February 2021 Wrap-Up & Favorites

Source: personal collection

Hello fellow reader! How are you doing? In February, instead of binging on TV shows, I did plenty of reading and watched quite a lot of films. My biggest accomplishment in term of reading would be reading The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen. The book has been on my TBR list for such a long time it's getting ridiculous. I was intimidated by the length and the topic of the book so I always feel hesitant to pick it up. No more! Finally finished it this year. Anyway, here's the list of books I read in February.

Books read in February

	Leaving the Yellow House - Saul Bellow (★★★)
	Leaving the Yellow House is a short story by Saul Bellow first published in Esquire in 1958. It is then published as a part of short story collection titled Mosby's Memoirs and Other Stories. This short follows Hattie Wagonner, a seventy-two year old woman who's been living alone in an old yellow house located in Sego Desert Lake, Utah. One day she got involved in an accident which prompts her to think about her life and the house she's living in; to whom she's gonna leave the house. Before reading this short story, I know nothing about Saul Bellow. I didn't know that he's quite a renown author. I enjoyed Leaving the Yellow House, though. The protagonist is an alcoholic who seems to be in denial and the accident forced her to take a closer look on her life, whether she's been living the way she wanted to live. The yellow house represents Hattie in a way. When she's contemplating about the house, I feel like the house is a part of herself. Reading her struggles surprisingly entertaining because I expected to find her to be annoying at first. When I read the premise, I thought it would be boring but it's so well executed that I end up enjoying the story. This short story is a good introduction to Saul Bellow. It clearly makes me want to check out Bellow's other works.
	The Sympathizer - Viet Thanh Nguyen (★★★★)
	The Sympathizer is a book about the Vietnam war. It's told from the perspective of a double agent. The narrator is a French-Vietnamese man, referred to as the captain, who worked for a General who's an American sympathizer. They managed to get out of Vietnam during the fall of Saigon and became refugees in America. While in America, he observed the General and sent his observation through coded letters to the communist back in Vietnam. The Sympathizer is a spy thriller which explores the theme of identities. It also criticizes the way America portrays other culture. It's funny and quite an eye-opener. However, I have a little problem with the book. I explain it all in my full review of the book which will be posted on this blog.
	The Vigilante - John Steinbeck (★★★★)
	This modern mini collects three short stories by John Steinbeck, namely The Vigilante, The Snake, and The Chrysanthemums. The first one explores the theme of racism and justice in a story about a mob lynching of an African American man. The crime itself is not mentioned but the mob wanted to prevent a lawyer from helping the felon to defend himself. It's a difficult read as it's quite brutal. Still, the theme is relevant to this day and it's a reminder that the issue still exists to this day. While the second story, the Snake, is the one who stays with me. It's because I feel like there's something in there that I couldn't grasp just yet. Something about the woman and the snake and how they're represented in the story feel like they mean to symbolize other things. I might get back on this short later. The last story, the Chrysanthemums revolves around a woman named Elisa who was tending her chrysanthemums garden when a man came by to ask for direction. It's a story about a woman struggling with her femininity and how the outside world viewed her. It's also about gender equality as she lightly argued with the man. This story has such a simple premise but contain heavy topic to contemplate. Overall I did enjoy reading this short stories. What I like about Steinbeck's writing based on what I read in this book is, even though it's mainly talk about deep heavy topics, it's so easy to read. Take the Snake for example, although my level of comprehension might not get what is it that he wanted to write about, I still able to catch that there is something else hidden beneath it. As a person who hasn't read any of Steinbeck's works, I think this book is the perfect way to introduce his writing. I'm definitely going to read his other works.
	Into the Magic Shop - James R. Doty (★★★)
	Into the Magic Shop is a nonfiction book by a neurosurgeon named James Doty. It's about his life as a young boy learning about mindfulness and positive thinking then applies it to his life from then on. The book includes tips and exercises that we could do ourselves on practising mindfulness. It's easy to read and follow. Doty also includes his life experiences in the book which is quite an eye-opener. The book is getting a lot of buzzes because it becomes the inspiration of one of BTS's songs, Magic Shop. As for me, I've been into learning about mindfulness and trying to practise mindfulness so this book is right up my alley. The book being the inspiration of one of my favorite songs, is a plus point. Even though you've never heard the song, I still think reading this book would still give you such an insight. I wrote a full review of the book if you want to know more of my thoughts on this book.
	The Finger - William S. Burroughs (★★★)
	The Finger is a part of Penguin Modern Mini collections. This book consists of six bizarre short stories by William S. Burroughs. The stories included in this book are The Finger, Driving Lesson, The Junky’s Christmas, Lee and the Boys, In the Cafe Central, and Dream of the Penal Colony. The stories are short, ranging from around 6-14 pages and they are such trippy rides for me. They are weird and when I started to figure out what’s it all about, the stories end. Some stories seem like they are interconnected to one another and they even share the same protagonist named Lee. It’s only later I found out that Lee was Burroughs’ pen name. In a way, those stories are autobiographical. I also found out later that Burroughs was a heroin addict, which apparent in some stories. So there’s that. After reading this book though, I still couldn’t decide if I wanted to read more of him or not. His writing is intriguing, but I’m not sure if I want to commit to read a full book just yet.
	Semasa - Teddy W. Kusuma & Maesy Ang (★★★★)
	Semasa is a short book by Indonesian authors duo which follows cousins Coro and Sachi. Their family had always been close. They often spent their childhood together in a vacation home in Pandanwangi village, built by their parents. Years later, their parents wanted to sell the house. So they decided to spend one last vacation in the house while reminiscing their childhood memories. Semasa is a heartwarming book about an ordinary family with such relatable moments. It's simple, bittersweet, and I'm pretty sure most people would be able to relate to their story. As you grow up, things change, and you keep moving on with your own life. That's the kind of melancholy that's brought up in the book. Semasa itself is an Indonesian word which could be translated into either 'during' or 'one time'. As a person who's currently living far from my hometown, this book triggers my childhood memory in my hometown. I love the nostalgic feeling that this book brings. It was such a delightful read. Unfortunately, this book is only available in Bahasa Indonesia. If you're able to read in the language, I recommend this book.

February Favorites

Book

Semasa

Movies

Argo

Instead of binging on TV show, in February I browsed streaming services that I subscribed to, to see if they have any Oscar Best Picture nominees that I haven't watched yet. If you don't know, I have this list of Oscar Best Picture nominees from 2000s up until the most recent that I want to watch. I neglected the list often last year. It's so much easier to pick a show and you're settled to binge-watch it. But not this year. I found Argo on HBOGo and I'm glad I did. Aside of being nominated, Argo in fact won the Best Picture category that year. This film is why I like to pick the best picture list to watch. If it wasn't for the list, I wouldn't want to watch this film. Argo is not the type of film that I usually pick if I was out in a movie theater. Yet, I end up enjoying the movie. It's based on a historic event and I'm a bit surprised that it's not as American-centric as I'd expect. Anyway, it's thrilling and I love Ben Affleck in this film. Well done, sir!

Babel

Babel is the same case with Argo. I found it on HBOGo. It's also another film that I don't think I'd watch if it wasn't for the nominees list. I mean, the title and the poster gives no clue to what the movie is about. However, it's such a deep film about human connection and the extreme impact of miscommunication. I love it. It's slow paced but it pays off in the end. It makes you think, is what I'm saying. I thoroughly enjoyed watching this film.

There you have it! By the time this post is up the nominees for Oscar have already been announced (I know this is a late wrap-up), so I'm going to be spending my time browsing streaming services to look for those films. I also plan on finishing at least one book series in March. We'll see in the next wrap up if it's going to happen. Hope you have a wonderful month and stay safe!