Trivia

• My first name translates to "sea" in Turkish. In Turkish, it's pronounced like "deh-nihz" but I don't mind if you call me "denise".
• I have attended school in 4 different countries (USA, England, Italy, Sweden).
• I know Turkish pretty well. I took 6 years of French and I am currently re-learning Hungarian (950+ day streak on Duolingo). I also used to know a fair amount of Swedish because I lived in Stockholm for a year. Languages are fun :)

Selected recent reads (I liked)

• Red Rising (full trilogy)
  Pierce Brown
  ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

  Many friends of mine recommended this series to me, but I put it off because the synopsis of the first book sounded generic. I was wrong. Set in a world where humanity has colonized the solar system and instituted a strict social hierarchy with many inspirations from classical Rome. The plot twists are well crafted, the characters grow and change (literally?), and the world building is cool. Whether you like action scenes, political intrigue, and/or heartbreak, I would highly recommend.

• Proto: How One Ancient Language Went Global
  Laura Spinney
  ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

  A historical account of the origins of Proto Indo-European. Laura Spinney covers older and new theories for where the largest language family of today came from. She also seems to have done quite a bit of traveling while researching this book and talks to a variety of archeologists and linguistic experts. As a side note, there is little to no discussion of comparative reconstruction, so be aware if you are looking for a more technical linguistic history. It was a pleasant read.

• Emma
  Jane Austen
  ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

  I will admit to struggling with Emma as a character till the very end; her behavior towards Harriet would be unforgivable if it hadn't turned out okay in the end (with no credit to Emma). I did enjoy the complete and vivid depiction of Highbury society. In my eyes, P&P and S&S are more romantic and boast characters who are much easier to sympathize with, if less fleshed out.