I’m so thankful that @penguinpress sent me an ARC of Either/Or by Elif Batuman. The Idiot is one of my favorite books! I’m so glad it got a sequel. If you liked The Idiot and wanted more time with Selin, you’ll like this one too.

Either/Or is a direct sequel to The Idiot, so you need to read that one first. In Either/Or, we find Selin after her summer of confusion with Ivan, trying to process their relationship as she starts her sophomore year. Through the year, Selin contemplates an aesthetic life, takes lots of classes, hangs with Svetlana and other friends, has plenty of awkward encounters, sends emails, might be depressed, goes to parties, meets other Eastern European guys, and tries to decide where to spend her summer. Also she reads a lot! This book inspired me to add so many books to my own TBR.

I love spending time inside Selin’s mind. She makes the best observations, and is unintentionally so funny. Selin would be so surprised and dismayed that someone enjoyed being inside her mind, since she thinks she’s so ordinary. I am hopeful that we might get four of these books - will we get one for every year of college? That would be wonderful. I loved this one and will read anything Batuman writes.