King Sorrow by Joe Hill
896 Pages, Published In 2025
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Loved this epic fantasy of dragon and adventure. At its heart, it is a story about friendship and love, the mistakes we make, and the forgiveness that follows. Loved the characters—real, flawed, and unforgettable. The action never lets up, and despite its 896 pages, the story never felt boring. Along the way, there were several twists I didn’t see coming, including a few that left me genuinely sad. This book traveled with me across Europe and Asia throughout June–my true travel companion.
The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
242 Pages, Published In 2020
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Psychology of Money is not only a book about money—it is also a book about life. Morgan Housel reminds us that financial success is less about intelligence and more about behavior, habits, patience, and perspective. Key insights include the importance of knowing when you have enough, and that wealth is often your income minus your ego. The book isn’t really about money at all—it’s about living a good life and making decisions that let you sleep well at night. Everyone should read it.
Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor
304 Pages, Published In 2020
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Drawing on more than a decade of research in pulmonology, human anatomy, and ancient breathing practices, Breath shows how something as simple—and often overlooked—as breathing can have a profound impact on our health. My key takeaways are to breathe deeply through the nose, which naturally filters and regulates airflow, and to chew tougher foods, which help develop healthier jaw structure and improve breathing mechanics. A thought-provoking book with practical lessons for everyday life.
10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak
312 Pages, Published In 2019
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The novel opens with a murdered prostitute dumped in a trash bin in Istanbul. Her heart has stopped, yet her brain remains active for the next 10m 38s, carrying her through fragments of memory—birth, childhood, family, friendships, and life in Istanbul. Beautifully written, as always by Shafak, the book feels both like a lament and a love letter to Istanbul—a deeply conflicted city suspended between East and West, religions and secularism, tradition and modernity. Dark, humane, and moving.
The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
645 Pages, Published In 2023
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
An epic 645-page family saga set in post-2008-crash Dublin, constantly shifting between punctuated and unpunctuated prose, 1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd-person narration, even scenes written like a play. Chapters swing from 40-page immersions to 3-page fragments. It reads like a kaleidoscope. Everyone carries a dark secret as the tension quietly builds and the mystery slowly unravels. Dark, haunting, with a multi-metaphorical title and a mystifying ending. I hated every character yet loved the book.