June 2025 Wrap-Up & Favorites

Source: personal collection

Hi fellow readers! We're now at the midpoint of the year. So far, I have updated my Goodreads reading challenge twice which is a good sign for me. My target is now to read 24 books until the end of the year. Here's the books I read in June.

Books read in June

	House of Leaves - Mark Z. Danielewski (★★★★)
	House of Leaves is a book that's been on my TBR list for the longest time. I've been putting it off because it's thick and people often dub it as the scariest book they read. One day I found it discounted at a book store and I just have to buy it. Since I actually own a physical copy of it, I just braved myself and finally read it. I don't regret it. Thought it's a 700 pages book, because of its structure, some pages just fly by. This book is original and refreshing to read. The horror creeps up on you which is my kind of horror. I recommend this book to read if you're a fan of psychological horror books.
	White Nights - Fyodor Dostoevsky (★★★★)
	This Penguin Little Black Classics contains two stories by Dostoevsky. The first one is White Nights and the second one is Bobok. This is not the first Dostoevsky that I've read. Fortunately, this one is even better than the first Dostoevsky I read. This book surprised me. I didn't expect to read such a moving story. White Night is melancholic. It's a story about people who yearn and being heartbroken. I experienced several kinds of emotion while reading this story, especially in the last two chapters. Funnily, if this story could be summed up into a simple word, friendzoned would the modern term of it. However, the nuance of this story is romantic somehow. While the second story, Bobok, is absurd and funny I guess. The title itself has no specific meaning. It's a sound. I know it's a bit weird, but I still recommend this little black classics to read just for the White Nights.
	Blind Side: Horror Anthology Comic - Various Authors (★★)
	Blind Side is a horror anthology consisting of stories from several Japanese authors or mangakas. They are Junji Ito, Yosuke Takahashi, Kanako Inuki, Amagappa Shoujyo Gun, Nooto Osada, Hideshi Hino, and Michiru Noroi. I love Junji Ito's stories. His books have became some sort of my comfort read, weirdly. I've been meaning to try other Japanese horror mangas but they're rarely in short story collection or a one shot story format. I'm not ready for that kind of commitment. When a publisher in Indonesia released this anthology of stories by several authors including Junji Ito himself, it's a good opportunity for me to see what's out there. From the get-go I can already get the sense that I won't like some of these just by the art style. This is a manga after all, visual is one of the key. Story-wise, I guess some of them are just straight up weird. They're not scary, just absurd and the only thing that would make them categorised as horror is because they include ghosts in it. Other than Junji Ito's the one that I actually like is Bookworm by Amagappa Shoujyo Gun. I also just found out that the story is adapted into a short film in Spain. How cool is that? I'm interested in this author's other work but have difficulty in finding it. In conclusion, for now I'd stick to Junji Ito.
	The Groaning Drain: Ito Junji Compilation 8 - Junji Ito (★★★)
	This manga is the 8th Junji Ito's compilation published by the Indonesian publisher. This manga contains eight stories, including the Groaning Drain, which unfortunately I've read in the previous compilation. Of the eight, four stories I've read in the previous compilations. One of them even leaves such a deep unsettling impression on me that I just skip reading it this time around. Of the four stories I just read, my favorite one would be Occult Transfer Student. I personally think Junji Ito is great at creating enigmatic human-like character that appears out of nowhere then turn the other characters' lives upside down and not in a good way. I think that's the appeal of this story. While Blood-Bubble Bushes is a vampire story with a Junji Ito's twist. The last two, Near Miss! and Inside the Earth have that urban legend feel to them. Overall, it's an enjoyable read, if it wasn't for the repetitive stories, I probably consider adding another star.
	Town of Tombstones: Ito Junji Compilation 9 - Junji Ito (★★★)
	This one has the same case as the previous compilation I read, I've read the titular story in the previous compilation; twice actually. This compilation contains 11 stories. Seven stories out of the eleven are new to me, so that's a good ratio. The stories which leave quite an impression on me are Story of the Mysterious Tunnel and the Bloody Story of Shirosuna. If there were two things in Japanese horror movies which scare me, that would be dark tunnel in the middle of a forest and mountain, and an isolated village. With the tunnel, if it has a lot of lightning and people are still actively using it, I'm fine with it. But that's usually not the case. It's dark and the best case is it's rarely used, but more often than not it's abandoned. As for the isolated village, a lot of things can happen there. I'm going to name a few, the inhabitants involved in some kind of cult ritual, like human sacrifice ritual; the inhabitants are not human; it's empty and you got lost there; apparently it's some kind of a weird gate to another dimension, or hell, and you're trapped there. Stories involving these elements make me anxious and that's why those two titles leave an impression on me. Again, if you're new to Junji Ito, you can try picking this one up. However, you've read most of his compilations, you might get bored because some of the stories have appeared in his previous compilation.

Review Posts in June
The Ten Loves of Mr Nishino - Hiromi Kawakami
A Brief History of Seven Killings - Marlon James

June Favorites

Books

White Nights

Series

The Last of Us Season 2

The Second season of this show were released starting from May but I binge-watched it in June because I already know what happened in the game. This show stays true to its source material so what happened in the game happens in the show also. I must say watching this series evoked many kind of emotion but mostly stressed and sad. The infected is as scary as ever and this season we find out that they can stalk too. They're not some mindless healthy human chaser. They can actually hide, stalk, then attack the healthy at the right time. Then also the whole Joel-Elly dynamic. Their relationship a bit strained because of what happened in the last season. But there's one particular episode that I love-hate because it's touching but it's terribly sad. Nevertheless, if you're following the show and deciding to continue watching the second season, please prepare your mental first. Be mentally ready.

The White Lotus

This show got all the hype ever since it first came out. I saw it everywhere but I already have so many shows on my watchlist I didn't want to add anymore. I caved in because of the Last of Us actually. I had to subscribe to HBO max again and when I wasn't ready to watch another episode of the Last of Us, I randomly browsed the catalog. The White Lotus caught my eye because it doesn't look heavy. I was wrong. This show critisizes filthy rich people behaviour but in a satirical way. It's funny but a dark humor kind of funny. Still lighter than the Last of Us though. I devoured the show. I think it only took me a week to finish all three seasons. Anyway, it's a good show. I highly recommend watching the White Lotus.

Dept. Q

I was looking for a mystery or thriller series to binge on while I'm doing chores. I saw my mutual recommending this series and it intrigued me. Not to mention, Matthew Goode is the lead of this series. It's set in Scotland, so it's culturally different from the series I watched before. The mystery is intriguing though I expected more of a case of the day type of episode. However, since the premise is a special department specifically formed to solve a cold case so it makes more sense that it will take them more than an episode to solve it. I recommend it if you're looking for a mystery series to binge on.

There you have it. I'm a bit behind on my wrap-up post. Just a bit so I'm catching up here. Anyway, I hope the rest of the year will be much better. Have a great month ahead.