meitachi | books read: 2020 jan-feb

On Friday, I stopped by work for the first time in four months. While there, I grabbed my planner from my desk which included my "Books Read" list from earlier this year. Let's review, shall we? I barely remember some of these.

You Boys Play Games Very Well by Yi Xiu Luo - The first cnovel I finished, I think! The first one I read was I Ship My Adversary x Me, which is hilarious and adorable but incomplete/ongoing with slow translations. I also started Guide on How to Fail at Online Dating but it was also incomplete. This followed the vein of modern day gaming stories set at university, but was even sillier and lighthearted -- and complete! It taught me a lot about gaming culture as well as Chinese gaming culture specifically and "water fans". Totally unbelievable but very cute, funny, and light on angst. Fruit puns everywhere.

Everyone Thinks That I Like Him by Darling Little Snail - A modern day love story set at university -- that's my jam. Yet it took me a long time to warm up to this story. I spent the first half not particularly fond of either main character, and yet somehow by the end I was really rooting for both of them and their relationship. It happened gradually where they actually became friends first, and then developed into more! They didn't play weird games and actually talked to each other and trusted each other and looked out for each others' interests! But still in a very sweet tropey BL way. Not everything is wrapped up in a neat bow at the end, but it's very much a happy ending.

The Tell-Tail Heart by Monica Shaughnessy - A cozy murder mystery told from the perspective Edgar Allan Poe's cat, set in Philadelphia. It was a strange, charming premise, and it was cute, but not enough to sustain the mystery story. I learned a little more about Poe! The integration of the eponymous short story into the novel was interesting, but I have no further interest in the rest of the series.

The Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell - I think I'd read mixed reviews on the memoir, mostly that the author could sometimes seem like a jerk. But honestly he seemed at most a little cynical and tired of humans and the romanticization of his job, which seems fair. I enjoyed this glimpse into the behind-the-scenes of running a bookstore, including the many daily challenges or doldrums. It also felt like visiting another world because a small town in Scotland is as foreign to me as regency England.

The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa - I forgot what made me pick up this book, but it is charming and sweet and philosophical about life and death in a way that weaves in nature and the seasons the way you expect a Japanese story to. And even knowing the ending was coming, I fucking sobbed. Goddammit! The cat and the journey is a metaphor, and the emphasis on our connections with others and the relationships in our lives. What a lovely book but it wrecked me.

A Good Provider is One Who Leaves by Jason DeParle - We brought this author to Asia Society back in November to discuss immigration, and the specific story of family he profiles in this book over three generations because they live in the Greater Houston area. It is a great combo of human interest and research into historic immigration patterns and facts. Really compelling and I learned a lot about the Philippines and remittances. Probably the book that got me more willing to read nonfiction besides memoirs. (Rebecca Traister's Good and Mad from last year, one of the first nonfiction books I'd read in years, honestly made me furious more than I felt like it really opened my eyes or changed my thinking.)

Thirteen Guests by J. Jefferson Farjeon - A classic British mystery, but I remember very little of it! A hunting lodge, thirteen guests, and someone is guilty. I'm looking back at summaries of the book and I vaguely recall trains and train schedules having something to do with the solution. Typical. I literally have no recollection of the ending, but GoodReads reviews are calling it brilliant. Man, this is why I can reread mystery novels.

Tough Guy by Rachel Reid - Book 3 in the series where I hated and DNFed the first book, Game Changer, but fell in fucking love with the second book, Heated Rivalry, along with Ilya and Shane. To be totally honest, the best part of this book for me were Ilya and Shane's very brief cameos. I think I need my hockey romances to involve hockey and its players; having a hockey player who hates the sport and his role in the sport end up finding love and himself outside of hockey is...sweet, and good for him and his personal growth, but not what I'm looking for. The relationship was sweet enough for me to finish the book but the dynamic and setup is far from my favorite; I don't know if I'll check out the next book in the series, given that it looks like it's another one between a hockey player and a non-player. I'll just reread Heated Rivalry for the 76th time.

Magic, Murder and What we Wore by Kelly Jones - What a premise! Regency plus magic plus a murder mystery! A combination of three things I love so dearly, and fine, it's middle grade but that often works better for me than YA. I did like Kat, Incorrigible a lot. But unfortunately the writing for this was not particularly strong, nor did I like the main character much. Give me this premise with a strong adult novel, please!

American Panda by Gloria Chao - I read this because we were going to bring in the author to Asia Society for an event (under a different department in partnership with the library system), so we had a hard copy around the office. More Asian American authors? I'll check it out, even though it's YA. Well, I can tell you it was both strange and delightful to have a main character with my name and that she was sometimes painfully relatable. But I also wanted to shake her and tell her to get her shit together, find her voice, and realize that all our issues with our family aside, sometimes it's still okay to walk away from family. Obviously, that's not the resolution being pushed in a YA coming of age story -- she has a cute romance, makes nice with her mom, kinda grows as a person? I don't know. It was painfully YA and not really my thing, but I guess I'm always glad for more Chinese American authors out there writing more of our stories, because we all have different stories, so the more written, the wider the selection.

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baronness Orczy - I tried to read this years ago but couldn't get into it, but finally did read it! It is a pretty fun romp tainted by its classism and antisemitism. I definitely had the right guy pinned pretty early on, but that's how these go, isn't it? I've heard the movie adaptation is better, so maybe someday I'll check it out (but I am pretty bad at movies).

Greenglass House by Kate Milford - A charming middle grade book I got solely because I loved the cover so, so much. The rest of the series has gorgeous cover art too. But this had some likable kid protagonists and was fun mystery and featured a lovely worldview on adopted kids and families. The supernatural bit surprised me a bit, but fit with the overall theme/feel of the story to not seem too jarring. If I get bored perhaps I'll check out more in the series.

The Witches are Coming by Lindy West - Loved Shrill so put myself on the request list for this at the library soon after; it took ages! But it is a series of great essays, again. I really like Lindy West as a writer and thinker, but it's easy to lose track of her voice online since she took herself off social media. A correct decision, but not without consequences for the prominence and reach of her work, for sure.

Epic by Sarina Bowman and Elle Kennedy - A little novella follow-up to Him and Us, with a tiny bit of angst and a comforting resolution/happy ever after. Nice to revisit Wes and Jamie (even if they're not my favorite hockey bros in love, see above for Ilya and Shane).