Books I Read in 2018

Here is another nerdy blog post you might not have asked for, but being the bookworm I am; I’m excited to list for you all the books I read in 2018! Now if my friends or people I followed online posted about the books they read, I would be very quick to click. Because I adore books. The reading of them, the holding them in my hands, the smell of them old and new, the feel of the paper, the font, the cover design, the temporary world they are, seeing who it’s dedicated to, the author’s note at the end, chapter structure, names of chapters, the buying experience, the lending of them, the borrowing of them and last but not least: the talking about them.

There’s so much to experiencing a book.

What I learnt in 2018 is that reading a fictional book is not only a creative experience for the author who dreamed up that world, weaving it into a cohesive structure for an audience to see and feel. It’s a creative experience for us as an audience because we have to use a fair portion of our own imagination to be able to interpret what’s going on in terms of how a scene looks, sounds, feels and even at some point, smells. How cool is that?

Not only is an author asking you to read their art that may have taken a significant portion of their life time to put together, but they’re also asking you to take part in their temporary world by inserting your interpretation of their world into the collective ethos.

2018 Recurring Book Themes:

• Neil Gaiman – at the end of 2017 I decided I wanted to read his books, and by George I read a fair chunk of them.
• Race
• Feminism
• Graphic Novels

*i’ve also included links in the book titles to buy these books from the cheapest online places i could find

1. The View from the Cheap Seats by Neil Gaiman
   
   This was an interestingly varied collection of essays and speeches. The ones on books, authors and graphic novels, opened my mind to things I haven’t read. Things I wouldn’t normally think to pick up or even consider reading. Not that I was looking down on these authors and books previously, it was just that I had stopped liking fiction in the past few years because I was really narrowing my choices on what I thought I should like to read as a girl or as a woman. But reading Gaiman’s essays helped me be intrigued by the magic of fantasy and fiction in general once more. So thank Gaiman for that. I missed out on a lot of good shit.
2. Get Your Sh*t Together by Sarah Knight
   
   I think the title of this book indicates really clearly how I was feeling in January – a depressed mess. So I went for a momentary dive down the self-help book rabbit hole. At the time it was just an encouraging, refreshing, and funny read that I needed to help lift my mood and increase my motivation for life.
3. You Do You by Sarah Knight
   
   Looking at both of these book titles now, I feel like she maybe could have just written one book? But hey I’m just jealous she can make a living out of writing. This was also a fun, entertaining read comforting me at a low point. I did take notes but I haven’t really looked at them since.
4. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
   
   My brother Brayden bought this for me at Christmas (2017), and I was very excited to get into it. With work being off for all of the summer holidays this was the perfect adventure of a book to submerse myself in. It explores the interesting topic of what would happen to a God (of pretty much anything) if they weren’t worshipped as much as they historically once were. While following the steps of an unlikely main character of Shadow whose identity gradually becomes clearer, along with the main mission of the story as the book goes on. There’s great humour and sense of adventure in it with very well developed characters who pull you along a very odd yet intriguing ride. Brayds bought me the first season of the TV show it’s been adapted into for Christmas, and I’m very excited to watch it.
5. Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
   
   Sadly this was a disappointment of a read.
   I did enjoy revisiting Harper Lee’s beloved characters of Scout and the Finch family, but…that’s about it. And it was interesting to see the impact of the court case many years afterwards on the town of Maycomb, Alabama. But what was really disappointing was the ending. From the start to the middle of the novel Scout was depicted as being quite a forward young woman for her time, but by the way she was easily swayed by her family and town’s inherent racism at the end really bothered me. Because I couldn’t understand how Lee had constructed Scout’s thought process of being very against her family, to understanding where they were coming from. Not because I have different views to these characters from an older time, it’s entirely based on the poor construction of Scout coming to a resolution of her thoughts and emotions for her family’s opposite political views.
6. Mockingbird Songs by Wayne Flynt
   
   I love reading about the mystery of Harper Lee AKA Nelle, because she did live a very private life and nothing much has ever been published about her. Except a few books she claimed had false information, whose discussions and interviews she said never happened. So it has been tough to find out who she actually is. But this book! Seems to be genuine. Because it is written by a real friend of hers, Alabama historian Wayne Flynt. He shares their letters they wrote to each other over the years of their friendship, sharing stories from their work life to their family life. It was a gorgeous and non-intrusive read about Nelle’s later years.
7. A Rightful Place by Noel Pearson
   
   This is a book of essays written by prominent Australian indigenous individuals as to why the Australian indigenous community deserve a more respectful and fairer recognition in the constitution, than they have received in the past. So they can have an indigenous body in government that can work with our country’s leaders in preserving their ancient culture and traditions that gives a spiritual life to our land. This book was an eye opening and important read for a white Australian like myself. It helps me understand how ignored indigenous Australians have been in history, and how terribly misunderstood they are by not having enough representation of their own culture in our past and current government.
8. Letter To My Daughter by Maya Angelou
   
   Now if you know me, you would know that I adored Maya Angelou’s auto-biography series along with her poetry. She was an incredible woman with a powerful yet tender voice that the world at the time really needed.
   This was a gorgeous book, with each chapter discussing an aspect of life providing warm, encouraging wisdom to all her female readers. When I began reading her work as a lost and confused 19 year old in my first year of university, I found that her words had a way of scooping me up and keeping me going despite the growing confusion of what adulthood really meant. So coming back to the comfort of the strength of her well written words, made for a beautiful read.
   
   
9. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
   
   Best book I have read all year. Hands down.
   Angie Thomas unexpectedly entered my literary travels this year, and I am so so so grateful for my good friend Emmelyn lending me this masterpiece. If you want to read a gripping and well paced novel that is set in our life time, that speaks politically of our world today, then this is it. Am I going too far to suggest that this could be this generation’s To Kill A Mockingbird? Probably, but it doesn’t diminish the importance of the message and voice of the characters within this novel. It has brilliant flow and use of spoken language that I adored reading. I am going to keep up with whatever this author writes next.
10. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
    
    This was a fun read, again with funny yet slightly dark characters.
    Gaiman knows how to put a seemingly dull, extremely human main character into the topsy-turvy landscape of a fantasy land where all moral values and rules are forced to be challenged and most of the time changed. There were no boring, stagnant moments, the pace of the novel kept me hooked falling down the ever-changing and dangerous rabbit hole Richard, the main character had found himself in. This book encouraged great character development, that assisted in providing an ending that I did not see coming.
    
    
11. Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge
    
    This book was another eye opening and brilliantly written non-fiction book on race, but instead based on african slavery in Britain, and how it’s impact on Britain is still quite a significant one today. This was a very well researched book using a lot of sources and fascinating interviews to back up her very strong arguments on the way Britain functions with systemic and structural racism still quite present in society. She argues her points for racial and gender equality fairly, using her words wisely as she speaks on what are very sensitive topics for our generation. Fantastic read, highly recommend.
    
    
12. The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
    
    This was a very sweet and simple novel, with a lot of heart.
    It is an interesting topic to speculate on, considering what heaven may be like after life here on earth. But at the time of reading it I didn’t feel too excited about it, I just thought it was okay. I picked it up because I really liked his tuesdays with Morrie non-fiction piece, but I think he can write non-fiction better than fiction, because he knows how to interpret and write a raw human interaction that has had a genuine effect on him.
    
    
13. Unpolished Gem by Alice Pung
    
    I really enjoyed reading Alice Pung’s writing, she does it so well.
    I thought it was pretty amazing how much of her childhood she was able to recall and put down into the decent sized memoir it is. It was an intriguing read because it was another Australian upbringing I was naturally quite ignorant of. It showed me how hard working and strong immigrants really are, and that they truly fit in to the ideal of what it means to be an honest, hard working Australian.
14. The Shepherd’s Hut by Tim Winton
    
    I was so excited to read this when I heard he was releasing a new novel this year. He’s one of my all time favourite authors, and I was eager to get back into reading his familiar outback Australian yarns. This story had a significant theme of toxic masculinity, about a boy who wasn’t taught how to show his emotions or properly acknowledge his own sensitivity to life. The main character Jaxie isn’t the ideal main character, and is quite repulsive at times. But I really enjoyed observing a character I don’t always read about or even the kind of person I would normally come in contact with. Winton really knows how to weave an important topic of today into his powerful story telling.
15. Why I Am Not a Feminist by Jessa Crispin
    
    This was a disappointing read.
    I felt like Jessa Crispin had some promising arguments at points, but she had no idea how to argue them effectively in the written format of a book. There were no references to sources and other research to give her the weight her opinions really required. The arguments she was making were poorly worded and written in an extremely biased fashion. I think there are flaws (like there is in everything) in the political movement of Feminism that this current generation does seem to enhance at times, that actually weakens the movement, so I do think this had the chance of being a more impactful book. Crispin reveals she is actually a feminist when she talks about her views and values, but hates anyone else who likes to think they can call themselves a feminist. With all her words thrown around in an awkward, whiney fashion, really made me quite dizzy by the end of this.
16. The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler
    
    I loved reading this book.
    It contains raw and open monologues where women talk about the good and the bad of having a vagina. About the pleasure, the pain of genital mutilation, rape, sex, shame, joy, ignorance, confusion and the pride of having a vagina. In no way does this book make talking about the vagina more awkward, instead it tells women that it’s what they have, and there’s no reason to be embarrassed of it. I think it’s an empowering book for women, with well written monologues that will make you intrigued, raise your eye brows, feel sad, chuckle and smile.
17. I Am an Emotional Creature by Eve Ensler
    
    I adored reading this book because of the varying monologues based on teenage girls around the world that I either found extremely relatable or the polar opposite of my upbringing. Ensler focuses this book on taking teenage girls and their stories seriously with a great deal of empathy. Her ability to write a monologue from the observation or interview with another person is really impressive. She shows her readers that the most vulnerable and honest voice holds the most wisdom in a situation. I would recommend this to teenage girls, teachers and parents to read.
18. Her Father’s Daughter by Alice Pung
    
    A beautiful retelling and exploration of her family’s past and of how it affected her upbringing. While also bringing clarification to her own cultural identity in Australia. Her family fled Cambodia for a new life Australia while it was under Pol Pot’s communist rule. Pung goes through all of the horrifying, heartless, inhumane practices her Father observed while he was trapped in communist Cambodia, which is to explain why he was the overprotective father in her upbringing. After seeing so much terror, death and bloodshed it sheds even more light on what it must of felt like for him to see his homeland destroyed. And to be able to muster up the courage to escape to a safer, yet unknown land where the people have no idea what the worst kind of suffering is, is really inspiring.
19. Mere Christianity by C.S Lewis
    
    Everyone I spoke to who had read this book told me it was great and that Lewis really knew how to speak about Christianity in an open, honest and intelligent fashion. And I agree with most of that! I loved the way he explained how the Holy Trinity functioned, and how to make sense of it. Spiritually I feel like most of my queries or queries I didn’t realised I had were discussed in a really interesting way, really making clear for me what it meant for my soul being a Christian. And how intimate our relationship with God can be.
    The only issue I had was his chapter on marriage, and the supposed roles each gender naturally takes on. It really felt like it was written by a man who didn’t have any close relationships with many women – turns out he didn’t. His mother died when he was young, and sadly he didn’t have a successful stable romantic relationship with anyone in his adulthood. Which explains a lot about this chapter. He thought the wife, who of course would become a mother, couldn’t be the leader of the family outside the household because of course only a man could be the representative of the family. Apparently it would overwhelm the woman too much to take on affairs outside the household, and then of course she would get too bossy or hysterical for herself and her family. Because she wouldn’t want to be seen in that light as an outspoken, capable adult – it’s unattractive.I feel sorry for Mr Clive Staples Lewis, who never got the chance to properly understand and have a more sincere compassion for the opposite sex.
20. Am I There Yet? by Mari Andrew
    
    I first found her illustrations on Instagram (@bymariandrew), and I loved how cute they were. They could be about something heart warming, funny or relatable that I would love and show it to whoever I was hanging out with at the time. Or her illustrations would be more honest about her most vulnerable moments that would really catch my attention mid Instagram scroll. So when I heard she was releasing a book of illustrations and essays, I was keen to read it! I even got to see her when she came to Melbourne for her book tour, and she was just as funny and insightful to hear live.Of course as a young woman I found her essays reassuring and relatable in sections. It’s nice to hear that almost everyone finds adulthood fun, beautiful, confusing, and difficult at times. The written word really does hold a squishy, cushiony comfort in times of need.
21. The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett
    
    I AM SO HAPPY I HAVE STARTED READING THE DISCWORLD SERIES. Pratchett’s writing is hilarious, and his characters hold many ridiculous qualities that took the story on such a weird, windy journey. I love the two main characters: Rincewind and Twoflower. First of all, their names are so absurd and silly, just like their personalities and secondly they are incredibly hopeless. I have no idea how long they will be able to stay alive for the rest of the series. Rincewind the wizard who only knows one spell, is the most relatable character I’ve ever read. He is quite daft and tends to get himself into a lot of life threatening situations, yet always escapes Death’s literal grasp. Not that I relate to the ‘always getting into life threatening situations’, I just relate to his sarcasm, fear of everything, failures and running with it despite the odds. I’m excited to read the rest!
    
    
22. Wild by Cheryl Strayed
    
    This is the first audio book I’ve ever listened to! And it wasn’t as terrible as I originally thought it would be. My reasoning was that I love listening to podcasts every week, so I thought what’s so different listening to a book read out loud. It was weird to see that it was 13 hours long, instead of how many pages, but at the same time easier to encourage myself to listen to a larger portion of it at a time. Overall I give the listening to an audio book experience, 4 ears out of 5.
    Now on to the topic of the actual book. I liked it more than I thought I would. I didn’t think I would care about hiking as much as I did during the 13 hours I read of it. Especially when she was talking about all of her gear and the track she needed to take, with all her places to camp mapped out over the whole length of her hike. I was impressed of her being able to do it without any previous hiking knowledge and experience. It was really brave of her to really throw herself out there into the middle of nowhere, considering her mental state at the time, and a large portion of grief she was still coping through at the time. The way she wove in the reflection of her memories into the present moments of her hike, was done really smoothly. It was a heart breaking and empowering read. Although it doesn’t make me want to hike at all in the future, I’m not really up for the physical pain or endurance. 
    
    
23. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
    
    This book has the character Anansi from American Gods in it, although it isn’t a prequel or sequel, or any kind of story relation altogether. He began writing this novel first then he stopped, because he got the idea for American Gods and wrote that instead. But then he came back to this novel completing the story of Anansi and his two sons. The God Anansi doesn’t play a main character role in it, but he is a key character of the plot. It’s mainly about his two sons and their first meeting, figuring out their role in each other’s lives, along with the mystical identity of their father Anansi. It’s a funny read, with an unexpected ending.
24. Useless Magic by Florence Welch
    
    Being a big Florence + the machine fan, I was very excited to hear that she was releasing a book in 2018. I’ve always thought that she had a brilliantly poetic way with words in her pop songs. Especially from her first album Lungs, where she had very dark, gothic themes and imagery, that were still able to fit into the fun upbeat compositions of her pop songs.
    I thought the illustrations and photos really helped in bringing a greater understanding to her already released songs. I liked the brutal honesty and vulnerability of her poetry. It was just as open as the lyrics on her most recent album High as Hope, which I thought were more direct with less imagery and metaphors. It’s quite refreshing and revealing for her as an artist who has been quite reclusive and shy for most of her career.
25. The Power of Hope by Kon Karapanagiotidis
    
    This was a beautiful and enlightening read, that I think is relevant for all Australians to read due to our current refugee crisis. Not only does he look at the crisis on a macro level but also on a personal micro level. On who we are as a nation in our psyche as men and women. While drawing on experiences of his own life, going through the many roles he’s played to get to where he is today. Detailing the speed bumps he had to get over personally in order to be where he is today as the founder of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre and a mentally healthier more fulfilled version of himself. I highly recommend this book, I learnt so much in how we need to be a more compassionate and selfless nation in times like these, where people either homeless or seeking asylum are in a desperate need of a safe and welcoming land to call home.
26. Award Winning Australian Writing 2017 edited by Pia Gaardboe
    
    There were a lot of heavy trauma based stories one after the other, that I found really draining to read in one big go. But otherwise it was an interesting read, with quite a variety of styles in both the poetry and the short story fiction. There was one great fantasy short story that wished was a whole novel, and there were really beautiful Australian stories from a lot of different perspectives.
27. Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom
    
    This non-fiction piece contains really great story telling about two loving and resilient men of God. It involves Albom reconnecting with his old childhood Rabbi who is very ill and had asked him to write his eulogy. While also meeting a a Detroit pastor who is a reformed drug dealer and convict, who now spends his time looking out for those in his community and congregation who are in need of  greater support. Mainly for those who are poor or homeless, and are in a greater need of a life with more love in it.
    I really enjoyed reading this book because it’s also about Albom exploring his faith again, by going back to his roots while also seeing how important faith is in another community where God is clearly doing important work. A beautiful, heart warming read.
28. everyone’s an aliebn when ur a aliebn too by jomney sun
    
    Sweetest graphic novel I’ve ever read. I feel like I’ll be constantly re-reading this for a while. It explores many concepts we all experience such as love, friendship, creativity, death, happiness, sadness, change, transformation, knowledge, wisdom, and the concept of nothing. He does this using a really simplistic art style, but in a adorable way that actually helps the reader think through quite complex thoughts and feelings. It really makes you question whether or not you are doing your bit for humanity in your surrounding community, by being compassionate and understanding to not just those around you, but to yourself as well, for the journey you’ve made to be who you are in the present.
29. How It Feels by Brendan Cowell
    
    This is an intense story filled with very unlikable characters but I found it really enjoyable because it’s such a well written book. I love the emotive use of Aussie colloquialism with crazy sexually and anger fuelled characters. It doesn’t make me hate this book because the characters are ugly, I like this book for how well the story was constructed and the way certain environments influenced each characters words and actions. Although it was a little confusing near the end, chopping and changing from moments in the past to moments in the present, I still really enjoyed it for the punch in the face it was.
    
    
30. Unmasked by Andrew Lloyd Webber
    
    This was a very interesting and entertaining read! Providing great insight into how some of the best musicals were written and produced. He has a very natural and easy to read way of writing that keeps you hooked for the entire 487 pages it is. He speaks openly and honestly about every personal moment he decides to confide in, doing so in a delicate way. As a writer myself, I was fascinated about how he created the story and music of a theatre production with a great work ethic and passion of art itself. Apparently this is only part one of his auto-biography, so I’ll have to wait and see what his life has been like after his masterpiece The Phantom of the Opera.
31. One Punch Man Vol. 1-4 by ONE
    
    I love this series a lot. After I finished reading the manga Assassination Classroom, I really looked forward to reading this other Shonen Jump manga. The comedy in this series is just fantastic. One Punch Man himself Saitama, is a really strong and clever superhero, yet he has many flaws to work on in the other parts of his life when he’s not a superhero. The most hilarious parts are when he is very unaware of observing other people’s social cues and body language, showing that he has a very simplistic view of living that most fictional heroes don’t have. Usually other fictional heroes are the really mysterious, dark and complex characters with a warped traumatic back story that is their main driving force for being a superhero. Where Saitama is just a hero for fun who has trained to be the physically strongest man he can possibly be. The funny side of all of this is that he lacks the compassion for others around him, and usually doesn’t save a life because he cares for it, he just wants to defeat the strongest villains he can. Which he does…but all in one punch. And it pisses him off big time! He only desires a decent fight to the death, that’s all.
    
    
32. Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak
    
    This is a beautiful story of men and their women. A story that will stick with me for a while, because of it’s theme of the strong bonds a family can have if all relationships are nurtured and cared for. And how each family can have wounds that are in need of healing, in order to achieve a sense of sincere unity through forgiveness. The writing itself is so poetic, containing a beautiful flow in the dialogue between all of the characters conversations and inner thoughts. Making it a story that in a sense, gradually reveals it’s motive as the story progresses. Lifting off the many covers as it goes on.
    
    
33. Teacher: One Woman’s Struggle to Keep the Heart in Teaching by Gabbie Stroud
    
    A book written with so much heart.
    Her heart for teaching and the heart she has for the children she taught is truly inspiring. Really informative and helpful for me as I consider doing my masters in teaching one day. But…maybe not? Maybe being a singing teacher is necessary for kids during this time. Giving them that one on one attention they could never get from their classroom teacher. It’s sad to hear how easily kids get left behind in our education system. They’re not robots who only provide statistical feedback, they are humans with valid emotions who deserve to be seen and heard during there years of education. Teachers need more time to be fully present with their students, because bad experiences at school easily ruins a person’s upbringing. Teachers are a key factor in the building of their foundation as a person. We need a government who cares for the wellbeing of the nation, not just the numbers.
    
    
34. Moby Dick by Herman Melville
    
    It was a journey being caught up in Ahab’s bitterness and loathing for Moby Dick. Sounds like he was more devoted to killing and despising the whale more so than using any ounce of energy for caring for his wife. I feel tired just from finishing the book. I feel like I was a harponeer on that ship with Ahab. I’m mentally exhausted from reading this book, it took me nearly 3 months to complete it.
    I loved the first part before they got on the Pequod, where it was about Ishmael and Queequeg’s relationship, it was quite hilarious and heart warming. Then once they got on the ship in the middle of their mission – that’s where I struggled to hold my attention to the book.
    I think Herman Melville had a deep desire to write a text book about whales, as well as the monstrous tale of Moby Dick. The factual sections about whale anatomy and spiritual symbolism of the whale were interesting but they really distracted me from the main story of what was happening on the ship. In his factual (sometimes boring) chapters he did manage to draw really interesting observations and truths on the human condition and how they relate to the topic of whale he’s rambling on about, which I really did enjoy. And the way he poetically wrote the entire novel is what made me continue to the end. When he was writing his most interesting observations on humanity, they were worded beautifully and interestingly, usually in such ways I’d never heard certain thing described before. Ahab’s aggressive drive and motivation in the last section of the book came out really strongly too, which had me glued to the last few chapters.There’s SO much talk of Moby Dick throughout the entire novel, so when she’s in action in the last few chapters it’s a sweet relief to read the brutality of them fighting against her. I may need to read this again in a few years to fully grasp all there is in this book.
    
    
35. The Arrival by Shaun Tan
    
    I was unexpectedly emotionally affected by the end of this book. The illustrations of each character’s face were so real and familiar, I felt like I was staring back at people I knew. The design of each country and environment was so bizarre yet very intriguing to observe. The odd designs of buildings, pets, food, the indoors and outdoors really made me feel just as lost as the refugee in the story did. It clearly depicted the terror of his home land and the dangerous environment it was for his young family. While also showing how courageous his act of moving alone to another foreign country was, in order to set up a much safer home for his family in the future. All despite the fear and insecurity he felt in being able to adapt to a whole new culture. Which involved adapting to the society itself, the language, the people, the local cuisines and the apartment. Many people have made this brave journey of immigration, and I hope that globally we can have more empathy for their situations. Everyone deserves to live in a safe country, with a roof over their heads and a promising future to look towards.
    
    
36. The Complete Poetry by Maya Angelou
    
    Okay, let’s begin this biased review with the expected statement: I’m a big fan of Maya Angelou’s work. I’ve read a few of her more popular poems before I bought this book, but it’s fantastic now to have a book of all her poems that I can read whenever I wish. I love the rhythm of her verses, and her interesting story structure in her particularly longer pieces. Some of them I can imagine her passionately speaking them, using the percussion of consonants and vocal tone of her vowels. With her more dramatic poems you can feel her attitude, her frustration and at times her sadness. There’s an honesty and authenticity in her work that she doesn’t try to hide or dress up in metaphors. As always her words hold a real sense of love and wisdom, that always have a way of comforting my anxious mind.
37. Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
    
    A comforting Gaiman read.
    Filled with the whimsy and magic we all remember from childhood (that’s if you were the type that used a huge chunk of your own imagination to enhance the fun in your play time activities), while also incorporating darker themes of adulthood, contrasting it with a child’s narrow view of life, along with a healthy dose of fantastical horror aspects along the way. I enjoyed it for the adventure it was, and the beautiful language used to describe Lettie Hempstock’s ocean. It made me think about what we seem to remember and forget about our upbringings; what we decide to hold on to and let go of. While also reflecting on the flimsy nature of our memories, especially if we are attempting to remember the voice of our subconscious from our dreams. The way the main character was able to understand so many things at once about life, while being submerged in the depths Lettie’s backyard ocean and then forgetting his newly gained wisdom as soon as he left the ocean. Made it quite fascinating to think about the information we subconsciously decide to retain in our life times, having no idea where our subconscious is really pulling us.

Image Credits:

• THE VIEW FROM THE CHEAP SEATS
  https://www.audible.com.au/pd/The-View-from-the-Cheap-Seats-Audiobook/B01C9BYUT4 

• GET YOUR SH*T TOGETHER
  https://www.booktopia.com.au/get-your-sh-t-together-sarah-knight/prod9781786484109.html

• YOU DO YOU
  https://www.quercusbooks.co.uk/books/detail.page?isbn=9781787470439

• AMERICAN GODS
  http://www.neilgaiman.com/works/Books/American+Gods/ed/408/

• GO SET A WATCHMAN
  https://www.ebay.com.au/p/Go-Set-A-Watchman-by-Harper-Lee-Hardback-2015/214057936 

• MOCKINGBIRD SONGS
  https://www.penguin.com.au/books/mockingbird-songs-9781784757861

• A RIGHTFUL PLACE
  https://www.blackincbooks.com.au/books/rightful-place-0

• LETTER TO MY DAUGHTER
  https://www.waterstones.com/book/letter-to-my-daughter/maya-angelou/9781844086115

• THE HATE U GIVE
  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hate-U-Give-Angie-Thomas/dp/1406372153

• NEVERWHERE
  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Neverwhere-Neil-Gaiman/dp/0755322800

• WHY I’M NO LONGER TALKING TO WHITE PEOPLE ABOUT RACE
  https://shereads.com/7-books-about-taboo-topics/

• THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Five_People_You_Meet_in_Heaven

• UNPOLISHED GEM
  https://www.blackincbooks.com.au/books/unpolished-gem

• THE SHEPHERD’S HUT
  https://www.penguin.com.au/books/the-shepherds-hut-9780143786115

• WHY I’M NOT A FEMINIST
  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31227905-why-i-am-not-a-feminist

• THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES
  https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/the-vagina-monologues/9780345498601-item.html

• I AM AN EMOTIONAL CREATURE
  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6979094-i-am-an-emotional-creature

• HER FATHER’S DAUGHTER
  https://www.blackincbooks.com.au/books/her-father%E2%80%99s-daughter-0

• MERE CHRISTIANITY
  https://www.harpercollins.com/9780060652920/mere-christianity/

• AM I THERE YET?
  https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/books/general-books/self-help-practical/Am-I-There-Yet-Mari-Andrew-9781760527907

• THE COLOUR OF MAGIC
  https://www.penguin.com.au/books/the-colour-of-magic-9780552166591

• WILD
  https://www.collegefashion.net/college-life/book-review-wild-by-cheryl-strayed/

• ANANSI BOYS
  https://www.hachette.com.au/neil-gaiman/anansi-boys

• USELESS MAGIC
  https://www.penguin.com.au/books/useless-magic-9780241347935

• THE POWER OF HOPE
  https://www.harpercollins.com/9781460709498/the-power-of-hope/

• AWARD WINNING AUSTRALIAN WRITING
  https://www.bookdepository.com/Award-Winning-Australian-Writing-2017/9781925556100 

• HAVE A LITTLE FAITH
  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1255781.Have_a_Little_Faith

• EVERYONE’S AN ALIEBN WHEN UR A ALIEBN TOO
  https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062569028/everyones-a-aliebn-when-ur-a-aliebn-too/

• HOW IT FEELS
  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9576788-how-it-feels

• UNMASKED
  https://www.audible.com.au/?ref=Adbl_ip_rdr_from_GB&source_code=AUDORAP082815001K&ipRedirectFrom=GB&ipRedirectOriginalURL=pd%2FUnmasked-Audiobook%2FB0798YH2RN 

• BRIDGE OF CLAY
  https://www.panmacmillan.com.au/9781760559922/

• TEACHER
  https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/books/other-books/Teacher-Gabbie-Stroud-9781760295905 

• MOBY DICK
  https://www.penguin.com.au/books/moby-dick-9780141199603

• THE ARRIVAL
  https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/334251603574460640/?lp=true

• THE COMPLETE POETRY
  https://www.goodreads.com/book/photo/22716470-maya-angelou

• OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE
  https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062255662/the-ocean-at-the-end-of-the-lane/ 

• ONE PUNCH MAN VOL. 1
  http://www.harryhartog.com.au/new-book/one-punch-man-vol-1/9781421585642/buy-online
  

• ONE PUNCH MAN VOL. 2
  https://www.bookdepository.com/One-Punch-Man-Vol-2-One/9781421585659

• ONE PUNCH MAN VOL. 3
  https://www.bookdepository.com/One-Punch-Man-Vol-3-One/9781421564616

• ONE PUNCH MAN VOL. 4
  https://www.simonandschuster.com.au/books/One-Punch-Man-Vol-4/ONE/One-Punch-Man/9781421569208