The Sunday Post #406

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The Sunday Post is a chance to recap the past week, talk about next week, tell you what I’m reading, and share news. It’s hosted by The Caffeinated Book Reviewer, Readerbuzz, and Book Date.

The Sunday Post

On The Blog Recently

• Best Books Of 2026 (So Far)
• I'm Not Dead—I Just Feel Like I Am
• What Is True Crime Literature?
• Books To Read In Fall
• Sci-Fi & Fantasy Books I Want To Read

In My Reading Life

I read two books last week. They were both fine.

First, I finally read The Song Of Achilles by Madeline Miller. I understand what the hype is about! It's beautifully written with a cast of memorable characters. The ending is just as devastating as promised.

It seems like most bookworms are familiar with this novel, but if you're not, it's a Greek myth retelling about Achilles and Patroclus. They meet as children when Patroclus accidentally kills another child and is disowned by his family. Achilles and Patroclus become friends, then lovers, then soldiers, then legends.

This novel hooked me right away because Patroclus is easy to love. He's honest and tries his best in every situation. I enjoyed watching him and Achilles grow up.

The war chapters lost me. They dragged, which is probably the author's intention because the characters were also frustrated by the war and how long it was taking. I raced through the beginning of the book, but I lost my motivation to read it during all the battles and camp stuff. It was too long for me.

The ending hooked me again. I knew how the story ended before I started, but dang. That's intense.

I'm glad I finally read this one. Now I know why everybody loves it.

Then I read Idol, Burning by Rin Usami. It's a Japanese novel about fandom culture and isolation. High school student Akari is completely obsessed with her "oshi," a singer in a J-Pop group. She believes this singer is the only person who understand her, even though she's never met him. Then rumors surface that her oshi assaulted a female fan, and Akari's life is upended. Maybe she doesn't understand her oshi as well as she thought.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I like the premise. Akari lives vicariously through a celebrity. She doesn't have a life of her own because she puts all her resources into promoting and defending a man who doesn't know she exists. She calls her oshi her "backbone;" she'd collapse without him. Since I've never been part of a fandom, I found Akari's obsession really interesting. It's not a lifestyle I've thought about before.

I think the book needed to be longer. It didn't go deep enough for me. I was hoping to learn more about the media and how teenage girls get wrapped up in celebrity worship. Instead, the plot kind of meanders and only scratches the surface. It left me wondering what the reader is supposed to take away from this story.

Mostly, I liked it. I would love to read more books about fandom culture.

In The Rest Of My Life

Things that made me happy recently:

• The weather has been pretty great. Every day I'm not drenched in sweat is a good day.
• My favorite TV shows are back! I'm watching The Traitors, The Great British Bake Off, Survivor, Amazing Race, and all the Halloween cooking shows on the food channel. What are you watching?
• I sold my excess bookshelves. I've been struggling to keep up with housekeeping, so I sold or donated the majority of my book collection. Now the shelves are gone too. Less dusting for me.
• I think I found a new gym. I went to a boxing gym for years, but they recently raised their prices, and now it's unaffordable for me. The new gym is cheaper and occasionally has boxing classes. It's nowhere near as awesome as my previous gym, but I can cope.

My other projects:

Pinterest || Goodreads || Donate || Support Indie Bookstores || About The Horses

Take care of yourselves and be kind to each other. See you around the blogosphere!