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Hi fellow readers! It's the beginning of June and I'm trying to post my
wrap-up on time. I think I did it this time. In the beginning of May, I took a
leave from work for a week (which is a lot for me) because of the Islamic holiday. I also went to
my hometown and stayed for a month. Since I was at home, I was hoping to
finish some of my TBR that's been sitting on my book shelf for at least 2
years. But it didn't happen because I spent most of my time hanging out with
my sister. At least I caught up on my book reviews and I managed to finish 2
books and 2 graphic novels from my TBR so I'd say that May was productive.
Anyway, here's the list of books I read in May.
Books read in May
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19 Love Songs - David Levithan (★★★) |
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19 Love Songs is a book by David Levithan which collects 19 love
stories. Some stories involve several characters from Levithan's
previously published book. The stories are presented in various
format. Some are written in poem. There's a story which is in comic
format. There's also a story in journal format. I always love
Levithan's books because of how he writes his stories. He tends to not
use complicated words, if he does, sometimes he uses it ironically,
which I like. Still, the proses are beautiful. If you enjoy Levithan's
other books, you might like this one too. However, note that some
stories in this book have appeared in other short story collections
that he collaborated in.
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The Narrow Road to the Deep North - Richard Flanagan (★★★★) |
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To be honest, The Narrow Road to the Deep North is not the kind of
book that I would typically pick up to read. I picked this up because
it's the winner of 2014 Man Booker prize. It's a well-deserved win.
This book follows the life of a prisoner of war during World War II.
It tells the part of history that I wouldn't be aware of even though
it happened relatively close to my country. It's a difficult read
though, since it tells the darker part of the history which was brutal
and horrifying. Still, I think it's necessary to tell. The description
in this book is quite graphic so if you don't mind that, I recommend
this book to read.
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The Island of Doctor Moreau - H.G. Wells (★★★) |
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This book has been on my to-be-read list for quite some time. I always
love H.G. Wells's books. In fact, I think sci-fi books that I've read
are mostly his books. However, what motivated me to read this book the
most is it's referenced a lot in my favorite show, Orphan Black. Now,
I understand why. This book talks about the ethic of scientific
experiment which is also the theme of the show. What I like from this
book is, it's not complicated and relatively easy to digest for a sci-fi book. Also,
although the science in this book is not plausible, I think it's quite
impressive that this book is written in 1896. The Island of Doctor
Moreau is a sci-fi classic that you don't want to miss.
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Saints - Gene Luen Yang (★★★) |
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Saints is a part of a graphic novel duology by Gene Luen Yang. The
duology tells the story of the Boxer Rebellion which is the
anti-foreign, anti-Christian movement happening in China between 1899
and 1901. This duology tells the story from two different
perspectives. Even though it's a 'series', it doesn't really matter in
which order you read the book. Based on reading this book only, I can
see that the main characters from the two books will meet each other
and are connected in some way. Saints tells the story from the
perspective of a female Christian. The story is a bit surreal because
the main character has this weird vision (and trippy) which sometimes dictate her action.
In the whole duology scheme, this book only tells the story from the
Christian side of the rebellion. The story itself is horrifying.
Still, this graphic novel gives me some insight on one of the
bloodiest history in China (and sadly, the country has quite a lot of
that).
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Boxers - Gene Luen Yang (★★★) |
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Boxers is another half of the Boxers-Saints duology. This one tells
the story from the boxers side of the rebellion. The boxers are
basically commoners who were trained in martial arts. As we know,
there is always at least two sides of story in every war. Reading this
one after reading Saints, I get the general idea of the whole rebellion.
Unsurprisingly, each side thinks they're doing the right thing. One
thing that I learn from these graphic novels is people are afraid of
changes and something that they don't understand yet. The solution is
rather simple but difficult to actually implement which is to
communicate, and not use violence. Sadly, when do we ever learn?
Overall, if you're a history buff, you might want to check this out.
Even if you're not, the graphic novel format makes the history part tolerable.
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May Favorites
Book
The Narrow Road to the Deep North
TV shows
Rokuhoudou Colorful Days
This series follows the life of four men who work at the traditional Japanese
style café. The series has 10 episodes with each episode's running time
approximately 24 minutes. Rokuhoudou is one of those feel-good shows. Since it
centers around a café, a lot of beautiful shot of yummy looking food is
everywhere. I like to watch the show at the end of my working days to lift up
my spirit because this show is so delightful. If you're looking for a short
and heartwarming show to watch, I recommend watching this series. This series
is available on Netflix.
Movies
The Power of the Dog
I have this personal project of watching all of the films that are nominated
for the Academy Award Best Picture. The Power of the Dog was nominated so of
course I feel the need to watch it. Not to mention, Benedict Cumberbatch. No
regret. The Power of the Dog is a slow burn film which covers the theme of
masculinity among other things. Though Ben's character is not the most likable
in this film, his acting is still *chef's kiss* great. This film is available on Netflix.
That's it for my May Wrap-Up and favorites. I must say, I'm happy with my
reading experience on May. When I feel like I've accomplished something in my reading
journey, it motivates me to read more. Do you also get that kind of feeling?
I'm excited for June and I'm hoping I could read a lot more in June.
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