January 2021 Wrap-Up & Favorites

Source: personal collection

Hello fellow readers! Happy New Year! It's 2021, huh? Though the year has changed, I don't feel much change in my life. Still working from home, trying to make do in the safety of my compact room. How about you? I'm just feeling grateful that I survive 2020. I don't make specific resolutions for my 2021. As long as I stay healthy mentally and physically is enough for me. Anyway, I think I started the year strong. I read 10 books in January. True, three of them are actually novellas. Still, I finally read the Year of the Runaways which has been sitting on my bookshelf since I first moved to Jakarta. I remember because I bought it the first time I went to Big Bad Wolf Book Fair in the city. I'll take that as an achievement. Without further ado, here's the list of books I read in January.

Books read in January

	The Miracles of the Namiya General Store - Keigo Higashino (★★★★)
	This book tells a story about three delinquents who find miracles in an unexpected place. After doing a robbery, they hid in a seemingly abandoned store. They found out later on that the store has magic that enabled them to correspond with people in the past through letters. What started out as a curiosity developed into reflection on their lives. In the span of one night, they received some insights that would hopefully change their lives for the better. This book is the second book by Higashino sensei that I read and this one gives very different vibe. His other book that I read is so dark, I was pretty surprised to find how heartwarming and touching this book is. I love it though because it's exactly the kind of book that I needed to read at the time. Anyway, I wrote a full review of this book which will be up on this blog if you want to check it out.
	The Wide, Wide Sea - Patrick Ness (★★★)
	This short story is set in the Chaos Walking world by Patrick Ness. This story is not related directly to the original trilogy. I think you'll be fine reading this short without reading the trilogy. Still, you need to know at least how the world works and general terms in the setting. The main theme in this short is connection between two unlikely beings. It tries to ask if it's possible to have such relationship when the two beings come from different world and communicate differently. In the end, I don't think the story a definite answer to that question but it throws the question for us to ponder more. It also ends in a hopeful note. Reading this short doesn't add anything to the original trilogy but if you miss the Chaos Walking world, you can pick this one up.
	Snowscape - Patrick Ness (★★★)
	This short story is also a part of the Chaos Walking world. It's set after the final book in the original trilogy. In this short, Ness explores the idea that although the spackles seem more advancely evolved, they still have darker side which don't make them that different from human after all. Even though the characters in this short are not present in the original trilogy (or at least they don't hold significant role in the trilogy I think, because I forget details from the original trilogy), there's a spoiler for the original trilogy by the end of this short. As a matter of fact, the ending of this short answers the big question hanging in the end of Monsters of Men. So if you feel like the ending of Monsters of Men doesn't satiate you, I recommend to read this short story.
	Swimming: Vintage Minis - Roger Deakin (★★★)
	This book collects selected essays from Waterlog by Roger Deakin. Roger Deakin is a writer who's also a documentary-maker. The book itself is a documentation of Deakin's journey exploring Britain through its water, whether it's sea, river, moat, lakes, etc. The writings are so descriptive I feel like I could see the scenery myself. However, reading this book makes me feel sad because of the current pandemic. The pandemic is getting worse I couldn't go out freely and I miss swimming so much. It's been years since I last swimming so reading this book makes me craving for swimming even more. If you're impatient and not good with detailed descriptive writing, I don't think this book is for you. Though you can choose to watch Wild Swimming instead, which is a BBC documentary inspired by Deakin's book.
	Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World - Haruki Murakami (★★★★)
	This book is the second Murakami book that I read (the first being Norwegian Wood). After reading this book, I can see why Norwegian Wood is considered as his 'normal' book. This one is bizarre in a good way. It's a mix of magical realism, science fiction, and surrealism thrown together into one. If you've read Murakami's work before, perhaps you'll understand what I mean. This book splits into two alternating narratives, both by unnamed narrators presumably male in his mid thirties. One narration sets in alternative Tokyo while the other is in an isolated strange place called the Town. There's a mystery surrounding the lives of both narrators and the Town. This book explores complex theme and question but present it in an unexpectedly fun way by incorporating science fiction and fantasy element. I have many things to say about this book and if you want to know more of my thoughts about it, I've written a full review which will be up on this blog.
	Four Russian Short Stories: Gazdanov & Others (★★)
	This Modern Mini collects four short stories revolved around the theme of death. To tell you the truth, I've never read Russian literature before so I didn't know what to expect. Of the four, the one that I feel familiar the most with is the third one, The Murder of Valkovsky which is written by Nina Berberova. It's a story told in a murder mystery style and it follows a woman who's about to commit adultery. It examines a woman's internal struggle and guilt in committing adultery. It's written in a way that's familiar to me so it's easier to digest. While the one I have difficulty with is the last story called Requiem by Gaito Gazdanov. I'd say the prose is beautiful. Somehow, I feel like I didn't quite capture the essence of the story. That's a shame though. While the other ones don't stick out that much to me. Anyway, if you're a newbie to Russian literature like me, you can try reading this book to get a taste of what's out there.
	Before the Coffee Gets Cold: Tales from the Café - Toshikazu Kawaguchi (★★★★)
	This book is the second book in the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series. I read the first book last year in December and ended up loving it. If you want to know my thoughts on that book you can check out my December 2020 wrap up (LINK). The second book pretty much follow the same structure as the first one. It consists of four heartwarming tales of the coffee shop visitors who chose to travel in time. If you haven't heard of this series, it sets in a cafe called Funiculi Funicula who has a special seat in which people could time travel. Of course there's a set of rules while time travel which hinder most people from doing so. All the rules are explained in the book. Even if you haven't read the first book, I think you'll still enjoy the second book without missing a lot. This book follows different characters except for the cafe staffs such as Kazu, who is an essential staff, and Nagare, the owner. In the second book, the characters are dealing with grief of losing someone to death specifically. This topic touched upon in the first book but not as in depth as in the second one; moreover, in this book we also learn what actually happened to Kazu's family. This book still has the same atmosphere as the first one. It's warm and touching. It has this feeling of content in it. I love the series so much, I can't wait for the next book to be translated.
	The Skeleton's Holiday - Leonora Carrington (★★★)
	This Modern Mini collects 7 short stories written by Leonora Carrington. This is my first time of hearing Leonora Carrington so I went in without knowing what to expect. Man, what a ride it was. This book starts with a bang. The first story, White Rabbits, really sets up the tone of the whole book. After finishing the first story, I understand what kind of stories I'll read in this book. These stories are dark and trippy. It's so surreal I can't help but wondering what I was reading. Somehow, I feel like the stories blur the line between reality and imagination, human and animal. If there's a character shows up, it would take time for me to figure out what is it; is it human or an animal. My favorite story from this book is, of course, White Rabbits. I don't usually read this kind of books which makes it refreshing for me. It's weird and so creepy but I enjoyed it.
	The Year of the Runaways - Sunjeev Sahota (★★★★)
	The Year of the Runaways is a book about three Indian immigrants men and a British-Indian women. Their lives intertwined with each other after they met in England. Trying their luck looking for opportunities in foreign country in the hope of better living, these people have to face the harsh reality of life. This book is a beautiful and haunting story of human connection and survival. I picked up this book not knowing what to expect and end up enjoying it. I've written a full review of this book which will be up on this blog.
	What I Talk About When I Talk About Running - Haruki Murakami (★★★)
	This book is a memoir by Haruki Murakami which centered on his life as a running as well as a writer. If you don't know, Murakami is (I'd say) an avid runner, although he humbly stated in the book that he's not. Through this book we can feel his passion in running and writing life. The essays in this book're written like journal entries. It's easy to read and feel personal. Overall, reading this book is such a healing experience for me. It's inspiring and motivating, I highly recommend this book to read.

January Favorites

Book

The Miracles of the Namiya General Store

Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World

Before the Coffee Gets Cold: Tales from the Café

The Year of the Runaways

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

TV shows

Shingeki no Kyojin/ Attack on Titan

Source

Okay, I know this anime is on trending because the final season is currently on air. I followed the first season while it's on air on Aniplus back then when I was still living at home and had access to TV (lol). Then I kind of forget about the show and only watched it here and there if I happened to tune in to Aniplus through a streaming service and the show was on air. I wasn't even aware which episode from which season that I watched. The next thing I know it's already on its final season. You see, I don't remember much about the earlier seasons but I do remember that I enjoy the show and intrigued by the premise. So, I re-watched the entire season 1 and follow through to the next season. I don't even care about the spoilers because as I said before, I watched the show here and there so I kind of spoiled myself already (again, lol). By the end of January, I've finished the first part of Season 3. I'm kind of scared to continue on because I already know that a certain beloved character of mine will die in the second part. So I'm procrastinating by watching the OVA and probably I'll watch AoT Junior High next. I'm in denial, I know HAHAHAHA (laughing in tears). Anyway, the show is so dang good. I'm not going to analyze the theme and symbolism presented in the anime. I'm sure you could find many people posting about it on the internet. All I'm saying is, you could enjoy the anime as is or you could watch while trying to dissect the series, I think you'll still like this anime series either way.

There you have it. I consider my January as a good month to start the year. Most of the books I read end up being my favorite which is great. I'm currently in the middle of reading The Sympathizer, a book that I really want to read but somehow dreading to start. I'm finally doing it, people! Just like with the Year of the Runaways, the hardest part is picking it up and start; and Hey! The book becomes on of my favorites of the month. Seeing my progress in January, I'm genuinely excited to face February. Still, I won't be too hard on myself if I don't read as many as January. As long as I enjoy the process. By the way, I'm currently watching WandaVision. I'd say this show is the highlight of my week. What a delightful way to end my weekdays. Are you watching the show too? Or do you have any particular shows you're enjoying currently? Is there any specific book that you look forward to reading in February?