September 2023 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.

Books read in September

	The Ballad of the Sad Café - Carson McCullers (★★★)
	The Ballad of the Sad Cafe is a novella which set in a small isolated town in the southern of United States. It tells the tale of the enigmatic Miss Amelia Evans. Miss Evans is a tough and quiet woman who lived alone. One day, a hunchbacked man appeared in front of her house claiming to be a distant relative of her. He's called Cousin Lymon. Cousin Lymon somehow soften Miss Evans. She opens her house for townspeople to come. Her house became somewhat of a cafe. That is, until someone from her past showed up and disturbed the peace. This novella is the first work by Carson McCullers that I read. I didn't know what to expect. Storywise, even after I finish reading this book I still have a lot of questions. But maybe that's intentional? Truly, Miss Amelia Evans is an enigma. If loneliness is the point to be made through this novella, I get it. Yet, I don't think this novella ends conclusively. In spite of that, I'm still interested in reading her other works though, such as The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter. This novella is a nice introduction to her writing if you want to try it out.
	A Christmas Memory - Truman Capote (★★★)
	A Christmas Memory collects five Truman Capote's short stories revolved around Christmas time. Three of the stories follow the same character called Buddy and his childhood memories around thanksgiving and Christmas. It's possible that these three stories are semi autobiographical. They are clearly giving off nostalgic vibes. While the other two are completely different stories. The one titled Master Misery goes over my head. The other one, which titled Jug of Silver, is one of those christmas miracle story. A Christmas Memory could be a good introduction to Truman Capote if you're interested in his works. However, I'd still recommend reading his infamous work, Breakfast at Tiffany.

September Favorites

Miscellaneous

Wagashi Making Class

I take up wagashi course starting in September. Wagashi is traditional Japanese dessert which often served with green tea on a tea ceremony. I was first interested in wagashi after knowing that in the cooking studio where I take bread and cake making classes, they also provide wagashi course. However, wagashi is often made using red bean paste, white bean paste, Japanese rice flour, kinako powder, basically ingredients which are not easy to find where I live. So the chance to recook the recipes at home would be near to none. My interest peaking again after I watched Japanese drama Watashitachi wa Dokashiteiru, in which the main protagonists are working as wagashi maker. Each episode, they would create beautiful wagashi menu based on a specific theme and philosophy which is the center of the episode. Let me tell you, those wagashi they made are works of art. Since I've finished most of my bread and cake classes anyway, so I decided to join wagashi course. My first impression of the class, it is hard with the capital H. But the result is very satisfying. I can't believe I could make desserts that pretty. Though there's a tiny chance I will recook it at home, I don't regret taking the class at all. Looking forward to the other classes.

After writing this post, I'm definitely concern that I don't remember anything exciting happening in September. Maybe just one, I finally register myself to join wagashi class. I had my first class in September. That's it. I should remedy this in the next months. I hope your September is much better than mine.