[Review] Waiting - Ha Jin

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Title of Book:
Waiting
Author: Ha Jin
Publisher: Vintage
Publication Year: 2010
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 310

In Waiting, PEN/Hemingway Award-winning author Ha Jin draws on his intimate knowledge of contemporary China to create a novel of unexpected richness and feeling. This is the story of Lin Kong, a man living in two worlds, struggling with the conflicting claims of two utterly different women as he moves through the political minefields of a society designed to regulate his every move and stifle the promptings of his innermost heart.
For more than seventeen years, this devoted and ambitious doctor has been in love with an educated, clever, modern woman, Manna Wu. But back in the traditional world of his home village lives the wife his family chose for him when he was young—a humble and touchingly loyal woman, whom he visits in order to ask, again and again, for a divorce. In a culture in which the ancient ties of tradition and family still hold sway and where adultery discovered by the Party can ruin lives forever, Lin's passionate love is stretched ever more taut by the passing years. Every summer, his compliant wife agrees to a divorce but then backs out. This time, Lin promises, will be different.
Tracing these lives through their summer of decision and beyond, Ha Jin vividly conjures the texture of daily life in a place where the demands of human longing must contend with the weight of centuries of custom. Waiting charms and startles us with its depiction of a China that remains hidden to Western eyes even as it moves us with its piercing vision of the universal complications of love.
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November 2023 Wrap-Up & Favorites

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November Wrap-Up & Favorites
Source: personal collection

Hello fellow reader! We're almost at the end of the year. I'm late again with my wrap-up. I finished two books in November. I almost reach my yearly reading goal which I updated twice because I reached my goal and I think I can accomplish more. However, I won't update the latest goal. That would be overly ambitious. Anyway, here's the list of books I read in November.

[Review] Rashomon and Seventeen Other Stories - Ryunosuke Akutagawa

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Title of Book:
Rashōmon and Seventeen Other Stories
Author: Ryunosuke Akutagawa
Translator: Jay Rubin
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Publication Year: 2006
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 268

October 2023 Wrap-Up & Favorites

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October Wrap-Up & Favorites
Source: personal collection

Hello fellow readers! I'm catching up on wrap-up & favorite post. My homework from last month is to find things to enjoy outside of my work life. Have I succeeded? I think I have. My Italian class started again this month. I also enroll myself in an illustration class. I've never been more excited to learn something new in October.

[Review] The Awakening - Kate Chopin

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Title of Book:
The Awakening
Author: Kate Chopin
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Publication Year: 2018
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 188

September 2023 Wrap-Up & Favorites

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September Wrap-Up & Favorites
Source: personal collection

Hello fellow readers! I'm trying to catch up on my Wrap-Up and Favorite post again here. I didn't read much in September. Honestly I don't really remember what happened in September. It feels like the month just flew me by. Seriously though, my first week spent on travelling for work while the rest of the month was just ... nothing. This concerns me.

August 2023 Wrap-Up & Favorites

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August Wrap-Up & Favorites
Source: personal collection

Hello fellow readers! I'm behind on my wrap up post again. I travelled a lot in August so I didn't have much time to post anything or write anything. The books I finished in August are either manga or a novella or even a book that I started reading months ago. Anyway, without further ado, here are the books I finished in August.

[Review] If Cats Disappeared from the World - Genki Kawamura

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Title of Book:
If Cats Disappeared from the World
Author: Genki Kawamura
Translator: Eric Selland
Publisher: Picador
Publication Year: 2018
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 202

[Review] The Midnight Library - Matt Haig

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Title of Book:
The Midnight Library
Author: Matt Haig
Publisher: Viking
Publication Year: 2020
Language: English
Format: Hardback
Pages: 288

[Review] Sweet Bean Paste - Durian Sukegawa

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Title of Book: Sweet Bean Paste
Author: Durian Sukegawa
Translator: Alison Watts
Publisher: Oneworld Publications
Publication Year: 2017
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 213

June 2023 Wrap-Up & Favorites

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June Wrap-Up & Favorites
Source: personal collection

Hello fellow reader! We're already in the middle of the year. I only finished one book in June. My life underwent some changes so I guess I was too busy adapting and trying to build a new routine around it. So, without further ado, here's the book I read in June.

[Review] The Island of Doctor Moreau - H.G. Wells

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Title of Book:
The Island of Doctor Moreau
Author: H.G. Wells
Publisher: Gollancz
Publication Year: 2017
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 186

May 2023 Wrap-Up & Favorites

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May Wrap-Up & Favorites
Source: personal collection

Hello fellow readers! Some say that May feels a lot longer this year. I'd agree with that, but I don't think it's a bad thing. May is longer because there're many vacation days. Also, the dread of slowly coming to the mid of the year. Truthfully, there's a part of me that don't want May to end. Alas, May already ends anyway which means it's time for monthly wrap-up and favorite.

[Review] The Narrow Road to The Deep North - Richard Flanagan

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Title of Book:
The Narrow Road To The Deep North
Author: Richard Flanagan
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Publication Year: 2014
Language: English
Format: Hardback
Pages: 334

[Review] 19 Love Songs - David Levithan

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Title of Book:
19 Love Songs
Author: David Levithan
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Publication Year: 2020
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 320

[Review] The Bluest Eye - Toni Morrison

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Title of Book: The Bluest Eye
Author: Toni Morrison
Publisher: Vintage International
Publication Year: 2007
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 206

[Review] The Stranger - Albert Camus

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Title of Book:
The Stranger
Author: Albert Camus
Publisher: Vintage International
Publication Year: 1989
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 123

April 2023 Wrap-Up & Favorites

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April Wrap-Up & Favorites
Source: personal collection

Hello fellow readers! I'm posting on time this month! Most of April was Ramadhan month, which means I fasted most of the time. I didn't read because I'd rather sleep when I have some spare time. In April I braved myself to read another Junji Ito's compilation. This time, the compilation's theme is Tomie. Just like the other Junji Ito's works which I read, Tomie traumatizes me (lol). Anyway, here's the list of books I read in April.

[Review] What We Talk About When We Talk About Love - Raymond Carver

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Title of Book:
What We Talk About When We Talk About Love
Author: Raymond Carver
Publisher: Vintage Classics
Publication Year: 2009
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 134

[Review] The Haunting of Hill House - Shirley jackson

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Title of Book:
The Haunting of Hill House
Author: Shirley Jackson
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Publication Year: 2009
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 246

[Review] The Red Pyramid - Rick Riordan

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Title of Book:
The Red Pyramid
Author: Rick Riordan
Series: The Kane Chronicles #1
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Publication Year: 2010
Language: English
Format: Hardback
Pages: 529

March 2023 Wrap-Up & Favorites

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March Wrap-Up & Favorites
Source: personal collection

Hello fellow readers! In March I read three books, two of which are in Bahasa Indonesia. It makes my reading life easier since I can finish those faster. In fact, one of them, Akiyoshi Rikako's book, kind of get me out of my reading slump. So that's a win. Anyway, here's the books I read in March.

[Review] To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before - Jenny Han

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Title of Book:
To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before
Author: Jenny Han
Series: To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before #1
Publisher: Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers
Publication Year: 2014
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 362

[Review] Every Breath - Nicholas Sparks

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Title of Book: Every Breath
Author: Nicholas Sparks
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Year: 2018
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 321

[Review] The Shape of Things to Come - H.G. Wells

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Title of Book: The Shape of Things to Come
Author: H.G. Wells
Publisher: Gollancz
Publication Year: 2017
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 424

February 2023 Wrap-Up & Favorites

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February Wrap-Up & Favorites
Source: personal collection

Hello fellow readers! The second month and I'm still on track with my wrap-up post. In February, I finally tackled my white whale. I finished a 680-ish pages book which was sitting on my shelf unread for years. Anyway, here's the list of books I read in February.

[Review] Unearthly - Cynthia Hand

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Title of Book:
Unearthly
Author: Cynthia Hand
Series: Unearthly #1
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Year: 2011
Language: English
Format: Hardback
Pages: 435

January 2023 Wrap-Up & Favorites

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January Wrap-Up & Favorites
Source: personal collection

Hello fellow readers! I welcome the year of 2023 with horror manga to prepare me for the horror that I'd face in real life, back to work from office, no more remote working. All jokes aside, the reason why I finally read Junji Ito's manga is because in January I spend a whole week at home with my mom and sister. I won't be alone when I read those mangas and that gives me courage. Silly, I know but I'm not one who read or watch horror for sport. Anyway, here's the list of books I read in January.

[Review] Fates and Furies - Lauren Groff

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Title of Book: Fates and Furies
Author: Lauren Groff
Publisher: Riverhead Books
Publication Year: 2015
Language: English
Format: Hardback
Pages: 390

[Review] Sputnik Sweetheart - Haruki Murakami

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Title of Book:
Sputnik Sweetheart
Author: Haruki Murakami
Translator: Philip Gabriel
Publisher: Vintage International
Publication Year: 2015
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 210

November-December 2022 Wrap-Up & Favorites

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November-December Wrap-Up & Favorites
Source: personal collection

Happy new year fellow readers! This post will mark the last of my monthly wrap-up in 2022. Hopefully in 2023 I'll be more consistent in posting my wrap-up and favorite (though let's be real, we know that won't happen). By the end of 2022, I managed to complete my Goodreads challenge which is to read 30 books. I merge November and December because I didn't finish any books in November. However, I watched good animes and films which I include in my favorites below.