The reading slump during quarantine hit me pretty hard. I thought I would use this time to read way more than before, but I didn’t. I almost read anything at all until “Grown ups” for the Zoella’s book club. It was not the sort of amazing book you could imagine getting out of a reading slump, but it was good enough to put me back into reading again. And actually, may was a good month in terms of great discovery. Let’s talk about it.

Grown Ups by M. Keyes and The Nightingale by K. Hannah

You can find my review here and here

Nine perfect strangers by L. Moriarty

Liane Moriarty is a great author, and with this book she proves how great her writing can be. Well, this book was not my favourite, but I still enjoyed reading it a lot. The first half was great. You can feel that something strange is going to happen. I thought it would remind me of one of Agatha Christie’s novel, but it did not in the end. That’s what was missing to me, a bit more mystery. The second half was just too long and probably pointless. Yes, you get to know a bit more the different characters, their background. But they are simply not interesting enough to make that useful. It was just too long. The actions that took place were taken ages and apparently, nobody saw the point of it. I thought it wasn’t getting anywhere and something else could have happened instead, something way more intriguing.

I actually hated all the characters. Masha with her little pet, Yao, is ridiculous. Frances is the most annoying and quite stupid, Ben and Jessica are embodied stereotypes and that made me angry. The other, except the family, are just pointless. But still, I enjoyed the book. I know it’s strange given the thoughts I shared by the whole book was nice enough to read in just a few days. It’s quick, easy and light.

Men without women by Haruki Murakami

I had this one waiting to be read for months, and I finally took the time to do so. And it was a waste of time, sadly. I enjoyed the fact that it was little stories but they were just boring. That’s it, the book was boring. I know the author is quite famous, but I don’t understand why through this book. Men without women is just a book about men, about them understanding how self-centered they are even if they think their love is stronger than anything. It’s just a book about men talking about themselves.

I hope you managed to read everything you wanted in May. What's been your favorite?

Some books tend to be amazing; they stick in your mind for a long time because they moved you in a way you’ve never felt before. The Nightingale was one of them and it has become one of my favourite books I’ve read this year. You know now that I’m passionate about history and I love to read a good book on the WW2 topic. But be careful with those, they are heavy and heart-breaking as they tend to be based on real events, even if it’s a fiction. This one was a fiction, but it was still based on the reality of France during WW2. As a French who lived in the countryside and now in Paris, it was hard to see my country depicted like this. It’s not like in the movies, at all…

The Nightingale is the story of two sisters. Lianne lives in the countryside with her husband and daughter, she cares for her family and she is loving towards those she loves. Isabelle lives in Paris, she is brave and fearless, young but has strong conviction and wants to change the world. She does not settle into anything, she needs more. And one day, the war starts. Lianne’s husband must go and fight while she has to stay at home and take care of everything alone and survive as best as she can. She has to handle a lot of issues throughout the years and she becomes unrecognizable. Her sister is turning into someone else as well, but who doesn’t during the war? They both had to do hard choices in order to survive, do good and help people.

This book was so interesting because of all the details and precision. It shows the horrors of the war, but also how it was a war of women. Both women in this book are changing because they saw and lived things that made them stronger. They both decide to help those who need it because they can. That’s who they choose to be, and I think it’s amazing. It was not just war for a few months and a country cut into halves with French living side by side with Germans. No, it was a war were women needed to survive, to eat, to live through winter, to co-exist with Nazis. Women whose husbands did not return, women whose friends were Jews and were sent away for ever. It was the resistance, the camps, the bombing and the “nice” Nazis. It was all of that and this book shows it all. And for that, you must read it if you can.

I would advise this book for people who are interested in the war, who are capable reading a heavy book with difficult moments that could make you cry. But you must read this book if you have the opportunity because it’s important to always remember this war.

Have you read it yet? Tell me what you thought of it or if history books are your jam?

More chilled out content is actually good sometimes, especially during this really strange period. Today, France is going to start ending the quarantine. I don’t really know how to feel about this. I really want to go out and enjoy Paris while it’s sunny and beautiful, and yet I’m bloody scared to go out and breathe. How crazy is that? But I know we all feel the same in a way, all scared of something we do not know. And yet, it’s been weeks since we had to get used to this new life. The whole world had to get used to that. It’s even crazier and yet, a bit comforting.

How are you all doing? I hope I found you safe and well. At the moment, I’m drowned between all the exams (at home) I have to do, my internship and all of my applications for a master degree. It’s crazy how I get stress by that every year, even if I’m prepared for it. I just hate it, it scares me and stresses me out like anything else. And when I’m too stressed, I play Sims 4, so that’s that. But I actually found out that I’ve got a positive response for one of my application and I’m so happy about it because it was in my first choices.

Anyway, what will you do when you’ll first get out of the house? Mine will probably go to the nearest park and just walk around nature (if it opens one day…). I miss walking in the city so much (my body misses it as well!), and I can’t wait to do it again. Oh, and go and see my parents in the countryside. It’s probably the first time I missed the country side (Don’t get me wrong, I love nature, but where I grew up is a really boring city where you can’t do anything). Basically, I just want to get out of the house and see something else than my balcony and white walls. But I’m curious to know what you miss the most during quarantine? How is it where you live? Can you go out again or not yet?