ready to get to the end of it as soon as possible. I do however still love Flattery's writing style. Her characters are fascinating and she has a way of conveying the brutal honesty of the thoughts that go through all of our heads but that we don't always say out loud. It's in her psychological make-up of her characters and their development where she really shines. I'm going to continue to keep an eye out for more of Flattery's works as, despite my poor rating for this novel, I have become a fan. I'm now reading Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng. It was recommended to me by a friend as I was commenting on the lack of books covering integration of certain asian ethnicities within Western cultures. It focuses on a Chinese American family and how they cope following the death of a loved one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angury Posted January 22 Author Share Posted January 22 I finished reading Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng. I hadn't expected to read it so quickly but I had quite a bit of down time yesterday and got really sucked into the book. The book is well written and the character development is what really drives this story forwards. The book looks mainly at the themes of what it is like growing up feeling different and the impact that parents unresolved conflicts can have on their children's wellbeing. I found it to be a powerful story and it has stuck with me. I'm juggling a couple of books at the moment but am currently reading a non-fiction book by Judith Herman, a well-known trauma-focused researcher and psychiatrist, called Trauma and Recovery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayley Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 On 1/22/2024 at 8:48 AM, Angury said: Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng I’ve heard great things about Celeste Ng but never actually picked anything up by her. Maybe this would be a good place to start! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
France Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 I enjoyed this one more than Little Fires Everywhere though I get the feeling that I'm swimming against the tide there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angury Posted January 30 Author Share Posted January 30 Little Fires Everywhere is also on my to-read list, I'm looking forward to getting more into her writing. I just finished listening to the audiobook of Matthew Perry's autobiography: Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing. I don't normally read biographies/autobiographies but Perry has a long history of addiction and I've heard good reviews about his book and how it covers addiction. The book is brutally honest and shines a light on the horrific nature of addiction and its impact on a person's life. It illustrates just how powerful the disease is and how neither fame nor money can stop it. Perry had previously stated that he had decided to be fully open and honest about his addiction so that it might help someone else, and I have heard many addicts say that this book really helped to destigmatise their condition and to see themselves with kindness rather than blame. It's an excellent book for anyone who would like a first-person perspective on the subject. I am now back to reading Trauma and Recovery; I'm currently half way through. I'm also mixing this up with White Teeth by Zadie Smith which is a book I've been meaning to read for a very long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angury Posted February 12 Author Share Posted February 12 I've finished two books: You Can't Make Me Angry by Paul O. and Trauma and Recovery by Judith Herman. You Can't Make Me Angry is written by a medic and member of AA and focuses on emotional sobriety and how one manages ones emotions without being dependent on others e.g. finding validation from within, placing boundaries and accepting that you cannot control others. It's written in a very easy style with a lot of relevance to day-to-day life. Trauma and Recovery is one of the epitomes of trauma-informed care. It covers the principles of trauma and its impact on an individual and how they see themselves and the world around them, before going through aspects of trauma recovery in a well-written and thoughtful way. It is a book both for professionals and for the public and one that I learnt a lot from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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