November: Cuba trip, trilogy finales and other good reads

Long time no see, blogger. Can't believe that December is already here and the year is almost over. In November, I went to Cuba, which was one of the most unique trips I have ever taken. It was there that I:

• saw wild flamingos wading in a lagoon (a group of flamingos are called a "flamboyance", FYI)
• pet an adorable 3 month-old crocodile at a crocodile farm (a group of crocodiles in the water are called a "float", but a group on land is called a "bask", FYI)
• clinked daquiri glasses with Ernest Hemingway (who was actually a bronze statue at real-Heminway's favorite bar, the Floridita)
• stared, stunned at the plethora of contrasting Fidel Castro and Che Guevara propaganda ("Patria o muerte" GOOD LORD)
• ate my weight in lobster, because it was like $6 a tail

Anyway, on to book stuff. Here are the books I read in November!

The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick. 

Review: In a parallel universe, Roosevelt was actually assassinated in the 30s by Giuseppe Zangara. The U.S. fails to recover from The Great Depression and grasps onto U.S. isolationism, thus refraining WWII shenanigans. Forward to the 60s: Germany/Japan won and the U.S. has been split into the Imperial Pacific states and the Nazi East Coast (Canada is somehow unscathed and remains independent???). The book follows the lives of a jeweler, judo instructor, antiques dealer, and a diplomat, who start off living separate lives but then their individual plot-lines intertwine. The book starts off slowly but quickly tailspins into mind-blowing revelations and plot twists. 

Rating: 5 stars for the ingenious use of I-Ching and the fictitious, subversive book "The Grasshopper Lies Heavy" as meta plot-devices. BUT -1 star for gratuitous racial slurs and slow pace (only at the beginning).

Vinegar Girl, by Anne Tyler

Review: This is the worst adaptation/take on Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew". There was a serious lack of character development as Kate flips from "I'll never marry him" to "ok sure whatever" as she falls right into the forced marriage plot. Rather than portraying her as a strong-willed woman shaped by her motherless, familial responsibilities, Tyler chose a caricature: a petty misanthrope. Pyotr (this book's Petrucio) is a clueless, complicit pawn instead of the schemer he's supposed to be. Go watch "10 Things I Hate About You" instead.

I don't think I'm meant to like Anne Tyler. I can't stand her writing. Someone prove me wrong!

Rating: 1 star

Library of Souls (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children #3), by Ransom Riggs

Review: (slightly spoilerish if you haven't read the other two) Jacob has shiny new powers that finally give the peculiar children an edge over the hollowgast. *cue Uncle Ben from Spiderman gravely warning you: "with great power comes great responsibility" or something like that because Jacob is NOT ready for these new powers* The peculiar children time travel from modern London to the Victorian slums, then back again. The concept of the library of souls and collecting a physical manifestation of peculiar powers is fun and unique. While the novel ties up loose ends from the first two books and fleshes out Peculiar-lore, I got lost in the extensive time-loop travel and change in locations. A great ending, but rushed.

Rating: 4-stars

Find Her, by Lisa Gardner

Review: Fascinating kidnapping/murder thriller. Great as a standalone book even though this is part of a mystery series. The protagonist is an unbelievable Jason Bourne/Atomic Blonde character. I mean it - unbelievable, like you have to suspend all belief and accept that a former kidnapping victim can become a badass vigilante investigator with creative killing methods after a year or two, PTSD be damned. 

Rating: 5 stars for fun, mindless action-filled plot. -1 star for classic villain monologue at the end to tie up loose plot threads. That's lazy story-telling!

Rich People Problems (Crazy Rich Asians #3), by Kevin Kwan

Review: This was a fun book to read like the other two in this series. But holy-moly the story was all over the place - I did not expect to get a spy-thriller/mystery out of all of this! My favorite characters (Nick and Rachel) took a back seat in this one since the book focused on the secrets of Su Yi and Tyersall Park. It's fun as always to read about these crazy rich Asians, but this one faces the same problem as other finale books in trilogies. There's too much crammed into the ending as the author struggles to tie up all the loose ends in the last 20 pages. I kept thinking that the book was ending, only to find that there were another 50, 30, 20 pages to go. It dragged on and on. Still left wondering what happened between Nick's parents, as their estrangement is never explained.

Rating: 4 stars

Th1rteen R3asons Why, by Jay Asher

Review: this book is a heartbreaking, brutal reminder of how retched people can hurt another with just their words and I'm so glad my own high school years are long over. Jay Asher is so good at capturing Hannah Baker's angry, then sad, then dejectedly numb, and finally fading voice. Warning to those who are struggling with depression - this book was a trigger for me. Read with caution, as I feel that this book somewhat romanticizes suicide. 

Rating: 4 stars

I'm now at 105 books for the year! Should I round out the year at 110? 111? If you have book recommendations, let me know!