book review + haul

I thought I'd do an über quick book review/mini-haul of two books I read over the summer and what I will be reading in September. 

Review

1. The Unbearable Lightness of Being | Milan Kundera 
Can honestly say that this book left quite an impact on me. I don't want to give too much away but I'll say this much: it will leave you reflecting on yourself more so than on the story you are reading. 

Long story short: Read if you're ready to have a slight existential crisis. 

2. Headscarves & Hymens | Mona Eltahawy 

An amazing, amazing book that I stumbled upon whilst in Waterstones. It is a remarkable look into the institutional sexism that is rampant in the Middle East. Eltahawy also provides examples on examples to further illustrate how deep-rooted the social/global problems of the patriarchy and nonsecular governments. They are demons we must face in order to achieve global peace.

Long story short: 100% would recommend. A must-read

3. The Narrow Road to the Deep North | Richard Flanagan

This one came heavily recommended. And I think because of that, I had ridiculously high expectations for it. It was beautifully written with an almost perfectly intertwined reference to Japanese death poetry which I found novel and added to the value of the story. However, I am not a huge war literature-phile and found it difficult to read at times. Nevertheless, I would still recommend reading it because it definitely gives an insight to an aspect of WW2 that is often not discussed. 

Long story short: Would recommend but with caution.

Haul

I picked up 3 books from B&N today and still have a book from my last haul that I need to read.

1. Harry Potter & The Cursed Child (because obvi)

2. A General Theory of Oblivion 

3. Our Man in Havana (Cuba is at the top of my travel list and I'm reading/watching anything & everything to do with it)

4. The Great Railway Bazaar (Can you tell I have the travel bug?)