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Hi fellow readers! At this point I don't know what to say anymore. I've been working from and staying at 'home' for five months now. I'm trying to be a decent human being here, when the authorities said no going out unless necessary, I don't. I'm at the point where I get sick of Netflix, I play YouTube videos in the background so it doesn't get too quiet. I'm sighing as I type this by the way. At least I still enjoy the act of reading.
Books read in July
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Giselle - Akiyoshi Rikako (★★★★) |
Giselle is a psychological thriller book by a Japanese author Akiyoshi Rikako. She's actually one of my favorite authors because of her engrossing writing and her unexpected plot twist. The thing is, Giselle is her only translated book that I haven't read which means I've read 7 of her books. After reading many of her books you'd think that her twist won't leave you surprised anymore. I mean, there's only so much of it before you'll feel that it's overused. But no, she still manages to surprise me everytime. Anyway, this one centered on a ballet theater which performs Giselle for their 15th anniversary. What makes this particular title special is because they haven't performed it for 15 years because of a scandal relating to the production of the same title 15 years ago. However, as the troupe excitedly prepares for the show, a series of accidents happen causing them to repeatedly recast the role to the point that it threatens the show. This recast also causing a rift in the production and some even associate these mishaps with the scandal 15 years ago. That's the general plot of the book. Overall it's such an intriguing story. The ballet theme adds a point for me since I'm interested in watching ballet performances. I thoroughly enjoy reading this book. Unfortunately, this book hasn't been translated into English. If you speak Japanese, I recommend to read this book; or maybe you speak Bahasa Indonesia, this book has been translated into Bahasa Indonesia.
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Freedom: Vintage Mini - Margaret Atwood (★★★★) |
This Vintage Mini includes some of Atwood's writings centered on freedom. It opens with We Are Double-Plus Unfree which is an article by Atwood posted on The Guardian in 2015. In the article, Atwood discusses the idea of freedom. The article itself actually can be read for free in the Guardian website. Aside from the article, this book also includes the first twelve chapters of the Handmaid's Tale and some chapters from Hag-Seed. If you've read the Handmaid's Tale, I don't think you should read this book because they take up the majority of this book. I haven't, so it feels like a test run for me. Nevertheless, I want to read the Handmaid's Tale even before reading this book anyway because from what I read so far, it's good. It's truly intriguing. As for Hag-Seed, it's a retelling of Shakespeare's play the Tempest. I haven't read or watch the Tempest so I don't get the reference. However, since I enjoy reading Atwood's writing so much, I think I'll put Hag-Seed on my TBR list. The conclusion is, if you've read the Handmaid's Tale, I don't think it's necessary to read this book. The whole book of the Handmaid's Tale discusses the idea of freedom, so there's that. But if you haven't read it and still not sure if you want to, you can try get a taste of it by picking up this book.
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The Changeling - Kenzaburo Oe (★★★★) |
The Changeling follows Kogito, an aging novelist as he reflects on his youth and his friendship with his estranged friend, Goro. They have a special way to communicate through tapes. Goro would record himself into a collection of tapes and send it to Kogito. Kogito found out through one of the recent tapes that Goro died and that's when he started to think back on his relationship with Goro. Although Kenzaburo Oe is one of the important Japanese writers, The Changeling is actually his first book that I read. I started this book with no expectation but ended up liking it. It's slow paced and I don't think it's a book for everyone because it can be confusing at times with the present time-flashback plot and the references to some literature and Japanese political history. I've written a full review of this book which will be posted on this blog.
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Love May Fail - Matthew Quick (★★★) |
Love May Fail follows Portia Kane going back to her hometown after she found out that her husband's cheating. It's actually a recurring problem but this time she finally stood up for herself. As she figures out what to do with her life, she confronts her past and trying to help her high school English teacher who helped her when she's a student. This is not the first Matthew Quick book that I read. I feel like with Quick books, usually there are a set of quirky characters and some have mental illness. I think all of his books that I read talk about mental health. It's the same with this one. Although Love May Fail talks about depressing issue, there are some lighthearted moment in it. It's bleak and hopeful at the same time which is the kind of book I need to read at the time. Anyway, I've written a full review of this book which will be posted on this blog.
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The Art Of War - Sun Tzu (★★★) |
When I decided to read more of East Asian classics, I didn't expect to be this far back. I found this book on a book sale and I thought why not. I think The Art of War has been referenced many times in pop culture and I read in the introduction that it's being taught in business class and used as a metaphor of some kind. The edition that I read is the one translated by Nigel Cawthorne. This book consists of 13 chapters and each specialized on a certain aspect of war. It's easy to understand except some part that I think reference Chinese culture or the events happening at the time it was written. While I agree that the content of this book is still relevant and applicable to the modern lives, there are some teachings that I feel too manipulative and unkind to be practiced. For example, in the chapter called the nine situation Sun Tzu suggested putting the soldiers in the situation where there seems like there's no way out except death so the would give their all to win the fight. Maybe it's the translation or the wordings, that sounds manipulative to me. Other than that, this book does offer good advice and quite enlightening. Still, if you're interested to read it, please take the teachings with a grain of salt.
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Review Posts in July
July Favorites
Book
The Changeling
TV shows
This Is Us
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This show has been on my radar for so long. I want to watch it but I feel like I would end up crying a lot. July marks the fifth month that I've been working at home, limiting my venture outside my 'home'. I think I'm starting to lose my mind, I have so many repressed emotions that need to get out so I decided to just jump right into this show. In conclusion I need a good cry. Also, I've heard the iconic theme song many times and it's so inviting. Honestly though, I'm confused by this show because it gives off cozy, warm, autumnal vibe but it destroyed me at the same time. I couldn't recall one episode in which I didn't shed at least a single tear. I'm already on season 3 by the way, so yeah I already know what happened to Jack. Also, the score, ugh, so good, it's been on my 'on repeat' Spotify playlist for weeks now. I highly highly recommend this show.
*sighing again* So there you have it, fellow readers! I hope you have a good month. If you have a suggestion on an activity that I should try, please feel free to leave it on the comment. Side note, I currently live in a limited space with no proper kitchen so cooking or baking is a no for me. Hope you stay healthy and sane!
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